My party is small... very small (so far its a VoP monk
and only myself...) because I told the DM playing a wizard would be beneficial to my own DMing.Nextly, I used Treant's guide to God for a lot of motivation... but now am finding that combat is bogged down by the lack of usefulness from the monk, since most of my spells rely on debuffing/battle control.
I was thinking Wizard 6/Duskblade 4/Eldritch Knight 10 (wizard progression) to help fix this problem, instead of wizard 20.
**I am a straight lvl 8 wizard atm, but my DM has already specified he will allow me to change the build on his approval.
Does this seem a reasonable 'dual threat'? The utility and prowess of a wizard's spells as well as some of the combat capabilities of duskblade/eldritch knight?
My #1 question is based on spell selection for such a build. This is the area I am least proficient in (I feel fairly confident I can pick out some good feats, but won't shun recommendations there either).
If there is a similar build or thread available, I'd love a link. Cheers.
You don't believe the arcane channeling form Duskblade is worth it? We're still discussing if the alter self line will be in the game and whatnot. Because then I'd probably rule anyways.
But a big part of my question is the context of the game. I'm sort of picking up the slack for the VoP monk.
My race is whisper gnome (I know its cheese, but its in the context of my friendship of the DM how I could give him a b**** slap. He often thinks the game is run off direct damage tactics. Also, its why I've used the guide to god to show I can manipulte encounters without it (for a primary role) I've used a few rods of empower with sculpted hail of stones to take out his otherwise impressive mooks :P.
Sorry to follow up quickly... if I were to take fighter 1, what feat would you suggest?
Absolutely nothing wrong with Power attack.
PhaedrusXY really nailed it with his post, but I'd still like to give some more. Could you tell what books are available to you?
Could you tell what books are available to you?
Just about most you can think of, I'm only missing a few hard to find books. The thing is, it makes it more difficult for me to go through 40 something books and find the good spells as a new guy to the wizard PC (not that I would need them all, I guess) :P.
You don't believe the arcane channeling form Duskblade is worth it?
Not even remotely. In fact, why do you want to melee anyway? Can't you summon some beefcakes when needed? Or just buff the crap out of the monk? Or both? Is Polymorph allowed? That by itself should make the monk a viable threat, I'd think.
And are you ignoring XP penalties? If not, you can't really go with Ftr1/Wiz6 as a whisper gnome. You might be able to work something out with Master Specialist, if your DM lets you cheese the entry with Precocious Apprentice (Wiz2/Ftr1/MS4/Eldritch Knight 1).
Not even remotely. In fact, why do you want to melee anyway? Can't you summon some beefcakes when needed? Or just buff the crap out of the monk? Or both? Is Polymorph allowed? That by itself should make the monk a viable threat, I'd think.
And are you ignoring XP penalties? If not, you can't really go with Ftr1/Wiz6 as a whisper gnome. You might be able to work something out with Master Specialist, if your DM lets you cheese the entry with Precocious Apprentice (Wiz2/Ftr1/MS4/Eldritch Knight 1).
I apologize... I've been a bit distracted and I've been running errands for the New Years, so I sort of rushed out the initial question.
For melee, well I wanted to present a "God-like" threat (BC/debuffs) and have the tertiary threat of direct damage, since I find that with a conjurer and VoP monk, our party is lacking in the latter.
I have relied on summons to some extent, mostly eagles/celestial eagles for maneuverability... but find they lack in defense and a well placed wall, fog or black tentacles will often be more beneficial (any suggestions on good summons would be welcome).
The polymorph chain is still being debated, but I will be able to access Tensor's transformation later on. My friend the monk usually gets mage armor, haste, and protection... as well as greater mighty wallop (next level), but otherwise I don't think its fair that I should devote too many of my combat actions to help him pick up the slack (I'm all about team play, but not at great expense...).
lastly, no XP penalty.
