RHoD Cohort [Archive] - Wizards Community

RHoD Cohort [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
delewobmesid
03-22-07, 01:03 PM due to meta org commitments, it would be suicide for me to continue in RHoD with my cleric 4 after the first part of RHoD (yes, if I hadn't crafted some scrolls I would have leveled, or wasn't in two meta orgs I'd have the TUs to level up before continuing);

Favored Soul of Kord 5/Fighter 1 16,12,14,10,8,15 power attack, combat casting, weapon focus greatsword, improved toughness, leadership

I'm thinking about a Grey Elf Beguiler cohort 10,15,14,16,10,8 Imp Init, SF concentration

Would this be a good cohort for this series? Or should I go with something completely different? Warmage perhaps?
Rerednaw
03-22-07, 01:15 PM What is your party's composition? You want your cohort to complement your party's abilities.
delewobmesid
03-22-07, 02:19 PM so far the party is Favored Soul5/fi1, Ranger2/rogue3, cleric 5-6 and the last is a rogue2/fi2/scout1 or a necro7

yes it will be a short table playing RHoD...
Alpha_Nerd
03-22-07, 02:35 PM Sounds like an Arcane Caster would be a decent bet. Wiz 4, 15 int 14 con 13 dex 12 wis 10 cha 8 str bumping int to 16 at 4th.
Rerednaw
03-22-07, 03:59 PM Sounds like an Arcane Caster would be a decent bet. Wiz 4, 15 int 14 con 13 dex 12 wis 10 cha 8 str bumping int to 16 at 4th.

I would second that opinion, it appears your table is short on arcanes.
Alpha_Nerd
03-22-07, 04:04 PM Also, as far as his feats, I'd recommend going Conjurer and taking.

1 Empower Spell
1 Sculpt Spell
3 Metamagic Focus: Conjuration

Even at 4th level the cohort can toss out Empowered Lesser Orbs (2d8 x1.5) or sculpted greases.
kenobi65
03-22-07, 04:26 PM Even at 4th level the cohort can toss out Empowered Lesser Orbs (2d8 x1.5)

I assume you meant "5th level"? Empowering a Lesser Orb would require a 3rd level spell slot.
Rerednaw
03-22-07, 04:32 PM Also, as far as his feats, I'd recommend going Conjurer and taking.

1 Empower Spell
1 Sculpt Spell
3 Metamagic Focus: Conjuration

Even at 4th level the cohort can toss out Empowered Lesser Orbs (2d8 x1.5) or sculpted greases.

I differ in opinion here. Specialization for wizard grants 1 extra spell in the chosen school per level and +2 spell craft on chosen school.

In exchange for dropping 2 schools. As your party doesn't have an arcane, you may come across something that your specialist won't be able to make use of. Every school has something that you will find that you want.

If you decide on specializing I would make use of retraining later to unspecialize and pick up spell focus: conj instead to satisfy the Megamagic School Focus prerequisite.
Alpha_Nerd
03-22-07, 04:33 PM I assume you meant "5th level"? Empowering a Lesser Orb would require a 3rd level spell slot.

Metamagic School Focus: Conjuration
Alpha_Nerd
03-22-07, 04:35 PM [/SIZE]

I differ in opinion here. Specialization for wizard grants 1 extra spell in the chosen school per level and +2 spell craft on chosen school.

In exchange for dropping 2 schools. As your party doesn't have an arcane, you may come across something that your specialist won't be able to make use of. Every school has something that you will find that you want.

If you decide on specializing I would make use of retraining later to unspecialize and pick up spell focus: conj instead to satisfy the Megamagic School Focus prerequisite.

Well, here is my rationalization of going specialized.

As a cohort he won't get to be played nearly as often as a normal wizard, and even less likely if they already have an arcane caster at the table. Thus, it will be very hard for a wizard cohort to keep his spell book fully packed, meaning if you lose a couple schools it won't matter as much as you might not have spells from those schools anyways. Also, metamagic school focus lets your cohort catch up in power slighty, and since he'll always be one spell level behind it's nice.
kenobi65
03-22-07, 04:58 PM Metamagic School Focus: Conjuration

Ah, not familiar with that feat. What, precisely, does it do?
kenobi65
03-22-07, 05:01 PM As a cohort he won't get to be played nearly as often as a normal wizard, and even less likely if they already have an arcane caster at the table.

Bear in mind that the original poster specifically needs this cohort to help fill out their table for RHoD, and that, depending on the PC choice of one of the other players at his table, they may not have any other arcane caster at all.
Alpha_Nerd
03-22-07, 05:06 PM Metamagic school focus lets you, three times per day, prepare a spell from the selected school with a metamagic feat and subtract 1 spell level from the cost. So, you could prepare 3 sculpted greases in level 1 slots or 2 sculpted greases and an empower lesser acid orb in a level 2 slot etc.

