What is the Recommended build?

[Ralcos]

I had an interesting idea for a character in my head, and I wanted to see if the concept could be usable in a game:

Binder / Warlock
1 level for each class per level (level 1 is binder, level 2 is warlock, etc, etc, etc).

Is this viable? I am very curious to see what others could come up with for a build.

[saxavarius]

I'd go warlock to 8 then dip binder for a level or two to bind Naberius. Then go back to warlock and prestige to Hellfire Warlock ASAP. pretty much your best damage build using only those two and a prestige.

[Telonius]

Going up to Binder10/Warlock10? You run into the same sort of problem that other true multiclasses run into: spellcasting class abilities don't scale in a linear way.

Put another way, suppose you have a Wizard10/Cleric10. This character is much less powerful than either a Wizard20 or a Cleric20. The multiclass is only getting 5th-level spells, nothing more powerful. Yeah, he has a ton of them, but at level 20, the things you're fighting are mostly going to laugh at them.

Binder and Warlock work in a similar way. If you split the two of them, you're never going to Greater or Dark Invocations, and you're never going to get access to any Vestige above 5th level.

There is definitely a call for a Binder/Warlock multiclass, in a particular situation: the Hellfire Warlock (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20061207a&page=3). A one-level dip of Binder will allow you to bind Naberius, letting you heal the Constitution damage you take from Hellfire.

[Ralcos]

So is Hellfire Warlock the only reason such a multiclass to exist?
In optimization terms, you recommend 2 levels of Binders and then a small majority of Walrock levels?
(Also, I thought that my post would be confusing. Good to know someone understands it. Whew!)

[OldTrees1]

So is Hellfire Warlock the only reason such a multiclass to exist?
In optimization terms, you recommend 2 levels of Binders and then a small majority of Walrock levels?
(Also, I thought that my post would be confusing. Good to know someone understands it. Whew!)

Ask your DM to let you enter and use the Anima Mage prestige class to theruge Binder and Warlock.
Then you go Binder 1 (with the Improved Binding feat) / Warlock 2 (with a meta spell-like ability feat) / Anima Mage (altered) 10

[Telonius]

Yeah, as far as I can see, just a one- or two-level dip is the only reason for it, in a 20-level build.

If you're doing a low-level campaign (say, 8 or below) it probably won't make much of a difference if you multiclass it, maybe 5/3. Just make sure you get to Warlock5 so you have access to Fell Flight; it's a game-changer at lower levels.

EDIT: Anima Mage would be another option, if the DM is on board. Technically you can't qualify as a Warlock, since you don't have 2nd-level Arcane spells. However, there are many DMs (and I'm one of them) who think it's a real shame that something that fits the flavor so perfectly wouldn't be allowed, and houserule it in.

[Forrestfire]

By RAW, you could take Precocious Apprentice and get a 2nd-level spell for use when qualifying for Anima Mage, because you have a caster level. Magical Training can be taken before that to make it absolutely certain that you have a "Spellcasting Ability" of 15. However, I'd just bug the DM unless you yourself are a stickler for RAW.

Do note that there's a passage in Complete Arcane that may be extremely awesome, depending on how you and your DM read it.

Specifically, it says (emphasis mine):

[Sudden Metamagic feats] don’t require modified spell slots, and so they work as well with spell-like abilities or invocations as they do with spells . . . Except as noted above, metamagic feats can’t generally be used to modify spell-like abilities or invocations.

The meaning of that "and so" would decide whether or not SLAs and invocations can be used with metamagic feats that don't affect level, including Vestige Metamagic. Personally, I love the idea, and think it's a great trick for warlocks to have, but you or your DM might disagree.

If it is decided that it does work, be sure to grab Invisible Spell, which is all sorts of badass with Eldritch Blast. An Invisible Spell Eldritch Glaive basically amounts to your warlock while people die just by being near him :smallbiggrin:

[Slipperychicken]

PlzBreakMyCampaign's CoDZilla gets very close to the 1-class-per-level thing. The only class it takes more than one level of is Binder, of which it takes 2.

[prufock]

I actually played one not too long ago. I used an adapted version of Anima Mage, but you can qualify by RAW using feat tricks. Some of the class features would normally do nothing for you, but my DM was nice enough to adapt those (Exploit Vestige granting one extra invocation per day, Vestige Metamagic granting additional uses of feats that modify SLAs, and Vestige Casting applying to SLAs).

An early combo I enjoyed was Eldritch Glaive (or Hideous Blow) combined with the Hammer Blast essence and the Aym vestige. Go around sundering EVERYTHING. Several levels later Dantalion + Naeberius + Draconic Knowledge + Otherworldly Whispers + Collector of Stories gives you something like +25 to all knowledge checks. Yes, you have Knowledge Devotion.

The versatility of this character was awesome and I would play one again in a heartbeat.

Note: I also had some bloodline levels for cheese, and a useless level of Expert (campaign requirement). Was planning to go Hellfire Warlock/Uncanny Trickster to boost EB damage while maintaining Soul Binding high enough for max level vestiges at level 20.