Build questions - Druid / Duskblade / Arcane hierophant

[Zaile]

***EDIT: Updated with build!

Hey gang. I had a weird/silly idea for a Druid/Duskblade hybrid who could channel attack spells while wild shaped.

I was going for a Duskblade 1 > Druid 5 > Arcane hierophant 10 > DB 3 >Whatever X. Obtain familiar feat for DB side.

Could I use the Fascinating Illumination feat to qualify my duskblade side or would I have to take DB to 5?

Thanks in advance!

THE BUILD SO FAR

Will be summoning at lower levels, maybe all the way. Depending no how the campaign goes, I may only take 1 Duskblade level.
Druid 1 for feats & skill points
Duskblade 1 (Trade heavy armor for Dragonscale husk. Since it is a) untyped bonus, and b) a class ability, it technically should stack in WS)
Druid 4
Arcane Hierophant 4
DB 3 for Arcane Channeling, then back to AH
OR
AH 10 and take the Arcane Strike feat instead as it adds +X/+xd4 to every attack and won't lose 2 Druid CL
AH 10
Whatever X, based on how character/campaign goes: Thaumaturgist/Moonspeaker if focused on summoning, Abjurant Champ (divine conversion), Earth Shaker, Nosomatic Chirurgeon, etc.


FEATS

Flaw 1: Greenbound summoning
Flaw 2: Practiced Spellcaster - Druid
Human: Ashbound
L1: Able learner (human), Ashbound, or Spell Focus: Conjuration (for summoner PRCs)
L3: Fascinating Illumination (DM allowed for early qualification) > re-train to Southern Magician (for getting Druid 1-4 spells in the more plentiful DB slots)
L6: Natural Spell (or Obtain Familiar if needed for AH companion)
L9: Rashemi Elemental Summoning, Arcane Strike, Knowledge Devotion, or Initiate of Nature
L12: Dragon Wild Shape
L15: One of the above not chosen
L18: One of the above not chosen

[Elves]

Sanctum Spell, Southern Magician and Alternative Spell Source all work for spell qualification.

I like your build, because it's one of the few situations where duskblade is actually worth theurging, since the extra level to dip an arcane fullcaster would prevent you from getting druid 9ths. What do you have in mind for the X2?

[Zaile]

Sanctum Spell, Southern Magician and Alternative Spell Source all work for spell qualification.

I like your build, because it's one of the few situations where duskblade is actually worth theurging, since the extra level to dip an arcane fullcaster would prevent you from getting druid 9ths. What do you have in mind for the X2?

Forgot about those feats.

Not sure about the last couple level honestly, games I'm in rarely get that high, but there is always planar shepherd, warshaper, and master of many forms.

Looking at the breakdown, I'd probably take my 2nd and 3rd Duskblade levels once I get Large WS.

[Elves]

planar shepherd 2 not worth feat tax. its likely either dsk3/drd7/AH10 or dsk3/drd6/AH10/mystic theurge 1 -- 1 bab vs a few more duskblade spells, inconsequential choice.

But if there are any druid PRCs that advance casting but not AC or WS at 1st, and give something good at that level, you could take it since neither AC nor WS improve at druid 17th. IDK if there's such a class.

[Elves]

Some interesting PRC options for dsk3/drd6/AH10/druid casting PRC 1:

dracolyte 1 - gain domain spell slots at each level as cleric, glory domain only (9th: gate) - 2 feat tax
earthshaker 1 - gain domain spell slots at each level as cleric, earth domain only (9th: elemental swarm)
^The extra spell slots are great, for SNA or arcane strike if nothing else. Dracolyte has 2 feat taxes but 1/day gate, which is otherwise not on your list, could well be worth it.

dancer of sharess 1 - grants familiar, saving you a feat.
nosomatic chirurgeon 1 - spontaneous inflict spells to use with arcane channeling - 1 feat tax
dweomerkeeper 1 - spontaneously cast 1 spell (such as your favorite touch spell to use with arcane channeling); you could even use this to cast a duskblade spell from druid slots.
^These 3 have direct build synergy

