If you wanted to create the classic fighter/mage, what Feats would you take?

[Edena_of_Neith]

The classic fighter/mage ... is there such a thing?

I guess I am referring to the 2nd edition fighter/mage, as he was referred to using the Player's Handbook, Core Class Books, and Racial Books of that time.
He was, of course, an elf or half-elf, since elves and half-elves were the typical fighter/mage conceptions.

However, let's make a few modifications to that template for the purposes of 3rd edition.

Let's assume that this 3rd edition fighter/mage is not an elf, but a human instead.
Let's assume he is very young for such a multiclass ... he is only 20.
Let's assume that he has made 1st level in both classes (he is a 2nd level Character.)

Let's also assume he is neutral in alignment, ruthless and power hungry, and he is determined to achieve high levels (that is, Epic levels) at all cost and as speedily as possible.

However, our theoretical fighter/mage is also crafty.
He wants the best possible choice of Feats to be an all around survivor.
He wants to survive ... if he does not survive, he most certainly won't make Epic level, gain the treasure, win the girl, or anything else!

He's willing to work with others in a team (and he won't backstab them, wonder of wonders.)
He's willing to take any job if it appears lucrative, and this fellow is smart enough to recognize the secret kernels of potential wealth in most job offers (yeah, it's only about defending the inn, but I believe a great magical secret lies in the area.)
He's no coward, and he's willing to do his share of the risk taking, is willing to stand in the front ranks and fight.

He is willing to undertake any strategy or tactics that will work, or look like they will work (or have a history of working even if they do not appear to be workable.)

- - -

Now, let us assume this fellow, this fighter/mage, survives to 40th level.
That's 20th level as a fighter, and 20th as a mage, in the case of this particular fighter/mage, for that's how he selected his level progression.

What Feats did he take?
What Feats should he have taken?
What Feats made the difference, and helped to enable this fellow to survive to this level?

What Feats make this fellow the classic fighter/mage, as his comrades now refer to him as?

Yours Truly is genuinely curious, being new to the 3rd edition game.
Yours Truly is trying to look at Feat Paths (just that, the sequence of Feats required to achieve a certain end.)

Yours Truly would enjoy reading the Feat Paths you would suggest for this hypothetical character.

I could be wrong, but I believe that ...

The character in question gains 2 feats at the start.
The character gains 1 feat every 3 levels, up to character level 20.
The character gains 10 fighter feats, through 20th level fighter.
The character gains 4 metamagic feats, up through 20th level mage.
The character gains (an unknown to me) number of Epic feats.

What Feat Path would this character take?

- - -

For the sake of simplicity, assume this character took no Prestige Classes.

 

[Crothian]

First, go Spellsword!! It's a great combination of the classic fighter/wizard with abilities that allow this union to be very good. Also there is a great thread in House Rules on the Epic Spellsword.

As for feats I'd try to take some that really help both sides as much as possible. For this I would get Crafts arms and armor, and craft wondrous items. This way you can tailor make items that you can use.

I'd pick up extend spell and spell pentration becasue your caster level is going to be a bit low. So, the spells you want on yourself you can make last, and the spells you are trying to effect people with, you have a chance.

Yoiu'll have a high Int, so I'd go with the Expertise feat chain. Defense is always good. And you can use expertise when you deliever a melee touch attack.

You'll havea lot more feats then this by 40th level. But these are the basics I think. All wizards/fighters will look different and many of the feats will decide on that.

 

[The Forsaken One]

~! Hi Edena

I don't know if you own the book "Lords of Darkness" like I do, but in there in the Shade entry they list the advancement of common Shadovar soldiers from the Shade legions.

They are fighter/sorcs and their progression and feat selection is given. Good for a start and I'm not so in the epic levels thingy but I do know in that book they went fighter/mage feats like 1:1 ratio.

But what I'm more interested in is especialyl at low levels, what stats do you go with?

 

[Airwolf]

Greetings,

Feats:
I would suggest that feats like dodge and mobility would be good.
I also think Quicken spell is a must. Quicken along with true strike in combat can be a deadly combination for a fighter wizard.
With the extra feats from the fighter I would also consider weapon focus and weapon specialization.
The idea of spell penetration is a good one too.

Spells:
Consider taking some spells that will help you in combat. Things like haste, bull's strength, cat's grace, and endurance. I would also select protection spells, protection from evil, fire (heat), cold, electricity, etc.
Keeping an offensive spell in reserve would be a good idea, IMO, something like a fireball, LB, or MM just in case you are not able to enter melee.

