CB: Battlemage

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Updated Fri, Feb 13, 2009 by Shayalyn

Battlemage

By Lyle Vertigo

First, I would like to warn everyone that this is my personal build and may not be suitable for all players.

It is a very difficult build to make and takes a lot of planning and gold to make it work.

The idea behind this build is dps, dps, dps and more dps. For those who don't know what dps means, it is damage per second. The creation of this build stemmed from the love of casting offensive spells but a dislike of the idea of running away from enemies like a baby when things got ugly. Also, my love of melee combat has influenced its mixture of fighter. As I stated earlier, this build will either work out in wondrous ways or fail horribly as an abomination.

The Battlemage is a Sorcerer 7/ Fighter 3 who balances offensive spellcasting abilities with respectable melee skills. The progression is a pattern of 1 level of fighter followed by 3 levels of sorcerer for Levels 1-8. Level 9 is a fighter level. Level 10 is a sorcerer level.

Character Snapshot

Race: Human

Starting Abilities/Ending Abilities:
Str 15/19
Dex 16/20
Con 10/13
Int 10/12
Wis 8/8
Cha 15/20

Hit Points: 88

AC: 32 [10 (Base) +3 (Dexterity modifier) +12 (+5 mithril chainshirt) +1 (Dodge) +1 (Twin Weapon Defense) +1 (Amulet of Natural Armor) +4 (Shield spell)]

Saves (Ability modifiers added):
Fort: 6
Ref: 8
Will: 5

Class/Race Features:
1 bonus feat at first level: Humans are quick to master specialized tasks and are varied in their talents.

4 extra skill points at first level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level: Humans are versatile and capable.

Bonus Feats: The Battlemage receives a bonus combat-oriented feat at Level 1 and one additional bonus combat feat at each even fighter level thereafter).

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Battlemage can use all simple weapons, all armor, and shields (except tower shields).

Feats (in the order selected):
Dodge, Mobility, Two Weapon Fighting (TWF), Weapon Focus: Slashing, Twin Weapon Defense (TWD), Spring Attack, Improved Two Weapon Fighting (ITWF)

Combat:
BAB +6

Spellcasting: DC 15 + Spell Level

Spell Points: 710
Level 1 Spells: Shield, Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Ray of Enfeeblement
Level 2 Spells: Scorching Ray, Web, Touch of Idiocy
Level 3 Spells: Fireball, Haste

Detailed Progression by Level

-Character Level 1: Stats are important for this build, so let me explain why I chose the numbers I did. Since this character will be melee a lot, STR is very important to hit for dps. AC is a very important factor for this build. Since wearing heavy armor like full plate will make spellcasting very hard, DEX needs to be high enough to compensate for lighter armor. Hit points are not as important as STR, DEX, and CHA, so you can skimp on CON. INT is not important at all for this build. I saw no need to invest in WIS; if I need to boost Will saves, then there are items that can compensate. One of the three greatest stats for this build is CHA; 15 is enough to supply the spell points and difficulty check needed for this build.

The first level I took was fighter. My reason for this is that fighter provided a much better foundation to build around since the character creation allowed me to inheret all the weapon and armor proficiencies minus the exotic. Also, I got to choose the fighter feat (and for me human bonus feat as well). I chose Dodge, Mobility, and Two Weapon Fighting as my first feats as they would effect the build immediately. At Level 1, this fighter will do great in any of the pre-marketplace quests.

Class trained: Fighter
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, TWF

-Character Level 2: I selected a level of sorcerer. I chose Shield and Magic Missile as my first two spells--the ones that will stay with me forever. Shield will keepmy AC high, and Magic Missile will take care of anything for life.

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spell Learned: Shield, Magic Missile

-Character Level 3: Next I add on another level of sorcerer, selecting Burning Hands as the lowbie nuke of choice. Now my character can select a Feat. I chose TWF. By now, you'll have to learn to keep at least two sets of armor, a shield, and an assortment of weapons. This is the basic design of the build, but it is still in the larval stage. The weapons should now be dual-wield. When in melee, use the highest AC armor that you can effectively utilize (which means to use the full amount of AC given from your DEX bonus).

