What are the most powerful/cheesiest way to build two 3rd level casters?

[Jolly Giant]

Last night I got invited to play in a 2-day mini-campaign next weekend. The DM warned us that he wanted to make the adventure really, really deadly, and he encouraged us all to min-max and use every cheesy trick we can to make our characters as powerful as possible. He even wanted of us to make 2 characters each, so we'd have a back-up in case the original is killed.

Since this isn't how we usually think when making characters, I ask the good people of ENWorld for help. I'll be playing a cleric and my wife will be playing a wizard, the characters will be 3rd level, non-evil and have standard wealth for their level. We can use any 3.x book from WotC (plus Mercenaries from AEG, since the DM really likes that book). For myself, I'm thinking a human cleric of Pelor and wifey is thinking grey elf specialist wizard, but we're both open for suggestions.

So what do you think will be the best spells, feats, magic items, etc. for our characters?

 

[AFGNCAAP]

My recommendations:

The wizard, with access to 2nd-level spells, should know scorching ray. That will also allow the prerequisite of a 2nd-level Fire spell for taking the Fiery Burst reserve feat (from Complete Mage). Basically, as long as that fire spell is memorized but not cast, the caster can create a 5' radius fiery blast at 1d6/spell level (2d6 for 2nd-level spell) out to 30' as a supernatural ability, with no limits on how many times a day it can be used.

The cleric should take Healing as a domain, and Augment Healing (from Complete Divine) as a feat: turns the dice +1/caster level to dice +2/caster level.

There's a healing-based Reserve feat in Complete Champion, mentioned in the excerpt at the Wizards D&D site. If your PC qualifies for that, you may want to go with it.

Combat Casting would be a must-have, I think. Eschew Materials would be beneficial as well. If you could take Flaws (from Unearthed Arcana), then maybe take 1 or 2 to get extra feats. Skill Focus (Concentration) would work nicely with Combat
Casting. I'd also recommend Rapid Reload if either PC uses a crossbow (light, preferably); or, go with a sling for a PC with a positive Strength bonus. The Able Learner feat from Races of Destiny is great for a human--all skill ranks cost 1 point, though class & cross-class maximums still apply.

If you were playing 4th level PCs, I'd recommend the elf and human Paragon classes from Unearthed Arcana: the elf paragon stacks nicely with wizard, and the human paragon works well all-around. Only trade off is that you lose a level of caster, but you gain +2 to a stat at 3rd level Paragon (any for a human; +2 Int for an elf).
Throw the +1 to a stat at 4th level in there, and it's very, very nice.

I'd go with a high Int & Dex for the elf wizard, for obvious reasons. If possible, try to keep Str & Con at least 10 or higher; no Str penalty would let the elf use bows with no problem. Have 12+ in Wis, to further bolster that Will save. The wizard should cover Spellcraft, Knowledge (arcana), and Concentration well with max ranks; however, at least a rank in other Knowledge skills not covered by other PCs would be a boon as well.

The human cleric should go with a high Wis & Cha, for obvious reasons. Try to keep Dex and Int at least 10 or higher, and go with 12+ in Str and Con if possible--use those medium and heavy armor proficiencies as much as possible. Skill ranks should go into Concentration, Heal, and Knowledge (religion). Go for 5+ ranks in the Knowledge to get a synergy bonus to turn checks. Sun and Healing are optimal domains. If feasible, get a rank in the other Knowledge skills for clerics, as well as Spellcraft.

Another cleric option: take Improved Shield Bash (PHB II), Shield Specialization (heavy shield) (PHB II), and Shield Ward (PHB II). Makes the shield very effective as a defensive and offensive item, which would be great for going up to fallen comrades and healing them.

 

[hopeless]

A Quest for Characters of Note

Last night I got invited to play in a 2-day mini-campaign next weekend. The DM warned us that he wanted to make the adventure really, really deadly, and he encouraged us all to min-max and use every cheesy trick we can to make our characters as powerful as possible. He even wanted of us to make 2 characters each, so we'd have a back-up in case the original is killed.

Since this isn't how we usually think when making characters, I ask the good people of ENWorld for help. I'll be playing a cleric and my wife will be playing a wizard, the characters will be 3rd level, non-evil and have standard wealth for their level. We can use any 3.x book from WotC (plus Mercenaries from AEG, since the DM really likes that book). For myself, I'm thinking a human cleric of Pelor and wifey is thinking grey elf specialist wizard, but we're both open for suggestions.

So what do you think will be the best spells, feats, magic items, etc. for our characters?