Well, that's my two cents worth. I hope you have fun. We have a fighter / wizard in our group and he seems to have loads of fun with the combination.

 

[Voadam]

For 3e, elves still make very good perhaps most classic D&D fighter mages with progression into either the arcane archer or T&B errata bladesinger as very good choices.

For a human one you need to make some choices about what type of fighter/wizard you want.

First, are you going to be in armor? If so what feats do you have access to? still spell and extend spell from core work well for armored mages and the netbook of feats, quintessential wizard and Voadam's Mystical compendium each have armored caster feats and or items. (I think BOEMII has an armor as well but I don't own it so I couldn't say for sure).

Extend spell works well as you can either get mage armor for all day or cast buffs in the morning, get into armor and go hacking all day.

What do you want the mage part to do? cast touch spells in combat, cast buffs, create items the fighter part can use? Choose a path and optimize.

Similarly, what will the fighter path be like? great ranged touch attacks for rays? defensive skills like expertise to keep him alive while he tries to use ghoul touch? an unarmed expert who can inflict damage as he uses chill touch?

There are a lot of options for a fighter wizard.

 

[Wolfen Priest]

I would go with a mithril shirt, and become an evoker rather than a mage. Maybe this breaks the rules of the thread, but I assume you are so interested because you want to make a character along these lines (?). But the extra spell each level will come in very handy, evokation spells are probably the kind you could use, and since you won't really be the "be-all-end-all" of mages anyway, you might consider it.

Then I would choose as my barred school conjuration, thereby eliminating the ability to cast Mage Armor. But, with Cat's Grace and a Mithril Chain Shirt at your disposal, it probably won't matter much.

Then choose a greataxe (for originality) or greatsword as your weapon (no shield spell failure %).

I'll get back to the thread on the feats, as I'm at work and would need to research more intently.

 

[jollyninja]

first level feats:
dodge, mind over body. the rest would be to his personal style. item creation tends to stunt power growth and you are not going to be much of a caster for a long time. i would usually go with the defensive feats and ones related to specific weapons.

work your way to spellsword. it is the best fighter/mage combo path. you get the spells every second level and more hp then going fighter/mage through the 10 levels. after that class, i would go straight wizard until level 21, then epic spellsword (someone will have done it by then) since epic levels only have great advantages if you have 21 or more levels in a single class or 11+ levels in a PrC. at lev 30 you will be somewhere in the area of lev 23 caster at lev 40 that makes you a lev 33 caster (epic fighter levels suck bung hole IMHO) and the new king of the world!

 

[kenjib]

The spellsinger from the Kalamar Player's Guide might work well instead of wizard/sorcerer if you are allowing that class. He's kind of like a sorcerer with slightly fewer spells but he never has somatic components for spells, thus you can wear any armor you like without penalty so long as you are proficient.

 

[ForceUser]

If he were an elf or half-elf, I'd say go bladesinger. They are a devastating combination of fighter/mage centered around killing foes while not being hit (shield, stoneskin, fire shield, displacement, blur, protection from arrows) and not being seen (improved invisibility, dimension door).

Human...I'd look into spellsword, though the class didn't impress me overmuch. You might also consider going monk/wizard or monk/sorcerer, since monks don't wear armor anyway and have awesome combat abilities. If you went the monk/caster route, make sure you check out the martial arts feats in OA. Personally, this is what I recommend.

If you're talking about a plain old fighter/wizard, I'd consider feats that help an unarmed or lightly armored melee type: dodge, mobility, spring attack, expertise, dash, toughness (dwarf's toughness, giant's toughness, dragon's toughness). Your AC is going to be low without special circumstances (such as having one of the aforementioned PrCs), so look for feats that increase your AC, movement rate, and hit points, OR ranged attack feats if you don't intend to be a melee fighter. Actually, an archer-type fighter/wizard would be a lot more viable than a melee-type.

 

[Oni]

Just one thing to keep in mind. As I currently understand the ELH rules for advancing to 21st level and beyond, once they reach 21st level they no longer gain BAB, instead gaining an Epic attack bonus of +1 at every odd level. What this of course means is that if you have not gained all four of your attacks via the advancment of BAB, by the time you reach 21st level you will never gain them and may only have a base number of attacks as was allowed by your BAB at character level 20.