Post/Author/DateTime	Post
NeSoDak 04-04-06, 04:37 PM	Bear with me here, I've never played an arcane spell caster in LG and would love to have one. I'll accept any build. Basically just looking for something different, maybe speciallized so I don't have to look through all the spells to pick one. I'm not looking for an optimized munchkined character, just one for a first time arcane caster character. Something simple and accepted across the board. I don't mind playing either a main or supporting character.
PaulH 04-04-06, 07:05 PM	Hi Warmage makes an excellent 'Blaster Caster'. Only 'weakness' is that is really mainly gets offensive spells. It certainly gets nice bonuses later on (Sudden' feats, etc). it can even cast spells without arcane spell failure. (Lt armour only for short while). Best way to overcome this is by taking 1 lvl of another spellcasting class. Example: Gnome Bard, (Allows use of Wands Cure Lt Wounds, grants Detect Magic, other useful stuff. Good for skills, too). Then go Warmage from then on. St 6 De 14 Int 16 Co 14 Wi 10 Ch 14 36 skill points at first lvl, take Read/Detect Magic, Mage Hand & Resistance for spells. Pont Blank shot (PBS) is good feat - can be used with 'weapon-like' spells.(Those requiring attack rolls). You also get the usual Gnome things - speaking with burrowing animals, some spell-like abilities, size mods to AC & attack bonus, etc. High Int also grants extra damage to Warmage (only) spells. (Bard 1/Warmage 1 - Acid Splash does D3+4 damage with PBS)! Not bad for a Cantrip! :D But this is only one (damage spellcaster), of many choices. Cheers Paul H
GreatSiron 04-04-06, 07:19 PM	Yeah, for damage Warmage is the best way to go. (Although I don't take a lvl in anything else, I just like to blow stuff up) :D Your warmage has got the spell for most any combat situation. One time I played with a wizard when we went up against something with spell resistance. This is where the orb spells come in, they ignore spell resistance. (Meif's Acid Arrow does too, if you don't want to be ANYWHERE near something, like a sheild guardian). At lower lvls I used Hail of Stone alot. Sure, it had a 1 round casting time, but it hit a four-square area and had no saves or to hit rolls. Don't know anything about support casting, (Way too impatient), but going wizard is always a good bet, since you can always learn new spells at any time, and keep scrolls of the ones you don't have prepared. Oh, and one more tip, never charge a half-golem with a shocking grasp spell. It ends in death.
Lomiat 04-05-06, 03:29 AM	A few different types of arcane builds: Battlefield control: Wizard (typically a generalist) or sorceror who focuses on using spells to provide tactical advantages to allies and tactical disadvantages to foes. Save or die: Wizard (typically a specialist) or sorceror who maxes out the Save DCs for a school of magic and tries to find ways to make use of it as often as possible to directly eliminate powerful foes. Blaster mage: Warmage, wizard or sorceror who casts lots of evocation spells (sometimes conjuration) to do direct hit-point damage. Arcane trickster: Rogue/wizard multiclass toward the prestige class. A rogue with spells. GISH: I have no idea whence the term arrived, but it stands for a fighter/arcane mutt, who can use spells to buff himself to fight better or who can, in need, use spells much like other casters. Mystic theurge: Arcane/divine mutt. Buffing specialist. Buffer: Wizard or sorceror who dedicates spells to making other party members stronger and better. Modified warmage: A warmage who can do something in addition to blasting. Needs enough WIS for Arcane Disciple. Hope that helps.
JamesMaissen 04-05-06, 04:04 AM	Bear with me here, I've never played an arcane spell caster in LG and would love to have one. I'll accept any build. Basically just looking for something different, maybe speciallized so I don't have to look through all the spells to pick one. I'm not looking for an optimized munchkined character, just one for a first time arcane caster character. Something simple and accepted across the board. I don't mind playing either a main or supporting character. A pure warmage is not a hard build to make. In general they need INT, DEX, CON and CHA. The point spread will either drop 12 in STR and 14s in the above, a dip into WIS (For arcane disciple), or dumping both STR & WIS and picking a 16 in one of the 4 with 14s in the rest. Some builds take PBS and Precise Shot because of all the ranged touch spells. These tend to drop a 16 in Dex, perhaps taking a race like halfling or elf. Some builds try to maximize the edge. Typically grey elf builds with a starting 18 INT with plans to take extra edge at 6th. This is nice in making normally low damage spells have a punch. Lots of choices here for you. Just keep being a full caster. If you want to read scrolls and stuff buy ranks in UMD. It depends what you wish to focus upon. Here's one for you that's a bit wierd: Str 08 Int 12 Wis 14 Dex 14 Con 14 Chr 14 Feats: 1st Well Read human Empower Spell 3rd Arcane Disciple (Healing Domain) 6th Spontaneous Healer 9th Another arcane disciple feat Skills: Max Concentration, Spellcraft, Knowledge religion then dip into each other knowledge. It's not uber.. but it's different. You could swap Dex and INT and tend to avoid the ranged touch attack spells. -James
Tungar 04-05-06, 05:46 AM	I would say nearly the same thing than everyone : Warmage if you want a simple battle caster. Easy to use, powerful. For support, Bard is a good choice, but it is a bit hard to do a good bard (and at low level, bard is too weak). So, if I advice you a build for an easy to play warmage : Str 10 Con 16 Dex 10 Int 14 Wiz 10 Cha 14 Pure warmage of course, because a caster gains to much each level. Feats : 1st : Still Spell (because no dim door or freedom) Human : Combat casting or any other useful feat 3rd : Spell focus (evocation) 6th : Improved Toughness or Extra Edge 9th : Arcane Preparation 12th : Quicken Spell ... So, good Con to support many damage and avoid being killed by a critical or a fireball. You will be nearly as tough as the cleric. You will be a bit poor with rays at low level because of poor dex, but, who cares, Magic Missile makes the same damage. Medium Int for skills and warmage edge. And then, metamagic specialization, with arcane Prep to avoid the awfull casting time.
