Help with a Gish build

[d12]

What I have in mind is:

Dwarf
F1/ Wiz4/ Runesmith1/ Abjurant Champion5/ EK 8

I'm looking for advice on spell and feat selection and equipment (magic and mundane), especially through the first 12 levels. We're unlikely to go much beyond that.

I'm thinking early on he will be little more than a slightly tougher wizard and I'm thinking of equipping him with a polearm to take cover behind tougher friends. Once he gets armor, he will be more of a true Fighter/Magic User.

 

[Dandu]

Try Fist of Stone from the Spell Compendium, a first level spell that gives you +6 to strength for the purposes of calculating attack bonuses.

 

[Thanee]

Dwarf

So, not a Gish (what a horrible word), after all. Good, good.

F1/ Wiz4/ Runesmith1/ Abjurant Champion5/ EK 8

Err, IIRC you won't qualify for Abjurant Champion that way (or do you plan to start with Eldritch Knight to get your BAB up to shape)?

You could go with

Fighter 1
Wizard 4
Runesmith 2
Spellsword 1
Abjurant Champion 5

That's 13 levels already. While the Spellsword's special ability is pretty much useless for you, it's still a +1 BAB +2 Fort/Will +d8 hp level up, which isn't bad at all, and most importantly bridges the gap to gain entrance to the Abjurant Champion.

I'm thinking early on he will be little more than a slightly tougher wizard and I'm thinking of equipping him with a polearm to take cover behind tougher friends. Once he gets armor, he will be more of a true Fighter/Magic User.

Starting with a level of Fighter really adds a LOT of survivability for the early levels. I have some experience with that (though, I prefer Barbarian/Sorcerer, but the basic concept is comparable ).


As for feats, there is one you definitely want as soon as you qualify: Arcane Strike

Other than that, I would probably take Power Attack (just because it's always great to have) and then either more combat feats or spellcasting feats, depending on what you want to do more (using spells to buff and then melee, or using spells as direct attacks as well).

For higher levels, the Minor Shapeshift feat from Complete Mage is very nice (temporary hit points most every round).

Bye
Thanee

 

[d12]

That's a much better progression, especially since it follows the rules. Thanks!

The concern I'm seeing now is when I am at character levels 2 through 5 (Fighter 1/Wizard 1 through Fighter 1/Wizard 4) of which combination of equipment and spells to shoot for (i.e. wear good armor and only use non-somatic spells?)

 

[Thanee]

Well, there is a Fighter class option in Complete Mage that allows you to wear light armor without arcane spell failure, but that one does not mesh with the Runesmith ability, so I would just go with Mage Armor.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Runestar]

Well, there is a Fighter class option in Complete Mage that allows you to wear light armor without arcane spell failure, but that one does not mesh with the Runesmith ability, so I would just go with Mage Armor.

Bye
Thanee

It also sucks if you do not plan on taking more than 1 lv of fighter.

The concern I'm seeing now is when I am at character levels 2 through 5 (Fighter 1/Wizard 1 through Fighter 1/Wizard 4) of which combination of equipment and spells to shoot for (i.e. wear good armor and only use non-somatic spells?)

Well, you could start with wizard and take your fighter lv only at 5th lv. So you would simply play as a typical wizard all the way. This also lets you max out your key wiz skills such as concentration that much more easily.