What, Deth Muncher Playing A Sorceror? Nooooooo.

[Deth Muncher]

/sarcasm

Anyhoo, yeah, so I'm playing a sorceror in my friend's pseudo-steampunk psuedo-WW1 era campaign. I really have no idea what to expect from it, but I'm hoping for good things.

The character I'm playing is a sorceror named Deckard. I rolled retarded awesome for my stats, so he's looking at: 12Str, 16Dex, 14Con, 14Int, 12Wis, 18Cha. The starting package for each of our guys was armor, a weapon and 50GP. Since, I can't really use armor, I swapped out that for a musket - which deals d8 at 100ft with a crit mod of x2. So, y'know, it's something, at least. Why do I have the sword? Backstory, of course! Since this is set in wartimes, Deckard started off in the infantry unit, but quickly realized that running around with a blade wasn't really for him since, y'know, he could pewpew magic missile all of a sudden. Thus, sword. And hey, I've got a...+0, I think, since nonproficiency + BAB + Str neutralizes each other. So, y'know, I could do SOMETHING if necessary, plus it opens up fun spells like the one where you chuck your sword in a straight line 80 ft and screw stuff up with it.

What I need y'all for is - I need help picking up spells and feats that accentuate someone who's had military training. I don't want to just go Warblade here (or whatever that blaster caster class is) - I'm looking at seriously trying to play a sorceror, but, y'know, shifted into a more steampunk, wartime setting. I've already decided that the Celerity line is thematic, since it kind of represents going into bullet time (which, by the way, will play in with this character later, since the DM has been homebrewing on these very boards, and may have already posted his Gunmage class that I'll be trying to take). True Strike, obviously. I'm taking Rapid Metamagic instead of a familiar, so I'll be able to Quicken spells in a few levels (and by that, I mean, like, 9 more D:). I think the reserve feat which gives you the mini-teleports will be right up my alley - kind of like Wesker, y'know? Who doesn't love Wesker?

To help paint more of the personality picture of Deckard, I'm playing him as kind of a jokester-y sniper. Almost like the one from TF2. Just less Australian...

EDIT: Also, what's the feat that let's you get a second level spell by using a Spellcraft check as a Lv1 Sorc?

[Gavinfoxx]

Just do a version of the Mailman.

http://community.wizards.com/go/thre...amage_Sorcerer

My personal suggestion:

Silverbrow Human with Silver Dragon Greater Bloodline

Sorcerer6 (with Metamagic Specialist)/Incantatrix10/Arcane Devotee4

1. Iron Will (you get this to qualify for a prestige class)
Flaw: Precocious Apprentice: Scorching Ray - Replaced by Improved Initiative at level up as soon as you stop using Fiery Burst
Flaw: Fiery Burst - Replaced by something like Force of Personality at level up as soon as you stop using fiery burst
Silverbrow Human: Empower Spell
3. Easy Metamagic: Empower Spell
6. Maximize Spell
7-Incant. Enlarge Spell (you mostly don't use this, it's for a prestige class. you can use it if you want though!)
9. Residual Magic
10.Incant. Easy Metamagic: Maximize Spell
12. Quick Recovery (this is from Lords of Magic, and helps greatly with Celerity abuse, as multiple action abuse is a big part of the Mailman)
13Incant. Twin Spell
15. Practical Metamagic: Maximize Spell
16Incant. Easy Metamagic: Twin Spell
18. Practical Metamagic: Twin Spell

Needs:

Player's Guide to Faerun
Spell Compendium
Complete Mage
Player's Handbook II
Dragon Magic
Dragon Magazine 325
Dragon Magazine 333
Races of the Dragon
Lords of Madness
Complete Adventurer
Frostburn
Complete Champion

[Deth Muncher]

While I DO love the Mailman, I think I've got to scale it back a good ways. The Core books are go, but everything else is on a case by case basis - and while PHB2 is pretty much golden, any time I bring up other campaign settings or It's Hot/Wet/Cold Outside, I get those "Hrmmmm" looks from the DM.

Also, as for classes, I mentioned the homebrewed prestige classes: one of them is Gunmage, which I don't really have stats on, but I definitely can't take until level 10. It'll probably be a Plot-Pre-Req class, so no hoops to jump through to get it, and it'll likely deal with infusing guns with my magicks, and such.

I will, however, see what I can salvage from the Mailman. Possibly also Cindy.

[ericgrau]

Spell selection is the same as playing a wizard preparing his general purpose list, so that much is easy. True strike is a lousy spell to start out with as auto hitting every other round is worse than shooting normally w/o burning through spell slots and hitting about 3/4 of the time. Quickened true strike OTOH...

