Two spellcasters.

[___]

This is my first post on this forum, so I want to apologize if this isn't right subforum.

All my friends have moved on from 3.5 so I don't have anybody to ask for help with this. These are, I think, the second and third time respectively that I've ever made a spellcaster.

Would somebody please look them over and tell me anything I missed, anything wrong, any suggestions, et cetera?

Nyth CR 10
Female Human Monk 1/Battle Sorcerer* 9
*Unearthed Arcana, page 56
CN Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +1; Senses Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elven
------------------------------------------------------------------
AC 29, Touch 21, Flat-footed 27 (+3
AC Bonus, +8 Armor, +6 Charisma, +2 Dexterity)
hp 76 (10 HD +28)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +10
------------------------------------------------------------------
Speed 30 feet (6 Squares)
Melee Warhammer +8/+3 (1d8+1) or
Melee Unarmed Strike +7/+2 (1d8+1) or
Melee Hand Axe +7+2 (1d6+1)
Space 5ft. Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +6/+1; Grp +7/+2
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 9th):
4th (5/day) – Enervation
3rd (7/day) – Dispel Magic, Fly (DC 21)
2nd (8/day) – Daze Monster (DC 20), Eagle’s
Splendor (DC 20), Resist Energy (DC 20)
1st (8/day) – Alarm, Comprehend Languages,
Endure Elements (DC 19), Mage Armor (DC
19) 0th (5/day) – Detect Magic, Electric Jolt,
Launch Bolt (+8, 1d10), Mending (DC 18),
Prestidigitation (DC 18), Read Magic
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Abilities Str 12, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 22
Feats Ascetic Mage, Sherem-Lar Sorcery,
Sherezem-Lar Sorcery, Spellcasting Prodigy*, Sudden
Empower, Sudden Extend, Weapon Focus (Warhammer)
*Nyth has traded her Flurry Of Blows class feature for the
Spellcasting Prodigy feat.
Skills Concentration +14, Craft +16, Intimidate
+15, Knowledge (Arcana) +16, Profession +14, Sense
Motive +6, Spellcraft +12, Swim +5
Possessions Bracers of Armor +8, dead cat, dress,
10 heavy crossbow bolts, monkÂ’s belt, satchel, spell book,
spell component pouch
------------------------------------------------------------------
AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered,
Nyth adds her Charisma bonus to her AC. In addition, she
gains a +1 bonus to AC for every five sorcerer and/or monk
levels she gains.
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or
when Nyth is flat-footed. She loses these bonuses when she
is helpless or immobilized, when she wears any armor, when
she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy
load.
Fiendish Familiar (Ex): The demonic organ in place
of Nyth’s uterus and ovaries is a fiendish familiar.
This grants her the following:
Arcane Education (Ex): Nyth’s fiendish familiar can
serve as a source of spell knowledge as described in The
Dungeonmaster’s Guide.
Enhance Spellcaster (Ex): For the purpose of
determining bonus spells, Nyth’s Charisma score is effectively
two points higher.
Fiend Folio, page 219.
Metamagic Specialist (Ex): 3 times a day, Nyth
may apply a metamagic feat to a sorcerer spell without
increasing the spell’s casting time.
This has replaced her ability to summon a familiar.
Player’s Handbook II, page 61.
Racial Traits: +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom. Medium
size. Humanoid with the Human subtype. Bonus skill points,
bonus feat at first level.
Nyth has chosen Sherezem-Lar Sorcery as her bonus feat.
D20 Future, page 46.
Stalwart Sorcerer (Ex): Nyth receives 2 bonus hit
points every time she gains a sorcerer level.
Additionally, she receives the Martial Weapon Proficiency
feat for a single melee weapon and the Weapon Focus feat
for that same weapon. Nyth has chosen proficiency and focus
with war hammers.
In exchange she receives one less spell per day than
normal for her level.
Complete Mage, page 36.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency (Ex): As a battle
sorcerer, Nyth is proficient with all simple weapons and a
single light or one-handed martial weapon of her choice. Nyth
has chosen hand axes. She is also proficient with light armor.
She does not suffer spell failure chance when casting battle
sorcerer spells in light armor.
In exchange, Nyth knows one less spell per level and has
one less spell per day per level.
Unearthed Arcana, page 56.

