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View Full Version : [3.5] Building a "Spellsword" (Revisited)



Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-24, 08:18 PM
Now that I'm home for the summer I've had a chance to pore over the rest of my D&D books and I've been pondering the "spellsword" plans I'd previously had. If I remember correctly, it was reccomended to look at the Suel Archanamach PRC in Complete Arcane. I've been wondering about the efficacy of a build that goes something like this:

Fighter 5 or Barbarian 5/Suel Arcanamach 10/Abjurant Champion 5.

The Suel Arcanamach is presented as a gish class that focuses on fighting mages, which was sort of my idea when I came up with this idea in the first place. A sort of self-appointed "arcane police" who kills evil spellcasters and spellcasters who abuse their magic in ways that hurt innocents, but not necessarily a paladin. Don't get me wrong, I love paladins, and a paladin synergy would actually work pretty decent with this, since Arcanamach spellcasting relies on Charisma, an important paladin stat. However, having played a paladin in the last game, I'm looking for some non-paladin fun, and it'll be nice not to have alignment restrictions for a while.

The rule about stats is the same as last time. I have a 15, 14, 13, 12, 11 and 10 to distribute among stats. I'm not really concerned about the race aside from maybe something different from human, since that what I played last time, but that doesn't mean no humans allowed.

What would be the efficient way to build this? What spells should I invest in, since the Arcanamach only has a limited amount? What are viable, non-paladin-based alternatives to this idea? Thank you. :smallsmile:

Keld Denar
2009-05-24, 08:35 PM
Oh goody! I love Suel Arcanamach!

Ok, first of all...double check your prereqs on SA. BAB +6 is required. You won't have that. Also check the skill prereqs. Concentration, Spellcraft, AND Tumble. Hmmmm.

So...how do we get all this?

Duskblade helps. Duskblade 2 gives you Combat Casting for free and Concentration + Spellcraft as class skills. Since Combat Casting is a prereq for BOTH Suel Arcanamach AND Abjurant Champion, thats a nice perk. Duskblade3 gives you Arcane Channeling, but that doesn't help you a whole lot, since without Evocation and Conjouration, Suel Arcanamachs don't have a lot of spells to channel. Channeling 2nd level Shocking Grasps is ok, but we can do better.

Warblade is also a good go. Both Concentration and Tumble as class skills, its a great lead in too. Steel Wind, Emerald Razor, and Sudden Leap are maneuvers that you can use the rest of your life. Solid 2-3 levels.

Hexblade is also fun. Has Concentration and Spellcraft and GREAT Cha Synergy. +Cha vs spells and Mettle for only 3 levels. 4 levels get you Dark Companion which is fun, but your save DCs will suck, so unless you are debuffin for your allies, probably too many levels.

Paladin has more Cha synergy. ESPECIALLY if you take the Mystic Fire Knight sub levels in Champions of Valor. If you are playing in FR, a MFK Pally/Suel devoted to Mystara kicks butt and defends the Weave. Probably have to rename Suel Arcanamach, since Suel is a racial reference to Greyhawk, but meh, flavor is maliable.

Soulborn - Holy crap. Someone get out a notepad and write this down. Soulborn are GOOD AT SOMETHING!!!! Really, pick up Saphire Smite and some good melds and you'll have a great run with Suel Arcanamach

Everything else. If you postpone your first level of Suel Arcanamach till level 8, you could get in with a couple levels of a base class that doesn't have full BAB. Kinda not recommended though. Rogue3-4 would be ok, and some other stuff. If you can swing a large sized race like Goliath, Fighter2 for Dungeoncrasher + Knockback is fun as well.

Also, generally, you never take more than 4 levels of Suel Arcanamach. Typically, you see Suel4/AbjChamp5/Spellsword1/X4, where X is often more spellsword or even Dragon Disciple (hey, its good for something too!!!!).

More to come, dinner time!

EDIT:
Oh, don't forget Barbarian. Pounce is ALWAYS good, and with the decent Cha you need for Suel, you can pick up Imperious Command, Immediate RAge, and Intimidating Rage. Also opens up Rage Mage as a PrC to advance your Suel casting. This is kinda a fun niche idea.

tonberrian
2009-05-24, 08:41 PM
First of all, the build itself doesn't work - Suel Arcanamach requires BAB +6, which means you need at least six levels of full BAB to qualify. Since you can't take Abjurant Champion until you have spellcasting, that means that you're stuck with losing either a level of Arcanamach or Abjurant Champion.

Secondly, how much are you attached to the Arcanamach class features? As it is, Abjurant Champion will not advance Arcanamach casting past effective level 10, so the casting progression is rather useless. I assume, then, that the reason you want Abjurant Champion is for the class features. However, if you cut out the last 5 levels of Arcanamach, you can free up another four levels to work with, and you're only giving up a gimped dispel effect and reduced ASF, which can be reproduced by items.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-24, 08:43 PM
I figured something would have to change in the build I haven't thought it through that completely. I'm more interested in the concept I described in the beginning, a "swordmage" who specializes in killing evil magic users. What classes I take to get there are irrelevant.