--

sacred exorcist 1 - turn undead (take devotion feats to take advantage of)
heartfire fanner - 5th level bardic music, grant feat w/ bardic music - 2 feat tax
^These 2 have good benefits but would change build strategy a little

elder druid 1 - uncanny dodge, 1 feat tax
mystic wanderer 1 - +cha to ac while unarmored, 1 feat tax
moonspeaker 1 - augment summoning as bonus feat - shifter race only
shadowcraft mage 1 - 20% concealment except in daylight
elemental savant 1 - substitute spell energy damage for different type - 1 feat tax
^OKish benefits

[Zaile]

Some interesting PRC options for dsk3/drd6/AH10/druid casting PRC 1:

dracolyte 1 - gain domain spell slots at each level as cleric, glory domain only (9th: gate) - 2 feat tax
earthshaker 1 - gain domain spell slots at each level as cleric, earth domain only (9th: elemental swarm)
^The extra spell slots are great, for SNA or arcane strike if nothing else. Dracolyte has 2 feat taxes but 1/day gate, which is otherwise not on your list, could well be worth it.

dancer of sharess 1 - grants familiar, saving you a feat.
nosomatic chirurgeon 1 - spontaneous inflict spells to use with arcane channeling - 1 feat tax
dweomerkeeper 1 - spontaneously cast 1 spell (such as your favorite touch spell to use with arcane channeling); you could even use this to cast a duskblade spell from druid slots.
^These 3 have direct build synergy

--

sacred exorcist 1 - turn undead (take devotion feats to take advantage of)
heartfire fanner - 5th level bardic music, grant feat w/ bardic music - 2 feat tax
^These 2 have good benefits but would change build strategy a little

elder druid 1 - uncanny dodge, 1 feat tax
mystic wanderer 1 - +cha to ac while unarmored, 1 feat tax
moonspeaker 1 - augment summoning as bonus feat - shifter race only
shadowcraft mage 1 - 20% concealment except in daylight
elemental savant 1 - substitute spell energy damage for different type - 1 feat tax
^OKish benefits

Excellent, thanks!

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I was going for a Duskblade 1 > Druid 5 > Arcane hierophant 10 > DB 3 >Whatever X. Obtain familiar feat for DB side.

Cool idea!

You can actually enter Arcane Hierophant a level earlier than you are; because Arcane Hierophant's Wild Shape stacks with your Druid levels, you'll still be at effectively Druid 5 at the same level. This gives you a little more Duskblade casting over the course of your career, gets you Arcane Channeling a level sooner, and gives you another level to play with at the end of the build.


Sanctum Spell, Southern Magician and Alternative Spell Source all work for spell qualification.

There's also the classic Precocious Apprentice, for completeness' sake.

[Elves]

There's also the classic Precocious Apprentice, for completeness' sake.
Huh, for some reason thought it was sor/wiz only. As usual it's the best option then...

Out of interest, Poetic, which of those PRC choices would you be inclined to take?

[Darg]

Precocious apprentice specifically mentions twice that you don't have the ability to cast 2nd levels spells with it. If it gave you such an ability, the first half of the feat becomes defunct. I always find it odd that people simply ignore this. It does however allow one to cast a spell, specific or general.

[Zaile]

I have a pretty forgiving DM, so as long as I take SOME feat that lets me casts a 2nd level spell I should be good. Going to stick with Fascinating Illumination since it's so good and easily re-trained later.

Thanks so much for all the feedback!

[Zaile]

Cool idea!

You can actually enter Arcane Hierophant a level earlier than you are; because Arcane Hierophant's Wild Shape stacks with your Druid levels, you'll still be at effectively Druid 5 at the same level. This gives you a little more Duskblade casting over the course of your career, gets you Arcane Channeling a level sooner, and gives you another level to play with at the end of the build.



There's also the classic Precocious Apprentice, for completeness' sake.

