Heavy Armor and arcane casting

[Yogibear41]

If I want to wear plate armor and a shield and have 0% chance of failure is it better to go the fighter variant afc and then take feats to boost the ignore chance from light to medium and then to heavy(I will already have heavy armor proficiency from my race so losing it do to the fighter afc won't matter), or would it be better to just go for the spell sword prestige class.

[Morcleon]

Neither. Just stack on ASF reducers. :smalltongue:

The shield can simply be feycraft (-5%) mithril (-10%) to remove it all (assuming heavy shield). Cost: 2500+(shield price) A light shield can simply be feycraft. Cost: 500+(shield price)

Full plate is marginally more difficult, but can be done with +1 twilight (-10%) mithril (-10%) feycraft (-5%) githcraft (-5%) thistledown (-5%) to remove the entirety of the 35%. Cost: 14500+(armor price) :smallsmile:

[Kazyan]

Or, you could take the Runesmith prestige class, whose schtick is doing what you're trying to do.

[Crake]

feycraft (-5%) githcraft (-5%)

Good luck finding a githyanki who's under the influence of a fey, while on the astral plane, that is capable of both gith and feycrafting.

[Morcleon]

Good luck finding a githyanki who's under the influence of a fey, while on the astral plane, that is capable of both gith and feycrafting.

It's rather simple, actually. Go to the Astral Plane, kidnap a githyanki. Cast polymorph to turn into a nymph and dominate the githyanki into building a suit of whatever armor, with other smiths using Aid Another if need be. :smallbiggrin:

[Jeraa]

Full plate is marginally more difficult, but can be done with +1 twilight (-10%) mithril (-10%) feycraft (-5%) githcraft (-5%) thistledown (-5%) to remove the entirety of the 35%. Cost: 14500+(armor price) :smallsmile:

Of course, finding a Githyanki smith on the Astral plane that has been dominated by a Fey creature may be a difficult enough task in itself. Not to mention githyanki don't like non-githyanki wielding or wearing their crafted items.


The githcraft template can be added to any suit of armor, shield, or weapon crafted on the Astral Plane by a githyanki.


The creator of a feycraft item must be of the fey type or be under such a creature’s magical infl uence. A creature merely infatuated with a fey (such as a human enthralled with a nymph’s beauty) does not qualify as magically influenced—the fey must actually employ a spell, supernatural ability, or spell-like ability to establish infl uence.
A feycraft item cannot be created within the boundaries of a small town or larger settlement.


It's rather simple, actually. Go to the Astral Plane, kidnap a githyanki. Cast polymorph to turn into a nymph and dominate the githyanki into building a suit of whatever armor, with other smiths using Aid Another if need be.

Even if you turn into a nymph and can dominate the githyanki, it won't work. You still aren't a fey. Polymorph doesn't change your creature type.

[Morcleon]

Of course, finding a Githyanki smith on the Astral plane that has been dominated by a Fey creature may be a difficult enough task in itself. Not to mention githyanki don't like non-githyanki wielding or wearing their crafted items.

See above post for creating feycraft githcraft items.

Also, it doesn't matter if the githyanki don't like it. It just gives you more XP. :smallwink:


Even if you turn into a nymph and can dominate the githyanki, it won't work. You still aren't a fey. Polymorph doesn't change your creature type.


The subject’s creature type and subtype (if any) change to match the new form.

Yes you are. :smallsmile:

[Marnath]

The githcraft feycraft armor could also be produced from a wish, as it is a thing that can technically exist. Then add the magic to it.

[Yogibear41]

Yeah, I think ill just go spell to power Erudite and save myself the hassle lol.

[Gwazi Magnum]

To be fair a 5% failure chance shouldn't really matter anyways since it's basically your natural 1.

[Morcleon]

To be fair a 5% failure chance shouldn't really matter anyways since it's basically your natural 1.

But on that one chance it does, it really does suck. Having a 0% chance of failure is significantly better than having a 5% chance.

[Vknight]

Or 1-5 on percentiles

Anyways

Combat Sorcerer Variant gets you light armor proficiency. Along with d8 hit die. martial weapon proficiency with only one weapon I believe. and 3/4 BAB.
The Feat
Battle Caster lets you wear one armor category higher then normal with no penalties of ASF. Or only no ASF I forget

So together you can now wear Medium Armor.
Get some Heavy Armor and your good to go.

