Sorcerery and Piety: Help Requested

[Arundel]

Hello playground! I seek your help with my newest revival of a very old character concept. I have a Sorcerer who has a very strong connection to the divine. Enough so that I want to branch him into a divine themed prestige class. Important bits of fluff is his near fanatical devotion to Pelor. This is enough of a lynch pin that I need to be able to read the fluff and determine that it somehow fits into Pelor's portfolio.

Crunch notes:
Human LvL 6 start
40 Point buy
2 traits and/or flaws allowed
18k starting gold

Notes:
Of course going for twilight mithral feycraft thistledown chain mail
Familiar is already a Raven (fluff unchangable)
Arcane disciple feat is in there somewhere, the domain is debatable
Campaign will likely be entirely underground
I would like the character to being on the higher end of optimization, but in such a way where I don't have to seem optimized. Sort of a way that I could really open up if there becomes a threat of TPK.

I don't want to stay sorc for anymore than I have to. I am currently contemplating a level or two dip into Radiant servant (in part for good domain access) before an eventual move into Sacred Exorcist. I am slightly concerned with meeting the skill requirements. So,

1.) How can I get skill reqs for sacred exorcist as class skills? Any ways to enter this class early?

2.)Thoughts on feats? I have Arcane disciple and improved init. Not opposed to exalted feats, a naive exalted is kinda the theme here

3.) Why does "Wings of Cover" get no love?

Any other thoughts of note?

PS: You can assume I am familiar with the handbooks in my sig.

[A_S]

1. Mage of the Arcane Order will take care of the knowledge requirements...only requires Knowledge (arcana) to get in, but grants all Knowledges as class skills. Costs two metamagic feats to get in (one must be Cooperative Spell), but gives one back at level 2 without a lost caster level. A Mindbender dip would also work; the class is fluffed as mind-control focused, but the first level just gives you telepathy, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to houserule that you can take it as a good character as long as you don't get into the Dominate-focused part of the class. Geometer works if you blow a feat on Scribe Scroll. Alienist works, but...not really the fluff you're going for.

2. You've told us how you want the fluff for your character to be, but not so much how you want to function in combat. Are you going for the nonlethal save-the-fluffy-bunnies kind of good? Or righteous fury? This will affect what feat advice to give.

3. Wings of Cover is an outstanding spell that gets plenty of love.

*edit* P.S., is your DM ruling Rainbow Servant by text or table?

[Juntao112]

Doesn't the sorcerer get an ACF that trades out his familiar for a healing spirit in the Complete Divine?

[Spuddles]

Try to get dragonblood. Dragonborn of Bahamut is a straightforward way, but silverbrow human is also really great. Give up bonus skillpoints for dragonbloodedness.

Having dragonblood lets you cast a handful of Races of the Dragon spells more strongly. Wings of flurry is terrific. Wings of Cover with dragonsblood, it lets you protect adjacent allies as well.

Check complete champion for holy symbols that any character can use. They are 350gp mundane items. Some of them are really good- Kord's gives you +1 on transmutation spells, for instance. I don't know what Pelor's gives, but probably +healing/light spells.

You're probably going to want to pick up some spells that are good vs undead/healing. I recommend the apprentice feat (DMG2) and a bloodline feat (dragon magazine). Use the apprentice feat to trade out bloodline spells. Combine with Arcane Disciple to get all the spells of one domain. Quite feat intensive, though. The apprentice feat does 4 things for you: add any two skills from knowledge (all) and UMD (pick religion & UMD) as a class skill and get 2 skill points to spend on them, add an extra first level spell to your spell list, and every time you gain access to another level of spells, you can swap out a spell known for a different one.

Planar Touchstone: Catalogues of Enlightenment gets you a domain power. Pick Sun for turning. With a high charisma, your turning can be pretty useful. Or you can use it to fuel divine metamagic.

Again, feat intensive.

The Exalted Arcanist (book of Exalted Deeds) loses a caster level but its capstone gets you all Sanctified spells added to your spell list. Lots of [light] and undead destroying stuff there, as well as some heals.

Planar Sorcerer substition levels from planar handbook gets you know:planes on your spell list.

An ancestral relic can give you a custom staff full of spells if your relic is a runestaff (runestaff from MIC, ancestral relic from BoED). You can change your spell load out as needed. Can be fluffed as a rod of pelor or something that you channel his divine inspiration through to gain access to some of his glory. You can even put spells on it that aren't on your list and then UMD it.

[Slipperychicken]

If Pathfinder material is allowed (I got that impression from your mention of traits), consider the False Focus feat. It lets you use a divine focus to ignore material components up to the value of the focus (up to 100gp).

That opens up a lot of spells which would otherwise be skipped for their costly material components. Things like Identify, Permanent Image, and Programmed image would become more reasonable.

[Spuddles]

There's a second level spell from rise of the runelords that lets you take str damage to create costly material components. They don't last more than a round or something, though.

You can get around that with a friendly psion and quintessence. Unguent of Timelessness would work on ivory or amber.

[Telonius]

Away from my books at the moment, but there's an "Arcane Devotee" prestige class in Player's Guide to Faerun.

EDIT: I did find an errata (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/errata)file for it - Know(Religion) should only be a 5-rank requirement.

[Slipperychicken]

There's a second level spell from rise of the runelords that lets you take str damage to create costly material components. They don't last more than a round or something, though.


And Pathfinder has Blood Money, which is very similar but 1st level.

[Pilo]

Why not Beguiler 5/ MindBender 1/ Rainbow servant 10?

[Spuddles]

And Pathfinder has Blood Money, which is very similar but 1st level.

Ooh, that's exactly what I was thinking of.

[Fable Wright]

Doesn't the sorcerer get an ACF that trades out his familiar for a healing spirit in the Complete Divine?

Complete Champion, actually, and I recommend using that ACF. It can grant some ridiculous AC bonuses at higher level, making you impossible to hit, and it can convert unused spell slots at the end of the day into healing, letting you stay at full HP without a cleric.

Also, seconding Rainbow Servant 10 for the build. While it's backbreaking on a Beguiler, Warmage or Dread Necromancer, it's pretty good and a lot more balanced for a Sorcerer. It even has full caster progression in the text, which trumps the 6/10 casting on the table.