Lomiat 04-05-06, 03:18 PM	My take on Warmage builds: Optimized ranged-touch specialist: Gray Elf Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 14 Feats: 1-Point Blank, 3-Precise Shot, 6-Extra Edge, 9-Weapon Focus (ranged touch) (not sure what this feat is really called; pre-req for the Specialization), 12-Ranged Spell Specialization (last 2 feats from Complete Arcane) All stat bumps to Charisma. Eventually, a Headband of Intellect +2, then +4. Versatile warmage: Human Str 8, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 14 Feats: 1-Improved Initiative, Spell Penetration, 3-Arcane Disciple (healing, travel, or celerity), 6-Arcane Disciple (another domain), 9-Extra Edge, 12-No idea Stat bumps at 4 and 8 to Cha, 12 to Wis This one might actually multilcass into a class with full spell progression, but with other benefits: Wild Mage, Sacred Exorcist, Fatespinner, dunno Blaster warmage: Human Str 10, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 16 Feats: 1-Spell Focus (evocation), Greater Spell Focus (evocation), 3-Extra Edge, 6-Empower Spell, 9-Arcane Preparation, 12-Quicken Spell Stat bumps to Cha
NeSoDak 04-05-06, 05:17 PM	Maybe I should have been a little clearer. But I do not want to create a Warmage. I'm also dissapointed that that's pretty much all anybody has offered up, some combination of a Warmage. I know it makes a great offensive arcane caster, I've seen it used in local games, but I was really hoping that there were some other options out there. Please, somebody submit something that doesn't have Warmage in it?
ranagrande 04-05-06, 05:45 PM	The reason for that is that you asked for something specialized so you wouldn't have to pick out your spells. Really, that's what Warmage is for. Since that isn't what you want, that leaves Bard, Sorceror, Wizard, and Hexblade, although the last is really more of a fighter than a caster. Of the three remaining, Sorceror is probably the easiest, but it can also be the most limiting depending on your spell selection. Bards have more abilities aside from casting, and can be great support characters. Wizards are possibly the most effective arcane casters, but they also require the most work in preparing spells. If you can give a little more info on what you want to play, we might be able to help more.
MysticRhythms 04-05-06, 06:07 PM	My current arcanist is a 2nd level Gnome Sorcerer. He has the Draconic Heritge feat.The copper dragon gives you Hide as a Class skill which works well for a small character and fits well with the Shadowcraft Mage Prestige Class. Essentially, I'm taking advantage of the gnome's bonus to illusion DC's and making an illusionist-like sorcerer at low levels. The Draconic Breath helps me avoid having to learn many offensive spells (the fact that copper dragons fire off acidic breath is good because fewer things have acid resistance from what I've seen). So at the low levels, take Draconic Heritage and Draconic Breath and then go for Spell Focus(illusion) and get yourself into Shadowcaster Mage for character level 9. Just stay straight Illusionist until then. The Gnome size and Con modifier makes you survivable at the low levels and being a Sorcerer gives you access to purchasing good spells you can actually use with utility (I buy Magic Weapon and Comprehend Languages and Detect Secret Doors all the time). So far this is working well for me and being an illusionist gives you lots of options to be creative and have fun. Having the acidic breath helps you shore up a major weakness with illusionist - being unable to affect mindless things like undead and constructs. The draconic breath also helps you avoid Spell Resistance and requires only the two feats. My gnome has an 8 Strength and a 14 Charisma with 14 Intelligence because I like balanced characters with decent skill points and I don't want to have to pay big encumbrance penalties. I could have sacked Intelligence and Strength completely to get my Charisma up, but I prefer my build for my play style. S: 8, D: 14, C: 16, I: 14, W: 10, Ch: 14 A lot of optimization purists will balk at those numbers and you can play with them. my feats are such: 1: Draconic Heritage 3: Draconic Breath 6: Spell Focus(Illusion) 9+: Who knows? I'll be entering Shadowcraft Mage if I live this long and there are many options. I could start using metamagic or in a totally different direction. There's a non-warmage option for you. I like utility spells too much to play straight Warmages myself.
copper_wyrmling 04-05-06, 08:40 PM	I play two sorcerers in LG. The lower-level one is also a gnome with copper dragon heritage, going for shadowcraft mage (it seems like a common theme ;) ) I went for Str 6 Dex 14 Con 16 Int 14 Wis 8 Cha 16, first three feats identical to MysticRhythms. My higher-level sorc is more of a generalist, and much more like an iconic sorcerer - she basically acts like a warmage in combat, but has a better range of out-of-combat utility spells. She's a wild mage, but that's not essential to the build, it just fitted really well with the character (at L2, she deliberately failed all her saves against a wild magic field, to see what would happen - she *loves* random magical effects). Basically, if you want to play a sorcerer, spell selection (combined with metamagic feats) is everything. It's much easier to make a truly ineffective sorcerer than a truly ineffective wizard, by choosing spells poorly, but if you choose your spells well, sorcerers are very easy to play. As an example of a blaster-type sorcerer who's effective in LG: Azrien the Dreamer Human (Suloise) Sorcerer 6 / Wild Mage 3 Starting stats: Str 8 Dex 16 Con 12 Int 12 Wis 8 Cha 16 (If I could rebuild, I'd probably give her Dex 14 Con 14 Int 14 instead, but this stat array has worked fine) All stat-bumps go to Charisma. Feats (planned order): L1: Magical Aptitude (prereq for Wild Mage), Point Blank Shot L3: Empower Spell L6: Precise Shot L9: Sculpt Spell L12: Split Ray L15: Undecided - hoping for a special mission for Ocular Spell, because shooting rays out of your eyes is very cool ;) In practise, this wasn't the feat order: I took PBS and Precise Shot at L1, I think Spell Penetration at L3, and Empower at L6 - and then the conversion happened, and so I swapped around the feats to be able to qualify for wild mage after L5. If not going for wild mage, I would either take Arcane Preparation at L3 and plan for Quicken at L9 or L12, or take Empower at L3 and pick up another second-tier metamagic (Energy Substitution or Transdimensional Spell, most likely) at L6. Spells at L9: L1: Magic Missile, Mage Armour (planning to swap this for Guided Shot at L10), Friendly Face, Ray of Enfeeblement, Feather Fall. L2: Scorching Ray, False Life, Glitterdust, Invisibility. L3: Fireball, Fly, Haste. L4: Evard's Black Tentacles, Orb of Cold. Essential consumables: scroll of see invisibility, scroll of comprehend languages (maybe tongues as well), scroll of invisibility / invisibility sphere before you learn invisibility, wand of cure light wounds if you can get one Favourite equipment: lesser metamagic rod of enlarge spell, circlet of persuasion Skills: Concentration maxed, substantial ranks in Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (The Planes), and Use Magic Device. Charisma-based skills start at +8 (+5 Cha and circlet of persuasion) before other bonuses. Tactics in combat are to drop area spells, sculpted if possible, to hamper the mooks to the point of helplessness and let the fighters beat them up (Glitterdust, Evards' Black Tentacles). Individually dangerous targets get the big guns - empowered ray of enfeeblement if they look strong, empowered scorching ray for pure damage, empowered magic missile if they're incorporeal or grappling. Orb of Cold is for creatures with SR, unless they're immune to cold, in which case I'll use my one Arcane Transmogrification card and then hit them with other spells and suck up the SR chance (if I ever get access to Assay Resistance I'll grab it). If I get a round to buff, or the fighters want to play, I'll cast Haste and then go into blaster mode. Empowered False Life lasts ages and gives some insurance against surprise rounds. Fireball is for long-range damage (especially enlarged) and cleaning up mooks if the fighters are busy or we don't have a fighter. Out of combat, Fly is an important utility spell, and Feather Fall helps for getting the whole party down cliffs quickly, as well as saving people from pit traps. Invisibility + Enlarged Message works well for scouting, coupled with Fly for extra mobility. With Friendly Face, Diplomacy and Gather Information are usually at +13, or up to +17 if higher lifestyle applies, making this sorc a fairly good party face despite having no skill investment. Priorities for the future are more divination spells (considering Detect Thoughts and Clairaudience / Clairvoyance), for when mundane scouting doesn't work, and Teleport, for transportation and escaping grapples. Damage spells will largely be covered by metamagic (for example, a split empowered scorching ray does ~24d6 damage at L12, equal to a failed Fort save on a Disintegrate), although Disintegrate will be taken for its utility in breaking down walls of force. This character has been welcomed and effective at every table I've ever played at. In many cases she's done almost all of the party damage and made it possible for the party to defeat the encounter (will o' the wisps, inevitables at APL 6, giants with high AC and low touch AC, etc) In the few cases where her table has failed the mission, it was because she ran out of spells due to being the *only* one in the party who could do damage. (It's just bad when you have an APL 6 party, you're fighting a flesh golem, and the sorc is doing more damage with Acid Splash than any of the "fighters" - I'd run out of real spells due to almost single-handedly taking down the stone giant and animated objects earlier in the module.)