Wow I totally missed that! Though you HAD to have WS. Excellent.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Huh, for some reason thought it was sor/wiz only. As usual it's the best option then...

Out of interest, Poetic, which of those PRC choices would you be inclined to take?


Some interesting PRC options for dsk3/drd6/AH10/druid casting PRC 1:

dracolyte 1 - gain domain spell slots at each level as cleric, glory domain only (9th: gate) - 2 feat tax
earthshaker 1 - gain domain spell slots at each level as cleric, earth domain only (9th: elemental swarm)
^The extra spell slots are great, for SNA or arcane strike if nothing else. Dracolyte has 2 feat taxes but 1/day gate, which is otherwise not on your list, could well be worth it.

dancer of sharess 1 - grants familiar, saving you a feat.
nosomatic chirurgeon 1 - spontaneous inflict spells to use with arcane channeling - 1 feat tax
dweomerkeeper 1 - spontaneously cast 1 spell (such as your favorite touch spell to use with arcane channeling); you could even use this to cast a duskblade spell from druid slots.
^These 3 have direct build synergy

--

sacred exorcist 1 - turn undead (take devotion feats to take advantage of)
heartfire fanner - 5th level bardic music, grant feat w/ bardic music - 2 feat tax
^These 2 have good benefits but would change build strategy a little

elder druid 1 - uncanny dodge, 1 feat tax
mystic wanderer 1 - +cha to ac while unarmored, 1 feat tax
moonspeaker 1 - augment summoning as bonus feat - shifter race only
shadowcraft mage 1 - 20% concealment except in daylight
elemental savant 1 - substitute spell energy damage for different type - 1 feat tax
^OKish benefits

Well, I have an enormous fondness for the Shifter race, so my immediate instinct is Moonspeaker. But if you're Wild Shaping as your primary combat strategy, you won't be able to take advantage of shifting very often (unless I'm misremembering and you can shift while Wild Shaping, in which case I'd definitely pick Moonspeaker, because that's awesome), except perhaps as a utility option. It's still a great fluff fit, though, and also gives you some shapeshifting power starting at 1st level, so you don't have to wait until Wild Shape for your build to start looking like it's supposed to, so... I guess Moonspeaker is still a contender.

I think Sacred Exorcist's turning is coming online too late, especially if you want to invest feats into using that Turn Undead. You might be able to replace it, though, if you can get your hands on the bone talisman (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20040721a) spell (worst comes to worst, there's always Extra Spell). This could potentially be a great combination with Dweomerkeeper, actually.

Similarly, you can replicate Nosomatic Chirurgeon's spontaneous healing/inflicting with the Spontaneous Healer/Wounder feats. That said, I think Nosomatic Chirurgeon wins this comparison, since you get both, and it's not something you need to build around so coming online later doesn't hurt it; it's just another nice thing you get once you're done with the build critical stuff.

For my 3rd choice, I think I have to go with Earthshaker. More spells, more slots, and probably more thematic than Dracolyte (and you won't get 9th level spells to take advantage of gate until 21st level, unless I'm missing something never mind, was thinking there were 4 levels of Duskblade for some reason).

So yeah, those would be my top three choices: Moonspeaker, Nosomatic Chirurgeon, and Earthshaker. Maybe Dweomerkeeper if you have a fantastic spell for spontaneously casting, like bone talisman powering Devotion feats (but that's some heavy investment at that point). However, take this with a large grain of salt, since high-level play and full-casters are both out of my sphere of expertise, making this doubly so; it's very possible I'm missing or under-/over-valuing something.



Precocious apprentice specifically mentions twice that you don't have the ability to cast 2nd levels spells with it. If it gave you such an ability, the first half of the feat becomes defunct. I always find it odd that people simply ignore this. It does however allow one to cast a spell, specific or general.

