Warmage vs Battle Sorcerer

[andhaira]

So the Warmage from Complete Arcane vs Battle Sorcerer from Unearthed Arcana:

Which is a better choice for a warrior mage, one that might be going into Eldritch Knight or Raumathari Battlemage? No Abjurant Champion as it is not allowed, but Spellsword might be allowed for a dip.

The Battle Mage looks very sexy, due to the cleric BaB and higher Hit Dice, but War Mage has more spells per day AND they get a large list of spells to choose from, which includes all the delicious blasty spells. Battle Sorc. OTOH knows only a measly amount of spells, 1 less than even the Sorcerer per level, but they can choose from any spell as they level up.

Thoughts?

[Xerlith]

Answer is - none of the above.

Warmage is a straight-up direct-damage blaster with next to no relevant buffs at all.
You get obliterated if you go melee, also you get no synergy with melee at all.

Battle Sorcerer trades flexibility and sustain for a medium BAB and 1hp/level more.
And since you multiclass after the 6th level anyway, you trade your best feature (spells!) for a point of BAB which doesn't matter in the long run.

If you want a gish - that is, self-buffing caster that wades into melee, there are better options than both.

If you want a direct damage blaster, a straight sorcerer with some prc support will do better.

The answer you want is:
Duskblade. You want to play a Duskblade.
THis class is a melee that gets full bab, decent tricks and an ability to blast enemeis while smacking them in the face with a sword.

[andhaira]

Ugh sorry, but the Duskblade is horrible as a caster. He doesn't even get fireball and lightning bolt.

[heavyfuel]

Ugh sorry, but the Duskblade is horrible as a caster. He doesn't even get fireball and lightning bolt.

First things first. Both of these spells are horrible.

Now, it's true that the Duskblade doesn't play as your traditional caster, but he is probably the only class in the game that can use Spells AND Melee at the same time.

If you want to Gish, Wizard is pretty much strictly better than Sorcerer because you can get the Martial Variant to get 2 extra Fighter Bonus Feats by lv5. If you're dead set on Sorcerer, it can work too, and it's much better than Warmage.

[Troacctid]

Fireball and lightning bolt are long-range artillery spells. They don't make sense on an Eldritch Knight, and a Raumathari Battlemage can't channel them.

Eldritch Knight is all about the chassis. There are literally no other reasons to be in the class. So a Battle Sorcerer who already has an improved chassis has no reason to go Eldritch Knight. Meanwhile, a Warmage already has medium BAB and a d6 hit die to begin with. So there's really no point in bothering with the prestige class in either case.

As for Raumathari Battlemage, I'd say regular Sorcerer > Battle Sorcerer > Warmage. Since you're not throwing spells at everything all the time and you have a backup combat strategy, you can get away with a small selection of damaging spells; you don't need the all-you-can-eat buffet of fireball and scorching ray variants that the Warmage gives you. You're better off playing a Sorcerer so that you can spend some of your spells known on improving your ability to contribute to noncombat situations. (You're even better off playing a Wizard, because of the bonus feats and faster spell progression.)

[Feint's End]

Ugh sorry, but the Duskblade is horrible as a caster. He doesn't even get fireball and lightning bolt.

I guess you are new here?

Seriously though both of those options are pretty bad for reasons which have mostly been mentioned.

Maybe it would help if you let us know the character you have in mind and the expected optimisation level at your table. It's especially important if you want to blast or go buff up and go melee or both (seems like the latter to me).
Then we can surely help you.

[Troacctid]

Actually, fireball and lightning bolt are pretty well-balanced, as spells go. They're not bad at all. They are just much, much less powerful than they look at first glance, and make no sense for the kind of character the OP is building.

[Xerlith]

Why use Lightning Bolt if you can use Whirling Blade?

[Gwendol]

If you are making a gish that is indeed the question. As noted, warmages are not built for melee: they should be doing ranged artillery and arcane back-up.

