Ranger/Wizard gish.

[Lord_Jord]

Alright, so Ive been playing a 4th level Ranger for a couple of weeks in random scenerios with a friend of mine. I rolled pretty awesome for his stats, with an 18 to Int and a 20 to dex after racial modifiers (Elf). I had decided I was going to go Arcane Archer after I saw the stats, and have since gained a level in Wizard. Having said that, and trying to research whats best for my build, Ive decided not to pursue Arcane Archer because it doesnt increase my caster level and Im far enough behind as it is.
Also my feats are a little messed up, I feel. I took Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot.
Now for my question(s):
If I were to swap my feats, which would you suggest? Weapon Finesse?
Are there any alternate class features that would be recommended?
Any other advise?
Stats are currently: 11 str 20 dex 10 con 18 int 12 wis 11 cha
And his animal companion is a horse.
If anyone is confused about my 'swapping' and tweaking; this character is only played with one of my close friends, and we alternate dms. As its just for fun (wait when isnt dnd just for fun) we dont mind a little tweaking to make it more enjoyable. Thank you in advance.

[aleucard]

A few things.

1, this (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/935771) link will be your friend.

2, what EXACTLY are you picturing your character doing at high levels? This answer will tell us what to recommend, and what fits the most.

3, how many CL are you willing to lose? While shaving off any WILL hurt, especially at levels where you'd otherwise get access to a new spell level, casting isn't your only primary thing anyway, and it could help bring you into line with the rest of your party.

[Lord_Jord]

A few things.

1, this (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/935771) link will be your friend.

2, what EXACTLY are you picturing your character doing at high levels? This answer will tell us what to recommend, and what fits the most.

3, how many CL are you willing to lose? While shaving off any WILL hurt, especially at levels where you'd otherwise get access to a new spell level, casting isn't your only primary thing anyway, and it could help bring you into line with the rest of your party.

1. Yes, ive already read this, but its definitely worth a second look. Ive spent the last two days looking up gish (is this both singular and plural; as in fish?) builds, which leads to
2. This may inlay the problem. The "party" consists of only myself and my friend who is playing a 5th level Barbarian. We play in completely random scenerios, where we may or may not pick up NPCs based on the situation and where we find ourselves. If I had a bigger group it may be easier for me to choose the knack I want to fill, but as it is, I really want to be versatile in any situation.
3. I would be willing to lose another caster level, which would out me at a CL of 15 allowing me to cast 8th level spells.
Other things to note: Im thinking of specializing in Transmutation and giving up enchants and evokes, taking combat casting at 6th, and prcing in Abjurant Champion.
Thanks for the help thusfar, youve forced me to start answering the right questions, lol.

[Coidzor]

You may want to go ahead and get a Dog, Badger, Eagle, or Raven Urban Companion (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a). The first three are introduced in Dragon Magazine as alternate familiars, so if you're stuck with book-published familiars as options for Urban Companions, then I'd go with Raven for the speech. Although Hummingbird is another option if you've got Dragon Magazine familiars on the table, since that +4 to Initiative is nice.

That'll be more relevant than an underleveled Ranger Animal Companion.

Looks like Ranger 4/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 5/Spellsword 1 & then you could probably swing a level of Dragonslayer or Bladesinger, maybe both depending upon access to Otyugh Hole and the like. Seems like finishing up with Sacred Exorcist is your best bet.

[prufock]

Check with your DM if you can replace your 4th level of ranger for the Shooting Star ranger substitution level. It replaces your animal companion and increases your ranger caster level. You add your wizard CL + 2 to your current ranger CL. So ranger 4/wiz 1 would have a ranger caster level of 2 (ranger) + 2 (shooting star) + 1 (wizard) = 5.

At level 6, take the feat Sword of the Arcane Order. You can now prepare wizard spells in your ranger spell slots. It also makes your wizard caster level equal the sum of your wizard and ranger class levels. So now your wizard caster level is 6. Remember from the Shooting Star substitution level that you add that you add this to your ranger caster level with an additional +2. Your ranger CL is now 2 (ranger) + 2 (shooting star) + 6 (wizard) = 10 at character level 6. Not too shabby. This should take care of your CL blues.

Level 7 on you should be entering a prestige class. Abjurant Champion is solid, as others have said, for all 5 levels. A level of spellsword after that brings you to level 12. If you go beyond that, make sure to continue advancing spellcasting.

Another ACF that is useful is Arcane Hunter at level 1. You get to treat any creature that casts spells or invocations as a favored enemy. The Nemesis feat interacts well with this one. Darkstalker is another good feat if you want to be a sneaky ranger.

Taking Alternate Spell Source would allow you to cast divine spells as arcane and vice versa. This gets you access to the odd but kind of cool Geomancer prestige class. Or you could take Mystic Theurge, which can be sub-par, but boosts both caster levels at once, helping push your CL ever higher.

