Saeviomagy said:
I don't see why they shouldn't count...
Simply put - if you intend taking this class, the prerequisite is very easy to meet.
How about squashing ants with your fingers? Technically they're your foes if you're trying to kill them. Make them warrior ants that can sting (ineffectually) and you have a massively lopsided battle--one so lopsided most people wouldn't even call it a battle. I don't think even you would argue that squashing ants without using magic meets the prerequisites. From the ants to the commoners to the zombies to a similar level fighter in a tournament is all a matter of degree. A sane DM will have to pick some point on that spectrum and say that anything more lopsided doesn't count. And I think that it would be quite reasonable for a sane DM to say that the first level commoners armed with saps don't count.
Well, that's changing the prerequisites. And I never did like the "no, you can't learn it on your own, you HAVE to join the guild because noone else knows their secrets and they kill anyone who teaches anyone else and they're super powerful and you can't do what they can so Neeeeyaaaahh!" school of thought.
It's not changing the prerequisites much; it's adapting them to a campaign world. And, again it's not really that fine of a line between your caricatured rendition of the secretive guild and saying that you can get the knight of the chalice powers without becoming a knight of the chalice, the Templar powers without swearing allegiance to a temple, or the Mage of the Arcane Order powers without joining the Arcane Order. It is quite true that some people are able to figure out unusual techniques on their own (although in reality, most people have teachers and build upon what they have learned). However, doing so is much more difficult than learning techniques from someone who already knows them. It's quite reasonable for a DM to place significant restrictions on learning specialized techniques on one's own.
Posted by Particle_Man - Today at 11:49 AM said:
Wait a sec...
Why not take 1 level of fighter (for armour/weapon feats), then go wizard (or sorceror) all the way and use the Still Spell feat for every non-0 lvl spell one owns? Even if all the spells are "down-graded", doesn't one still have more spells, a higher maximum level of spells, and a higher caster level than a spellsword?
This is the question that kills the 3.0 spellsword. The Complete Warrior version, however, has quite a few advantages over the Ftr 1/Wizard x using still spell:
1. Fighter BAB. At 17th level, a Ftr 1/Wiz 17 will have a +9 BAB; A Ftr 1/Wiz 6/Spellsword 10 will have a +14 BAB. That's a very significant difference.
2. Hit points. The spellsword gets d8 hit points--unlike the wizard using Still Spell.
3. Spellsword channel. The 3.0 version was nice; the 3.5 version from Complete Warrior is very very powerful. It isn't wasted if you miss, lasts for hours (and can therefore be prepared before combat--it wasn't an issue with 3.0 but could be in 3.5, can take area spells (although with Scorching Ray on your spell list, there's no reason you'd want to), and, at tenth level, can apply to multiple attacks. Theoretically, a 10th level spellsword could full attack, hitting their foe with two empowered scorching rays (or two enervations) through the spellsword channel and follow up with a quickened scorching ray. That's quite a lot of damage. Since the spellsword can actually use the channel spell more times per day, it's arguably possible for a spellsword with Quickdraw to have channeled two more empowered scorching rays or enervations into another weapon, quickdraw it, and finish off two more attacks (3rd iterative, plus haste from boots of speed or precast) in that round using the second weapon to deliver the last two spells. 4d4 negative levels or (effectively) 76d6 of fire damage plus damage from four attacks is nothing to sneeze at. (Alternatively, the spellsword could go for reducing his opponent's abilities with an empowered ray of enfeeblement and touch of idiocy).
The Spellsword is not a class for someone who wants maximum caster levels to do more than dabble with. (He can take up to three levels of spellsword and effectively have more spells than a character who uses Still Spell on all of his spells). However, for a character who wants to be a fighter who uses magic to enhance his fighting abilities, the 3.5 Spellsword is a very good option.
