Jackinthegreen
Explorer
And since they're known on the spontaneous side, the character can make scrolls of them then add them to his spellbook on the wizard side.
Ultimate Magus Build assistance
And since they're known on the spontaneous side, the character can make scrolls of them then add them to his spellbook on the wizard side.
Greenfield
Adventurer
Do you even need to make scrolls, or can you "copy from memory"?
aglondier
Explorer
The only downside to a mage build is the inability to hit the broad side of a barn at range. Easily fixed. Craft Wondrous Item feat at 3rd level, craft something that lets you cast Magic Missile (level 3 caster) at will. Base cost is about 6000gp, which means cost to make it is about 3000gp, easily within reach of a 4th level character. After that, the mage is guaranteed to do 2d4+2 (4-10) damage each round which easily puts them on par with most combat oriented types, and they can save their memorised slots for more utility and defence spells.
TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
And if you're really feeling cheesy, consider a Wizard7/Nar Demonbinder 1/Ultimate Magus X build. Fun to apply free Twin and Persistent spells borrowing NarD spell slots. Nar Demonbinder is from the Forgotten Realms book Unapproachable East, and can be found online here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030502a&page=2
Empirate
First Post
Surely thou art joking, right? It's not as if any wizard or other full caster actually needs a damage option after level 4. And if they do, why spend money on it? Some damage spells out there are actually pretty good. Besides, 2d4+2 is waaaaay less than what martial types do. Not that you're under any incentive to beat them at the damage game.
If you want a bit of reliable DPR on the side, consider a Reserve Feat, or just pick up a cheap wand, it's not as if you're ever going to burn through all 50 charges.
EDIT: no 4th level character I've ever seen had 3,000 gp just lying around, together with the option of spending it on a specific custom magic item. That kind of spare cash ought to go into scrolls of new spells, anyway, plus scribing materials. Or into your Blessed Book savings fund. Or into a lesser metamagic rod (Extend or Sculpt).
Jackinthegreen
Explorer
The rules are a bit fuzzy on it, but that's the safest option. Some DMs will allow copying from memory though.
Godlycomplex
First Post
I just recently made the switch from melee to caster and spent a large amount of time researching this build. However I feel just as lost now as when I started...lol
Based on some very strict guidelines set by my DM, I could only use printed books from wizards of the coast so no web or player based feats, spells, etc. Max 2 classes + 1 prestige
What I had in mind was a complete control caster.
What I settled for was 4wiz 1 beguiler 2um (we are only lvl 7, my fighter died because the party abandoned me in a hole full of undead ).
I took beguiler to focus only on int con wis and not split stats to a 4th direction ( uses int not cha for mod)
Feats I took were:
- practiced spell caster
-spellcasting prodigy
-insightful reflexes
As for spells I just baught them all for my wizard spell book and beguiler already has a spell book you get.
I found it difficult to research spell sources will so much player made content out there! (The same goes for feats as well.)
Specializing in enchantment. However this is about all I've managed to Come up with so far.
Based on some very strict guidelines set by my DM, I could only use printed books from wizards of the coast so no web or player based feats, spells, etc. Max 2 classes + 1 prestige
What I had in mind was a complete control caster.
What I settled for was 4wiz 1 beguiler 2um (we are only lvl 7, my fighter died because the party abandoned me in a hole full of undead ).
I took beguiler to focus only on int con wis and not split stats to a 4th direction ( uses int not cha for mod)
Feats I took were:
- practiced spell caster
-spellcasting prodigy
-insightful reflexes
As for spells I just baught them all for my wizard spell book and beguiler already has a spell book you get.
I found it difficult to research spell sources will so much player made content out there! (The same goes for feats as well.)
Specializing in enchantment. However this is about all I've managed to Come up with so far.
Last edited:
Empirate
First Post
Nice necro...
