“They were an order from the days of old, when sorcerers were war generals, and led the charge upon the field, and each was equivalent to a company of hardened myrmidons and a battery of ballistae. I have read the annals where they called down the Rain of Colourless Fire, the Invoked Devastation, in which the lands were inundated by a nearly invisible fiery rain which killed all creatures it struck, burned all living things, ignited the landscape with colorless flame, and burned the very hills into ash. Would that I had just dozen of such men, and Oerth would know once again the strength of the Suel, and the Free City of Greyhawk would swim in a river of its own blood.”
---Lord Malachar to the Scarlet Brotherhood’s War Council on the eve of war, 582 CY

The August Spell-Blade
Class: Sorcerer 26 / Fighter 6 / CoT 8
Race: Human
Alignment: Non-Evil
Playable: 1-40, PvM

Attributes
Str16 (26)
Int12
Wis8
Dex8
Con14
Chr16(20)

Level Guide
1 Sorcerer1, Extend Spell, Skill Focus: Concentration
2 Sorcerer2
3 Sorcerer3, Spell Penetration
4 Sorcerer4, Str17
5 Sorcerer5
6 Sorcerer6, Empower Spell
7 Sorcerer7
8 Sorcerer8, Str18
9 Fighter1, Exotic Weaponry, Blindfighting
10 Fighter2, WF: Bastard Sword
11 Fighter3
12 Fighter4, WS: Bastard Sword, Still Spell, Str19
13 Sorcerer9
14 CoT1
15 Sorcerer10, Greater Spell Penetration
16 CoT2, Improved Crit: Bastard Sword, Str20
17 CoT3
18 CoT4, Toughness, Knockdown
19 CoT5
20 Fighter5, Chr17
21 Sorcerer11, Great Chr I
22 Sorcerer12
23 Sorcerer13
24 Sorcerer14, EWF: Bastard Sword, Chr19
25 Sorcerer15
26 Sorcerer16
27 Sorcerer17, Great Str I
28 Sorcerer18, Str22
29 CoT6, Autostill I
30 Fighter6, EWS: Bastard Sword, Autostill II
31 Sorcerer19
32 Sorcerer20, Str23
33 Sorcerer21, Epic Warding
34 Sorcerer22
35 Sorcerer23, Autostill III
36 Sorcerer24, Great Str II, Str25
37 Sorcerer25
38 Sorcerer26, Great Chr II
39 CoT7, Epic Prowess
40 CoT8, Armor Skin, Str26

Combat Vitals
AB: 37/32/27 (mundane blade)
Damage: 1d10+14 (17-20/x2)
AC: 27 (Plate & Shield)
HP: 364

Saves
Fort: 27 (35)
Will: 22 (31)
Reflex: 21 (29)

Skills 172
Concentration: 43 (48 )
Discipline: 43 (51)
Spellcraft: 39 (40)
Tumble: 20
Persuade: 1 (6)
Search: 2(3)
Heal: 2

Spells:
1st: True Strike, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Endure Elements, Identify
2nd: Bulls Strength, Flame Weapon, Eagles Splendour, Cats Grace, Endurance
3rd: Keen Edge, Haste, Greater Magic Weapon, Flame Arrow
4th: Ice Storm, Improved Invis, Lesser Ikes, Stoneskin
5th: Lesser Spell Mantle, Lesser Mind Blank, Mestils, Energy Buffer*
6th: Ikes Yikes, True Seeing, Greater Stoneskin
7th: Shadowshield, Spell Mantle, Bigbys*
8th: Greater Sanctuary, Premonition, Summon VIII*
9th: Time Stop, Mordenkainen’s Disjunction, Summon IX*
Epic: Epic Warding**

* Indicate those spells that suit this type of build and playstyle. While better spells exist, the DCs would be low
** Indicates that there is room for more Epic Spells if desired. One can easily drop a couple of Epic Feats for Greater Ruin and Epic Mage Armor.

Summary
First, he is one of a kind. No builds with this combination exist in the Guild. While he is not a powerhouse sorcerer, he’s versatile enough to hold his own. The goal of this character was to be both a formidable combatant, and then to gain the edge in all contests with Sorcerer buffs, and then to be able to finish the job with Sorcerer firepower. He gains enough combat feats and metamagic feats to be proficient in both.

