Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 the_sentin3l Aug 08, 2008 10:58:58	Hello all. I'm seeking a bit advice for a character for a new 3.5 campaign. Mainly looking at either a Cleric, Artificer or a combination of the two; I'm wont to play a magical inquisitorial-ish character, purveyor of relics and such forth (similar to a tech-priest, for those acquainted with the Warhammer 40k universe), so a diety, feats, equipment and similar apparrel to reflect that would be highly appreciated. If I were to play an Artificer, it would most likely be of the Blastificer archetype, so any suggestions as to good metamagic feats would also be useful. I'm also rather partial to the Mark of Making, and was already considering going Dragonmark Heir (over Heir of Siberys, due to me personally liking the versatility of having all the dragonmarks, especially with the new Dragonmark abilty feats from Dragonmarked; also useful for its healing abilities, due to having a Warforged in the party) no matter what class I take. Due to the current homebrew campaign not having action points, the DM has allowed me to remove the action point abilities in place of extra spellcasting. All 3.5 sourcebooks (including settings) are allowed, and, due to extensive personal libraries and reduced prices on old books now that 4e has been released, means that I can also lay my hands on most of the sources. House rules include having a very lenient DM when it comes to player creativity, thus players are allowed to alter character classes, create new items, etc. Flaws are allowed, but only one per character. The campaign is expected to last until about 18th level. Starting gold is 13500gp, with no more than 3250gp spent on any one item; outside of this, our DM has also granted our characters 'government funding' of 4000gp, to be spent in any way we see fit. The characters themselves are beginning the campaign at level 6. Party includes a Warforged Knight, a Halfling Wizard 3/Rogue 3 going Daggerspell Mage, and a TWF Wood Elf with more classes than I care to remember, but mainly focusing on the Spring Attack feat tree, looking to go into the Tempest PrC. As for my character, aside from the background mentioned above, his ability scores stand thus, in no general order: 16, 16, 14, 14, 13, 10, using the 4d6-drop-the-lowest score generation. Also have yet to place the ability point garnered from level 4. Thankyou in advance for all your help. The Sentin3l.
#2 meth0dical Aug 08, 2008 20:06:08	Archivist fits the theme very well, being a divine wizard in essence. It's also been released as an excerpt so that's a bonus if you don't have Heroes of Horror on hand. The class is reasonably well-liked around here as it has access to tons of spells and the ability to gain access to even more, which as you don't have a 'real' wizard in the party, you might need. I'm sure you know this, but if you play an archivist (or any other spellcaster) you should only take levels in classes that advance spellcasting, and this looks like it is even more important as you would be serving as both the primary arcane and divine spellcaster for your party. Being an artificer is, of course, also an extremely viable option, and if you just act religious, you don't even need to (nor should you) take a single level in cleric, as you'll have all the same spells anyway. I would build a techpriest character as an artificer with ranks in Knowledge (Religion) anyway. Edit: If you can steal deities from other settings, Gond is the Forgotten Realms god of artifice and machinery, and if your DM is so lenient (and doesn't have any plans for Gond in your campaign) you could easily reflavor him to match your alignment or remove the connection to gnomes he has in FR.
#3 the_sentin3l Aug 10, 2008 11:06:07	Meth0dical, I thank you greatly for your advice and input. The Archivist is almost exactly what I was looking for, and probably exactly what the party needs. However, I am still unsure about feats. Could you possibly recommend any, or any feat paths that I should be looking for? I was thinking maybe Craft Wonderous Item (though I wasn't sure how much the exp drain might hurt my character) and possibly Able Learner, but aside from those two, I don't have much. Also, are Archivists allowed to prepare Cleric domain spells? It merely mentions that one can prepare any spell a cleric can cast, but it appears a bit ambigous about specialized domains.
