archivest

[awa]

well my charecter bit the dust so im building a new charecter i was thinking of making an archivist but casters are not my area of expertise.

So any feat or more importantly spell suggestions would be handy.

Just a bit of ground rules the current party is a barbarian and a enlightened fist so were not talking about super optimization therefore i would rather not get into stuff like divine bards and so on.

thanks in advance
edit level 8

[Optimystik]

1) Read the Archivist Handbook
2) Return with questions

[Thrice Dead Cat]

I would also recommend these guides: Treantmonk's old Playing God, sadly a wreck due to the WotC boards. and his Pathfinder equivalent, if you're into that.

You'll have to do some slight work on double checking what's on both spells lists if you're not willing to grab some means of converting arcane to divine, but the basic principle of buff your comrades to high heaven is the important part.

[JaronK]

Have you considered optimizing for buffs? You don't seem overpowered if the rest of the party gets buffed too, and stuff like Persistant (via Anima Mage or Sacred Exorcist/DMM) Righteous Wrath of the Faithful or Lesser Vigor can work wonders for a party.

JaronK

[awa]

are the reserve feats worthwhile?

[Pluto]

are the reserve feats worthwhile?

That's not a simple question.

Reserve feats will not make a character more powerful, the way that Greenbound Summoning or Arcane Thesis will. They won't add new abilities like Craft Contingent Spell or Quicken Spell will.

What they do is provide the Archivist with weak powers that can be used indefinitely. If your group regularly has grueling endurance situations, they can be very useful. More so if you can't buy Wands for the same purpose.

The most useful ones are Minor Shapeshift (CM) for the renewable temporary HP boost, Summon Elemental (CM) for renewable scouts/trap fodder, Acidic Splatter (CM) for melting objects out of combat and delivering sneak attacks in combat, Touch of Healing (CC) for bottomless free out-of-combat healing and Holy Warrior (CC) for the extra damage for builds that get a lot of attacks per round (in case you want an archivist archer).

And I like the dimension hop one. because at will teleportation is fun, even if it is woefully short-ranged.

[Optimystik]

are the reserve feats worthwhile?

That depends entirely on your DM. If he has so many/grueling encounters that you find yourself pulling out the crossbow regularly, then reserve feats are worth it. And even then you can do without spending feats if you can get your hands on wands (via shopping/crafting.)

[Yuki Akuma]

God tip for Archivists: Find a friendly Adept, Ranger or Paladin with Scribe Scroll. Buy some spell scrolls from him.

I suggest the Adept's Heal as a starting point.

[Optimystik]

God tip for Archivists: Find a friendly Adept, Ranger or Paladin with Scribe Scroll. Buy some spell scrolls from him.

I suggest the Adept's Heal as a starting point.

Better yet, find a Warlock

[Ernir]

God tip for Archivists: Find a friendly Adept, Ranger or Paladin with Scribe Scroll. Buy some spell scrolls from him.

I suggest the Adept's Heal as a starting point.

And if no one knows Scribe Scroll (seriously, a Ranger with Scribe Scroll? ), cooperate with them to make it.

[Yuki Akuma]

(seriously, a Ranger with Scribe Scroll? )

It could happen!

A Wizard/Ranger multiclass, for instance!

[Ernir]

It could happen!

A Wizard/Ranger multiclass, for instance!

Sword of the Arcane Order. Right. I remembered that.

[Eldariel]

I would also recommend these guides: Treantmonk's old Playing God, sadly a wreck due to the WotC boards.

Treantmonk's Guide is in far better guise over at BG

[monkey3]

Is there a way for non-good Archivist to gain Turn Undead or Rebuke? (Other than with loosing a caster level)

Seems unfair. I know of 3 different good prcs that give that ability but 0 for neutral/evil.

[Eldariel]

Is there a way for non-good Archivist to gain Turn Undead or Rebuke? (Other than with loosing a caster level)

Seems unfair. I know of 3 different good prcs that give that ability but 0 for neutral/evil.

Adaptation? 'cause evils don't really do that without giving up caster level (but you could just go Ur-Priest for rebuking; of course, that kinda sucks without wanting to actually be Ur-Priest 10) within official products.

[Divide by Zero]

Seems unfair.

