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View Full Version : Little help making a Sandshaper?



senrath
2008-04-29, 02:42 PM
Hey, I'm in need of some assistance. I'm not entirely sure what my stats are going to be, but I'm going to be building a Something 5/Sandshaper 5 (something being any combinations of classes that work well together and allow me to have Arcane Caster level 5). I'm in need of advice as to what skills (other than the needed ones), feats, spells, and items to pick up. As of right now I think the allowed books are all of the Complete books, Core, and Sandstorm.

Oh, and I'm looking more for a fun character to play than an overly optimized one. That said, I still do want some optimization, or I wouldn't be posting this :P

Kyeudo
2008-04-29, 03:32 PM
I suggest you enter using Sorcerer 6 instead of some other class. The free metamagic and bonus spells know realy power up the Sorcerer, where they are only a drop in the bucket for the Wizard. Just use your Sorcerer spells known to cover what you don't get out of Sand Shaper, make sure not to lose any caster levels, and everything should work out fine.

CASTLEMIKE
2008-04-29, 04:17 PM
Sandshaper is great for Sorcerers particularly Desert Kobolds who can have standard casting progression with the ritual but it also works very well for Beguilers for other races.

Person_Man
2008-04-29, 04:52 PM
It's been a while since I've seen anyone do a Gaara build. It's pretty straitforward stuff.

Make sure you pick up the Bottle of Endless Sand (pg. 132) so that you can always create waste terrain quickly and easily without having to burn through spells.

Be a Sorcerer or Beguiler to take full benefit of all the extra spells you get access to. A one level dip in Sand Shaper just for this ability is a reasonable choice, even with the loss of a caster level.

Take Practiced Caster to make up for the 2 caster levels that you lose. Add that to your Dust Magic boosts, Heighten Spell, and Earth Spell (if you can convince your DM to let you use Races of Stone) and you should be a very potent at any spell with a Save DC and/or level dependent dice.

senrath
2008-04-29, 05:56 PM
What book is practiced caster in?

Edit: And why would a Desert Kobold be a good choice?

Starbuck_II
2008-04-29, 07:11 PM
What book is practiced caster in?

Edit: And why would a Desert Kobold be a good choice?

Complete Arcane.

Personally, I find Warmage, Dread Necromancer, and Bard better than Sorceror for Gaara as Sand Shaper, but I dislike the Sorceror due to no clas features.
Each benefits from the extra spells.

cupkeyk
2008-04-29, 07:23 PM
What book is practiced caster in?

Edit: And why would a Desert Kobold be a good choice?

Kobolds make excellent sandshapers(and desert kobolds fit it thematically) because they can lose 4 hitpoints and gain +1 effective level of sorceror, countering the level loss of sandshaper 1. They can take it to level 8 and never lose a caster level. They will need a feat(draconic reservoir).

Its in the Races of the Dragon Web enhancement.

Person_Man
2008-04-30, 09:07 AM
Kobolds make excellent sandshapers(and desert kobolds fit it thematically) because they can lose 4 hitpoints and gain +1 effective level of sorceror, countering the level loss of sandshaper 1. They can take it to level 8 and never lose a caster level. They will need a feat(draconic reservoir).

Its in the Races of the Dragon Web enhancement.

Linky (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a).

FYI, Races of the Dragon make Kobolds some of the strongest Sorcerers in the game, thanks to racial substitution levels and Greater Draconic Rite of Passage. But some DMs won't allow it because of the cheese factor.

Burley
2008-04-30, 11:52 AM
Umm...color me "annoying", but... What are the special abilities of the Sandshaper? I assume from Person Man's comment that it is a essentially Gaara, but I'm curious as to what extent. If I decided I wanted to play this class (in a gestalt), but didn't want to be a caster (tired of spells :smallfrown:), what would be a good class?

Also...how much is the Decanter of Endless Sand?

The_Snark
2008-04-30, 12:23 PM
The Bottle of Endless Sand is about 21,000 gp.

The sandshaper's special abilities involve creating inanimate objects (and animate objects as well, but those last a maximum of 2 minutes and usually take at least 15 to create, so they're not much use). Creating them requires a caster level check and some time, generally several minutes; there's a limit of something like 30 cubic feet, and you can only have so many shaped items at once.

As for entering it as a nonspellcaster, it's a spellcasting class, so no. You could enter it as a warlock (it requires an arcane caster level rather than spells), but then you wouldn't get the class's best feature, namely the desert-oriented spells known. I suppose you'd still benefit from the other features, but you'd lose a couple caster levels.