[(Un)Inspired]

Warmages are just like Fighters: misfiled npc classes.

They both exist so DMs can make throw away enemies for encounters without any hassle.

It's un satisfying advice but you're gonna want to play a wizard. In a game where you Gish multiclass options have be neutered you want the class that can loses caster levels less painfully.

Duskblade is very good for what it does. Unless you are turning lightning and fireball into meta magic nightmares (using meta magic you DM probably doesn't allow judging by his restrictions) duskblade is going to out damage them every round.

The weakness of the duskblade is that they can't really do anything other than stab magic into people.

If, on the other hand, all you want to do is be the magical equivalent to a barbarian then they're the class for you.

[Extra Anchovies]

Warmages are just like Fighters: misfiled npc classes.

Warmages can actually make for pretty great Mailmen:

Silverbrow Human Warmage 6/Incantatrix 10/Escalation Mage 4
1st: Versatile Spellcaster, Iron Will
3rd: Maximize Spell
6th: Easy Metamagic (Maximize Spell)
7th: Quicken Spell
9th: Easy Metamagic (Quicken Spell)
10th: Twin Spell
12th: Practical Metamagic (Quicken Spell)
13th: Split Ray
15th: Easy Metamagic (Twin Spell)
16th: Empower Spell
18th: Practical Metamagic (Twin Spell)

Maximize, Quicken, Twin, Split Ray, and Empower, all for +1 each, plus a chance to get free Heighten (+1), Empower, or Widen with good enough Spellcraft checks. It may not be as good as a Sorcerer, but it can definitely hold its own as a direct-damage caster.

That being said, Warmages don't make for particularly good gishes, because the best spells for a gish are those that improve combat ability, and the warmage has few if any of those.

[Taveena]

If you manage to delay your third and sixth level Advanced Learning enough, you can pick up Celerity and Arcane Spellsurge. It's still mailman lite, as you're not chaining multiple blasts a round, but hey, it's something.

[andhaira]

Thanks for the replies all. Yeah I prefer wizard for the earlier spell levels, as well as the flexibility of switching spells. This is a long term game with very slow leveling, and plenty of roleplaying opportunities. :)

@Feints End Yeah I am going for the latter. I will ideally be opening a battle with a blasty spell, and use melee only if enemies come close. I won't go charging in or anything. The Wizard and RBM both have a d4 hitdice after all. So fireball and the like are pretty important to me. I also much prefer the wizard/sorc larger spell selection with all sorts of spells, rather than the extremely limited Duskblade spell list.

Duskblade is cool, but as someone mentioned it's for people who want to stab first and cast second, or cast spells through the sword. I want the opposite, stand back and cast, and stab only if the enemy comes within reach and I want to conserve spell slots. I also plan to make use of metamagic and scribe scroll quite a bit, so normal wizard it has to be for first 5 levels for the free feats.

By the way another thing, do you folks recommend I pick 1 level of fighter to get the requirement of prof. with all martial weapons for the RBM prc, which will also net me a higher hit dice for one level, a +1 BaB and a free fighter feat, at the cost of a spell casting level, or should I burn a feat on Militia to meet this requirement?

Thanks :D

[heavyfuel]

The weakness of the duskblade is that they can't really do anything other than stab magic into people.

Have to disagree here. There's a reason Duskblades are Tier 3, and that's because they can do more than just stab magic into people.

They have access to teleportation spells, can use Eternal Wands (Fly being probably the best example, but also Glitterdust), can use debuff spells, most of which don't offer a save (Ray of Enfeeblement, Touch of Idiocy, Enervation), arcane channeling Vampiric Touch makes him more tanky than a Barbarian which is great in low to mid op games, and Disintegrate opens up some tactical options.

Sure, they're not as versatile as a Wizard, but that's not saying much. Reducing them to "beatsticks with a side of damage spells" doesn't do them justice.

