Concept Acquired, Classes Required (3.5)

[TechnOkami]

Hello everyone! TechnOkami here, and I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I know exactly what I want to play and things I'll want to do with my character concept, but I don't know which classes would be most appropriate. Basically, he's a pyromancer blacksmith, with his shtick being the utilization of fire magic to aid in his smithing, as well as the utilization of magic and smithing to make enchanted armor, a far-off idea.

So, I'm pretty sure that one class I'll be wanting to take is Wizard, because that'll align my stats towards Intelligence, which synergizes with spells and crafting. The other class though... I don't know. If 3.5 magic wasn't so strict on armor interfering with arcane spellcasting I would consider some kind of melee class, but I don't think it's very feesable. I could just go full wizard, but I don't want him to feel like your run of the mill spellslinger. I have the mental ideas of him swinging a massive flaming hammer into battle, the same hammer he uses for smithing purposes... I don't know, I just really like the images this character is giving me.

Um, as far as the game this guy will be part of, we're starting off at lvl 2.

Help and suggestions would be much appreciated. :)

[Eldariel]

I do posit your best bet is Artificer [Eberron Campaign Settings]. Magic, crafting and infusing is what they're all about. They're also Intelligence-based, so that part checks out. They gain abilities related to temporarily enhancing items they use (especially weapons, armor and spell completion/trigger implements like Scrolls, Wands and Staves) and of course, crafting which enables rather permanent kind of enchanting for obvious reasons.

Artificers also have a Craft Reserve so they need not burn their own XP to create items. Perhaps this armor you're crafting could be equipped from start and you enchant it further as you level-up to reach whatever your goal is; crafting can be done one enhancement at a time, after all. While Artificers do not get fire spells in the traditional sense, it might be feasible to feat in something (Precocious Apprentice, maybe some ways to gain higher level slots; or maybe instrumental magic through Wands, Staves & al.).


It would be harder to do this through other caster classes since it's very hard to focus on something like a single element. Using the fire magic to aid his smithing should mostly be a fluff-thing as long as he's capable of magical crafting so I surmise any Int-based class with maxed out Craft-skills should suffice here.

Wizard, Beguiler [Player's Handbook II], Archivist [Heroes of Horror] & Artificer are thus the rational alternatives, but none of those has any particular inclination towards elemental magic so to fit the rest, I'd use Artificer and get specifically the Fire-magic in through other means (feats, mostly).

[Mnemnosyne]

Artificer is definitely a good choice that focuses on crafting, but if you want to be an actual spellcaster yourself you can definitely go the heavy armor wearing melee class:

If your character is a dwarf, or you can bypass the racial requirement of dwarf, or you're willing to lose 3 caster levels to max out the Stoneblessed class so you can count as a dwarf, you can take the Runesmith class from Races of Stone. This basically lets you cast all your spells without somatic components and thus you can wear full heavy armor.

Dwarf Wizard 5/Warblade 1/Runesmith 1/Jade Phoenix Mage 10/Abjurant Champion 3 is a decent off the top of my head build, although I'm sure it could be tweaked much better. Warblade gets you the armor proficiency you need to get into Runesmith, and the maneuvers and stance you need to get into Jade Phoenix Mage.

[TechnOkami]

I figured Artificers would come up. :P

I don't have any particular bias towards playing one, in fact I'm very interested in one day giving an Artificer (or more specifically its psionic-cousin variant), a spin. The thing though is that I have no idea how to run one, and from simply gleaning at their abilities I can already tell that they're very much their own breed of class, in the sense that they are mechanically complicated and I've yet to see a guide put it in simple terms and explanations so I can wrap my head around it.

Then again, I could basically substitute soul gems for psi crystals and pretend I'm in the Elder Scrolls universe...

Again, I'm not opposed to learning how to play an Artificer, but it's something I really don't want to tackle learning on my own.

Edit: I should mention that I'm not that interested in being some Tier 1 demigod. I'm much more heavily invested in the concept of this character, and I don't want him to come across as "The Batman", if you get my meaning.

[ArcturusV]

Thinking why not Warmage here. I admit it probably isn't going to be anywhere near as powerful as the Rune Smith, but that's just where my mind goes. You got a decent "Warrior" skill list, crafting, movement modes for the heroic fighter like climb and swim, the ability to wear armor that doesn't interfere with your casting, all the fire spells you could want on your list. It's Charisma + Intelligence based however. Their fluff as being trained as warriors, soldiers, and mages all in one... combined perhaps with a regional cultural trait of self reliance and customization could make the "mage smith" concept play fairly well. Plus side is that the concept comes into play a bit earlier than the Runesmith, as from level one on you can be doing the "mage smith" concept somewhat successfully, if not making magic gear being both a good smith and having the fire magic, and running into battle armored up.

[AstralFire]

Artificer has no peer for crafting, but if I may make a different suggestion?

A multiclass Initiator (Crusader, Swordsage or Warblade) + Arcane Caster would get you a crafting gish and entry into the Jade Phoenix Mage Prestige Class eventually, and Desert Wind maneuvers are pretty much the epitome of "I hurl fire WHILE hitting things with my sword." Stone Hammer also fits with your other view of your character.

Crusader/Sorcerer/Spellsword/Jade Phoenix Mage is probably the best, but it takes the longest to come online, and you're starting at level 2.

A straight-up Swordsage if you could talk your DM into allowing you to take Craft Magic Arms and Armor but restrict you to crafting [Fire] based things and Generic +1 magic weapon stuff would honestly be the simplest route. (Or a straight-up Crusader if you fluff Devoted Spirit as being fiery and can only craft alignment based things and generic magic weapon stuff.)

[Ithandor]

I played a character somewhat like this once, sounds like you could modify it: a cleric of Gond.

