The only player is a ftr, who does not have enough magic

[BloodyAx]

What should I do to give the fighter in my one player campaign enough magic? She is really weak against magic, and neither of us wants to make a low-magic campaign, and we were thinking of having a mid-high magic one, where most large towns use a lot of magic to preform services, track criminals, etc. The character is maxing out Use Magic Device, so she can use scrolls and wands, but I am worried that this won't be enough.

One thing I am considering is having the character find a magical location on a demi-plane which gives her the spellfire feat and lets her take spellfire channeler levels. (it is not a Forgotten Realms Campaign, but I use may FRC ideas)

 

[Dr_Rictus]

It seems like some more specifics would really help. In what ways is she "weak against magic?" Poor saves, inadequate countermeasures against tactical effects, or what? It's hard to know what's "enough" magic in this case.

The saving throws seem an obvious weakness, Will probably more so than Reflex. Many of the stock Reflex-save spells simply do damage (vs. her plentiful hit points) and are strong partially due to area effects (which goes wasted against a single character). Whereas many of the stock Will-save spells are geared to taking a single target out of the fight entirely, which is a grim situation for a solo adventurer. But this is guesswork.

In general, fighters can be very strong against spellcasters, but (A) they need to get to them, (B) they need the right tactics, and (C) they can only be one place at a time. So she needs to concentrate on mobility and grappling (by far the most effective simple anti-casting technique), and you need to tailor encounters appropriately.

 

[William_2]

For a solo mid-high magic campaign, I would have thought that a fighter would not make the short list of classes that would be a great choice for the character that is going to unequivocally be the protagonist. While the Conan stories spring readily to mind, they do so in a way that to me points out the differences between a literary character always triumphing over magic in the stories about them, and a D&D PC fighter trying to pull the same thing. Who won’t manage it, I agree completely.
Is multi-classing with a caster class of no interest? Since a solo character will need to face foes way below the CR of their level, perhaps a few levels of casting would be able to provide some of the ability that will otherwise be lacking.
Other than that, magic items and more of them. As long as both of you enjoy the idea, either pile on a bunch of stuff, or (I like this one better), give the character a small number of way above their level items that help in this area. Elric springs to my mind in this respect. Things like a scarab of protection, necklace of fireballs…there are all sorts of ways to emulate being a caster using MIs.

Edit: I agree with the saves problem- and suggest MIs again as one possible solution.

 

[Dr_Rictus]

Another thought: a big strength of fighters is that they do not spend resources just to function. They are bound only by their supply of hit points. This affects how a solo character should be constructed and how the DM should construct encounters.

We've touched on Use Magic Device, of course. But it changes the way you pace things. This seems important. As a DM, you cannot plan on the usual design goal of 4-5 encounters at challenge level per day, because the resources being spent are not daily resources. Natural healing will be negligible. Instead, as long as the fighter gets to control the pace of encounters (which may or may not be the case), she pays roughly 2.7 gp for every hit point she loses, no matter what pace she keeps.

I haven't fully thought through how I'd treat this as a DM, and I'm sure others can expand upon it.

From the player's point of view, it probably means you press advantages more aggressively, to keep foes from regrouping and minimize random encounters. Conversely, you withdraw (if possible) when faced with prepared spellcasters, to give their spells time to expire at no cost to your own readiness. In both cases, maximizing your scouting capability in order to understand these situations seems to be a good idea, but isn't easy for the single-classed fighter. Appropriate magic items might help.

 

[johndaw16]

I've been in a similar position myself, with a two player high magic game. Not as bad as one player but neither of my players opted for a caster class either. One thing that you might want to think about doing is limiting or eliminating some of the more crippling spells that could end the career of a solo-adventurer in short order. By tweaking the spell list just a little bit you can ensure that theres still a lot of high magic out there and keep your solo fighter alive.

John

 

[SBMC]

What should I do to give the fighter in my one player campaign enough magic? She is really weak against magic, and neither of us wants to make a low-magic campaign, and we were thinking of having a mid-high magic one, where most large towns use a lot of magic to preform services, track criminals, etc. The character is maxing out Use Magic Device, so she can use scrolls and wands, but I am worried that this won't be enough.

One thing I am considering is having the character find a magical location on a demi-plane which gives her the spellfire feat and lets her take spellfire channeler levels. (it is not a Forgotten Realms Campaign, but I use may FRC ideas)

I find it very hard to see how you can do this witha fighter in a mid or high magic campaign without making things kinda weird - like eliminating most casters (but then were did all the magic come from?)

Ideas
1. Eliminate most casting opponents. The fighter faces lots of humaniods and other non- magicial foes.

2. Perhaps all casters in your world are part of a giant guild; and as such are all kept "good". Very few evil casters exist out there (perhaps like the Jedi/preistly type of a thing). Thus you can have the magic; but can explain why there is little evil magic for your fighter to come against - the high mages of the guild discover evil (or potentially evil) ones early and knock them off or refuse to train them.

