Help me make a combat teleporter without psionics

[Piratecat]

Personally, I wouldn't trade in the armor. I find just remembering to roll the spell failure every time to be kind of a pain, and I love movement way too much to want to lose 10' of it. For me it wouldn't be worth the +3 to AC, especially when there are lots of buff spells out there that help AC.

 

[green slime]

...Fighter 1/Conjurer 5/Eldritch Knight 7/Spellsword 1. ...

Str 24
Dex 16
Con 16
Int 16
Wis 14
Cha 11

HP 87
AC 24 (+7 +3 mithril chain shirt, +3 Dex, +1 natural armor, +2 deflection, +1 luck)
I'm considering getting +2 twilight mithril full-plate instead. I'd end up with a 15% spell failure chance, and I could ignore 10% of that with Spellsword, so I'd only have a 5% spell failure chance. A difference of 3 points of AC, and reducing my speed by 10. Plus 9000 gp or so because mithril fullplate costs more than mithril chain shirt. I don't know if it's worth it.
...
Feats - Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Combat Expertise, Whirlwind Attack, Power Attack, Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior), Arcane Thesis (dimension leap - PHB 2), Scribe Scroll, Quicken Spell
...
Items: Boots of Striding and Springing, +3 mithril shirt, +4 greatsword, ring of freedom of movement, handy haversack, ring of protection +2, amulet of natural armor +1, ioun stone of +1 Luck AC, gloves of dexterity +2, belt of strength +4, goggles of night, cloak of resistance +2
...
6th - True Seeing, Acid Fog, Summon Monster 6
5th - Storm Touch (Magic of Eberron), Dimension Shuffle, quickened dimension leap x2
4th - Greater Invisibility, Evard's Black Tentacles, Orb of Electricity (SC), Flame Whips (SC)
3rd - Melf's Unicorn Arrow x2 (PHB 2), Lightning Bolt, Regroup (PHB2), Dimension Step (SC) x2
2nd - Wraithstrike (SC) x3*, Rope Trick, Baleful Transposition (SC), Dimension Leap (Magic of Eberron)
1st - True Strike x1, Shield, Benign Transposition (SC) x3, Weapon Shift (SC)

*Yes, he's actually allowing Wraithstrike.
I hope that's not too weak for a 14th level character.

My main concern is for your armour: AC24 for a 14th level melee character strikes me as "somewhat lacking". On the other hand, I agree with Pkitty that you don't want the added arcane spell failure and lack of movement. Personally, I'd lower the bonus on the weapon to a +3, in order to raise bonus on the armour, and grab a buckler with a bonus (you won't worry too much about the penalty to hit when using wraithstrike). Beyond that, I'd still keep aiming for better AC items. No displacement?

 

[Iku Rex]

I ended up going with a fairly solid Fighter 1/Conjurer 5/Eldritch Knight 7/Spellsword 1.

Looks solid. (Just don't take any more spellsword levels.)

I trust you have the abrupt jaunt ability from the PHBII?

AC 24 (+7 +3 mithril chain shirt, +3 Dex, +1 natural armor, +2 deflection, +1 luck)
I'm considering getting +2 twilight mithril full-plate instead. I'd end up with a 15% spell failure chance, and I could ignore 10% of that with Spellsword, so I'd only have a 5% spell failure chance. A difference of 3 points of AC, and reducing my speed by 10. Plus 9000 gp or so because mithril fullplate costs more than mithril chain shirt. I don't know if it's worth it.

Your AC is too low. A full plate would reduce your speed and prevent you from tumbling though. You could make it "feycraft" (DMGII) to get rid of the ASF.

Feats - Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Combat Expertise, Whirlwind Attack, Power Attack, Arcane Strike (Complete Warrior), Arcane Thesis (dimension leap - PHB 2), Scribe Scroll, Quicken Spell

Yes, the teleport-whirlwind trick is neat. But IMO it's too great an investment for too little return. You're not going to see a lot of opportunities for its use where your regular three (or four, with haste) attacks won't be at least as good. I'd replace those five feats.
Extend Spell for extended wraithstrikes (!), all day+ 1 hour/level spells and all-round utility. (Though a cheap rod can do much of the same job.)
Cleave for the occasional extra attack.
Improved Toughness (CW) for extra HP. You really need it, especially if you insist on keeping a low AC and so-so saves.
Practiced Spellcaster (CD) for better caster level.
Improved Buckler Defense (CW) for extra AC. (Unless you want a floaty shield, or load up on more shield spells.)

I'd consider a chain (spiked or not) weapon for the reach. And I'd consider dropping Arcane Strike, as you can use your spell slots for better things.

Items: Boots of Striding and Springing, +3 mithril shirt, +4 greatsword, ring of freedom of movement, handy haversack, ring of protection +2, amulet of natural armor +1, ioun stone of +1 Luck AC, gloves of dexterity +2, belt of strength +4, goggles of night, cloak of resistance +2

I'd scale down the +4 greatsword. Greater magic weapon can get you a +3 weapon right now, on top of any special abilities. I'd drop the ring of freedom of movement. The amulet of natural armor can be replaced with a spell. The last +2 on the belt of strength is too expensive when you don't have a Con or Int item. (And the ioun stone +1 is an insight bonus.)

