[Pathfinder] Arcane Swordsage

[SuperJudge]

So I have the go ahead to play an arcane swordsage. The DM and I have established that the spells I learn are going to be treated as spells, so ASF, spell resist apply. But they will still be refreshed along with maneuvers. My casting stat is going to be WIS, and I am aloud to use metamagic. The restriction on metamagic is I need to have the appropriate initiator level to cast the enhanced spell, and I can still only have each spell readied once. for example if I know fireball I may use an empowered version at level 9 but can't ready any other fireballs.

I was thinking of going half-giant as they get both +2 wis and +2 str and can use bigger weapons. I am stuck on which prestige class(es) I want to take tho. I was looking at swift blade, abjurant champion, and Jade phoenix mage, or any combination of the above. We have agreed that the spells I know qualify for prestige class requirements, and +1 arcane caster level will apply to both my initiator level and "spells" known and readied. We will probably be starting at level 10 or 12 and I am leaning toward 2/3 levels of JPM and as much abj champion as I can get. What do you guys think?

Also what spells would be Ideal choices? Without going over the top. I kind of feel bad for taking improved invisibility as it is and might switch it out for standard. I was also thinking of scorching ray(for synergy with sneak attack) for a damage spell and possibly one other(fireball with dazing spell maybe?) and the rest being support and buffs.

[Morbis Meh]

Congradulations you have won the game... basically you have unlimited spells per day which is pretty ridiculous, no as for your race choice... swordsages can be based around strength but most prefer to make them more SAD by focusing on dex via shadowblade (allows you to add Dex+Str to damage for a shadow hand weapon... spiked chain being the best) Now playing as a half giant, from an optimization standpoint is a bad choice, the LA +1 is usually an almost unforgival sin when making any caster type; however, you are not aiming to break the game so I suggest taking something that appeals to you. If you want a race that grants a bonus to wisdom there are other choices for example Lesser Aasimar grants +2 wis (also +2 to a dump stat) and is an LA 0 race.

Prestige classes... well if you want a gish that can keep up then abjurant champ is a good choice for 5 levels, jade phoenix mage is pretty good, you lose some casting and gain a few good abilities. Swiftblade is a alot of fun and haste would be a great spell for you, depending on what level you start at will influence how much of a pain it is to get into (yeah playing an entire level with only casting haste is amusing for the first 3 combats then annoying for the rest but at least you have manuevers to fall back on). Sacred Exorcist is great if you want access to divine metamagic since it progresses any spell casting but if you are more of a flavour person then this would probably be an odd choice.

Spell choice is crucial, it really depends on the type of character you want to play, if you go lesser aasimar then go with transmutation spells, this will really boost your physical stats and can allow you to go up in size (which is what you want with the half giant without the LA+1). If you want a more stealth based charater take more illusion spells, battle field control conjuration (solid fog, stinking cloud, black tentacles, grease, glitterdust etc etc), damage conjuration (the orb spells are much better in the long run in comparison to any evocation spells since they are touch based and auto overcome spell resistance).

[andromax]

Sounds fun.

It probably wouldn't hurt to pick up scribe martial script, if you're into that sort of thing. Would let you have backup Empower Fireballs before you had to refresh.

Even have a couple scripts of spells you don't have readied.

[SuperJudge]

Congradulations you have won the game... basically you have unlimited spells per day which is pretty ridiculous, no as for your race choice... swordsages can be based around strength but most prefer to make them more SAD by focusing on dex via shadowblade (allows you to add Dex+Str to damage for a shadow hand weapon... spiked chain being the best) Now playing as a half giant, from an optimization standpoint is a bad choice, the LA +1 is usually an almost unforgival sin when making any caster type; however, you are not aiming to break the game so I suggest taking something that appeals to you. If you want a race that grants a bonus to wisdom there are other choices for example Lesser Aasimar grants +2 wis (also +2 to a dump stat) and is an LA 0 race.

pathfinder srd has half-giants as
+2 Wisdom, +2 Strength, –2 Dexterity: Half-giants are tough and intuitive, but not too nimble.
Giant Blood: Half-giants count as both human and humanoid (giant) for any effect related to race.
Medium: Half-giants are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Half-giants have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Half-giants can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light. See Vision and Light.
Fire Acclimated: Half-giants receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against all fire spells and effects.
Powerful Build: The physical stature of half-giants lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger.
Survivor: Half-giants gain a +4 racial bonus to Survival checks.
Languages: Half-giants begin play speaking Common. Half-giants with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, and Ignan.

Plus some psionic stuff I will be ignoring, but this doesn't mention any level adjustments.

Thanks for the info tho, that's pretty much what i was thinking as well. I guess just because I can cast greater invis all day doesn't mean i have to each fight :) I was going to keep scorching ray, and fireball but take energy substitution(cold), Ill let the SR stay and i just melee any highly resistant enemies.

Another option I was thinking about is less spell casting and more sneaky stuff. Maybe go human or strong heart halfling and go 3 swashbuckler/2 rogue/2 arcane SS, and a few in unseen seer or something maybe. It will be MAD but since we are rolling for stats with the option to point buy if our stats suck. So if I am lucky I could have a str, dex, and int bonus to damage as well as both dex and wisdom to AC.