3. Add in some NPC's for him

4. Let the PC take the Leadership feat early.

And Finally....

5. Advertise on this and the WoTC board for more players!

 

[BloodyAx]

It seems like some more specifics would really help. In what ways is she "weak against magic?" Poor saves, inadequate countermeasures against tactical effects, or what? It's hard to know what's "enough" magic in this case.

Here is some her stat block:

Ilde Loderr; Dwarf Ftr5: CR 5; ECL 5; Size M; HD 5d10+25; hp 90; Init +4; Spd 20 ft; AC 22, touch 11, FF 21; BAB +5; Grapple +10; Atk: +10 melee (1d3 + 5, Unarmed), +12 melee (1d10 + 8/crit x3, Waraxe, dwarven +1), +10 melee (1d8 + 5/crit x3, Warhammer), +9 (1d4 + 5/crit 19-20, Dagger), +9 ranged (1d6/crit x3, Shortbow, composite); SA +1 to attack orcs/goblinoids; SQ Darkvision, Stonecunning, +2 to saves vs spells or poisons, +4 dodge vs giants; AL LG; SV Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +3; Str 21, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14.
Languages spoken: Common, Dwarven, Goblin, and Undercommon
Skills and Feats: Climb +1, Intimidate +6, Jump +1, Listen +5, Ride +6, Search +5, Spot +4, Swim -9; Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Cleave, Great Cleave, Martial Weapon Proficiency, Power Attack, Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization.
Possessions: 2363 gp, Amulet of natural armor +1, Boots of elvenkind, Cloak of elvenkind, Gauntlets of ogre power, Dwarven +1 waraxe, Full plate, Heavy wooden shield, Heward's handy haversack, Silver raven figurine of wondrous power, Small steel mirror, Traveler's outfit, Masterwork thieves' tools, Sack, Bedroll, Waterskin, Flint and steel, Hemp rope (50 ft.), Arrows (20), 9 Potion of cure light wounds, 2 Potion of cure moderate wounds, Composite shortbow, Warhammer, Dagger, Shortbow.


What I am worried about is whether she has enough magic at her disposal.

And SBMC, I don't have more players in this particular campaign because this one (and I do have another) is for my younger sister.

 

[FireLance]

I think it depends on how you want to position the PC - as an anti-magic fighter, or as a fighter that uses magic.

If the former, have a look at the Occult Slayer PrC in Complete Warrior, the various anti-spellcaster feats in Complete Arcane and the Magebane weapon enhancement, also from Complete Arcane.

If the latter, the PC can pick up some minor spellcasting abilities by taking levels in a variety of base and prestige classes. Warlock from Complete Arcane could be an interesting choice as Use Magic Device is a class skill for warlocks, and their abilities can be used at will (much like a fighter's). Four levels of warlock will give the PC three invocations, and she can pick the more defensive ones such as Dark One's Own Luck (luck bonus to one saving throw for 24 hours), Devil's Sight (see through normal and magical darkness for 24 hours), and See the Unseen (see invisible as the spell and darkvision for 24 hours). She also gets the ability to take 10 on Use Magic Device checks, the ability to detect magic at will and DR 1/cold iron. In addition, since the warlock has medium BAB, she only loses out on one point.

EDIT: Just noticed the stat block you posted above. Since the character is LG, warlock is a no-go unless you're willing to houserule the alignment restriction.

In terms of equipment, a ring of spell storing is probably the most reliable way to get access to a wide range of spells. A ring of evasion and a ring of freedom of movement are also good defensive items against spells and abilities that allow Reflex saves and those that cause paralysis. Against spellcasters, touch AC is more important than regular AC, so increase your Dexterity with gloves of dexterity and pick up items that grant deflection, dodge or insight bonuses such as a potion of shield of faith, a ring of deflection, boots of speed, or a dusty rose prism ioun stone. Speaking of ioun stones, a pale lavender ellipsoid ioun stone and a lavender and green ellipsoid ioun stone absorb spells of up to 4th and 8th level respectively.

 

[BloodyAx]

Two problems. First, the full plate reduced dex bonus to +1 maximum which has saved the character's life many, many times and allows her to deal with fairly high level encounters compared to her level.
Second, I don't have those books . I have the core books, Forgotten Reals, Magic of Faierun, Monsters of Faerun (which were gifts. i dont do a Faerun setting, but I use ideas from the books), Monster Manuel II,and the Arms and Equipment Guide. Nothing super useful much of the time .

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Dwarf Ftr5: HD 5d10+25; hp 90

Am I missing something? How do you get 90 h.p. from a 5th level fighter with a 20 Con?

Even max would be 75 hp (10 (max hd) + 5 (con modifier) = 15 hp/level). The extra 15 hp help a lot!

If you're really worried about magic, the Leadership feat is her friend. At sixth level, she can have someone tag along (cleric or wizard would be best, or druid if she's outdoors a lot).