Help with a Swiftblade?

[Nettlekid]

Hey all, I'm trying to whip up a Swiftblade (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327) for a level 21 campaign that may or may not be happening, but if it does then I want to be ready. I like the idea of a gishy character because although I recognize how strong spells are (and the DM doesn't entirely) I find that I have an easier time giving martial characters a more interesting backstory and personality, which if I go straight mage always tends to be something along the lines of "studious guy who looks down on non-magic users and wants to perfect arcane arts."

The level 21 changes the dynamic in a big way because it means that I could go all ten levels of Swiftblade with a Wizard and still get 9th level spells, or the usual 9 levels and get 9s with a Sorcerer. But I hate to waste levels, and I want to squeeze as much out of them as I can.

The first big question is: going into Swiftblade, do I go with Wizard 6 and either play an Elf or burn a feat for Martial Weapon Proficiency, go Wizard 5/Martial 1 losing a level of casting for those proficiencies and maybe a useful class feature, or (Battle/Stalwart) Sorcerer 6 and lose some of my spells known for that free weapon proficiency? The Wizard levels seem best since Swiftblade has a pretty bad feat tax and Martial Wizard helps with that. The requisite for BAB 3 is also troublesome, since I had wanted to try something like Carmendine Monk/Ascetic Mage to get my casting stat to AC, but I'd give away too many caster levels to get my BAB up.

The other big question is what I want to do after those Swiftblade levels. People always suggest Abjurant Champion for gishes, but I don't totally get what the huge hype is. The AC boost and free Extend for Abjuration spells is good, but the free Quickens are limited to such low level that they're all but useless, I won't want to burn spells for short-term martial boosts, and my CL is likely to be higher than my BAB already. I obviously like Spelldancer for the means to get free Persisted Spells, and the feat tax is halved since it shares some with Swiftblade. If I can squeeze one level of that in it would be great, even if I have to take the cross-class skills to get in. I could maybe be interested in Spellguard of Silverymoon to give allies my Persisted Spells as well, but that might be a bit much. If I had the caster level to spare (Wizard 6/Swiftblade 9 still gets CL 17 if I lose one more) I kind of like Recaster or Wyrm Wizard to get some unusual spells onto my spell list, but it's hard finding the space for those.

I've also been trying to figure out if I could somehow fit Bard and Sublime Chord into the mix, putting dead caster levels like Swiftblade 1 and Recaster 1 onto Bard before I take Sublime Chord so that Sublime Chord is maxed out, but I can't find an efficient way to actually save levels compared to Wizard 6 thanks to Bard's slow progression. If anyone can figure out a way to do that (maybe use Sanctum Spell to qualify for Recaster at level 6 and then use Expanded Knowledge to get Haste from the Trapsmith list as a level 1 spell?) I'd love to hear that.

So yeah, with that said, any suggestions?

[Urpriest]

Since you're going Epic, remember you need to reach BAB +16 in your first 20 levels if you want to have the full complement of attacks. That's usually what Abjurant Champion is for: not the abilities, but the chassis.

[Crazysaneman]

Not really on topic, but I have never heard of the Swiftblade before.

Looks awesome, I'd like to know how it turns out for you :)

[Nettlekid]

Since you're going Epic, remember you need to reach BAB +16 in your first 20 levels if you want to have the full complement of attacks. That's usually what Abjurant Champion is for: not the abilities, but the chassis.

Mhm, I gave that some thought, and while it's certainly handy I don't think I'm over-the-top invested in hitting that +16, mainly because the Swiftblade's Perpetual Options lets me do more than just an extra attack at -15. Three attacks and a standard action attack, or three attacks and a spell, is more than enough. Though yeah, thinking about it more, four attacks is also good. Well, if the first levels are Wizard 6/Swiftblade 9, that's BAB 12 at level 15, meaning I need only 3 more BAB in 5 levels. If I take a class with 3/4 BAB for either three or four levels, that's enough for a 2 or 1 level dip in a BAB 1/2 class like Wyrm Wizard or Spelldancer. Hm...casting class with 3/4 BAB...Unseen Seer, maybe? What else is there?

It's that "Martial Weapon Proficiency" that's really eating me up in the beginning. Wizard 6/Swiftblade 9/Spelldancer 1/Recaster 5 is really cool, except that as a Changeling (for Recaster) I can't squeeze in any martial weapon proficiencies without burning a feat to do so.

[Rebel7284]

I think the thing with Abjurant Champion is that in addition to the amazing chasis, it ALSO gives you relevant class features. Free extend for a good school is nice. Abjuration never goes out of style. Yes, quicken drops down in power by level 20, but a quickened shield for a +9 bonus to AC is still worth a first level slot. =)

As for builds,
Martial Wizard 6/Swiftblade 1/Spelldancer 1/Swiftblade +9/X4 is classic and amazing.

For Sublime Chord, Suel Arcanamach gives you 3rd level spells in 4 levels, but is difficult to qualify for in time. Of course if you use Versatile Spellcaster + Highten Spell to qualify, you just need second level spell.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

If you do decide to use a race to enter Swiftblade, may I recommend Kobold? With the web enhancement and Stalwart Battle Sorcerer, you can nab martial weapon proficiency in the great pick. From there, the same web enhancement allows you to regain one lost sorcerer level, putting you on mostly equal footing with a wizard entry.

If you want to go for broke, get an ancestral relic of a runestaff for effectively all of the spells known, assuming you have a day of down time. You could also enter the great debate that is dragonwrought, sovereign archetypes, and dragon pyschoses for an extra free +2 sorcerer levels and then converting all of your sorcerer casting to wizard casting via the psychosis.

Realistically, I would stop at the runestaff trick.

If you go sorcerer, Abjurant Champion is a little harder to properly use, but still solid. Wizards have an easier time using sanctified spells. Probably the best is greater luminous armor, which AC makes into effectively free +5 fullplate with a free daylight effect and extra -4 penalty to anyone who attacks you by eyesight.

Abjurant Champion also opens up a few neat dispel tricks with things like things like the inquisitor domain power pumping up your normal, 3rd level dispel to +14. A few tricks could get you greater dispel at 4th level from another list to apply the same swift action boosts via sanctum spell.