Dwarf Ftr/Wiz to PrC advice

[JoeBlank]

Could someone do me a big favor and post the prereqs to the Magesmith PrC from Hammer and Helm? I am ordering the book, and I already have Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves. I am playing a Dwarf Fighter1/Wizard3 who about the gain his 4th level of wizard. With a goal toward either the Magesmith or Artificer (HoHF) PrC, I don't want to mis-spend any skill points at this level. Even worse, if I make it to 6th level before I get the book I will be forced to pick two feats (for 6th lvl and 5th lvl Wiz) without knowing the prereqs.

Thanks for your help. Any extra info on the class would be appreciated too. Which PrC do you think is better for a Dwarf who wants to craft magic items?

 

[JoeBlank]

Please have pity on me, and excuse this one little bump. If I could just get one response, it would make me feel less insignificant.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Presumably you are playing a PC and not an NPC, in which case it helps that the HOHF Artificer retains some ass-kickin' viability.
I can't answer for Hammer and Helm-- I know it's quality stuff but I don't have it handy to give you an answer.

But at least with regards to HOHF I have some familiarity with it.

With your one level of fighter you already have most of the feats covered; and as a dwarf you ought to have the two Craft skills just on general principle! Leaving only Spellcraft (again, you ought to have this as a wizard anyway) and Alchemy (this, you might not want to sink points in until 4th or 5th level-- give you some time to think about it). What's your INT modifier anyway? How many skill points per level?

Regardless of which PrC you go with, consider this:

While you are waiting for full magic-item-creating status, you can get a lot done with just the masterwork components section of the HOHF book. Your friends will love you for custom weapons and sets of armor, and when you are ready, you'll have masterwork quality items ready for enhancement.

Again, it's really cool for you and the other players to have handmade stuff, it adds a lot of character!


Wulf

 

[JoeBlank]

Thanks for the reply Wulf. In case I have not said it directly to you before, I dig HoHF, both Dwarves and Half-Orcs. One of the most fun books to pick up and look thru even after reading them cover-to-cover. Lots of ideas too. One of my favorite things about 3e is the multiclassing variables, and the idea of using one level of a favored class and then advancing in another one. Your books make perfect use of this.

My Dwarf is a PC, and I do want to retain ass-kickin' viability. The Artificer is an almost perfect fit, but I want to keep my options open. Doesn't it also require Craft Magic Arms & Armor? Although perfect for a dwarf, in our campaign I don't need that feat as much right now. We don't have much magic available to buy, but we seem to find magic weapons regularly. The less common Wonderous Items, and even wands of specific spells, are harder to come by. So is cash. In fact, I may take Craft Wonderous and Magic Artisan (FR: reduces money and XP costs to 75% for one item creation feat) at 6th level. This would put off Artificer to 9th, when he gets another feat.

INT is only 16, so 5 skill points per level. Of course, the character already has plenty of craft skills, and should have no problem meeting that and the other skill requirements for Artificer, with the exception of Alchemy, which I will have to work on. And I do like the masterwork components in HoHF: Dwarves. Of our 4 main PCs, 3 of them use weapons crafted by my dwarf character as their main or secondary weapon.

Thanks again for your help.