[3.5] Martial Adept Arcanamach Build

[Thurbane]

Hey all,

Need some advice on a potential build. I've been thinking on how to make a martial adept gish.

I was initially thinking Warblade 6/Suel Arcanamach 4/Jade Phoenix Mage 8/Warblade +2, but getting the ranks in Spellcraft for SA is problematic (short of an Abyssal Heritor feat which will cause alignment issues).

So then I was thinking Duskblade 4/Warblade 2/Suel Arcanamach 4/Jade Phoenix Mage 8/Warblade +2

Any general suggestions on a martial adept gish with Suel Arcanamach as the casting base?

Cheers - T

[Rebel7284]

If feat retraining is allowed, I am a huge fan of Duskblade 3/Warblade 2/Warrior Skald 1/Suel Arcanamach 4/Sublime Chord 1/Jade Phoenix Mage 4/Abjurant Champion 5

[Keld Denar]

Spell channeling isn't that great for SA, since there are very few channelable spells. Plus you'll want to be full attacking or

I'd go Dusk2/War4/Suel4/Spellsword1/AbjChamp5/DragonDisc4, personally. Dragon D at the end is kinda funny cause it gives you extra spells/day and the stat bumps at the cost of 1 BAB, which finishes you off at 18/20. Not bad. Alternatively, 4 more levels of Warblade to take advantage of the higher IL you'll have at that point. You can rearrange the SA levels too, moving that Spellsword level a little earlier and probably the AbjChamp levels as well before finishing off SA. You want the AbjChamp5 ability to give you nearly full CL, which with SA's Tenacious Spells and a Ring of Enduring Arcana, you'll be nearly undispellable short of a Disjunction.

AeshKrau Illumian makes a good race, giving you spells/day off of your Str bonus (primary attribute). SA's have very few spells with saves which you shouldn't take, so Cha can safely be left at 13 (with a +2 cloak by ~level 10 since you still need a 15 to cast all of your spells barring a DM intervention.)

[WhamBamSam]

Mystic Fire Knight Paladin or Shooting Star Ranger would also be ways of getting Spellcraft while good aligned.

Paladin 2/Crusader or Warblade 4/Suel Arcanamach 3-4/JPM 8-10/Warblade or Crusader +1-2 is potentially pretty spiffy. 9th level maneuvers, decent Cha focus (especially as a Crusader), full Suel Arcanamach casting with the metamagic boosts from JPM. Taking Suel Arcanamach for only 3 levels gives you an uneven number or non-initiator levels, but it also gives you more maneuvers learned at higher initiator level.

Combat Styles aren't going to help you much, but if you're a non-humanoid you could always go for the Fangshields Ranger ACF to boost your full attack routine if you're using a lot of natural attacks (say from Alter Self or Polymorph). Stub might be something like Ranger 2/Warblade 4/Suel Arcanamach 3-4/JPM 8/Warblade +2-3. Or you could just take a 1 level dip to get the class skill and Track (to combine with Hunter's Sense), and go for something like Ranger 1/Warblade 5/Suel Arcanamach 3/JPM 8-10/Warblade +1-3.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Duskblade 2 is an ideal choice due to it granting Combat Casting and the necessary class skills, but you could instead use Mystic Ranger or even Paladin 3 with the Magic domain (Dragon 328 p90, replaces Turn Undead). With a Mystic Ranger dip you could possibly use this variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) to get Fast Movement as a Barbarian, and then trade that for Pounce via the Lion Spirit ACF. Paladin has great Cha synergy with Suel Arcanamach. Duskblade is still probably going to be the go-to choice for just about any build, though.

In any case you'll want to gain Iron Will via the Otyugh Hole in CS without spending a feat on it.

You only need SA 2 to qualify for JPM, though SA 3 gets you the free Extend on all your buffs. The fourth level is generally taken when you finish the class's spellcasting progression with Spellsword 1/ Abjurant Champion 5, but it's not really necessary if you have more prestige class levels to finish it out with. You could even go something like Warblade + whatever 6/ SA 1/ Abjurant Champion 5/ JPM 5 or 6/ Warblade 3 or 2.

IMO if you're not going for the Cha synergy, you're better off using Wizard or Sorcerer for this type of build. At least that way you'll get access to exclusive benefits like Abrupt Jaunt or Wings of Cover, and you'll have considerably better options for what spells you can pick. Warblade 4/ Sorcerer or Wizard 2/ Abjurant Champion 5/ JPM 9 gets 7th level spells, +19 BAB, and 8th level maneuvers and stances (9th if all prestige class levels add fully to your initiator level as the prestige class chapter of ToB would suggest). Sadly you cannot qualify for a Spellsword dip with Warblade proficiencies, otherwise a 1/6/1/5/7 build would get you 9th level spells with a +17 BAB and 7th level maneuvers and stances (or 9th with all PrCs to IL).

However, if this is a build for a character you're immediately going to play, your starting level and the character level that you reasonably expect to reach will be a lot more important than what a build gets at 20th level, unless you actually expect to play to 20th+ level.