[Taveena]

Personally, I recommend Wizard 9/Warblade 1/Jade Phoenix Mage 10. (Or Wu Jen 9, both have their advantages.) 9th level spells and 8th level maneuvers. Mmmm.

[Blackhawk748]

Duskblade is cool, but as someone mentioned it's for people who want to stab first and cast second, or cast spells through the sword. I want the opposite, stand back and cast, and stab only if the enemy comes within reach and I want to conserve spell slots. I also plan to make use of metamagic and scribe scroll quite a bit, so normal wizard it has to be for first 5 levels for the free feats.

By the way another thing, do you folks recommend I pick 1 level of fighter to get the requirement of prof. with all martial weapons for the RBM prc, which will also net me a higher hit dice for one level, a +1 BaB and a free fighter feat, at the cost of a spell casting level, or should I burn a feat on Militia to meet this requirement?

Thanks :D

Ok, now we know what your going for and you gish sounds a lot like my kind of gish. Open with a fireball and then beat their face in while they're reeling. If thats what your doing i would actually recommend Sorc because the extra spells per day are good and since your playing artillery you dont need a million buffs (honestly i rarely cast buffs and i do ok) So it would look something like this: Fighter 1/ Sorc 6/ Eldritch Knight 10/ (other full casting class) 3. Now ive only used Eldritch Knight once but when i did i used a LOT of ray spells. Your BaB is great, use it. Also Arcane Thesis on Scorching Ray or Magic Missile is a good thing. Trust me.

Other than that, have fun nuking things and making DBZ and/or Bleach Jokes.


Personally, I recommend Wizard 9/Warblade 1/Jade Phoenix Mage 10. (Or Wu Jen 9, both have their advantages.) 9th level spells and 8th level maneuvers. Mmmm.

While this would get the OP what he wants (and a lot more) i doubt if its DM approved. I mean Abjurant Champion is banned, so what are the odds that ToB is ok?

[Troacctid]

By the way another thing, do you folks recommend I pick 1 level of fighter to get the requirement of prof. with all martial weapons for the RBM prc, which will also net me a higher hit dice for one level, a +1 BaB and a free fighter feat, at the cost of a spell casting level, or should I burn a feat on Militia to meet this requirement?

"Free" fighter feat here is, I assume, in enormous air quotes? :smallwink:

Spending a feat is a lot cheaper than spending a whole level. I'd go with Militia. Or if you don't mind looking like a giant orange toad, choose Neraph (from Planar Handbook) as your race--as an Outsider, they automatically have proficiency with all martial weapons.

[(Un)Inspired]

A level of fighter is probably justifiable if you chaos shuffle all the weapon and armor prof feats away for meta magic and reserves of strength and such.

[Sith_Happens]

I want the opposite, stand back and cast, and stab only if the enemy comes within reach and I want to conserve spell slots.

In this case you should probably clarify: Is the ability to melee if you have to a style concern or a practical concern? Because staying out of melee is not a hard thing to do if you put your mind to it.

[Xerlith]

In this case you should probably clarify: Is the ability to melee if you have to a style concern or a practical concern? Because staying out of melee is not a hard thing to do if you put your mind to it.

It's probably a style thing. IN that case, a Conjurer (Abrupt Jaunt) Martial Wizard 4/Crusader1/Wizard+1/Jade Phoenix Mage 10/Wizard+4 will do perfectly. Competent in melee, has an immediate Oh-Crap button, still a fullcaster.

[paddyfool]

Spend the feat, not a level. See also the earlier comment re martial wizard for more feats.

Or if you want a level of something, consider some of the alternatives to Fighter. Warblade if ToB is allowed, perhaps. Or Barbarian w the Pounce variant.

[Troacctid]

Since people seem to have missed it, OP mentioned going into the Raumathari Battlemage prestige class from Unapproachable East. It gives 9/10 casting with medium BAB, allows you to channel spells through your weapon a few times per day, lets you use your sword as a spellcasting focus that replaces material components and gives +1 CL, and gives you some poorly-explained minor metamagic abilities. You need Combat Casting, EWP (Bastard Sword), one metamagic feat, 3rd level spells, martial weapon proficiencies, and some fluff requirements in order to get in. It's a reasonable prestige class for a blasty gish, and easy to qualify for as a Wizard 5.

