Creating a Battle mage [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating a Battle mage [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
pacone
09-10-04, 03:03 AM Hi all, I'm creating a Battle mage character (something along the lines of a cleric, but using arcane magic instead of divine magic) and I have several questions:

What could be a suitable profession for her?

What would be the right way of leveling up? (disregarding multiclassing penalties) for example, 1 level fighter, 2 level wizard.

I plan to wear heavy armor and shield, is having the still spell feat recommended?

Thank you people!
Critical Mass
09-10-04, 04:09 AM Be a dwarf so you qualify for Rune Caster (Races of Stone). They can negate ASF by adding an additional material component to their spells in the form of magical runes. Just scribe them on your armor every morning and you're good to go.

For a fighter/mage, the best bet would probably be one level of fighter, three levels of wizard, four levels rune caster, ten levels eldrich knight, one level spellsword, one level dragonslayer. I'm going off the top of my head without actually looking at any books, but that should give you 17 BAB and 18 caster level.
MetalGemini
09-11-04, 04:20 PM The easiest way to do a battlemage is take Wizard levels, one level of fighter, and then go into the Spellsword PrC. Spellsword will allow you to cast in heavy armor and channel spells through your weapon.

If you would be happy with light armor, try the battle sorcerer variant in Unearthed Arcana. You sacrifice 1 spell per day & 1 spell known, but your spells per day is still more than a wizard and you get cleric BAB + cast in light armor. It can be a fun combo and you can go into Eldritch Knight (with one level of fighter/barb/ranger for martial weapon prof) or Archmage
Wexquif
09-11-04, 09:43 PM Be a dwarf so you qualify for Rune Caster (Races of Stone). They can negate ASF by adding an additional material component to their spells in the form of magical runes. Just scribe them on your armor every morning and you're good to go.

For a fighter/mage, the best bet would probably be one level of fighter, three levels of wizard, four levels rune caster, ten levels eldrich knight, one level spellsword, one level dragonslayer. I'm going off the top of my head without actually looking at any books, but that should give you 17 BAB and 18 caster level.

Wow, you are one hell of a power gamer! :OMG!
trapspringer
09-11-04, 10:28 PM Battle sorcerer. You get the ability to cast in light armor, standard access to spell levels, and 3/4 BAB. It is basically an arcane cleric, and is pitched as such. Buy UA. Best book ever.
Nom
09-11-04, 11:53 PM Hi all, I'm creating a Battle mage character (something along the lines of a cleric, but using arcane magic instead of divine magic) and I have several questions:

What could be a suitable profession for her?

What would be the right way of leveling up? (disregarding multiclassing penalties) for example, 1 level fighter, 2 level wizard.

I plan to wear heavy armor and shield, is having the still spell feat recommended?As a different approach, let's consider this using core rules only.

First, you're never going to be really effective as an arcane caster. So instead focus on buffs.

If you can get mithral armour, do so. The ASF reduction (-10%) is significant. Otherwise, you're stuck with Still Spell. The alternate workaround is wands. ASF doesn't apply to wands, and 1 min/level buff spells don't gain much from increasing caster level. Plus, triggering a wand doesn't provoke an AoO.

There are also a bunch of spells with no somatic component: blindness (2), blur (2), dimension door (4), feather fall (1), flare (0), geas (4), hold portal (1), knock (2), phase door (7), power word * (7+), suggestion (1), teleport (5), tongues (3), true strike (1), ventriloquism (1), and a surprising number of 8th and 9th level spells. For many of these spells, caster level isn't overly important.

You need to figure out whether you see yourself as a caster who knows how to swing a sword, or a melee combatant who can aid herself with a little magic.

If the former, you probably want caster 1, ftr 1, caster ... . Pick up ftr 2 at some point. Only push on to Ftr 4 if you're really keen. The main benefits of fighter are hp, feats and BAB. The feats become less frequent after level 2, and BAB and hit points aren't neally as important as decent spells and caster level, especially since you can use polymorph (4), tenser's transformation (6) and various other magical abilities to work around them. Still Spell is essential. greater magic weapon is your friend.

The more interesting combination is magic assisted melee. This combo relies on heavy wand use, short term buffs, and magic to get out of trouble. Aim to eventually get 4th level spells, mainly for dimension door. You don't make a great fireball slinger, mainly due to ASF and poor caster level.

Seriously consider the sorcerer. You lose out slightly in spell level and significantly in choice, but gain in spells per day. As a hybrid caster, you'll lose less by focusing on a smaller set of spells that really help you in combat. Plus, caster level doesn't matter that much if you use wands lots. Spontaneous metamagic is also a boon - you can decide whether to use Still Spell at casting time, not preparation time. Spontaneous metamagic also compensates for the sorcerer's poor range of spells.

For levelling, I'd probably recommend choosing your arcane level first. While choosing Ftr at level 1 gains automatic 10 hp and the ability to choose BAB +1 feats at first level, the 4x skill points are better spent on Concentration and Spellcraft, which will be your staple skills. Pick up magic feats at first level and get combat feats at 2nd when you multiclass. If using a wizard, you get the added advantage of a full spellbook at 1st level.

