I need help with an unarmed attack/spellcaster build for 3.5

[Skygrassface]

I want to make a character who hits like a truck with his fist, can implement spells into his melee strikes and defend himself against a lot of attacks. I Don't know much outside of core books though.

Any advice?

And thank you ahead of time.

[Troacctid]

Try the Enlightened Fist prestige class from Complete Arcane.

[Skygrassface]

Try the Enlightened Fist prestige class from Complete Arcane.

I'm looking into it, looks like a good idea, I'm just trying to get as many options as possible. I still don't know if monk would be best for it since its widely regarded as a 2nd tier melee class.

[Troacctid]

It may be worth pointing out that any caster can deliver touch spells through an unarmed strike, just as a function of how touch spells work. So if you played a straight Wizard with Improved Unarmed Strike, you could cast Shocking Grasps and stuff by punching the target in the face, and you wouldn't need any special class ability to give you special permission for it. (For best results, enchant your fists with the Greater Mighty Wallop spell from Races of the Dragon, as well as Greater Magic Fang, of course.)

[Skygrassface]

Those are spells I never really knew about. That takes care of the damage half but what about defense? Aren't arcane casters kind of weak in that regard?

[Troacctid]

Depends on your level. At low levels, you can drop in a single hit, and you don't have enough spells to put up enough of a defense to reasonably prevent that, so you'll be fragile. At higher levels, you'll have more HP and better defensive spells, not to mention magical items, so your smaller hit die won't be as relevant. You'll also have access to stuff like the Minor Shapeshift feat, or Planar Familiar for a lantern archon familiar, to get replenishing temporary hit points.

Of course, you could also be a Cleric, in which case you wouldn't be fragile at all. Clerics have damaging spells too.

[Skygrassface]

I could see cleric working. Maybe a sorcerer variant with cleric HD.either way thanks for helping me find those spells and feat combinations.

[emeraldstreak]

I'm looking into it, looks like a good idea, I'm just trying to get as many options as possible. I still don't know if monk would be best for it since its widely regarded as a 2nd tier melee class.

You need the unarmed strike progression to lvl 20 (so either a few levels of Unarmed Swordsage or Monk + boosters) and Greater Mighty Wallop (get it OKed by the ST). A lot more can be added depending on what's allowed and what not, but this is the core synergy.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Pick either Wizard or Sorcerer, you only want to pick Sorcerer if you're beginning play at 6th+ level. Take either Kung Fu Genius from Dragon issue 319 or Carmendine Monk from Champions of Valor if you picked Wizard, or Ascetic Mage from Complete Adventurer if you picked Sorcerer, those are feats and they'll switch your Monk AC bonus from Wis to Int or Cha, respectively.

Go Monk 1/ Wizard or Sorcerer 4/ Enlightened Fist 5/ Master of the East Wind 10. You'll find Master of the East Wind in Dragon issue 314, it gives 3/4 BAB, good Will saves, d6 HD, four base skill points/level, and it requires Climb 10 ranks. At every one of its ten levels it gives you +1 level of your arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of Monk for determining unarmed damage, AC bonus, and unarmored speed. You get to add half its levels to your arcane class levels for your familiar's benefits, and at its 5th level you gain the air domain, automatically adding its spell list to your spells known (which are in addition to your normal number of Sorcerer spells known if using that class), it has no daily restriction on how often each of those domain spells may be used, and you use your Master of the East Wind class level when using the air domain's granted power.

That gives you 18/20 arcane spellcasting at a caster level of 20th with Practiced Spellcaster, and 16/20 Monk unarmed damage, AC bonus, and unarmored speed, or 20th level unarmed damage with Superior Unarmed Strike. Unfortunately you'll only have a +12 BAB by 20th level, or a +14 BAB if using fractional BAB from UA, but that's not bad at all considering you can cast (Persistent) Wraithstrike. Cast (Greater) Mage/Luminous Armor every day with (Persistent) Shield for an amazing AC.

[nedz]

Alternatively: Duskblade 20 (Player's Handbook II p19)
Take the Improved Unarmed Strike and Arcane Strike ( Complete Warrior p96 ) feats.

[Skygrassface]

Pick either Wizard or Sorcerer, you only want to pick Sorcerer if you're beginning play at 6th+ level. Take either Kung Fu Genius from Dragon issue 319 or Carmendine Monk from Champions of Valor if you picked Wizard, or Ascetic Mage from Complete Adventurer if you picked Sorcerer, those are feats and they'll switch your Monk AC bonus from Wis to Int or Cha, respectively.

Go Monk 1/ Wizard or Sorcerer 4/ Enlightened Fist 5/ Master of the East Wind 10. You'll find Master of the East Wind in Dragon issue 314, it gives 3/4 BAB, good Will saves, d6 HD, four base skill points/level, and it requires Climb 10 ranks. At every one of its ten levels it gives you +1 level of your arcane spellcasting class and +1 level of Monk for determining unarmed damage, AC bonus, and unarmored speed. You get to add half its levels to your arcane class levels for your familiar's benefits, and at its 5th level you gain the air domain, automatically adding its spell list to your spells known (which are in addition to your normal number of Sorcerer spells known if using that class), it has no daily restriction on how often each of those domain spells may be used, and you use your Master of the East Wind class level when using the air domain's granted power.

That gives you 18/20 arcane spellcasting at a caster level of 20th with Practiced Spellcaster, and 16/20 Monk unarmed damage, AC bonus, and unarmored speed, or 20th level unarmed damage with Superior Unarmed Strike. Unfortunately you'll only have a +12 BAB by 20th level, or a +14 BAB if using fractional BAB from UA, but that's not bad at all considering you can cast (Persistent) Wraithstrike. Cast (Greater) Mage/Luminous Armor every day with (Persistent) Shield for an amazing AC.\

Wow, you really did the math for me there. your math's solid and everything, and i suppose i'll still have some feats i could play around with to further customize and magic items to further boost.

Thanks a ton! I really appreciate your feedback, and now i've got a ton of options to mull over now that I have this much info (on such a small thread too).

[Raezeman]

There is also the sacred fist that might be interesting to your needs.