Limited gold for 10th level unseen seer. Advice on items?

[ImpieBA]

So I'm about to be a player in a campaign that starts at level 10. Part of the flavor for the campaign is that it is after a great calamity. We all live in one city. Beyond that city the world has basically been taken over. Whatever we have we obtain either before this calamity or by exploring beyond the city as we try to win it back.

My build, projected to level 20:

1. Spellthief 1
2. Wizard 1
3. Wizard 2
4. Wizard 3
5. Wizard 4
6. Unseen Seer 1
7. Unseen Seer 2
8. Unseen Seer 3
9. Swordsage 1
10. Unseen Seer 4
11. Unseen Seer 5
12. Unseen Seer 6
13. Unseen Seer 7
14. Unseen Seer 8
15. Unseen Seer 9
16. Unseen Seer 10
17. Abjurant Champion 1
18. Abjurant Champion 2
19. Abjurant Champion 3
20. Abjurant Champion 4

End the end, it nets me 5d6 Sneak Attack, 7d6 with Assassin's Stance, 9th level spells, and 13 base attack. I haven't settled on all my feats yet, debating on spells, but that's not my main thought right now. I can sit down for a bit and figure that out myself. I'll take any advice people would like to give. Taking Rilkan as a race. It's not exactly optimized, but it serves my purposes and I like the flavor. I also have the Shadow template. LA buyoff is in effect and we're all allowed a free +1 template, so I will basically be beginning at 9th level.

My main concern is that we begin the game with only 10k at tenth level. A lot of the typical items I'd have by now are just too expensive, so they're out of my reach. Also, I have a character that's intended to survive out there, so a Ring of Sustenance at 2,500gp makes a little too much sense to pass up.

Because plot, my character knows that there are a ton of abberations out there. They appear to be the main enemy so far, and are to the best of my character's knowledge.
We can spend up to 10k. However, currency has no value in this world anymore. Any extra gp left will be wasted so I'll probably be hitting up Bunko's.
Also, it doesn't seem like we'll be getting anywhere near the gold we should have at level so I need to get creative in my items.

Thank you so much for any advice!

[Eldariel]

Can you craft? That seems ideal. Also, I recommend dropping SS and Abjurant Champion for more skill monkey/caster hybrids. Get Divine Power from Arcane Disciple and walk around with full BAB. Hunter's Eye (PHBII) through Advanced Learning covers all your Sneak Attack needs.

For items, Int boosters, Heward's Fortifying Bedroll and Handy Haversack seem like gimmes. Only need Craft Wondrous Items to boot! Don't forget to scribe spells with the gold.

[Lazymancer]

My main concern is that we begin the game with only 10k at tenth level. A lot of the typical items I'd have by now are just too expensive, so they're out of my reach. Also, I have a character that's intended to survive out there, so a Ring of Sustenance at 2,500gp makes a little too much sense to pass up.
It doesn't, unless your GM homeruled that it reduces resting time for Wizard to 2 hours. According to FAQ Ring of Sustenance does not reduce resting time for Wizard to regain spells (you need 2 Heward's bedroll for this).

Food-wise you are better off with Everlasting Rations (350 gp) and badgering Cleric (or whoever) to cast Create Water daily.

As for feats: I'm having a sneaking suspicion, you'll be having problems with getting more spells. Make Wizard first level and grab Collegiate Wizard. You'll take a hit in skill-points, but - as I suspect - having twice as much spells will be worth it.

[danielxcutter]

Ring of Piercing Spells(MIC) is decent for the cost.

[Vizzerdrix]

Maybe consider ancestral relic in case you find something of value that is just too big to take. A gauntlet with warning and eager is handy. You can try for sizing and animated too!

I will second going for Collegiate Wizard. Spells are going to be few and far between so having an extra influx is important.

1200 gets you a travelers cloak from magic of faerun. Turns into a one person tent. Makes trail rations 1/day and either a gallon of cold water or hot tea 1/day. It also gives endure elements vs cold. On top of that, two or three healing belts, a handy haversack, and some shapesand (if you have the wis for it) are always handy.

[ImpieBA]

Thanks for the advice, everyone!


Can you craft? That seems ideal. Also, I recommend dropping SS and Abjurant Champion for more skill monkey/caster hybrids. Get Divine Power from Arcane Disciple and walk around with full BAB. Hunter's Eye (PHBII) through Advanced Learning covers all your Sneak Attack needs.

For items, Int boosters, Heward's Fortifying Bedroll and Handy Haversack seem like gimmes. Only need Craft Wondrous Items to boot! Don't forget to scribe spells with the gold.

I might be able to craft. I haven't heard back from the dm. There is actually a war god that fits him very well, so I might swing for Divine Power. If only Persistent Spell wasn't so expensive. What other Prestige Class would you recommend in place of SS and Abjurant Champion? The Bedroll and Haversack are most likely in.


As for feats: I'm having a sneaking suspicion, you'll be having problems with getting more spells. Make Wizard first level and grab Collegiate Wizard. You'll take a hit in skill-points, but - as I suspect - having twice as much spells will be worth it.

I had completely forgotten about Collegiate Wizard. That would help out a lot! Thank you.


Ring of Piercing Spells(MIC) is decent for the cost.

That's true, but it's 20% of my wealth and I'd rather stay away from melee range.


1200 gets you a travelers cloak from magic of faerun. Turns into a one person tent. Makes trail rations 1/day and either a gallon of cold water or hot tea 1/day. It also gives endure elements vs cold. On top of that, two or three healing belts, a handy haversack, and some shapesand (if you have the wis for it) are always handy.

