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General Tabletop Discussion
Character Builds & Optimization
Arcane Heirophant vs Ultimate Magus... trying to make a character concept good enough to not suck
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<blockquote data-quote="Argyle King" data-source="post: 6211752" data-attributes="member: 58416"><p>I have recently been invited to a 3.5 game. The concept I have for my character is that he at some point realized he had the blood of dragons in him. After that realization, he sought to better understand it, and, if possible, foster the inborn power he believes he has.</p><p></p><p>The two options I've looked at for bringing this idea to life are 1) Sorcerer/Wizard and eventually going into Ultimate Magus, and 2) Druid/Wizard and eventually going into Arcane Heirophant.</p><p></p><p><u></u></p><p><u>Arcane Heirophant</u> </p><p>It's a prestige class designed around a druid/arcane caster mix. It is found in Races of The Wild. The biggest downside I see is delayed access to some of the more powerful spells due to needing to multiclass. The biggest upside I see is that you gain a "companion familiar" which is a druid companion which also gains the benefits of an arcane familiar. Wizard/Druid is the quickest path to it; it's also a path which makes it possible to still get 9th level spells in at least one of the classes. (Possibly both if you don't mind using a little cheese and taking Mystic Theurge after Arcane Heirophant runs out of levels.) From what I can tell, it seems like it would be strong in the beginning, weak during the middle levels (due to lagging behind for a bit,) but then potentially very good at high levels. I would also be taking a Draconic Feat which allows my character level to count as sorcerer level for the purpose of qualifying for Draconic Feats. </p><p></p><p>The fluff idea behind going this route would be that the character sought to better understand the nature of his draconic heritage. The wizard half would be the studious pursuit of understanding his own nature, and the druid half would be time he spends meditating upon his blood and further connecting to his inherent abilities; bringing them forth so he can study them. </p><p></p><p><u></u></p><p><u></u></p><p><u>Ultimate Magus</u></p><p>I am not looking at my books as I type this, but I believe this PrC is found in Complete Mage. It is a PrC designed around mixing Wizard with a spontaneous arcane caster (Sorcerer, but I've also toyed with the idea of Beguiler for the spontaneous half.) The main upside I see is having spell slots out the wahzoo, and having some pretty neat tricks which become possibly by mixing the two styles of casting. The main downside is (if I've done the math correctly,) I'd never have access to 9th level spells. There are three levels in the PrC in which one of your arcane classes does not advance, and you need to multiclass at least one level to meet the requirements... basically, you end up giving up four levels of one of your classes, so you fall just shy of ever getting 9th level spells in either class. In contrast, the Arcane Heirophant (above) only requires that you burn 3 levels (by multiclassing,) and that still leaves you at the minimum threshold for both wizard and druid to possibly gain 9th level spells. </p><p></p><p>The fluff idea behind this is basically the same as above, but involves more personal reflection rather than going out into the woods somewhere to meditate and understand nature. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm assuming that either option is probably less optimized than just a single-classes character. I'm fine with that. I'm not looking to break the game or go too crazy with optimization. I just want to be able to play the concept I have in mind and not being required to severely gimp myself in the long run to do it. The campaign will be starting at level 2.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Argyle King, post: 6211752, member: 58416"] I have recently been invited to a 3.5 game. The concept I have for my character is that he at some point realized he had the blood of dragons in him. After that realization, he sought to better understand it, and, if possible, foster the inborn power he believes he has. The two options I've looked at for bringing this idea to life are 1) Sorcerer/Wizard and eventually going into Ultimate Magus, and 2) Druid/Wizard and eventually going into Arcane Heirophant. [U] Arcane Heirophant[/U] It's a prestige class designed around a druid/arcane caster mix. It is found in Races of The Wild. The biggest downside I see is delayed access to some of the more powerful spells due to needing to multiclass. The biggest upside I see is that you gain a "companion familiar" which is a druid companion which also gains the benefits of an arcane familiar. Wizard/Druid is the quickest path to it; it's also a path which makes it possible to still get 9th level spells in at least one of the classes. (Possibly both if you don't mind using a little cheese and taking Mystic Theurge after Arcane Heirophant runs out of levels.) From what I can tell, it seems like it would be strong in the beginning, weak during the middle levels (due to lagging behind for a bit,) but then potentially very good at high levels. I would also be taking a Draconic Feat which allows my character level to count as sorcerer level for the purpose of qualifying for Draconic Feats. The fluff idea behind going this route would be that the character sought to better understand the nature of his draconic heritage. The wizard half would be the studious pursuit of understanding his own nature, and the druid half would be time he spends meditating upon his blood and further connecting to his inherent abilities; bringing them forth so he can study them. [U] Ultimate Magus[/U] I am not looking at my books as I type this, but I believe this PrC is found in Complete Mage. It is a PrC designed around mixing Wizard with a spontaneous arcane caster (Sorcerer, but I've also toyed with the idea of Beguiler for the spontaneous half.) The main upside I see is having spell slots out the wahzoo, and having some pretty neat tricks which become possibly by mixing the two styles of casting. The main downside is (if I've done the math correctly,) I'd never have access to 9th level spells. There are three levels in the PrC in which one of your arcane classes does not advance, and you need to multiclass at least one level to meet the requirements... basically, you end up giving up four levels of one of your classes, so you fall just shy of ever getting 9th level spells in either class. In contrast, the Arcane Heirophant (above) only requires that you burn 3 levels (by multiclassing,) and that still leaves you at the minimum threshold for both wizard and druid to possibly gain 9th level spells. The fluff idea behind this is basically the same as above, but involves more personal reflection rather than going out into the woods somewhere to meditate and understand nature. I'm assuming that either option is probably less optimized than just a single-classes character. I'm fine with that. I'm not looking to break the game or go too crazy with optimization. I just want to be able to play the concept I have in mind and not being required to severely gimp myself in the long run to do it. The campaign will be starting at level 2. [/QUOTE]
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