Second, the template is very flexible in pre-epic or epic; one could do it any number of ways. There are enough feats to be had in both careers to grab Dev Crit, or to garner more Epic Spells. I kept it pretty simple with the above. He never really stops maturing, and keeps getting stronger and stronger with every level. He gets EWF/EWS, Timestop, Mords, and can blast Ikes Yikes in full armor all by level 30. He’s strong enough to deal with the Mobs, has plenty of Arcane defenses, and has the firepower to blow up bosses. He has the spell penetration of a 30th level caster, and eventually becomes undispellable.

While he can’t raise his AB in the way a Cleric can, his unbuffed AB is high enough to make his sword a force to be reckoned with, especially when coupled with Keen Edge, GMW, Flame Weapon, and Extended Hastes. In one of my original incarnations, I went Ftr4/CoT8/Sorc8 pre-epic, and while he gets 16BAB that way, I wasn’t satisfied with the Sorcerer maturation. Sacrificing 1 attack and going to the 15BAB actually made the build more fun to play. I rarely miss that last attack anyway since it’s fairly low. A Fighter5/COT5 isn’t optimal saves-wise, it allowed for the maximum possible bonus feats in Epic (4).

At the end of the day, he’s just a spellsword, and I decided to resurrect it after some discussions in this thread, Melee Sorcerer. Since this went through a number of revisions from the original, please check for typos/errors.


Fixed typo - Kail Pendragon
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Edited By Kail Pendragon on 05/27/10 21:05

Grizz, everything seems to be good at first glance. A pretty solid spellsword, IMO. Well done, as usual. Funny you should post this, as I've got something in a somewhat similar vein in the works.

Oh, and I quite agree on the 3 attacks. I've built several spellswords that 'suffer' only 3 attacks due to getting more caster levels earlier, and I find they're (as you noted) more fun and just as viable as builds with the 4th attack.
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It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!! Grizz, this is sooo elegant! Rarely do you come across a sorc build that ISNT feat starved! Especially when you are going for MELEE AND CASTING abilities. Amazing!

I tend to play PRC rules these days so i cant help drooling over how changing cot for Eldritch Knight would improve it even more! WOW!

*bows* Sir, you are probably THE best long term nwn builder in the guild. I cant think of anyone else with your consistant WOW factor! LOL

Peace
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Quote: Posted 06/28/06 00:22:49 (GMT) -- TyrTemplar

This post is for general information purposes only, and does not constitute a legal opinion or render any legal advice. It may not be relied on for any purpose, and gives rise to
Quote: Posted 08/31/08 06:30 (GMT) -- avado

*bows* Sir, you are probably THE best long term nwn builder in the guild. I cant think of anyone else with your consistant WOW factor! LOL

Just don't tell me you want to have my babies.

Meanwhile, my one criticism is when I took that first Fighter level. I think I would change that to Level 2 or Level 5. Still playable as is, but having the armor and shield up front makes it a lot more playable for the solo artist.
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Ariel, Ookla, RIDE! I'm impressed you manage to keep posting builds. I'm already dry of good ideas.

I'd take EWS earlier, it's not all that important, but it's a pretty neat feat to try to get fast. You could grab it at level 22 switching Great Charisma I and EWF, taking the Fighter level earlier.

Quote: 
21 Sorcerer11, Great Chr I
...
...
...
38 Sorcerer26, Great Chr I

Heh, you take Great Charisma I two times

Nice build by the way. Autostilled spellswords are nice to play in high levels.
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"My name is Thaxll'ssyllia, but you simians may refer to me merely as "Sir", if you prefer a less... syllable intensive workout."

Edwin Odesseiron - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Quote: Posted 09/02/08 22:32 (GMT) -- grizzled_dwarflord

Quote: Posted 08/31/08 06:30 (GMT) -- avado

*bows* Sir, you are probably THE best long term nwn builder in the guild. I cant think of anyone else with your consistant WOW factor! LOL

Just don't tell me you want to have my babies.

Meanwhile, my one criticism is when I took that first Fighter level. I think I would change that to Level 2 or Level 5. Still playable as is, but having the armor and shield up front makes it a lot more playable for the solo artist.

Sorry for Necroing this thread, but I had to come on to state that I followed your thoughts here. I moved the first FTR lvl to Lvl 2 and just did a slight adjustment around. I tested it in a Mod every 5 levels and Lord have mercy it kicked butt everytime. I agree with Avado in saying to you grizz, you are one of the best. I currently have three of your builds in The North and will be adding this one either tonight or tomorrow night. My hat is off to you.
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Currently adventuring and enjoying my stay in Forgotten Realms: The North
Quote: Posted 09/02/08 22:32 (GMT) -- grizzled_dwarflord
Just don't tell me you want to have my babies.

SOrry man, i dont swing that way! (so im nearly 2 years late )