D&D 3E/3.5 3.5e 5-10th level campaign & fighter mage

[Shin Okada]

Thank you all for a lot of ideas. Now I am attracted by the idea of using Duskblade for qualifying for Abjurant Champion.

How about this?

Level 5: Human Warmage 4/Duskblade 1 (Battle Caster, Practiced Spellcaster/Warmage, another feat)
Level 6: Duskblade 2 (bonus Combat Casting feat, Close-Quarter Fighting)
Level 7: Spellsword 1
Level 8-12: Abjurant Champion (Arcane Strike at L9, another feat at L12)

This case, I cannot channel spells. But can keep having almost full spell-casting ability of Warmage with only -2 lower BAB than full-BAB builds.

This PC will wear medium armor and a light shield all the way. At level 6 he can take Shielded Casting feat from Races of Stone for not provoking AoO when casting a spell.
Edit: Oops! Many of the Warmage spells still has material and somatic component. So.... hmm, medium armor and a two-handed weapon? Shielded casting is something too good to miss. It seems that one and a half year of playing 4e erased a lot of 3.5e rules from my brain.

At 8th-level he will start to hurl area effect spells

At 9th-level he will start using Arcane Strike.

This PC will start with two 1st-level Duskblade spells. So, maybe I will start with Stand and Swift Expeditious Retreat. Then learn Resist Energy at Duskblade 2 for qualifying for Abjurant Champion.
Edit: I found that Warmage has an abjurant spell (Fire Trap) as a 2nd level spell. Thus, I don't need to choose Resist Energy as a Duskblade spell. Another swift spell, Blade of Blood, maybe? Jump seems to be useful, too.

 

[Arkhandus]

Resist Energy is so much more useful than Fire Trap or Jump, though. Blade of Blood is handy if you have some healing available afterward, probably should be taken instead of Stand, and Resist Energy instead of Swift Expeditious Retreat (or at least save SER for Duskblade 2; you might need Resist Energy at 5th-level to fend off Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, monster breath weapons, etc.).

I don't have the book for Abjurant Champion so I'm not sure what its prereqs are, but it seems better to enter at 6th if possible. Also don't know what exactly its benefits are, but taking Duskblade to lv3 for Arcane Channeling and Shocking Grasp ought to be worthwhile in and of itself for damage output.

I'd probably just start Warblade 1/Duskblade 4, then get Duskblade 5 and enter Jade Phoenix Mage after that. Full BAB all the way, plenty of options in combat so you don't have to spam the same attack/spell repeatedly..... Granted it's somewhat light on defense, but you could learn Crusader's Strike and/or Revitalizing Strike after a few JPM levels for some healing while attacking. Martial Study would probably be a good feat for 3rd and 9th level for Burning Blade and Death Mark, while the 1st-level and 3rd-level JPM maneuvers could be Flashing Sun and Fan the Flames or Fiery Riposte (or Crusader's Strike and Revitalizing Strike). But then, I like options a bit more than focused raw power.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'd do Crusader/Wizard/Jade Pheonix Mage and just not care about my charisma score. You lose out on a bonus to your already good will saves and some crappy 1/day smite. *Shrug* In return, you get a maneuver renewal mechanic that requires no actions on your part. Spellcasters like their actions, even their swift ones.

 

[Shin Okada]

Well, unfortunately, ToB would likely to be a banned book in the next campaign. When the book was released, we have examined the book and concluded that the book is a kind of 3.75e without proper editorial checks. Many of the materials in the book seem to be out of place in 3.5e and the book has some serious rule crushes which did not get appropriate errata.

But maybe I can re-discuss about the book with my friends.

Also, I am not sure if I prefer Wizard over Sorcerer or Warmage for the upcoming campaign. The DM says it will be a cliff-hanger campaign which we do not have much off-time during campaign, and also tend to have a lot of encounters per day. That will remove most of the strength from wizard.

Now, here is my plan B,C and D.

#Plan B
5: Duskblade 4/Warmage 2 (Combat Casting, Battle Caster, Practiced Spellcaster: Duskblade, Practiced Spellcaster: Warmage)
6: Warmage 2 (Close-Quarter Fighting)
7: Abjurant Champion 1
8: Abjurant Champion 2
9: Warmage 3 (Arcane Strike, lean Shield spell as a 2nd level spell using Eclectic Learning)
10: Abjurant Champion 3
11: Abjurant Champion 4
12: Abjurant Champion 5 (some feat)

This build gives me full caster-level for Warmage and good caster level for Duskblade. Thus, I can enjoy Lessor Orb spells at maximum strength, can channel 5d6 Shocking Grasp, and also use Resist Energy as a Duskblade spell in appropriate CL. Also, after level 9, I can enjoy using Shield spell augmented by Abjurant Champion's class features.

The main problem of this build is that in overall it lacks ranged firepower. I must wait till 10th-level to start hurling 3rd-level warmage spells.

Also, when starting at level 5, all I can rely on is medium armor. That may give him miserable AC till he gets better one (hopefully a suit of Mithral Full-Plate or something).

#Plan C
5: Warmage 3/Paladin 2 (Battle Caster, Combat Casting, Practiced Spellcaster: Warmage)
6: Warmage 4 (Close-Quarter Fighting)
7: Spellsword 1
8: Abjurant Champion 1
9: Abjurant Champion 2 (Arcane Strike)
10: Abjurant Champion 3
11: Abjurant Champion 4
12: Abjurant Champion 5 (some feat)

This build gives me better saves (from CHA) and better Warmage spell casting ability. I can start using 3rd-level Warmage spells at level 8th.

