Fighter/Wizard/Rogue

[Prism]

I have also converted a Ftr/Rog/Wiz from a combination of 2e and rolemaster and I found some of the most useful options were in Unearthed Arcana

Being human I found that human paragon really helped keep the mix between combat, spells and skills. Although it seems your character is an elf you could houserule to allow this class

Also under the skills section there is a feat called Skill Knowledge which allows you to take 2 skills and make them class skills for your whole progression. This lets you keep such things as disable, open lock etc high whilst taking a non rogue level. With a good INT from being a wizard you can get anywhere up from about 6 skill points a level

My end 14th level progression was Rog1/Ftr2/Wiz3/HumanParagon3/EldritchKnight5

This gives me good skills, a pretty decent BAB, average hit points, and spells as a 9th level caster. I'm not at all bothered about the lack of sneak attack as I felt that skills emphasized my original character far more than backstab but you could mix in some Arcane Trickster levels too as some of the others have suggested

 

[two]

Flavor

If you want a fighter/spell caster/rogue type, you could also do something like throw Bard into the mix.

So, a build like a Fighter4/Bard6 (start with Bard1 of course) has very nice skills and skillpoints, lots of skills (nearly the equal of a rogue), and can be "roguey" if you just concentrate on those hide/sneak/move silently, etc. skills.

You don't get sneak attack bonuses, but you do get the bard-related abilities and a not insignificant caster level. As a Bard16/Fighter4 you can be a strong melee or archer, with a caster level of 16, a good mix of spells, Use Magic Device skill for scrolls and wands, and maxxed out hide/move silently/etc.

Can't remove traps though.

I just feel any mage/fighter mix should look to the Bard, even if it is ultimately rejected. Having a good caster level is a hidden benefit of a bard (a Bard20 greater dispells just as well as a Wizard20).

 

[Felix]

I'll try to provide the other less spellcasty way: keep your Wiz levels maxed at 3 and continue with either the Ftr or Rog levels depending on how you want your character to taste. Second level spells are the best utility type spells so you want access to those. Lock in the Wiz 3.

Multiclassing with Fighter levels is best when you have two or four levels. Either 2 feats for two levels, or three for four, with the option to pick up Weap Spec. So if you want to specialize in some kind of weapon, go 4, otherwise go 2. We'll say 2 since you haven't mentioned a signature weapon. Ftr 2.

Go Rogue all the rest of the way. Rogue I think is the best class to multi with since all classes can benefit from its skills, Reflex save, and sneak attack.

Unfortunately, you're an Elf. Meaning this build will net you an XP penalty because your Fighter and Rogue levels don't match up. If you're into this kind of a build, you could switch to half-elf, or you could keep your Fighter and Rogue levels even all the way up.

If you want a fighter/spell caster/rogue type, you could also do something like throw Bard into the mix.

Also something to think about. I agree.

 

[mikebr99]

Also something to think about. I agree.

I also agree... sounds like a straight bard (= ftr/wiz/rog) to me. Just downplay the singing...


Mike

 

[iwatt]

Or just go Rogue/Wizard. 3.X rogues are much more combat effective than tehy used to be (3/4 BAB much better than 1/2 Thaco progression). This will help you avoid spreading yourself thin on saving throws.

I've noticed the problem with bringing 2e chars into 3.X is that people try to stay faithful tos the classes they ahd before. This get's even worse when they try to add in the Kits as well. "My PC was a gladiator, so I have to take the Gladiator PrClass". which further weakens the class. You should really go Rogue/Wizard. If you really want some combat feats, go down the Eldritch Knight. That can represent you Fighter levels even better. But truth be told, you should just stick to 2 classes and find a way to minimize you great weakness....Fort saves. Nobody targets a Wizard with that many will saves, and your evasion will take care of many Reflex saves, but every single spellcaster will start aiming Fort saves at you. Which added to your elf nature (-2 Con) will be even weaker than normal. And a low Fort save is one of the suckisest things to have in DnD (IMO).

 

[atra2]

jwatt: Agreed on Fort. Virtually all the Save-Or-Die or tough poisons go vs. Fort. Just one reason I enjoy Dwarves. (+2 CON *and* +2 vs. all spells and poisons)

Other poster on the dwarf w/ feather fall and true strike: nice combo. It's even better because both those spells are Verbal only, so no arcane failure.

Rogue/Wiz/Arcane Trickster is a fine combo. Just get Practiced Spellcaster, only take 3 rogue levels, and realize your strengths and weaknesses.

However, the original poster had some fighting ability in there, so I tried to preserve that by pointing him to Spellsword and Eldritch Knight whilst keeping some of the key rogue abilities.

One way to avoid the combat problems the low BAB of wizard causes is to start this elf as Rogue 1, advance to fighter 1, then rogue 2, fighter 2, then rogue 3, and now with +4 BAB at level 5 and a good number of feats, you are reasonably established as a Light Fighter who will now add some Wizard levels to gain some tricks.