I'd want to buy:
Boots of speed if you're not going to cast haste regularly. Haste=good. Speed, extra attack - what's not to love?
Magic buckler or floaty shield (animated shield). More AC.
Cloak (or vest) of resistance +5. Trust me on this. (Unless you'll be casting superior resistance [SC] for the +6 bonus.)
+2 Con and +2 Int. Why not?
Mantle of second chances (DMGII, 6000 gp). Reroll=good. You can probably add it to the cloak of resistance for +50% cost. (Same item slot, roughly same purpose.) Without it I'd be buying a luck blade from the DMG. Pricey, but oh so handy.
Armbands of might (CAdv, 5400 gp). Nice item, though admittedly not as useful for a two-handed fighter as for a dual wielder or natural weapons fighter.

My typical spells prepared list will look something like this:

6th - True Seeing, Acid Fog, Summon Monster 6
5th - Storm Touch (Magic of Eberron), Dimension Shuffle, quickened dimension leap x2
4th - Greater Invisibility, Evard's Black Tentacles, Orb of Electricity (SC), Flame Whips (SC)
3rd - Melf's Unicorn Arrow x2 (PHB 2), Lightning Bolt, Regroup (PHB2), Dimension Step (SC) x2
2nd - Wraithstrike (SC) x3*, Rope Trick, Baleful Transposition (SC), Dimension Leap (Magic of Eberron)
1st - True Strike x1, Shield, Benign Transposition (SC) x3, Weapon Shift (SC)

*Yes, he's actually allowing Wraithstrike.

You have necromancy and enchantment as banned schools, yes?

My version:

6th - Stone Body (SC) x2, Summon Monster 6 (?)
5th - Transmute Mud to Rock, Greater Dimension Door (SC), Quickened Dimension Leap x2
4th - Greater Invisibility, Evard's Black Tentacles, Flight of the Dragon (SC), Fire Shield
3rd - Melf's Unicorn Arrow (PHB 2), Dragonskin (SC), Regroup (PHB2), Dimension Step (PHBII) 2x, Blink
2nd - Wraithstrike (SC) x4*, Rope Trick, Dimension Leap (Magic of Eberron)
1st - True Strike x1, Shield, Benign Transposition (SC) x3, Weapon Shift (SC)

I've removd most of the attack spells. You have a weapon. Use it.

Stone body provides much needed defense. With transmute mud to rock it even provides healing. Greater dimension door lets you teleport as a move action for several rounds. Move in with quickened/immediate teleport, attack, move out. Nifty. Fire shield discourages monsters from attacking you. Flight of the dragon gets you flight and mobility. Dragonskin gives you AC and elemental resistance. Greater invisibility and blink both keep you from getting attacked with spells or weapons.

Alter self or polymorph (or draconic polymorph) would be really helpful, but I know a lot of players consider it bad role-playing for their characters to be more concerned about avoiding pain and death than looking pretty for the monsters, so I left them out. If you did go with polymorph you should consider dropping the armor in favor of a monk belt, a +2 Wis item and greater mage armor (SC). (Unless you believe Skip Williams, in which case the armor will be resized by the spell.)

 

[szilard]

Your AC, as has been said, is low. I'd look at spells to compensate: Mirror Image, Displacement, Blink, and Greater invisibility each give miss chance variations. The "Bite of the" spells in SC all give Natural Armor boosts (plus stat boosts). There are other options, too.

Your Int is awfully low for a high-level wizardy-type. When you advance, you won't be able to get 7th level spells. This seems like a bad idea. Also, your spells won't have a great save DC. I'm also shocked that you didn't take the Practiced Spellcaster feat. Between your relatively low Int and Caster Level, most direct offense spells won't be terribly effective.

- Stuart

 

[RangerWickett]

Your AC, as has been said, is low. I'd look at spells to compensate: Mirror Image, Displacement, Blink, and Greater invisibility each give miss chance variations. The "Bite of the" spells in SC all give Natural Armor boosts (plus stat boosts). There are other options, too.

Your Int is awfully low for a high-level wizardy-type. When you advance, you won't be able to get 7th level spells. This seems like a bad idea. Also, your spells won't have a great save DC. I'm also shocked that you didn't take the Practiced Spellcaster feat. Between your relatively low Int and Caster Level, most direct offense spells won't be terribly effective.

- Stuart

I suppose I should buy a headband of intellect, so I can cast higher-level spells. But honestly I don't intend to use that many spells that require badguys to save. The plan is to teleport a lot, buff a little when I have the time, and use the rest of my spells for Arcane Strike.