On the other hand, no Swift Expeditious Retreat, no Resist Energy, & no Shield spell (at Warmage 3, I cannot choose Shield even if I use Eclectic Learning substitute class feature in PHB2).
Edit: And... I have realized that there is no 1st-level abjuration spell in Warmage spell list. Thus, I must lean RESISTANCE as a 1st-level spell using Eclectic Learning!

Thus, this build lacks flexibility in tactics. And lacks resistant to energy. Also, as he does not have Shield spell, he must rely on some nice Animated Light Shield for gaining Shield bonus to AC at higher level.

#Plan D
5: Dwarf, Wizard 4/Fighter 1 (Defensive Casting, Exotic Shield Proficiency: Gauntlet Shield, Scribe Scroll, Shielded Casting)
6: Runesmith 1 (some feat)
7: Runesmith 2
8: Spellsword 1
9: Abjurant Champion 1 (Arcane Strike)
10: Abjurant Champion 2
11: Abjurant Champion 3
12: Abjurant Champion 4 (some feat)

This build is more solid than the other two. Very good in defense (Full-Plate plus Gauntlet Shield while wielding a weapon and casting spells). And, start to hurl 3rd-level spells at level 6. He may not rely on Shield spell too much as his Gauntlet Shield is good enough.

The main problem is the lack of spell-casting flexibility and the number of spell slots per day. In my experience, unless a wizard can predict what kind of foes he will likely to meet, he tends to end up not using some of his spells at all.

Also, at level 5th, he is not yet a Runesmith and thus must rely on non-somatic spells only (or can't wear armor and shield).

But, in overall, could be the most realistic build amongst those 3, I guess.

 

[Empirate]

I'm not a huge fan of those Warmage ideas. The Warmage's spell list basically does nothing an archer can't do - they merely get a bigger special effects budget. Damage, at range. OK, and from a certain level onwards, damage at range to multiple creatures.
Why not go Battle Sorcerer (or Stalwart Sorcerer)(or both!) instead? You'll get less spells/day, but those are less limited in what they can do, and include defensive gems such as Wings of Cover and Mirror Image, as well as staples like Glitterdust and Fly.

 

[Shin Okada]

After several weeks of consideration, I have indeed concluded that the previous builds are too restricted as caster. So now, I have started to focus on using wizard levels. Here are my plan E and F. Both are specialized wizard (conjurer). And both of them are taking Abrupt Jaunt alternative class feature in PHB2.


#Plan E
5: Human, Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 1 (Knowledge Devotion, Power Attack, Practiced Spellcaster: Wizard, Scribe Scroll)
6: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2 (Close-Quarter Fighting, Combat Casting)
7: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2/Spellsword 1
8: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2/Spellsword 2 (some bonus feat)
9: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2/Spellsword 3 (Arcane Strike)
10: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2/Spellsword 3/Abjurant Champion 1
11: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2/Spellsword 3/Abjurant Champion 2
12: Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Duskblade 2/Spellsword 3/Abjurant Champion 3 (some feat)

At level 5, he is wearing +1/Twilight Mithral Chin Shirt and using a two-handed Weapon. His main offensive method at this level is either Glitterdust or Power Attack + Wraithstrike. Fist of Stone seems to be a good buff spell, too.

He will have relatively low AC only with the chain shirt (AC17 or so). His total HPs will be low, too. So, he must rely on Abrupt Jaunt and defensive spells such as Shield.

Somewhere around level 7-9 he will start to wear +1/Twilight Mithral Full-Plate and will gain good AC (at spellsword 3 his arcane spell failure chance is 0% in this armor)

2 levels of Duskblade will give him some nice additional low-level spells such as Stand or True Strike. Also, gives him a bonus Combat Casting feat at level 2 (Character level 6) which is later needed to qualify for Abjurant Champion.


#Plan F
5: Warforged, Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 1 (Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Mithral Body, Power Attack, Practiced Spellcaster: Wizard, Scribe Scroll
6: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2 (Combat Casting)
7: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2/Abjurant Champion 1
8: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2/Abjurant Champion 2
9: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2/Abjurant Champion 3 (Arcane Strike)
10: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2/Abjurant Champion 4
11: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2/Abjurant Champion 5
12: Fighter 4/Wizard (Conjurer) 2/Abjurant Champion 5/? (some feat)

This build is using Armored Mage alternative Fighter class feature in Complete Mage. So he can ignore spell-failure chance in light-armor (mithral body) as long as the spell level is within his Fighter level +1. He will carry a reach weapon (glaive?) and probably a Battlefist.

He will be a tougher warrior than Plan E. But his spell-casting ability is not that great. Also, he lacks Knowledge Devotion.

It is good that he can learn Repair Damage spells as he is a Warforged.

 

[Dandu]

Well, unfortunately, ToB would likely to be a banned book in the next campaign. When the book was released, we have examined the book and concluded that the book is a kind of 3.75e without proper editorial checks. Many of the materials in the book seem to be out of place in 3.5e and the book has some serious rule crushes which did not get appropriate errata.

But maybe I can re-discuss about the book with my friends.

Good news, everyone.http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11890.0

 

[BENINHB]

Swashbuckler3/Wizard3/Spellsword1/AbjurantChampion5

I am playing this build right now at level 7 and having a blast.

TWF with a double weapon using Knowledge Devotion and +Int to Damage from Swash3 helps him hit hard in melee and all his spells give him lots of defense, versatility and battlefield control.

 

[Empirate]

Arcane Strike with TWF always looked interesting to me: you're not a caster, you're just augmenting your melee abilities with magic. Tons of magic. Better be a focused specialist, or you'll burn through your spells in no time.