Sinfire Titan
2009-05-24, 09:02 PM
Gnome Crusader 2/Fighter 2/ Crusader +2/ Seul Arcanamach 3/Jade Phoenix Mage 5/Abjurant Champion 5/Seul+1

Stat priorities:

Str: 10
Dex: 12
Con: 13
Int: 14
Wis: 11
Cha: 15

Feats:
1st: Iron Will
Flaw 1: Stone Power
Flaw 2: Extra Granted Maneuver
3rd: Combat Casting
3rd Fighter 1: Combat Expertise
4th Fighter 2: Combat Reflexes (+1 Dex)
6th: Dodge
9th: Karmic Strike
12th: Obtain Familiar
15th: Improved Familiar or Robilar's Gambit
18th: Improved Familiar or Robilar's Gambit, whichever you didn't take.

Both Stone Power and Extra Granted Maneuver can be dropped if Flaws are not allowed (but doing so hurts).


Spells:

1st: Net of Shadows, Enlarge Person, Nerveskitter, Ray of Clumsiness, Shield
2nd: Chain of Eyes, Spymaster's Coin, Sense Weakness, Mirror Image, Alter Self, Rope Trick, Arcane Turmoil
3rd: Alter Fortune, Unluck, Vertigo Field, Legion of Sentinels, Displacement, Haste, Fly, Greater Magic Weapon, Heart of Water, Anticipate Teleportation
4th: Assay Spell Resistance, Scry, Shadow Conjuration, Greater Invisibility, Polymorph, Displacer Form, Celerity, Heart of Earth, Wall of X, Mass Resist Energy, Otiluke’s Suppressing Field (normally sucks, but for you this stops Evocation and Conjuration dead)
5th: Draconic Polymorph, Telekinesis, Lord of the Sky (Dragon Magic), Heart of Fire, Transmute Rock to Mud, Greater Blink, Spell Theft



Most of those are from the SC, CM, PH2, PHB, and CS. Those should cover your basic needs. Try to find Runestaves that have spells you don't know from the above list (get them custom-made).

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-24, 09:08 PM
Why a gnome, just out of curiosity? And furthermore, how can this mix be justified from a roleplaying standpoint? That'll cinch whether or not such a combo is approved by the DM or not.

Keld Denar
2009-05-24, 09:52 PM
Suel Arcanamach Handbook (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=973886)

From there:

Martial Suel (by Vitellio)
7 Warblade/4 Suel/5 Abjurant Champion/1 Spellsword/ +3 warblade


Green Star Arcanamach by Howland Reed
Paladin2/Duskblade2/Warblade2/Suel Arcanamach4/Abjurant Champion2/Green Star Adept8

The Suel Man by Felonious Ela
Illumian Duskblade 3/Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/SuArc 1/Abjurant Champion 5/SuArc +3/Spellsword 1/Dragon Disciple 4

Sublime Arcanamach
Duskblade 2/Paladin (Harmonious Knight) 4/Suel Arcanamach 4/Virtuoso 2/Sublime Chord 2/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5

Shooting Star Arcanamach
DelkyrHald-Blood Ranger 5/Cyran Avenger 5/Suel Arcanamach 4/Abjurant Champion 5/Impure Prince 1

Nasty Arcanamach by InnaBnder
Ranger 2/Duskblade 3/Warblade 2/Suel Arcanamach 6/Impure Prince 5/Jade Phoenix Mage 2


Alternatively
Mystic Fire Paladin6/Suel4/AbjChamp5/Spellsword1/X4

So...anything look interesting?

Sinfire Titan
2009-05-24, 10:48 PM
Why a gnome, just out of curiosity? And furthermore, how can this mix be justified from a roleplaying standpoint? That'll cinch whether or not such a combo is approved by the DM or not.

The +1 CL to Illusions makes Shadow Conjuration slightly more viable. And the Con/Size bonus to AC making you more resilient at the lower levels (and largely become irrelevant when you get Polymorph/Dragonic Polymorph).

The "Mix" can be justified a number of ways, however you see fit. The alternative (Crusader 6/Seul 4/JPM 5/Abjurant Champion 5) just loses out on Karmic Strike and Robilar's Gambit 9it can keep Gambit if the feats fit). Otherwise, you are a combat tank/Gish.

RP justification should never prevent a build from being posted, and anyone can write a backstory. The only thing that determines if it is a good one or a bad one is how good you are with words.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-24, 11:39 PM
I see what you mean, but last time I suggested a build that cheesy to my group, several members got very leery of it, stating that it was built from an optimization standpoint with no thought given as to how it would make sense roleplaying-wise. I'm of the frame of mind that optimization and roleplaying should temper each other, rather than be mutually exclusive. My players would want me to justify the mix of classes so they make a believable character, since they don't like players who play an optimized character without any consideration of roleplaying.

Besides, gnomes in my DMs setting kind of gave up on magic to focus on technology instead.

