easytiger1
Warrior
231 Posts
    
 | | 03/17/2006 9:30 AM |
| Anybody recommend a good combination of fighting and spellcasting classes say 6-8th level, i was just thinking of a 5th lvl wiz 1-2 lvl fighter, anybody recommend a good prestiege class for after (from the 4 main complete books). My first time at spellcaster i usually just hit things, the group lacks an archer type. Maybe a ranger isntead of fighter concentrating on ranged build with the mage levels, any ideas?. Also im not too canny on magic feats what is good and bad for spellcasters. I always liked transmutators if that helps make a choice
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The Mighty
jai
Commander
3235 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 9:36 AM |
| I am currently playing an Elven Wizard. I have a Dex of 16 (you can easily get 20 if you want) and i focus on using the bow as my primary weapon. I have the spell Arrow Mind from the Spell Compendium which lets me not provoke AoO when using the bow and in fact lets me make AoOs against adjacent foes. I just made second level, and thus far i have shot more arrows then cast spells at opponents. I nwo have a Masterwork Composite Longbow and so i have a +5 to hit with it ... equal to that of our fighter (but not our barbarian) and i can still stay in the back of the party where the spellcaster belongs!
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nycfarmkid
Underboss
1210 Posts
Wadsworth, OH
| | 03/17/2006 9:47 AM |
| Here is a good class combo. More than you ask for, but its fun.
wizard 4/Fighter 2/Spellsword 5/Eldritch Knight 9
BAB: 18
Caster Level: 15 (19 with practiced spellcaster feat)
Now if you really want to get crazy...
Bard 8/Soldier of Light 2/Sublime Chord 2/Spellsword 1/Eldritch Knight 7
BAB: 17
Caster Level: 16(20 with practiced spellcaster)
What this build gives you: 9th level Arcane spells via Sublime Chord progressions, Charisma to saves, Charisma to damage via turn undead and divine might, Charisma to attack via Snowflake Wardance feat from Frostburn.
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easytiger1
Warrior
231 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 9:54 AM |
| Actually i just had a look at the arcane archer, its a old class but it looks ok, what do you more experience spellcasters thing, any good?
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Username
Warlord
5690 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 9:59 AM |
| | what about something like the drow arcane guard? | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
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easytiger1
Warrior
231 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 10:01 AM |
| | drow would probably be a bad choice for chars, usually are straight from the phb, arcane guard is that a prestiege class? | |
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Wayne
Underboss
1371 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 10:21 AM |
| Eldritch Knight is decent (but not great). It gets a lot better if you have access to Arcane Strike, from Complete Warrior.)
The Hexblade is a decent melee/spellcaster type, actually, but again, you're talking Complete Warrior.
It's very, very difficult to create a strong arcanist/melee mix, because they're like oil and water ... they just don't mix. And losing spell progression is absolutely brutal for arcanists. (It's not so bad for clerics, because (1) they can cast in armor, and (2) they have many spells that can augment their fighting prowess. They'll never be serious spellcasters, but presumably that's not the focus of the mix.) | |
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Wayne
Underboss
1371 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 10:23 AM |
| | Arcane Archer is okay, but it took a big power hit under 3.5, when magic bows and ammunition stopped stacking. On the other hand, you can stop enchanting your bow at a +1 enhancement bonus, and start stacking on elemental damage and other goodies. | |
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easytiger1
Warrior
231 Posts
| | 03/17/2006 10:26 AM |
| | well i want to stay at a distance, we have 3 heavy hitters in the group, and we are light on spellcasters, i like the idea of having some offensive ability so i might go ranger one or two levels then go spellcaster, i did see a clas sin the minis handbook a elemental svant that looks interesting, too many choices and me not being skilled in the area of spellcasters. Ohh i just saw a warlock,somethign quite different, or what about a bard build they look interesting warchanter could really help a group or evenm a warweaver from heroes of battle! | |
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Sir Bozak The Damned
Commander
2854 Posts
Québec
| | 03/17/2006 11:57 AM |
| How about a human Warmage/Havok Mage ? They can wear armors and get less spell failures
using them in melee, Warmages get extra magical damage with a high INT modifier and with Skill Focus-Concentration and a few other feats, you could have a decent fighting spellcaster with good AC, higher HP than a Mage or Sorceror and the many benefits of a
Havoc Mage, a fast PrC to complete... | |
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zenthrus
Warlord
5100 Posts
SLC, UT
| | 03/17/2006 1:28 PM |
| Arcane archers are still pretty potent in 3.5. They'd make a good choice for ranged support.
Warlocks are great secondary arcanists in a party but they should NEVER be used as the primary spellcaster (too limited in scope, no flexibility). | |
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nycfarmkid
Underboss
1210 Posts
Wadsworth, OH
| | 03/17/2006 1:44 PM |
| quote:
It's very, very difficult to create a strong arcanist/melee mix, because they're like oil and water ... they just don't mix. And losing spell progression is absolutely brutal for arcanists. (It's not so bad for clerics, because (1) they can cast in armor, and (2) they have many spells that can augment their fighting prowess. They'll never be serious spellcasters, but presumably that's not the focus of the mix.)