Lomiat 04-06-06, 01:01 AM	If you want to play a Wizard that every party will love, here's an option: Gray Elf Transmuter: opposed, Enchantment, Evocation (don't worry about it; conjuration makes up for most of what you'll lose--the exception: magic missile) Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 8, Cha 8 Feats: 1-Scribe Scroll, Improved Initiative 3-Spell Focus (Transmutation) 5-Craft Wondrous Item 6-Greater Spell Focus (Transmutation) 8th level = Fatespinner 9-Quicken Spell Vital spell selection: 1st-Enlarge Person, Color Spray, Cause Fear, Magic Weapon, Animate Rope, Comprehend Languages. Also Mage Armor, Grease, Protection from Evil. 2nd-Bull's Strength, Knock, Glitterdust, See Invisibility, False Life, Blindness/Deafness. Also Alter Self, Invisibility, Resist Energy, Web. 3rd-HASTE, SLOW, Fly, Flame Arrow, Greater Magic Weapon. Also Dispel Magic, Leomund's Tiny Hut, Protection from Energy, Stinking Cloud, Summon Monster III. 4th-Evard's Black Tentacles, Polymorph, Mass Enlarge Person, Greater Invisibility. So on and so forth. Essentially, if you play a "buffer" mage, your party will welcome your arcane talents. You might not do much damage yourself, but you will certainly make everyone else more effective. Damage spells, though, are still available to you through conjuration: (lesser) orb spells, arc of lightning, etc. Once you get your 2nd Fatespinner, you have a chance once/per day of forcing rerolls of critical successes (bad guy's) or critical failures (your buddy's) and contribute once again to your party's well-being in strange, arcane ways.
opa 04-06-06, 03:41 AM	Grey Elven S 12 D 16 C 12 I 17(3 stat bumps here) w 10 ch 8 1- Fighter- Point Blank, Precise shot starting 200 gp chain shirt, hv shield, longsword , longbow 1350 gold from 1st three adventures , requisite couple potions of CLW,+4 strength bow (+4 in case your buls strengthed etc)for 800gp plus save money for scribing 2-Wizard 1 scribe scrolls summon familiar(weasel your reflex saves are the worst) specialized (depends on region) pick mage armor youll need it to replace your chain shirt (for now), magic missile, the auto hit is just too good, protection from evil (nothing worse than your own barbarian party member charmed and wiping out the party,) true strike( you have a bow) and a 5th spell cause fear or grease whatever you specialize in.. spend money you saved to increase your spellbook 3 Wizard 2- Battle Caster (put the chain shirt back on and free up a needed spell slot) I know I know not straight Arcane but this will allow him the hit points and ac to be survivable, the ability to contribute in a real way at the lower levels once he cast his couple spells, while he figures out how to play a wizard and what spells to choose, he would be welcome at any table and it gives him the ability to progress into spellsword or eldritch Knight or Both, or even arcane archer, and if he takes Practiced Caster wizard at 6th he is at full caster level and has three levels of noncaster classes to use up if he likes being a wizard Fighter 1/ Wizard 5/ Ranger 1 or cleric 1(CLW wands)/ Wizard 6-13 (battlecaster 3rd) (practiced caster 6th) or half and half Fighter 1/wizard 5/Ranger 2/ eldritch Knight 7 would be one fun build for him or if he found the wizardly ways too stressful he would have options without having to dump the character (Battlecaster at 3rd)(practiced Caster at 6) or if he hates being a wizard for the next 4 or 5 adventures he can switch gears Fighter1/ Wizard 1/ ranger 2(CLW wands/rapid shot)Fighter2-4(longbow specialization)/ Arcane Archer 8 I didnt try to make an optimized wizard here, I made a very useful character that can contribute every round in a combat has decent hp saves and armor class, and will still enable the player to explore spellcasting, while leaving him outs if he doesn't like it Opa
Tungar 04-06-06, 06:43 AM	If you're not playing a warmage, I would suggest a wizard. It's much harder to choose spells when you're playing a spontaneous caster than a wizard. Because if you do a mistake, you keep it for a while. With a wizard, essentially at low level, you don't care, you easily find scrolls or other wizards to get the spells you've forgotten.