Any other info would be great. I'm going to dive a bit more into the gish threads as not to be overly redundant by having old questions reanswered. If I come across a bit daft, sorry, but these few short responses have already given me a nudge in the right direction.
What about the Cloudy Conjuration feat? That should add some non-standard defenses to your summoned critters, I think. As for summoning recommendations... I think there is a thread for that. Check the handy links. I've never played a summoner personally, except for Psions.
However, if you wish to go melee as well, try Fighter 1/Wizard 6/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight the rest.
(Just joking, guys ^^)
NG or CG Human Paragon1/Whirling Frenzy Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Martial Conjurer OR Transmuter1/Human Paragon+2/Wizard+1/Ruathar2/Abjurant Champion5/Dragonslayer1/Spellsword1/Ruathar+1/Sacred Exorcist4
(If you prefer to be nongood, swap Sacred Exorcist for Unseen Seer.)
This build nets you a base CL of 18 and BAB 16 at L20 with pounce. You could drop Dragonslayer onward, freeing a feat or two, and take Eldritch Knight instead. If you wanted Spellsword without Dragonslayer, you'd need to take Heavy Armor Proficiency.
Greater Mighty Wallop (RoTD p 115) and Enlarge Person, by themselves will up the monk's base damage (assuming he's 8th level as well and a straight monk), to 4d8 per hit. Throw in Blood Wind for the (probably many) times he'll need range on his targets and he's going to mow through anything he can get his hands on. Later, giving him Draconic Polymorph or Shapechange and Bite of the X are going to add significant combat capability.
Doesn't Dragonslayer require a number of sucky feats?
Just the 1 (Dodge). Iron Will can be had for 3k and you need it for Incantatrix anyway.
Actually, isn't there a magical location that gives dodge too?
Later, giving him Draconic Polymorph or Shapechange and Bite of the X are going to add significant combat capability.
Personal, Personal, Personal.
Personal, Personal, Personal.
Do'h...I swear I knew that. The gish talk just got me all twisted and thinking of good self buffs....
Or no...better excuse, I was going to suggest going Spellguard of Silverymoon and using the 'Personal to Touch' class ability...
Yeah, that's it....That's what I meant.
But seriously SGoS is sub-par? I don't like the flavor text or silverymoon in general as a region and Combat Casting is a joke, but full casting with 2 bonus metamagic feats in 4 levels, selective spell for free 4/day, and the ability to do amusing, amusing things to enemy spellcasters with no save personal polymorph subschool spells is sub-par?
USe Otherworldly or Militia feats at level 1 to qualify for Eldritch knight. That is a BaB +17 CL 19 Build.
You're level 8...so oddly enough that could work...let's optimize it.
If you want to buff and are at the disadvantage of a small party, then there are two things we can(should) do to optimize this:
1. War Weaver PrC from Heroes of Battle with a Transmuter or Focused Transmuter base. It's level appropriate optimization: you lose a spell level, but gain the awesome ability of buffing your party with up to two(later three) spells up to third(later up to fifth) level as a move action.
2. Retrain Leadership at 6th(using PHB 2 rules) or take it at 9th. It's much less abusive in this situation than normal, and can help you provide a dual-threat with your cohort. Things to keep in mind for the cohort: A) They should benefit from most of the same buffs as the monk(so a melee type) and B) Don't let them outshine the monk (too much) or his enjoyment of the game will lessen.
Overall I'd recommend a spike-chain tripper because: 1. their damage won't outshine the monk, 2. they'll benefit hugely from a spell the monk does (Enlarge Person) but from reach rather than damage increase and 3. 20 ft reach and trip option provide good battlefield control(which can go a long way) and can also protect your d4 hit die self from many threats.
as a FS conjurer I would suggest summoning stuff that is stronger than the monk in melee and then buffing it up and ignoring him so that he realizes how bad his character is and makes a less useless one.
Actually that was my first thought too. Go Malconvoker, summon GOOD tanks. Treantmonklevel20 has a guide on that.