Also, I think specializing is fine for his situation. If he's going to only have 1 arcane caster at 4th, he's only going to have 7 first level and 4 second level spells in his spell book. So what if he's missing a couple schools with such few spells?
delewobmesid
03-22-07, 05:31 PM this character has had trap trouble in the past; hence the beguiler; how is the proposed human conjurer supperior?
Alpha_Nerd
03-22-07, 11:38 PM Well, the Beguiler is a spontaneous caster which means he's a level behind in the new spells. I don't like this because at odd levels your cohort is going to be behind 2 spells levels. For example, at 9th level a wizard will have 5th level spells where your 7th level cohort is only tossing around 3rd level spells. Also, since a beguiler is heavily dependent on saves only being able to get a 15 INT to start isn't too helpful, whereas a conjurer has a good amount of Save spells (Grease, Glitterdust) and non-save spells (Summons, Orbs). If you really want a trapfinder, I'd recommend an Unseen Seer/Arcane Trickster.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
delewobmesid 03-22-07, 01:03 PM	due to meta org commitments, it would be suicide for me to continue in RHoD with my cleric 4 after the first part of RHoD (yes, if I hadn't crafted some scrolls I would have leveled, or wasn't in two meta orgs I'd have the TUs to level up before continuing); Favored Soul of Kord 5/Fighter 1 16,12,14,10,8,15 power attack, combat casting, weapon focus greatsword, improved toughness, leadership I'm thinking about a Grey Elf Beguiler cohort 10,15,14,16,10,8 Imp Init, SF concentration Would this be a good cohort for this series? Or should I go with something completely different? Warmage perhaps?
Rerednaw 03-22-07, 01:15 PM	What is your party's composition? You want your cohort to complement your party's abilities.
delewobmesid 03-22-07, 02:19 PM	so far the party is Favored Soul5/fi1, Ranger2/rogue3, cleric 5-6 and the last is a rogue2/fi2/scout1 or a necro7 yes it will be a short table playing RHoD...
Alpha_Nerd 03-22-07, 02:35 PM	Sounds like an Arcane Caster would be a decent bet. Wiz 4, 15 int 14 con 13 dex 12 wis 10 cha 8 str bumping int to 16 at 4th.
Rerednaw 03-22-07, 03:59 PM	Sounds like an Arcane Caster would be a decent bet. Wiz 4, 15 int 14 con 13 dex 12 wis 10 cha 8 str bumping int to 16 at 4th. I would second that opinion, it appears your table is short on arcanes.
Alpha_Nerd 03-22-07, 04:04 PM	Also, as far as his feats, I'd recommend going Conjurer and taking. 1 Empower Spell 1 Sculpt Spell 3 Metamagic Focus: Conjuration Even at 4th level the cohort can toss out Empowered Lesser Orbs (2d8 x1.5) or sculpted greases.
kenobi65 03-22-07, 04:26 PM	Even at 4th level the cohort can toss out Empowered Lesser Orbs (2d8 x1.5) I assume you meant "5th level"? Empowering a Lesser Orb would require a 3rd level spell slot.
Rerednaw 03-22-07, 04:32 PM	Also, as far as his feats, I'd recommend going Conjurer and taking. 1 Empower Spell 1 Sculpt Spell 3 Metamagic Focus: Conjuration Even at 4th level the cohort can toss out Empowered Lesser Orbs (2d8 x1.5) or sculpted greases. I differ in opinion here. Specialization for wizard grants 1 extra spell in the chosen school per level and +2 spell craft on chosen school. In exchange for dropping 2 schools. As your party doesn't have an arcane, you may come across something that your specialist won't be able to make use of. Every school has something that you will find that you want. If you decide on specializing I would make use of retraining later to unspecialize and pick up spell focus: conj instead to satisfy the Megamagic School Focus prerequisite.
Alpha_Nerd 03-22-07, 04:33 PM	I assume you meant "5th level"? Empowering a Lesser Orb would require a 3rd level spell slot. Metamagic School Focus: Conjuration
Alpha_Nerd 03-22-07, 04:35 PM	[/SIZE] I differ in opinion here. Specialization for wizard grants 1 extra spell in the chosen school per level and +2 spell craft on chosen school. In exchange for dropping 2 schools. As your party doesn't have an arcane, you may come across something that your specialist won't be able to make use of. Every school has something that you will find that you want. If you decide on specializing I would make use of retraining later to unspecialize and pick up spell focus: conj instead to satisfy the Megamagic School Focus prerequisite. Well, here is my rationalization of going specialized. As a cohort he won't get to be played nearly as often as a normal wizard, and even less likely if they already have an arcane caster at the table. Thus, it will be very hard for a wizard cohort to keep his spell book fully packed, meaning if you lose a couple schools it won't matter as much as you might not have spells from those schools anyways. Also, metamagic school focus lets your cohort catch up in power slighty, and since he'll always be one spell level behind it's nice.
kenobi65 03-22-07, 04:58 PM	Metamagic School Focus: Conjuration Ah, not familiar with that feat. What, precisely, does it do?
kenobi65 03-22-07, 05:01 PM	As a cohort he won't get to be played nearly as often as a normal wizard, and even less likely if they already have an arcane caster at the table. Bear in mind that the original poster specifically needs this cohort to help fill out their table for RHoD, and that, depending on the PC choice of one of the other players at his table, they may not have any other arcane caster at all.
Alpha_Nerd 03-22-07, 05:06 PM	Metamagic school focus lets you, three times per day, prepare a spell from the selected school with a metamagic feat and subtract 1 spell level from the cost. So, you could prepare 3 sculpted greases in level 1 slots or 2 sculpted greases and an empower lesser acid orb in a level 2 slot etc. Also, I think specializing is fine for his situation. If he's going to only have 1 arcane caster at 4th, he's only going to have 7 first level and 4 second level spells in his spell book. So what if he's missing a couple schools with such few spells?
delewobmesid 03-22-07, 05:31 PM	this character has had trap trouble in the past; hence the beguiler; how is the proposed human conjurer supperior?
Alpha_Nerd 03-22-07, 11:38 PM	Well, the Beguiler is a spontaneous caster which means he's a level behind in the new spells. I don't like this because at odd levels your cohort is going to be behind 2 spells levels. For example, at 9th level a wizard will have 5th level spells where your 7th level cohort is only tossing around 3rd level spells. Also, since a beguiler is heavily dependent on saves only being able to get a 15 INT to start isn't too helpful, whereas a conjurer has a good amount of Save spells (Grease, Glitterdust) and non-save spells (Summons, Orbs). If you really want a trapfinder, I'd recommend an Unseen Seer/Arcane Trickster.