I admit, that's a completely valid reading. I prefer the more permissive one, though, for two reasons. First, I like early-entry shenanigans, and the greater variety of builds they make practical. Second, ruling that only being able to cast a single spell doesn't count as "spells" for prerequisites is a painful precedent to set, as Sorcerers and Bards (and most other spontaneous casters) only get a single spell known when they unlock a new spell level, meaning they'd have to wait another level before entering such PrCs after the level they usually already have to wait compared to prepared casters.

[Zaile]

Well, I have an enormous fondness for the Shifter race, so my immediate instinct is Moonspeaker. But if you're Wild Shaping as your primary combat strategy, you won't be able to take advantage of shifting very often (unless I'm misremembering and you can shift while Wild Shaping, in which case I'd definitely pick Moonspeaker, because that's awesome), except perhaps as a utility option. It's still a great fluff fit, though, and also gives you some shapeshifting power starting at 1st level, so you don't have to wait until Wild Shape for your build to start looking like it's supposed to, so... I guess Moonspeaker is still a contender.

I think Sacred Exorcist's turning is coming online too late, especially if you want to invest feats into using that Turn Undead. You might be able to replace it, though, if you can get your hands on the bone talisman (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20040721a) spell (worst comes to worst, there's always Extra Spell). This could potentially be a great combination with Dweomerkeeper, actually.

Similarly, you can replicate Nosomatic Chirurgeon's spontaneous healing/inflicting with the Spontaneous Healer/Wounder feats. That said, I think Nosomatic Chirurgeon wins this comparison, since you get both, and it's not something you need to build around so coming online later doesn't hurt it; it's just another nice thing you get once you're done with the build critical stuff.

For my 3rd choice, I think I have to go with Earthshaker. More spells, more slots, and probably more thematic than Dracolyte (and you won't get 9th level spells to take advantage of gate until 21st level, unless I'm missing something never mind, was thinking there were 4 levels of Duskblade for some reason).

So yeah, those would be my top three choices: Moonspeaker, Nosomatic Chirurgeon, and Earthshaker. Maybe Dweomerkeeper if you have a fantastic spell for spontaneously casting, like bone talisman powering Devotion feats (but that's some heavy investment at that point). However, take this with a large grain of salt, since high-level play and full-casters are both out of my sphere of expertise, making this doubly so; it's very possible I'm missing or under-/over-valuing something.




I admit, that's a completely valid reading. I prefer the more permissive one, though, for two reasons. First, I like early-entry shenanigans, and the greater variety of builds they make practical. Second, ruling that only being able to cast a single spell doesn't count as "spells" for prerequisites is a painful precedent to set, as Sorcerers and Bards (and most other spontaneous casters) only get a single spell known when they unlock a new spell level, meaning they'd have to wait another level before entering such PrCs after the level they usually already have to wait compared to prepared casters.

Thanks for the recommendations.

I was going to take a couple summoning feats, so Moonspeaker is definitely good. I was also thinking Thaumaturgist (feat for planar binding).

[Elves]

That's pretty cool, I guess AH does grant wild shape. So it's actually duskblade 3/druid 3/AH 10/x4. Trying to get 16 BAB is tempting but sets you back feats, ws, AC. Could get duskblade 5ths if you go MT 4, but sets you back ws and AC. Most likely you're looking at drd or planar shepherd 3/x1 so same dip discussion.

Moonspeaker is inferior to Dancer of Sharess b/c same net effect [+1 feat] w/o race req. Nosomatic as Poetic points out is replicable with 1 feat saving you 1 level and the race req on net. Heartfire is ugly and awkward to stick in there. Go-to choices Sharess or Earthshaker IMO -- and earthshaker's benefit is well worth 1 feat, so it comes out on top.


Precocious apprentice specifically mentions twice that you don't have the ability to cast 2nd levels spells with it. If it gave you such an ability, the first half of the feat becomes defunct. I always find it odd that people simply ignore this. It does however allow one to cast a spell, specific or general.
Interpreting a feat that lets you cast a 2nd level spell as not letting you cast 2nd level spells is a stretch. The actual wording is "Until your level is high enough to allow you to cast 2nd-level spells", which I read as meaning your levels don't let you cast 2nds but the feat clearly does.

