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Build Help. REALLY tricked out caster.

   
The major issue I run into with Archivist is it's very GM dependent. Adding to your prayerbook via Scrolls is extremely costly, and whether or not he'll let you copy out of "another archivist's prayerbook" is generally hit or miss unlike with wizards. Not to mention whether he'll let you access Bard spells (divine bard), obscure ACF spells (Divine Magician) or rare Domain spells. Having so few levels of the class means you won't get many free spells known, and therefore Cleric/Ur-Priest is sometimes the safer bet for broadness of list in practice. Alignment can be a sticking point though, you're right.

This is why I try to get people to discuss their characters as a group and work together to create a party when I have a group ready to go, and not a gaggle of disorganized applicants. People try making an interesting, or super powerful character, without the consideration of how that will fit into a group. Whether it assists the group in a meaningful fashion, or if it is just a shiny character that runs against the grain as it were.

It's also why I have turned to gestalt games. It allows my players to do just this, create a dual progression support concept without needing to dig through the bowels of the internet looking for ways to break the game system in order to be viable. Allowing a player to fold cleric into their heavily armored fighter for a super tank that sustains itself, and the rogue to meld with wizard in order to truly be a stealthy menace, etc, etc.

In a standard game, it's better to just ask yourself "What is my role, and what does the party need?", then "Will I enjoy playing such a character?" If yes, build that, as it enhances everyone's fun and enjoyment. You want to support the other characters in the group, super. Decide between Divine and Arcane. Personally, I would go Focused Specialist Transmuter and just dump buffs on the party for days for this type of build for Arcane, move into Warweaver to get quick multiple buffs down rapidly. Ditch Evo, Necro and ugh, maybe Enchantment, to allow for the G. Invisibility at the cost of Rage and Heroism? *shrug*

Your concept belongs in a game like my gestalt tactic games, where each player takes on a role and fits into the party/machine as a cog. Spell slinging support of awesome to empower the rest of the group. You are trying to support a ninja, monk, and DFA though. No full BAB characters, so you have to use stealth to get the job done. If everything goes to hell, someone with nuke and control capabilities would be handy. Then again, a cleric with Freedom of Movement and Heal would be as well. Your party needs a 5th, or better characters for a myriad of situations. >.<

Quote:
Originally Posted by AtLastForgot View Post
The major issue I run into with Archivist is it's very GM dependent.
That's true, but so is Wizard to an extent. You'll typically know when creating a character what the score will be, especially if starting above first level, because the DM will either let you start with certain spells or not. If he does, then you will probably take the important things right off the bat anyway, and there's a good precedent for finding the scrolls you might need later (the DMG has guidelines on what items are typically available in what locations, for example - and Archivists get Gather Info and divinations). A DM can deny you them, but he can also deny the Wizard his scroll, the Fighter a sword, etc.

Giving Archivists carte blanche to pick up anything, even Divine Bard spells (which it's probably not intended that he have), is quite liberal, but a DM also shouldn't limit you to just Cleric spells because the ability to learn unusual ones is very much the point of the Archivist. But anyway, if he's going to, it ought to be pretty clear from the outset - in which case, yes, straight Cleric or Ur-Priest is likely to be better.

OK #1: forget all the duel caster stuff, because those types of characters are almost universally worse than an equally optimized single caster (the only exception is in epic games).

#2: Either an archivist or wizard can do what you want, or even a cleric, because they all have "tricks" that let them cherry pick other classes' spell lists. I'll give you an example of a wizard who has an enormous spellbook which could contain any spell ever found on any cleric domain, and who can cast anything from his spellbook spontaneously. He can also cast personal spells on his allies, and persist them, without using a higher level spell slot.

Wizard 5/Incantatrix 3/Spellguard of Silverymoon 4/any other full casting class for the rest
Required Feats: Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Spell Mastery, Uncanny Forethought (Exemplars of Evil), Planar Touchstone, Iron Will (can be "bought" via the Otyugh Hole from... CAdv? for ~3000 gp).
Recomended feats: Item Familiar (to be able to consistently make the massively difficult spellcraft checks required to use Metamagic Effect without fail).

You want to use the Catalogues of Enlightenment as your Planar Touchstone, which lets you prepare and cast spells from a cleric domain of your choice. The "trick" is that you use this to copy these spells into your spellbook, so you can then cast them later. This feat (and touchstone location) are from the Planar Handbook.

The Spellguard of Silverymoon is from the Player's Guide to Faerun, as is the Incantatrix.

Who says that once you lose the domain, you can still cast the spells? Most DMs will rightly slap you for suggesting that. Besides, it's a tad impractical to have to go visit the Catalogues if you start at a low level, and especially if you want to stay there for several days changing your domain each time.

Incantatrix is laughably overpowered, especially if you're allowed to pair it with something as wonky (in its own right) as Item Familiar, but actually I wouldn't suggest it here because it doesn't seem to be what he's going for. An Incantatrix can apply Persists to spells affecting other people, but few of those are legal and even fewer are Wizard spells (you can Persist the self-only Swift Haste but not regular Haste, for example). Thus, it's amazing for making a ridiculous gish or overpowered caster, but for party buffs it's less appropriate (unless you also cheese the ranges, or are also a dual-caster or have a Cleric in the party for Cooperative Metamagic Persist buffs like Righteous Wrath of the Faithful and suchlike).

And to be honest, if the party is that poorly optimised, being overpowered is probably what you don't want to do anyway. You should be good at the specific goals of supplying utility and enabling your allies, and you don't need to have a massive list of self-buffs to do that.

I agree, though, that either Wizard or Archivist or even Cleric ought easily to be sufficient, but a Mystic Theurge would work too and arguably better, at least in some ways (less raw power, more utility and still many slots).

Personally I'd go with something like this.

Wizard 5/War Weaver 5/Ur-Priest 2/Mystic Theurge 8

For Ur-Priest, use the adaptation that lets you follow a dead god, and there's plenty of them to choose from. I'm a big fan of Aoskar (the god of doors and portals), but mostly because I'm also a big fan of Planescape, and there's lots of fun to be had with being a follower of him in Sigil. If you want to live up to the War Weaver flavor, gods such as Zuriel (wars of justice) or Nusumee (heroism and redemption) fit in really well. Regardless, there's no need to be an evil, scheming douchebag as an Ur-Priest. You may want to ask your DM if he'd be okay with changing the Spell Focus (Evil) feat requirement to one more appropriate to the deity you're still worshipping, though.

That combo gives you 9th level spells as both a Wizard and a Ur-Priest, access to Divine feats, and all the buffing goodness that comes with all five levels as a War Weaver. Your caster level is Wizard 18 and Ur-Priest 15, or 18/18 if you really wanna spend a feat to boost that. Not too shabby at all.

At least this way you can rely on your Ur-Priest spellcasting to handle most of the buffs for your party, leaving your Wizard half to handle utilitarian, battlefield control, and even offensive situations.

No shenanigans required, either.




 

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