And Keld? The guidebook is very informative, but unfortunately I don't have a lot of the books they use. Here's what I DO have:


Player's Handbook 3.5
Dungeon Master's Guide 3.5
Monster Manual 3.5
Sword and Fist (3.0)
Stronghold Builder's Guidebook (3.0)
Hero Builder's Guidebook (3.0)
Defenders of the Faith (3.0)
Masters of the Wild (3.0)
Tome and Blood (3.0)
Arms and Equipment Guide
Deities and Demigods
Epic Level Handbook
Savage Species
Book of Exalted Deeds
Tome of Magic
Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords
Player's Handbook II
Complete Warrior
Complete Adventurer
Complete Arcane
Complete Divine
Complete Mage
Complete Scoundrel
Complete Champion
Weapons of Legacy
Oriental Adventures
Heroes of Battle
Heroes of Horror
Dungeonscape
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells
Drow of the Underdark
Dragon Compendium: Volume I
Spell Compendium
Dragon: Monster Ecologies


I don't have any Forgotten Realms books, any Eberron books, any of the Races books, etc. Furthermore, I'm not even sure if such a character would be approved anyway. Everyone else in the group just used the corebooks and that was it.

Goatman_Ted
2009-05-25, 01:50 AM
Furthermore, I'm not even sure if such a character would be approved anyway. Everyone else in the group just used the corebooks and that was it.
You want a moderately effective character that'd be approved by just about any group with your sourcebooks. Okay.

Human
Duskblade 3/Fighter 1/Warblade 2/Arcanamach 10/Cleric 1/Abjurant Champion 5.

Find a god with similar goals to the ones you list in the first post. That should get you the Magic and Inquisition domains. Inquisition advances your class Dispel ability beyond your class levels. Magic gives a slew of wand/staff options.

The fluff? Exactly what you were planning originally.
The Warblade, Cleric and Arcanamach are the only classes with any fluff mentioned in their entries. If you have trouble jiving those, I don't know what to tell you.

...

Or, if you really don't want to risk going too far, Hexblade 4/Fighter 2/Arcanamach 10/Abjurant Champion 5.
From your threads, it sounds like even this could be twinked too much for your games.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-05-25, 04:09 AM
I'd go Warlock 8/ Suel Arcanamach 2/ Eldritch Theurge 10, using Wild Elf to qualify via racial weapon proficiencies. Focus on Strength and Charisma, take Eldritch Glaive and use it with Power Attack. Pick up Improved Toughness since you'll be getting some low HD, and Combat Reflexes is also useful. Eldritch Glaive is in Dragon Magic, if you don't have that then just google it and you should find the complete wording at the first result.

Be sure to use the Otyugh Hole from Complete Scoundrel to get Iron Will without having to spend a feat on it, regardless of what build you use. Hellbred from Fiendish Codex II would be a good race to use, if you don't need any racial weapon proficiencies to qualify for SA. Maybe instead go Hellbred (spirit) Warlock 4/ Warblade 3/ Suel Arcanamach 1/ Abjurant Champion 5/ Spellsword 1/ SA +3/ Warlock +3, again with Eldritch Glaive, though you can't use any Strikes with it so stick to counters and boosts that may be useful. You'll also be able to take the feat Mindsight from Lords of Madness at level 15, which works like a powerful version of Blindsense for anything with an Int score.

Remember that you can apply your own bonuses and penalties and other effects in the most beneficial order. Martial Arcanist from Abjurant Champion 5 makes your caster level equal your BAB. If you have Practiced Spellcaster, you can add the bonus after that to possibly make your caster level equal your character level, despite having a slightly lower BAB. Also don't forget about typical Gish tricks like Arcane Strike and Bladeweave.

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 11:08 AM
Also, the Karmic X line of Abjurations are pretty awesome for a Suel gish. Swift action to throw up, and affect anyone who uses melee or ranged attacks on you. PHBII IIRC.

Sinfire Titan
2009-05-25, 11:29 AM
Also, the Karmic X line of Abjurations are pretty awesome for a Suel gish. Swift action to throw up, and affect anyone who uses melee or ranged attacks on you. PHBII IIRC.

Complete Mage.

woodenbandman
2009-05-25, 11:30 AM
How do you plan on advancing your in-class casting past the 10th level of Suel Arcanamach? Suel 10 + Abj Champ 5 = 15 levels of casting from a 10 level PrC. Nope.

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 12:12 PM
It would still advance your CL, but you are right, you wouldn't get any more spells per day or spells known from having 15 spellcaster levels.

Thats kinda the funny perk of Dragon Disciple. It just gives you bonus spells/day. Normally, this would be bad, but once you've already gotten all you can from a 10 level PrC, its pretty much the only way to enhance the spellcasting aspect without adding in new spellcasting classes!

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 02:28 PM
You want a moderately effective character that'd be approved by just about any group with your sourcebooks. Okay.

Human
Duskblade 3/Fighter 1/Warblade 2/Arcanamach 10/Cleric 1/Abjurant Champion 5.

Find a god with similar goals to the ones you list in the first post. That should get you the Magic and Inquisition domains. Inquisition advances your class Dispel ability beyond your class levels. Magic gives a slew of wand/staff options.

The fluff? Exactly what you were planning originally.
The Warblade, Cleric and Arcanamach are the only classes with any fluff mentioned in their entries. If you have trouble jiving those, I don't know what to tell you.

...

Or, if you really don't want to risk going too far, Hexblade 4/Fighter 2/Arcanamach 10/Abjurant Champion 5.
From your threads, it sounds like even this could be twinked too much for your games.

I like these builds. They're a lot more compact and easier to follow. Who says I gotta worship a god with Magic and Inquisition though? Can't I just be a cleric who worships those concepts? You don't necessarily need a god to be a cleric.

