ThetaSigma says:
Sarge1967 says:
ThetaSigma says:
Hello Everyone!
Someone is probably going to ask this so it might as well be me, since my favourite type of character is multiclass spellcasters; is the whole game strictly PHB or are you open to prestige classes, feats or spells from official books? More than happy to provide references for anything I use (book and page).
I have players plan out their path to a prestige class, I do it this way so players new to 3.5 aren't overwhelmed and can see the baby steps experienced players make on that journey
Well, I have my eye on a Monk/Wizard/Enlightened Fist (Complete Arcane p.34-36). There are several possible feats to support this, but let’s see what attributes I have to work with… (edit) not great, arguably worse than the standard array.
[note="Monk/Wizard/Enlightened Fist"]
Enlightened Fist (Complete Arcane p.34-36) combines some advancement in monk abilities with arcane casting. The build is versatile but very MAD (Multi-Attribute Dependent). The entry requirements are as follows:
Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks.
Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist.
Spells or Spell-Like Abilities: Arcane caster level 3rd.
Earliest entry is 6th level (because of the skill ranks required). Helpfully, both Concentration and Knowledge (arcana) are Monk class skills. Of the Feats, all come from the PHB; only Combat Casting is not provided by Monk 1, and that is a general feat without prerequisites.
For a human, my proposed build is Monk 2, Wizard 3, Enlightened Fist 5+.
Early level Feat selections:
1: Carmendine Monk (Champions of Valor p.28). This reduces MAD by replacing Wis with Int as the principal driver of some Monk abilities, and enabling a selective boost in one monk ability. The flavour text requires the character to be a member of the Zealots of the Written Word, an order of monks who follow Denier, NG god of scribes, so I would take a rank in Profession (scribe) and am constrained to a LG character alignment accordingly.
1 (Human bonus): Combat Casting, rationalised as the character having trained in both Concentration and Knowledge (arcana) as a monk in deliberate preparation for wizardry. (Enlightened Fist prerequisite)
3: Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion p.60). This allows a character to gain combat bonuses against monsters by rolling against applicable Knowledge skills (basically the character has studied certain types of monsters and so has a better understanding of how to defeat them), which fits with the angle of an order of scribes who collect written knowledge. Synergises nicely with the Collector of Stories skill trick (Complete Scoundrel p.85) which can be acquired for 2 skill points around level 4 (give or take depending upon other skill needs).
6: Practiced Spellcaster (Complete Divine p.82). Given a minimum number of ranks in Spellcraft, this boosts caster level
only for spells by four, but not above the character’s total HD. Without providing extra spells, it increases the power of spells the character otherwise has. Arguably available at 3rd level in this build, but I think it’s a bit of a cheek to call oneself practiced as a 1st level caster.
9: Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior p.96). Burn a castable spell from memory to boost combat abilities for a round.
Beyond Enlightened Fist 5 there are several options; the default is to continue through Enlightened Fist to EF10 and then go into Master Specialist and/or Archmage; other possibilities include Argent Savant (I have some fondness for force-type effects), Rainbow Savant, or even a level of Swordsage to then qualify for Jade Phoenix Mage. Frankly, if the game runs that long I’ll decide later![/note]