Though barefoot and heavily pregnant, this exotic human
woman seems like she’d be far more at home on a battlefield
than in a kitchen. She wears a dress that is simply cut but
elaborately decorated and she has a suspiciously
heavy-looking scepter at her hip.

Manythenas was left on the steps of a monastery as an infant.
Though she was an adequate monk, she chafed under the
rigidity of the lifestyle and dreamed of someday becoming a
powerful spellcaster.
She was approached by a demon who offered her prodigious
spellcasting talent in exchange for carrying some of his
demonic essence inside of her. If he were to ever die, Nyth or
one of the many other women he’d dealt with would act as a
vessel for his rebirth. Nyth agreed without hesitation, or any
thought about what she was agreeing to. All that mattered to
her was becoming the mighty magic user she’d always
dreamed of being.
The deal done; the demon left. It had indeed kept its end
of the bargain and Nyth was granted enormous potential as a
fiend-blooded sorcerer. But achieving anything with all that
potential was up to Nyth, she’d have to learn how to use her
magic like any other sorcerer.
The demon left her with something more tangible as well,
a large lump of demon flesh where her womb had once been.
It was through this abyssal organ that Nyth would resurrect
the demon should the need ever arise.
Nyth’s mind was bubbling with new ideas and perspectives,
but she found that she could no longer hold the discipline
and focus needed of a monk. Wanting to hide her new
“condition” from the other monks, Nyth simply left town after
the deal with the demon was done. She didn’t have many
friends or many things back at the monastery anyway.

