This was waaaayyy overdue - so here it is, in all it's mundane glory.
Awhile ago, I suggested that a Wizard could be a better Fighter of the same level at beginning levels, and after much testing, I believe I have somewhat managed to optimize the build. The Melee Mage is a fascinating way to play a Mage, and is a rather non-traditional method, needing some re-thinking of how and what a Mage is good at.
The starting stats are not only necessary to consider, but are crucial to the build - make a mistake here, and the Melee Mage will just not be effective. Aside from the primary casting stat Int, the next stat to be considered must be CON. This is very important, as will become apparent later. The other stats to invest points in depends on the the focus of the Melee Mage - are you going the Strength route, or the Dex route?
Note that a Melee Mage is a pure Mage build. It is not one that multiclasses, and has full Spellcasting power. This is the real secret of the build, and it is immensely powerful.
Beginning Build
Humans, Gnomes, and Dwarves make great Melee Mages. Humans, because of the amount of skill points, and the extra feat, and Dwarves and Gnomes because of the additions to Con. I consider it a toss-up between Dwarves and Gnomes as to which is better. I prefer Dwarves.
I shall consider the Strength build first, as it is one that I have tested the most. As I prefer Dwarves, this will be with Dwarf as a Race.
Melee Mage
Dwarf Wizard
Str: 14 Dex: 10 Con: 16 Int: 18 Wis: 8 Cha: 6
Some may wish to reduce the Int and add to Str - I don't prefer to, but some may.
The first Feat I normally take is Martial Weapon Proficiency. If Human, I would suggest that and Toughness.
For your skills, DO NOT ignore Discipline!! You will not be getting values near that of a pure Fighter, of course, but to ignore such will be a mistake, IMHO. If your PW/Mod incudes items that prevent Knockdown, then you may wish to skimp on Discipline, but I would not recommend it. There is still Disarm to be concerned about!
The next thing is to decide what Specialist Wizard you wish to be. I would suggest being a specialist, as this gives one more spells (which is also the reason for the high starting Int) - I normally take Necromancy, as those spells lost normally can be found easily enough (True Sight) and Premonition is mostly useless by the time one gets it.
After choosing a school, then choose your spells. This is very, very, very critical! The first level of your Melee Mages life will depend on your selection. I recommend Protection from Alignment, Mage Armor, Shield, Magic Weapon, Grease, Sleep, and any others that one sees fit. It is very important to remember, that you want spells that increase combat effectiveness in Melee, over those that have an offensive nature, and ignore melee effects.
Next, choose a Familiar. This is also crucial for the first starting levels! Choose a Familiar, that will survive combat! The Mephits are good, as is the Imp. I would suggest taking one of them.
You will be engaging in combat alongside your Familiar. You will find out that with your buffs and high hps (starting of 7), you should be able to hold your own pretty well, for the first couple of battles, until the Buffs wear off. If you cannot rest after that happens, and you are out of spells, then hang back, and let your familiar fight, use a crossbow or bow. Do not forget, you still have slots for Ray of Frost (a nice cantrip for first level). If you get into trouble, or your familiar dies, RUN!! That is very important. You will be wanting to add Expeditious Retreat to your spell reperatoir to aid in doing this, unless there are perma-haste items available early on (or potions of speed).
When you finally hit 3rd level, your worries are mostly over. Select that Ghostly Visage and Flame Weapon!! Now you have excellent defense, and can deal the damage like the best of Fighters! You will want to pick up Bull's Strength, as well, and if possible, Cat's Grace. You will want to pick up Invisibility sometime.
Upon reaching level 5, select Greater Magic Weapon and Keen Edge if your PW/Mod does not have keen weapons available. If such are available, Haste. If perma-haste is available, then I would suggest Negative Energy Burst, because not only is it offensive in nature, but it drains Strength as well! You might wish to consider Displacement, as well, though it is of rather short duration.
Feats - You will have 11 feats to fill in to level 20. As a Human, you will have 12. Start with Martial Weapon Proficiency (add in Toughness as a Human) I would choose Toughness as the next feat (Weapon Focus or Power Attack, dependingly as Human), then go Still, Extend, Empower, and Maximize. Add in Weapon Focus (I normally go a two-handed weapon, but if you like getting crits alot, go with Scimitar), Power Attack along the way, either a Spell Focus or Spell Penetration, Cleave, and either a Greater Spell Penetration or Greater Spell Focus.