[andhaira]

Since people seem to have missed it, OP mentioned going into the Raumathari Battlemage prestige class from Unapproachable East. It gives 9/10 casting with medium BAB, allows you to channel spells through your weapon a few times per day, lets you use your sword as a spellcasting focus that replaces material components and gives +1 CL, and gives you some poorly-explained minor metamagic abilities. You need Combat Casting, EWP (Bastard Sword), one metamagic feat, 3rd level spells, martial weapon proficiencies, and some fluff requirements in order to get in. It's a reasonable prestige class for a blasty gish, and easy to qualify for as a Wizard 5.

Exactly! And yes, it's a style thing mostly. Not looking to be the best in the world at melee and magic, but also want to be competent and not a drain on the party.

I would like to add the minor metamagic abilities are not bad, only problem is that the good ones come at the very end. And they are 1/day each only, but still, the ability to empower and maximize on the fly without changing slot level is pretty nifty and can give a 'oh shiiiiiiii*' moment once in a while. :)

One issue is I am wasting 2 feats on EWP: Bastard Sword and Combat Casting. The metamagic feat I can get at level 5 wizard for free (scribe scroll is item creation) So it might be better to have 1 level of fighter for the free feat, hp and bab rather than burn another feat on militia. But not sure, that's why I am here.

Another alternative can be to take a level of barbarian instead. A rage can be a life saver in case I get over my head in melee, the extra attack bonus/damage and the hitpoints could be just what the doctor ordered.

[Troacctid]

A low-level feat slot is basically never going to be better than an extra level of casting on a Wizard. You could take the Fighter level if you really wanted, but your character would be weaker for it. Well, maybe not at level 1. But starting around 2 or 3, you'll be regretting it.

It's bad because you're not just behind for that one level. You're behind forever. You are forever and always a level behind all the other Wizards. That's a drag. (Okay, technically you catch up at level 19, but most campaigns don't last that long.)

[(Un)Inspired]

A low-level feat slot is basically never going to be better than an extra level of casting on a Wizard. You could take the Fighter level if you really wanted, but your character would be weaker for it. Well, maybe not at level 1. But starting around 2 or 3, you'll be regretting it.

It's bad because you're not just behind for that one level. You're behind forever. You are forever and always a level behind all the other Wizards. That's a drag. (Okay, technically you catch up at level 19, but most campaigns don't last that long.)

While I agree that casters are better off skipping the level of fighter it's worth remembering that 1 level of fighter gives you at least 6 feats (I can't recall if weapon profs are explicitly feats also. Obviously this would be even more feats if they are). so it's still a pretty big bang for your buck, just not as big as more spells.

Seeing as how the OP is jonesing for a prestige class with some feat prerequisites he's gonna need all the free feats he can get.

[ranagrande]

A level of fighter is probably justifiable if you chaos shuffle all the weapon and armor prof feats away for meta magic and reserves of strength and such.

By RAW, you can only shuffle the armor. Fighters get Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Shield Proficiency, and Tower Shield Proficiency as bonus feats. On the other hand, Fighters "are proficient" with simple and martial weapons, but do not gain the feats for them.

Six feats for one level is still pretty good though. The only other class that can get that many feats for one level is the Cleric.

[Johnmakuta]

I would suggest duskblade like everyone else but I think what you are really looking for is a Pathfinder Magus. I personally think that warmage is one of the worst classes ever made (Warlocks are better) so if you are hellbent on those two I would choose Battle Sorcerer. It has only a few less spells than the sorcerer and you don't lose the familiar.

