[3.5e] Help with my friend Duskblade build

[Darthor]

Hello everyone,

I have a friend with a Human Duskblade character we are in the beginning of our campaign, he is lvl 2 and i need some hints for my friend character.

Right now he wields a Masterwork Longsword and a Light steel shield, he have Battle Caster as one of his feats and Weapon Focus Longsword.

I am the DM and i'm willing to let him retrain anything he needs, i told him to wait for lvl 3 so he can use Arcane Channeling to boost his damage, but what can we do now for a boost in Damage? Should he change weapons?(He has 18 STR so a two handed would cause pretty much damage) I thank for anything that isn't broken, i just want him to enjoy his character a bit more.

Thanks for the help,
Darthor

[Fax Celestis]

Tell him to trade weapon focus for arcane strike.

[Darthor]

But the feat needs BBA +4 and 3rd lvl Arcane spells, by that level his shocking grasp can do 5d6 easy on Arcane Channeling using a first slot spell.....Any other ideas?

Edit: I do see lots of use in the future for the attack bonus

[Fax Celestis]

But the feat needs BBA +4 and 3rd lvl Arcane spells, by that level his shocking grasp can do 5d6 easy on Arcane Channeling using a first slot spell.....Any other ideas?

Edit: I do see lots of use in the future for the attack bonus

You can channel and use arcane strike on the same attack.

Also I was thinking of the Pathfinder version of Arcane Strike:

Arcane Strike (Combat)
You draw upon your arcane power to enhance your weapons with magical energy.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.

Benefit: As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.

[tricktroller]

Honestly if you gave him shield as a spell he could cast and have him swap to a greatsword I think it would vastly improve the class and his fun. He will have to choose between the shield spell and charging in first turn but it should be easy to gauge when that +4 ac is needed. plus he could qualify for abjurant champion after that at level 5. Just my 2 cents

[Darrin]

First things first, what sourcebooks do you have available?



Should he change weapons?(He has 18 STR so a two handed would cause pretty much damage)

Yes, he should change weapons to something two-handed, such as a greatsword. It's a free action to take a hand off or regrip his greatsword if he needs a hand free to cast spells.

I take it he's wearing medium armor? You might want to steer him towards chain shirt + dastana (Arms & Equipment Guide). Counts as light armor, but provides the same total AC bonus as a breastplate.

Ok, feats:

He shouldn't be taking Battle Caster for something he's going to get at 4th level anyway. If he wants better armor, Shape Soulmeld: Wormtail Belt + chain shirt is going to give him a better AC bonus than any medium armor could (although explaining how Incarnum works to new/casual players might be a tough sell... some of the grognards still have trouble with Incarnum).

If he's looking for damage, I think I'd encourage him to try out Power Attack, or more specifically, "Power Attack for Two". -2 attack penalty on a two-handed weapon gets him +4 damage, on top of +6 damage for 18 Str, means every time he hits he's doing 2d6 + 10 damage.

For more damage, maybe Arcane Disciple: Strength Domain for enlarge person. At 3rd level, steer him towards Knowledge Devotion, and let him rework his skill points so he has at least one rank in all the creature-related subskills.

[Darthor]

Thanks Fax Celestis, tricktroller and Darrin, i will show him the options later, i won't make him go through the incarnum stuff(he is kinda new to the game) but everything else is just great, i bet he will really like it.

Thanks!

Edit: About the complements, anything from 3.5e, no Dragon Mags, no 3.0.

[tricktroller]

Just remember that shield is not normally on the duskblade list.

[gorfnab]

This may be of some use: Duskblade Handbook (http://dictummortuum.blogspot.com/2011/08/duskblade-handbook.html?m=1)