This depends on what you mean by difficult. Are they easy to design, yeah. Somtimes your stats don't work for them due to the several key attributes needed. Str, int/cha, con, dex are all important. I've played about three such characters so far and in every campaign they became a huge source of muscle for the party. The ability to fight when you need to and cast when you need to is a huge benefit for a character. I have seen some really poorly done fighter/wizards, but ive seen some very good ones that outshone a lot of other builds. | |
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scruffydude7
Underboss
1196 Posts
Rock Hill, SC
| | 03/18/2006 12:17 AM |
| I've been thinking about making an Elf Warmage/Fighter and then eventually going for Bladesinger. I think Warmage is an ideal fighter/wizard class because of the ability to wear armor and shields with no arcane spell failure chance. Also, they have access to a lot of ranged-touch spells (so the increased AB can only help) and spells like true strike that increase melee potential.
I don't know if its a good tradeoff for not having access to cats grace, bull's strength and all that, but magical items can work around that to an extent. Perhaps the Swashbuckler class would be better than fighter. Int bonus to spell damage AND melee damage with a light weapon? Yes please.
Also, Arcane Strike is a MUST for a fighter/wizard type. | |
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nycfarmkid
Underboss
1210 Posts
Wadsworth, OH
| | 03/18/2006 7:24 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by scruffydude7
I've been thinking about making an Elf Warmage/Fighter and then eventually going for Bladesinger. I think Warmage is an ideal fighter/wizard class because of the ability to wear armor and shields with no arcane spell failure chance. Also, they have access to a lot of ranged-touch spells (so the increased AB can only help) and spells like true strike that increase melee potential.
I don't know if its a good tradeoff for not having access to cats grace, bull's strength and all that, but magical items can work around that to an extent. Perhaps the Swashbuckler class would be better than fighter. Int bonus to spell damage AND melee damage with a light weapon? Yes please.
Also, Arcane Strike is a MUST for a fighter/wizard type.
I've done this, but not as a bladesinger. Its a good class combination if you enjoy only blowing things up. It had decent fun with it, but I like having more options for spells that increase my fighting abilities if needed. The one HUGE strength of the warmage (and sorcerer too) is that you get more spells per day. This is important for a few reasons. First you generally wont have as high of an int or charisma as a normal mage, which means fewer bonus spells. Second, and more importantly, this gives you more spells with which to use Arcane Strike. That feat is probably the best assest such a character has. The ability to drop a spell for an attack and damage bonus is very nice. Combine that with power attack, and you have some huge damage potential at low attack penalties. Keep in mind, unless there are specific reasons for doing so, you should never cast more than one or two "buff" type spells before wading into combat. The strength of this combination is versatility.
As a marmage character you can avoid this simply because all you do is blast. The problem I ran into is that I became a blaster that could fight pretty well if threatened. I wanted to play a fighter augmented by arcane magic. It was not quite what i had in mind.
I would suggest half elf instead of elf if you want to do bladesinger. You should nver lose more than four or five caster levels in making this type of character. If you took the elf race you's have to have more levels of fighter to avoid the XP penalty, which will reduce your overall power in the long run. | |
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Username
Warlord
5690 Posts
| | 03/19/2006 5:10 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by easytiger1
drow would probably be a bad choice for chars, usually are straight from the phb, arcane guard is that a prestiege class?
Sorry, I was referring to the mini's class, not necessarily the race. Is Arcane Guard a playable class or NPC class? | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
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taliesin
Underboss
1113 Posts
| | 03/19/2006 6:20 PM |
| Arcane Guard is just a flowery title, since they are the low-level guards of the Inverted Tower, a wizard academy in Szith Morcane.
They are fighter/wizards, no prestige class at all. | |
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Ethandrul
Warrior
301 Posts
| | 03/22/2006 11:14 AM |
| | how about a straight class druid? | |
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nycfarmkid
Underboss
1210 Posts
Wadsworth, OH
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Thenameless
Warlord
11722 Posts
The Fortress of Solitude
| | 03/22/2006 8:21 PM |
| | I haven't had a look at it recently, but if you want a spellcaster that can fight, then a Bladesinger might be for you. | |
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Benimoto
Underboss
1125 Posts
| | 03/22/2006 10:19 PM |
| | I've seen quite a few good Enlightened Fists (a Monk/Arcane hybrid). Most are Monk/Sorcerers, although even a Monk/Warmage could work. That doesn't help at all with needing an archer, but if it turns out they could use a Monk instead, it's the class for you. | |
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Vrecknidj
Warlord
10445 Posts
United States
| | 03/23/2006 9:22 AM |
| I've always wanted to try a paladin/sorcerer. Of course, you'll need either a DM who will allow you to switch back and forth, or you'll have to be one or the other first.
Dave | |
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bshugg
Underboss
1833 Posts
| | 03/23/2006 9:54 AM |
| | the spell compendium offers a lot of useful combat spells for a wizard. Lots of melee touch attacks which pretty much gives you the equivalant attack bonus of a fighter of the same class except against monks and quick stuff. You could go straight sorc if you have well above average stats. Otherwise I would go fighter/wizard for the feats, and quickest spell progression. | |
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nycfarmkid
Underboss
1210 Posts
Wadsworth, OH
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Sean-Khan
Commander
2723 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 7:17 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by nycfarmkid
Im not sure about Druids, but with the feats available the Cleric is the perfect fighting spellcaster.
They really are. With right choise of domains they can cast some wizard spells with armors on and if the domain is war, you'll get a bonus of Martial weapon proficiency and weapon focus for free. Well, proficiency if chosen deity's favoured weapon is martial weapon.
What's good with druids is their 1st level spell Shillelagh. A +1 weapon that does 2D6 damage - even if wielded as club. With animal companion, that makes druid pretty strong in combat. | |
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