[Darg]

I admit, that's a completely valid reading. I prefer the more permissive one, though, for two reasons. First, I like early-entry shenanigans, and the greater variety of builds they make practical. Second, ruling that only being able to cast a single spell doesn't count as "spells" for prerequisites is a painful precedent to set, as Sorcerers and Bards (and most other spontaneous casters) only get a single spell known when they unlock a new spell level, meaning they'd have to wait another level before entering such PrCs after the level they usually already have to wait compared to prepared casters.

It's not a painful precedent to set. There are multiple locations where where the ability to cast a certain level of spells is implied to be the level in which you gain access. A generalist wizard is in the same boat as sorc and bard and yet 3rd level wizard is used as an example of qualification. It's not like it's the only method for early access, and it still requires DM adjudication to qualify. I personally prefer wizard/archivist with Alacritous Cogitation and Versatile Spellcaster. It requires no DM adjudication. If one goes wizard 1/cleric 3 you can even skip Alacritous Cogitation.


Interpreting a feat that lets you cast a 2nd level spell as not letting you cast 2nd level spells is a stretch. The actual wording is "Until your level is high enough to allow you to cast 2nd-level spells", which I read as meaning your levels don't let you cast 2nds but the feat clearly does.

It's more of a stretch to interpret that it does and it is very clear that possessing the feat does not give you the ability. Otherwise it wouldn't include that statement. Think about it. If it qualifies as casting 2nd level spells, then the first part of the benefit is ignored and you immediately gain a second level slot to prepare and cast from without failure if you have the minimum caster level. This would open up 3rd level spellcasting with 1st level specialist wizard with versatile spellcaster.

[ShurikVch]

Urban Druid could be better (since Cha-based casting), except it's unclear if Urban Companion would count as Animal Companion, and there would be need to get Trackless Step from some other source...

[liquidformat]

I was going for a Duskblade 1 > Druid 5 > Arcane hierophant 10 > DB 3 >Whatever X. Obtain familiar feat for DB side.

Obtain familiar feat isn't needed nor does it make sense to take in this build. For starters you need arcane CL 3 which means you would also have to take Practiced Spellcaster(which isn't a horrible idea to take anyway) or have three levels of duskblade before you qualify, so you are sinking 2 feats or three levels into getting a familiar. Reading through Companion Familiar no where does it say you ever needed to have a familiar to begin with it automatically takes your arcane CL plus AH level to determine the familiar bonuses your Companion Familiar gets.

[Zaile]

Obtain familiar feat isn't needed nor does it make sense to take in this build. For starters you need arcane CL 3 which means you would also have to take Practiced Spellcaster(which isn't a horrible idea to take anyway) or have three levels of duskblade before you qualify, so you are sinking 2 feats or three levels into getting a familiar. Reading through Companion Familiar no where does it say you ever needed to have a familiar to begin with it automatically takes your arcane CL plus AH level to determine the familiar bonuses your Companion Familiar gets.

Wow, you seem to be right. This idea just keeps getting better. Build coming soon

[Elves]

You add your arcane hierophant class level to your arcane spellcasting class level, and determine the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of your animal companion accordingly (see the sidebar Familiars, page 53 of the Player's Handbook).

Problem is without Obtain Familiar hexblades aren't entitled to a familiar, so I don't know you would get granted any familiar benefits for "your arcane spellcasting class level" if the class is hexblade, and the wording makes clear you couldn't add your AH level independently. The wording leaves it vague, but the intent seems evident that you're supposed to lose familiar in exchange for granting familiar benefits to AC.

[Zaile]

Problem is without Obtain Familiar hexblades aren't entitled to a familiar, so I don't know you would get granted any familiar benefits for "your arcane spellcasting class level" if the class is hexblade, and the wording makes clear you couldn't add your AH level independently. The wording leaves it vague, but the intent seems evident that you're supposed to lose familiar in exchange for granting familiar benefits to AC.