#4 staticfury Aug 10, 2008 12:29:16	It's a little cheesy, but instead of taking crafting feats, take leadership and get artificer sidekick. I'm a huge fan of able learner. Even tend to be a skill needy. But before taking it, what skills do you want to maintain? Are you planning on taking on classes that have different skill lists? Able learner is pointless if you stay along same skill path (ie. Knowledge/concentration/spellcraft)
#5 panserbjorn_x Aug 11, 2008 1:26:37	Meth0dical, I thank you greatly for your advice and input. The Archivist is almost exactly what I was looking for, and probably exactly what the party needs. However, I am still unsure about feats. Could you possibly recommend any, or any feat paths that I should be looking for? I was thinking maybe Craft Wonderous Item (though I wasn't sure how much the exp drain might hurt my character) and possibly Able Learner, but aside from those two, I don't have much. As was already said, unless you intend to PrC out of Archivist and lose the skill list, Able Learner isn't needed. And if you are going to start at a higher level, you can build around having item creation feats and self-craft you gear, and then use scrolls/castings Embrace/Shun the Dark Chaos to get whatever feats you want for the actual game. Cheesy? Yes, but totally legal. Also, are Archivists allowed to prepare Cleric domain spells? It merely mentions that one can prepare any spell a cleric can cast, but it appears a bit ambigous about specialized domains. As long as you can get a scroll of the spell, you can cast it as many times as you prepare it. Regardless of what spell list it comes from. ~P_X~
#6 the_sentin3l Aug 11, 2008 10:37:02	It's a little cheesy, but instead of taking crafting feats, take leadership and get artificer sidekick. I'm a huge fan of able learner. Even tend to be a skill needy. But before taking it, what skills do you want to maintain? Are you planning on taking on classes that have different skill lists? Able learner is pointless if you stay along same skill path (ie. Knowledge/concentration/spellcraft) Skills-wise, I would probably mostly follow the Archivist skill list. Outside of that, I was mainly looking towards social skills, with the rogue being the only true front-man (or front-halfling), being a multiclassed one at that; also, I have yet to play a character who made use of the Forgery skill, and was thinking it might become quite useful, as well as UMD. As was already said, unless you intend to PrC out of Archivist and lose the skill list, Able Learner isn't needed. And if you are going to start at a higher level, you can build around having item creation feats and self-craft you gear, and then use scrolls/castings Embrace/Shun the Dark Chaos to get whatever feats you want for the actual game. Cheesy? Yes, but totally legal. As long as you can get a scroll of the spell, you can cast it as many times as you prepare it. Regardless of what spell list it comes from. Is it possible to please get a source on these spells? Also, wouldn't Domain spells be considered Cleric spells in terms of scribing them to a prayer book, considering clerics can cast them? Or would that just be spells from the regular cleric spell lists?
#7 staticfury Aug 11, 2008 11:44:55	as described in the class text, your 2 free spells per level must be cleric list. But you can use any other source(scroll,books) to gain any divine spell ingame As far as able learner, unless you multiclass into something else to get other class skills, it may be worth more to get streetwise or 3.0 cosmopolitan. Otherwise, while your crossclass skills may only cost 1:1, your still restricted to cross class max rank. The phb2 or unearthed arcana (not sure which) give feat retraining. The costs may be cheeper, if a bit more restricting
#8 the_sentin3l Aug 16, 2008 10:43:42	Alright, so that's spells sorted. However, feats are proving none to easy. Was considering taking a +1LA template that gives me the Leadership feat free and a bonus to Charisma, as well as all sorts of nifty stuff; Fire Souled, I believe it's called. Thus, I was thinking of taking numerous Leadership feats, possibly the Mark of Passage as well. Craft Wonderous Item looks rather appealing at this point, though I was wondering if it was worth it, considering I'd most likely be taking an Artificer cohort. Wasn't too sure about Metamagic feats, nor any other item creation feats. Any thoughts? Thanks again for all your help.
#9 the_sentin3l Aug 18, 2008 9:39:29	Not just a shameless bump!!l Recently, we lost our halfling player in the campaign due to time restraints and other interests. While he may rejoin later, for the time being we're down to three players. In much better news, to compenstate for the absence, our DM has allowed us to play Gestalt. This means much more choice when it comes to making my character. However, I'm still not certain about which classes to go, and whether to take Prestige Classes, or even what feats and equipment. I would definitly like to take a Dragonmark, whether that be of Passage or Making, and Leadership does look very interesting, especially considering we're going to need to fill a new party role. All ideas, comments and criticisms would be welcomed.
#10 carnivore Aug 18, 2008 15:08:58	try this: Archivist 3/ Psion(Shaper) 3/ Psychic Theurge 10/ xxxxx 4 this gives you the best of both worlds ..... lots of Craft abilities... and Versatility .... and based on Int... also 9th lvl Spells and 7th lvl Powers shapers get to use Minor Creation @1st lvl ... and they have a lot more going for them :D
#11 the_sentin3l Aug 19, 2008 6:37:39	try this: Archivist 3/ Psion(Shaper) 3/ Psychic Theurge 10/ xxxxx 4 this gives you the best of both worlds ..... lots of Craft abilities... and Versatility .... and based on Int... also 9th lvl Spells and 7th lvl Powers shapers get to use Minor Creation @1st lvl ... and they have a lot more going for them :D Personally, not really a fan of DnD Psionics, most probably due to the fact that I think mind-powers should stay mostly in the realms of the 41st millenium, where as arcane and divine magic is more for the fantasy genre. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and I won't force it on anyone else, I just simply don't like playing psionics. That, and I don't have the book. Browsing through prestige classes today, specifically Eberron ones, and was rather intruiged by the Renegade Mastermaker, Dragonmark Heir, Heir of Sibrys, Master Inquisitive, Cyre Scout and Alchemist Savant. Is there anything to reccomend or dissuade me about these classes or any others that anyone can think of?