If DMG presitge classes are in play, the two to look at are eldritch knight and dragon disciple. EK basically is a combat mage, and trades hp and feats for full caster levels (a beneficial exchange). This is basically best of both worlds - full BAB without sacrificing much spellcasting. DD is a different track, more suited to a character mainly using raw power but with a little magic thrown in. You lose feats, a little BAB and still don't get caster or spell levels, but reap large stat gains and the bonus spells per day don't hurt. Try to reach Src8 (4th level spells) before gaining too many bonus spells - DD bonus slots should always be added to the highest casting level (since you can always cast lower level spells in higher level slots, with or without metamagic).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
pacone 09-10-04, 03:03 AM	Hi all, I'm creating a Battle mage character (something along the lines of a cleric, but using arcane magic instead of divine magic) and I have several questions: What could be a suitable profession for her? What would be the right way of leveling up? (disregarding multiclassing penalties) for example, 1 level fighter, 2 level wizard. I plan to wear heavy armor and shield, is having the still spell feat recommended? Thank you people!
Critical Mass 09-10-04, 04:09 AM	Be a dwarf so you qualify for Rune Caster (Races of Stone). They can negate ASF by adding an additional material component to their spells in the form of magical runes. Just scribe them on your armor every morning and you're good to go. For a fighter/mage, the best bet would probably be one level of fighter, three levels of wizard, four levels rune caster, ten levels eldrich knight, one level spellsword, one level dragonslayer. I'm going off the top of my head without actually looking at any books, but that should give you 17 BAB and 18 caster level.
MetalGemini 09-11-04, 04:20 PM	The easiest way to do a battlemage is take Wizard levels, one level of fighter, and then go into the Spellsword PrC. Spellsword will allow you to cast in heavy armor and channel spells through your weapon. If you would be happy with light armor, try the battle sorcerer variant in Unearthed Arcana. You sacrifice 1 spell per day & 1 spell known, but your spells per day is still more than a wizard and you get cleric BAB + cast in light armor. It can be a fun combo and you can go into Eldritch Knight (with one level of fighter/barb/ranger for martial weapon prof) or Archmage
Wexquif 09-11-04, 09:43 PM	Be a dwarf so you qualify for Rune Caster (Races of Stone). They can negate ASF by adding an additional material component to their spells in the form of magical runes. Just scribe them on your armor every morning and you're good to go. For a fighter/mage, the best bet would probably be one level of fighter, three levels of wizard, four levels rune caster, ten levels eldrich knight, one level spellsword, one level dragonslayer. I'm going off the top of my head without actually looking at any books, but that should give you 17 BAB and 18 caster level. Wow, you are one hell of a power gamer! :OMG!
trapspringer 09-11-04, 10:28 PM	Battle sorcerer. You get the ability to cast in light armor, standard access to spell levels, and 3/4 BAB. It is basically an arcane cleric, and is pitched as such. Buy UA. Best book ever.
Nom 09-11-04, 11:53 PM	Hi all, I'm creating a Battle mage character (something along the lines of a cleric, but using arcane magic instead of divine magic) and I have several questions: What could be a suitable profession for her? What would be the right way of leveling up? (disregarding multiclassing penalties) for example, 1 level fighter, 2 level wizard. I plan to wear heavy armor and shield, is having the still spell feat recommended?As a different approach, let's consider this using core rules only. First, you're never going to be really effective as an arcane caster. So instead focus on buffs. If you can get mithral armour, do so. The ASF reduction (-10%) is significant. Otherwise, you're stuck with Still Spell. The alternate workaround is wands. ASF doesn't apply to wands, and 1 min/level buff spells don't gain much from increasing caster level. Plus, triggering a wand doesn't provoke an AoO. There are also a bunch of spells with no somatic component: blindness (2), blur (2), dimension door (4), feather fall (1), flare (0), geas (4), hold portal (1), knock (2), phase door (7), power word * (7+), suggestion (1), teleport (5), tongues (3), true strike (1), ventriloquism (1), and a surprising number of 8th and 9th level spells. For many of these spells, caster level isn't overly important. You need to figure out whether you see yourself as a caster who knows how to swing a sword, or a melee combatant who can aid herself with a little magic. If the former, you probably want caster 1, ftr 1, caster ... . Pick up ftr 2 at some point. Only push on to Ftr 4 if you're really keen. The main benefits of fighter are hp, feats and BAB. The feats become less frequent after level 2, and BAB and hit points aren't neally as important as decent spells and caster level, especially since you can use polymorph (4), tenser's transformation (6) and various other magical abilities to work around them. Still Spell is essential. greater magic weapon is your friend. The more interesting combination is magic assisted melee. This combo relies on heavy wand use, short term buffs, and magic to get out of trouble. Aim to eventually get 4th level spells, mainly for dimension door. You don't make a great fireball slinger, mainly due to ASF and poor caster level. Seriously consider the sorcerer. You lose out slightly in spell level and significantly in choice, but gain in spells per day. As a hybrid caster, you'll lose less by focusing on a smaller set of spells that really help you in combat. Plus, caster level doesn't matter that much if you use wands lots. Spontaneous metamagic is also a boon - you can decide whether to use Still Spell at casting time, not preparation time. Spontaneous metamagic also compensates for the sorcerer's poor range of spells. For levelling, I'd probably recommend choosing your arcane level first. While choosing Ftr at level 1 gains automatic 10 hp and the ability to choose BAB +1 feats at first level, the 4x skill points are better spent on Concentration and Spellcraft, which will be your staple skills. Pick up magic feats at first level and get combat feats at 2nd when you multiclass. If using a wizard, you get the added advantage of a full spellbook at 1st level. If DMG presitge classes are in play, the two to look at are eldritch knight and dragon disciple. EK basically is a combat mage, and trades hp and feats for full caster levels (a beneficial exchange). This is basically best of both worlds - full BAB without sacrificing much spellcasting. DD is a different track, more suited to a character mainly using raw power but with a little magic thrown in. You lose feats, a little BAB and still don't get caster or spell levels, but reap large stat gains and the bonus spells per day don't hurt. Try to reach Src8 (4th level spells) before gaining too many bonus spells - DD bonus slots should always be added to the highest casting level (since you can always cast lower level spells in higher level slots, with or without metamagic).