Post/Author/DateTime	Post
andr50 04-12-06, 03:15 PM	Allrighty. My DM's next camp is about to start up, and we need a spellcaster. I, being the most experienced PC in the group, am supposed to fill that role. This is our current party. 1. Dwarven Barbarian 2. Human Monk 3. Human Thief, who plans on becoming a shadowdancer. 4 Me. Now, the big question is, what can anyone recommend? I was going to do a shaper druid, but due to the shaping skills changing every few weeks, I'm not sure on how well that would do. I prefer a scorcerer, since I like the whole unprepaired spells thing. However, I recently played one...and would be interested in something different.. I was thinking of a spellthief, but they seem complicated to do right, and not suck. We are allowed to use anything from the main 3.5 books, and all the Complete series. Any suggestions?
Landman 04-12-06, 03:21 PM	I always thought it would be fun to start off as a spell thief with really high charisma and PrC a Luckstealer. They both have charisma as their main stat, and they play well together thematically. Just to top it off be a halfling :)
David_Roben2 04-12-06, 03:35 PM	It looks like you actually need to roles filled. Spellcaster and healer. A straight cleric with some sort of offensive PrC might do it, but (I'm currently doing this) dual class wiz/cleric moving to Mystic Theurge. Tough to keep up at low levels, but you should be able to catch up around 8-10. You might consider getting unique with a specialist wiz and find some interesting domains. Maybe be a buffer/healer with a few fireballs just in case? just a suggestion. I personally think it stinks getting stuck with a character just because it's in the party's best interest. Oh well, its what I'm stuck with but I'll make the best of it.
JacksonCash 04-12-06, 03:56 PM	Sometimes getting stuck with a party role can be quite interesting. It might allow you to be something you normally wouldnt. A class I have found to be fairly decent is sorc/cleric, and then arcane archer. Also useful is bard/cleric/AA.
kelvinaw273 04-12-06, 04:00 PM	If you want to max out on spell flexibility, try Spirit Shaman / Wizard / Mystic Theurge. The SPirit Shaman (according to its fans) has maximum spell flexibility because you can change your spell choices several times a day. If you want to max on one stat, Favoured Soul / Sorcerer / Mystic Theurge allows you to go totally OTT on charisma.
Aegeu 04-12-06, 06:56 PM	If you want to be the party artillery, go warlock with a bunch of damage invocations (which you never run out of). But like david said, your party lacks healing power. Unless you plan on buying HEAPS of potions, get some cleric ranks.
Mysk 04-12-06, 07:08 PM	the spirit shaman is great. but 2 things have to be realized. It has 2 casting traits. Wis and Cha. It has an extremely small list of spells known each day. (knows 3 spells of each level, 2 9th.) After that.. it learns it's spells at the rate of a wizard. *highest spell level is like wizard) it can cast them as many times as a sorc can. Divine casting is always fun each day you can "retrieve" new spells known, one up on every other spontaneous caster in the game, so you can customize "lists" based off what you are going to do for the day. inside a dungeon? battlefield control, support summoner healer. etc. really if you are looking for a multi purpose caster... spirit shaman is the way to go, their class features are nothing to sneeze at. free res once per week. sure why not. free ghost touch? please. last but not least, the best ability, gained a tlevel 10... You cast a spell that you normally have to concentrate on, taking away from your actions. But now you cast, and have your 'spirit familiar' concentrate for you. hope i highlighted enough... =/ enjoy!
ressurrector 04-12-06, 07:31 PM	Sorceror (worships god w/ healing domain) With feats: Arcane Disciple(healing domain) You are now a sorc that can spontaneously cast most cure spells. Fills healer role, and arcane caster/blaster role.
