Undead stalwart sorcerer mounted gish

[Soranar]

So, as the title says, I'm working on a mounted combat stalwart sorcerer.

My logic is, I get +2 hitpoint per level and a martial proficiency. The hitpoints should work with the necropolitan template so I get a respectable d12 hitpoints+2.

The martial proficiency I spend on a lance (which makes mounted combat a decent idea and it offsets the lack of extra attacks from low BAB).

Finally I trade my familiar for a druid animal companion to get a mount.

Where my google fu fails me is where I can go from there. What spells would help, any more acf that I could combine with this.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Zhentarim Skymage. Just... perfect.

(Or don't you want a flying mount with HD equal to 1 + skymage level + Charisma modifier, no further limits?)

[Nifft]

Stalwart's +2 HP / HD is clever.

But don't stop there!

Get turned into a Necropolitan by a Dread Necromancer with all the Corpsecrafter feats, and do it in the area of an Unhallowed / Desecrate / Evil Altar / etc. so you get all the perks.

[Zaq]

Hmm. Your spells known are a vanishingly precious resource, but do you think it might be more interesting/efficient to use the Mount spell, Phantom Steed spell, or similar long-lasting "create something to ride on" spells (if you have anything that lets you poach off-list spells, Bottle of Smoke is downright hilarious) as your steed than to have a slowly scaling animal companion? Then you can either trade your familiar for something else or else get the actual benefits of a familiar. A half-strength animal companion is relatively fragile (and it'll stop scaling if you PrC out of Sorc), so it seems logical to me that it's better to spend a single slot and a single action to replace it than to spend a whole day of downtime doing so if and when it dies.

[StreamOfTheSky]

If you just need a martial proficiency to qualify for a prestige class, you could be an Elf. I think going Necropolitan you keep the proficiencies? But you lose the Con penalty. :smallsmile:

Battle sorcerer is a gish version of Sorc and gives proficiencies along with medium BAB and d8 HD (useless to you). It loses a lot of spells known and slots compared to Sorc, though it makes the pain of Stalwart very negligible (stalwart doesn't "move up" until you know 2 spells of a given level). Probably not worth it since you have d12 HD anyway, though.

There's a weapon special property w/ a +1 cost, I think called Skillful, that gives you medium BAB if you have less than that.

Also, you might want to consider bludgeoning weapons, the biggest 2H one you can get. Learn Greater Mighty Wallop and the base damage on it at high levels can easily hit 12d6 or better, and it lasts hour/level.

Trading familiar for animal companion at 1/2 progression seems to fragile to me, too. There's the Wild Cohort feat on WotC's website, if you can use something like that.

[Soranar]

Oh I hadn't read the half level animal companion part, I thought I have a full druid companion. I'm better off with a familiar then.

Maybe play a kobold (slight trait makes it tiny when riding something) and use the albatros familiar from stormwrack (small animal that flies) as a mount instead.

[Zaq]

Oh I hadn't read the half level animal companion part, I thought I have a full druid companion. I'm better off with a familiar then.

Maybe play a kobold (slight trait makes it tiny when riding something) and use the albatros familiar from stormwrack (small animal that flies) as a mount instead.

Regardless of the size involved, using a familiar as a mount is risky business. If you're using a creature as an obvious source of power or combat utility (like, y'know, a mount for anyone charging with a lance), that creature becomes a legitimate target for enemies who want to prevent you from killing them. Even if you put some resources into making a squishy familiar slightly less squishy, your mount dying is basically a question of when rather than if, and a familiar dying is an absolutely terrible thing (the XP cost is bad, and if you were actually using your familiar as a mount, the fact that it takes a year to get another one is very hampering). It's bad enough for a Paladin, but at least a Paladin can unsummon a Special Mount who has been wounded but not killed (losing them for the rest of the battle or the rest of the day is way better than losing them outright), but a Sorcerer has no such option for a familiar. (Familiar Pocket only works on Tiny or smaller familiars, so if you're using a Small albatross, that won't help.)

