This is another attempt at a spellsword build that's an effective caster as well as a strong melee fighter. This one has an interesting aspect in the form of its charisma-driven synergies with saving throws and divine feats.
Human, Lawful Good only
Str 16 Dex 8 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 8 Cha 16
1 Sor (1): Combat Casting, Power Attack 2 Pal (1): 3 Pal (2): Weapon Focus (Longsword) 4 Sor (2): +1 str 5 Sor (3): 6 Pal (3): Divine Shield# 7 Sor (4): 8 Sor (5): +1 str 9 Sor (6): Still Spell 10 Sor (7): 11 Sor (8): 12 COT (1): +1 str, Extend Spell 13 COT (2): Knockdown+ 14 COT (3): 15 COT (4): Empower Spell*, Cleave+ 16 COT (5): +1 str 17 COT (6): Blind-Fight+ 18 COT (7): Toughness* 19 COT (8): Called Shot+ 20 COT (9): +1 cha 21 COT (10): Epic Weapon Focus (Longsword), Epic Prowess+ 22 Sor (9): 23 Sor (10): 24 Sor (11): +1 cha, Improved Combat Casting 25 Sor (12): 26 Sor (13): 27 Sor (14): Great Cha 1 28 Sor (15): +1 cha 29 Sor (16): 30 Sor (17): Great Str 1 31 Sor (18): 32 Sor (19): +1 str 33 Sor (20): Auto Still Spell 1 34 Sor (21): 35 Sor (22): 36 Sor (23): +1 str, Auto Still Spell 2, Auto Still Spell 3+ 37 Sor (24): 38 Sor (25): 39 Sor (26): Epic Spell (Epic Mage Armor), Epic Spell (Epic Warding)+ 40 Pal (4): +1 str
* - Optional feat, but strongly recommended # - Divine Shield chosen over Divine Might - build has low AC + - COT or Sorcerer Bonus Feat
AC 20 in mundane plate with tower shield 324 max HP Fort 33 Ref 28 Will 29 (+8 vs spell)
AB +37/+32/+27/+22 with mundane longsword +7 damage from strength
Divine Benefits: Turn Undead 8 times/day +5 AC from divine might 70-point Lay Hands 1/day Smite Evil +5 AB +14 damage Divine Wrath for 5 rounds, +5 AB +3 damage +5 saves.
FAQ: Q: So, another spellsword build. What are the selling points? A: Well, this build uses magic for defenses, but has a reasonably good mix of melee and magic offense for PvE purposes. You also have a fairly workable magic offense with no-save spells like IGMS and bigby, are over the dispel cap for divine casters and bards, and can use disjunction to bring down enemy SR and to strip their defense spells.
This build has an additional aspect - the divine feats. They are limited uses per day, but they leverage your charisma stat beyond the sorcerer's spellcasting, and can give you some nice benefits to wearing +cha gear. Not to mention the divine bonuses giving you very solid saves.
Q: Sorcerers have really limited spell selection... what spells should I focus on? A: That depends on environment - if you can get an item with a given property it's a bad idea to take a spell that duplicates that effect.
That said, Disjunction is a must. Shadow Shield is very useful. Spell Mantles. Improved Invisibility. Flame Weapon. Time Stop. Acid Sheath. Elemental Shield. Endurance, Bull's Strength, Eagle's Splendor, Cat's Grace are good to have. And so on.
You'll also want bigby spells, IGMS, and other no-save offense magics.
Q: What sort of environment would I want to play this character in? A: In a low-magic environment, your ability to buff yourself with the melee buffs will amplify your power, especially if there aren't many +5-penetrating enemies. In a high magic environment, you can use items to raise your AB, cover your AC, and increase your sorcery and divine power with charisma items.
But generally speaking this sort of a spellsword would be most powerful compared to other characters in a low-magic world.
Q: What does this build make you think about spellswords? A: I think in some environments this build would actually work out quite well. It's pretty fun to play, if more limited than a wizard-based spellsword. I think what you lose in spell selection is more than compensated by the charisma synergy and extra spells per day, and the time you save by not having to change memorizations often.
The low AC can be covered with protective spells, particularly epic mage armor and epic warding late in the build. To get to that level, you can use Divine Shield in tough fights to boost your AC to an acceptable level for any strength-based plate melee, and of course, benefit from improved invisibility or darkness/ultravision.
The AB is about what you might get if you only used classes with a 3/4 AB progression to 20, except you do get 4 attacks. With your taunt skill and combat feats you can leverage to give you an advantage in battle - taunt followed by true strike followed by knockdown or called shot, for example.
Q: What's your overall impression? A: I think this build has a pretty unique combination of divine, melee, and arcane skills. I don't think it can remotely be considered uber, but it works out to give you a number of interesting capabilities that are reasonably effective, and let you pick an approach that suits your situation. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
Edited By griphook on 10/30/05 22:43
A shower of energy bolts flew from the dark wizard's hands, a deadly spell that lit the dungeon corridor with a sickly blue-green hue, homing unerringly in to their target.