JamesMaissen 04-06-06, 07:58 AM	Maybe I should have been a little clearer. But I do not want to create a Warmage. I'm also dissapointed that that's pretty much all anybody has offered up, some combination of a Warmage. I know it makes a great offensive arcane caster, I've seen it used in local games, but I was really hoping that there were some other options out there. Please, somebody submit something that doesn't have Warmage in it? You asked for something that would be forgiving in its build overall and that's warmage (minus the variants). As you've said previously that you are unsure on arcane spells I would strongly suggest that you not consider Sorcerer nor a Bard as alot of thought has to go into thier spells known as well as the normal amount for build/feats and PrCs (if any). So we're left with wizard. (And for the reasons above I would suggest generalist wizard) The most common wizards tend to be grey elf or gnome. The former for the obvious INT bonus and the later as wizards can benefit from size small and con bonuses. I would suggest to you either gnome or dwarf as a starting race. The gnome will be nice in that you could ride (even untrained) a wardog for mobility, and enjoy the size benefits in regards to hiding and attacking (all those ranged touch spells). Now you did say that you also wanted to do something 'different' so I won't give you my typical wizard/Divine oracle/loremaster build (complete with trivial knowledge feat if gnome) which despite it's frequency is quite durable and very respectable in bringing the knowledges to the table (which is a very strong part about being a wizard). Likewise shadowcraft mage seems to be picking up popularity, so I will avoid that. Race: Dwarf (to be 'different' though Gnome simply trades str and cha scores) Stats: Str 8 Int 18 Wis 14 Dex 8 Con 16 Chr 6 Levels 1-5 Wizard Levels 6-7 Mage of Arcane Order Levels 8-12 Earth Dreamer (levels 13-15 omitted as by then something else may be out there) Feats: 1st: Scribe Scroll(w), Metamagic feat (your choice) 3rd: Insightful Reflexes 5th: Cooperative Spell(w) 6th: Earth Sense 7th: Metamagic feat (your choice) (MAO) 9th: Steady Concentration 12th: Mobile Spell caster Now you may wish to poll people how they feel about quickening spells as a wizard. Some really value it. It's best placement is at 1st level for you in this design however. As then at 7th level you are free to take a metamagic feat outside the PhB and one that can require prior metamagic feats (Sculpt spell comes to mind). By 9th level you will probably carry a DDoor to get out of grapples (or into trouble with an aggresive party shuttling them into combat) and with steady caster you can always make the DC 24 concentration check to do so (as it lets you take 10 on all concentration checks). At 12th mobile spell caster is just great fun especially when you know you can make the high DC checks without rolling. If this does not appeal to you then I would suggest Arcane Disciple feats for 9&12 and be able to cast things like freedom of movement and even heal with minimal effort (ie an ioun stone for example). Anyway there's something that atleast now you don't see everyday that's got some punch that will not be too hard to sink your teeth into. Spell selection will vary, my suggestion is NOT to specialize. Firstly as I prefer the versatility and secondly as you say yourself you are not familiar enough with the spells to make the choice without regretting it later on (ie deciding against necromancy then understanding how sickly powerful some of thier spells truely are, etc). -James
Sieylianna 04-06-06, 12:12 PM	So we're left with wizard. (And for the reasons above I would suggest generalist wizard) The most common wizards tend to be grey elf or gnome. The former for the obvious INT bonus and the later as wizards can benefit from size small and con bonuses. Dwarves are fairly common as wizards due to the CON bonus and the CHA penalty not coming into play. I don't know that I've ever seen a gnome wizard. Ed
solbergb 04-06-06, 01:17 PM	I concur with what others have said. Don't pick sorc or bard if you don't understand the arcane caster role or the options provided by the various spells. Choosing the wrong spells known is very unforgiving with those classes. Warmage does what it does, and you can't screw it up. But it is really more of an "archer" role in the party than "arcane" role - all it does is put hurt on the enemy and it is fragile, it is typically about as immobile as your volley-archer and doesn't do a lot out of combat. Wizard is forgiving. You can totally screw up your spell selection but can learn from your mistakes by expanding your spellbook and choosing different spells. It's a good entry point into being an arcane caster. The big downside is you have to prep spells at the table, which can slow things down if you don't know what you are doing. My recommendation is to pick spells you think you'd like to cast, learn them well, have a set list of spells you normally adventure with (maybe one for city, one for wilderness, one for underground, etc) so if you have to decide quicly you can. But then listen to suggestions from other party members and experiment with other spells as you feel comfortable with it. Your char will be around for years, you'll have time to get comfortable with arcane casting. No matter what class you choose, if you don't go warmage, you really should spend the first 1000gp or so on cheap scrolls (mostly 1st level) so you can *be* an arcanist for 3 fights/day, and not be a commoner with a crossbow for two of them when the spells in your head run out after 2-3 rounds.
NeSoDak 04-06-06, 01:56 PM	In response to the comment "What do I really want?" I want an interesting yet simple build for an arcane caster. I guess I rule out warmage because I look at it more like the last poster. I guess I was thinking along the lines as my first LG character. Two friends came up to me and said "Why don't you try a spear throwing halfling?" I thought, why not, sound different, hence Merric Tallfellow the Spearchucking, Griffon Riding Halfling was born. They offered some original suggestions to feats and skills. I suppose something like that was what I was looking for only in the Arcane caster arena. Thanks for your suggestions so far.
spellbow 04-06-06, 03:24 PM	try this dwarf wizard str14 dex14 con16 int16 wis8 cha6 This is a base for a spell caster that can cast spell and when run out will beable to defend himself/ help the group out in those 2 and 3 fights per day. maybe go for the spellsword prestige class and pick spells that can help you fight in battle. like fist of stone, so you will have a 20 str for 1min at first level to beat down those bad guys
Reylance 04-06-06, 04:42 PM	For a straight wizard, you can always do one of the popular prestige class combinations. Wizard 5, Divine Oracle 2, Fatespinner 4, Loremaster 4 Wizard 5, Divine Oracle 2, Loremaster 6, Archmage 2 Wizard 5, Divine Oracle 2, Fatespinner 2, Initiate of the Sevenfold Veils 6 I prefer specialist wizards. Diviners are nice, as they fit well with Divine Oracle, and you only have to lose one school. Most common schools to give up are Enchantment, Illusion, and Necromancy.
Lomiat 04-07-06, 05:19 AM	In response to the comment "What do I really want?" I want an interesting yet simple build for an arcane caster. I guess I rule out warmage because I look at it more like the last poster. I guess I was thinking along the lines as my first LG character. Two friends came up to me and said "Why don't you try a spear throwing halfling?" I thought, why not, sound different, hence Merric Tallfellow the Spearchucking, Griffon Riding Halfling was born. They offered some original suggestions to feats and skills. I suppose something like that was what I was looking for only in the Arcane caster arena. Thanks for your suggestions so far. Each of the following 3 builds should prove sufficiently non-traditional and, yet, have some schtick to offer a party. A) The LG equivalent of the X-Man telekinetic, using "the power of the mind" to move things and to overcome physical limitations. Start with spells like Animate Rope and Enlarge Person. Keep going through Polymorph and, eventually, Telekinesis. I'm STILL not sure if you'd get the various bonuses to your checks with Telekinesis if you have the feats (Improved Grapple, Improved Disarm, etc.), but they'd still make an interesting build. Human Transmuter. Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 8. 1-Improved Unarmed, Improved Grapple, 3-Combat Expertise, 5-Craft Wondrous, 6-Improved Disarm, 9-Power Attack B) The con-man enchanter. Actually spend the points to buy ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive. You can get a level or more of Mindbender if you find access. Meanwhile, you use your skills and spells to convince your opponents it's more lucrative to work with you than against you, and later you cheat at gambling to make a living, getting a few ranks in the Profession (gambler) skill to get Fatespinner. Human Enchanter. Str 8, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 14. 1-Persuasive, Spell Focus (enchantment), 3-Improved Initiative, 5-Heighten Spell, 6-Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), 9-Spell Focus (other), 12-Skill Focus (spellcraft); qualifies for archmage C) The frustrated arcanist. Really wanted to join the church, but parents wouldn't hear of it. Instead, got shipped off to wizard school, but through devout worship to deity, managed to receive the benefits of the Arcane Disciple feat. Best with a deity with the good, healing and/or war domains. Gray Elf Wizard. Str 8, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 16, Cha 8. 1-Improved Initiative, 3-Arcane Disciple (one domain), 5-Craft Wondrous, 6-Arcane Disciple (another domain). Heads well toward Sacred Exorcist, maybe Spell Penetration at 9th.