Then you are ready for Epic Levels. You will of course be wanting Great Cleave in there, somewhere, along with Epic Warding (and maybe Epic Mage Armor, if you can squeeze it in there). Increase your Int as high as you can.
Spells
1st level Mage Armor Protection from Alignment Shield Grease Magic Weapon Expedious Retreat Ray of Enfeeblement
4th level Elemental Shield Improved Invisibility Stoneskin Wall of Fire Ice Storm
5th level Mestil's Acid Shealth Bigby's Interposing Hand Energy Buffer Firebrand Cone of Cold Lesser Spellmantle
6th level Greater Stoneskin Ethereal Visage Tenser's Transformation (but only the PnP version, NOT BIOWARE's!°!!) IGMS (of course). Bigby's Forceful Hand
7th level Shadow Shield Bigby's Grasping Hand Mordenkainen's Sword (But only the PnP Version, NOT BIOWARE's!!!)
8th level Greater Sanctuary Mass Blindness/Deafness Mind Blank
9th level Bigby's Crushing Hand BBoD Mordenkainen's Disjunction Shapechange Time Stop
Ok, so now you have your build, but how does one go about actually putting it to use? The most important thing to remember is to KEEP THE BUFFS UP! - so use your meta-magical feats to make sure that your buffs will last until the next planned rest. At beginning levels, this will be harder, but then, you don't have all that far to the next level, either. Using your low-level buffs and your Familiar will get you to 3rd level, and having Ghostly Visage and Flame Weapon will take care of the rest, most of the time. Don't forget to run, if things get hectic. You can always come back later. Use your spellslots wisely (optimize spellslot use with metamagic feats - for example, the 2nd level spellslots are normally only good for putting 1st level metamagic in - for you will want your buffs from those spells to last/be powerful, so they will either be Extended, or Empowered/Maximized. So put some stilled MM or Grease in there. Don't foerget to always have a reserve slot for an escape spell, like Invis, Improved Invis, Greater Sanc, or Time Stop, for example.
The Melee Mage's main strength is to hack it's way through the m0bs, saving most of the offensive spells for the End Boss. This allows the Melee Mage to conserve it's spells, and it really becomes a Solo Machine of Destruction, a Great Party asset (put Greater Magical Weapon, Flame Weapon, and Keen on their weapons!), Stoneskin buffs, and Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, and Owl's Wisdom, for those Monks. Don't forget the Improved Invis and Extended Haste (if perma haste is not around).
For really tough Bosses (like Dragons, etc), Do your Death Armor, Elemental Shield and Mestil's Acid Shealth buffs, and Shapechange into an Iron Golem and let him kill himself on your shields, or if your PW/Mod has the PnP version, do a Mordenkainen's Transformation and hack the Boss to pieces! For really tough Bosses, I suggest either the Greater Sanctuary-BBoD combo (cast a Haste right after the summons, as you are hasted, to haste the BBoD without worrying about it being disrupted!) - It should hack the Boss to death. If your PW/Mod uses the PnP version of Mordenkainen's Sword, then buff that baby up to the Max!! Bull's Strength, Flame Weapon, Greater Magical Weapon, Keen Edge, Haste, and let it decimate the Boss.
Continuing on, I present you with the Dual-wielding Melee Mage. This build may still need some tweaking, but so far it has served me well.
Dual-wielding Melee Mage
Elf
Str: 10 Dex: 16 Con: 12 Int: 18 Wis: 8 Cha: 8
Very Important - take Toughess as your starting Feat!! That will give you a total of 6 hps to start with. Also, you will not be engaging in melee the first couple of levels - use a Bow instead, and let your Familiar Melee, until you get to around 3rd level. At that point, you will be able to melee effectively.
3rd level Feat : Weapon Finesse! Yes, that is critical. Now you can begin to lay the smack down...with a rapier.
5th through to 10th - the normal metamagical Feats.
12th again changes - TWF!! Now you can use both a Rapier and Dagger. Put GMW and FW on them and go to town!
15th - Take Ambidexterity, and Spell Penetration.
18th - The long awaited Improved TWF.
20th - GSP.
The build is a pretty interesting melee character (with Haste, 5 attacks/round - now it is worth using Truestrike to attack with) and the AC is very, very nice. Even though an Elf, you still have decent hps. Have fun!!
Greater Magic Weapon is one of the keys here. Up to +5 AB factor here, and of course you have your Buffs like Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace, adding in still more.