On your build: why the focus on Wis? Wis is not needed, from an optimisation standpoint, but can be nice for RP reasons. You're never going to Spot or Listen to much anything even with medium Wis, and will saves are covered by three classes with high will save bases. Spend the points on Int and Con instead, with Dex a nice third option (ray spells, AC, some skills, ref saves... INITIATIVE!).
Reflex saves are the least important saves you're going to make. If you want to be better at them, get an item. Failing one merely means you're taking a bit of extra damage most of the time - damage isn't horrible, because you're probably going to be able to mitigate many other damage sources (such as a Barbarian or Dire Rhino charging you) via defensive spells (Fly, Invisibility...). That said, Insightful Reflexes is not a terrible feat choice, but looks slightly worse than you could get. Or at least, slightly unneeded.
Spellcasting Prodigy is likewise a suboptimal feat. Try finding something with a little more oomph. In my book, any feat you spend a precious slot on ought to let you do something new and exciting, or at least provide a numerical bonus that actually makes a qualitative difference. Practiced Spellcaster is good, but besides that, you may want to look into Improved Familiar, Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Initiative, Flyby Attack. Or if you're going the Metamagic route, Arcane Thesis (ask if you can retrain this, though!), Split Ray, Sculpt Spell, Extend Spell, Metamagic School Focus (needs Spell Focus).
You will be a little feat strapped, so consider playing a Human or Strongheart Halfling. Those are great choices for an arcane caster anyway.
That all said, your success will likely come down to what you actually do with your character in play - tactics and spell use are very important when playing a caster, especially one as complicated as an Ultimate Magus. You're never going to run out of spells at this point, but your highest level spell slots will be severely limited. Also, you'll be limited by the amount of actions you can take. Consider burning lower level slots (esp. from your Beguiler side) on all kinds of marginally useful stuff in between combats and becoming your party's go-to for general utility, that's great fun and lets you do stuff all the time, not only in combat. Be creative! The Beguiler spell list can really be exploited for great value in many everyday situations!
On your build: why the focus on Wis? Wis is not needed, from an optimisation standpoint, but can be nice for RP reasons. You're never going to Spot or Listen to much anything even with medium Wis, and will saves are covered by three classes with high will save bases. Spend the points on Int and Con instead, with Dex a nice third option (ray spells, AC, some skills, ref saves... INITIATIVE!).
Reflex saves are the least important saves you're going to make. If you want to be better at them, get an item. Failing one merely means you're taking a bit of extra damage most of the time - damage isn't horrible, because you're probably going to be able to mitigate many other damage sources (such as a Barbarian or Dire Rhino charging you) via defensive spells (Fly, Invisibility...). That said, Insightful Reflexes is not a terrible feat choice, but looks slightly worse than you could get. Or at least, slightly unneeded.
Spellcasting Prodigy is likewise a suboptimal feat. Try finding something with a little more oomph. In my book, any feat you spend a precious slot on ought to let you do something new and exciting, or at least provide a numerical bonus that actually makes a qualitative difference. Practiced Spellcaster is good, but besides that, you may want to look into Improved Familiar, Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Initiative, Flyby Attack. Or if you're going the Metamagic route, Arcane Thesis (ask if you can retrain this, though!), Split Ray, Sculpt Spell, Extend Spell, Metamagic School Focus (needs Spell Focus).
You will be a little feat strapped, so consider playing a Human or Strongheart Halfling. Those are great choices for an arcane caster anyway.
That all said, your success will likely come down to what you actually do with your character in play - tactics and spell use are very important when playing a caster, especially one as complicated as an Ultimate Magus. You're never going to run out of spells at this point, but your highest level spell slots will be severely limited. Also, you'll be limited by the amount of actions you can take. Consider burning lower level slots (esp. from your Beguiler side) on all kinds of marginally useful stuff in between combats and becoming your party's go-to for general utility, that's great fun and lets you do stuff all the time, not only in combat. Be creative! The Beguiler spell list can really be exploited for great value in many everyday situations!
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