Gish armor

[weenie]

I'm building a gish character and I came across a problem. I just can't seem to be able to reduce a full plate's ASF to 0% without taking a level of spellsword. So for all those other gish fanatics out there I've decided to start a thread wit ways to reduce ASF as much as possible. Here are the options I came across so far, if you know of any others, please post them!

Special Materials:

-Mithral(DMG): A bit expensive for heavy armors, but reduces movement limitations, armor check penalty by 3, ASF by 10% and improves max dex by 2
-Leafwave(RoW): usable only with padded, leather, studded leather and hide armor, reduces ASF by 5%, max dex bonus increased by +1, armor check penalty reduced by 2
-Thistledown(RoW): padded armor only, no ASF and some other minor qualities
-Wildwood(RoW): reduces the armor's AC by 1, ASF by 5% and max dex increases by 1

Armor modifications:

-Twilight(PhBII,MiC): +1 enhancement, reduces ASF by 10%
-Thistledown padded(RoW): 250Gp, reduces ASF by 5%, increases armor check penalty by 1
-Githcraft(DMG2): 600Gp, reduces ASF by 5%

Other:

Battle Caster[feat](CA): you get no ASF from casting in heavier armor than you normally cast in, but it requires that you already have some ability to ignore ASF from armor
Spellsword(CW): reduces ASF by armor and shields, but only progresses spellcasting at odd levels

[Zincorium]

Congrats, but really, I think the reason there aren't any more entries is because there don't really need to be.

Even 25% is a quite small chance to fail, although it sucks when it happens. Down to 5% and it's the same probability as rolling a critical miss.

If you really need to get the ability to ignore spell failure for light armor, say to use the battlecaster feat, and can negotiate the fluff for a non-eberron campaign, the Knight Phantom PrC gives out the use of light armor with no ASF for whatever spellcasting class you have at first level. And and while it does lose a caster level, it's probably the 2nd best gish prc after abjurant champion.

[Mad Wizard]

IIRC, Feycraft (DMG II) also reduces the ASF by 5%. I don't remember whether or not you can stack it with Gishcraft, though. Also, care to explain why you don't want to just take a level in spellsword?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Because some people prefer to be good without dipping something every other level.

Or maybe his GM goes to the trouble of actually tracking XP penalties.

[Ecalsneerg]

BOr maybe his GM goes to the trouble of actually tracking XP penalties.

Which don't apply to PrCs anyway

[Ganurath]

I think I found an option you didn't come across:

Get something lighter than Full Plate and buff your Dex to compensate.

[Zincorium]

Or maybe his GM goes to the trouble of actually tracking XP penalties.

That wouldn't matter, Prcs never give experience penalties for multiclassing.

Frankly, spellsword isn't bad, it's the 'never sacrifice spellcaster levels' mantra that makes it seem atrocious in comparison.

That mantra doesn't hold true for a melee combatant who is using magic as a supplement to fighting ability rather than the focus of the character. But then you could just play a duskblade and not worry about prcs.

[Cuddly]

There's a +3 enchantment from Underdark that makes the armor count as light when you wear it. If you have a class that lets you ignore the arcane failure of light armor, well, there you go.

[Chronos]

You've hit most of the things that can be done to the armor itself, I think. But there are other options:

Forgo physical armor entirely, and use spells or Bracers of Armor instead.
Use Still Spell, or spells which lack somatic components naturally.
Use long-duration buff spells, which you can cast in the morning before you put your armor on.
Get your spells to count as divine spells somehow (a few PrCs, or the Alternative Spell Source feat), to bypass ASF entirely.

[Cuddly]

Pick up two levels (or more) of swordsage for wisdom to AC while in light armor and without a shield; wear a monk's belt (no caster level loss).

Swordsage sets you up for Jade Pheonix mage, though.

[John Campbell]

On a slightly different approach, Races of Stone has a dwarf-only prestige class called Runesmith, which has a class ability that effectively lets you Still all of your spells for free. It goes one better than reducing ASF; it makes it irrelevant.

My last character was an adamantine full plate-wearing wizard.

[Townopolis]

I think there's a fighter variant in PHBII that allows you to gain armored caster (light) in exchange for medium and heavy armor proficiency, so you could go something like

Fighter 1/Warblade X/Wizard Y

Take battle caster after taking a level of warblade, get mithral full plate, and you're good.

[Talic]

That variant's actually in Complete Mage, but otherwise correct.

[Zincorium]

I think there's a fighter variant in PHBII that allows you to gain armored caster (light) in exchange for medium and heavy armor proficiency, so you could go something like

Fighter 1/Warblade X/Wizard Y

Take battle caster after taking a level of warblade, get mithral full plate, and you're good.

The fighter variant only allows you to ignore the armor failure for spells that have a level equal to your levels of fighter +1.

So you can ignore the failure chance of light armor for 1st and second level spells only. Yes, it does really suck that bad.