If you think about it for a minute, it comes out pretty well. Normal Fighter Bab is 20 at level 20, right? Now, the AB will be somewhat higher, counting in Strength, Weapon Focus, and any pluses to the Weapon itself.
The Mage has a 10 Bab at level 20. Add in some Greater Magic Weapon, and that becomes 15. Now add in some bonuses from either Bull's Strength or Cat's Grace - and you are looking at another +5 to that - so, 20 AB. You can get that a bit higher, but that is about the height of the AB curve at level 20. Still, that is sitting up there pretty good, all things considered on a low magic PW/Mod.
The interesting thing is at lower levels. GMW is +1 per 3 levels up to a maximum of + 5, meaning it tops out at level 15. If we compare level 15 Melee Mage with a Fighter of the same level, some interesting things come out.
Melee Mage - AB 7 + 5 = 12 add in some Strength of 14 + 6 for Some Empowered Bull's Strength, for example for another +5, and you have 17 total.
Fighter - AB 15 + 1~2 (maybe 3, depending) weapon max is 18 max, with Strength of a maximum of 22 (23, really, but that doesn't help) for a Half-Orc giving a +6 for 24. The Melee Mage is behind, but not by all that much (and that is a max Fighter build). Enough for the m0bs. And that is all that matters, for most Bosses will be done with spells (you got a horde of them to use on the Boss now).
For the Dexer, he actually has much better AB, but due to Dual-wielding, that suffers some penalties (but gets more attacks, which is then useful with Truestrike). My Dexer had an AB of 18 with a normal Rapier and Dagger combo (with GMW cast on it). I consider that acceptable. Note that that will go up the moment that the dagger gets put away by +4 - that is an AB of 22, which is only 2 behind the best Fighter build!!
On a High Magic PW, of course, things will be more slanted in favor of the Fighter - due to GMW not being useful - as higher "+" Weapons become available, the advantage of GMW shrinks, accordingly.
And that is how the Melee Mage hits. And does it pretty well. Remember, this is for the m0bs, and is not meant for Bosses! For the Bosses, use your spells!
Any environment is going to require changes to the builds, accordingly. I think that most realize this, and modify the build in question to respond to such challenges. Obviously, if one is playing on a PW or in a Mod where the level is set higher than Party PvP, then some changes have to be made for spell selection, especially if one is going to be journeying with Familiar, Summons, and Party!
As I have pointed out, the Attack bonus is not miniscule. Also, I would hate to see a Mod or PW where normal m0bs have ACs set at 75% Fighter AB!! What do the poor 3/4 Bab builds do? Swing away, hoping for that ever-elusive 20? Most Bosses are set to 75% - meaning the Fighter has a 25% chance of hitting - much better. M0bs are normally 50% - which makes the Melee Mage very nice (around 60%, all in all). About equal to the 3/4 AB Classes, but with incredible protections, so most damage just gets absorbed, not to mention a nice AC.
No, the Melee Mage will not hit as often as the Fighter (it just doesn't have 4 attacks, nor that high of an AB), but it does have 2 at high AB, which has a very good chance of hitting at least once per round - and combined with Strength, +5 GMW and Flame Weapon damage, that is going to be enormous damage dealt. For the Dual-wielder, it has 5 attacks, 3 of which are at high AB. A bit less Strength damage, but that is not as important here, as the extra half a hit makes up for it with GMW and Flame Weapon damage.
The Fighter with 50% for the first attack, will have degenerating hit chances for the other 3. Let us say 2 attacks per round, realistically will hit on average, to the Strength MM's 1, and the DWMM's 1 1/2.
So, figure in Damage. The Fighter has a bit of elemental damage on the blade (a d6, maybe), will be lucky if the "+" is an enhancement bonus, say +1~2, add in Weapon Spec for + 4, and the Strength for around +6 for a total of 1-6 + 2 + 4 + 5 = 13~18 total. Multiply by 2 for 26~36 a round. Note that Cleave and Great Cleave have not been figured in here. Also, if the Fighter in question wishes to use a Two-Hander, his AC plummets (damage taken will rise). If the Fighter does go THW, then add in the 1.5 Strength for 3 more.
The Melee Mage does 10+1d4 of Fire, + 5 from the GMW, plus Strength of + 7 (THW) for a total of 23~26 a round. One now begins to see that one hit from the MM is almost equaling two hits from the Fighter.