What'd be the best kind of weapon to use? I'm thinking a greatsword or something, but I'm open to suggestions.

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 02:39 PM
For a weapon, there are 2 major options, IMO. First would be a big 2handed Slashing weapon, like a Greatsword, or a Glaive. The reason you need a slasher is for the awesome level 2 Transmutation Whirling Blade. This spell is GREAT for a nearly full BAB "gish" type character, giving you a ranged attack you can Power Attack with. Suel can also use his Dispelling Strike with it, and a Suel/Spellsword could use his Arcane Channeling through it (although a Duskblade/Suel could not).

The other is a big 2handed Bludgeoner. The reason here is the spell Greater Mighty Wallop from Races of the Dragon. GMWallop increases your weapons base damage by a goodly lot, making it worthwhile.

I suppose another option might be a pair of light bludgeoners. Again, GMWallop helps bring damage up, and you can TWF to abuse Divine Might and Arcane Strike and Knowledge Devotion as your sources of bonus damage.

I personally like option 1 best, since I LOVE the Whirling Blade spell, but its ultimately up to you.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 02:46 PM
Which is more badass in your opinion, a glaive or a greatsword?

Berserk Monk
2009-05-25, 02:50 PM
I'd go fighter/sorcerer. In a rage, you can't cast spells. As for sorcerer, you get less spells, but more spells per day, and I think it's better to be able to cast those buff spells on you multiple times (bull's strength, bear's endurance, enlarge person).

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 03:28 PM
Glaive. Reach weapons are great. Against things your size, you may get a free swing every once in a while, even without Combat Reflexes. Against things bigger than you, at least you'll deny them that swing most of the time.

Its only about 1 damage less per hit than a greatsword.

EDIT:

I'd go fighter/sorcerer. In a rage, you can't cast spells. As for sorcerer, you get less spells, but more spells per day, and I think it's better to be able to cast those buff spells on you multiple times (bull's strength, bear's endurance, enlarge person).

Unless he went a little something like:

Barbarian2/Fighter1/Hexblade3/Suel4/RageMage10

or

Barbarian2/Fighter1/Hexblade3/Suel4/RageMage5/AbjChamp5

That would allow for casting spells during a rage, and ends up with full SA casting by 20.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 03:40 PM
I was thinking more fighter less barbarian. I'm thinking of using a glaive sort of like a makeshift staff. It wouldn't be an actual staff, but it would fill the image of the "staff" weilding "mage" in armored "robes."

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 04:00 PM
Think you can eck out a large race like a Goliath or 1/2 Ogre? Then you could nab Knockback AND Whirling Blade and throw people around from a distance. Oh, and Dungeoncrashing...bouncing people's heads off the walls for FUN and PROFIT!

Otherwise, cool idea. With Abj Champ, you can cast Shield as a swift action, but you'll never get Mage Armor (Conjouration). Suel does let you wear some armor though. At Suel1, you could wear a Mithril Chain Shirt with Thistledown Padding, and at Suel4, you could ditch the underwear. Mith Chain Shirt is light enough that it should be nearly undetectable under your voluminous robes.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 04:21 PM
Think you can eck out a large race like a Goliath or 1/2 Ogre? Then you could nab Knockback AND Whirling Blade and throw people around from a distance. Oh, and Dungeoncrashing...bouncing people's heads off the walls for FUN and PROFIT!

Otherwise, cool idea. With Abj Champ, you can cast Shield as a swift action, but you'll never get Mage Armor (Conjouration). Suel does let you wear some armor though. At Suel1, you could wear a Mithril Chain Shirt with Thistledown Padding, and at Suel4, you could ditch the underwear. Mith Chain Shirt is light enough that it should be nearly undetectable under your voluminous robes.

Keld? I don't have Races of Stone or Races of Destiny, remember?

Not voluminous robes though. I picture him kind of as a glaive-wielding, spell-casting Batman.

Dhavaer
2009-05-25, 04:37 PM
I'm fond in this overly-PrCed monstrosity for Suel Arcanamach: Hexblade 2/Warblade 6/Suel Arcanamach 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Dragonslayer 1/Jade Phoenix Mage 4/Dragon Disciple 1.

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 04:44 PM
Hey...You don't really need Races of Stone to play a goliath. Its not like they are really that hard to figure out. Go to a local bookstore and read the book for 2 minutes and you'll know all the vitals. Same with Knockback.

Anyway, that sounds good. I kinda had the idea of more of a Ring Wraith type cloaked figure. Ominous and full of ownage. With a Spellsword and 4 Suel levels, you could be rockin a fitted black mithril breastplate with epic manly abs impressioned on the front of them. Then all you'd need is the hood and the pointy ears...Star Elf?

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 07:51 PM
Hey...You don't really need Races of Stone to play a goliath. Its not like they are really that hard to figure out. Go to a local bookstore and read the book for 2 minutes and you'll know all the vitals. Same with Knockback.

Anyway, that sounds good. I kinda had the idea of more of a Ring Wraith type cloaked figure. Ominous and full of ownage. With a Spellsword and 4 Suel levels, you could be rockin a fitted black mithril breastplate with epic manly abs impressioned on the front of them. Then all you'd need is the hood and the pointy ears...Star Elf?

