3.5 Epic Gish

[Anium]

I will start playing a one shot adventure with epic characters and it's my first in a very looong time. The adventure shouldn't be too hard as the dm has banned cheese like incantatrix and the like.
Looking for something different y sent him a story for a gish and he has accepted it but I still have my doubts about the build and i'm not too sure about the epic rules. Here's what is set in stone:

Wu jen 5/ Warblade 1/ Fenix jade mage 2/ Abj champ 4/ fenix jade mage 8.

I will be wielding a chinese guon dao (reach weapon) because i have him already pictured in my mind as Guan Yu.

So 32 point buy, 4.300.000 Gold and probably human(or human like). No flaws, La buyoff, magic places or extra exp for crafting.
My initial thoughs are for somekind focused melee ubercharger feats and squeeze persistent spell for buffs sending clones to the death and saving my epic feats for auto quicken.

[Endarire]

Greetings, A!

The class is 'Jade Phoenix Mage.' I'm curious why you went Wu Jen instead of Wizard. (You can get transcend mortality via Wyrm Wizard and other sources.)

[Anium]

Flavor and gimping myself a bit. As I said he doesn't want cheese, taking wu jen I can try my best to optimice without being too optimal :P

[Anium]

Bump for help.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Are you just wanting feats, skills, and items, or are you wanting advice for further progression or the other half of gestalt or something? That's a lot of gold for only starting at level 20.

[Anium]

It is starting at level 30, and I don't have enough experience with epic levels to know what i'm looking for.
I'm asking for any help, good items or feats, build advice, good spells(or must spells), how should i order the stats... practically anything(apart from the asian feeling, weapon and humanlike race).

[Vossler]

It is starting at level 30, and I don't have enough experience with epic levels to know what i'm looking for.
I'm asking for any help, good items or feats, build advice, good spells(or must spells), how should i order the stats... practically anything(apart from the asian feeling, weapon and humanlike race).

What is your other 10 levels?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

What is your other 10 levels?Since epic levels don't grant proper abilities to spellcasters, how about taking Practiced Spellcaster (Wu Jen) and then taking 10 levels of swiftblade (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327)?

[edit] Take one of the Dodge equivalent feats (so you don't actually have to take Dodge), followed by armor with the mobility enhancement (to give you the Mobility feat). Or you could get a humanoid skin illithid graft and enhance it as +1 mobility armor. Also, make sure you've got Spell Stowaway (time stop) available.

[Anium]

I was looking at archmage for clone shenanigans, but this free permanent displacement looks too sweet. I'll probably do this.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

I was looking at archmage for clone shenanigans, but this free permanent displacement looks too sweet. I'll probably do this.Make sure you make use of the many ways available to you for casting haste spontaneously. http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=474.0 http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=12336.0

And buy lots and lots (and lots) of wands of mnemonic enhancer. Y'know, just 'cuz.

[Anium]

Mmm why would I need that?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Mmm why would I need that?Depending on which comment you're asking about, spontaneously casting haste (which is a huge focus with swiftblade in your build) means you can prepare other stuff in your slots (rather than lots of hastes), so your versatility goes way up. A wand of Rary's mnemonic enhancer gives you a ton of extra spell slots to cast haste in. Apply Rapid Spell (with a metamagic reducer or two) to cast it from the wand in a single round.

[Anium]

I've been looking, and the only thing i could use is signature spell for that(and i can't since i'm no wizard and already starved for feats). My take on this:

Human
Stats
STR 16
DEX 14
Con 14
Int 16
Wis 8
Cha 8
1 Human paragon 1: Combat casting, power attack
2 Wu jen 1: Extend spell
3 Human paragon 2: Imp bullrush, persistent spell
4 Human paragon 3: +2 Int +1 int
5 Warblade 1: Action before though, wall of blades, Moment of Perfect Mind , Leading the charge
6 Wu jen 2: Expeditious dodge
7 Jade Phoenix Mage 1:Flashing sun
8 Jade Phoenix Mage 2: +1int
9 Jade Phoenix Mage 3: Mobility, Foe hammer
10Jade Phoenix Mage 4:
11Abj Champion 1:
12Abj champion 2: Practiced spellcaster (Wu jen), +1 int
13Abj champion 3:
14Abj champion 4:
15Jade Phoenix Mage 5:Quicken spell, Thicket of Blades, Searing Charge
16Jade Phoenix Mage 6: +1 int
17Jade Phoenix Mage 7:leaping flame
18Jade Phoenix Mage 8:Shocktrooper.
19Jade Phoenix Mage 9: Salamander Charge
20Jade Phoenix Mage 10: +1 int
21 Swiftblade 1: Improved spellcasting
22Swiftblade 2:
23Swiftblade 3:
24Swiftblade 4: +1 int, spontaneous spell (haste)
25Swiftblade 5:
26Swiftblade 6:
27Swiftblade 7:Automatic quicken 1
28Swiftblade 8: +1 int
29Swiftblade 9:
30Swiftblade 10:Automatic quicken 2

Caster lvl would be 26. In level 20.
Im partial to the automatic quicken and epic spellcasting, as I don't want to stay lvl 29(would lose the swiftblade awesome timestop).
Now must look for items, the epic ones seem way too expensive but i'm open to any advice.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Since you have a ton of cash available, spend as much money as you reasonably can on buying feats. http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=4099.0 If your DM will allow it, use the Dark Chaos Feat Shuffle to turn those into feats you want. That should free you up a few feat slots. Also, try crafting yourself a runestaff, from the MIC. Most runestaves have several spells on them, each of which can be spontaneously cast 3/day, though you sacrifice your own spell slots to power the spells. But since you ARE using your own slots, you count as casting the spells, meaning your swiftblade abilities apply. Just make sure your runestaff has haste on it. If need be, have haste on the staff several times, or get yourself multiple copies of the same runestaff.

