Monoclass Gish That Isn't Duskblade?

[Fax Celestis]

So I was looking through my Complete Mage and Unearthed Arcana at the same time for the first time and discovered something:

One can quite nicely make a monoclass Sorceror gish.

Start with one Battle Sorceror (UA). Add the Stalwart Sorceror class feature (CMage) and the Metamagic Specialist class feature (PHB-II). Take Smiting Spell at first level. If you're human, take Combat Casting.

At third level, take Battlecaster Defense. Other feats are good choices, particularly reserve feats (like Blade of Force, Fiery Burst, or Dimensional Jaunt), standard metamagics (Empower, Extend, or Widen), and buffing feats (Improved Toughness), but some which don't normally see good use will come to the fore (Retributive Spell and Somatic Weaponry in particular)

Mix and match spells, but standby touch spells will be good (for that spell-storing greatsword of yours, mixed with Smiting Spell).

Now, hop into Abjurant Champion at level 8, and take it to level 13. Then, grab 5 levels of Spellsword, and 2 levels of Eldritch Knight.

What do people think?

You'll end up at CL 17, with a bunch of nifty abilities (including two ways to channel spells and the ability to cast abjurations swiftly).

And okay, it really isn't "monoclass". But whatcha gonna do?

[Bears With Lasers]

Except, well, then you're a Battle Sorcerer. And there's really no good excuse for that. :P

[Fax Celestis]

I win tournaments with Batte Sorcerors, thank you.

[Bears With Lasers]

Yeah, but you need to know much fewer spells in a tournament than in a real game.

[Fax Celestis]

True enough, but that's where you get multipurpose spells. Lightning Leap, for instance, can suffice as a short-range teleportation spell in a pinch.

[Bears With Lasers]

That... really doesn't help enough. The regular sorcerer's Spells Known is palpably lacking; an extra one less a level is just too painful.

[Ramza00]

You are a very limited character. Knowing 3 and eventually 2 different spells per lvl means your effectiveness at adapting is very bad and thus when you aren't in a controlled enviroment (such as a tournament) your effectiveness isn't going to be that good. If you can change your spells known per day similar to how a spirt shaman can it would be a different matter.

Play a Fighter 1/Wizard 6/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 7 instead. A bab of 17 and a spell know of 18. Unlike a sorcerer you can change your spells per day, and most likely you will have a large number of scrolls for back up situations in your bag that you scribe yourself.

[Fax Celestis]

I know this isn't optimal; far from it. I just like tinkering with the Sorceror class. I far prefer it to the Wizard class, since I don't like bein' Cheesus the Dairy Messiah very often.

[Bears With Lasers]

Replace Fighter with Sorcerer in the above build, then. Pick up some Sacred Exorcist for Turn Undead, and take Divine Might for extra goodness.

Fighter 1/Sorcerer 6/Spellsword 1/AC 4/SE 4/EK 4 has a BAB of 16 and a CL of 18.

[Yuki Akuma]

To anyone thinking about doing this build: Don't take Combat Casting. It's a trap.

[Bears With Lasers]

Prerequisite for Abjurant Champion.

[Fax Celestis]

Combat Casting is only in it for prereq purposes; Battlecaster Offense/Defense require it, as does (I think) Abjurant Champion.

[Yuki Akuma]

Reading comprehension? What reading comprehension?

I still don't like the feat. >.>

[Bears With Lasers]

I don't know that Battlecaster Offense/Defense are worth taking, though, now that I've looked at'em. Very mediocre benefits.

[Fax Celestis]

Oh, certainly, it blows.

[TheOOB]

Battle Sorcerer is fine if your trying to be a gish. Sure your not as powerful as a normal sorcerer, but D&D isn't about winning now is it.

You owe it to your party to be competent and useful, not godlike. I'd have no problum fighter as, or fighting alongside a battlesorcerer, though fighting agienst I might have problums with :P

[Fax Celestis]

Heh. Okay, I figured out a way to make this really worthwhile.

Gestalt with it.

Duskblade 20//Sorceror 7/Abjurant Champion 5/Sacred Exorcist 4/Sorceror +4

[Ramza00]

No two lvls of paladin for cha to saves?

