Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Outlier 06-28-06, 07:58 PM	Hi folks, I could use help. I'm making a character to play in an ongoing 8th level Forgotten Realms game, with a group that has no rogue and insufficient healing. By preference, I'd be playing a trickster character like a Beguiler – but I need to be a primary healer too. The group will meet me in the Abyss, so some excuse for my being there would be nice. The books available include core, PHB2, complete, races, heroes, Forgotten Realms, as well as mini handbook. Oriental, psionic, and dragon magazine material is forbidden. UA material is OK'd on a case by case basis. Characters must be non-evil, and may have cohorts. EDIT: The DM has just opened up BoED, Draconomicon & Races of the Dragon. I've considered going Beguiler 4 / Archivist 3 / Mystic Theurge 1 / other stuff... But it seems like I'd be so lame for so long. Alternatively, Rogue 1 / Cloistered Cleric 3 / Church Inquisitor 1 / Shadowbane Stalker 3 / other stuff... with maybe the Luck & Trickery domains, the spontaneous domain caster option, and the Able Learner feat. Maybe swap CC for Archivist? Perhaps a Shadowcraft Mage cheese topping? I hate taking the level of rogue up front, but there seems to be no class out there that advances spellcasting and gives Trapfinding at the same time. Too bad there's no way to make a Beguiler into a primary healer. Shadow Unicorn summoning maybe?
Spellskin 06-28-06, 08:19 PM	You could go without the cleric stuff and use an enormously high UMD modifier for items wich heal. This requires some coins to go from your Heward's Handy Haversack to go into purchasing these items though... Another alternative is Arcane Disciple and choosing the Healing Domain. It won't grant you an enormous amount of Healing and still requires a relatively high Wisdom score if you want to access the higher level of spells but at least you can keep leveling as a Beguiler, also you no longer have to use UMD as you can now simply use items wich cast spells on your Domain spell list. *I'd still purchase UMD ranks anyway though ;)* If you still want to have Rogue levels as well then ask your DM if he'll allow you to have Mage Hand on the Beguiler spell list so you can play an Arcane Trickster. Another option wich could combine all options is to be a changeling and become a Recaster but that's Ebberon... and you're not allowed to do that... :( I'm afraid I can't really help with the reason for your location as long as I don't know what you're going to do there and what they are going to do there. Of course, maybe your real reason to be there is extremely straightforward... Always a good option ;) *my party and their players are extremely paranoid about me and my characters, and rightly so, so this always turns out very amusing for me :p* Very important also... Are you known to the other players in your party as a Beguiler?
Outlier 06-28-06, 10:23 PM	Well, UMD didn't seem like it would substitute for a primary healer, at least for any items in an 8th level budget. I supose I could have a healer-cohort, but I'm not sure how to get enough healing into a 5th or 6th level cohort to service a large group of 8th level characters. As for how I'm known to the rest of the group, that's to be determined.
JaredMecham 06-29-06, 10:02 AM	Hey, if you check out the OOTS site, Rich Burlew (Mr. OOTS himself) has a PRC posted that might be what you're looking for. Check out this link: http://www.giantitp.com/Func0015.html Happy Hunting
Saxis 06-30-06, 12:25 PM	The first thing that came to mind when I read the title was Fochlucan Lyrist. Since FR is allowed, you could take the Bardic Tutelage home region and learn Druidic. Go something like Rogue 2/Bard 4/Archivist 4/FL 10. With Able Learner you could keep your picking skills "up-to-date", and with Archivist using Intelligence, you'll have plenty of skill points. You can also learn ANY divine spell, which comes in handy for extra buff spells and the Vigor line of healing. This would make for a great healing/picking skill monkey, I would think. Edit: An easy plot hook for this char could be; gathering/documenting information an various creatures in the Abyss as a quest from the Fochlucan College? This was my orginal idea for my "Buffing Machine" build here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=8040439#post8040439). I just swapped the Master Thrower for Rogue. You might have to switch the order of your levels around to get all the skill requirements for FL, like Rogue 1/Bard 3/Arch 4/Bard 1/Rogue 1/FL 10, but since you're starting at level 8, this might not be as much of a problem.
Mommy was an Orc 06-30-06, 01:28 PM	Divine Prankster isn't bad - if you can convince your DM to use a trickster deity from other races, halfling or human, it works out pretty well. As you're starting at 8th level, you could be a Rogue 1/Cleric 4/Divine Prankster 3. Not too hard to max out Search and you can cast Divine Insight so as to really amp out your Disable Device check.
Outlier 07-03-06, 11:26 AM	Well, I like the idea of the FL, but at 8th level it seems a very weak healer. The Divine Prankster (DP) idea looks closer to the mark, but my DM is sticking to the gnome requirement for that class, so skill maintenance is an issue. I also note that DP's don't get the Move Silently, so I'll need to burn a few spells on magical silence. What do you think about a human Beguiler 1 / Archivist 7? Take the Able Learner feat to lock in the skills. He could have all the relevant skills maxed out, cast at 7th from a small list of very potent divine spells, plus a few 1st level spontaneous arcane spells from the beguiler list. He gets medium armor & shield, though he might prefer light most of the time. The knowledge-based group buffs look interesting too. - Compared to a real primary healer, I'm down 1 level, 1 feat, and I guess I'm out the spontaneous healing too unless I pay another feat. - Compared to a real primary skill monkey, I'm similarly down 1 feat, 28 skill points. Cloistered Cleric (CC) from UA looks promising as an alternative to Archivist, DM permitting. I'd pick up 3 domain powers, undead turning, bardic knowledge, and ditch the spellbook. He'd technically net 14 more skill points, but with Wis as his primary stat instead of Int, that's probably not a real gain. MAD looks about equal to me. He loses the group buffs, 2 knowledge skill focuses, drops from medium + shield to light armor, and the ability to cherry pick his spell list is gone too. Has anybody tried the Generic classes out of UA/SRD?
Riodrian 07-03-06, 03:12 PM	Play the class you want with the spellfire wielder feat. Get a warlock cohort to zap you every once in awhile and heal away. =)