Still Spell+Full Plate Sorcerer, recommendations?

[AmeVulpes]

First of all, I am dead set on using Fighter and Sorcerer with no PrC or other dips.

I'm the DM, I run very low player-count and usually have a slightly lower-level DMPC in there to fill in missing roles. And just for fun. My players prefer it this way. That said, I won't be using anything I wouldn't allow my players to use. No loops, preferably first-party 3.5e content, but 3.0e is generally legal as well.

With that out of the way, the build:
Wild Elf. I like elves for low-light, immunity to sleep, and flavor.
Sorcerer taken at first level. Still spell taken level 1 feat.
Fighter dip at second level.
Full Sorc progression at 3+

The focus of this build:
Self-buff to high hell and hopefully emulate a similar-or-higher level pure fighter. Full plate mandatory for preference reasons. Mithral optional. Shield optional.

What I'm looking for:
Recommended feats
Recommended ability score placement (rolled 10, 11, 12, 12, 15, 16.)
Recommended spells
Recommended skill investments
Recommended equipment
Recommended familiar (hummingbird (+4 init) and Rhamphornynchus (+3 init) are legal
General advice on being better than a pure-fighter at a pure-fighter's job

What I'm not looking for:
Polymorph/Alter Self etc. I want to be myself
Minionmancy of any kind
Blasting
Save or suck

My games tend to run on long, so don't be afraid to give advice for higher levels, within reason.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Have you considered Psion or Wilder? Their "casting" is spontaneous like a Sorcerer's...but actually even more so due to augmentation system. Also, no somatic components so you don't even need Still Spell (fighter dip is still useful to not take horrendous armor check penalties to stuff for wearing non-proficient armor). I usually prefer spellcasters to psions, but in this case...if you're going the heavy armor "caster" route, you may as well leverage the single greatest fusion of the two:
The Deflective Armor feat (Races of Stone), which requires Heavy Armor Optimization feat and BAB +4. While psionically focused, your armor bonus (including enhancement) applies to touch AC. Pretty awesome...

Anyway, if not...

Bladeweave (SpC) is one of my favorite gish spells. Swift to cast, then each round as a swift after hitting in melee, you can inflict a save or be dazed for 1 round.
Girallon Arms (SpC) for more melee attacks (or higher str multiplier by using more hands, if you use those rules) is good.
Wraithstrike (SpC) is brokenly good...if you allow it, obviously it's great for melee.
Bloodwind (SpC) is a swift to make natural attacks at range for 1 round. Good if you're using natural weapons (plenty of spells, including Girallon Arms, give you them), or anyone else in the group is.
Wings of Cover (DrM, I think?) if not banned is incredibly good, negating any attack w/ an immediate action and 2nd level Sorc spell slot. If you're dragonblooded, you can also use it to protect an adjacent ally, letting you tank better than the fighter. :smallwink: The spell's power grows with level since it'll stop even 9th level spells just the same as it will 1st level.
Using it to protect an ally is the only reason I don't loathe this overpowered spell. Had a great time playing a Lawful Evil Bozak Fighter/Sorc devoted bodyguard to a villainous Sorc that dual wielded heavy shields (Wall of Steel teamwork benefit let him use one to protect an adjacent ally while the other protected him, so the style had a purpose...) and used Wings of Cover. I never once used Wings of Cover to protect myself, only to guard allies, it was such an epic "NOPE!" for a bodyguard!

For familiars...boosting Initiative is solid. Octopus gives a grapple bonus, if you want to do that.

[Anthrowhale]

A Spontaneous Cleric (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/spontaneousDivineCasters.htm) seems like a better fit for the concept since you get heavy armor, no need for still spell, and good personal buffs that aren't form altering. Adding a level or two of prestige paladin and taking battle blessing would provide easy access to a suite of effectively quickened spells for in-combat casting.

If you really want to go sorcerer, maybe consider Stalwart Sorcerer, Battle Sorcerer, and Metamagic Specialist? That gives you 1d8+2 hp/level, medium BAB, martial weapon proficiencies, the ability to cast in light armor, and the ability to use metamagic without taking extra time. Then, take Obtain Familiar if you want one.

[Eldariel]

Let's see now...