When in caster mode (weather it may be for buffing or taking down a hard boss or other difficult monster), switch to a robe for maximum spell points efficiency. Alternately, wearing a mithril chain shirt or leather armor carries only a 10% arcane failure rate (AFR), which is barely noticeable. Remember AFR: for the shield and body armor, you should take your AFR into careful consideration.

On a side note, the quest Return to Delaria's Tomb has Iron Manticles as one of the end rewards. These bracers add +4 deflection bonus to your AC (and stacks to your armor), but you have to be chaotic to use them. This may seem limiting to your alignment preference, but the +4 AC will help this build tremendously! For a shield I would recommend the highest +X buckler your level can use. It still supplies a decent AC bonus and will only add 5% to your AFR. Weapons can be solely up to you; however, I highly recommend scimitars and kukris since they have decent damage with high critical range. At this point, I selected Weapon Focus: Slashing. If you prefer another category of weapon then choose it, but you will need weapon focus.

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spell Learned: Burning Hands
Feat: Weapon Focus: Slashing

-Character Level 4: For the 4th character level, I selected a third level of sorcerer, picking Ray of Enfeeblement as my last Level 1 spell. Also, at this level you get to add a point to one of your attributes; add it to either your STR, DEX, or your CHA--depending on how your gear boosts your stats.

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spell Learned: Ray of Enfeeblement

-Character Level 5: Your fifth character level will add on the 2nd level of fighter and another Feat to choose from. I chose TWD, which adds another much needed +1 to AC when dual-wielding.

Class trained: Fighter
Feat: TWD

-Character Level 6: Next I took the 4th level of sorcerer, nabbing Scorching Ray as my 2nd level spell. Since this is another Feat level, I picked up Spring Attack to allow me to be more mobile during fights.

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spell Learned: Scorching Ray
Feat: Spring Attack

-Character Level 7: For the Level 7, I took another level of sorcerer, picking Web for my Level 2 spell.

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spell Learned: Web

-Character Level 8: Take your 6th level of Sorcerer and Fireball as your first Level 3 spell. Take into consideration that I selected this spell before they fixed Lightning Bolt. Now I'm considering swapping those two when I can because Lightning Bolt will not destroy your webs. Also there are fewer monsters that resist lightning as opposed to fire.

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spell Learned: Fireball

-Character Level 9: Since this build uses TWF you will need Improved TWF. In order for this to happen you have to meet the requirements for ITWF: you have to have 17 DEX and BAB +6. Taking a level of fighter at this time will allow you select ITWF.

Class trained: Fighter
Feat: ITWF

-Character Level 10: Take your 7th level of Sorcerer for character level 10, giving you one of your most used spells (Haste). For your final 2nd level spell, you can pick whatever excites you. I chose Touch of Idiocy for its effect on enemy casters..

Class trained: Sorcerer
Spells Learned: Haste, Touch of Idiocy

Notes: Remember, this build can do just about anything (other than healing); you just have to know when to cast and when to melee. The information below is what weapons, armor, and other items I use.

Name: Lyle Vertigo
Race: Human
Class: Sorcerer 7/Fighter 3
Alignment: Chaotic Nuetral
Guild: Ten Ton Hammer

Weapons
+1 Shocking Burst Scimitar
+1 Shocking Burst Kukri
+3 Acid Morningstar
+2 Ghost-touch Adamantine Scimitar of Resist Fire
+1 Holy Scimitar of Bestow Curse (3)
+2 Superior Inferno II club of Power I (3)
Frostbrand (+3 Frost Greatsword with 10 pt. Resist Fire)
+1 Paralyzing Kukri
+1 Cursespewing Kukri
+2 Frost Burst Shuriken

Armor
+5 Mithril Chainshirt
Quicksilver Cassock (+20 to speed)
Amulet of Natural Protection (+1 AC)
Boots of permanent Featherfall
Charismatic Cloak (+2 CHA)
Ring of Impulse (+40% to Force Damage)
Gloves of Ogre Power (+3 Str)
Penny whistle (5 hellhounds/day)
Dex Ring (+3 DEX)
Robe of Invisibility (3)
Deathblock Robe of Axeblock
Robe of Potency II (Improved Potency II)
Clever Goggles (+2 INT)

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CB: Battlemage

Battlemage

Character Snapshot

Detailed Progression by Level

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