Then there is this clause at the beginning "you must dismiss your familiar, if you have one..." implying you don't need a familiar for the feature to kick in. Not sure how to take it. The class was written well before Duskblade, so who knows. At worst I take the feat by re-training early entry feat.

[Elves]

"Add your arcane hierophant class level to your arcane spellcasting class level, and determine the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of your animal companion accordingly." - AH

"A familiar also grants special abilities to its master (a sorcerer or wizard), as given on the table below." - PHB

from these 2 quotes alone you would not gain the benefit, because the second quote indicates that class level on the familiar ability table means sor or wiz level only, unless you have familiar ability from elsewhere. So the question is if this quote:

"your animal companion gains many of the abilities that a familiar would normally possess."

is granting you the ability or simply allowing you to apply any current ability. The wording is unresolvably ambiguous so you should just run with the favorable interpretation. That means earthshaker for your dip, unless a) you want to get turning from sacred fist and take devotion feats or b) there's a duskblade spell you really want to cast from druid slots (dweomerkeeper).

[smasher0404]

Urban Druid could be better (since Cha-based casting), except it's unclear if Urban Companion would count as Animal Companion, and there would be need to get Trackless Step from some other source...

I'm not sure what Urban Druid actually provides over going regular Druid in this case. Duskblades are Int based, so changing the Casting Stat for your divine side to Charisma doesn't really help you with the MAD (and Wisdom directly boosts your Will Saves, while Charisma without external resources mostly fuels face-based skill checks), you'd need to get Trackless Step from another source, and Urban Druids cast from a much narrower spell list (due to lacking external support, and pulling from a separate spell list than a Druid).

[ShurikVch]

I'm not sure what Urban Druid actually provides over going regular Druid in this case. Duskblades are Int based
They are?..
[check]
They are.
Dang. :smallfrown:
I was legitimately sure they cast from Cha (spontaneous Int casting is too rare, and "spontaneous = Cha" is the "default" presumption)
Sorry!

[ThanatosZero]

I wonder if it isn't possible to convince your DM to let you continue taking levels in Arcane Hierophant or create a prestige class for to fill out the remaining levels.

Another alternative is to create Prestige Class variants of both the Mystic Theurge and Arcane Hierophant to take the Duskblade of the arcane side into consideration for requirements. The DMG and the PHB actually encourage the creation of tailor made prestige classes or those which are adjusted to fit into the campaign.

[Zaile]

I wonder if it isn't possible to convince your DM to let you continue taking levels in Arcane Hierophant or create a prestige class for to fill out the remaining levels.

Another alternative is to create Prestige Class variants of both the Mystic Theurge and Arcane Hierophant to take the Duskblade of the arcane side into consideration for requirements. The DMG and the PHB actually encourage the creation of tailor made prestige classes or those which are adjusted to fit into the campaign.

I've had the homebrew bug as of late. May work on a couple theurge classes. It may be a little difficult with Duskblade though. The class relies on BAB and channeling, so a PRC would have to be minimum 3/4 or really full BAB to be worth it, hard to get past the balance line, but in the end, you will either be attacking or casting as a gish anyway so the end result may be OK.

[Elves]

Theurges being 10 levels is just one of the restrictions of 3e. MT 4 would get you duskblade 5ths, but is it worth missing huge and elemental or magical beast wild shape + paying an extra feat to top up AC? No, but it's a tradeoff.

I like how this build doesn't care about missing 16 BAB since in wild shape you're making natural attacks so iteratives don't matter.

If I were doing this I would go

H ashbound
F greenbound
F practiced
1 that feat that gives your animal companion +3 effective level
3 hypnotic > psychic reform or retrain to Knowledge Devotion once the PRC is self-qualifying (this is legal)
6 natural spell
9 arcane strike
12 dragon wild shape
15 greensinger or nightbringer initiate to qualify for planar shepherd
18 rashemi

drd1/dsk1/drd +2/AH2/dsk+2/AH+8/planar shepherd 3/earthshaker 1

if not planar shepherd, replace the animal companion feat with aberration blood and greensinger initiate with aberration shape.