Metamagic School Focus (Transmutation, naturally) would get you 3 spells without level adjustment. Hard to get adjustment to 0 otherwise. All-day buffs (Heart of X-line, False Life [Empowered, shared with your familiar and then UMD Shield Other or whatever to increase your HP pool; familiar can spare the action to dismiss it if necessary], Greater Magic Weapon off the top of my head) can be cast before wearing armor for the day, so they are also exempt.

First level spells contain relatively few good buffs. Fist of Stone, Enlarge Person, Shield, Protection from Alignment. Second level and up, the usual Gish fare. For feats, remember to cast Heroics or 5.

You could of course go the grapplemancer build and pick an Octopus-familiar, Fearsome Grapple spell and what have you.

You can wing (Draconic) Polymorph easily enough: simply Polymorph for stats and Alter Self/Disguise Self back to your true form. This way you look like/are in your normal form (to both, mundane and true sight) but have physicals from the Polymorph form.

Bite of the WereX-line is also really good and you should definitely consider doing as above with them too as desired.


EDIT:
Ah yes, obviously 15/12/12/10/11/16 stats. You have Fullplate so you don't care about Dex and you need some Int for skills beyond Concentration. All level-ups to Charisma as per usual.

[Vizzerdrix]

Their is a feat that will get you access to divine power. Arcane desciple? That should help you get into the thick of things. You will need a bit of wis, if I remember correctly.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Self-buff to high hell and hopefully emulate a similar-or-higher level pure fighter.

[...]

General advice on being better than a pure-fighter at a pure-fighter's job
I mean, sure, we can give advice about this... but your restrictions are basically all things that are going to detract from that (full plate, fighter dip, pure sorcerer, no polymorph, wild elf).


Anyway, I can recommend the Elder Giant Magic if you have the Concentration to pull it off. An extra +3 to caster level for all the buffs you can cast at the start of each day.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Oh, I missed the full sorc progression, just assumed EK or such...

Ok, definitely Stalwart Sorc, maybe also Battle Sorc. If not Battle Sorc, then I think there's a "skillful" weapon property to get medium BAB...

[Maat Mons]

If you'll allow Dragon magazine content, there's a fighter variant that cuts arcane spell failure chance in half at 1st level. Depending on how you rule stacking and rounding work, cutting full-plate's 35% in half could yield 15%, then reduced to 5% by mithral. Add on feycraft, githcraft, or a thistledown suit to get rid of that last 5%. That same variant also allows you to move at full speed in medium armor.

If you do use battle sorcerer, taking the battle caster feat once lets you cast in medium armor with no spell failure chance. If you can afford mithril full plate, that's all you'll need. Otherwise, you can take the feat a second time to up it to heavy armor.

The greater mighty wallop spell is a pretty potent melee buff that sorcerers get. It makes a bludgeoning weapon deal damage as if one size category larger per four caster levels, and it last an hour per level. This can be combined with strongarm bracers, if your caster level isn't yet high enough to max out the damage.

[Zaq]

Arcane Strike is a way to use magic to beef up attacks without needing to actually cast, so that might be fun if you’ve got slots to burn.

If you’re comfortable getting some kind of metamagic reduction and you’re concerned with BAB, Arcane Disciple for the War domain gives you divine power, which is a staple for a reason. If that’s outside your comfort zone, just get a Skillful weapon, as I believe has already been mentioned.

I agree with the suggestion to cast as many long-duration buffs as possible in the morning prior to donning your armor; that’s a win for action economy and a win for spell slot economy, given that you won’t have to Still them. Get some metamagic rods of Extend if needed. (You can also look at metamagic rods of Still as well, but it’s less taxing to have a hand free when prebuffing in the morning than when in the thick of things.)

[TalonOfAnathrax]

How about magical Full Plate? With Arcane Preparation, he could get Luminous Armor at level 4 and walk around wearing shining armor all day. Pick Greater Luminous Armor as soon as possible to run with the theme, and voilà!

Otherwise, I would focus on spells without Somatic components.

