Mystic theurge vs pure wizard/cleric

[Joker]

The Ur-Priest trick doesn't work quite as well as some folks have said in this thread. I know the full analysis over at Wizards.com finally came to the conclusion that you cannot in fact get 9th level spells in both Wiz and Cleric spell lists by level 20 (I don't recall why, but the logic was very sound and backed up).

I think it has something to do with the base fort save, though I'm not sure.

 

[gabrion]

People don't seem as excited about it any more, but the Precocious Apprentice feat is great for this kind of build if you can convince your DM that it qualifies your wizard as having 2nd level spells. If you can get that by then I suggest either...

Wizard 1/Druid 3/MT 1/Arcane Hierophant 10

Or if you want a cleric over a druid for some reason then

Wizard 1/Cleric 3/MT 10/True Necro?

The first one is the better option because you can continue with MT to increase both Arcane and Divine Caster Level. At 15th level you will have Arcane CL 12 (CL 17@20) and Divine CL 14 (CL 19@20).

I wouldn't do the second option unless you can find another PrC that advances Arcane and Divine casting without causing you to lose levels. True Necro is close, but it has some "dead levels"

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On a more general note, I agree with people who say a Wiz3/Cleric3/MT9 is underpowered. It isn't just that you are missing two levels of spells, but that spells at that level of the game grow exponentially in power. The differnce in casting 5th level and 3rd level spells could almost be seen as something you can play off with versatility, 6th to 8th is a HUGE difference.

More importantly, you wont get ninth level spells till 20th level, which is something that should make any kind of caster want to cry.

Edit: Another cheesy thing you could try if you want arcane and divine spells would be Warmage 5/Rainbow Servant 10. CL 15 and depending on how your DM rules you could have spontaneous casting of all Divinde Spells plus Warmage spells.

 

[gabrion]

I think it has something to do with the base fort save, though I'm not sure.

Wiz5/Mindbender 1/UP1/MT9/Arcane PrC 4

does a fine job. Over at wizards they have a ton of builds that do the 9th level casting of Arcane and Divine Spells before 20th level.