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View Full Version : Let's Build: "Super"-mount Sorcerer



lycantrope
2013-08-01, 02:08 AM
I did some googling along the lines of this concept, and didn't see anything specific. Perhaps we can remedy that here!

The concept:

A tiny sorcerer who rides around on his familiar while casting spells.

What I've got so far:

Racially there isn't much choice if we're interested in maintaining full casting progression, and (in my opinion) Muckdweller from Serpent Kingdoms with the Unseelie fey and magic-blooded templates is the most solid choice.

-6 str, +8 dex, -2 con, -4 wis, +2 cha

As far as the build itself goes, it's probably for the best to trade in the familiar for the metamagic specialist ACF, and pick up the wild cohort feat (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) at level 1.

Let's assume flaws are allowed and pick up noncombatant and lightweight (dragon 328), the latter having the added benefit of making things easier on the mount. These flaws buy mounted combat and mounted casting, so the basics of the build are all set at first level. No catch up, only progression from here.

Now, the mount itself. Quick reasoning suggests the SRD eagle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagle.htm) is the most viable choice, because of the strength and speed. The srd doesn't offer much in the way of trade-ins at higher levels, but as far as I can tell they won't be needed, as the eagle will be taking feats (which the basic familiar could not) and, ideally, be gaining templates (at the very least war beast from MM2, but the crafty player can no doubt roleplay their way to magebred and spellwarped at higher levels -- feral would be trickier).

Summary of the above:
Level 1: Sorcerer, metamagic specialist
flaws: noncombatant, lightweight
feats: mounted combat, mounted casting, wild cohort

So: where do we go from here? Since we don't even benefit from familiar progression, we want to prestige out of sorcerer as soon as possible. We also need to figure out what kind of casting we're going to be doing. Mailman? It seems the obvious choice, especially with invisible spell metamagic. Also, what feats is our mount going to be picking up? Is eagle really the most optimal choice?

Thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns? Nothing that I've posted is set in stone, this is a theoretical thread. Any substitutions and suggestions are welcome.

Pilo
2013-08-01, 06:52 AM
If you are ok to wait for a little, Improved familiar might be better than Wild Cohort, you can get a celestrial hawk at level 3, a tressim at level 5, an hyppogriph at level 7...

As a regular familiar Stormwrack give you the Albatross which is a medium bird.

Snowbluff
2013-08-01, 08:25 AM
You aren't ubermounting anything with Wild Cohort.

Don't trade your familiar for MM specialist unless you are specifically doing Mailman. Rapid Metamagic is better.

Zhentarim Skymage might be worth a look.

Rebel7284
2013-08-01, 09:37 AM
Wild Cohort takes a move action to direct. This seems suboptimal.