PrefaceThis is a concept that I've had in mind for a while. It's not for any specific game -- yet. But some day I might be able to play again, instead of running. This is a build to hedge that happy day.
Sovereign Speaker is a class from
Faiths of Eberron which adds 9 Domains over 9 levels, and advances spellcasting by 7 levels. Getting in requires 8 ranks of Knowledge (religion) and one feat: Worldly Focus (from Faiths of Eberron).
Divine Crusader is a class from
Complete Divine which gives you 9 levels of spells in 10 class levels, but your spell list is one Domain. Getting in requires BAB +7, 2 ranks of Knowledge (religion), and one feat: Weapon Focus in your patron's weapon.
According to
Faiths of Eberron, the Sovereign Host can be treated as a single patron, and as such the Sovereign Host has favored weapon: longsword.
Build SkeletonThe character must be Neutral Good to gain and retain Divine Crusader spellcasting, and since this is practical optimization that limits the prefix and postfix classes to choices which are compatible with NG alignment.
(any full-BAB) 7 / Divine Crusader 1 / Sovereign Speaker 9 / (2:3 caster advancing PrC)Ability scores: Divine Crusader casts from Charisma, so that's going to be important. Mono-dependence on Charisma would be pretty sweet.
The 7-level prefix and 3-level postfix are the main areas where I want input.
Domain selection is another significant area.
Character race may be strongly limited by the postfix (see below).
Prefix DiscussionThe obvious choice seems to be
Crusader, which is strong in its own right and has Knowledge (religion) as a class skill. Seven levels in Crusader gives one level 4 Maneuver, Cha to Will, an arbitrary Smite 1/day, and access to White Raven Tactics.
Duskblade is interesting. It looks like Arcane Channel, Spell Power, and Quick Casting would also apply to our Divine Crusader spells. The Int casting requirement is a negative, but that's balanced by access to Knowledge (religion) and a generally good skill list. At level 7 we'd be able to cast level 2 Duskblade spells in Medium armor with a Heavy shield. Having a decent Int is nice for skills at all levels, but with a low point-buy this might not be viable. Still, if you can boost Int + Cha + Con, and have enough Dex or Str left over to hit things occasionally, this might be the best of all.
Warblade has some Intelligence perks, but ignoring them isn't a big downside, and if we can get even +2 Int that's not bad. Huge HD, Iron Heart Surge, and White Raven Tactics... not a bad package. Not as good as Crusader's Charisma synergy, but not bad. Possibly better Con(centration) synergy, in fact, since that investment will benefit Diamond Mind early, and benefit casting late-game.
Paladin would have great Charisma synergy, at least for 4 levels, but our NG alignment requirement seems to prohibit its use.
Oddly enough
Battle Dancer (from Dragon Compendium) might have been usable, since it has some Charisma synergy and all we actually need is full BAB -- but again our NG alignment requirement seems to prohibit its use.
Ranger is usually a good choice, and with the Education feat (Eberron Campaign Setting) we'd have access to the skills we need. Mystic Ranger might be viable with an Elf, or with a few Crusader levels, for Longsword proficiency -- or if we actually spent a feat on Longsword Proficiency, but that thought hurts my soul.
Barbarian (+Education) is a fun image. With flaws, we could squeeze in Barbarian 4 / Fist of the Forest 3 and be the smelliest wandering prophet.
Swashbuckler 3 (+Education, or +Crusader) might be interesting, if you have enough Dexterity & Intelligence to make use of the bonuses.
Fighter is a class that exists. Yep. We could get some feats. Or, with the Thug + Sneak Attack variants, it's even a decent value for 7 levels, but still demands the Education feat. Still, Sneak Attack +4d6 isn't terrible.
Half-Orc Paragon is full BAB, and so is the follow up Orc Paragon. That's potentially 6 levels of base-class avoidance altogether, and up to +4 Strength, but I don't find them to be particularly compelling.
Dwarf Paragon is also full BAB with +2 Con, but I think it's also not particularly compelling. Maybe I'm spoiled by high point-buys.
Anything else viable?
What early-access PrCs could fit in?
Postfix DiscussionAt level 17, we take Sovereign Speaker 9. That leaves us with 8/10 advancement of Divine Crusader casting, so we want 2 more levels of spellcasting advancement, plus whatever else we can get. We have access to 10 Domains at this point, and 8th level spells.
I see two different yet compelling choices:
Heir of Siberys (from Eberron Campaign Setting) - One of the most iconic Eberron classes, and a perfect fit. The spell granted keys off your race, so your race choice is severely limited to the so-called "dragonmarked races". Human is generally best, having access to Mark of Making and Mark of Storm -- but Half-Orc, Half-Elf, Elf, and Dwarf are all potentially viable.
These Siberys Dragonmarks are strong in terms of raw power, plus they're politically significant.
Requires one feat (Heroic Spirit) and 15 ranks in any two skills.
Uncanny Trickster (from Complete Scoundrel) - This can advance Sovereign Speaker, which advances spellcasting and bonus Domain access. We would end up with a total of 12 Domains at level 20. Plus, we get 3 bonus skill tricks (yawn), and we can pick 3 skill tricks that work 2/encounter instead of 1/encounter -- this latter ability is solid, since Swift action Concentration is strong for a high-level primary caster.
Domain abilities can be strong, and adding another up to 18 spells to our list is potentially the best use of these 3 levels.
Requires 4 skill tricks, which probably means a decent Int will be rewarded.
Each of these are 3/4 BAB, which leaves us with BAB +16.75 at level 20, which is a nice way to enter Epic.
But those are just two obvious capstone classes. What else could go here?
Domain ChoicesSo, which Domains to pick?
Sovereign Speaker has an odd requirement that you can't have more than 2 Domains from any specific deity. This means that Domains which are common to several gods are toxic -- for example, if you take the Good domain which is common to 6 gods, you're now limited to at most 1 other Domain from each of those gods.
Luckily, most Domains are exclusive to only one god. The Domains to treat carefully are:
- Good (6 gods: Arwal, Baldorei, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, Olidrah, Onatar)
- Law (3 gods: Aureon, Baldorei, Dol Arrah)
- Creation (2 gods: Arwal, Onatar)
- War (2 gods: Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn)
All other Domains are free & clear, and the list is a doozy -- the full list is discussed here:
http://bg-archive.minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=3429Air
Animal
Artifice
Celerity (SpC)
Chaos
Charm
Commerce (ECS)
Community
Competition (SpC)
Creation -- 2 gods: Arwal, Onatar
Earth
Family (SpC)
Feast (ECS)
Fire
Force (SpC)
Glory
Good -- 6 gods: Arwal, Baldorei, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, Olidrah, Onatar
Healing
Knowledge
Law -- 3 gods: Aureon, Baldorei, Dol Arrah
Liberation
Life (ECS)
Luck
Magic
Metal (SpC)
Mind
Oracle (SpC)
Pact (SpC)
Plant
Pride (SpC)
Protection
Retribution (SpC)
Spell (SpC)
Strength
Sun
Trade (SpC)
Travel
War -- 2 gods: Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn
Warforged (FoE)
Wealth (SpC)
Weather
Help me rate them, and pick an order.
Summing UpThis is a character who goes from being a nobody with a dead-end job ("
Full BAB? Feh, peasant.") to being an incredibly powerful spellcaster, and possibly a politically significant player in one of the major Dragonmarked Houses.
The major support for the concept is just 10 character levels in the
middle of the class build, leaving a lot of room for customization at both ends.
There are a lot of free feat slots, too.
Please help me figure out all the potential specifics.
Thanks!