Xarthak the Black had watched through his scrying crystals as the armored adventuress hacked her way through his lair, destroying even his strongest undead and demonic servants with a combination of swordsmanship and holy power. "A paladin," he mused, "Very resistant to many forms of magic. But not all forms..." and with this thought he'd prepared a selection of spells that even the paladin's holy blessings couldn't defend her against.
The magical missiles exploded short of their target, however, as the woman raised a mystic barrier - a feat of arcane magic that took Xarthak by surprise. He hadn't prepared for that eventuality and he quickly cast a magic shield of his own, uncertain of how he could defeat a paladin who had the skill to use arcane powers in heavy armor. Her next spell shocked him further, an advanced countermagick that stripped away many of his defenses in a single swoop. "Who... what... are you?" stammered the evil mage, racking his brain for some way out of this jam.
"I am Kalinda of Shadowdale, Knight of Mystra. Your spells cannot touch me, for I am your doom, evil one!" the woman replied, raising her sword and moving in on the unbalanced spellcaster. Shaken, the wizard readied a spell he hoped would disable his foe, a magick called Bigby's Crushing Hand. But he faltered in the complicated evocation, his confidence shaken, and the spell fizzled harmlessly.
Her sword glanced off the magic barrier Xarthak had raised as one of his final defenses, an ancient, nearly-lost epic magic to ward him from harm. The barrier shuddered but held under repeated impacts from the spell-knight's weapon, but it wouldn't last. He needed a way out before she either pierced through the spell-barrier or - worse - revealed a power that could dispel it.
Kalinda's face was grim as she channeled sorcerous fire into her blade and took brutal strokes against the wizard's shield. She recognized the barrier immediately, for it was a spell she herself had mastered. She had to strike true and with all her might to wear through it before the wizard regained his equilibrium and struck out with further spells or escaped.
The evil wizard was no stranger to combat, however, and he had vast reserves of power left. He was too wiley to be caught completely unprepared, and he regained his equilibrium well before the magic barrier even showed a sign of strain. In an ancient tongue he chanted, "By the name I was given, let thy Gate be opened. My need for thee is great, come forth, my ally!" As his incantation peaked the ground shook, five gouts of flame exploding up from the floor and a pentacle glowing between them. In the midst of the pentacle rose a mighty fiend, a Balor demon. It was a foul creature, its eyes glowing with malice and hatred as it brandished its enormous flaming sword and strode towards the paladin.
"Allow me to introduce you to Gzztch," Xarthak said with a malicious laugh. "I'm afraid something pressing has come up in another of my properties, so I must be going. I'm sure you will find his company quite... interesting!" And with that he speedily recited another incantation, plunging the room into darkness.
As quickly as she she could, Kalinda countered his spell - but it was too late. The evil wizard had escaped, leaving the demon to cover his flight. She readied herself to do battle with the fiend, snarling, "Damn that mage! He must have known unleashing a Balor onto the material plane without staying to control it would make the beast far more dangerous... and ensure that I stayed to stop it instead of following him!" _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
Praise the heavens! A Paladin-Sorc that doesn't have floopy wings!
Solid build X and great story.
Nice job.
Kaliban _________________ What I'm reading now: The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer.
I'd consider not taking both epic mage armor and divine shield with this kind of build. why? dodge ac bonus cap.
you have 20 cha, so you can get up to 32, which means +11 ac from divine might. add in haste, normal mage armor and lets say +3 dodge boots. 11 + 4 + 3 + 1= 19. pretty much at the cap already.
I'd probably go for divine might over divine shield. epic mage armor will give you lower overall ac, but it is essentially permanent betweem rests. Also, if you plan on using the reciprocal damage shield spells, you'll want lower ac to take full advantage of them.
Anyways, just a thought.
Good points on the dodge AC cap. If you really like doing damage and don't mind levelling to 39 without the extra AC boost, divine might is the better option.
However you take divine shield at level 6, and epic mage armor at 39. That's 33 levels where you'd be using divine shield... that's what decided me on.
Then if you are at the +cha cap, you'll get that or be near it by the time you get to level 39, so you could easily drop epic mage armor and instead take armor skin, greater ruin, or other epic feats and using divine shield and other buffs when you need AC. With that much charisma you'll have plenty of uses per day of divine shield (11, more if you get an item with bonus feat - extra turning or take the extra turning feat). _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
Very cool. I had thought of a Paladin/Sorcerer spellsword myself, but looks like you beat me to it
The story was great. I envy your ability and commitment to write these little background stories _________________ Now is my day's work done; I'll take good breath: Rest, sword; thou hast thy fill of blood and death.