Take Fire and Metal domains, and Domain Spontaneity (Fire). That gets you some pretty decent fiery spells, the ability to rock a big hammer, and the ability to mix it up in melee while wearing the heavy armour you craft.

If you can pick up a few extra domains (via PrCs like Divine Disciple) take a look at Craft and Earth (Earth Devotion is gooood). Alternatively, depending on power level, you could take Planning and go the DMM: Persist route.

[nedz]

Your character concept does fit Dwarf very well.

I second the Runesmith idea, but that class is designed to work with Wizard.

I like the Cleric idea also: with the Fire domain you can grab the Fiery Burst reserve feat at 3rd.

In terms of not wanting to be OP: simply pick sub-optimal spells which fit your focus. Most earth and fire spells fall into this category, though there are a few notable exceptions.

[Sception]

I'll second the dwarven cleric with fire and (crafting or metal or earth) domains, spontaneous domain casting, and reserve magic fire feats. You'll wear heavy armor, weild a big 'ole hammer, and throw out a bunch of fire magic when you aren't beating face. You'll be the spitting image of Hephaestus, and won't even need to multiclass (though prestige classing for something that grants more of the relevant domains would be nice).

Artificer (crafting yourself some scrolls and wands for fire magic) and Wizard (-> Runesmith) also seem like good fits, especially if you're starting at a higher level, but Cleric gets you what you want in the simplest package, more or less right from level one.

Lower int (due to needing Wis, Str, and Con more) will cut into your crafting skill checks, but skill points will eventually put you over any target you need to hit, there, anyway. If your DM allows retraining, then consider burning a feat on skill focus: craft[blacksmithing], and then retrain it once your check is high enough that it doesn't matter. Then again, if you're not concerned about optimizing, then you might just keep it regardless as a fluff feat.

[Particle_Man]

For a slightly different way to go, there is a prestige class in Magic of Incarnum called Ironsoul Forgemaster (dwarf only, non-evil only) so you could try that through Incarnate and take the more "fire oriented" meld shapes.

[Red Fel]

I'm in total agreement with Runesmith, but I'd add another class - Battlesmith. First, let me note that it's a pretty poor class - it gives you five levels of full BAB, and good Fort and Will saves. It does, however, have some feat taxes. But it's basically focused on using armor and weapons you've crafted yourself - which seems to fit your character. It gets you a Wis bonus to damage, sacred bonus to AC, temporary immunity to fatigue and exhaustion, and 1/day Fort save to reduce any melee or ranged attack by half damage.

Alternatively, if you want something that really gives your weapon some kick, consider the unloved Anointed Knight class. It basically lets you turn alchemy checks into buffs - you anoint yourself and your weapon and gain powers. The big power, of course, is the Unicorn Blood buff on your weapon - because that really, really hurts evil stuff.

Side note: Seconding Ironsoul Forgemaster. It basically lets you invest pieces of your soul into the weapons and armor you craft.

[Eldariel]

I figured Artificers would come up. :P

I don't have any particular bias towards playing one, in fact I'm very interested in one day giving an Artificer (or more specifically its psionic-cousin variant), a spin. The thing though is that I have no idea how to run one, and from simply gleaning at their abilities I can already tell that they're very much their own breed of class, in the sense that they are mechanically complicated and I've yet to see a guide put it in simple terms and explanations so I can wrap my head around it.

Then again, I could basically substitute soul gems for psi crystals and pretend I'm in the Elder Scrolls universe...

Again, I'm not opposed to learning how to play an Artificer, but it's something I really don't want to tackle learning on my own.

Edit: I should mention that I'm not that interested in being some Tier 1 demigod. I'm much more heavily invested in the concept of this character, and I don't want him to come across as "The Batman", if you get my meaning.

Well, Artificer isn't nearly as hard as it might seem on top. Really, you should just browse the Infusions-list; that explains most of it. As a bonus, you can bestow Spellstoring on your weapon and imbue some Fire-spells for fluffy facewreckage.

Other than that, they basically get:
- Use Magic Device bonuses & Take 10
- Trapfinding
- All item creation feats
- Ability to apply metamagic to Wands/Scrolls/etc. on casting
- Ability to dismantle items for fun and profit, and ability to craft items without investing your actual XP into it, or needing the spells normally required to craft them


But yeah, the Infusion-list is the big one. They're pretty useful. If you want some ability to cast arcane fire magic without levels invested into it, you can also just pick up Magical Training [Player's Guide to Faerun] + Precocious Apprentice [Complete Arcane]. Gets you a 2nd level slot once per day and a bunch of cantrips. Then you can pick up Elemental Casting/Fiery Burst/whatever to increase your caster level and all that.

Of course, if you don't mind the implements, you can also just cast all the magic you could ever want from Wands and such. Maybe your character just doesn't possess the ability to shape magic in such a direct way as to accurately evoke energy without an implement. Which is why he's so good at crafting implements and using them. *shrug* One option, though you of course have countless.

If you express interest this way, I can get you a more detailed breakdown on Artificers. In the meanwhile, this handbook (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=9p4pf05ikjc9a2qcv9ka1b35b2&topic=2829) does a pretty decent job of outlining how it works and the options.

[Baroknik]

If you do go the tunesmith route, if consider picking up four levels of spellsword as well, just for the humorous possibilities in channel spell. It's not optimal, but it does let you cast wall of fire on a single target and have it follow/affect only them -- talk about burning rage! Of course, the % ASF is wasted due to runes...


PS has anyone ever channelled reverse gravity on a single target? It would only affect them... And move with them. Goodbye person!

[mabriss lethe]

what about working toward a Craftlock style warlock build?

[Trilby]

Play a duskblade with a hammer of some sort, and blacksmithing as your craft skill? They have some elementally flavored spells in their list, are based off of int, and are a decent class imo.