Hotter Nelle CR 20
Female Human Wizard (Evoker) 20
CG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3; Senses Listen +3, Spot +3
Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Ignan,
Infernal
------------------------------------------------------------------
AC 22, Touch 13, Flat-footed 18 (+3 Dexterity,
+8 armor)
hp 93 (20 HD +40)
Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +15;
+4 against fire effects, +1 bonus against fire spells (+5 total)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Speed 30 feet (6 Squares)
Melee Club +11/+6 (1d6+1)
Space 5ft. Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +10/+5; Grp +11
Atk Options Fiery Burst
Special Actions Enhanced Magic 3/day
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 29th):
9th – Lightning Ring F 1 2 (7) (DC 25)
8th – Lightning Ring F 1 (7) (DC 25)
7th – Cone of Cold F 2 (7) (DC 24)
6th – Fires Of Purity (8)
5th – Fireball 2 (8) (DC 20)
4th – Ice Storm F (8)
3rd – Fireball (9) (DC 20)
2nd – Flaming Sphere (9) (DC 19)
1st – Burning Hands (9) (5d4)
0th – Ray Of Frost F (7) (+13 ranged touch)
F Hotter Nelle has changed this to a fire spell with
her Elemental Substitution feat. It now has the fire
descriptor and deals fire damage instead of its normal
damage type.
1 Lightning Ring is Hotter Knell’s Thesis Spell. She
casts it at +2 caster level (31st).
2 This spell has been augmented by the Fiery Spell
and Searing Spell metamagic feats. It deals +1 point of
fire damage per damage die, ignores fire resistance, deals
half damage to creatures immune to fire, and deals double
damage to creatures with the cold subtype (rather than
the normal +50%).
Supernatural Abilities (CL 20): Fiery Burst
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Abilities Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 25, Wis 17, Cha 12
SQ Energy Affinity (+1 CL when casting fire spells)
Feats Arcane Thesis (Lightning Ring), Bloodline Of
Fire, Draconic Heritage, Draconic Power, Dragontouched,
Fiery Burst
Wizard Bonus Feats Elemental Spellcasting,
Elemental Substitution, Fiery Spell, Scribe Scroll, Searing
Spell, Spell Mastery
Skills Concentration +25, Craft +33, Gather
Information 24, Knowledge (Arcana) +33, Knowledge (The
Planes) +33, Profession +26, Spellcraft +33
Possessions Bracers of armor +8, club, leather coat, leather
boots, leather pants, orange prism ioun stone (+1 to caster
level), spellbook, wheel of cheese
------------------------------------------------------------------
Caster Level: Hotter Nelle casts spells with the
fire descriptor at +6 caster level.
Bloodline of Fire +2
Draconic Power +1
Elemental Spellcasting +1
Energy Affinity +1
Fiery Burst +1
Each of the spells she has prepared is a thematic spell
(see Spell Thematics, below), increasing the caster level
by another +1.
Each of the spells she has prepared is an evocation
spell, meaning her spellgifted trait increases her caster
level by +1.
Lastly, her orange prism ioun stone grants her +1
caster level with all spells.
All of these together add to +9 caster level when
casting the spells listed above.
Energy Affinity (Ex): Hotter Nelle casts spells
with the fire descriptor at +1 caster level.
This has replaced her ability to summon a familiar.
Unearthed Arcana, page 62.
Enhanced Magic (Su): Three times per day,
Hotter Nelle may take a standard action to enhance her
next fire spell.
The next fire spell she casts (if cast within one minute)
is cast as though she had applied the Enlarge Spell and
Maximize Spell metamagic feats.
This does not affect the spell slot of the spell cast.
In exchange, Hotter Nelle can cast one less 7th-level spell
per day.
Planar Handbook, page 36.
Fiery Burst (Su): As long as Hotter Nelle has a fire
spell of 2nd-level or higher available to cast, she can spend
a standard action to create a 5-foot-radius burst of fire at a
range of 30 feet.
This burst of fire deals 1d6 points of fire damage per level
of the highest-level fire spell Hotter Nelle has available to cast.
A successful Reflex save halves the damage.
Hotter Nelle’s caster level for this supernatural ability is 20.
Complete Mage, page 43.
Racial Traits: +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution. Medium
size. Humanoid with the Human subtype. Bonus skill points,
bonus feat at first level.
Hotter Nelle has chosen Elemental Spellcasting as her bonus
feat.
D20 Future, page 46.
Specialist Wizard (Ex): Hotter Nelle can prepare one
extra Evocation spell per day. Her prohibited schools are Illusion
and Necromancy.
Spellgifted (Ex): Hotter Nelle casts all evocation spells
at +1 caster level.
She casts all non-evocation spells at -1 caster level.
Unearthed Arcana, page 90.
Spell Mastery (Ex): Hotter Nelle can prepare the
following spells without the use of a spell book:
9th: Meteor Swarm
8th: Lightning Ring
7th: Ice Claw
6th: Chain Lightning
5th: Cone Of Cold
4th: Ice Storm
3rd: Fireball
2nd: Flaming Sphere
1st: Burning Hands
0th: Ray Of Frost
Spell Thematics (Ex): All of Hotter KnellÂ’s spells
take the form of black and purple fire.
Due to the unusual appearance of her spells, the DC of
any Spellcraft check to identify a spell Hotter Nelle has cast
increases by +4.
In addition, she may designate one spell she knows per
spell level as a thematic spell and cast it at +1 caster level.
Hotter Knell’s thematic spells are the following:
9th: Meteor Swarm
8th: Lightning Ring
7th: Ice Claw
6th: Chain lightning
5th: Cone Of Cold
4th: Ice Storm
3rd: Fireball
2nd: Flaming Sphere
1st: Burning Hands
0th: Ray Of Frost
Player’s Guide To Faerun, page 44.

This slender human woman has very long, black and purple
hair. Though fairly calm at the moment, she seems liable to
burst into action any second.

Nelle Sedaka has possessed a prodigious talent for fire-related
magic since childhood. She has spent her entire wizarding
career refining that talent. This is how she acquired the
nickname “Hotter” Nelle; her fire spells were always
higher-temperature than her fellow students’. It is also a play
on the phrase “hotter than hell”, as it was said her fire spells
were hotter than the flames of Baator itself.
Though she is utterly indomitable in all things fire magic,
such intense focus has left her severely lagging in any other
magical pursuits. Hotter Nelle is as embarrassed by her lack
of versatility as she is proud of her phenomenal firepower.