[(Un)Inspired]

I would suggest duskblade like everyone else but I think what you are really looking for is a Pathfinder Magus. I personally think that warmage is one of the worst classes ever made (Warlocks are better) so if you are hellbent on those two I would choose Battle Sorcerer. It has only a few less spells than the sorcerer and you don't lose the familiar.

One of the worst classes ever made?

Buddy, Have you taken a look at how needlessly obtuse the Shadowcaster is? Or how the samurai makes the Fighter look well put together? How about the fact that Truenaming gets more difficult purely by leveling up and then you get a free gate from your troubles.

I dislike the warmage too, but to say it is one of the worst seems a bit melodramatic.

[Jeff the Green]

Have to disagree here. There's a reason Duskblades are Tier 3, and that's because they can do more than just stab magic into people.

They have access to teleportation spells, can use Eternal Wands (Fly being probably the best example, but also Glitterdust), can use debuff spells, most of which don't offer a save (Ray of Enfeeblement, Touch of Idiocy, Enervation), arcane channeling Vampiric Touch makes him more tanky than a Barbarian which is great in low to mid op games, and Disintegrate opens up some tactical options.

Sure, they're not as versatile as a Wizard, but that's not saying much. Reducing them to "beatsticks with a side of damage spells" doesn't do them justice.

They also have an Intelligence-focus, all Knowledge skills as class skills, and a reason to invest in almost all of them, which is more than just about any other class can say.

[Tohsaka Rin]

Just showing up to throw my usual 'why be arcane, when you can be psionic?' line into the discussion.

Wear whatever armor you want, it won't bother your casting one bit.

Channeling spells into a weapon might be an issue, but a power storing weapon can mitigate some of that.

I'm sure other playgrounders can provide more optimal things to do with psionics, I'm just putting the idea out there.

[Gwendol]

One of the worst classes ever made?

Buddy, Have you taken a look at how needlessly obtuse the Shadowcaster is? Or how the samurai makes the Fighter look well put together? How about the fact that Truenaming gets more difficult purely by leveling up and then you get a free gate from your troubles.

I dislike the warmage too, but to say it is one of the worst seems a bit melodramatic.

Seconded. Warmages (like the other fixed list casters) make good use of feats and classes that expands their spells known. That makes them extremely versatile in their field of expertise.

[ArqArturo]

Seconded. Warmages (like the other fixed list casters) make good use of feats and classes that expands their spells known. That makes them extremely versatile in their field of expertise.

One of the good things of the Warmage is the fact that you don't really 'lose' much when you enter a prestige class. Sure, a lot of people will say that's also bad, and that the sorcerer also doesn't lose much, but, the warmage already has the crunchy stuff from levels 1-3, maybe even 6.

But, a thing to understand about the Warmage, is that it's not really much of a spellcaster, but an archer with fancy ammunition and lousy skill selection :p.

[Riculf]

I've enjoyed playing a Fighter 4/Warmage 8/Havoc Mage 2. Admittedly, to make it work reasonably well I got some fluke-picks from a deck of many things and got to add the half-dragon template for the bonuses to hard and soft stats but it's been fun hitting things and casting 2nd level spells in combat during a full attack :smallsmile:

[Grim Reader]

Duskblade, War Mage, Battle Sorcerer. All benefit greatly from a Sand Shaper dip.

[andhaira]

Warmage looses out to the Wizard in terms of flexibility but it has one massive advantage: It can cast spells in light armor without any casting penalty. That's pretty sweet. That's a +4 to AC from Chainshirt for free basically.

Anyhow can someone tell me why the Spellswords Channel Spell ability is considered so good? I can't wrap my head around it. The RBM's channel spell (free action) is great because it also grants an attack bonus equivalent to the spell level being channeled. So a 4th level spell channeled grants a +4 attack bonus on top of the spell and the attack.

