Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bkdubs123 11-04-07, 09:38 PM	So, I'm just thinking of some possibilities here both for roleplaying and powerful character build purposes. I'm thinking of a Spellscale Battle Sorcerer taking the Stalwart Sorcerer (Complete Mage) variant along with the Dragonblood Sorcerer Substitution levels, then going into Abjurant Champion and Dragonheart Mage. Here's what I've got so far. Battle Sorcerer 7/Abjurant Champion 4/Dragonheart Mage 4/???? X Level - Feats 1. - Draconic Heritage (Green)*, Weapon Focus (Longsword)**, Combat Casting [size=1]*From Substitution Level, **From Stalwart Sorcerer 3. - Battlecaster Offensive 6. - Battle Caster (Medium) 9. - Draconic Claw 12. - Draconic Resistance 13. - Draconic Flight 15. - Arcane Strike, Green Dragon Lineage 18. - Extra Slot? 21. - ?? Pros - Great Hit Points, Use Magic Device and Move Silently as class skills, Better than standard attack bonus, Better than standard weapon selection, Touch Spells + Draconic Claw = Amazing Arcane Channeling/Quick Cast ability. Cons - Fewer Spells per day, Fewer Spells known (albeit slightly mitigated through substitution levels and feats), Loss of 1 caster level (not an excruciating loss, but compounded with the variants used). What do you guys think? What are some other options that I might have missed, or be unaware of?
Dionon 11-04-07, 09:54 PM	lol, wow, don't let my group see this, I'll be dealing with a party of them, half just for the laughs lol. You could always take the higher two armor proficiencies and then take Draconscale hide (for the awesome AC bonus) You could always become Dragonwraught...
LoneFlame 11-04-07, 10:57 PM	It's not that great. The Sorcerer needs all those variants. Ultimately, a normal Sorcerer can't compete against a Wizard. I like the Sorcerer variants myself. Throw in Spell Shield(Dungeonscape), Metamagic Specialist(PHB2), or Divine Companion(Complete Champion) with that, and you've got a pretty decent, though not game-breaking build. Those are good if you can't take the racial substitution lvs, btw. Any build should definitely go into Abjurant Champion, though. In fact. Those substitution lvs aren't really that good after looking at them. You'd probly be better with Stalwart Battle Sorcerer with one of those 3 variants I mentioned before.
bkdubs123 11-04-07, 11:19 PM	I took the Dragonblood Sorcerer sub levels to get a few more spells known and Draconic Heritage for free. Spell Shield is nice, but it isn't incredible. The Draconic feats however I get from Dragonheart Mage are very nice additions to the flavor and mechanical advantages I've accumlated. Draconic Flight and Legacy? Yes, please. More spells known (Dominate Person is always nice), and the ability to fly nearly at will is always welcome. Granted Draconic Legacy doesn't actually grant much so I might switch that out for another feat, but you can't deny the usefulness of Draconic Claw and Flight. Resistance is just a little icing on the cake. I wish I could fit Draconic Vigor in there at first level, but Combat Casting is essential. Something I think I might grab instead of Draconic Legacy though is Green Dragon Lineage. Sac spell slot to lower someone's next will save? I like... But yes, Spell Shield or Divine Companion + Domain Access are very nice variants to consider too. I was also considering a Half-Elf Stalwart Battle Sorcerer with Spell Shield and Domain Access. This build would not focus on Heritage feats (okay maybe a few of Fey Heritage ones) and grab Arcane Strike and Toughness earlier, and probably pick up Extra Slot once or twice.
RobbyPants 11-05-07, 01:11 PM	Out of curiosity, why not Abjurant Champion 5 (as opposed to 4)? It's one of those gain-everything-lose-nothing situations.
bkdubs123 11-05-07, 01:23 PM	The 5th level of Abjurant Champion was unneccessary to the build and I was just trying to weed out the unneccessary levels in case there was another 5 levels of something I missed that were quite necessary. If there's really nothing better out there for the draconic portion (I don't think there is) than it looks like Abjurant Champion 1/Battle Sorcerer 4 to finish off the career.
RobbyPants 11-05-07, 01:41 PM	Well, if you use the Shield spell, that last level amounts to another +1 shield bonus to AC each casting. I'm not saying there isn't something better you could be doing, but it's certainly worth considering. You're right though in that the 5th level ability of Abjurant Champion won't help you with your current build. I guess if it looks like you're going to end up losing a point of BAB because of the 3/4 advancement of Battle Sorcerer, you could take a single level of Spellsword. It gives you +1 BAB and a caster level. The ignore Arcane Spell Failure 10% won't help you as you can already cast in light armor. Also, the Unseen Seer from Complete Mage might be worth your while, as it's a 3/4 BAB advancement and full casting. I imagine it has d6 Hit Dice, which will be lower than if you just did straight battle sorcerer. You'll have to look at that and the prereqs to figure out if they're worth what you get from the class.
bkdubs123 11-05-07, 02:08 PM	1 level of Spellsword is pretty much a given, and if I'm going to take that, then I might as well take the last level of AbjChamp. Unseen Seer, I just looked at. It's a really poorly put together class... First of all it doesn't require sneak attack or skirmish to enter. 2nd it has medium bab but a d4 hit dice! 3rd, regarding sneak attack/skirmish it increases the damage of them, but it doesn't actually grant you any if you don't already have it... So in the end, no it isn't exactly worth it to take any levels of Unseen Seer. (Oh, and the 10% arcane spell failure can help a bit if I wanted to pick up a shield...pfft! I can wear medium armor by the way. Battle Caster.) Here's another little psuedo-abusive combo I've just found - Domain Access (from complete champion) + Craft Contingent Spell. Not only is the Spell Domain great for Sorcerers anyway, now you can make Greater Anyspell a contingent spell allowing you to always have the right answer for any emergency!
RobbyPants 11-05-07, 02:40 PM	The Unseen Seer was a suggestion I made without my book in front of me. The only things I like about it is the 3/4 BAB and full casting (plus other abilities). But you're right: it's no use to you. I wouldn't worry about using a shield for several reasons: You'll get more milage out of a good two-handed weapon You can always use an Animated Shield With Abjurant Champion, you're Shield spell will eventually be giving you +9 AC for a single 1st level slot (that can be cast as a swift action!!!). Just a few observations. ;)
bkdubs123 11-05-07, 02:50 PM	Thing is I can't use a two-hander amazingly well, because I need that offhand open for somatic components but also because its my bread-and-butter draconic claw! But of course you're right about the shield, I was being sarcastic as evidenced by my liberal use of, "pffft". lol. But yeah... Anyspell + Craft Contingent Spell... I guess any straight up Cleric can do it to now. Craft Contingent Spell isn't for arcane casters only... pretty broken combo if you ask me.