Making an "Arcane Paladin" (Was: Martial Arcanists: I need a reminder)

[Dannyalcatraz]

I sent my bat familiar- Masterson was his name- into a dark & ruined castle where there were others like him...and the dragon within picked him out and finished him off. I wouldn't exactly call that an unusual use of a familiar.

 

[TwoSix]

Sacred exorcist from Complete Divine is pretty good fit for the concept, I think. And some Paladin levels, unless you don't want to be too literal with the arcane paladin concept.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

I sent my bat familiar- Masterson was his name- into a dark & ruined castle where there were others like him...and the dragon within picked him out and finished him off. I wouldn't exactly call that an unusual use of a familiar.

I'd call that a familiar use personally.

*ba dum TSH*

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sacred exorcist from Complete Divine is pretty good fit for the concept, I think. And some Paladin levels, unless you don't want to be too literal with the arcane paladin concept.

SE is a good idea, and one I'll keep in mind, but its spellcasting prereqs are too steep for this PC at this point.

And no, "Arcane Paladin" is not to be taken literally, its just a shorthand way of saying the PC is martial arcanist using his abilities in the furtherance of his faith's goals. (I should have been clearer about that initially.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Double post.

 

[TwoSix]

SE is a good idea, and one I'll keep in mind, but its spellcasting prereqs are too steep at this point.

And no, "Arcane Paladin" is not to be taken literally, its just a shorthand way of saying the PC is martial arcanist using his abilities in the furtherance of his faith's goals. (I should have been clearer about that initially.)

One other possibility I was thinking of was Divine Crusader from Complete Divine. Pick Law or Good or War for a paladin theme, and them increase both with Mystic Theurge.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That has potential, too, but with the Battle Sorc having a 3/4 BAB and the PrCl having a prereq of a +7 BAB, that makes it tiiiiiight.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here's a list of my top contenders for feats (the first 2 are definite):

1) Celestial Sorcerer
     2) Celestial Sorcerer Lance
     3) Battle Caster
     4) Arcane Strike
     5) Knowledge Devotion
     6) Celestial Sorcerer Lore
     7) Celestial Bloodline
     8) Celestial Sorcerer Aura 
     9) Good Devotion
     10) Leadership (For a Bard Cohort)?
     11) Fiery Burst
     12) Invisible Needles
     13) Law Devotion

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Refinement: around the core concept of "Arcane Paladin", I'm grafting on some of the tropes found in Terry Brooks Druids from the Shanarra novels (especially Cogline) and Knights of the Word from Brooks' Word & Void novels. So the PC's main drive is still fighting evil by force of arms & arcana, but also the accumulation, protection and (selective) dissemination of knowledge.

At the moment, I'm thinking Marshal4/BttlSorc6. BttlSorc gives a WP, armored spellcasting, the celestial lance, d8HD, 3/4BAB; Marshal continues the BAB & HD, adding more WPs, helpful Auras, and all the Knowledge skills as class skills. That makes the Knowledge Devotion feat a source of many potential combat bonuses.

(Also in the mix, Marshal2/Duskblade2/BttleSorc6 or Duskblade4/BttlSorc6, for more spells at the cost of skill points.)

I'm still trying to figure out if I can do better, though. I've looked at several other PrCls*, and while many are thematically appropriate, many have prereqs I'll have difficulty meeting, or don't seem appreciably better than taking levels in BttlSorc due to smaller HD, lost skill points, lost spell levels, etc.

Tentative Feat Front-runners list (revised)
1) Celestial Sorcerer
     2) Celestial Sorcerer Lance
     3) Battle Caster
     4) Arcane Strike
     5) Knowledge Devotion
     6) Celestial Sorcerer Lore
     7) Celestial Bloodline
     8) Celestial Sorcerer Aura 
     9) Good Devotion
     10) Fiery Burst
     11) Invisible Needles








* besides those already mentioned, I've also looked at the Kensai, Holy Scourge, Suel Archanamach, Mythic Exemplar, and Divine Crusader.