FrankTrollman
First Post
Looking at this as a Wizard's PrC is an error. It's not a specialized caster, it's a magical archer. Note the Requirements: 3 Feats, BAB 5+, and 1st-level spellcasting. It hasn't got much Wizard in it.
Just by taking wizarding to the point of casting 1st level spells you are behind on your Warrior by at least one level. Wizard gives you no BAB, and no Warrior abilities - putting you at least an entire level behind. Remember that being 2 levels behind you are half a character, and so on.
So the minimum entry is:
6th level character with 5 levels of Warrior and 1 level of Wizard. You are a Warrior and a Wizard. You are:
1 level behind as a Warrior, this makes you 71% of a character of your level.
but you are also
5 levels behind as a Wizard - which means that you are simultaneously 18% of a character of your level.
Altogether that's about 89% of a character of your level - weak, but playable. The problem is that if you ever fall any farther behind in Wizardry or Fighting you are less than 89% of a character of your level. And that's too much.
That's how the game balance math actually works out. Being a Fighter Wizard is unbalanced if you are more than a certain number of total levels behind in magic and fighting vs. a single classed character. Level proportion doesn't make any difference at all.
So any time you don't get a spellcaster level, that level had better be worth two levels of Barbarian (including BAB and Hit Dice) - or the character is falling farther behind.
And since they are already sub par - that's inexcusable.
-Frank