Travel Cloak is amazing. I can't believe I've never seen it before. That's definitely on the list. The healing belts are most certainly added. Shapesand might be a lot of fun for this.

[PanosIs]

If you have a decent STR score I'd avoid the Haversack, it is amazing but it is also 20% of your gold going to storage, even if you're low on carrying capacity a donkey costs quite a little for its utility. I recently made a bunch of level 5 characters for an oneshot I'll be playing and they have a ECW of 9.000gp which is quite close to the 10.000gp you have, so some suggestions for your loadout:

Head: Scout's Headband 3.400gp
Throat: Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker 500gp
Shoulders: Travel Cloak 1.200gp
Feet: Anklet of Translocation 1.400gp
Waist: Healing Belt 750gp
Arms: Wand Bracer 300gp

Other: Wand of Protection from Evil 750gp
Other: Wand of Benign Transposition 750gp
Other: Normal or eternal wand of another first level spell taht you find useful, Wraith Strike, Grave Strike, or anything along those lines
Other: Blessed Bandage 10gp
Other: Scroll of Knock 150gp

This clocks at around 10.000gp and gives you not a lot of power but a lot of utility, the most expensive item here, the Scout's Headband can give you True Seeing which is quite hard to access at these levels, if you feel its going to be useful then grab it, otherwise one or two more Healing Belts, an Amulet of Tears or even a Headband of Intellect +2 are not bad options. This is considering you're going to be using some buff to make your weapon magical and/or have Cold Iron/Silver/Adamantine weapons, otherwise get a relevant weapon, I think there are some nice one in the specific weapons in MIC.

[noob]

you could alternatively instead of the two low level wands get a runestaff with a bunch of awesome low level spells.

[Epic Legand]

I would recommend against the scouts headband, your 2 levels away from gaining True seeing as a 5th level spell( via Unseen seer ). The other features do not cover a wide range of time ( low lite or Dk vision are hours/level as spells ) and its 1/3 of all gold. While I prefer the ring, the cloak is probably a better buy. The anklet and belt are both solid, but I would avoid disposable items. In a world of normal resources, you just buy more, in this world, you might still be leaning on your initial items at 20th level. Remember your martials will have the same limits, but NOT have access to like 20 spells a day to start. First decide which must have items can be replaced with your own spell slots, THEN pick what cannot be subbed out as items.
What template are you thinking ? Dark at a 1 level buy in is awesome. This will again influence things before you spend your money. When you wake up naked, you still have your template :) I also second the Collegiate Wizard suggesting if your sticking with wizard. If Wizard, are you going to specialize ? If so, this again influences your items ( maybe you skip anklet if you get the 10' teleport from wizard). With all your sneak attack dice, maybe you should consider Spellwarp Sniper? Sounds like a fun game, and I like your build so far, though I personally would go with Sorcerer, I am guessing that with such limited resources, being book dependent might become an issue at some point. Good luck

[PanosIs]

Revisiting, I'll agree with Legand, I didn't realize you'd have access to True Seeing from Seer, and otherwise it would be 5+levels up, but in this case, something else might be more useful (Headband of Intellect doesn't sound half-bad, and nor does the Runestaff idea, I'm all for versatility) although I still think a Wand has enough uses to warrant the 750gp pricetag. Eternal Wands might also be worth consideration.

[ImpieBA]

PanosIs, that's a lot of good advice on items. Thank you. I do agree that Scout's Headband is probably not my best solution, but I'll definitely consider a lot of those. My strength score is below ten this go around, so a donkey might be a good solution to that.

Epic Legand, Dark is one of the two templates I'm looking at, though I'm favoring the Shadow Template at this time. It means I start at level 9, but I think it is worth it. It has a lot going for it. I've considered the Spellwarp Sniper. I feel most of my damage will be from Conjuration attacking spells so I went with Abjurant Champion in the build, but it would be nice to get more sneak attack for Rays at least. I do like the idea of Sorcerer. I've grown comfortable using them with my last character and I like being able to choose what to do on the fly, but the further delay in spells and the focus on Charisma over Intelligence currently has me leaning toward Wizard.

Thanks again!

[Epic Legand]

Never debated why Sorcerer was tier 2 vs Wizard at teir 1. Earlier acess to spells and INT based is enough to push it. Slower metamagic ect. What school are you thinking for Wizard ?

[Deeds]

I see a lot of great item choices like healing belt, anklet of translocation, and level 1 eternal wands. It's all good stuff frankly.

I'm a fan of Pearls of Power level 1. Ideally, the pearls are almost like buying level 1 spell slots for 1000 GP a pop. Prepare your relevant spells one time each and use the pearls outside of combat. I usually get back staple spells like Nerveskitter, Silent Image, and Benign Transposition.

[ImpieBA]

Also, I got the word that I can craft using scavenging materials over gold. Any ideas of what I can try with craft wondrous item, for now or later?

[Hackulator]

Just convince your DM to let you have Vow of Poverty. In a world with very limited resources you have made the moral decision to use as little as possible. :smalltongue:

[noob]

Just convince your DM to let you have Vow of Poverty. In a world with very limited resources you have made the moral decision to use as little as possible. :smalltongue:

Wow of poverty is not as good as a lesser metamagic rod.
It is really horrible: it is exalted(you can lose it at any time if you do something which is sightly evil) and you can lose it for no reason other than having a spellbook and you also need eschew material components or to spend xp at each spell you cast.