If you want a class-granted pet to use as a mount, you were on the right track in the first place by getting an Animal Companion rather than a familiar, since they're the easiest to replace. My suggestion was that it's even easier still to replace a mount that you get from a spell, though. Or, as others have mentioned, you might see about what you can get as a class feature from a PrC.

[Nifft]

If you plan to stay in Stalwart Sorcerer (for the extra +2 HP) then a familiar might be great.

If you plan to PrC out, then the suggestions above -- Wild Cohort or the Obtain Familiar feat -- might be better.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Sorcerer doesn't get enough class features to not go prestige class out of it, so you'll be stuck with stalwart sorcerer's drawback your entire career while the benefit will only be for a few levels. Spend a feat on Improved Toughness if you're worried about your hp.

Say you were made a necropolitan in the area of a Desecrate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/desecrate.htm) spell with an evil altar present, with the Fell Energy Spell metamagic feat applied to that. A fell energy spell increases numeric bonuses granted to undead by two points, so the standard +1 hp/level of Desecrate becomes +3 hp/level, and the evil altar doubles that to +6 hp/level. This doesn't cost you anything at all.

Furthermore, you can say you were made into a necropolitan by a Dread Necromancer 8+ with a Wizard dip for Enhanced Undead (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#necromancerVariants) and the Corpsecrafter line of feats in Libris Mortis. This gives you an additional +6 hp/level, along with a permanent +4 initiative, +10 ft. land speed, +2 natural armor, +2 turn resistance, and +4 enhancement bonus to Str and Dex. Again, this doesn't cost you anything at all.

Skip Stalwart Sorcerer, just go with a standard gish build, and get 1d12+12 hp/level at zero cost beyond being a necropolitan.

[Blackhawk748]

I recommend a Phantom Steed as your mount. It's stupid fast and it flies, plus no real downside if it "dies" it also looks cool

[Nifft]

I recommend a Phantom Steed as your mount. It's stupid fast and it flies, plus no real downside if it "dies" it also looks cool

If you do this, consider the Knight Phantom PrC: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20050706a&page=4

[StreamOfTheSky]

If you do this, consider the Knight Phantom PrC: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20050706a&page=4

Wow...that prestige class annoyed me more than anything. It fails to do the one thing a person would want and expect from such a themed PrC, and even mocks the reader about it:


Combat: While most knight phantoms are accomplished equestrians, few fight from the backs of their phantom steeds. While faster than conventional horses, phantom steeds are too fragile to handle the rigors of a cavalry charge. You're likely to use your phantom steed to get to the battle, then dismount and use spells or swordplay to defeat the enemy (which is why you're called a knight).

No kidding. If only there were a prestige class based entirely around this one specific spell that could solve that problem... :smallannoyed:

[Nifft]

Wow...that prestige class annoyed me more than anything. It fails to do the one thing a person would want and expect from such a themed PrC, and even mocks the reader about it:

No kidding. If only there were a prestige class based entirely around this one specific spell that could solve that problem... :smallannoyed:

Woah, I hadn't even thought of that.

Excellent point.

* houserule appears as if by magic *

[StreamOfTheSky]

Woah, I hadn't even thought of that.

Excellent point.

* houserule appears as if by magic *

Just replace the 1/day/level phantom steed ability of the class with stuff to greatly toughen the steeds. The spell lasts hour/level and you need to be able to cast it to enter it. You don't really need the ability to spam it. Heck, there's a SpC version to get a horde of them just a few levels higher. As long as the class features to toughen up the phantom steed applies to those as well, you're set.

Looking at Phantom Stag is a good start for an hp and AC progression, but that spell itself is poorly written and you have to guess at a lot of its stat block.

[Darrin]

Death Master from Dragon Compendium gains an undead minion that could serve as a mount. A skeletal warhorse, for example, fits the CR 1 requirement.

[Thurbane]

You might also consider the Silverwood Arcanist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031209a) PrC.