[Leoneo19]

Hello i to am trying to make a Ranger / Wizard. I found a level prgression chart for a Mystic Ranger os SDR 20 but I am confused on what;

Natural Casting (Su): Mystic Rangers are given great magical power by their connection to the natural elements. At first level, the Mystic Ranger chooses Nature or any one of the Cardinal Elements - Air, Death, Earth, Fire, Life, or Water. He must learn at least 6 spell lists associated with his chosen element before he can learn any other spell lists.

The Mystic Ranger's MP limit when casting spells that consist only of spell lists with the chosen Element is increased by +1. Thus, a Mystic Ranger 4 could cast spells of the chosen element with up to 3 MP. The DCs of these spells are also increased by +1.


Every fifth level, this bonus increases by an additional +1. In addition, at every fifth level, the Godhand can choose one additional element, which gains the same bonuses. He must learn at least 3 spell lists associated with his new chosen element before he can learn any other spell lists.

I am confused on what exactly is "MP" referring to in the above description.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Hello i to am trying to make a Ranger / Wizard. I found a level prgression chart for a Mystic Ranger os SDR 20 but I am confused on what;

Natural Casting (Su): Mystic Rangers are given great magical power by their connection to the natural elements. At first level, the Mystic Ranger chooses Nature or any one of the Cardinal Elements - Air, Death, Earth, Fire, Life, or Water. He must learn at least 6 spell lists associated with his chosen element before he can learn any other spell lists.

The Mystic Ranger's MP limit when casting spells that consist only of spell lists with the chosen Element is increased by +1. Thus, a Mystic Ranger 4 could cast spells of the chosen element with up to 3 MP. The DCs of these spells are also increased by +1.


Every fifth level, this bonus increases by an additional +1. In addition, at every fifth level, the Godhand can choose one additional element, which gains the same bonuses. He must learn at least 3 spell lists associated with his new chosen element before he can learn any other spell lists.

I am confused on what exactly is "MP" referring to in the above description.
Pretty sure you've found yourself a homebrew class. Could you give us a link?

[Snowbluff]

Master Trapsmith into Swiftblade?

[fallensavior]

You probably don't need any ranger levels.

You can go pure gray elf wizard and still be good with a bow with those stats. You get to cast flame arrow and greater magic weapon along with all the regular awesome wizard stuff.

[Pluto!]

Hello i to am trying to make a Ranger / Wizard. I found a level prgression chart for a Mystic Ranger os SDR 20 but I am confused on what;
That isn't the Mystic Ranger people talk about. The one most people know about is from Dragon Magazine issue 336. The one you're quoting looks like it's a D&D Wiki homebrew. Most of that site is user-submitted content, and the quality of that content is pretty hit-or-miss.

[Leoneo19]

That isn't the Mystic Ranger people talk about. The one most people know about is from Dragon Magazine issue 336. The one you're quoting looks like it's a D&D Wiki homebrew. Most of that site is user-submitted content, and the quality of that content is pretty hit-or-miss.

you are correct it is from WiKi D&D http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Mystic_Ranger_(DnD_Class) that was the website. I looked up the article in Dragon Mag 336 and there is no natural casting +1 ability/feat. I still cannot figure out what MP means. oh well

Now I am just going to make a level 8 Ranger/ Wiz with the Sword of the arcane Order and Shooting Star. His race will be a Cat-Elf so he will get a +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 charisma, -2 Wisdom. This character is for a beginner so i was trying to stay away from playing more as a wizard and focus more on a Great composite bow wielding damage dealer. But at the same time he could imbue his arrows and have a little utility.

[Chaosvii7]

Just gonna drop this here... (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1543.0)

This is a build focused around the Ranger you're looking for.

Mystic Rangers with Sword of The Arcane Order are some of the strongest gishes out there. They actually have great Arcane Archer potential, because they get access to level 5 spells at 10th level, so they're able to dip out and still cast some high-end magic. You can extend your spell slots with a high WIS mod and artificially with feats.

Your key stats will be WIS for spell power, STR for Composite Longbowing, and an INT of at least 15 so you can prepare 5th level wizard spells. You can borrow spellbooks from friendly Wizards to prepare spells, or you can take them from people you beat.

[Leoneo19]

Just gonna drop this here... (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1543.0)

This is a build focused around the Ranger you're looking for.

Mystic Rangers with Sword of The Arcane Order are some of the strongest gishes out there. They actually have great Arcane Archer potential, because they get access to level 5 spells at 10th level, so they're able to dip out and still cast some high-end magic. You can extend your spell slots with a high WIS mod and artificially with feats.

Your key stats will be WIS for spell power, STR for Composite Longbowing, and an INT of at least 15 so you can prepare 5th level wizard spells. You can borrow spellbooks from friendly Wizards to prepare spells, or you can take them from people you beat.


Alright thanks, I will roll one up and try it out.