Help with Shapeshifting Eldritch Guardian Build

[Fizzlyn]

Hey guys,

our group just recently started playing a custom seafaring campaign and I decided to be the ship's wizard and carpenter. For this I chose a Gnome Transmuter, mostly for the racial bonuses to craft and transmutation spells. After reading some guides I decided to also go some sort of polymorph route, choosing a red panda familiar with the mauler archetype (+ Mauler's Endurance feat) to get some mileage out of spells like Alter Self, Beast Shape and Monstrous Physique. So far, so good.

But after the first few fights, especially the ones from level 3 on, I recognized that even my gnome is more effective after the first rounds of combat if he just shapechanges into an Orc and wrecks things with a medium long spear rather than shooting his crossbow from the back. So after some reading through different guides i came up with the idea of playing a Transmuter/Eldritch Guardian/Eldritch Knight10. Since I couldnt find any guide / build advice that covers my problems, I decided to finally post my build here.

Build (25 pt. buy):

Str 12 (5)
Dex 14 (5)
Con 14 (2)
Int 18 (17)
Wis 10 (0)
Cha 9 (-4)

Gnome racial traits:
Fey Thoughts (Swim, Perception), Intrepid Settler, Master Tinker, Utilitarian Magic
Traits: Transmuter (Bull's Strength), Reactionary

Level 1-5:
Wizard: Transmutation (Enhancement) school, Opposition Schools (Necromancy, Illusion), Red Panda familiar

Level 6-7:
Eldritch Guardian Fighter: Share Training, Steel Will, advances Red Panda familiar

Level 8-17:
Eldritch Knight

Feats:
1: Spell Focus (Transmutation), Scribe Scroll (wiz bonus)
3: Craft Wondrous Item
5: Combat Reflexes, Craft Magic Arms and Armor (wiz bonus)
7: Power Attack
9: ?
11: Improved Share Spells
13+: ?

This build will give me a BAB of 16 while still having a effective CL of 17 (9th level spells) at level20 while also haring all my combat feats to my buffed and polymorphed red panda familiar. The main concern i have so far is the selection of combat feats, as Share Training will allow me to share my combat feats with my familiar. Additionally, due to the shapeshifting focus of this build, the feats should also be applicable to (almost) all the good different shapeshifting forms. So far ive only come up with Power Attack and Combat Reflexes, which will stay good in almost every form. Also I'm very sure I will take Spell Penetration between level 9 and 13 and Improved Initiative/Toughness anywhere along the run.

So are there any good feats that maybe just didnt catch my eye? So far most of the shapeshifting feats/items/abilities seem to heavily rely on Wild Shape (which i dont have access to) or such feats need Natural Attacks as prerequisites (which i lack).

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Fizzlyn

[Geddy2112]

You would probably be better served opposing evocation vs necromancy, as necromancy has false life and a lot of combat bad touch spells great for a melee wizard. What level are you currently at?

For the most part, I would not worry as much about spell penetration as you are not as reliant on your spells beating SR, and that really only comes up late game. Toughness is a strong contender since you are using your familiar for combat and their HP depends on yours, as well as your lower hp.

Ideally, you would have gone with brown fur transmuter arcanist for this kind of build, but wizard is plenty solid to do it.

[Azoth]

Arcane Strike will add some damage on rounds you aren't using your Swift action.

[Fizzlyn]

@ Geddy2112:

I chose my opposition schools mainly from an RP point of view: my gnome is the crafter of the group and thereby more on the creationist side of casting. He just seems illusion to be too unreliable while deeming necromancy to be too destructive.

We're currently at 4th level and hence i'm already stuck to the decisions i made so far (talents, schools, etc). With alter self and bull's strength, he and his familiar are both beasts in battle already (being two of the three frontliners). I mainly chose spell penetration because i still plan to use battlefield control spells in the first two rounds of combat and then going face to face in whatever shape suits the current situation.

@ Azoth:

My main concern with arcane strike is that it doesnt benefit my familiar at all (though it gets shared as well) due to my familiar not having a caster level.



On another problem i found:

After calculating some statblocks for different levels and different shapes, i found out that my shapeshifted AC (in non-humanoid forms) really suffers from losing the armor and shield bonuses from polymorph effects. Is there any possibility to keep these bonuses while polymorphed? Or is there any possibility to don armor for different forms faster (like contingency spell or similar)?