Tungar 04-07-06, 05:40 AM	My 2€... Each of the following 3 builds should prove sufficiently non-traditional and, yet, have some schtick to offer a party. The only one of your builds that is really different (the first one) is totally under-powerfull due to a strange selection of feats and capabilities. It will be more efficient for him to cast a fireball, even with all his feats in grapple. So i'm not sure that there can be non-traditionnal wizards build without multiclassing and prestige classing. I would suggest to you, NeSoDak, to take the complete arcane, and to find a prestige class that is funny, and to create a wizard for it. There are lot of strange prestige classes, like geomancers, or dagger spell (I don't remember the exact name) that are really strange. Then, ask for builds if you want. But if you want a different wizard, but not to strange, you will have to take a specialist (a necromancer will never look and taste like a summoner or an evocater). And then, choose a spell list and feats that enhance his speciality (Good int and spell focus for a necromancer, augment summoning and rapid spell for a summoner, quicken spell and empower spell for an evocator). As a wizard, you will have to cast some 'basic' spells, like haste, or mage armor. But your combat efficient spells will have a different taste. And, then, with the proper roleplay, you will find yourself playing a totally unique arcane caster.
copper_wyrmling 04-07-06, 08:17 AM	No matter what class you choose, if you don't go warmage, you really should spend the first 1000gp or so on cheap scrolls (mostly 1st level) so you can *be* an arcanist for 3 fights/day, and not be a commoner with a crossbow for two of them when the spells in your head run out after 2-3 rounds. Just a note: never underestimate L0 spells. At first level, Daze is actually a fairly powerful offensive spell when you're fighting one or two opponents, and you get several cantrips even as a wizard. If you're just looking for character ideas, one I've been thinking about is a mystic who draws their power from the land, an arcane Oerth-worshipper. The Earth Dreamer prestige class would be appropriate, as would the Magic of the Land feat from Races of the Wild (allowing you to add healing to your spells by making a Knowledge (Nature) check), and the Earth Sense and Earth Spell feats from Races of Stone.
Mommy was an Orc 04-07-06, 01:01 PM	If you're just looking for character ideas, one I've been thinking about is a mystic who draws their power from the land, an arcane Oerth-worshipper. The Earth Dreamer prestige class would be appropriate, as would the Magic of the Land feat from Races of the Wild (allowing you to add healing to your spells by making a Knowledge (Nature) check), and the Earth Sense and Earth Spell feats from Races of Stone. That's actually my Wizard character - a Suel Summoner who eventually becomes this mystic healer. Something along the lines of Wizard 6/Divine Oracle 3/Earth Dreamer 5/Loremaster 1. Likely also with Arcane Disciple(Animal) for Summon Nature's Ally IV - i.e. Unicorn for Neutralize Poison and some healing.
PaulH 04-07-06, 01:01 PM	Hi I would agree with Tungar - take one of the 'Complete' series and choose a concept from there. The 'Sevenfold Veil' (whatever), is very nice because of the 'veils', but takes a lot before you get access. Enlightened Fist is also a nice Monk/Arcane Caster mix. As another arcane player, I would suggest checking the spells you really want to cast, then decide concept, then PrC. Alter Self is good since you can transform into a Troglodyte & gain it's Nat Armour bonus, but there are so many other useful spells. Cheers Paul H Ps my main is Oskar Thorinson: Clr 3 (Boccob - Domains Magic/Trickery) Warmage 4 Going Mystic Theurge
deguello 04-07-06, 05:01 PM	My take on Warmage builds: Optimized ranged-touch specialist: Gray Elf Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 14 Feats: 1-Point Blank, 3-Precise Shot, 6-Extra Edge, 9-Weapon Focus (ranged touch) (not sure what this feat is really called; pre-req for the Specialization), 12-Ranged Spell Specialization (last 2 feats from Complete Arcane) All stat bumps to Charisma. Eventually, a Headband of Intellect +2, then +4. Dump the Warmage and just go straight Sorcerer.... It will be more important to take gloves of DEx than head band of int Human Sorcerer str 8 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 10 Chr 15 You will put all ability points in Chr Feats 1) Improved init 1) Point blank 3) Precise Shot 6) Weapon Focus (Ray) or Empower Spell From there its just a matter of what kind of playing you want to do.. Remember you are more a DD type, Spell DC's don't really mean much as you just need to be able to touch.. So you have to overcome the low BAB...
Jay_Ibero_911 04-07-06, 10:12 PM	Race:Grey Elf Alignment:Chaotic Neutral STR-12 (4)-2 DEX-15 (8)+2 CON-14 (6)-2 INT-16 (10)+2 WIS-8 (0) CHA-8 (0) Lv1(Wizard)Scribe Scroll, Two-Weapon Fighting Lv2(Wizard) Lv3(Wizard)Practiced Spellcaster Lv4(Wizard)+1 DEX Lv5(Wizard)Craft Wand Lv6(Rogue)Reckless Wand Wielder Lv7(Rogue) Lv8(Rogue)+1 INT Lv9(Arcane Trickster)Double Wand Wielder Lv10(Arcane Trickster) Lv11(Arcane Trickster) Lv12(Arcane Trickster)Empower Spell, +1 INT Lv13(Arcane Trickster) Lv14(Arcane Trickster) Lv15(Arcane Trickster)Quicken Spell At level 15, you can do 63d6 damage as a full round action. Here's how:Cast Greater Invisibility, then Reckless Double Wand wield 2 Wands of Empowered Scorching Ray at CL 9(bumped to 11 thanks to reckless), and a quickened scorching ray you have prepared. Each wand will do 23d6 (5d6 sneak attack, plus 3 rays at 6d6 each), and the quickened scorching ray will do 17d6(5d6 sneak attack, plus 3 rays at 4d6 each). Hooray for a way to cast 3 spells per round. The downside is those wands cost a pretty penny...and you us 5 charges for that one volley, plus a 6th level spell slot. But OUCH! Eat my dust Disintigrate!