[jdizzlean]

The Mod Life Crisis: Moved to 3.5 subforum


if you're making npc's, you build off of CR, however if these are intended to be pc's, you need to build off of Level Adjustment (LA) or Effective Character Level (ECL) they interact differently than cr.

[Particle_Man]

For the second one if you are going that heavily into evocation spells maybe go for a warmage?

[Remuko]

for Nyth, where is the Armor bonus to AC coming from? She shouldnt be able to benefit from the Cha bonus to AC while wearing armor, so I'm not sure her AC value is correct.

How did Nyth trade out flurry of blows for Spellcasting Prodigy?

[AnimeTheCat]

for Nyth, where is the Armor bonus to AC coming from? She shouldnt be able to benefit from the Cha bonus to AC while wearing armor, so I'm not sure her AC value is correct.

How did Nyth trade out flurry of blows for Spellcasting Prodigy?

Don't know about your second question, but the Armor Bonus for Nyth is coming from the Bracers of Armor +8. Bracers of Armor provide an armor bonus, but are not armor and thus do not negate the [stat] to AC class feature of the Monk.

[___]

The Mod Life Crisis: Moved to 3.5 subforum

if you're making npc's, you build off of CR, however if these are intended to be pc's, you need to build off of Level Adjustment (LA) or Effective Character Level (ECL) they interact differently than cr.

They're both characters I'd like to play at some point, but I wrote them up as NPCs to show them to other people. I thought it would be a better format than, like, scanning the character sheets or something.

For the second one if you are going that heavily into evocation spells maybe go for a warmage?

Wizard has bonus metamagic feats and I thought Hotter Nelle needed a lot of metamagic feats to work how I wanted.

Plus energy affinity, enhanced magic, and specialization are only available to wizards.

for Nyth, where is the Armor bonus to AC coming from? She shouldnt be able to benefit from the Cha bonus to AC while wearing armor, so I'm not sure her AC value is correct.

Don't know about your second question, but the Armor Bonus for Nyth is coming from the Bracers of Armor +8. Bracers of Armor provide an armor bonus, but are not armor and thus do not negate the [stat] to AC class feature of the Monk.

Seconded. As far as I know, the official ruling was that monks can't wear armor, but can benefit from an armor bonus. So they are allowed to wear and benefit from bracers of armor without penalty.

How did Nyth trade out flurry of blows for Spellcasting Prodigy?

Maybe this isn't as widely practiced as I thought, but many dungeon masters will allow you to trade away a class feature you're never going to use for a bonus feat. As long as you meet the prerequisites for said feat.

[AnimeTheCat]

Maybe this isn't as widely practiced as I thought, but many dungeon masters will allow you to trade away a class feature you're never going to use for a bonus feat. As long as you meet the prerequisites for said feat.

I mean... I think that's pretty cool so I would do it. Don't know about widespread though, because I don't think that was published anywhere as "official homebrew" in unearthed arcana or anything.

[Maat Mons]

Nyth is listed as having Bracers of Armor +8 (64,000 gp) and a Monk's Belt (13,000 gp). She's also listed as being 10th level, which means she'd have 49,000 gp for equipment if she were a PC, or 16,000 gp for equipment if she were an NPC.

[Remuko]

Don't know about your second question, but the Armor Bonus for Nyth is coming from the Bracers of Armor +8. Bracers of Armor provide an armor bonus, but are not armor and thus do not negate the [stat] to AC class feature of the Monk.

Idk how I overlooked that. I looked over and over and couldnt find a section listing possessions. but its clearly there and the post wasnt edited. i totally overlooked it.

@ OP, apologies for overlooking that. yes monks can wear and use bracers of armor unhindered.

[KillianHawkeye]

FWIW, Monks can also wear robes or other non-armor items that provide an Armor Bonus to AC (such as a robe of the archmagi).