 

[szilard]

I suppose I should buy a headband of intellect, so I can cast higher-level spells. But honestly I don't intend to use that many spells that require badguys to save. The plan is to teleport a lot, buff a little when I have the time, and use the rest of my spells for Arcane Strike.

Sure - but your spell list posted had some spells on it that would seriously suffer from a lower DC and/or CL. I don't know that I'd have any attack spells on there at all. I may well have area denial spells - since you'll be very mobile.

Another thought: Pick up a Lesser Metamagic Rod of Quicken Spell. This allows you to lose two feats (Arcane Thesis and Quicken Spell) and make far more efficient use of your spells (it would free up some 4th level spell slots). I'd personally replace the feats with Practiced Spellcaster and, ummm, something else. You might want to look at Tactical Feats and see if there are any that would fit this character's fighting style (Raptor School, maybe?). Improved Trip would be worthwhile, but you'd have to replace the Greatsword with a Heavy Flail or a Halberd or something...

-Stuart

 

[Mort]

You might want to add blink (3rd level) or improved blink (5th level, SC I think) to this combo. Blink helps the fact that you have a lowish AC and HP by adding a 50% miss chance (which also applies to area spells). It adds to mobility because you can now go through objects.
Even more importantly, it sinks with wraithstrike and the foes are now down to a flat footed touch AC (basically you miss on a 1 and 1 only with almost any foe).

 

[kjenks]

Take one level of sorcerer. Get a raven familiar (because ravens can talk and activate command-word items). Buy a Cape of the Montebank (or two, they're not THAT expensive). Cast Familiar Pocket (with Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend) so your familiar can't be targeted and is relatively safe.

When you need to teleport, your familiar pops out of the Familiar Pocket, uses the Cape of the Montebank to Dimension Door with you to your desired location, then you shove him back into the Pocket.

The next round, inside the Pocket, the familiar can take off the used Cape and put on a fresh one so he can DDoor you again later.

There are several other advantages of a one-level dip into sorcerer or wizard, like those nifty swift combat-enhancement spells from Spell Compendium.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

DEFINATELY take the Sun School feat from Complete Warrior. It requires Flurry of Blows and BAB +4, and it gives a couple of benefits, including this doozy:

Flash of Sunset: To use this maneuver, you must move adjacent to a foe instantaneously, as with a dimension door spell or the monk's abundant step class feature. If you do so, you can immediately make a single attack at your highest attack bonus against that foe.

 

[RangerWickett]

Last night was the first session. I was introduced to the PCs in a gladiatorial arena in the Underdark (part of the Forgotten Realms adventure 'City of the Spider Queen'), where I was being sent to fight a giant fiendish elephant while a crowd of giants, ogres, and demons watched and cheered.

Though I had most of my gear, I'd been ball-gagged with adamantine and spidersilk to make sure I couldn't talk and teleport away. However, Abrupt Jaunt is a spell-like ability, so after a few rounds of running and fighting defensively against a massive frikkin' elephant, I spotted the rest of the group watching behind a portcullis, and I ran over and jaunted through the portcullis. The party began trying to help me get free because they knew a fight was about to start (which they were okay with, because that's why they came in the first place).

The enraged giant king ordered his demons to teleport after us and attack while he mobilized his other giants. What followed was a *groan* four-hour combat. The sorceress was improved invisible, flying, and shooting off some sort of improved 6th level magic missile spell. The druid summoned a greater earth elemental. The fighter with his dual-wielded bastard swords spent far too long trying to kill one Vrock that kept recasting mirror image.

And I, once I finally got ungagged, was raring to go. Then two rounds in, I fail a save against Hezrou stench and have to stagger around to the cleric. Then I get surrounded by ogres with reach so I can't whirlwind them. I manage to slow down the approach of the leader by acid fogging him, which gives us three rounds as he sloshes through the solid vapors, but I'm still dealing practically no damage. Because I didn't get a chance to buff before the fight, I didn't actually have a magic weapon (normally I cast greater magic weapon with an extend spell rod, and I just own an adamantine greatsword), so damage reduction sucked for me.

Then the giant king gets out of the fog and casts destruction on our druid, which she survives. On my round, I swift dimension leap, and full attack, dumping a 6th level spell slot into Arcane Strike. He ignores me and instead casts horrid wilting, nearly killing half the party. On my round, I wraithstrike and dump another 6th level spell slot into Arcane Strike, power attack for full, and hit for 150-odd damage before his DR applies. Then I activate my contingent blink.

On his turn, he turns and swings four times, missing twice because my AC was awesome (go Combat Expertise when you're making touch attacks; my AC was 31, and my attack bonus was +9/+4/-1 against somebody who had a touch AC of 8), and once because of blink. The one hit I do take nearly floors me.

I'm all ready to kill him on my next turn. But the other fighter finally gives up on fighting the vrock, and he just charges and kills the giant king in one hit.

We manage to mop up the rest. I got to use Whirlwind Attack to kill all the vrock's images, but then it teleported away. So yeah, in the actual combat, the only creatures I killed were some mook dretches. But it was fun.