JamesMaissen 04-07-06, 11:24 PM	Race:Grey Elf Alignment:Chaotic Neutral STR-12 (4)-2 DEX-15 (8)+2 CON-14 (6)-2 INT-16 (10)+2 WIS-8 (0) CHA-8 (0) You may wish to consider Wis 9+ for imbue with spell ability as you will have many skills and not enough skill points for them all. Lv1(Wizard)Scribe Scroll, Two-Weapon Fighting Lv2(Wizard) Lv3(Wizard)Practiced Spellcaster Lv4(Wizard)+1 DEX Lv5(Wizard)Craft Wand Lv6(Rogue)Reckless Wand Wielder Why not start with Rogue at 1st level? You loose 18skill points this way. Lv7(Rogue) Lv8(Rogue)+1 INT Lv9(Arcane Trickster)Double Wand Wielder Would Double Wand wielder be better taken before Reckless? Just curious which you figure better takes you through the tough downside levels of arcane trickster. Lv10(Arcane Trickster) Lv11(Arcane Trickster) Lv12(Arcane Trickster)Empower Spell, +1 INT Lv13(Arcane Trickster) Lv14(Arcane Trickster) Lv15(Arcane Trickster)Quicken Spell At level 15, you can do 63d6 damage as a full round action. Here's how:Cast Greater Invisibility, then Reckless Double Wand wield 2 Wands of Empowered Scorching Ray at CL 9(bumped to 11 thanks to reckless), and a quickened scorching ray you have prepared. Each wand will do 23d6 (5d6 sneak attack, plus 3 rays at 6d6 each), and the quickened scorching ray will do 17d6(5d6 sneak attack, plus 3 rays at 4d6 each). Hooray for a way to cast 3 spells per round. The downside is those wands cost a pretty penny...and you us 5 charges for that one volley, plus a 6th level spell slot. But OUCH! Eat my dust Disintigrate! Why use Reckless Wand wielder here? Why not craft the wands at CL 11? It just seems a waste of cash. The 9th level wand of empowered Scorching ray is going to cost 750*4*9=27,000 or 13,500gp and 6 TUs to make, meanwhile for 6k gold more you can make it at 11th level and get double the uses out of it. So perhaps you might want to do away with reckless wand wielder entirely. I don't see it being of much use. Perhaps replace it with Reach spell or something else that may have use? -James
Sieylianna 04-08-06, 08:23 AM	Why not start with Rogue at 1st level? You loose 18skill points this way. Actually, they're losing 24 skill points. They're also losing two hit points. Another problem is taking practiced spellcaster at 3rd level when it provides absolutely no benefit until they take a rogue level at 6th. Ed
Jay_Ibero_911 04-08-06, 11:34 PM	You may wish to consider Wis 9+ for imbue with spell ability as you will have many skills and not enough skill points for them all. Why not start with Rogue at 1st level? You loose 18skill points this way. Would Double Wand wielder be better taken before Reckless? Just curious which you figure better takes you through the tough downside levels of arcane trickster. Why use Reckless Wand wielder here? Why not craft the wands at CL 11? It just seems a waste of cash. The 9th level wand of empowered Scorching ray is going to cost 750*4*9=27,000 or 13,500gp and 6 TUs to make, meanwhile for 6k gold more you can make it at 11th level and get double the uses out of it. So perhaps you might want to do away with reckless wand wielder entirely. I don't see it being of much use. Perhaps replace it with Reach spell or something else that may have use? -James You have some good points. The reason I started it with wizard instead of rogue was to aquire craft wand, and therefore reckless and double wand wielder sooner. I did the math though, and it does work out to be cheaper to just craft CL 11 wands, rather than using reckless wand wielder(1350 per salvo w/reckless, 990 without) The reason I took reckless before double was because with scorching ray, it uses less charges to reckless wield one wand than double wand wield.
JamesMaissen 04-09-06, 11:09 PM	You have some good points. The reason I started it with wizard instead of rogue was to aquire craft wand, and therefore reckless and double wand wielder sooner. I did the math though, and it does work out to be cheaper to just craft CL 11 wands, rather than using reckless wand wielder(1350 per salvo w/reckless, 990 without) The reason I took reckless before double was because with scorching ray, it uses less charges to reckless wield one wand than double wand wield. Well you could still start with rogue1 then go wizard5 and at 6th level pick up both the craft wand and the wand related feat of your choice at the same time (unlike PrCs you don't need to get a qualifying feat a full level before the next feat in the chain). Now I agree at 5th CL (or should I say 6th CL as that's when you would have it) a wand of scorching ray is cheaper to reckless wield for 2 rays than to dual wand wield 2 such wands. However after just one level it disappears from usefulness, so I think you're probably better off without reckless wand wielder entirely. And as to the other poster it is 18 skill points (not dealing with skill list mind you) as when you later pick up the rogue level you will get those skills then. Thus you are only missing out on the *bonus* 3 levels worth of skills given at 1st level for the difference in skill points (6 in this case) resulting in 18 skill points. Regardless it is a significant number for a planned character that will need more skill points than it normally gets anyway. I would suggest that you think to take the classes as rogue1 then wizard1-5 then back to rogue for 2 more levels going into AT. It's a tough road, especially as the nature of LG will try to at times make you replace either the party wizard or party rogue and you are not both but quite in fact niether. -James
Tungar 04-10-06, 04:08 AM	Not a full round action, 2 rounds, because you have to cast invisibility. But it's a quite good combo that works ... against sneakable opponents that don't see invisibility :P
Jay_Ibero_911 04-12-06, 10:52 PM	Well you could still start with rogue1 then go wizard5 and at 6th level pick up both the craft wand and the wand related feat of your choice at the same time (unlike PrCs you don't need to get a qualifying feat a full level before the next feat in the chain). Now I agree at 5th CL (or should I say 6th CL as that's when you would have it) a wand of scorching ray is cheaper to reckless wield for 2 rays than to dual wand wield 2 such wands. However after just one level it disappears from usefulness, so I think you're probably better off without reckless wand wielder entirely. And as to the other poster it is 18 skill points (not dealing with skill list mind you) as when you later pick up the rogue level you will get those skills then. Thus you are only missing out on the *bonus* 3 levels worth of skills given at 1st level for the difference in skill points (6 in this case) resulting in 18 skill points. Regardless it is a significant number for a planned character that will need more skill points than it normally gets anyway. I would suggest that you think to take the classes as rogue1 then wizard1-5 then back to rogue for 2 more levels going into AT. It's a tough road, especially as the nature of LG will try to at times make you replace either the party wizard or party rogue and you are not both but quite in fact niether. -James I didn't think to put rogue as just 1st. Thanks for the insight. How's this look? Race:Grey Elf Alignment:Chaotic Neutral STR-12 (4)-2 DEX-15 (8)+2 CON-14 (6)-2 INT-16 (10)+2 WIS-8 (0) CHA-8 (0) Lv1(Rogue)Two-Weapon Fighting Lv2(Wizard) Lv3(Wizard)Practiced Spellcaster Lv4(Wizard)+1 DEX Lv5(Wizard) Lv6(Wizard)Craft Wand, Double Wand Wielder Lv7(Rogue) Lv8(Rogue)+1 INT Lv9(Arcane Trickster)Empower Spell Lv10(Arcane Trickster) Lv11(Arcane Trickster) Lv12(Arcane Trickster)Energy Substitution(Acid?), +1 INT Lv13(Arcane Trickster) Lv14(Arcane Trickster) Lv15(Arcane Trickster)Quicken Spell Figured the energy substitution will make him a little more versatile...