[___]

I mean... I think that's pretty cool so I would do it. Don't know about widespread though, because I don't think that was published anywhere as "official homebrew" in unearthed arcana or anything.

I guess I've just been fortunate in having had several Dungeon Masters who've allowed that.

Nyth is listed as having Bracers of Armor +8 (64,000 gp) and a Monk's Belt (13,000 gp). She's also listed as being 10th level, which means she'd have 49,000 gp for equipment if she were a PC, or 16,000 gp for equipment if she were an NPC.

This might come across as sarcastic, but I promise you I'm being sincere: Is that too much?

Should she have +3 bracers of armor? Or no bracers of armor at all?

I'm used to getting equipment as loot so I'm not very good at figuring out equipment allotment ahead of time.

@ OP, apologies for overlooking that. yes monks can wear and use bracers of armor unhindered.

You have nothing to apologize for. I asked, "tell me what you think" and you did exactly that. No offense taken.

FWIW, Monks can also wear robes or other non-armor items that provide an Armor Bonus to AC (such as a robe of the archmagi).

I forgot about that! Thank you!

[Maat Mons]

Not every DM sticks to the wealth-by-level table in the DMG. But if they do, the way it works for creating characters above 1st level is that the DM looks at the table, and then tells they can start with gear totaling that much in value. For 10th level, the table says 49,000 gp. So, baring having an actual DM for an actual game you can ask, that's typically what people assume for constructing a character in a vacuum.

In my personal opinion, the character's equipment as laid out in the writeup is not too powerful. In fact, the same AC can be achieved easily using a combination of less expensive items.
Amulet of Natural Armor +2: 8,000 gp
Bracers of Armor +3: 9,000 gp
Ioun Stone, Dusty Rose Prism: 5,000 gp
Ring of Deflection +2: 8,000 gp

That comes to a total of 30,000 gp. And then, when you add in your Monk's Belt, it's 43,000 gp. So, you'd have 6,000 gp to spend on other things. I recommend a Vest of Resistance +2, which clocks in at 4,000 gp. The remaining 2,000 gp should be enough to cover the spellbook you fore some reason have despite being a sorcerer, the various useful items you carry, and the dead cat that, for the sake of your party-members noses, I hope has been preserved in some fashion.



Since your thread got moved to an optimization-centric part of the forum, I'll try to give you some optimization advice. ... No, nevermind, I'm getting hungry. I'll try to remember to come back to this later.



Back on the non-optimization front, are you using flaws? Because those are a lot of feats. Which flaws does she have? I'd go with Fussy (Dragon 328), which causes you to become nauseous depending on what you eat, and Insomniac (also Dragon 328). Because of course eternal pregnancy means eternally suffering from mourning sickness and having to get up multiple times a night to pee.

[jdizzlean]

fwiw,

my DM sticks pretty close to WBL until usually around 9-10, and then we blatantly ignore it for the rest of a character's life.

[___]

In my personal opinion, the character's equipment as laid out in the writeup is not too powerful. . .

Thank you for the tips!

I’m going to reevaluate her gear based on your suggestions.

The remaining 2,000 gp should be enough to cover the spellbook you fore some reason have despite being a sorcerer, the various useful items you carry, and the dead cat that, for the sake of your party-members noses, I hope has been preserved in some fashion.

The spellbook and dead cat were in their as a joke, so thank you for yes and-ing.

If I were to actually play either character, I’d probably get rid of them.

Though there is something gruesomely humorous about Nyth using a dead cat as a war hammer.

Back on the non-optimization front, are you using flaws? Because those are a lot of feats.

No flaws. The only extra feat either character has is Nyth’s Magical Prodigy and she traded away her Flurry Of Blows for that.

Nyth:

First Level: Sherem-Lar Sorcery
Human Bonus Feat: Sherezem-Lar Sorcery
Third Level: Sudden Extend
Sixth Level: Ascetic Mage
Ninth Level: Sudden Empower

She has weapon focus because of her Stalwart Sorcerer alternate class feature.