If you want the same thing for a Wizard. Nothing I know in the books. I thought for awhile there was a feat that let wizards wear light armor(Besides Battle Caster)

Either way you can wear Full Plate well casting magic with no ASF and not needing any reducer outside of Mithrail.
All for the cost of one feat.

[Waker]

A level of Spellsword would net you a -10% asf for armor and shields.

[Darrin]

Full plate is marginally more difficult, but can be done with +1 twilight (-10%) mithril (-10%) feycraft (-5%) githcraft (-5%) thistledown (-5%) to remove the entirety of the 35%. Cost: 14500+(armor price) :smallsmile:

Blended quartz (A&EG) might work better for the heavier armors:

-20%, blended quartz
-10%, twilight enhancement
-5%, thistledown/feycraft/githcraft

If you can get thistledown, feycraft, and githcraft on the same armor, you can get as high as -45%, which will cover Heavy Plate (Races of Stone), but not quite Mountain Plate or Mechanus Gear, unless you dip into Spellsword for the -10% ASF.

Best heavy armor in the game is Thaalud Stone Armor (from Anauroch: Empire of Shade), +12 armor bonus, +0 Max Dex, -8 ACP, 40% ASF. Can't use special materials on it, but if you can get a charmed githyanki on the astral plane to make it, and you don't mind losing a caster level to Spellsword 3: -5% feycraft, -5% githcraft, -5% thistledown, -10% twilight, -15% Spellsword should do it.

[Morcleon]

Blended quartz (A&EG) might work better for the heavier armors:

-20%, blended quartz
-10%, twilight enhancement
-5%, thistledown/feycraft/githcraft

If you can get thistledown, feycraft, and githcraft on the same armor, you can get as high as -45%, which will cover Heavy Plate (Races of Stone), but not quite Mountain Plate or Mechanus Gear, unless you dip into Spellsword for the -10% ASF.

Best heavy armor in the game is Thaalud Stone Armor (from Anauroch: Empire of Shade), +12 armor bonus, +0 Max Dex, -8 ACP, 40% ASF. Can't use special materials on it, but if you can get a charmed githyanki on the astral plane to make it, and you don't mind losing a caster level to Spellsword 3: -5% feycraft, -5% githcraft, -5% thistledown, -10% twilight, -15% Spellsword should do it.

Yeah, blended quartz would work too.

Actually, best heavy armor is probably clockwork armor. +8 armor bonus, but also gives +4 circumstance to Str and Dex, +5' to speed, and no ASF, ACP or max Dex. :smallwink:

[Yogibear41]

Or 1-5 on percentiles

Anyways

Combat Sorcerer Variant gets you light armor proficiency. Along with d8 hit die. martial weapon proficiency with only one weapon I believe. and 3/4 BAB.
The Feat
Battle Caster lets you wear one armor category higher then normal with no penalties of ASF. Or only no ASF I forget

So together you can now wear Medium Armor.
Get some Heavy Armor and your good to go.

If you want the same thing for a Wizard. Nothing I know in the books. I thought for awhile there was a feat that let wizards wear light armor(Besides Battle Caster)

Either way you can wear Full Plate well casting magic with no ASF and not needing any reducer outside of Mithrail.
All for the cost of one feat.


Unfortunanetly that ACF doesn't apply to shields. Suppose if I truely wanted to optimized I'd be using a 2 hander take abjurant champion and be casting quickened shield spells anyway lol.

[Vknight]

Unfortunanetly that ACF doesn't apply to shields. Suppose if I truely wanted to optimized I'd be using a 2 hander take abjurant champion and be casting quickened shield spells anyway lol.

Your proficient with light armor. So he has got covered the Heavy Armor
Pick up a animated shield. And now you have a shield and your hands are free. But for some reason you still have a ASF from it... floating around you

Also Battle Caster may or may not work on shields. So could make a argument to wield heavy shield if Battle Caster does effect shields as well

Either way shields are not cool. Armor can be cool shields are not.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

As someone already said, take Runesmith in Races of Stone. At the first level of it you no longer suffer any arcane spell failure whatsoever.