Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sareld Aug 28, 2008 7:49:05	My next campaigh is coming up, and Ive decided to make myself a gish. I know that the campaign will call for solo 1-on-1 fights with other combat oriented characters of equal level once in a while, so I need to excel in single combat. Character Build: Stats (bonuspoints from high levels): Str: 14 Dex: 14 Con: 14 Int: 8 Wis: 8 Cha: 16 (+1 at lvl 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20) Build: -1: Paladin 1 Feat (Power Attack), racial bonus feat (Improved Initiative) -2: Paladin 2 -3: Battle Sorcerer 1 Feat (Extend Spell) -4: Battle Sorcerer 2 -5: Battle Sorcerer 3 -6: Battle Sorcerer 4 Feat (Combat Casting) -7: Abjurant Champion 1 -8: Abjurant Champion 2 -9: Abjurant Champion 3 Feat (Arcane Strike) -10: Abjurant Champion 4 -11: Abjurant Champion 5 -12: Spellsword 1 Feat (Improved Toughness) -13: Sacred Excorcist 1 -14: Sacred Excorcist 2 -15: Sacred Excorcist 3 Feat (Divine Might) -16: Sacred Excorcist 4 -17: Sacred Excorcist 5 -18: Sacred Excorcist 6 Feat (???) -19: Sacred Excorcist 7 -20: Sacred Excorcist 8 Stats by lvl 20: Average HP: 161.5 BAB: +17 Caster level: 18 (battle sorcerer) Spell selection: 0th: Detect Magic Presdigitation Disrupt Undead Light Ghost Sound Mending Ray of Frost Dancing Lights 1st: Disguise Self Shield Protection from Evil True Strike 2nd: Alter Self Wraithstrike Glitterdust False Life 3rd: Haste Mage Armor, Greater Fly 4th: Dimension Door Magic Weapon, Greater Invisibility, Greater 5th: Dismissal Blink, Greater Feeblemind 6th: Contingency Greater Dispel Magic 7th: Prismatic Ray Ethereal Jaunt 8th: Power Word: Stun 9th: Shapechange
#2 natenate Aug 28, 2008 12:22:41	I'd switch Battle Sorcerer for PHB Sorcerer and put Spellsword 1 before Abjurant Champion instead of after it. You'll still have a +16 BAB by 20, and the extra spells known will be well worth the lower HD. Greater Magic Weapon is a 3rd level spell for Sorcerer, its only 4th level on the Cleric list. Why keep Disguise Self after you've got Alter Self? I'd take it a step further even and swap out Alter Self for Polymorph once you get 4th level spells, then Draconic Polymorph once you get 5th. I'm surprised you don't have Bladeweave or Whirling Blade, or anything to put into a Spell Storing weapon such as Vampiric Touch or Shivering Touch (FB). Keep in mind you can put a metamagic version of a 3rd level spell into a Spell Storing weapon since it will still count as 3rd level as long as it's not Heightened, so get a Lesser Rod of Maximize and set it up ahead of time and you'll have a great advantage in a one-on-one fight. Get the spells Dragon Breath and Blinding Breath, and set Dragon Breath on a Contingency to be triggered when you cast Blinding Breath. Note that the DC will be based on your level and Con bonus and not the spell's level, just like a monster's breath attack. Another approach would be to take Draconic Heritage and Draconic Breath if you want to keep Contingency for something different. The Reflex Save-or-Blind effect of Blinding Breath is just too good to miss out on.
#3 ninjarabbit Aug 28, 2008 19:26:19	Battlesorcerer is a poor choice for this character. You only gain 1 BAB and a handful of hps but you lose 1 spell known/level and 1 spell per day/level, a bad trade-off. Plus spellsword gets you -10% ASF which is good enough for mithral chain shirt or mithral breastplate with the twilight enhancement. As far as your spells go: Great mage armor is a waste since you can wear armor via spellsword. Fly is a waste too since Alter Self can grant you flight. Some spells to consider to put on your list: Enlarge person, silent image, web, shatter (nice in combination with greater dispel magic), stinking cloud, vampric touch, evard's black tentacles, polymorph, enervation, cloudkill, wall of force, limited wish, greater shadow evocation (lets you cast contingency so you can use that spell known for something else). The feats seem okay. Since you're taking extend spell I'd recommend taking persistent spell at level 18 so you can persist spells like wraithstrike.
#4 sareld Sep 02, 2008 7:44:52	Sorry about the response time, my internet connection is kind of unreliable these days. Your advice has been most helpful, thanks. Updated Build: -1: Paladin 1 Feat (Power Attack), racial bonus feat (Improved Initiative) -2: Paladin 2 -3: Sorcerer 1 Feat (Extend Spell) -4: Sorcerer 2 -5: Sorcerer 3 -6: Sorcerer 4 Feat (Combat Casting) -7: Spellsword 1 -8: Abjurant Champion 1 -9: Abjurant Champion 2 Feat (Arcane Strike) -10: Abjurant Champion 3 -11: Abjurant Champion 4 -12: Abjurant Champion 5 Feat (Improved Toughness) -13: Sacred Excorcist 1 -14: Sacred Excorcist 2 -15: Sacred Excorcist 3 Feat (Divine Might) -16: Sacred Excorcist 4 -17: Sacred Excorcist 5 -18: Sacred Excorcist 6 Feat (Persistant Spell) -19: Sacred Excorcist 7 -20: Sacred Excorcist 8 Stats by lvl 20: Average HP: 153.5 BAB: +16 Caster level: 18 (sorcerer) Valgte wiz/sor spells indtil lvl 20: 0th: Detect Magic Presdigitation Disrupt Undead Light Ghost Sound Mending Ray of Frost Dancing Lights Mage Hand 1st: Silent Image Shield Protection from Evil True Strike True Casting 2nd: Alter Self Wraithstrike Glitterdust False Life Resist Energy 3rd: Haste Shivering Touch Unluck Magic Weapon, Greater 4th: Dimension Door Enervation Polymorph Invisibility, Greater 5th: Dismissal Blink, Greater Feeblemind Wall of Stone 6th: Contingency Greater Dispel Magic Herosim, Greater 7th: Prismatic Ray Ethereal Jaunt Spell Turning 8th: Power Word: Stun Irresistable Dance 9th: Shapechange
#5 Wyvernhand Sep 02, 2008 8:22:15	Hmmm, another suggestion, swap Dim Door for Greater Mirror Image and then swap Dismissal or Feeblemind for Teleport. Teleport has more versitility, and Greater Mirror Image is amazing. Both Dismissal and Feeblemind are practically Save or Dies, which being a gish shouldn't be your primary concern. Your casting stat will be behind that of a straight caster, you won't have applicable DC boosters like Spell Focus, and there is no secondary effect. The spells also target good saves of their intended targets (will on both, outsiders and casters tend to have good will saves). I just see it as a wasted action unless the DM royally fudges a die roll. You'd be better off with a full attack for the ~200+ you'd be likely to get with this.
#6 Omen_of_Peace Sep 02, 2008 8:53:30	Consider Minor Shapeshift (CM) instead of Improved Toughness for renewable HPs. Draconic Polymorph (RotD) is even more powerful than Polymorph and only 1 level above. PW: Stun is not very good IMO, especially since you already have Irresistible Dance (i.e. you screw things not immune to mind-affecting). Get Maze, Moment of Prescience, Greater Shadow Evocation... anything else. Dimension Jumper (CM) is great at high levels for tactical mobility - retrain another spell known. Dimension Step (PHB2) is good for lower levels and you can take your party with you (but if your party has an arcanist, get him to learn it).