Hotter Nelle:

First Level: Bloodline Of Fire
Human Bonus Feat: Elemental Spellcasting
Third Level: Fiery Burst
Ninth Level: Dragontouched
Twelfth Level: Draconic Heritage
Fifteenth Level: Draconic Power
Eighteenth Level: Arcane Thesis (Lightning Ring)

Wizard Bonus Feats:

First Level: Elemental Affinty, Scribe Scroll
Fifth Level: Elemental Substitution
Tenth Level: Searing Spell
Fifteenth Level: Spell Mastery
Twentieth Level: Fiery Spell

Which flaws does she have? I'd go with Fussy (Dragon 328), which causes you to become nauseous depending on what you eat, and Insomniac (also Dragon 328). Because of course eternal pregnancy means eternally suffering from mourning sickness and having to get up multiple times a night to pee.

A fiendish familiar replaced her uterus, so she’s not actually pregnant and wouldn’t have most pregnancy symptoms (lactation, pre-eclampsia, swelling of the hands and feet, so on).

Also, morning sickness rarely lasts past the halfway point of a pregnancy.

Still, that is a clever use of flaws. And you’re probably right about the fiendish familiar pressing against her bladder like a fetus would.

The juxtaposition of the mundanity of getting up to urinate and the high-fantasy setting amuses me.

Like, she heaves herself off her bedroll, waddles past the corpse of the beholder the party killed, relieves herself, then has to zap a group of kobold bandits on her way back to the campsite.

[DMVerdandi]

Why is Nyth not a battle dancer [Dragon Compendium]?

[___]

Nyth only exists because I had a bunch of sorcerer stuff I wanted to try.

Basically:

“Oh, stalwart sorcerer is cool. Ooh! I could combine that with battle sorcerer!”

Then,

“Sherem-Lar sorcery and Sherezem-Lar sorcery grant extra spells per day? Cool! I could combine that with stalwart sorcerer and battle sorcerer, pretty much cancelling out the reduction in spells per day.”

Then,

“Spellcasting prodigy? Now I want to give that to the same character I give those two feats from Ghostwalk so their Charisma is effectively six points higher for bonus spells. Oh! And doesn’t fiendish familiar do something about spells per day?”

Then I also wanted to use Ascetic Monk so that this super-charged battle sorcerer could have the AC bonus instead of relying on armor.

Plus, I have so little experience making spellcasters so I wanted to make a sorcerer for the practice.

[Maat Mons]

I'm going to have to decline the request in your sig to call you "Underscore." In the parlance of programmers, a double underscore is called a "dunderscore." Your name is three underscores. So, I logically have no choice but to dub you "Thunderscore."



Gish builds are in kind of a weird place.

There are broadly two ways do do them. You can use base classes designed for gishing. Or you can use prestige classes designed for gishing. You should never combine gish base classes with gish prestige classes.

The benefits of gish classes, whether base or prestige, are bigger numbers on your chassis. But you only benefit from one class chassis at any given level, so you don't get double the benefit from adding a gish prestige class onto a gish base class.

You do get double the drawbacks though. Gish base classes penalize you by reducing your spellcasting relative to a non-gish base class. Gish prestige classes also penalize you by reducing your spellcasting relative to a non-gish prestige class. But the nature of taking a class with reduced spellcasting into a prestige class with only partial spellcasting advancement is that you get worse spellcasting than you'd get from either one on its own.

So you have to pick between the base class approach and the prestige class approach. The base class approach consistently falls behind at high levels. And the prestige class approach consistently doesn't even start being a gish until high level. So it's a choice between being bad at fulfilling your character concept in the early game, or being bad at fulfilling your character concept in the late game. … Or you could play a Cleric or Druid. Those guys don't have to make any tradeoffs to be gishes.

Of course, if your game doesn't run from 1 to 20, just pick whichever approach is best for the levels you will be playing at.



I only just now realized the second character is named "Nelle," not "Nettle." It's kind of a shame. Nettle struck me as a nice name. Maybe more befitting of a character with at least a mild connection to nature though. I'll probably have to remember that for a future character. Maybe a Druid or something.