Arcane Spells without somatic components (Note: Spells that appear more than once on the list have different casting levels for different classes; Ω = denotes a spell that has the same name as another, completely different spell from another sourcebook):

Level 0:
Flare

Level 1:
Benign Transposition (SpComp p27), Blades of Fire (SpComp p31), Breath Flare (SpComp p38), Critical Strike (SpComp p56, CompAdv p145), Deep Breath (SpComp p61), Deflect (Lesser) (PHB2 p109), Expeditious Retreat (Swift) (SpComp p85), Ectoplasmic Armor (SpComp p77), Feather Fall, Focusing Chant (SpComp p96, CompAdv p149), Golem Strike (SpComp p106, CompAdv p149), Guided Shot (SpComp p108, CompAdv p150), Insightful Feint (SpComp p124, CompAdv p153), Invisibility (Swift) (SpComp p125), Lightfoot (SpComp p132), Low-Light Vision (SpComp p134), Master's Touch Ω (SpComp p139, CompAdv p154), Secret Signs (CompArc p121), Slide (SpComp p191), Stay the Hand (PHB2 p126), True Strike, Undersong (SpComp p227), Power Word Pain

Level 2:
Baleful Transposition (SpComp p23), Blades of Fire (CompArc p99), Bladeweave (SpComp p31, CompAdv p144), Blindness/Deafness, Blur, Celerity (Lesser) (PHB2 p105), Daggerspell Stance (SpComp p57, CompAdv p145), Deflect (PHB2 p109), Delusions of Grandeur (SpComp p63), Dimension Hop (PHB2 p110), Dimension Shuffle (PHB2 p110), Energy Surge (Lesser) (PHB2 p112), Extend Tentacles (SpComp p86), Fearsome Grapple (SpComp p90), Fly (Swift) (SpComp p96, CompAdv p149), Grace (SpComp p107), Invisibility (Swift) (SpComp p125, CompAdv p153), Knock, Master's Touch Ω (PHB2 p119), Scintillating Scales (SpComp p181), Razorfangs (SpComp p168), Slide (Greater) (SpComp p192), Sonic Weapon (SpComp p195, CompAdv p157), Stay the Hand (PHB2 p126), Stretch Weapon (PHB2 p126), Sure Strike (PHB2 p126), Wings of Air (SpComp p240)

Level 3:
Alter Fortune (PHB2 p101), Avoid Planar Effects (SpComp p19), Displacement, Energy Aegis (PHB2 p111), Energy Surge (PHB2 p112), Find the Gap (SpComp p91), Geas (Lesser), Halt (PHB2 p114), Love's Lament (SpComp p134), Prismatic Mist (PHB2 p121), Suppress Breath Weapon (SpComp p216)

Level 4:
Baleful Blink (PHB2 p108), Blinding Breath (SpComp p31), Breath Weapon Substitution (SpComp p39), Celerity (PHB2 p105), Condemnation (PHB2 p107), Cursed Blade (SpComp p57, CompWar p117), Dimension Door, Entangling Staff (CompAdv p147), Geas (Lesser), Mystic Surge (PHB2 p120), Raise from the Deep (SpComp p165), Ruin Delver's Fortune (SpComp p178), Shout, Spell Enhancer (SpComp p198), Translocation Trick (SpComp p222), Stifle Spell (PHB2 p126), Wings of Air (Greater) (SpComp p240)

Level 5:
Contact Other Plane, Dimension Door (Greater) (SpComp p64), Dragon Ally (Lesser) (SpComp p72), Ethereal Breath (SpComp p84), Incite Riot (PHB2 p115), Teleport, Wail of Doom (SpComp p233, CompAdv p158),

Level 6:
Aura of Terror (SpComp p18), Brilliant Blade (CompArc p100), Charm Monster (Mass), Energy Surge (Greater) (PHB2 p1), Geas, Otto's Irresistible Dance,

Level 7:
Dragon Ally (SpComp p72), Hiss of Sleep (SpComp p114), Phase Door, Power Word Blind, Solipsism (SpComp p194), Teleport (Greater), Teleport Object,

Level 8:
Celerity (Greater) (PHB2 p105),Charm Monster (Mass), Maddening Whispers (SpComp p135), Otto's Irresistible Dance, Power Word Stun,

Level 9:
Breath Weapon Admixture (SpComp p39), Dragon Ally (Greater) (SpComp p73), Enervating Breath (SpComp p182), Mordenkainen's Disjunction, Power Word Kill, Prismatic Sphere, Time Stop, Undermaster (SpComp p227), Wail of the Banshee,

[ericgrau]

Simpler stat array: str 16, cha 15, con 12, dex 12, whatever. Every 4 levels boost str. Items to keep up with min cha.
More complicated stat array: str 16, con 15, cha 12, dex 12, whatever. Boost con at level 4, then str every 4 levels. (More) Items to keep up with min cha.