The DWMM looks even better, due to the extra "half hit". True, the Strength is less (10 + 6 is going to be a +3 bonus to damage on the main hand, and the off-hand will be +1). So the Strength damage will be less, of course (around +4 average per round), But the other Damage will be Higher! 15+1d6 of Fire, +5 GMW, +4 strength for 25~30 damage a round!
Here is the Feat slots for building with :
1st level is a normal Feat - Martial Weapon PRof. 3rd level is a normal Feat - Toughness 5th level is a Wizard Feat - Still spell 6th level is a normal Feat - Extend spell 9th level is a normal Feat - either go metamagic with empower, or do some optimizing, and take Power Attack here. 10th leve is a Wizard Feat - Empower or Maximize (depeinding on if one is going to go Cleave/Great Cleave or not). 12th level is a normal Feat - Weapon Focus (I take Greatsword). 15th level is a normal Feat and a Wizard Feat - if going the Cleave route, take Cleave, otherwise Power Attack here, and either Maximize or spell focus/spell penetration. 18th level is a normal Feat - either Great Cleave, or Cleave 20th level is a Wizard Feat - either Spell Focus/Penetration of Greater Spell Focus/Penetration.
Ah, 75% to hit - yep, I missed that. Thanks for correcting my understanding.
As for Discipline - a pure Melee Mage is never going to be safe from Knockdown and Disarm specialists (unless immunity to knockdown is present, and that still leaves Disarm) - and most builds are not 100% safe against these type of specialists, anyway. When fighting against such, I would suggest the Damage Shields/Iron Golem route. It normally works very well, as one Cleric who tried it on my Melee Mage found out very fast. True, he could knock me down. But due to my shields, and my rather high hps (which he had badly miscalculated), he ended up dying before I did.
I once got Disarmed, as well. So, out came the Iron Golem. That solved that. One very dead Disarmer. The nice thing about it was, I only lost a normal Greatsword. So what.
For normal m0bs, they won't be spamming knockdown - the AC is too high, I have found out, for the AI to spam it. Same goes for Disarm attempts.
There is one Boss I know of, that rips melee builds to shreds (level 42 with dual wielded Katanas + 5, on a PW that goes to level 20) - I took it down with ease. How? GS and BBoD.
As I have suggested, for Bosses, use your spells. That is what they are there for. That is why the MM does not multi-class. Your Melee capability is only for getting you to the Bosses, with most of your offensive spells still available and is not meant for the Bosses themselves.
Also, there a lots of PWs that tend to stretch out an area, where no rest is available, to restrict a Mage's effectiveness. The MM build allows one to overcome these types of areas with impunity. I also know a lot of PWs that find ways to do away with Invis/GS protections, which causes quite the problem for most solo Mages.
Note that I am not suggesting the MM to everyone, nor do I think that a Mage should be played this way all the time. It is just a very interesting variant - a new, possibly exciting way to play a Mage.
As we all know, there is no "perfect" build. The MM has weaknesses - buffs being dispelled, Knockdown Specialists and Disarm Specialists being some of them. But the MM does have ways to at least deal with the situations, if they have time to prepare. Also, I believe the MM has limited effectiveness on Moderate to High Magic PWs/Mods.
Bolding - Kail Pendragon _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 10/06/08 21:04
Thanks for posting this, Web, as it is a good resource for new and inexperienced mage players. The Melee Mage, as you have outlined here, seems more of a playing style than it is a build itself. What I would rather see is your Level by Level feat and skill allocation, along with final saves, AC, AB, buffed and unbuffed, hit points, Spell DC's, and so on. What is offered here is more of a generic template and guide that promotes the long term health of a Wizard over the course of his career-- not that that's a bad thing, and something that should be a part of its commentary and discussion-- but the Melee Mage, at least for me, is more of a concept and an approach to playing mages rather than any particular build or character.
Anyway, I'm sure you'll be able to firm that up a bit, and thanks again. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
I will do my best, GD - but as you pointed out, the fine points are mostly dictated by environment, really.
Still, I will get back to this thread with some solid level by level info. _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
Aye, it would be good to have a level by level breakdown just as other builds in the guild do. Even if it's of your own default preference. But I'll second the thanks for posting this. Whether it's considered a build or a play style, this is a classic and deserves to be somewhere here in the guild so others can easily access it. Thanks Web. _________________ It's rogue, dammit, ROGUE!!!