The grey elven specialist wizard will definitely need spell focus in their speciality and you "might" want to consider taking a level as sorceror in case you want to retain some of the spells you can't cast as a specialist, although it also depends on what the speciality is going to be after all Extend spell is really useful to Conjurers, Transmuters, etc.
Eschew Material also if you want to avoid the problem of spell components (except for the truly expensive version greater than 1gp in cost (listed cost that is)).

As for the priest of pelor you might want to consider Sacred Healing which boosts your healing spells and/or Extra Turning if you suspect its going to be an undead rich campaign.
You might want to consider picking up Brew Potion of Craft Wand at some point as you might find having a wand of healing a very useful backup when spells run low.

What kind of magical items is allowed?
The wizard will definitely need a bag of holding even a type 1 is especially valuable to a wizard.

 

[Evilhalfling]

the key for min/making a 3rd level wizard, esp in a one shot are scrolls.
I second the Fiery reserve feat, it will really add to your staying power.
Scroll 1: see invisibility, knock, (300gp)
Scroll 2: (7th lvl caster) magic missile (x2) (350gp)
Scroll 3: fly, fireball (700gp)
Cloak of resistance +1
350 gp for horse? and other equipment
if your DM gives you extra xp for your own scrolls -
scroll 4: shield, mage armor, ray of enfeeblement (37gp, 3xp)

 

[pawsplay]

For the human cleric of Pelor, I'd go with Healing and Strength. Weapon will be the morningstar, armor will be masterwork plate. For feats: Augment Healing, Toughness, Improved Initiative.

Grey elf wizard conjurer, prohibited domains necromancy and enchantment (you can use illusions to fool people, and neither work on a variety of nonliving opponents). For items: just lots and lots of scrolls, a rapier, and a light crossbow. You don't need anything else. Familiar is a toad. For feats: Spell Focus (conjuration), Augment Summoning. Since you had to skimp on taking Improved Initiative, you'll want a good Dex. Summoning fiendish wolves works really well.

 

[Chimera]

If you're going to go for a Ray caster, then really go for it.

Feats: Eschew Materials, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.

High Dex.

Then work spells with Ranged Touch Attacks (no saves) such as Ray of Enfeeblement and Scorching Ray.

If you're allowed the Spell Compendium, add in: Lesser Orb spells; Rays of Stupidity, Ice, Sting, Weakness, Sickness, Rainbow, etc.

Memorize your spells as if you are a combat Sorcerer and leave all the non-combat and/or specialized spells (such as Benign Transposition) for Scrolls.

 

[Aramax]

Ill leave the min-max to others but I want to echo above-SCROLLS<SCROLLS<SCROLLS!

 

[Slife]

MOST powerful? I believe this will suffice as a method of gaining power.

 

[Jolly Giant]

Thanks for all your input, everyone.

Sorry I'm so late with my response, but I've been out of town for a few days. I've been tinkering with my cleric while I was away, and here's what I've come up with:

Originally I was thinking about making him melee oriented, but then I heard the two other guys were making a fighter and a paladin, so I figure we have melee covered. I therefore decided to focus entirely on the spellcasting. Not having to worry about dishing out melee damage, I decided to make him a gnome instead of human; for the +1 to attacks and AC, the +2 Con and the low-light vision.

I went for the Divine Spellpower feat from Comp. Div., and that lead me to take Extra Turning (giving me a total of 10 turn attempts per day). The DM allowed the flaws rules from UA, so I picked two that gave me -1 to AC and -2 on melee attacks respectively. For the bonus feats this earned me, I picked Reach Spell and Divine Metamagic. I always thought Reach Spell was particularly useful for clerics (and druids); since you can not only harm your enemies, but also heal your allies, from a distance. Being able to use the feat spontaneously; like I can now, is of course even better!

Working with the potential boost from Divine Spellpower, I eventually decided to go for the Good and Healing domains, since these also increase my caster level (for certain spells anyway). I found some powerful good spells in BoED that I plan to use. With a roll of 16 or better on the d20, I can now cast spells with the good or healing descriptors at caster level 8! That's gotta be pretty good for a 3rd level character, don't you think?


Edit: The mrs. hasn't had as much time to work on her wizard, but she's currently leaning towards an evoker, with Fiery Reserve and a composite (+1 str! ) longbow as backup.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Is Eschew Materials really any good? From my understanding of the feat, all it means is "Don't need a spell component pouch."

Certainly, if the DM likes denying PCs spell component pouches, then by all means, this is a good feat. However, if the DM isn't inclined to do that, then the feat reads, "5 gp."

Besides, if the DM is inclined to deny spell component pouches, then expect scrolls and spellbooks to become similarly waterlogged and unusable. A sorcerer with reserve feats becomes much better.