JamesMaissen 04-13-06, 07:25 AM	I didn't think to put rogue as just 1st. Thanks for the insight. How's this look? Race:Grey Elf Alignment:Chaotic Neutral STR-12 (4)-2 DEX-15 (8)+2 CON-14 (6)-2 INT-16 (10)+2 WIS-8 (0) CHA-8 (0) Lv1(Rogue)Two-Weapon Fighting Lv2(Wizard) Lv3(Wizard)Practiced Spellcaster Lv4(Wizard)+1 DEX Lv5(Wizard) Lv6(Wizard)Craft Wand, Double Wand Wielder Lv7(Rogue) Lv8(Rogue)+1 INT Lv9(Arcane Trickster)Empower Spell Lv10(Arcane Trickster) Lv11(Arcane Trickster) Lv12(Arcane Trickster)Energy Substitution(Acid?), +1 INT Lv13(Arcane Trickster) Lv14(Arcane Trickster) Lv15(Arcane Trickster)Quicken Spell Figured the energy substitution will make him a little more versatile... You probably can find something better than energy substitution. You should be able to change up damage types via wands and different spells. There are other feats to consider there like craft wonderous and quick draw. The former gets you alot of pearls of power (great for recharging between combats or passing off to the cleric healers), boccobs, full stat boosters and ioun stones. Depends how often you are crafting via the craft wand feat and how tight cash is. You also will want to plan skills out now. I would suggest a managable level of UMD. Of course you want to hit +24 search/disable asap. On stats you could start with just a 16 dex instead of 17, pump INT from the start and drop those other 2 points in wisdom. Just a thought. Otherwise you may wish to consider a way to get a little higher wisdom so as to be able to benefit from imbue with spell ability at mid to high levels. That way you can also sneak undead and get a big skill boost for that one time you really really need it. -James
DeimosGandymede 04-14-06, 06:49 PM	If you are truly interested in playing arcane, I would suggest Wizard. It really is one of the more challenging, since you have to prepare your spells ahead of time. My theory is that if you can play a Wizard, you can play just about any caster (Arcane of course). Since you want ANY build, I would suggest a human. Makes things a lot easier. Since you want ANY build, I would suggest gathering different feats and such and trying out combos. Metamagics are popular, as is Crafting. (I love crafting). Vitals: Human Wizard STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 18 WIS 8 CHA 8 Dex and Con are great for obvious reasons. INT is of course, your bread and butter. Feel free to lower it slightly for Wisdom Bonuses. STR and CHA, IMO, are not worth much to the caster. (Especially if you stay Wizard or Caster, and don't become fighteresque.) We are not going to specialize so you get a sample of what is out there. Specialize and you remove two schools of magic that you can never gain access to. So stay general for now. Perhaps next character can be specialized. Skills: Spellcraft and Concentration are pretty big. Concentration especially later, since you need to be able to get your spells off while being distracted. All the knowledges are pretty helpful, especially Knowledge: Arcana (a must) and I like Knowledge: Local - Core. So many things bank off that. Its pretty nice to have. Of course, I always put a few points into Swimming, because, lets face it, you never know. Feats: Here is where a Wizard can seperate herself from everyone else. Common early feats include: Combat Casting, Spell Focuses (to an extent) and eventually Item Creation (should you choose to go that route). Later on, things heat up with Metamagics and higher end crafting. Combat Casting is still great, and really helps your Concentration checks. Metamagics, especially the "Suddens" allow a Wizard to beef up her arsenal. Starting Packages: Weapons: Pick up a Quarterstaff. They are free. They do d6. Not too shabby. You will probably never use it. Grab a long range weapon like a sling or something, (Light crossbows Wizards can use, I THINK. Not sure). Armor: None. Risking Arcane penalties is totally not worth it. Shields: A Buckler if you INSIST on having something. Spells: Ah. Spells. Common first levelers are: Magic Missle, Sleep, Burning Hands, Shocking Grasp etc. etc. etc. You really don't have much to buy right off the bat. Thats because spells are REALLY expensive later on. Well, thats a start at least. PM me if you have further questions. -MW-
solbergb 04-14-06, 06:59 PM	If you are truly interested in playing arcane, I would suggest Wizard. It really is one of the more challenging, since you have to prepare your spells ahead of time. My theory is that if you can play a Wizard, you can play just about any caster (Arcane of course).- Wizards are challenging to *play*, but easy to build. Or rather forgiving. It's almost impossible to screw up a wizard with attribute/feat/spell selection at levelup decisions. Which makes them a good choice for a "first arcane character". When you know better how the arcane role works, you can build some other flavor and not build them as half-crippled one-trick ponies. A beginning player with a sorcerer would do better to work with an experienced arcane player, describing what he wants the sorc to do and letting the experienced guy help him pick the right spells known progression to get there. One the spells are chosen though, the arcane newbie has an easier time because he only has to master the nuances of his limited spell selection. It's kind of an interesting thing. I find the prep caster classes very forgiving of poor builds, but hard to play, and the spont caster classes very intolerant of build mistakes, but easy to play.
Sieylianna 04-14-06, 09:30 PM	Feats: Here is where a Wizard can seperate herself from everyone else. Common early feats include: Combat Casting, Spell Focuses (to an extent) and eventually Item Creation (should you choose to go that route). Later on, things heat up with Metamagics and higher end crafting. Combat Casting is still great, and really helps your Concentration checks. Metamagics, especially the "Suddens" allow a Wizard to beef up her arsenal. Rule #1. Never take Combat Casting unless it's a prerequisite. Rule #2. If you absolutely must improve your concentration score, take skill focus - Concentration. It's only +3 instead of +4, but it helps you for any concentration check, not just to cast defensively. Ed
copper_wyrmling 04-15-06, 10:07 AM	Rule #1. Never take Combat Casting unless it's a prerequisite. Rule #2. If you absolutely must improve your concentration score, take skill focus - Concentration. It's only +3 instead of +4, but it helps you for any concentration check, not just to cast defensively. Ed Suggested Rule #3: unless you really don't have anything else to do with that 1st-level feat, or really *need* your Concentration to be high in the very low levels, take Steady Concentration (Races of Stone) instead of Skill Focus, once you meet the prerequisites. (As a note, my L13 cleric has Skill Focus: Concentration. It's now pretty much a waste of a feat - taking her from +22 to +25, yay - but at low-mid levels it saved her life on a few occasions. However, it wasn't the "cast defensively" checks that were causing problems for her, it was the "damaged during casting" checks that were dangerous - certain GMs really liked readying damage spells to disrupt her spellcasting. Combat Casting wouldn't have been nearly as useful.)
