Warlock/Sorcerer advice

[Theroc]

Okay, so I was asking earlier about Eldritch Disciple, and someone suggested I play an Eldritch Theurge instead. Well, I'm playing in another game, and decided to make a Warlock/Sorcerer to slide into Eldritch Theurge in if the game progressed enough for it to be possible.

Here are the parameters for the game:
Sources available for the game:
3.5 player's hand book
Complete Divine
Complete arcane
complete adventure
Complete Mage
monster manual 2
monster manual 4 edition
Heroes of horror
Deities and demigods
Races of the wild
Races of stone
Races of destiny
Arms and equipment guide

The D20 SRD is also available. I'd prefer to stick to sources I have access to, if possible, though I can branch out to races and such on Crystalkeep if needbe.

The ability generation was 4d6 Take highest 3...

Here is what I rolled:
4d6.takeHighest(3)=13, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=10, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=7, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=10, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=14, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=14

Starting level is level 2 with starting gold set at 400. We also begin with some starting gear, which is as follows:
Back Pack, Bedroll, Water skin, 4 day trail ration's, x2 torch, x1 cure light potion, 50 ft. rope

Any suggestions for starting this out? I was figured grabbing a greatspear and using hideous blow from Reach if monsters got to close, otherwise lobbing Eldritch Blasts or maybe a spell or two if they closed within melee range... but I was curious if anyone else had some good advice.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

For stats...ouch. Good warrior stats, not even a single 15 is going to be rough for a caster...
Str 10 (or swap with wis)
Dex 13 (or swap with int*)
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 7
Cha 14

*And if you plan to EVER raise int from 13 to 14 (nonmagically), just put a 14 in int to start, and 13 into con. Skill points aren't retroactive. Otherwis,e all levle up points ot charisma, and get +2/4/6 items for it ASAP.

I'd recommend starting in one of the classes 2 levels, rather than starting out spread thin. Since warlock gets better HD and (I think?) more skill points, start as Warlock 2.

For invocations, I always like Eldritch Spear + the spider climb one. If there are walls to climb on, many enemies become nearly helpless against you, or at least are unable to strike back at you. Obviously you trade out spider climb once you can get fell flight. Or...I guess sorcerer can give you flight, up to you. If using sorcerer for it, be sure to eventually swap out Fly when you can get Flight of the Dragon.

Lots of good invocation choices, though. The eldritch essences to sicken or shake are useful early on, too. I would avoid melee entirely. Hideous Blow won't make up for your crap AC and low hp in a melee fight. If you're really worried about it, be a human (if you weren't doing that already) and take the Able Learner feat (Races of Destiny) so you can buy your tumble ranks at a cheaper cost. In fact, sorcerer and warlock don't give a great skill selection anyway, so the feat might be useful for getting a bunch of skills.

Don't know what to say for gear. Maybe masterwork armor and shield.

 

[Darklone]

Agreed, don't take Hideous Blow, it's essentially useless. You provoke AoOs and hit worse. Polearm is a good idea ... but won't help long. Think about a shield, it won't disturb your eldritch blast too much. Focus on the damaging stuff, your DCs will be crap even with Ability Focus (eldritch blast).

Feats: Nothing beats the Fey heritage feats for warlocks. Your DR adds up and you can improve your DCs.

 

[irdeggman]

Take the heritage feat chain.

If non-evil go with fey chain, if evil go with fiendish.

The +1 to CL for Invocations is really handy against SL.

I am running a sorcerer/warlock with the fey chain and his Hideous Laughter spell is truely awsome. Fey Power (prerequisite Fey Heritage) gets you +1 CL with Enchantment spells in addition to the +1 for invocations.

I also picked up Fey skin at 3rd level (DR is always a nice thing to have).

Chose not go with "blaster type" due to setting and went with See the Unseen.

 

[Darklone]

If your DM approves: Spellcasting Prodigy mit help with your DC.

 

[Thanee]

You should ask the DM whether he allows you to roll another set of ability scores.

If not, maybe consider a pure Warlock. They don't really need high stats.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Shin Okada]

Ask your DM if you can use Dragon Magic. That one is a rare supplement which expands Warlock Invocations. Eldritch Glaive is far much better than hideous blow.

 

[Theroc]

You should ask the DM whether he allows you to roll another set of ability scores.

If not, maybe consider a pure Warlock. They don't really need high stats.

Bye
Thanee

I do intend to see if he'll allow it, though, I believe by RAW a reroll wouldn't be allowed.

As for Pure Warlock, the problem there is I had a progression in mind, and it's impossible via pure warlock(and half my invocations would be all but useless anyway, as many rider-on EB effects use a DC)

Aside from that, seems the Fey Chain+Able Learner are the major pieces of advice. The Spider Climb and Eldritch Spear sounds pretty nifty.

Darklone, what is Spellcasting Prodigy, and what is it's source?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

War/Sorc?

1) Look at the Heritage feats for Sorcerers. I'd take the Infernal Heritage Sorc feat, followed by Infernal Sorc Howl: gotta love that Sonic damage...esp. since its an area of effect attack! It also is unaffected by ASF, grappling, etc.

Celestial heritage would also be a bit of a laugher from a RP perspective. Its damage is limited to affecting only evil critters, meaning you'd be able to do an AE attack that won't affect your partymates who are engaged in melee with your targets.

2) I would also probably go with some kind of polearm. If somebody grapples you...well...shout in their face (see above).

3) Take a close look at Reserve feats- another way to get use out of your spell levels without being concerned about ASF.

4) Consider the Battle Sorcerer from Unearthed Arcana if your DM will add it to the list you provided. If so, you'll give up a few spells/level in exchange for never worrying about ASF.

 

[aboyd]

Darklone, what is Spellcasting Prodigy, and what is it's source?

Spellcasting Prodigy got nerfed in 3.5 edition; it won't help with your casting DCs anymore. In 3.0 it did. I believe the feat appears in different books depending upon the version of D&D you're using. I think it went like this:

D&D 3.0: Forgotten Realms Guide - it gives you +2 to your spellcasting stat for purposes of determining your bonus spells and for purposes of determining your spell DCs.

D&D 3.5: Player's Guide to Faerun - it gives you +2 to your spellcasting stat for purposes of determining your bonus spells.

EDIT: The Spell Focus feat will add +1 to the DC for a particular school of spells. For example, if you wanted to be real blasty, you might take Spell Focus (Evocation) and then your Scorching Rays & Fireballs would be slightly harder to resist.