The things you're describing sound like they might work well with an eldritch knight or another gish (ya ya or Abjurant Champion or whatever). You probably want to use a lot of transmutations, illusions and conjurations (teleportation). Some spells that may work and fit the theme (gish or no gish): alarm (scrolls), jump (stacks with jump magic items and speed boosters), feather fall, protection from arrows (non-magical bullets only), invisibility, false life, levitate, pyrotechnics, mirror image, spider climb (scrolls), whispering wind (scrolls), fly, haste, hallucinatory terrain (?), greater invisibility, otiluke's resilient sphere, hold person / monster, wall of force (nice fluff b/c the wall is an invisible force), telekinesis, repulsion, mislead, disintegrate, phase door (situational, don't use unless common), project image, reverse gravity, moment of prescience, telekinetic sphere, foresight, time stop

Those are mostly movement and time based spells, plus some invisibility, chase scene trickery, creation of forces, and ways to move or prevent the movement of your enemies. Quickening them will help you combo well with melee if gishing. You'll probably want to go non-core for teleports that are shorter range but work as a swift or move action. Otherwise a quickened teleport is 9th level.

[Dralnu]

Depends on your power level aim. What classes are the other damage dealers in your group? Do you even want to focus on damage dealing?

"Military spells" is kinda vague. Warmage is a "military mage" so you might pick up ideas on how its author(s) thought that meant. You also sound like you're interested in a sort of gish character, you mention a "gunblade."

Nerveskitter is always nice for someone when going first means life or death. Blade of Blood (lvl 1 PHB2) is very respectable damage boost. Cloud of Knives (lvl2 PHB2) nice damage, blade flavor. Races of the Dragon has quite a few sorcerer gems to look at. Mighty Wallop is great for melee. Wings of Cover / Wings of Flurry are phenomenal -- actually, once you get Wings of Flurry there's not much point to cast anything else outside of Orbs. Dragon Magic has some cool ones too. Firestride Exhalation reeks of coolness -- you deal a line of fire damage and teleport to where the line ends. There's an electricity version of it too somewhere, just can't find it.

So yeah, depends what power level. If you're just looking for fun spells and not worry about optimizing, there's tons of variety out there. Browsing through SpC is good times too.

[Gorgondantess]

Bullet time, you say? Military type sorcerer? Meet one of the few PrCs that's worth not getting 9th level spells. Feats aren't a problem, as you'll burn all of those on the reqs.

[RndmNumGen]

/sarcasm
EDIT: Also, what's the feat that let's you get a second level spell by using a Spellcraft check as a Lv1 Sorc?

Umm... Only feat I know of that gives you 2nd level spells at Lv1 is Versatile Spellcaster, which lets you combine two 1st level spell slots into a single 2nd level spell slot. You still won't actually know any 2nd level spells, but you can use the higher level spell slots for metamagic and such.

[Gavinfoxx]

EDIT: Also, what's the feat that let's you get a second level spell by using a Spellcraft check as a Lv1 Sorc?

I totally mentioned it in my post! Precocious Apprentice!

[RndmNumGen]

I totally mentioned it in my post! Precocious Apprentice!

Oh. Huh...

[Darkfire]

Precocious Apprentice (Complete Arcane p181) requires you to make a caster level check rather than a Spellcraft check.

[Deth Muncher]

Spell selection is the same as playing a wizard preparing his general purpose list, so that much is easy. True strike is a lousy spell to start out with as auto hitting every other round is worse than shooting normally w/o burning through spell slots and hitting about 3/4 of the time. Quickened true strike OTOH...

The things you're describing sound like they might work well with an eldritch knight or another gish (ya ya or Abjurant Champion or whatever). You probably want to use a lot of transmutations, illusions and conjurations (teleportation). Some spells that may work and fit the theme (gish or no gish): alarm (scrolls), jump (stacks with jump magic items and speed boosters), feather fall, protection from arrows (non-magical bullets only), invisibility, false life, levitate, pyrotechnics, mirror image, spider climb (scrolls), whispering wind (scrolls), fly, haste, hallucinatory terrain (?), greater invisibility, otiluke's resilient sphere, hold person / monster, wall of force (nice fluff b/c the wall is an invisible force), telekinesis, repulsion, mislead, disintegrate, phase door (situational, don't use unless common), project image, reverse gravity, moment of prescience, telekinetic sphere, foresight, time stop

Those are mostly movement and time based spells, plus some invisibility, chase scene trickery, creation of forces, and ways to move or prevent the movement of your enemies. Quickening them will help you combo well with melee if gishing. You'll probably want to go non-core for teleports that are shorter range but work as a swift or move action. Otherwise a quickened teleport is 9th level.

Dingding, we have a winner. I'm trying to think of what some of the non-core Teleports are. The only one that's coming to mind is still Core, which is Dimension Door. I think there's another in PHB2 that's Immediate and teleports 10ft +5ft per 2 caster levels, which, if I understand Immediate Actions (and I probably don't), could be used to interrupt an attack used against me, couldn't it?