[Gruftzwerg]

Wu jen 5/ Warblade 1/ Fenix jade mage 2/ Abj champ 4/ fenix jade mage 8.

I will be wielding a chinese guon dao (reach weapon) because i have him already pictured in my mind as Guan Yu.



Did you consider a "Glaivelock"? Warlock with "Eldritch Glaive" could be a good option for a gish to. And since the "Guan Yu" looks like a Glaive (which also have reach) it would fit the theme. And the Eldritch Glaive is melee touch attack, which makes it even more handy for a gish.

Warlock can build nice Shadow Pounce builds with "Flee the Scene" if you want to go that route.

Further the Warlock gives many 24h buffs and is a good UMD-user since he can take 10. That gives gish builds many options.

edit: forgot to add that warlock gish can build pretty heavy hitting charge/dive (due to fly & eldritch glaive or eldritch claws) builds.

[Anium]

Maybe if I wasn't already halfway in the building phase. Wu jen has something similar in a spell.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

As far as items go, I prefer stacking tons of non-epic stuff on my items, since epic items are generally inferior to non-epic items. The MIC has rules for stacking item qualities (which amounts to a +50% surcharge on all but the most expensive qualities on an item, aside from a few generic item enhancements, such as enhancement bonuses to ability scores and resistance bonuses to saves).

Make sure you start stacking on immunities, like soulfire armor for immunity to negative energy and level drain. http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=14991.0

Speed armor, from Defenders of the Faith, grants you extra actions each round, as per the 3.0 haste spell. It's extremely cheap, at a +3 bonus, and it grants a +4 bonus to AC that stacks with everything else in the game. Yes, it's a +3 armor enhancement that grants +4 to AC AND extra actions every round.

Don't ever buy those +1d6 energy enhancements for your weapons. Make yourself a lesser energy assault weapon crystal, then add another energy assault crystal ability to it for +50% to the cost. And then another. And another. That's an effective +4 to your weapon for far less than you could get them as flaming/frost/shocking/whatever. Use those weapon bonuses on special effects, instead. Then follow up by adding more weapon crystal abilities such as ghost touch and teleporting Quick Draw.

Then start figuring out ways to stack multiple sets of enhancements to the same attack, such as using a tricked-out bow (I like using an elvencraft longbow with Hank's energy bow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20061227a) tacked on) with tricked-out arrows. The enhancement bonuses to attacks and damage won't stack, but all of the weapon's special abilities will. Likewise, taking Improved Unarmed Strike, using a tricked-out necklace of natural weaponry (for +1 enhancement bonus/+9 weapon qualities), giving yourself warforged mighty arms grafts, and using tricked-out warforged battlefists (for +1 enhancement bonus/+9 weapon qualities), and casting CL 20 greater magic weapon will basically give you a +5/+18 weapon, for the cost of two +10 weapons and a casting of a 3rd level spell. You can take this even farther if you start investing build resources into it, like the Item Familiar or Ancestral Relic feats, or a loyal fiend of possession who inhabits your weapon.

The kakita katana from Oriental Adventures has a +2 nonmagical enhancement bonus. It can be made much like a masterwork katana, though it has the same base cost as a regular +2 katana. Thing is, it's nonmagical, but it's an enhancement bonus. Thus, it A.) doesn't count as magical for stacking with magical enhancement costs, and B.) it's still an enhancement bonus, which is all that is needed for adding magical weapon properties. For example, a +2 (nonmagical) kakita katana costs 8,335 gp, which you can then add, say, defending to for a mere +2,000 gp, rather than pricing it as you would for a normal +2 defending katana. Just lift the kakita property to add to whatever else you've got handy, and see if you can reduce it to a +1, instead. Then you could have a +1/+10 weapon for only slightly more than a regular +10 weapon.

Buy yourself a psychoactive skin of proteus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#skinofProteus) (or if you have a familiar, psicrystal, or Leadership flunky, two of them). Make sure the ML is boosted a bit via the Words of Creation feat. The ability to turn into any object or (almost) any creature up to 8 HD at will (along with infinite healing) is a fantastic way to save resources, regardless of level. Need to fly? It's a standard action transformation away. Need to burrow? It's a standard action transformation away. Need to hide as a rug or a gold coin while engaging in some recon? It's a standard action transformation away. Sure, shapechange is a thing, but it's difficult to keep up 24/7, and metamorphosis can do things even shapechange can't do (mainly, become an actual object).

Likewise, a third eye, sense (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#sense) allows for infinite scrying without wasting spell slots. Scope out that dungeon before you ever go in. Check up on your loved ones occasionally (and have them leave notes in a prearranged spot when they go out, so you know what they're up to -- it's like a magical medieval Twitter).

Make yourself lots of metamagic rods, especially of Extend, Empower, Maximize, and Quicken. And remember, you can add additional item benefits for a +50% surcharge. A rod of Empower AND Maximize is even more valuable than having a single rod of each, because the main limit on metamagic rods is that you can only use one rod at a time on a single spell, but since you've got one rod with both metamagic effects on it, there's nothing stopping you from using both Empower and Maximize together on a single spell.