But the spellsword only gets to discharge a spell. And it can only channel as a move action if I recall correctly, so no full attacking in the same round unless you channel in a prior round or prior to combat (spell is stored for 8 hours I think...BUT it is discharged on the next attack, even if the attack is against a rabbit)

[satorian]

Warmage loses out to the Wizard in terms of flexibility but it has one massive advantage: It can cast spells in light armor without any casting penalty. That's pretty sweet. That's a +4 to AC from Chainshirt for free basically.

Mithril chain shirt and Mage Armor (and luminous armor and such) obviate that whole class feature. Wizards (and sorcs) often have the best AC in a given party without armor. Even at low levels, Alter Self - Troglodyte (+6 NA), Mage armor (+4), Shield (+4), Usually Dex (+1), a Wiz is at 25. That's better than full plate + Shield.

Also, at higher levels, not only can Wizard get his AC higher, but as AC stops mattering as attack bonus outstrips it, the Wizard can get Miss Chance from his spells, which is far more useful.

[ranagrande]

A Warmage can become a better and more versatile caster than a Wizard anyway. Just take ten levels of Rainbow Servant.

[ArqArturo]

Duskblade, War Mage, Battle Sorcerer. All benefit greatly from a Sand Shaper dip.

Does it taste good? I like a good dip :p (sorry heheh).

[Gwendol]

Mithril chain shirt and Mage Armor (and luminous armor and such) obviate that whole class feature. Wizards (and sorcs) often have the best AC in a given party without armor. Even at low levels, Alter Self - Troglodyte (+6 NA), Mage armor (+4), Shield (+4), Usually Dex (+1), a Wiz is at 25. That's better than full plate + Shield.

Also, at higher levels, not only can Wizard get his AC higher, but as AC stops mattering as attack bonus outstrips it, the Wizard can get Miss Chance from his spells, which is far more useful.

Yeah, warmage spell list is short on defensive buffs (and buffs in general). Which is another reason for them never to be close to the enemy.

[andhaira]

Mithril chain shirt and Mage Armor (and luminous armor and such) obviate that whole class feature. Wizards (and sorcs) often have the best AC in a given party without armor. Even at low levels, Alter Self - Troglodyte (+6 NA), Mage armor (+4), Shield (+4), Usually Dex (+1), a Wiz is at 25. That's better than full plate + Shield.

Also, at higher levels, not only can Wizard get his AC higher, but as AC stops mattering as attack bonus outstrips it, the Wizard can get Miss Chance from his spells, which is far more useful.

Mithril Chain shirt still has 10% casting penalty. Also, Mage Armor grants an armor bonus to AC, which does not stack with physical armor. Unlike the Shield spell, but that's why Shield has such a short duration, good for 1 combat only.

[(Un)Inspired]

A Warmage can become a better and more versatile caster than a Wizard anyway. Just take ten levels of Rainbow Servant.

Actually, I'm changing my suggestion to this. A Warmage/rainbow servant with divine power persisted is a pretty nasty Gish.

[Sith_Happens]

Anyhow can someone tell me why the Spellswords Channel Spell ability is considered so good?

Because it lets you channel any spell at all, including area spells and personal spells. One the entries for the Spellsword round of Iron Chef, for example, was a Wu Jen that smacks Transcend Mortality onto things and then dismisses it to kill them.

[ArqArturo]

Actually, I'm changing my suggestion to this. A Warmage/rainbow servant with divine power persisted is a pretty nasty Gish.

I played a Gestalt Warmage/Paladin Raptoran. It was awesome :D.

[Telok]

I've always wanted to do a duskblade 3, warmage 1, warblade 1, and into a prc that has Int synergy. However we don't use UE at our table. Duskblade 3 gets you Combat Casting, spell channeling, and cantrip SLAs. Warmage 1 grabs Int to all damage spells, Knowledge Devotion is also a kind of Int to damage. Then grabbing the Abrupt Jaunt Conjurer level and going into your PrC. It loses five wizard levels, which is ugly for a high level game, but at mid levels it works ok.