I don't really understand why you'd want to make a spellcaster who only does one thing. Doing the same thing over and over, from round to round, combat to combat, and level to level, just with bigger numbers... it seems kind of boring... like playing a filthy muggle.

I think it would have been more interesting if the character had a nickname she earned by accidentally setting fire to one of the campus buildings. I'd have also been tempted to have the character's real name be something that's not even pun-adjacent, and then have her nickname be Coco or Pepper. Her classmates wouldn't actually say the "hot" part, but they'd all know it was implied, as a triple pun about her love of fire magic, how smokin' she looked, and the infamous incident in alchemy class.

[___]

I'm going to have to decline the request in your sig to call you "Underscore." In the parlance of programmers, a double underscore is called a "dunderscore." Your name is three underscores. So, I logically have no choice but to dub you "Thunderscore."

I love this.

Gish builds are in kind of a weird place. . .

Thank you for the advice.

I only just now realized the second character is named "Nelle," not "Nettle."

Yeah. “Hotter Nelle” is a slurring of “Hotter Than Hell.”

Like if someone from the southern U.S.A. said it, “It’s hotter’n hell outside!”

I don't really understand why you'd want to make a spellcaster who only does one thing. Doing the same thing over and over, from round to round, combat to combat, and level to level, just with bigger numbers... it seems kind of boring... like playing a filthy muggle.

Basically:

One day I thought, “heh. I want to name a character “Hotter Nelle”.”

Then months later, I was looking through the Player’s Guide To Faerun and found the feat Bloodline Of Fire.

I thought, “plus two to caster level with fire spells? Isn’t there a reserve feat that gives a plus one? And something in the Planar Handbook, too.”

Then I thought “well now I’ve got to see how far I can take this. Oh! And I can name her “Hotter Nelle”!”

I think it would have been more interesting if the character had a nickname she earned by accidentally setting fire to one of the campus buildings.

I don’t like nicknames based on failures. Too many bad experiences with stuff like that in real life.

I'd have also been tempted to have the character's real name be something that's not even pun-adjacent, and then have her nickname be Coco or Pepper.

It’s an homage to Neil Sedaka, a musician who was popular in the fifties and sixties.

Her classmates wouldn't actually say the "hot" part, but they'd all know it was implied, as a triple pun about her love of fire magic, how smokin' she looked, and the infamous incident in alchemy class.

Also, because actually saying the “hot” part might make her angry and she's very good with fire spells.

[DMVerdandi]

Nyth only exists because I had a bunch of sorcerer stuff I wanted to try.
-snip-.

My point was, battle dancer gets charisma to AC, as it is essentially a charisma based monk.
It's a little obscure, but it's 1st party.

[___]

If you're asking why she's a sorcerer instead of a battledancer: Because I wanted to make a spellcaster.

If you're asking why she has one level of monk instead of one level of battledancer: Because the ascetic mage feat allows a character to use their Charisma in place of Wisdom for a monk's AC bonus class feature. It also means that a character's sorcerer and monk levels stack for the AC bonus. She adds her Charisma and the progressive +1 to +4 bonus.

Ascetic Mage also allows a character to spend a spell slot to do a super-punch, but I don't think Nyth is going to do that very often.

[___]

I want to thank everyone who posted in this thread earlier. I'm not very experienced with spellcasters, so it was really nice getting all that help.

Here is another character I've made that I'd like to get some feedback on. Please, tell me what you thnk.

