Help me build gnome beguiler!

[Sillybird99]

Level 1 character. DM allowed a flaw with my last character, but IDK If I can get away with more than 1.

I'm deciding between Whisper Gnome and Arcane Gnome (28 pt buy)

Whisper: 6 16 16 16 8 12

Arcane: 6 14 16 18 8 12

Flaw: non combatant (-2 melee attacks)

Feats: Spell focus enchantment
Unsettling enchantment

I am having a hard time deciding between the races. With arcane gnome my save dcs are basically +2 across the board, but I lose tons of bonuses to sneaking (move speed, silence, and +10 to skills).

I don't gnow what level the DM is taking us too, but my plan is for SCM depending on the campaign and rp stuff.

So what does the playground think?

[Falcon X]

First off, great choice of characters. You are going to have a lot of fun!

As with most things, this choice largely depends on your character concept, but I personally would go for the skills and speed, hands-down.
The Beguiler, to me, is all about what they can covertly do, not what they can save against. If the enemy can get to you, or notice that you are doing anything at all for that matter, you are doing it wrong. He is built to stare at you in the face and cast a spell on you without you noticing a thing.

[Troacctid]

I think Arcane Gnome is better. You still get +4 to Hide, and you don't need Silence as an SLA because you can just cast it as a spell.

Intelligence is all-around a more important stat than Dexterity for a beguiler. Save DCs are very important, and bonus spells are nothing to shake a stick at. This is especially true if you're not even taking Darkstalker, since that means you'll rarely be making actual Hide checks—either you won't be seen because you're invisible, or you'll be detected by blindsense or scent without getting the chance to make a skill check.

[Ellowryn]

Will your DM allow early entry? If so then grabbing Heighten Spell and Earth Spell early will allow you into SCM 2 levels early. And if you are non-good then grab a level in Mindbender for free telepathy, beyond that don't forget Spell Focus (Illusion) for SCM entry. A level of Shadow Adept is really solid as are 8 levels in Shadowcrafter, its just you have to kind of plan early for some of these so make sure you know where your character is heading build wise.

[Sillybird99]

I considered the Earth spell thing, but decided against it. We only play 1 or 2 times per month and gain xp very slow. It will be years before I could enter SCM, if we even play that long. I am looking for something to be solid starting level 1 until like level 5.

As for the races, I am leaning more towards whisper gnome. if hiding becomes an issue, I will pick up darkstalker at level 3 right? I like my spells having higher save DCs, but I have to be the caster, skill monkey, and face in this party. It seems like whisper is better but I just can't decide.

[ATHATH]

I considered the Earth spell thing, but decided against it. We only play 1 or 2 times per month and gain xp very slow. It will be years before I could enter SCM, if we even play that long. I am looking for something to be solid starting level 1 until like level 5.

As for the races, I am leaning more towards whisper gnome. if hiding becomes an issue, I will pick up darkstalker at level 3 right? I like my spells having higher save DCs, but I have to be the caster, skill monkey, and face in this party. It seems like whisper is better but I just can't decide.
Not playing often is actually a point in favor of early entry tricks. You'll get to your main schtick much faster.

[Sillybird99]

Oops accidently deleted when meant to edit.basically I am avoiding the feat and ability score tax required for earth spell. We have a level 4 catfolk hexblade that has been playing for like 2-3 years and only reached level 4 so far. I doubt I will be playing long enough to even take shadow craft mage with early entry, but if I do then I can get in early with versatile spellcaster I think.

[Ellowryn]

Versatile Spellcaster doesn't work being as you do not actually have any spell slots above your current level. You would need a way to gain slots at a higher level than your max to be able to use it, which Earth Spell does (Precocious Apprentice also does this for second level spells at 1st level, but it does not help you in this case).

That being said if you feel that you are not going to get to the point of gaining access to SCM even with early entry tricks then the point is moot, but being able to cast spells of a level higher than anybody else is really powerful at any level. Plus you less likely at low levels to be anywhere but on the ground so you wont really have to worry about the "standing on earth" requirement of the feat.