Ok, after much...lazying around, I finally got off me behind and did some work.
The Melee Mage
Classes: Wizard40 Race: Dwarf Alignment: All Playable: 1-40, PvM
Attributes Str14 Int18 (36) Wis8 Dex10 Con16 Chr6
Spell School : Illusion (forbidden school Enchantment) Familiar : Fire Mephit (change to a Pixie at high levels for access to the Rogue skillset). Beginning Spells :
Shield True Strike Mage Armor Grease Expeditious Retreat Magic Weapon Ray of Enfeeblement
Scrolls gained at 1st :
Summon Creature I Sleep Magic Missle Protection from Alignment
Level Guide 1 Wizard1, Weapon Proficiency : Martial Weapons 2 Wizard2 3 Wizard3, Power Attack 4 Wizard4, Int19 5 Wizard5, Extend Spell 6 Wizard6, Cleave 7 Wizard7 8 Wizard8, Int20 9 Wizard9, Great Cleave 10 Wizard10, Empower Spell 11 Wizard11 12 Wizard12, Still Spell, Int21 13 Wizard13 14 Wizard14 15 Wizard15, Maximize Spell, Toughness 16 Wizard16, Int22 17 Wizard17 18 Wizard18, WF: Greatsword 19 Wizard19 20 Wizard20, Int23, Combat Casting 21 Wizard21, Great Int I 22 Wizard22 23 Wizard23 Great Int II 24 Wizard24, Great Int III, Int27 25 Wizard25 26 Wizard26, Great Int IV 27 Wizard27, Great Int V 28 Wizard28, Int30 29 Wizard29, Great Int VI 30 Wizard30, Great Int VII 31 Wizard31 32 Wizard32, Int32, Epic Spell : Epic Warding 33 Wizard33, Great Int VIII 34 Wizard34 35 Wizard35, Great Int IX 36 Wizard36, Great Int X, Int37 37 Wizard37 38 Wizard38, Epic Spell : Mage Armor 39 Wizard39, Epic Prowess 40 Wizard40, Int38
Combat Vitals Ranged AB: You have spells. Use them. Buffed Ranged: See above. Melee AB: 24/19 Buffed Melee: 32/27/32 (can be increased to 52/47/52 with Tensor's Trans) AC: 14 (naked) Buffed AC : 42 - (Tensor's Trans : 52, Iron Golem 57, Red Dragon 62) HP: 283 (513 Red Dragon) - note that there is a bug in the Tensor's Trans spell, that allows you to keep a part of the hit points gained, and that they will add to a Shapechange for an incredible amount (over 800 as an Iron Golem!).
Saves Fort: 19 (25) Will: 21 Reflex: 16 (25)
Saves will change, when Shapechanged (higher). Note that one can buff the saves with spells even higher.
Skills: 233 left over to spend, as one sees fit Concentration: 46 Taunt Resistant Heal: 43 Lore : 59 Spellcraft: 57 Tumble: 20
Spells per Day: (does not include Int-enhancing or bonus spell slots) 1st—9 2nd—9 3rd—8 4th—8 5th—8 6th—8 7th—7 8th—7 9th—7 _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
Edited By WebShaman on 10/25/08 23:15
I'd suggest that in absence of any armor proficiencies, silent spell might be preferably to still, if only because there is at least some scenario where the metamagicking might be useful. Granted it's not a huge difference, but I see no reason to take still over silent.
Edit: Also, do you really take Combat Casting?
Edited By onion eater on 10/26/08 10:53
Still or Silent, as one wishes.
I have always preferred Still over Silent - probably just habit. Are there any differences in the spells offered that can be Silenced, from those that can be Stilled?
For I mostly use Still Spell feat to optimize spellslot usage (and not to cast while in armor, though it can have it's uses here, especially in a MMM (Multiclassed Melee Mage) build.
One of the main uses of Still, for example, is moving Grease to level 2, freeing up usage of True Strike for most of the first level slots (if one wishes to use True Strike, that is). I personally use Grease ALOT!
I personally do not tend to use Combat Casting - but some might. Of course, one can include something else here, if one chooses.
I also tend to take Toughness much earlier in my builds, depending on the environment. As with most builds, many of the feats chosen can be mixed around. Important to note is the bonus feats every 5 levels, however. For those are Wizard only bonus feats, and as such, need to be calculated in. You do NOT want to be "caught" on a Wizard bonus feat level being faced with having to take a less optimal feat, because you made a mistake.