Karlindel 04-19-06, 04:36 PM	Sorcerors are easy to play, but hard to build. The trick with a sorceror is to find someone that knows how to play an arcane caster, especially someone with experience playing a sorceror, to help you build one. The Wizard is the simplest arcane caster to build. Having to choose spells each morning is offset by the fact that if you mistakenly make a poor spell choice, you can just memorize a different spell. I personally recommend the Wizard. The knowledge skills are very useful, and it's nice to have skill points. It also opens up the option to go into prestige classes, which can be hard for a sorceror to qualify for. The Wizard/Loremaster is one of the simpler builds, and fun to play. For race, Humans, Grey Elves, Dwarves, and Gnomes are generally my top choices. Humans are the best if you are tight on feats. Grey Elves are best if you are playing a caster that focuses on opponents failing saving throws, such as an Enchanter. Dwarves and Gnomes are an excellent choice for the extra hit points and higher concentration score, the reduced speed being not much of a hindrance for a wizard. For other builds, there's always the Wiz5/Divine Oracle 2/Fatespinner 4/Loremaster. Grey Elves are especially good, and focus on spells that allow saving throws, since your DCs will be very high. Take Insightful Reflexes to add your int bonus to your reflex saves to go with the evasion of Divine Oracle. It's a very powerful build, but a bit common for that very reason. There's also the gnomish Illusionist/shadowcraft mage. The dwarven or gnomish Wiz/Earth Dreamer can also be fun. Take energy substitution(Acid) for flavor and fun.
PaulH 04-19-06, 06:42 PM	Rule #1. Never take Combat Casting unless it's a prerequisite. Rule #2. If you absolutely must improve your concentration score, take skill focus - Concentration. It's only +3 instead of +4, but it helps you for any concentration check, not just to cast defensively. Ed Hi Combat Casting prereq for Shielded Caster - no AoO for casting spells whilst using shield you're proficient with. Very useful for Warmages. Cheers Paul H PS Still think Warmages best Arcane killers - simple to play. (Better HP, armour, etc). Wizards best utility arcane users - more difficult to play.
JamesMaissen 04-20-06, 08:15 AM	Hi Combat Casting prereq for Shielded Caster - no AoO for casting spells whilst using shield you're proficient with. Very useful for Warmages. Cheers Paul H PS Still think Warmages best Arcane killers - simple to play. (Better HP, armour, etc). Wizards best utility arcane users - more difficult to play. Compare it to Steady Concentration and then look at the DCs for casting defensively. At 6th level with 9 ranks in Concentration, Steady Concentration would let someone with an 8 CON cast thier top level spells defensively. Shielded Caster on the otherhand requires about as many ranks in concentration, another feat and doesn't help you in any other place you'd like to use concentration (ie a grapple). And requires that you have a shield. It's nigh unto useless. -James
Reylance 04-20-06, 01:17 PM	At level 15, you can do 63d6 damage as a full round action. Here's how:Cast Greater Invisibility, then Reckless Double Wand wield 2 Wands of Empowered Scorching Ray at CL 9(bumped to 11 thanks to reckless), and a quickened scorching ray you have prepared. Each wand will do 23d6 (5d6 sneak attack, plus 3 rays at 6d6 each), and the quickened scorching ray will do 17d6(5d6 sneak attack, plus 3 rays at 4d6 each). Hooray for a way to cast 3 spells per round. The downside is those wands cost a pretty penny...and you us 5 charges for that one volley, plus a 6th level spell slot. But OUCH! Eat my dust Disintigrate! Something to point out is that you can't cast Quickened Scorching Ray with a wand in each hand. Quicken Spell may turn a spell into a free action (swift action with the Complete Arcane rules update), but nowhere does it say that casting a quickened spell removes any of the components from the spell. Thus, you need a hand free to do the somatic components for Scorching Ray.
Jay_Ibero_911 04-20-06, 10:27 PM	Something to point out is that you can't cast Quickened Scorching Ray with a wand in each hand. Quicken Spell may turn a spell into a free action (swift action with the Complete Arcane rules update), but nowhere does it say that casting a quickened spell removes any of the components from the spell. Thus, you need a hand free to do the somatic components for Scorching Ray. Fine, so you cast greater invis first round or beat baddies in initiative so they're flat footed, cast the quickened scorching ray, then quick draw the 2 wands(you can draw 2 because of 2 weapon fighting, but then again, quick draw is a free action so it's not limited anyway) and double wand wield them. I'd just like to note that I didn't assume quicken removed the somatic component, I just didn't notice scorching ray had one...Still, the combo is doable
PaulH 04-21-06, 07:04 AM	Hi .......Errrrr. can only do one quickened/swift action per round.... Oops! :( But could still do a Quickened, Stilled Scorching Ray, followed by 2 wand attacks! (But you probably need to find access to 'Sudden Still' first). Cheers Paul H
Tungar 04-21-06, 09:35 AM	Quick draw is a free, not a swift.
Rerednaw 04-23-06, 09:55 PM	Bear with me here, I've never played an arcane spell caster in LG and would love to have one. I'll accept any build. Basically just looking for something different, maybe speciallized so I don't have to look through all the spells to pick one. I'm not looking for an optimized munchkined character, just one for a first time arcane caster character. Something simple and accepted across the board. I don't mind playing either a main or supporting character. First time arcane in Living Greyhawk, or first time arcane period? Any prior experience with any casting class? I'm hesitant to suggest a path without knowing what kind of background you have. If you zero experience, I'd go with a vanilla wizard. Non-human if you must, my preference is human for simplicity. Don't worry about prestige classes or multiclassing, the goal is to get familiar with the concepts of an arcane class. If you have a decent amount of experience and want to be different, I'd suggest a battlefield controller wizard or sorcerer. Here is my build: Battlefield Controller with limited Nuker/Utility Human Sorceror 28 pt buy Str 8 Dex 10 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 16 L Feat/Spell 1 Eschew Materials, Silent spell 1 Detect Magic, Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Read Magic // Enlarge, Grease 2 Prestidigitation 3 Sculpt spell / Magic Missile 4 Mage Hand, Web (no spell swap) 5 Ray of Enfeeblement, Rope Trick 6 Still Spell / Read Magic, Slow (no swap) 7 Unseen Servant, Invisibility, Dispel Magic 8 0, Evards Black Tentacles (no swap) 9 Empower Spell / Scorching Ray, Major Image, Blast of Flame 10 0, Mass Fly (no swap) 11 Gust of Wind, Sleet Storm, Solid Fog, Wall of Force 12 Feat (Energy Substitution Fire-Acid or Spell Penetration) / Greater Dispel Magic (swap Dispel Magic for Lightning Bolt or Ray of Exhaustion ) 13 (4-Wall of Ice or Resilient Sphere), Teleport, Acid Fog 14 Shadow Conjuration, Greater (swap Solid Fog for Enervation) 15 Feat / 5, Anti-magic shell, Reverse Gravity or Limited Wish. Notes: Spend a lot of your cash on scrolls. At low levels Color spray, Mage Armor, Magic Weapon, Ray of Enfeeblement, and Sleep. The focus is support and crowd control. This build is not geared towards taking down one BBEG. The feat selection is a matter of flavor. As an arcane squishy I prefer being able to cast without drawing attention to myself or if held or silenced and if my spell components are unavailable - as a player and DM I both target and have had spell components targeted. Blast of Flame, Sculpt Spell and Energy Substitution are from the Complete Arcane.