Advice on Duskblade build

[Boone43]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to GitP, and I've been pretty far removed from tabletop rpging for a bunch of years.

Some friends and I are starting a 3.5e campaign on Roll20, and i'd like some build help.

I'm planning on running A Duskblade starting at level-3. In reading some forum posts, I realize I might get some disagreement with this, but I'm pretty set on prestiging into a Fatespinner down the line.
I'm figuring a dip into Raumathari Battlemage along the way seems to make sense.

The dip in R. Battlemage will be good for maintaining a good BAB, gaining the channel spell ability, and it will give me access to the profession(gambler) skill which will allow me to prestige into the Fatespinner.

So my questions are:
Does this sound feasible?
If not, please tell me why, and maybe offer suggestions.
If so, which skills and feats would you suggest?
How many levels do you think I should take in Duskblade before prestiging?
How many levels of R.Battlemage should I go for?

Thanks in advance, everyone. Bear with me, I'm learning!

[Grim Reader]

Well, the Duskblades thing is channel spell, and being a Full-bab caster. Bit squishy for the front lines, but not a deal breaker.

Most Duskblades take Arcane Strike and Knowledge Devotion. The best time to PrC out is normally considered after level 13, when you get full channel.

I've not actually seen the R. Battlemage in play so a bit weak on how they work in practice. But between that and Fatespinner, you are diluting your HD with d4s, and your BaB with 1/2 and 2/3rds BaB levels, while keeping spell progression on a fairly slow progression advancement. You run the risk of not being able to actually do anything effectual. But a lot depends on what the rest of your group plays.

I do know the Duskblade from play, and the actual play of it tends to be a bit limited. You're a glass cannon who can get off a high-damage move or two, with a secondary as a knowledge monkey. Contributing meaningfully to encounters where those two things are not relevant can be a strain. The Duskblades spells known is incredibly tight leaving little room for utility. I'd recommend you look at Dragon Compendiums Bloodline feats, and maybe take the hit of a level of Sand Shaper.

[Kurald Galain]

If you want to multiclass or prestige, anything that expands your spell list helps. The main issue the Duskblade faces is that his spell list is exceedingly short AND that about half of the spells on his list are pretty bad. Your spells allow you to do damage in combat and almost nothing else.

I'm pretty set on prestiging into a Fatespinner down the line.

Nothing wrong with that. It's just a very late-game pick for the Duskblade.

The dip in R. Battlemage will be good for maintaining a good BAB, gaining the channel spell ability, and it will give me access to the profession(gambler) skill which will allow me to prestige into the Fatespinner.

But I don't see the point of this one. Duskblade already has channel spell, and can sink skill points into profession just fine to enter Fatespinner. More importantly, you don't get a lot of feats so spending one on exotic weapon prof is not very good.

How many levels do you think I should take in Duskblade before prestiging?

There's not a whole lot of good prestige classes that mesh with Duskblade, so going Dusk 13 / Fatespinner 5 sounds like your best bet here.

In terms of feats, Combat Reflexes + Improved Trip is a nice combo; if you have a flanking buddy, a level of rogue + Craven + Staggering Strike is interesting. If you have the wisdom to pull it off, Arcane Disciple helps. And yes, Arcane Strike and Knowledge Devotion.

HTH!

[tiercel]

Part of the question here is probably “what do you want from the Fatespinner class?”

The problem is not so much that it’s bad as that not only it isn’t particularly gishy, but also you can’t even enter it until pretty high level with Duskblade casting progression. (If you’re starting at level 3, it could be a long time before you get any Fatespinner — assuming you get to at all, depending on when the campaign ends, much less your character surviving, of course)

If you want a luck-flavored arcane warrior, you might consider taking [Luck] feats from Races of Destiny and/or even just dipping Cleric 1 with the Luck Domain; you’d get your “lucky” mechanics at least kicking in before level 14.

[dude123nice]

The actual question should really be: why do you want to go Duskblade? Unless you REALLY optimize them, they are little more than a fighter with a different colored flaming sword for each attack, with only a few other gimmicks thrown in. They really don't feel like the 'Gish' type class they advertise themselves as.

[Chester]

Hi everyone! I'm new to GitP, and I've been pretty far removed from tabletop rpging for a bunch of years.

Welcome to GitP, where your melee character sucks unless you're playing a Warblade!

I kid, kid.

I like Duskblade, if only for the full BAB with some cool magic tricks. One previous poster called it a "glass cannon," which is actually the allure for some.

Does this sound feasible?

You'll be able to play the character, yes. You're more interested in playing a character you'd enjoy playing, as opposed to an optimized character. There's nothing wrong with the idea.

If so, which skills and feats would you suggest?

The only issue I see with skills is Profession (Gambler), required for Fatespinner. Duskblade doesn't get Profession as a class skill. If you're playing human, Able Learner as your bonus feat will fix that problem, especially if you want to jump earlier.

How many levels do you think I should take in Duskblade before prestiging?

As stated above, 13 if you care about Arcane Channeling. 5 if you want the 1/day quick cast. The trick is to look at what features you care most about, and get those before moving along. Optimizers of different types will all have different jump points, so my advice is for you to do you.

How many levels of R.Battlemage should I go for?

See above. It's what's most important to you.