Another thing that one might wish to forgoe, is Epic Spell : Mage Armor, depending on the Environment, and instead go for Epic Weapon Focus : Greatsword for the increase in AB. I tend to avoid the one-shot offensive Epic Spells, unless the environment requires it (which is seldom in my experience). _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
In EMA's favor, it must be said that it is long lasting and undispellable by any mean and that it frees up item/spell slots that would otherwise be taken. It's a good epic spell to choose IMO. _________________ They can't stop us Let them try For Heavy Metal We will die
I do remember there being perhaps a couple of spells that can't be stilled yet can be silenced, but that may have been fixed, perhaps long ago.
Either way, the point to taking one or the other is for spellbook management, but I do think silence has a slight advantage when you don't have the armor profs. I mean, if you did, then you'd always have the option of whippin' out a suit, and a shield, if you thought you really needed it, and memorizing some stilled spells, but you don't, so there's really no other use for still besides spell book management. The strength of silence is that there's at least a conceivable use. Say you run into some nasty mob that keeps casting silence. Well, retreat, swap out spells, and you actually have a way of dealing with that. Furthermore, it's not unheard of for mods to use a silence effect in an area for other reasons.
So, again, my point is not that the actual silencing effect is so important, because it's a rare situation that it will be helpful, if at all, just that while they both offer the same spellbook management potential (possibly give or take a couple of spells), silence has some other use. Some advantage vs. no advantage in what's otherwise (at least mostly) the same seems an easy choice.
Like I said, mix and match up those feats that one sees fit to change.
I personally have no problem with someone going with Silent Spell instead of Still Spell
Good point Kail on EMA. _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
Taking EWF Greatsword is better than Epic prowess if melee with that sword is your main focus when it comes to physical combat. EWF gives a +2 to AB with that weapon when Epic prowess gives +1 to all attack rolls. If you want to improve the AB of the other forms like Tensor (longsword?), dragon shape and golem, then Epic prowess is a better general purpose feat.
Definitely true, but the MM does not always attack with a Greatsword - sometimes, he is Shapechanged, or perhaps under Tensor's Trans.
Still, it is something to consider.
Good point. _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
Much better. I think you sold yourself short some hit points in your tally. Should be 320 maximum, not 283 (though I guess that was probably your random rolling result). I'd still drop Great Cleave since you lose -5 AB for each thwack, and just go with Cleave. Maybe throw in either Expertise or SF: Concentration. Otherwise, I think this is a foolproof mage build. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Oh, I did not know that max HPs was normal to post
Sorry about that - I normally just go with whatever random roll I get (old school party pooper here).
Someone fix that, please.
As for Great Cleave - I know some do not like it, but I am a believer in it, especially for builds like this that have limited number of attacks (which tends to cut down on the "falling-out-of-combat" syndrome quite alot, and due to the Flameweapon and GMW as well as two-hander damage, aside from any other elemental weapon damage, it fires often enough).
However, as usual, one can mix-up the feats as one chooses! Certainly Expertise and Impr. Expertise is an option - though I personally do not tend to use them much, tbh.
BTW - has anyone else noticed the bug with Tensor's Transformation, that not all the temp HPs get reset? I found out that if one then either does another Tensor's, or a Shapechange, that the temp HPs add together (I had an Iron Golem with over 800 hps!). I am sure that there is a bug in this regards to Tensor's Trans.
It is cheap, but since there are not going to be any other patches to the game, it is easy to abuse, if not fixed for online play server-side (who cares what one does in an SP game).
Shapechange works as it should, returning the HPs back to their original, btw. _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
It is also normal to post the actual number of ranks in your skill, and then in parentheses put the modified skills after feats, ability modifier, etc. That helps the player know how many ranks to put in each skill.
It would great if a mod would fix that too, and copy the build to the end of first post. _________________ Logic is a bouquet of beautiful flowers ... that smell bad!
Well, those skills that I deemed important enough to increase every level (and therefore, have full Ranks per level, accordingly) have been posted with numbers.
Some may wish to reduce the amount in Lore, and put them in something else.
As only Concentration and Spellcraft are really important, one can do as one pleases with the rest, as one sees fit. Environment will have alot to do with choices, IMHO.
The MM is not really a skill reliant build. _________________ A Tangled Web - Upcoming PW with PRC+CEP
Ok, after much...lazying around, I finally got off me behind and did some work.