Another build I didn't think of earlier would be something like:

Rogue7/Wizard1 (Diviner) which grants you True Strike and other helpful items. With Practiced Spellcaster, you'd be caster level 5, could cast a 5-round grease, lure a foe into attacking you in the dark alley, he slips and falls, and you take a +4 to hit Sneak Attack on him from your Hiding position. Toss in a level of ShadowDancer for Hide in Plain Sight if you like.

The real choice is whether this character was 75% of one class with a taste of the other two, or whether he truely was a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

Rog2/Ftr1/Wiz6/SS1/EK5 w/ Practiced Spellcaster is caster level 15 and has spell
slots as an 11th level Wizard. Not a bad choice, though Bard 15 can be pretty
powerful too, as a Buffer. (Consider Haste + Good Hope + one of (Inspire Greatness
or Suggestion, or simply yet another Bard Buff!)

A Bard is the best 5th character for many parties, though veteran RPGA players
often consider any slot not filled by a tank (read: greatsword power attacker) or
cleric (whether in tank, healer, buffer, whatever role) to be "wasted." (IE, does not
significantly contribute to combat.) The bard or ftr/rog/wiz often has skill ranks spent
in places others choose not to, and can excel in his niche. This is especially true in
a homegame.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

My recommendations would depend upon the role you wish to take in combat. As a fighter are you an archer or a melee fighter?

If an archer, Ftr 2/Rog 3/Wiz 4/Spellsword 1 could work well. (Future levels either Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster). You would be able to cast Blink and Flame Arrow to add fire and sneak attack dice to your arrows. You would be able to use Mirror Image for defense and would be quite good with the various ray spells like Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Exhaustion, Scorching Ray, etc (especially if you took the Practiced Spellcaster feat). You'd also be able to cast Heroism to help with your attacks and skills. You'd never be a particularly effective blaster wizard and you'd need to pick only a few rogue skills to be good in (since you won't have enough skill points to keep more than 3-4 at max ranks) but you'll have a lot of offensive flexibility, a good amount of offensive power, and you should be able to make up for some of your skill deficiencies with magic. (I don't pick locks, I cast Knock. I don't hide, I cast Invisibility, etc). Key feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Practiced Spellcaster, Weapon Focus (with your bow)

As a melee character, your options will be a bit more restricted. You could pursue the same class combination as listed above but use Eldritch Knight and/or Spellsword and forget about Arcane Trickster. With a decent int, you could still keep your Search and Disable Device skills up to par by buying the ranks cross class. However, you'd really struggle to keep up as a melee damage dealer. (Recommended feats/spells: Blink, Alter Self, Mirror Image, Shield, True Strike, Ray of Enfeeblement, Heroism; Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Combat Reflexes, Expert Tactician (Song and Silence), Arcane Strike (Sword and Fist), Weapon Focus (your melee weapon).

You could also keep the wizard levels to a minimum. Ftr 4/Rog 4/Wiz 2 using Shield and True Strike and a few scrolls of higher level spells could be a viable character. If you took Practiced Spellcaster, you might get some good use out of Chill Touch doing 1d6 damage/round with touch attacks (3d6 if it's a sneak attack too which starts to get respectable) while using combat expertise for full or Burning Hands and/or Color Spray (though your DC would be rather pathetic, you don't need to worry about getting close as much as an ordinary wizard does). Taking two more levels of Wizard would qualify you for Spellsword and you could then alternate Spellsword with levels in a roguish prestige class (otherwise, you'd face xp penalties since you're an elf), ending up: Ftr 4/Rog 4/Wizard 4/Spellsword 4/Roge p-class 4 at 20th level. In combat, your attack bonus and hit points would be similar to an ordinary rogue. Your sneak attack would be lower but you'd be able to agument your abilities with feats and some low-level spells (through the spellsword's channel spell ability).

 

[two]

Very simple

Just had a very simple idea for a solution.

Use a straight bard build, but:

Swap out all bardic music/lore abilities, and replace them with 3/4 Sneak Attack progression. i.e. 7d6 at Bard20, sneak attack dice spaced out over the Bard1 to Bard20 spread. 1 sneak attack die at Bard2, 2 at Bard5, 3 at Bard8, etc. or whatever.

So now the Bard has 3/4 BAB, 3/4 Spell, and 3/4 Sneak Attack, plus 3/4 skills.

Throw in "disarm traps" and you have a single class Fighter/Mage/Thief, reasonably good at all three but obviously not a match in any one respect for a pure F, M or T. Note that this bard won't have evasion or the special roguey abilities, a familiar, or bonus feats. Seems like an ok trade off. I don't think anyone will call it overpowered, at least I don't think so.