Rerednaw 04-12-06, 07:49 PM	I'll assume your first question was is playing a spellcaster what you want? And that you said yes. I suppose the next criteria would be what level is this starting at? Having a few levels to play around with can help. I'm assuming a vanilla 3.5 campaign and that Psions are out. (Psion is my first choice because of their versatility.) I'd probably go with Cleric. Magic offense: superior (single target touch spells, limited elemental, fear, turn undead) Magic defense: excellent (Healing, Protection versus alignment, Elemental resistances, etc) Physical offense: fair (not as good as a tank, but more than pure squishes ever get) Physical resilence: superior. (d8 hit die, full armor selection.) Domains can potential partially make up for being the only caster. Next up would be Druid. (Wild shaped eagle + Natural spell feat + flame strike or call lightning = DFA) Allrighty. My DM's next camp is about to start up, and we need a spellcaster. I, being the most experienced PC in the group, am supposed to fill that role. We are allowed to use anything from the main 3.5 books, and all the Complete series. Any suggestions?
kelvinaw273 04-12-06, 07:57 PM	the spirit shaman is great. but 2 things have to be realized. It has 2 casting traits. Wis and Cha. It has an extremely small list of spells known each day. (knows 3 spells of each level, 2 9th.) Er, no. Those are the number of spells retrieved at a time. They are the maximum known at any time. As many times a day as he likes, the Spirit Shaman can meditate and retrieve a new set of spells. Hence he actually has access to more spells over the course of a day, not less. On the other hand he is limited to the number of spells he may know per encounter.
andr50 04-12-06, 08:28 PM	Allrighty everyone, thanks for all the info. After reviewing it all, it seems I might want to either go with a favored soul, or a cleric. The Spirit Shaman sounds cool, but after reading its stuff, it dosn't really fit in with everything, and I wouldn't have much fun with it.
FiestFan 04-12-06, 08:54 PM	Cleric with Magic domain looks like a virtual necessity for this group.
taradusis 04-12-06, 09:41 PM	I would go with the favored soul if you are going to spend a lot of time "on the road".I would go with the cleric if you'll have down time in an urban enviroment and can engage in item creation and temple politics. :) Consider organizing your party a little more,party leader,group purchase fund,party charter for (burials/property ownership/treasure division). :)
ressurrector 04-12-06, 09:56 PM	I'll say that Favored Soul sounds like a good choice, but be careful with your spells known, they can make or break you. I'd suggest specifically getting these spells (from Spell Compendium) Close Wounds (Immediate action healing, can stop a character from being killed after damage is dealt, so long as healed amount (1d4+Lvl(max5)) is sufficient) Revivify: beings back dead within one round of death, no con or level penalty, no costly material componant. They do come back at -9 and stable though.
Dragonsblood 04-13-06, 02:15 AM	Play a cleric (or other healer class) and slap the monk and/or barbarian until one of them becomes an arcane caster.
Bester 04-13-06, 12:51 PM	If you want to be the party artillery, go warlock with a bunch of damage invocations (which you never run out of). But like david said, your party lacks healing power. Unless you plan on buying HEAPS of potions, get some cleric ranks.Don't forget that a Warlock has Use Magic Device as a class skill. A well thought out Warlock should then be able to use Cure wands almost at will, assuming they're available for purchase.
malignor 04-13-06, 02:02 PM	I say Bard. - Bards can heal. - Bards can buff those 3 guys, turning them into ultra-battlers - Bards can use magic devices. - Bards can use enchantment and illusions You don't need a damage dealer, because you have 3 party members that can dish out alot of damage in combat (2 warriors and a sneak-attacker). Buffing & supporting them would be a great way to allow more party damage output. A bard can do that while having a set of tricks all his own, even being able to engage in a few scraps himself. A bard also gives your party a good mouthpiece/face, which can give a serious edge in alot of situations. At the same time your party gets a nice rugged seat-of-the-pants kind of style. With a cleric or druid, you have a religious/nature fanatic, and a required code of conduct. The bard compliments the party image, where a divine caster sort of conflicts with it (unless you're a priest with domains from among trickery, nature, chaos, plants, animals, war or strength)
Lincoln Hills 04-13-06, 04:31 PM	I also recommend Bard - but don't feel like you have to put on tights or pick up a lute to take levels of the class. Recently I had to draw up an NPC who is a hard-brawling Viking-style corsair. Once I stumbled upon the Barbarian/Bard multiclass I had a winning combination: with oratory and war-horn as his preferred performance types - and fast movement and barbarian rage to fall back on - I constructed somebody that my party will never suspect is a bard even after seeing him in action. Bards also gain 'bardic knowledge,' which is handy because a group consisting of a barbarian, monk, and rogue will almost definitely be short on the various Knowledge skills. And while you bid farewell to most of the "heavy" spells (as well as 7th-9th level stuff), you can always pick up Use Magic Device and claim the lion's share of any clerical/wizardly stuff you come across. However, at high levels, there just isn't much substitute for a cleric. (Or favored soul.) Restoration and death ward are absolute necessities for high-level parties in almost all campaigns.
