Gish Help. My battle sorcerer Needs some looks over

[Nosta]

Ok Before People say anything this Will Be one of two threads I am making Due to the fact I am in to games. A low-Mid power 3.5 Game and A High power< ECL 16 pathfinder Game. This is For the 3.5 Game.


We Are ECL 6 And I am Playing a Battle sorcerer. its 28 Point Buy and right now my stats are as follows
STR: 10
DEX: 16
CON: 14
INT: 10
WIS: 10
CHA: 15


As For my weapon, I use a Short-sword (with weapon Finesse)
And I use a Buckler (though now that I think about it I don't think I can)

so my question is should I dish the buckler and the short sword for a long sword I can swing in two hands, I mostly plan to use arcane strike and spell shield, I mean i'll still cast spells when I need to but I like the flavor of using Mana or arcane energies to Mod my physical prowess


My gold is 13250 to spend is 13250

Books Allowed Are. PHB1&2 Dmg1&2 MM1 Complete warrior, complete adventure and Unearthed arcana (for Alt class Fts only) I think we are also using ghost walk and libris mortits

can some one please help me smooth it out?

[Nosta]

TO be honest I just want to know if I should switch my Dex and STR and for go weapon finesse for another feat, get rid of my buckler and grab a long-sword with a better enchantment?

[ExLibrisMortis]

Well, Weapon Finesse is an annoying feat tax that doesn't sit well with two-handing (which favours strength and Power Attack). For pure damage, pick up a greatsword, Power Attack, and cast wraithstrike.

If you're going the finesse route, I'd suggest levels in Unseen Seer, and picking up hunter's eye from the ranger spell list. Getting a good number of extra sneak attack dice is quite good. If you dip rogue 1, you can also qualify for Craven, good when you're playing a careful character :smallwink:.

[A_S]

Shield/weapon choice: As you've correctly pointed out, Battle Sorcerers aren't proficient with shields. There's also the problem that shields by default cause arcane spell failure (though this could be worked around).

All in all, I would skip the shield, learn the spell Shield (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shield.htm), and use a different weapon, likely a two-handed one.

Stats: What are you looking to gain from going dex-based and picking up Weapon Finesse? In general, I'd say this is a bad idea - it costs a feat, locks you into low-damage weapons, and keeps you from using str to its full potential. Unless being dex-based is core to your character concept, I'd go str-based with a two-handed weapon.

Feats: Arcane Strike is good. If you go str-based, picking up Power Attack might not be a bad idea (especially if you can make up for the attack penalty using a spell like Wraithstrike). I'm not sure what Spell Shield you're referring to - do you mean the one associated with the Initiate of Mystra feat?

Equipment:

Wear a chain shirt for now, though you'll eventually want to upgrade to a Mithral Breastplate. Maybe invest in +1 enhancement bonus, but might not be worth bothering with.
At least a +1 weapon, maybe go for a +2 equivalent (though that would be a big chunk of your wealth). If you go +2, Vicious is my favorite cheap weapon special ability.
If you're allowed to use items from the MIC, pick up a Healing Belt. If not, consider chipping in on your party's obligatory wand of Lesser Vigor.
Mix and match some items from the Type I Haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?148101-3-x-Shax-s-Indispensible-Haversack-(Equipment-Handbook)) (subject to your allowed sources)


*edit* Also, I have to ask...how do you decide which words to capitalize and which not?

[Nosta]

Shield/weapon choice: As you've correctly pointed out, Battle Sorcerers aren't proficient with shields. There's also the problem that shields by default cause arcane spell failure (though this could be worked around).

All in all, I would skip the shield, learn the spell Shield (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shield.htm), and use a different weapon, likely a two-handed one.

Stats: What are you looking to gain from going dex-based and picking up Weapon Finesse? In general, I'd say this is a bad idea - it costs a feat, locks you into low-damage weapons, and keeps you from using str to its full potential. Unless being dex-based is core to your character concept, I'd go str-based with a two-handed weapon.

Feats: Arcane Strike is good. If you go str-based, picking up Power Attack might not be a bad idea (especially if you can make up for the attack penalty using a spell like Wraithstrike). I'm not sure what Spell Shield you're referring to - do you mean the one associated with the Initiate of Mystra feat?

Equipment:

Wear a chain shirt for now, though you'll eventually want to upgrade to a Mithral Breastplate. Maybe invest in +1 enhancement bonus, but might not be worth bothering with.
At least a +1 weapon, maybe go for a +2 equivalent (though that would be a big chunk of your wealth). If you go +2, Vicious is my favorite cheap weapon special ability.
If you're allowed to use items from the MIC, pick up a Healing Belt. If not, consider chipping in on your party's obligatory wand of Lesser Vigor.
Mix and match some items from the Type I Haversack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?148101-3-x-Shax-s-Indispensible-Haversack-(Equipment-Handbook)) (subject to your allowed sources)


*edit* Also, I have to ask...how do you decide which words to capitalize and which not?

the spell shield I am talking about is an alt class feature that gives up ones familiar for the Ability to ditch spells to stop damage equal to 5x the spell level from any damage source. I forget the book its in buts in an actual 3.5 book