Yeah, but I also need to get it approved by my DM, which means I'd have to have the book on hand when playing the character so he can check it.

That Nazgûl idea is actually pretty sweet. When I said Batman, I was referring to that rare badass quality that Batman seems to have. You know, the kind where the baddies crap their pants in terror when they see him coming and they know that he's just going to keep on coming until he gets them, no matter what obstacles they throw in front of him, or how far they try to run? Batman always gets his criminal, and this guy always gets his spellcaster.

Why pointy ears though? The Nazgûl were nine kings of Men. And what the heck is a star elf?

Ominous and full of ownage is EXACTLY what I want with this character.

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 07:55 PM
Why pointy ears though? The Nazgûl were nine kings of Men. And what the heck is a star elf?

Errrmmmmm, cause batman has pointy ears on the hood of his costume? I was just teasin about that.

So, which build were you gonna go with? Any thoughts?

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 08:00 PM
Probably the build reccomended by Goatman Ted, Hexblade 4/Fighter 2/Arcanamach 10/Abjurant Champion 5. It requires the least multiclassing, which will make my group go easier on me. The other one looks tempting, but the less I have to ask my DM to approve, the better. Besides, I'd have to probably apply for multiple citizenships to justify the multiclassing (in our campaign world, only certain nations train certain classes. If you want to be a paladin, you either have to come from the Dwarf Kingdoms or Armorica. If said paladin wanted to take levels of rogue, he'd have to also become a citizen of Adriatica, the nation of gnomes) What'd be a good level-by-level plan for this bad boy?

Just off the top of my head, I'm wagering the following stats will be necessary.

14 STR, 13 DEX, 12 CON, 10 INT, 11 WIS, 15 CHA

Keld Denar
2009-05-25, 08:17 PM
Could you maybe do this?

Ex-Hexblade4/Fighter2/Suel4/AbjurantChamp5/SacredExorcist5 or something? Suel doesn't get really any good class features after 4, and at 5 you lose a point of BAB, so 4 is a commonly cited jump out point. Its only got 1 more class than the build you posted, but having SE as a source of Turn Undead opens up Divine Might and a bunch of other Divine/Devotion feats. Would this be possible?

BTW, Ex-Hexblade is just a Hexblade that becomes good. You don't lose any of your abilities, but you can't continue advancing as a Hexblade. That doesn't matter, because you don't WANT to advance Hexblade any more. You need to be good to become a Sacred Exorcist.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-25, 08:28 PM
Also, I managed to dredge up my DM's houserules for our last campaign:

THE THULE CAMPAIGN:
HOUSE RULES

Welcome to my campaign! You’re already familiar with the character requirements: a Level One hero belonging to one of the core classes*, and one of the core races (plus changelings, feytouched, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, merfolk, orcs, and planetouched), with the average starting gold for your class given in Chapter Seven of the PHB, and abilities of “15 down”. Consider these house rules your introduction to this character’s world.

* = My DM was very lenient about this part, so feel free to ignore it.

Knowledge (Geography):
The campaign is set in Europe, during the final glaciation of the next Ice Age 100,000 years from now. But your character knows it only as “Thule”, and as far as they are concerned, it is the center of the universe.

Your character belongs to one of three kingdoms: Armorica (France, Germany, the Low Countries, and the British Isles), Sylvania (Austria, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech and Slovak Republics), or Hyperborea (Poland and the Ukraine). All of these countries are allied with each other: Knowledge (Geography) rolls for your own country are DC 10, while rolls for an ally are DC 15. (Armorica is also allied with the Dwarf Kingdoms, in their common fight against Alsara.)

Every nation sponsors a handful of heroic guilds and state cults, whose members receive certain advantages in return for their annual dues and tithes. (Each is worth ten times your effective character level in gold pieces, and that doesn’t include the equal amount you have to pay to the state earlier in the year. Ain’t feudalism a bitch?) Armorica trains bards, clerics and paladins, and worships Pelor and St. Cuthbert. Sylvania trains druids, rangers and wizards, and worships Ehlonna and Obad-Hai. Hyperborea trains barbarians, clerics and sorcerers, and worships Boccob and Kord. Your character can cross-class outside your kingdom’s sanctioned guild halls…but that entails swearing allegiance to another government, which does train your desired class. This can be a perilous prospect.

Six other nations are known to your character: Adriatica (Italy, Greece, and the Balkans), Alsara (Cyprus and northern Africa), the Dwarf Kingdoms (in the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians), Outremer (all of the Middle East), Sarmatia (Russia), and Tauria (Turkey). Rolls for these countries range from DC 20 to DC 25, depending on whether your people have hostile relations with them, or no relations at all.

All the rest of the world is known only in mythical terms: the Great Ice to the north, the Great Sea to the west, the Terra Incognita and the Mysterious East. These form the borders of your flat Earth, a literally planar Material Plane. Which brings us to…
Knowledge (Mystical):
As far as I’m concerned, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (the Planes), and Knowledge (Religion) are all the same thing: whenever any of these would be called for, just roll Knowledge (Mystical). (Of course, characters are still restricted to their level +3 ranks in the skill…but at least it’s a skill shared by bards, clerics, monks, paladins, sorcerers and wizards.) Note that this new skill can be applied to constructs, dragons, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, undead…and fey and monstrous humanoids, since Thule considers them all to be creatures of the “a-wizard-did-it” variety. (Also, creatures of the “aberration” type have been assigned to the magical beasts, so no worries there.)