You could also fit in Dracolyte, gate would certainly be insane to have on top of all the other stuff, although Rashemi somewhat redeems earthshaker's 9th.

[Zaile]

Nice suggestions!

Arcane strike can't be taken til I have 3rd level DB spells or with Southern Magician. So 9th if re-train Fascinating illumination into S. Magician or 15th since DB 3 spells is after 12.

In regards to Knowledge devotion, it needs to be paired with something like educated or able learner otherwise it's not worth it for 2 knowledges. I think the "must take" point for it is having K Religion, Arcana, nature and Planes.
Also, realized last night I can't get to 8 K. Arcana without cross-class tax or taking DB 3 earlier.

The build just needs 1 more BAB to get to 16, but there is also Arcane Disciple for Divine Power on BD side

[Elves]

You don't need to retrain to Southern Magician. Just retrain to a different feat of your choice as soon as AH grants you duskblade 2nds. At that point the PRC prereq is self-fulfilling. At no point do you cease to fulfill it.

Knowledge Devotion grants bonus K skill and eventually you get planes from Planar Shepherd. But the rank qualification is an issue -- prevents you from getting both planar shepherd 3 and the PRC dip.

Solutions:
1. Oriental Adventures human does allow use in other settings and can grant k(arcana) or k(religion) as a bonus skill.
2: If DM says no to OA, KDev at 1st and apply its bonus skill to nature, then use urban ACF to trade druid's k (nature) for (local) which applies to humanoids.

3: Educated at 1st and Kdev later. Comprehensive solution but wastes a feat.

4: Take druid 4-6 instead of planar shepherd, use the saved feat to snag aberration shape or something else good. Certainly a fine choice, especially because elementals can grant you the melee feats you otherwise lack like PA & cleave. Very decent if DM rules that you can become any elemental with those subtypes, which is probably correct since the other wild shapes work that way. Consider doing this regardless.

Paragnostic Assembly, of truenamer fame, can grant another bonus knowledge skill and is certainly thematic if you have Kdev. Eventually allows take 10 on knowledge checks too. So if you refuse to bite bullet and take Educated you can still get 5 of 6 as class skills. (either planes from planar shep, or religion from OA human since you no longer need to meet skill prereqs by 5th).

---

On reflection, druid 4-6 looks better than planar shepherd 1-3. Lets you get aberration shape and elemental forms can fulfill an important role in granting you combat feats.

The central advantage of magical beast wild shape is that it explicitly allows templating which means multiheaded among others. Its use depends on how wild (no pun) your DM lets you go with that.

[Zaile]

Love the urban druid idea! K dev requires 5 ranks though, so 2nd level... So I guess I can only get it at first level by domain trading.

I was actually thinking silverbrow human as my character is descended from a line of dragon-worshiping shaman/barbarians.

My idea with Wild shape was to get Dragon forms so I could drop my falchion > Summon death machines > WS into dragon > pick up falchion > Channel with falchion for crits > claw > bite > wing, wing > repeat.

Not sure about aberrations for this character, but Frozen wild shape as he's from the northlands makes sense.

Guess it just comes down to weather I care about elemental forms or not, not really since I'll be summoning them. and dragon-shaping so much.

[Zaile]

I wonder if it isn't possible to convince your DM to let you continue taking levels in Arcane Hierophant or create a prestige class for to fill out the remaining levels.

Another alternative is to create Prestige Class variants of both the Mystic Theurge and Arcane Hierophant to take the Duskblade of the arcane side into consideration for requirements. The DMG and the PHB actually encourage the creation of tailor made prestige classes or those which are adjusted to fit into the campaign.

I went and made a Duskblade theurge RPC.

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?627063-Spellblade-Theurge-A-Duskblade-Theurge-PRC-PEACH-me

[Elves]

Will read. Fascinating illumination doesn't work to qualify btw since effect is SLA. But start with drd 3 and you can take southern magician at 3rd.