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 style="font-weight: bold;">

Race class="pn-content-page-body">: 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.



style="font-style: italic;">4 extra skill points at first level and 1
extra skill point at each additional level: Humans are versatile
and capable.



style="font-style: italic;">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).



class="pn-content-page-body"> style="font-style: italic;">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 class="pn-content-page-body">, Improved Two Weapon Fighting (ITWF) style="font-weight: bold;">



Combat:

BAB +6



Spellcasting:
DC 15 + Spell
Level



Spell Points: 710

Level 1 Spells: Shield, Magic
Missile, Burning Hands, Ray of Enfeeblement

style="font-style: italic;">Level 2 Spells: Scorching Ray, Web,
Touch of Idiocy

style="font-style: italic;">Level 3 Spells:  Fireball,
Haste

href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=Exclusive_Screenshots&id=ScreenShot00014_001&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="web & maggic missile"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/Exclusive_Screenshots/ScreenShot00014_001.thumb.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 175px; height: 132px;" align="left">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. class="pn-content-page-body"> 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: class="pn-content-page-body">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: class="pn-content-page-body">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: class="pn-content-page-body">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: href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=193">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)