Anyone got a good Fighter/Mage build?

Zadam · Apr 8, 2005

Rystil Arden said:
Buh-huh? Eldritch Knight gives full base attack bonus and nigh-full spellcasting progression. That's pretty good if you ask me.

Oh yeah, guess I forgot about the BAB

... Since you put it that way, it almost seems like Eldritch Knight is actually overpowered?

Rystil Arden · Apr 8, 2005

Zadam said:
Oh yeah, guess I forgot about the BAB ... Since you put it that way, it almost seems like Eldritch Knight is actually overpowered?

Almost, but the key is that you have to spread yourself thin to try to cover all your bases, allowing the specialist to outshine you every time, but letting you fill in any hole.

Hypersmurf · Apr 8, 2005

Zadam said:
Oh yeah, guess I forgot about the BAB ...

... that's...

... kinda an oversight, when trying to build a fighter-type, don't you think?

-Hyp.

Rystil Arden · Apr 8, 2005

Hypersmurf said:
... that's...

... kinda an oversight, when trying to build a fighter-type, don't you think?

-Hyp.

Hee hee

Hypersmurf · Apr 8, 2005

Rystil Arden said:
Hee hee

I just had a flashback to the S&F first printing Halfling Outrider...

-Hyp.

Rystil Arden · Apr 8, 2005

Hypersmurf said:
I just had a flashback to the S&F first printing Halfling Outrider...

-Hyp.

That was rather amusing. But unless you're going to leave out the bit about BAB in the chart, it really counts. I remember thinking that the S&F Ninja of the Crescent Moon PrC was balanced until I realised it had full BAB.

mzsylver · Apr 8, 2005

Arcane Strike

The two really effective fighter/caster builds I've seen both utilize Arcane Strike.

One is a 2 Barb/X Eldritch Knight/X Sorcerer.
Spontaneous casting lets you Arcane Strike all the time. Uncanny Dodge is always useful, too. Go 40 foot movement!

The other is X Wizard/X Divine Oracle (He used to be 1 Barb/X Wizard/X Divine Oracle/1 Spellsword). He took the feat that gives you a Domain to get Divine Power (and maybe Divine Favor and Righteous Might). With Divine Power, you can use Power Attack effectively... Combine this with Arcane Strike and the opponent DIES. Evasion is a big plus, especially if you take the Int bonus to Reflex saves feat.

If you are worried about proficiency in your strange weapon, use that 1st level spell out of Complete Adventurer that is a swift action and gives you proficiency in a weapon touched.

In addition, consider Lim Wishing for Stalwart Pacts. Every fighter needs more hit points.

Good luck! =)

Impeesa · Apr 8, 2005

CrazyDrake said:
yeah. why is it that no one mentioned spells word until jsut now. one level, jsut one level, give you +1 spellcasting class, d8 HD, AND ignore arcane spell failure 10%.

if you like sorcerers, this build works great: pal 2/ sor 5/ spellsword 3/ e-knight 10.
final scores:
BAB = 16, fort = 14, flex = 5, will = 10. Caster Level = 16. take practised spellcaster to boost your caster level (though it won't raise your spells perday/known/etc.)

if you prefer wizards, then try ftr 2/ wiz 5/ spellsword 3/ e-knight 10.
BAB = 16, fort = 14, flex = 5, will = 10. Caster Level = 16. take practised spellcaster to boost your caster level (though it won't raise your spells perday/known/etc.)

alternatively, you could do: ftr 1/ wiz 6/ spellsword 3/ e-knight 10. this gives you a BAB of 16, so four attacks, but it also give you a caster level of 17, which gets you 9th level spells. still take practised spellcaster.

The iconic template that I'm familiar with is ftr|pal 2, sorc|wiz 4, spellsword 5, EK 9. Gives you some nice goodies.

There are certainly many other ways to do it, though. Try here for some rather extensive advice on the subject. For reference, the build I outlined above is referred to as the "quintessential gish," in post #15 in the link.

Edit: Naturally, Arcane Strike and Practiced Spellcaster are must-haves.

--Impeesa--

the Lorax · Apr 8, 2005

Rystil Arden said:
Curiosity insists: Why the 2nd level of Ranger? It can't be the Combat Style, can it?

Its one reason. He did mention that he was looking for a bit more fighter feats in his fighter/wizard build, and Combat Style gets you a feat.

Another reason is that both Reflex and Fort saves both go up at second level.

Another reason is to get more skill points (which is why you wait 3 levels to get it, you can focus them where you like)

CrazyDrake said:
yeah. why is it that no one mentioned spells word until jsut now. one level, jsut one level, give you +1 spellcasting class, d8 HD, AND ignore arcane spell failure 10%.

Actually I did mention it before then...

Rystil Arden · Apr 8, 2005

the Lorax said:
Its one reason. He did mention that he was looking for a bit more fighter feats in his fighter/wizard build, and Combat Style gets you a feat.

Another reason is that both Reflex and Fort saves both go up at second level.

Another reason is to get more skill points (which is why you wait 3 levels to get it, you can focus them where you like)

Actually I did mention it before then...

Its a very very limited feat, though, which you most likely won't be using with an Eldritch Knight compared with the free bonus feat from a level in Fighter (which is guaranteed not to provoke experience penalties).