The Material Plane is one of only five: the DMG says I can use fewer than the standard twenty-seven (!), and hot damn, I certainly will! The Celestial Plane is the home of the nine good gods: Corellon Larethian, Ehlonna, Garl Glittergold, Heironeous, Hextor, Kord, Moradin, Pelor and Yondalla. It is the source of all positive energy, and is itself mildly positive-aligned; also, positive-themed spells are enhanced while negative-themed spells are impeded. (See the DMG for definitions of these terms.) Coexistent with the Celestial Plane is its malignant double, the Fiendish Abyss. This is where the eight evil gods hold court: Erythnul, Gruumsh, Hruggek, Kurtulmak, Laogzed, Maglubiyet, Nerull, and Vecna. As would be expected, its traits are exactly opposite those of the Celestial Plane. The Material Plane, home of the eight neutral gods (Boccob, Eadro, Fharlanghn, Obad-Hai, Olidammara, St. Cuthbert, Skerrit, and Wee Jas), also has an evil twin, the Ethereal Shadow. No gods live here: in fact anyone who arrives there turns into a vampire or lycanthrope if they don’t succeed on a DC 15 Will save once per minute. The Ethereal Shadow is coexistent with the Material Plane: darkness-, ethereal-, and shadow-themed spells are enhanced, while electricity-, fire-, and light- themed spells are impeded. Finally, all four parts of the cosmos are bound together by the Astral Plane, coexistent with all the others, a timeless silver void with subjective gravity…but no solid surfaces.

Reincarnation is central to all faiths, good, evil or neutral. Which fey, elemental or outsider you become in your next life depends on your alignment and level in this one. So even the least ambitious commoners and druids want to rise through the ranks, lest they be trapped as a nixie or lemure forever. And breaking this cycle through undeath is considered so heinous and unnatural that destroying the undead is always considered a good act, and summoning or creating them is an absolute evil.
Knowledge (Nature):
As is standard, Knowledge (Nature) can be applied to animals, plants, vermin and giants; oozes are also included, since they are considered to be mutant fungi or slime molds. Remember that as mere Level One characters, you won’t know very much about the enemies you face. Each time you meet a new kind of monster, make a DC 10 + CR check to remember your guild hall training. If you fail, your character will be totally ignorant of its special attacks, qualities and spell-like abilities…even nasty ones like breath weapons and petrifying stares. (The same applies for monsters covered by Knowledge [Mystical]).

A few words must be said here about “pets”: mounts, familiars, companions and summons. Mounts are treated just as in the DMG: any creatures one or more sizes larger than your character, with a CR at least three levels lower than your ECL (or at least four, if the creature can fly). Familiars from the PHB are allowed, but not the variants from the DMG, since they don’t seem to offer any skill bonuses. A druid can pick any animal-type creature of half their druid level for a companion, except for: apes, baboons, camels, constrictor snakes, crocodiles, dinosaurs, giant octopi, monitor lizards, monkeys, rhinoceroses, and tigers; or dire badgers, bats, boars, rats, sharks, weasels and wolverines. These animals never existed in either modern or Ice Age Europe. Rangers can choose any druid’s animal of one-fourth their ranger level.

The summon monster spell now summons the following dragons, fey, magical beasts and monstrous humanoids:

I: stirge
II: death dog, sprite (grig), sprite (nixie)
III: dragon (wyrmling white), grimalkin, hippocampus, hippogriff, redcap, satyr (without pipes)
IV: centaur, cockatrice, doppelganger, dragon (wyrmling black), dragon (wyrmling blue), dragon (very young white), dryad, pegasus, senmurv, spriggan, unicorn
V: dragon (very young black), dragon (very young blue), dragon (wyrmling red), dragon (young white), gargoyle, griffon, harpy, hydra (five-headed), minotaur, satyr (with pipes), sprite (without dance)
VI: basilisk, dragon (young black), dragon (wyrmling gold), dragon (very young red), fossergrim, manticore, sirine, sphinx (hieraco-), sprite (with dance)
VII: catoblepas, dragon (young blue), dragon (juvenile white), glaistig, hydra (seven-headed), lamia, will-o-wisp, wyvern
VIII: chimera, dragon (juvenile black), dragon (very young gold), dragon (young red), medusa, naga (water), nymph, oread, scorpionfolk, sphinx (crio-)
IX: dragon (juvenile blue), dragon (young adult white), gorgon, hydra (nine-headed), lammasu, naga (dark), sphinx (gyno-)


The summon nature’s ally spell now summons the following animals, giants, oozes, plants and vermin:

I: badger, bat, cat, dog, donkey, eagle, hawk, lizard, monstrous centipede (tiny), monstrous scorpion (tiny), monstrous spider (tiny), owl, pony, porpoise, rat, raven, toad, viper snake (small), war pony, weasel
II: horse (heavy or light), hyena, manta ray, mule, octopus, shark (medium), riding dog, shrieker fungus, squid, viper snake (medium), warhorse (light), wolf
III: bear (black), bison, boar, cheetah, leopard, shark (large), viper snake (large), warhorse (heavy), wolverine
IV: assassin vine, dire wolf, lion, ogre, violet fungus, viper snake (huge)
V: bear (brown), bear (polar), shark (huge), yellow musk creeper
VI: dire lion, ochre jelly, snowflake ooze, troll, whale (orca)
VII: dread blossom, ettin, shambling mound, whale (baleen)
VIII: black pudding, dire bear, dire elk, elephant, giant (hill), whale (cachalot)
IX: dire tiger, treant


The planar ally and planar binding spells still call outsiders and elementals.