Depends on your power level aim. What classes are the other damage dealers in your group? Do you even want to focus on damage dealing?

"Military spells" is kinda vague. Warmage is a "military mage" so you might pick up ideas on how its author(s) thought that meant. You also sound like you're interested in a sort of gish character, you mention a "gunblade."

Nerveskitter is always nice for someone when going first means life or death. Blade of Blood (lvl 1 PHB2) is very respectable damage boost. Cloud of Knives (lvl2 PHB2) nice damage, blade flavor. Races of the Dragon has quite a few sorcerer gems to look at. Mighty Wallop is great for melee. Wings of Cover / Wings of Flurry are phenomenal -- actually, once you get Wings of Flurry there's not much point to cast anything else outside of Orbs. Dragon Magic has some cool ones too. Firestride Exhalation reeks of coolness -- you deal a line of fire damage and teleport to where the line ends. There's an electricity version of it too somewhere, just can't find it.

So yeah, depends what power level. If you're just looking for fun spells and not worry about optimizing, there's tons of variety out there. Browsing through SpC is good times too.

Oooh, the Wings spells. I'd almost forgotten them. Oh, and as to military spells: I guess my question is more of "Okay, what spells would a soldier find useful? What spells would a sniper find useful?" But thank you, as you also have a goldmine of win-spells.

Bullet time, you say? Military type sorcerer? Meet one of the few PrCs that's worth not getting 9th level spells. Feats aren't a problem, as you'll burn all of those on the reqs.

Oooooh...oooooh, I forgot about this silly thing. That's ridiculicious. Awesome though.

I totally mentioned it in my post! Precocious Apprentice!

Precocious Apprentice (Complete Arcane p181) requires you to make a caster level check rather than a Spellcraft check.

Dingding, thanks guys. Now what's a Caster Level Check?

And by the way, I will be a very sad panda if no one gets the reference to whom my character is named. (Hint: It's not Deckard Cain from the Diablo series.)

[Darkfire]

Caster Level Check.

Whenever I hear Deckard I automatically think of Bladerunner...

[Deth Muncher]

Caster Level Check.

Whenever I hear Deckard I automatically think of Bladerunner...

And you would be correct. A jar of cookies to you!

[Radar]

(...) I think there's another in PHB2 that's Immediate and teleports 10ft +5ft per 2 caster levels, which, if I understand Immediate Actions (and I probably don't), could be used to interrupt an attack used against me, couldn't it?

Yes, it can do that.

Dingding, thanks guys. Now what's a Caster Level Check?

Caster Level + 1d20 (as far as I remember)

And by the way, I will be a very sad panda if no one gets the reference to whom my character is named. (Hint: It's not Deckard Cain from the Diablo series.)

So you're going to hunt some rogue clanks up to a point, when one of them saves your life and says something about tears in the rain before shuting down? Are you a happy panda?

edit: I'm a reeealy slow poster. >.<

[Whammydill]

Everytime I hear Deckard my mind fills in

"Hello my friend. Stay a while and listen."

WW1 combat? Trench Warfare, chemical warfare, early use of air warfare and mechanized armor.

Pop smoke!!! = Obscuring Mist/Fog Cloud
Charge the trenches!!! = Expeditious Retreat
Counter-sniper!!!! = True strike and a rifle
Infiltrate their lines!!!! = Invisibility and cast non-offensives like summon monster to cause havoc in the lines
Deception is war!!!! = silent image/ventriloquism
False Flag operation!!! = disguise self
Traitor in their ranks!!! = Charm person
Death from above!!! = Feather fall from a biplane!
They are routing!!! = Scare works wonders on G.I. Shmoe, infiltrate with invisi/disguise self
TAKE COVER!!! = Prot vs arrows
Fire the trenches!!! = use Flaming Sphere to roll along their trench lines or their artillery positions if you can get to them. Artillery Shells + fire = fun!
Go for the treads!!! = Shatter on tank treads, ww1 tanks were easy to mobility-kill. Can use likewise on aircraft, very flimsy, though range is an issue
GAS! GAS! GAS!!! = Oh crap, chemical weapons.....ROPE TRICK!

Those are all I could think of out of core books from memory, sounds like a fun game to be a caster in.

[Cyrion]

Dingding, we have a winner. I'm trying to think of what some of the non-core Teleports are. The only one that's coming to mind is still Core, which is Dimension Door. I think there's another in PHB2 that's Immediate and teleports 10ft +5ft per 2 caster levels, which, if I understand Immediate Actions (and I probably don't), could be used to interrupt an attack used against me, couldn't it?

Out of core teleports include Dimension Hop, Dimension Shuffle, Benign Transposition, Baleful Transposition and a couple others. There's a good assortment in the Spell Compendium. Most of them, though, are going to be better for hand-to-hand situations than for trench warfare or at gun-range.