Core spells: false life, greater magic weapon, maybe feather fall (no somatic component). 10 min/level spells are nice if you expect pure dungeon grinding, otherwise they're risky to take because they can be nearly useless on wilderness travel days. Pick only 1 touch buff, maybe 2 for a 2nd option, for your familiar to hold and cast on you round 1 before you attack. Have him hold it before you put your armor on, to conserve spell level from still spell. For example protection from evil, then bull's strength, then displacement, then greater invisibility or stoneskin. Since blasting and save or suck are off the table, is no-save BFC (sleet storm, solid fog, ray of enfeeblement, etc.) off the table too? It's a good way to divide the enemies before you skewer them. If not then for your highest level spells besides long/touch buffs I see: invisibility, levitate, mirror image maybe (don't forget they have low AC; roll for image before attack roll not after), tiny hut (AoE concealment), phantom steed, haste
Spell compendium spells: The swift spells don't need still spell (no S component) and tend to be self buffs, so they're really nice for your build. Swift fly, maybe swift expeditious retreat, etc. Sorcerer is nice with these because you can spam one each round. Nice familiar touch spells (instead of core options): babau slime (lvl 1, minor damage return tanking), heroics (lvl 2, now your familiar = +1 fighter feat yo), false gravity (lvl 3, walk on walls/ceiling). I also see benign transposition (no S, lvl 1), death armor (lvl 2, better damage return tanking, stacks with babau slime), fearsome grapple (lvl 2, no S, immediate action, +4 to grapple), ethereal mount (lvl 4, mass phantom steed is the important bit, bring your whole party at ultra speed, plus some less important bonuses on the ethereal plane)

Skills: A +4 in ride lets you do a lot of nice things with a mount. Read the skill. Even if you put zero feats in this and get cheap disposable mounts. Or better yet phantom steeds. Other than that it often depends on the DM, and you're the DM so what checks do you ask for a lot?

Important items:
lesser rod of extend spell to keep those hour/level buffs up 24 hours. As long as you're extending hour/levels anyway unseen servant is nice to take, even though it isn't a buff. You might use it to carry spare gear or pick up dropped weapons. In case you use a ranged backup weapon then drop it to draw a sword for example. Ditto for shrink item and carrying CL x 2 fighter items. Cast on a rotating daily cycle.
Ranged backup weapon. Good low level ranged backups are a sling and maybe javelins. Higher level you pick up a composite bow. Arrows of various metal types for DR are nice, at high level bane arrows of common monster types too.


Other: Getting a way to make your metamagic not increase casting time would be great. Not only for quicken, but also I saw some somatic-yes immediate action & a couple swift action spells that I couldn't recommend because still spell would bump them to a full round. Nerveskitter, wings of cover, wraithstrike, etc. Sucks for someone who benefits from casting and attacking in the same round. While you have enough other options listed above to fill every round, these spells are better.

I stopped at level 4. I already see I missed bladeweave, possibly other spells. Between TalonOfAnathrax's list and mine you might find enough spells to wear full plate without the actual still spell feat. He has more somatic-no spells and my list has some somatic-yes hour/level and familiar held-touch spells that are missing from his list. You can cast those before putting on your armor. I know it's against your original requirement but it fits the theme nicely and works well. I may put it on my own list of possible future character concepts. Even if you do get the still spell feat, most of these are good spells to take.

Familiar babau slime + still death armor (this does require the feat, by level 7) + good AC + reach weapon could be a nice combo. Trouble for melee if they hit you, hard for melee to go around you. You can still advance on enemy and hit him or lock him down, unlike many other reach strats where you must stay back and hope/pray you'll get enemies to voluntarily eat attacks of opportunity.