Lesser planar…: angel (movanic deva), archon (hound), archon (justice), archon (lantern), bacchae, barghest, demon (mane), devil (imp), devil (lemure), devil (succubus), dwarf ancestor, eladrin (coure), eladrin (bralani), elemental (small), elemental (medium), genie (janni), hellhound, nightmare, sylph, triton, yeth hound
Planar…: angel (astral deva), angel (monadic deva), archon (owl), archon (sword), archon (trumpet), archon (warden), asura, couatl, demon (blood fiend), devil (erinyes), eladrin (firre), eladrin (ghale), eladrin (shiradi), elemental (large), genie (djinni), genie (efreeti), moon dog, night hag, rakshasa, salamander
Greater planar…: archon (throne), angel (planetar), devil (malebranche), devil (pit fiend), eladrin (tulani), elemental (huge), elemental wierd


Most of the other “summon” spells – summon swarm, shambler, and so on – work as normal. Animate dead still creates either skeletons or zombies. Create undead now summons ghouls at caster level 14 or below, and mummies at level 15 and above. Create greater undead now summons wraiths at level 15 and below, spectres at levels 16 and 17, drowned at levels 18 and 19, and jahis at level 20 or above. (Forgive me, but I have no taste for “ghasts” and “mohrgs”.)

Players are encouraged to build or buy constructs. However, since the given rules for them are contradictory or downright nonsensical, we will be using these instead. Any given construct requires raw materials, as listed in the Monster Manuals. First, a Craft check must be made to fashion its body, with a DC of 10 +the construct’s CR. To animate the body, animate objects must be cast on it, followed immediately by a Knowledge (Mystical) check with a DC of 10 +the construct’s CR. This creates a construct with the standard hit points, abilities, and so on, but no spells or spell-like abilities. These must be “programmed” into the construct by casting them during its creation, followed by a Knowledge (Mystical) check just as before. One spell may be programmed for each level in the construct’s CR: a homunculus or bogun can cast only one spell, and that just once, while a juggernaut or stone golem can have eleven spells which it can cast just once, or nine spells it can cast once and two spells it can cast twice, or…etc. Constructs cast spells at the programmer’s level. Since this ability is potentially very powerful, constructs cannot be built with additional hit dice.

To build a construct, you also need to establish a workshop worth 500 gold pieces; to buy one (assuming your kingdom manufactures them), you must pay the cost of the raw materials, the cost of animate objects (a sixth-level spell), and the cost of any programmed spells. Animate objects, mending, and make whole are now available to bards, clerics, druids, sorcerers and wizards.

Knowledge (History):
I’m a bit pressed for time, and I doubt that Level One characters are going to be intimately familiar with 100,000 years of history anyway. For now, a century should suffice.

Only six years ago, your kingdom and its allies decided to unite in a massive construction project, a “Long Wall” from modern-day Krakow to Gerlachovsky Peak in the Carpathian Mountains. After graduating from their guild halls, most new heroes are sent there for experience in leadership, combat, fortification, international cooperation, and hostile environments. (The wall stretches across a tundra between two glaciers…bring a scarf!)

The Long Wall was made necessary by Feng Khan, a half-orc barbarian who rallied Hyperborea’s tribes of orcs and goblinoids, and established a new nation on its eastern border 14 years ago. These “Sarmatian” forces are now running rampant through the empire – the current Empress only took the throne ten years ago because her father the Emperor was killed in battle – and even driving into the farthest marches of Armorica. Armorica itself, once the most glorious kingdom in Thule, was laid low by the infamous dragons Y Ddraig Goch and Hwitdraca 40 years ago, by the armies of Alsara 35 years ago (leading to its current alliance with the Dwarf Kingdoms), and again by the rampages of the tarrasque 23 years ago. Sylvania also has problems with dragons. Behir, an ancient blue dragon and the oldest of all creatures in Thule, took up residence in Tauria centuries ago: at the request of that country’s evil dwarves, he sent his mate Vignarthurkear to conquer the elven nation single-handed. It took the entire royal family and their whole personal guard to strike her down, and Queen Valanthe herself died in this “Blue Crusade” 65 years ago.

Beyond these “current events” lie the thousands of years of the “Age of Kings”, and the countless millennia of the “Age of Magi” and “Age of Gold”…the days when gods walked openly among men. Rumors persist of an “Age of Ashes” before even this, when mithril and adamantine were as common as paper and pig iron; when mortals could harness the fires of the Sun. But even in garbled form, these tales are known only to a few, and denounced as blasphemy by the pious. Naturally, while rolls for the recent past are DC 10 or 15, rolls for this mythical period are up to DC 30.
Knowledge (Local):
Knowledge (Local) works normally, and is most useful for learning about non-monstrous humanoids, individual cities and provinces, or great heroes. But a “great hero” of Thule is not necessarily as impressive as in other campaigns you may have played.