WotC does not want you to play evil characters, nonstandard races, or pretty much anything other than the stock archetypes. They've even explicitly said so, I believe.

To answer your question, there are none that I know of.

[Optimystik]

Adaptation? 'cause evils don't really do that without giving up caster level (but you could just go Ur-Priest for rebuking; of course, that kinda sucks without wanting to actually be Ur-Priest 10) within official products.

Not to mention - you can't be an Ur-Priest Archivist anyway, because Archivists cast divine spells.

[Nohwl]

Is there a way for non-good Archivist to gain Turn Undead or Rebuke? (Other than with loosing a caster level)

Seems unfair. I know of 3 different good prcs that give that ability but 0 for neutral/evil.

i can think of knight of the raven and sacred exorcist. whats the third?

[Yuki Akuma]

Not to mention - you can't be an Ur-Priest Archivist anyway, because Archivists cast divine spells.

Yes you can. You just lose all your Archivist spellcasting.

At least you keep your class features.

[Optimystik]

Yes you can. You just lose all your Archivist spellcasting.

At least you keep your class features.

To paraphrase Yahtzee - "Well you're not a bloody Archivist, then, are you? You're just a bloke with a prayerbook and an attitude problem!"

Also... I'd rather have the Druid, Divine Bard, Adept, Paladin, Shugenja and Ranger spells myself. Even Ur-Priests don't get Glibness.

[monkey3]

i can think of knight of the raven and sacred exorcist. whats the third?

Apostle of Peace 1, ecl 8, Book of Exalted Deeds
Master of Radiance 1, ecl 6, Libris Mortin
Soldier of Light 1, ecl 6, Deities and Demigods

(last is 3.0 so I didn't count it)

Crap. Is KotR good? I was going to check that later.

[Optimystik]

Crap. Is KotR good? I was going to check that later.

Sadly yes, Good alignment is a requirement.

[Douglas]

Having searched a great deal for ways to get Turn/Rebuke, regardless of losing caster levels, for a character where Cleric wasn't an option (I already had cleric levels and had taken an ACF that lost Turn Undead), I can assure you with a high degree of confidence that there is no non-Good way to get either Turn or Rebuke without losing a caster level.

If you are willing to lose one caster level, there are four options: Cleric, Dread Necromancer, Death Delver (Heroes of Horror), and Master of Radiance (Libris Mortis). Master of Radiance is debatable about whether it actually gives the ability to someone who doesn't have it or only stacks with an existing ability.

[Ernir]

Having searched a great deal for ways to get Turn/Rebuke, regardless of losing caster levels, for a character where Cleric wasn't an option (I already had cleric levels and had taken an ACF that lost Turn Undead), I can assure you with a high degree of confidence that there is no non-Good way to get either Turn or Rebuke without losing a caster level.

Bone Talisman, level 2 Druid spell. May or may not be usable by Archivists, it grants "You or another druid" the ability to Turn Undead (once).

It works perfectly for actually turning undead. How it works with alternative ways to use turn attempts... I'll leave figuring that out to you and your DM.

[Optimystik]

Bone Talisman, level 2 Druid spell. May or may not be usable by Archivists, it grants "You or another druid" the ability to Turn Undead (once).

It works perfectly for actually turning undead. How it works with alternative ways to use turn attempts... I'll leave figuring that out to you and your DM.

Interesting! If you can get your DM to allow PrC entry this could be quite the boon to Archivists.

[awa]

so i grabbed invisibility, mirror image, web, lighting bolt, and polymorph from the adapt list

and scry from the druid list any other spells i should grab?

I also grabbed knowledge devotion any other must have feats?

[Optimystik]

*Points at the handbook again*

Also, check the Druid and Cleric handbooks for goodies, and the Paladin/Ranger ones too.

[awa]

im not interested in finding the lowest level of any given spell im interested in what are considered good divine spells in generally

[Mongoose87]

im not interested in finding the lowest level of any given spell im interested in what are considered good divine spells in generally

Well, the lower the level, the better the spell.

[Nohwl]

im not interested in finding the lowest level of any given spell im interested in what are considered good divine spells in generally

it depends what you want to do, and what classes the dm is allowing you to get spells from.