King_Bulba 04-13-06, 05:11 PM	If you want to be the party artillery, go warlock with a bunch of damage invocations (which you never run out of). But like david said, your party lacks healing power. Unless you plan on buying HEAPS of potions, get some cleric ranks. POTIONS? Get wands of CLW and use UMD, warlocks get it as a class skill. BAH beaten to the punch =(
mlund 04-13-06, 06:07 PM	Bard is a great overall support class. He can heal and he has plenty of crowd-control options on the offense. However, he's not so likely to bust Spell Resistance and good saving throws, topping out at 6th Level spells. You could pick up the Prestige Class of Sublime Chord to get past this at higher levels though. He can employ the happy stick (Wand of CLW) as well. Big problem with the Bard is that he's only armed with Cantrips to start with, and doesn't even get a non-bonus Level 1 spell slot until Level 3. He also has no access to Turning or Restoration spells. His stat-boost spells are limited too. He's nice to have, but he can't substitute adequately for a Cleric, IMO. If you want to fill in as spell-monkey for the entire group, I'd recommend going Cleric / Wizards and then opting into Mystic Theurge. Breaking up early caster-levels hurts, but you can compensate by looking into feats like Improved Spell Penetration and Practiced Spellcaster. Scribe Scroll will be extremely helpful at early levels. Your draw-back is that you'll be busy trying to stay alive as the softest target in the party. Cleric heavy armor and Mages don't mix. You'll want to keep Mage Armor ready all the time until you can get some Bracers and the like. Key Stats: - Wisdom - Intelligence Support Stats: - Constitution (Concentration, HP) - Charmisma (Diplomacy, Turn Undead) - Dexterity (Ranged Touch Attacks, AC) Dump Stat: - Strength Make sure your party knows its battle plan involves making sure the enemy can't threaten your squares. :) If you don't want to multiclass, go Cleric full-out. They've got great abilities and their spell list is actually quite powerful. They have access to enemy-nerfing offense and great buffs (especially if they take the Strength Domain!). - Marty Lund
Trarth 04-13-06, 07:13 PM	Be a cleric, or favored soul, cause your party is down a healer. And they are technically a spell caster.
MonkeyNinja 04-13-06, 08:06 PM	You realy need to be able to stand ground spellcasters can get over whelmed so sum times you need to lay the smack down when spell draw ill.my salution A Wild elf,Dark elf Barbarian/Celric.Trun undead is Very useful in any ones books.You should be able to take care of a fair bit of stuff while helping you party
Oswald Krato 04-14-06, 01:45 AM	Sorc/Cleric/Mystic Theurge. You get to it by 5th level using the feat from Complete Arcane (Precocious Spellcaster, I believe) that lets you know a second level arcane spell at first level. You then burn straight to cleric, and dance from there into lots and lots of power. *is irredeemably evil, build-wise* Reasons to do: A: Low MAD (Multiple Attribute Dependency). You can get by on cha and wis. Preferably a high dex to avoid that ASF/AC tradeoff. B: Fills void other classes have: magic. C: Cleric covers utility. Sorc focuses on those spells you HAVE to have, like fireball, magic missile, etc. My two cents. Just check them...I think the rogue put a contact poison on them.