Remember the legend lore spell in the PHB: technically, any character of Level Eleven and higher counts as “legendary”, the equivalent of Achilles or Robin Hood. In all of Thule, there are perhaps 300 heroes of this stature; each nation has only one hero of Level Fifteen. I plan to get at least a few of you to Level Twenty, but your characters will be the first to achieve such glory in centuries. Mid-level spells like animate objects, atonement, raise dead, and reincarnate are rare, as are most magic items.
Knowledge (Dungeoneering):
Actually, this section has nothing to do with dungeoneering. I just needed a place to set down the rest of the house rules.

First, there is no penalty for shooting into melee. I never understood why a raging barbarian with an axe is less dangerous to his friends than a sharp-eyed ranger with a bow.

Second, I have no patience for arcane spell failure or non-proficiency penalties. So if you’re not proficient with it, you can’t use it. On the plus side, I have no patience with having to rack up half-a-dozen weapon proficiencies just to use your own gear either. In this campaign, Exotic Weapon Proficiency counts for all exotic weapons, Martial Weapon Proficiency counts for all martial weapons, and so forth.

Third, I have met exactly one other “Dungeon Master” who bothered with experience points; all the rest operated by DM fiat. That seems like a perfectly sensible system to me. Expect to level up at the end of each game you attend and survive, unless you do something that would normally cost you experience.

Fourth, I have met exactly zero other DMs who bothered with spell components. Except in extraordinary cases, I will follow their example. (But don’t expect NPCs to cast free spells for you, just because they don’t need components. Time is money…)

Lastly: You are heroes. You will be demi-gods. The fate of the known world rests in your hands. ROCK OUT.
Do these help any?

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-26, 05:16 PM
Could you maybe do this?

Ex-Hexblade4/Fighter2/Suel4/AbjurantChamp5/SacredExorcist5 or something? Suel doesn't get really any good class features after 4, and at 5 you lose a point of BAB, so 4 is a commonly cited jump out point. Its only got 1 more class than the build you posted, but having SE as a source of Turn Undead opens up Divine Might and a bunch of other Divine/Devotion feats. Would this be possible?

BTW, Ex-Hexblade is just a Hexblade that becomes good. You don't lose any of your abilities, but you can't continue advancing as a Hexblade. That doesn't matter, because you don't WANT to advance Hexblade any more. You need to be good to become a Sacred Exorcist.

You're right. Especially since after re-reading the house rules which show that ASF doesn't even exist in the setting. I could wear any kind of armor without spellcasting penalties.

What does Sacred Exorcist provide to the mix?

Goatman_Ted
2009-05-26, 05:24 PM
What does Sacred Exorcist provide to the mix?
Sacred Exorcist=Turn Undead for Divine feats.
Divine Feats mean applying Charisma bonuses to all sorts of things.

But I don't see the point in this build. You'd have 14/10 Arcanamach casting.
Better a Cleric level to avoid alignment issues and to score some domains, IMO.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-26, 08:59 PM
I've done some more checking of the build, but something puzzles me. It's apparently Hexblade 4/Fighter 2/Arcanamach 10/Abjurant 5. That's 21 levels. Something needs to be trimmed.

Goatman_Ted
2009-05-26, 09:10 PM
I've done some more checking of the build, but something puzzles me. It's apparently Hexblade 4/Fighter 2/Arcanamach 10/Abjurant 5. That's 21 levels. Something needs to be trimmed.

Does your game start and stop at 20th level exactly?

If it does, you could just overlap AC with Arcanamach. Your dispel checks will be too low anyway.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-26, 10:16 PM
Our previous campaign everyone started at 1st level.

Keld Denar
2009-05-26, 11:48 PM
Like I said....Arcanamach offers very little after 4. It loses 2 more BAB at 5 and 9, gets slightly more ASF reduction (which you said doesn't matter), and a couple more uses of Dispelling Strike, which doesn't scale well past that level anyway. In its place, you add in 5 levels of AbjChamp which HAS full BAB and full casting, and amazing class features. Then you take 1 level of Spellsword, that finishes out your SA casting. You can't advance it past that.

Thats why Dragon Disciple4 is really nice. You lose 1 BAB, but you get like, +4 Str, +2 Cha and a bunch of spell slots that you can add to any level of spells that you use most often, probably 5th since you can always trade spontaneous slots down. Its really the best use of Dragon Disciple outside of gestalt...ever. Otherwise, Sacred Exorcist, gives you turn undead to power Divine feats and you can just ignore the caster level part. Or you can take Spellsword+4, which gives you full BAB and a wierd Arcane Channeling ability. Your call from there. I wouldn't take all 10 levels of Suel Arcanamach though...its really not great.

Zain
2009-05-27, 06:33 PM
you could try a homebrew
if you have your dm Ok

try this http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111841

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-05-28, 09:47 AM
You know, in light of this new information, I could just make this character a Fighter 1/Wizard 19, or maybe a Fighter 1/Wizard 9/Eldritch Knight 10 and it'd be fine. Classes like Duskblade and prestige classes like Spellsword and Suel Arcanamach are kind of obsolete in a system where spell failure doesn't exist.