[Ramza00]

Fax_Celestis you stay up to date with the most recent books right? Well if you are already going to do gestalt, and if you have access to complete scoundrel, don't forget one lvl of spellthief and the feat master spellthief ;)

[Fax Celestis]

Duskblade 20//Sorceror 7/Paladin 2/Abjurant Champion 5/Sacred Exorcist 4/Sorceror +2

[Fax Celestis]

Fax_Celestis you stay up to date with the most recent books right? Well if you are already going to do gestalt, and if you have access to complete scoundrel, don't forget one lvl of spellthief and the feat master spellthief ;)

Oh man, I totally forgot about that. See, this is what happens when I have too many books to choose from.

That, and I don't have Comp. Scoundrel yet.

[Deathcow]

If mono-class non-Duskblade gish is the only prerequisite, I'm surprised Hexblade hasn't been mentioned yet. I haven't read over them too much and I think I prefer Duskblades, but they're there. Unless of course you want to play a Good character.

[Fax Celestis]

From what I've seen, Hexblades aren't too hot.

[Ramza00]

Hexblades are literally the "dark paladin" motif and mechanically. Hexblade 20 is as sucky as a paladin 20, yet there spell list is smaller/doesn't get updated as frequently.

[TheOOB]

Hexblades where a poor attempt to infuse arcane casting with combat. Their spells are very limited and not all that good, and their fighting ability took a huge hit for it. Like Ramza00 mentioned, it's just like the paladins. Paladins have a little bit of limited divine ability, and suffer greatly in combat because of it. It also doesn't help that both classes care more about their very specific predefined roleplay and flavor characteristics then mechanics.

Duskblade is probally the best gish I've seen. Good combat ability, and spells that are acually worth casting.

[Ramza00]

For gestalt how about this?

1 . Duskblade / Spellthief
2 . Duskblade / Paladin of Freedom
3 . Duskblade / Paladin of Freedom
4 . Duskblade / Bard
5 . Duskblade / Bard
6 . Duskblade / Combat Medic
7 . Duskblade / Combat Medic
8 . Duskblade / Combat Medic
9 . Duskblade / Combat Medic
10 . Duskblade / Combat Medic
11 . Duskblade / Sublime Chord
12 . Duskblade / Sublime Chord
13 . Duskblade / Sacred Exorcist
14 . Duskblade / Abjurant Champion
15 . Duskblade / Abjurant Champion
16 . Duskblade / Abjurant Champion
17 . Duskblade / Abjurant Champion
18 . Duskblade / Abjurant Champion
19 . Duskblade / Sacred Exorcist
20 . Duskblade / Sacred Exorcist

[Ramza00]

Note Abjurant Champion and Combat Medic can be switched order, its depends on whether you want spontaneous heal casting first, or you want to set your caster lvl to your BAB.

If you do combat medic first, its okay to take practiced spellcaster if your DM allows the retraining rules.

[Fizban]

I never thought about combining battle sorcerer with stalwart, but that's a nice idea. Sure, you don't know hardly any spells, but you have a much wider selection, and a bit more average hp. Abjurant champion and spellsword bug me, but they're too good to not take.

I'd suggest shielded casting from Races of Stone, it has combat casting as a prereq IIRC, but it removes AOO's for your spellcasting if you use a shield. I also like The Demented One's Arcane Assult feat:

Arcane Assault [Tactical]
You weave together steel and magic into a potent combat style.
Requirements: BAB +5, Power Attack, Cleave, able to cast 2nd level arcane spells
The Arcane Assault feat enables the use of three tactical maneuvers.
Pierce Spell Resistance: To use this maneuver, you must successfully hit a creature. You may then choose to not deal damage and instead, as a swift action, cast a touch spell on the hit opponent. The spell ignores any SR the opponent may have.
Power Spell: To use this ability, you must cast a touch spell. You can then apply the benefits of the Power Attack feat to that spell.
Dimensional Cleave: To use this maneuver, you must deal enough damage to a creature to kill it with one attack. As a swift action, you may then cast any spell that allows you to teleport to move into a square adjacent to a foe before making the extra attack granted by Cleave.

Incidentally, what kind of action does Smiting Spell take? I would assume you have to cast it as normal, but the description just says "you may blah blah blah", then describes what it does.

[Fax Celestis]

Yup, cast as normal, it just holds the charge on your weapon for up to a minute.

[TeenageHeat]

play a hexblade