I Be Gettin' Wild Thoughts

[RighteousPauper]

Rules Question, then discussion about the build:

Can the Warlock's Eldritch Glaive have a spell channeled through it via Ordained Champions spell channel ability?

The build I'm going for is Cloistered Cleric 1/ Warlock 8/ Eldritch Disciple 8/ Ordained Champion 3.

Eldritch Glaive says: "(Blast Shape) Your eldritch blast takes on physical substance, appearing similar to a glaive. As a full-round action, you can make a single melee touch attack as if wielding a reach weapon. If you hit, your target is affected as if struck by your eldritch blast (including any eldritch essence applied to the blast). Unlike hideous blow, you cannot combine your eldritch glaive with damage from a held weapon."

So, this means that my Eldritch Glaive ability creates the glaive, yeah? Okay.

OC's Channel Spell: "At 3rd level, you can channel any spell available to you that has one creature or more as its target into your melee weapon. Doing so requires a move action and uses up a spell slot or prepared spell of casting time no greater than one standard action. The channeled spell affects the next target you successfully attack with that weapon, though saving throws and spell resistance still apply normally."

It sounds like that works.

The build I'm going for is to be able to channel something like Energy Drain or a very highly damaging cleric spell through the Eldritch Glaive (preferably in the shape of a Heavy Flail for Hextor or something), and then also smite, for a lot of damage.

Also, if I'm allowed to ask this in the same question: is there some stigma against Ordained Champion and Divine Metamagic? I know both take turn/rebuke undead attempts, but it seems like a really good idea to apply Metamagic to a spell channeled through the weapon, to boost damage output.

Let me know if my thoughts are too wild, and feel free to through RAW at me if I'm getting something wrong.

[Mr Adventurer]

Doesn't look like you have enough actions?

[MisterKaws]

You'd need to take the move action after casting the glaive and before attacking, so it would either take a celerity (which you don't have) or a belt of battle, in which case you're paying for each daily attempt, so not that overpowered, considering some other methods can do it easier, like just going Warlock/Eldritch Theurge instead.

[RighteousPauper]

Doesn't look like you have enough actions?


You'd need to take the move action after casting the glaive and before attacking, so it would either take a celerity (which you don't have) or a belt of battle, in which case you're paying for each daily attempt, so not that overpowered, considering some other methods can do it easier, like just going Warlock/Eldritch Theurge instead.

I figured I could do this over a couple rounds, so I realize it isn't terribly optimized... What's a good Eldritch Disciple build, and does it involve Ordained Champion?

[Darrin]

With a psionics dip, you could use hustle or synchronicity to get an additional move action during the round. Technically using the Eldritch Glaive SLA is a full-round action that involves both casting the SLA and attacking as the same action. However, RAW says you can interrupt full-round actions to perform free actions, and swift/immediate actions are a type of restricted free action, so you can interrupt your own full-round action to manifest hustle or synchronicity. You could do a Psion/Wilder dip, use Linked Power to pair up synchronicity with a swift-action power like deflection field, and activate deflection field the round before you want the synchronicity to go off. Or an Ardent 3 dip gets you hustle from the Freedom mantle, 3 PP per use.

Unfortunately, at that point you're trying to mix three different caster systems into the same build... invocations, divine spells, and psionics. And while it's possible to do that, maybe even pairing up Eldritch Disciple with something like Cerebromancer, it gets a little messy from a complexity standpoint.

[MisterKaws]

I figured I could do this over a couple rounds, so I realize it isn't terribly optimized... What's a good Eldritch Disciple build, and does it involve Ordained Champion?

The glaive disappears every round so you need to do it in one round. Eldritch Disciple is just inferior to Eldritch Theurge, who can to everything you want with Greatreach Blast, not to mention the Antimagic Field abuse with Spellblast Eldritch Spear.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

First, Eldritch Glaive isn't technically a weapon (or even a "weapon-like effect"), so it probably doesn't work. That's handwaved easily enough by a generous DM.

Second problem: not enough actions. A solution I haven't seen mentioned yet is the soulmeld Threefold Mask of the Chimera. Still has the uses per day limitation, but it's based on the essentia invested. Maybe dip Incarnate for two levels (crown chakra bind), spend a feat for the soulmeld itself, and then go into Soulcaster (the arcane/incarnum theurge) or Sapphire Hierarch (divine/incarnum). Or you could spend that feat on Unlock Least Chakra and go Totemist instead. Or forgo class levels entirely and spend both feats on it, but that leaves you without much essentia. Or Incarnate 2/Totemist 1 (or 2 for that sweet totem chakra) to save all your feats.


EDIT: A better idea might be to use Hideous Blow instead of Eldritch Glaive. Typically strictly inferior, but in this case it works better and more neatly, even sidestepping the 'Eldritch Glaive isn't a weapon' problem.