I'm DMing a moderately optimized campaign that's around 21st level at the moment. I've got a new player joining who wants to play a charismatic, pious, lawful good warrior from a desert kingdom ala Arabian Nights who flies around on a magic carpet while wielding a halberd. I'm quite fond of magic carpets and a lot of the campaign centers around the airship the players are exploring the world on ( so aerial combat is common) so I O.K.ed it and agreed to do what I could.
He's rather inexperienced, so we're avoiding full caster and spells in general if possible.
I've pointed him towards the mounted combat feat trees, the stuff in RoTW that makes attacking while air-borne better and agreed to stat up a magic carpet as a construct instead of as an item (I'm thinking large animate object with good maneuverability). I'm also considering allowing him to enhance his carpet with at will powers following the rules for magic item creation (haste the carpet, spiderwalk so he can fly it upside down). As for actually optimizing the build though, I'm a little lost having never played a mounted combatant (let alone one that can fly). Hopefully you can help :D
In Brief:
Level: 21
Race: Human or close to it (LA buy off as per rules in UA)
Alignment: LG
Fluff: Arabic Nights-style Magic Carpet rider
Attributes: 28 Point buy
Weapon Style: Halberd or other similar polearm
Books Available: Core, Core II, Complete Series, BoED, BoVD, SC, UA. I can see about getting others.
Campaign Limitations: No Psionics, No Long Range Teleport, No Summoning/Calling, No Long Range Divination
Mounted combat, spirited charge, ride by attack. If you allowed TOB, this would be so much easier.
But sense your not, have him grab fighter, or perhaps a Gish, between Fighter/wizard or fighter/cleric, if you want humanoid, go with Illumian, its a good race for a gish type specially sense you can choose your sigils to get a +2 CL so instead of being a lvl 5 wizard to qualify for PrC's you are only lvl 3 instead.
Add in some pockets on the magic carpet
and have them act as a bag of holding or something, or perhaps a portal hole, or something like that in it. If you wish to get your friend to have more speed on the carpet have the carpet upgraded to something that gives it more speed or a give it a constant continuity spell that gives it a boost to flying speed.Hmmmmm............Make the Carpet have the same powers a Figurine of wonderous power (Obsidian) steed has, give it plane shift 2/day or something like that.
Or if he wants to go a ranged combatant, have him take a Half orc Ranger/scout with Swift hunter, give him all the archery feats and things should be golden, once you get to lvl 20, have him go into a PrC that he likes.
Scout 4 / Ranger 16 / Barbarian 1
Feats;
1 Mounted Combat
1h Ride-by Attack
3 Spirited Charge
6 Swift Hunter
6s Improved Skirmish
9 Power Attack
12 Practiced Spellcaster (ranger)
15 Improved Bulls Rush
18 Shock Trooper
21 Diving Charge
Ends up with 20BAB, 20CL on ranger spells, full attack when charging.
Can take -20 to AC on the charge for +120 damage with shock trooper and spirited charge. Skirmish bonus of 7d6 and +7 AC when moving, plus can skirmish any of your 5 favoured enemies even if they are immune to precision damage normally.
Diving charge is worthwhile if he can get 90+ft move on his carpet, since it will add 3d6 damage, or 9d6 on a charge with the multipliers.
This build also gets evasion, lots of skills, frenzy (or whirling frenzy!) 1/day when required, and pretty decent hp. Lots of fun stuff you can do for equipment to boost this up with 21st level wealth, but make sure you put the Valarous enhancement on his weapon so it deals x2 damage on a charge (total of x4 with feats). It would work better with a lance but oh well...
**edit - also, the concept sounds like awesome fun... forgot to mention that! :D
OH! TOB, finally you got some sense.
I reccommend a Dwarf Warblade 1/Wizard 5/Runesmith 1/JPM 10/Abj Champ 3.
With this, you can now cast in full armor, which means you can run around with mithril fullplate if you wish and not worry about the spell failure chance.
If he wants to go with something else, then Crusader is a nice one, Or if he wants to go stealthy go Swordsage. Swordsage packs one heck of a punch.
I know, I played a Whisper gnome Swordsage with a Spiked chain. Ticked off the DM because I would smack her monsters with 1 hit and they died :D. So it was minorly humerous.
Whispergnome Swordsage 4/Wizard (Transmuter) 5/JPM 6/Abj Champ 5. Is a pretty solid build IMO, grab the 2 weapon fighting feats, and shadowblade. Boost Dex and Wis, wear light armor with something to lower the Spell failure chance, then BAM!, your golden, Wis to attack, Dex to attack and damage, lvl 8 spells, and your melee is pretty kick arse.
Now if I gotten high enough I would have done this. Because yeah you dont get 9th lvl spells but the primary thing with Wizard is to boost your abilities to Buff yourself, so you can kick butt with Sword sage, now with this you get a max of 7th lvl maneuvers I believe with a IL of 14. I think its pretty good with all things considering. Swordsage is rediculous.
Or if you want to be even more cruel, go with a Pixie Swordsage play the stealthy type, get feats that boost your natural fly speed and if dont right, OMG!, a lvl 16 or if LA buy off is accepted, you you can boost your crap to a Swordsage 17 instead. Then once you get into epic, you can buy off another lvl
and boost the swordsage to 18. If you go this route, make sure you grab 2 weapon fighting and shadowblade. If flaws are allowed take 1 or both of them to get the extra feats you need. Now I dont have my books around me atm but when I do ill try and come up with something, but here is what I do know off hand Pixie 4/Swordsage 16
(Dodge, weapon finesse are free) For more info on pixies check out http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1017351
1st (Flaw, 2 weapon fighting and Shadowblade), Imp initiative. Thats all I can remember without my books.
But the idea is you boost your Dex and Wis to insane lvl's threw whatever means you decide.
However, if you wish to go the more unarmed variant type of swordsage it would help. Specially if you want to forgo the whole magic item stuff cuz your DM is a bastard
, go Vow of Poverty around 21st, buy books and read them before you go and take the Vow . Boost Wis and Dex, on average you should have a 30 Dex and 30 wis if you can manage it. From the Dex and wis being that high you get a +10 to AC from Dex, +10 to AC from Wis, add in the humerous VOP stuff and well, you can easily get your AC to around 50 by epic level's.In essence, your a monk who can now use your flaming abilities on your hands to punch stuff :D. Without the worry of having your DM use wild magic area's and Mordikans disjunction on you.
I was looking at the flying carpet and the speed for it is 40ft, not worth it IMO, a pixie with a speed of 120 would go faster. Heck a pixie wit a speed of 90 would go faster then it.
Still it is kick butt.
((Carn, Ill make up a build and send it to you
to add to your Pixie handbook))