Enchanter

[drek1]

Hello all,

I'm playing an enchantment specialist wizard and I'm having a heck of a time finding a good PrC to move into. He's a villain that I based on a back story from Book of Horrors (the possessed child plot outline except it's a he not a she).

The character's name is Caitiff (look it up) and I did a good job not letting on to the rest of the party he was a bad seed. Now he's set to make a come back as a full fledged bad guy and I need to sort out a few levels. I found an online homebrew manual dealing with enchanters at RPG drivethru, but there must be some more out there? The Mindbender PrC is ok, but it looks like it's hamstringed pretty hard for benefits that don't add much value at higher levels (or I might be wrong here).

Suggestions are welcome.
Thank you,
dB

 

[Thanael]

The Mindbender PrC is in Complete Arcane.

 

[Felix]

The Mindbener is worth it for the first level only, when you get Telepathy. There are some other neat things, and it makes an adequate NPC enchanter villain, but the loss of 5 caster levels is a heavy price to pay.

I don't have the book on me at the moment, but the Master Specialist from Complete Mage isn't bad for any specialist wizard. If you've the book, I'd take a look at that one.

That being said, I'd be very careful about playing a PC villain. D&D is a team game, and a traitor is going to be hard to swallow for the other players. Being evil and nefarious is one thing, but I'd take care to make sure that your evil plans jive with the goals of your party. As soon as you become confrontational, the easiest thing from a gameplay perspective is for the character to become an NPC, separate from the party, and for you to come in with a new character. It's a very tough tightrope for you to walk otherwise.

EDIT: Does your DM know your plans? You may get help from him if he's onboard, and he's the last one you want to surprise with something like this.

 

[mvincent]

I'm playing an enchantment specialist wizard and I'm having a heck of a time finding a good PrC to move into.

I personally went Wizard->Loremaster->Archmage with my last enchanter.

 

[Nifft]

The Mindbender PrC is ok, but it looks like it's hamstringed pretty hard for benefits that don't add much value at higher levels (or I might be wrong here).

Nope, you're right. Mindbender PrC is crap (except for that first level). A straight-up generalist can do everything the Mindbender can do (except more often and with a higher DC), and can also function as a generalist.

Playing an evil Enchanter is more about how you use your regular core spells than it is about getting extra powers. There may be some feats which are good for you (like Unsettling Enchantment), but generally you should just be able to use suggestion and dominate person to awesome effect.

Cheers, -- N

 

[roguerouge]

Go with one level of Mindbender (which is close to being Rary's Telepathic Bond) and then 10 levels of Master Specialist. Enchanter gets some of the best powers from that PrC, actually.

 

[SomebodyInteresting]

I don't have much to add to the conversation on Enchanters, magic not being my forte (unless you just wanna pick Archmage, but that's a bit high-level) but the Mindbender is an excellent choice for all sorts of villains at low levels. What level range are we looking for?

 

[drek1]

I actually started grad. school last month and had to move out of the state that the game was in. Since my guy was sort of in it for himself from the beginning the DM used that to make it look like I had joined the bad guys, in reality I was always out for myself.

In the fall, I'll go back to visit the old group and only the DM knows I'm coming back. Dramatic entrance.... I'll accuse the party of abandoning me to the bad guys and look for revenge. The whole thing is a misunderstanding, but it doesn't matter. Hopefully my guy won't die in the process and everyone else in the group will be stunned at the grand schemes that the DM and I constructed over the previous year. Then as quick as he showed up so again does he vanish.

I'm thinking a lot of moral choices in the encounter, that's why an enchanter was a good idea. Get a lot of innocents to do my bidding. The group tends to rush into things and not think about who or what is going on.
Thanks for the help, I'll look over the Master Specialist.
ciao,
dB

 

[ardentmoth]

This is similar to what I wanted to do with a wight PC.

I kinda buried it int he back of my mind when I settled on remaining good-aligned (something a wight is not likely to do) and created a bizarre, monk-based ninja mummy. (he had to hide his undead flesh from the rest of the party at first )

fun times, springing surprises on the party like that. cleric tried to turn me, failed, so he detected evil as an after thought and discovered that i wasn't. lol, even more surprised.

good times...

 

[moritheil]

I recommend Mindbender 1/Divine Oracle X/Fatespinner 5.

The divine oracle levels tie into the whole "I know what you are thinking, and I know all your moves before you plan them out" angle.