Another thing I'm considering is Duskblade 5 with the Apprentice feat then Urpriest 2 and another PrC that advances divine casting. You need a good Wis though. And cleric 9ths at 15th level is sweet.

[Astralia123]

As long as you do have access to Complete Mage, I wonder why did not anyone mention Focused Specialist. This specialized wizard variant grants you 3 extra spell slot on your specialized school in total, and cost you 3 banned schools. Which does not seem to be a problem for OP, as you are not looking at some more eldritchy things and mostly focus on damage spells.

Just keep in mind that you benefit from each of the schools: abjuration (shield and anti-spells things), conjuration (or not if you are not expecting damaging golems with spells or fore armours), evocation (all the damage spells), necromancy (false life and nasty damage/debuffs with no save) and transmutation (with grants important things like wraith strike). Enchantment and illusion are less important, and you may find substitute to abjuration/necromancy if you have got right class features.


There are some cool (or not cool) options:

Armour: fighter substitute class feature, either armoured mage in CM or dragonscale husk in Dragon Magic. Abjurant champion offers another solution but cost you levels. If you are a dwarf, runecaster (Race of Stone) provides a once-for-all solution for arcane failure, but may not be your best choice.

Spell channelling: the best spell channelling ability goes with either ordained champion (CC) or spellsword, which can channel ANY spells into your weapon (which is incredibly powerful with higher spell levels) , but you have to lost at least 3-4 caster levels if you start with wizard spell list. It should also be mentioned that, the channelled spell can be applied to thrown weapons, and can be done before the combat.
RBM is the second best spell channeling ability, which doesn't cost you actions to do it, but limited to a much shorter list of available spells. Still can do some clever tricks, though.
The next is duskblade's spell channelling. It is melee only and can only be a standard action, but can be applied to ANY spells he knowns (usually only duskblade spells, though).
Lastly is smite spell feat. It costs very low but is limited to touch spells, and is most inconvenient.

Combat casting: which is casting-while-attacking ability. Spontaneous metamagic will do it 1 time per day with a very high feat cost. RMB already provides one solution for you at mid-to-high levels, though, so you can just stick to it. Some other PrCs like abjurant champion allows you quicken some limited list of spells.

[Extra Anchovies]

Armour: fighter substitute class feature, either armoured mage in CM or dragonscale husk in Dragon Magic. Abjurant champion offers another solution but cost you levels. If you are a dwarf, runecaster (Race of Stone) provides a once-for-all solution for arcane failure, but may not be your best choice.

Armored Mage is icky-bad. The best you can do is seven levels of fighter and thirteen levels of a caster class.

Dragonscale Husk is icky-bad. No armor enchantments.

Mithral Fey- or Gith-craft Chain Shirt with Thistledown Suit is yes-good. +4/-0/0%, no enchantments necessary.

[Jeff the Green]

Dragonscale Husk is icky-bad. No armor enchantments.

Also, it doesn't stack with any feat, racial ability, or other special ability that gives a bonus to AC. RAW, that includes things like Dodge and probably the Abjurant Champion's class features, and might include things like soulmelds or spells.

[Extra Anchovies]

Also, it doesn't stack with any feat, racial ability, or other special ability that gives a bonus to AC. RAW, that includes things like Dodge and probably the Abjurant Champion's class features, and might include things like soulmelds or spells.

Wow, that's a massive editing oversight. It's probably very much RAI that it only doesn't stack with other armor bonuses, as per normal armor.

[Astralia123]

Also, it doesn't stack with any feat, racial ability, or other special ability that gives a bonus to AC. RAW, that includes things like Dodge and probably the Abjurant Champion's class features, and might include things like soulmelds or spells.

Its worst effect is that it still takes the body slot. Other than this, it is just okay, cause it costs almost nothing and can be turned off when you have better armour to wear (but if it is heavy/medium armour, you will need a new class level to "reset" your armour option).

Useless when we are talking about something like a heavily optimized campaign, but I guess it is not that unacceptable with this one..