Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Windspear 09-26-07, 05:04 PM	I´m designing an Eldrich Knight (1 fighter-> 9 sorcerer-> 10 eldrich knight) and am having problems with feat selection. I want to be able to use a sword and a rod (one in each hand) and have already found out it could be done without the TWF penalties. Still the question remains: What feats to take? Combat Casting, Skill Focus [concentration] and Improved Initiative are kinda obvious. But what else to take? I have 10 feats to take (7 remaining), and I want to be combat-oriented. Any suggestions?
Novabomb 09-26-07, 05:20 PM	For the love of pun-pun, dont get combat casting! Take Arcane Strike!
StruckingFuggle 09-26-07, 08:54 PM	/second Arcane Strike It's one of the best Gish Feats ever.
Windspear 09-26-07, 08:59 PM	Arcane strike? WTF?
StruckingFuggle 09-26-07, 09:07 PM	It's a feat printed in Complete Warrior ... basically, it allows you to 'sacrifice' a prepared spell or open spell slot to gain a (scaling with spell level) bonus on attack and damage for the round. Which, actually, raises a pretty good question: what resources do you have open for use?
runestar 09-26-07, 09:13 PM	Practiced spellcaster to boost your caster lv.
Muddman 09-26-07, 09:15 PM	First off, I suggest dumping some of your levels and taking Abjurant Champion (from complete mage I think). Full attack bonus, full casting and some abilities that will make your fighter/sorceror a powerhouse. Also, one level of Spellsword comes in handy (+1 attack and spells, very easy prereqs). My ideal class combo (if I recall everything correctly): fighter 1 - sorceror 5, spellsword 1, Eldritch knight 1+2, Abjurant champion 5, Eldritch knight 3-8. Gives you a BAB of +17 and a spellcasting of a 18th level sorceror. Second: Skill focus concentration? Why? If you're 20th level you shouldn't have a problem casting defensively a minimum bonus of +23 - which means you can cast 9th level spells defensively without even rolling. Eh- to each his own. I agree, dump combat casting, you're way past the point of needing it. Some suggestions Arcane strike is a must, Weapons focus, maybe dodge, mobility and spring attack, power attack with the spell wraith strike is a very potent combo. Cast haste, then run up to your foe, wraith strike, power attack and arcane strike the guy and then run out of range of a full attack. You'll smash them to bits. Use some, all or none of my suggestions, obviously character concept comes before power gaming.
goawayugh 09-27-07, 08:47 AM	Combat Casting is a trap. What exactly do you mean by:I want to be able to use a sword and a rod (one in each hand) and have already found out it could be done without the TWF penalties.Are you talking about using a rod as a weapon? Because if you are, then it IS covered by the TWF rules. If you just mean holding a rod in your hand so you can activate some power from it, then ok.
StruckingFuggle 09-27-07, 12:10 PM	If you're 20th level you shouldn't have a problem casting defensively a minimum bonus of +23 - which means you can cast 9th level spells defensively without even rolling. Eh- to each his own. I agree, dump combat casting, you're way past the point of needing it. But rarely do people start at 20th level.
tafkamhokie 09-27-07, 12:33 PM	Another good question is what level are you playing? Building a character to survive from 1st through 20th level is a very different exercise than building a 20th level character. IMHO, Combat Casting is totally useless past about 5th level. Defensive casting checks are not that hard unless your Con is pathetic. Agree with one level of spellsword. Ftr 1 / Sor 6 / Spellsword 1 / Eldritch Knight is the prototypical gish (muddman...you gotta go Ftr 1/Sor 6 or Ftr 2/Sor 4 to qualify for Spellsword...min BAB of +4). What is the rod for? A metamagic rod, or something else? I'm personally a big fan of the spring attack tree for a gish. Your BAB is a bit behind a comparable fighter and your iterative attacks tend to miss a lot. A quickened true strike followed by a full power attack gives you good damage, then you spring attack away so you don't have to eat your opponent's full attack action. Another vote for arcane strike, too. If you take more than one level of fighter or spellsword, then practiced spellcaster becomes real nice.
StruckingFuggle 09-27-07, 01:31 PM	On the other hand, if you take five levels of Abjurant Champion, you don't need Practiced Spellcaster. Edit: Argh. Wait. Nevermind. You'll still benefit from it and I'm a goof.
Merestil Haye 09-27-07, 01:41 PM	Combat Casting is not a good idea, unless you go for Abjurant Champion, and that class is a good idea. Even if the DM is reluctant to let you mix and match PrCs, you could go Ftr 1 / Sor 4 / EKt 10 / ACh 5 and be fairly potent. That would give you BAB 18 and 18th level spellcasting, and the ability to apply one metamagic to abjurations (and another to low-level abjurations) without raising the spell level, and without even learning the feats. But Combat Casting is a requirement for entry. I second Arcane Strike, but be prepared for your DM to recoil in horror when you apply Wraithstrike to a full round of attacks and still have higher bonus to hit than the AC you're trying to beat on the third attack. In my game that lasted one session after the players found it. Wraithstrike became "The next attack.." which actually led to the player having to think about when and if to cast it in some rounds. If you are fighting with two weapons (or weapon in one hand and rod in the other) and have Complete Mage available, take Somatic Weaponry. This will avoid you having the problem of not being able to cast a spell because your hands are occupied with weapons and therefore not free to make the gestures necessary. And Eschew Material Components, because your hands are not free to manipulate material components either. ETA : Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting and (probably) Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting, as Rods are generally about the same size as a Medium creature's one-handed weapons. Maxes the number of attacks and minimises the 2WF penalties.