Anima Mage abuse to get the ultimate assassin

[Soranar]

I've been playing around optimizing a sneak attack caster for a while and I stumbled unto this combo after reading up on the Binder

Race: Human
Template: Necropolitan would probably help
ACF and substitution levels

-Combat Wizard
-Focused Specialist (Conjuration)

This build requires two flaws as it is though it can easily be adapted without them. The binder feats are not optional though since the point is to keep your wizard progression

So the following character

Level 1 Wizard Bind Vestige, Improved Bind Vestige, Martial study (for intimidate), extend spell, precocious apprentice
Level 2 Anima Mage
Level 3 Anima Mage
Level 4 Anima Mage
Level 5 Anima Mage
Level 6 Anima Mage
Level 7 Anima Mage
Level 8 Anima Mage
Level 9 Anima Mage
Level 10 Anima Mage
Level 11 Anima Mage
Level 12 Wayfairer Guide (not sure what to take at this level honestly)
Level 13 Mindbender (again, not sure what to take here)
Level 14 Unseen Seer
Level 15 Unseen Seer
Level 16 Unseen Seer
Level 17 Unseen Seer
Level 18 Unseen Seer
Level 19 Unseen Seer
Level 20 Unseen Seer

6 feats to consider

martial study+ martial stance (assassin's stance), Craven (debating this one due to the drawbacks at higher level), persistent spell for hunter's eye and practiced spellcaster to compensate for the unseen seer penalty

metamagic feats are still useful though since they likely grant you more attacks (quickened spells or twinned)

So how much sneak attack does this get?

your effective binder level = 10
your effective caster level is 22 with divination spells

you get 4d6 sneak attack from andromalius
you get 3d6 sudden strike from malphas
you get 3d6 sneak attack from unseen seer
you get 7d6 sneak attack from your caster level + hunter's eye
finally you get another 2d6 + 20 from assassin's stance + craven

that's 18d6 +20 bonus damage

Better yet, this works just as well for a battle sorcerer or a beguiler(though it's much harder to get all the skillpoints as a battle sorcerer without your INT in the stratosphere)

A beguiler is not optimal simply due to the lack of decent touch attack spells

[Endarire]

Wizard casting is important, but is it so important that you lose out on progressing binding? Even a 1-level Binder dip would help so you could get extra abilities!

[Cerefel]

Also it hinges on whether the feats count towards the prereq of being able to bind vestiges, as you don't get all of the abilities that one would from actually binding them through the class feature.

[Beheld]

Wizard casting is important, but is it so important that you lose out on progressing binding? Even a 1-level Binder dip would help so you could get extra abilities!

An Anima Mage 1 binds as a Binder 1 and does get the additional abilities. Surely someone will come along and say it doesn't, but obviously the OP disagrees, since he has listed binds and abilities he wouldn't get from just the feat without the 10 Binder levels from Anima Mage.


Level 1 Wizard [B]Bind Vestige, Improved Bind Vestige,

If you instead take Bind Vestige and Improved Binding (the one that let's you Bind Vestiges at higher level) you can have an effective Binder level of 12, instead of 10, which might add to your SA.

[Troacctid]

Martial Study doesn't work at level 1 since your initiator level rounds down to 0. If you want Intimidate as a wizard class skill at level 1, you could either use the Filidh wizard variant from Dragon Magazine #324, the variant enchanter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#enchanterVariants) from Unearthed Arcana, or take the Apprentice (Soldier) or Illithid Heritage feat.

However, I would probably just recommend using a generic spellcaster (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/genericClasses.htm#spellcaster), as not only do you get to pick your class skills, you also get sneak attack +2d6 at 1st level.

[Soranar]

If martial study can't be taken at level 1, I guess I can always take the enchanter ACF that gives you access to intimidate

I am considering taking 2 binder levels if only because the wayfairer guide level and the mindbender level are not that useful

Finally, anima mage specifically says that you gain the ability to bind as a binder of your level and that this ability stacks with any binder level you have, meaning you don't need any binder level at all to enter the class

Is it RAW, sure it is. Is it RAI? I have no clue, it's always hard to tell with WOTC

[Beheld]

I am considering taking 2 binder levels if only because the wayfairer guide level and the mindbender level are not that useful

At every level that isn't level 20, that's a terrible idea. Being behind two levels in spellcasting is a terrible idea at levels 1-18.


Finally, anima mage specifically says that you gain the ability to bind as a binder of your level and that this ability stacks with any binder level you have, meaning you don't need any binder level at all to enter the class

Actually what it says is that you add your Binder and Anima Mage levels, and so someone will come along and argue that Null+X is a non entity, and therefore you can't Bind anything.

I think it's a terrible argument, but it's something people say.

[Extra Anchovies]

Actually what it says is that you add your Binder and Anima Mage levels, and so someone will come along and argue that Null+X is a non entity, and therefore you can't Bind anything.

I think it's a terrible argument, but it's something people say.

Null+x is undefined in normal arithmetic, and there's rules examples of it functioning the same way in D&D (non-abilities). However, for Anima Mage that doesn't matter.


Soul Binding Bonus: At each anima mage level, your soul binding ability improves as if you had also gained a level in the binder class. Your anima mage levels and binder levels stack for the purpose of determining your bonus on binding checks, the effectiveness of your vestige-granted abilities, your ability to bind higher-level vestiges, and the number of vestiges you can bind. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a binder would have gained.

The first sentence grants you soul binding as a 1st-level Binder at Anima Mage 1 if you didn't already have it. The second sentence only applies to characters with levels in both Binder and Anima Mage.

[Troacctid]

Yeah, for most prestige classes that advance spellcasting, it says something like "a spellcasting class you already belonged to" or whatever, but with Anima Mage, it just advances you as if you gained a level of binder. So if you weren't a binder before, you still get it. There are a few other classes like this too; for example, I believe all the bard prestige classes in Dragon #311 give you bard casting if you don't already have it (and Green Whisperer gives you druid casting as well).

[Beheld]

Null+x is undefined in normal arithmetic, and there's rules examples of it functioning the same way in D&D (non-abilities). However, for Anima Mage that doesn't matter.



The first sentence grants you soul binding as a 1st-level Binder at Anima Mage 1 if you didn't already have it. The second sentence only applies to characters with levels in both Binder and Anima Mage.

Please I never said I agreed with it, or that it is correct. In fact, I said literally the opposite of those two things. But that is really an argument that people on this forum will actually make. I know this because I've had this argument on this forum before.