Osteorator CR 9
Female Necropolitan* Thug** 9
*Libris Mortis, page 114
**Unearthed Arcana, page 51.
N Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Init +4; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision;
Listen +2, Spot +2
Languages Common, Infernal, Kenku, Undercommon
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AC 18, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13 (+6 Dex, +3 Armor)
hp 68 (9 HD +0)
Immune Undead immunities.
Resist Turn Resistance +2
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5
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Speed 30 feet (6 Squares)
Melee 2 claws +12 (1d3+3) or
Ranged Longbow +15/+10 (1d8)
Space 5ft. Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +9/+4; Grp +12/+7
Atk Options Sneak Attack +5d6
Special Actions Adaptable Flanker
Combat Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, longbow,
20 arrows, quiver
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Abilities Str 16, Dex 22, Con -, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14
SA Sneak Attack
SQ Resist Control, undead traits, unnatural resilience
Feats Adaptable Flanker, Combat Reflexes, Great
Teamwork, Vexing Flanker
Skills Bluff +14, Craft +14, Gather Information +14,
Intimidate +14, Jump +15, Sleight Of Hand +17,
Possessions Assorted comic books, dire rat plushie,
knapsack, leather care kit.
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Adaptable Flanker (Ex): As a swift action, Osteorator
designates a single opponent. When she is adjacent to the
chosen target, she can choose to count as occupying any
other square she threatens for purposes of determining
flanking bonuses for her and her allies.
She also occupies her current square for flanking an
opponent.
Player's Handbook II, p. 71.
Great Ally (Ex): When Osteorator is successfully aided
on a skill check or attack roll by an ally or when aiding
another, she applies or gains a +3 bonus rather than the
normal +2 bonus.
Additionally, she gains a +4 bonus to attack rolls when
flanking, rather than +2.
Her Vexing Flanker feat increases this bonus by another
+2, granting her a total +6 bonus to attack rolls when
flanking.
Great Teamwork (Ex): When determining whether an
opponent is flanked, as long as she is adjacent to the
opponent, she can treat her position as though she were
actually standing in any other square adjacent to both her
own position and her opponent’s.
Oriental Adventures Update, page 38.
Mimicry (Ex): Osteorator can perfectly mimic familiar
sounds, voices, and accents.
This ability does not allow her to speak languages she
could not normally speak.
To duplicate a specific individual’s voice, she must make
a Bluff check; a listener familiar with the voice being
imitated must succeed on an opposed Sense Motive check
to discern that the voice isn’t genuine.
Resist Control (Ex): Osteorator has a +2 profane
bonus on her saving throws to resist the effects of a
Control Undead spell.
Sneak Attack (Ex): Osteorator deals a +5d6 damage
to opponents unable to defend themselves.
See the description of this ability on page 50 of The
Player’s Handbook.
Osteorator has traded her fighter bonus feats for this
ability.
Unearthed Arcana, page 58.
Unnatural Resilience (Ex): Osteorator automatically
heals a number of hitpoint and ability damage at the
same rate as a living creature.
The Heal skill has no effect on her, however, negative
energy (such as Inflict spells) heals her.

She stands -unnaturally still- before you. She wears
leather armor and something like a plague doctor’s mask.
She pulls off the mask to reveal a wolf’s skull, painted
bright yellow and red.

Osteorator is a unique undead creature. As far as anyone
can tell she has the body of a half-elf woman, but her
head is the denuded skull of some wolflike creature. Both
her body and skull are covered in permanent markings
resembling fearsome warpaint.
She does not know her origins, though given her skill
at combat, it is likely she was created to be an assassin
or soldier. The hooklike claws at the ends of her fingers
further attest to this theory.
Osteorator, or “Osti” as she prefers to be called, is a
bubbly and happy-go-lucky sort. Very friendly, curious,
and full of cuddly kindness. Far more adorable than a
creature with a warpainted skull for a head should be.
An undead well aware of the advantages of undeath,
Osteorator has a complete and utter disregard for life.
She knows that she was one or more living things at one
time but finds existence as an undead so enjoyable that
she sees killing the living as doing them a favor. Not that
she goes around killing indiscriminately and at will, she
knows her manners. But she just can’t understand why
death could make anyone sad; death is the first step to
undeath and being undead is the best!
Though usually happy and huggable as a whole basket
of kittens, there is one thing that terrifies her: Her creator.
She doesn’t know who made her or what reasons they
had, but she knows that whoever it was will have
complete control over her if they ever meet.
For Osteorator, losing her free will is a fate worse than life.

[truemane]

Metamagic Mod: Two Spellcasters, One Necro