That hits priorities 1-5, and almost nothing else is going to hit #5.Ĭonsider the Azurin ( Magic of Incarnum), which is a human that trades the bonus skill point for a point of Essentia.

No penalties, and gives a bonus feat of your choice. No penalty to Strength (unless ranged or finesse, in which case replace this with Dexterity).īonus to your spellcasting ability score.īonus to Strength (unless ranged or finesse, then Dexterity). No penalty to your spellcasting ability score. Either means lost spellcasting for that level. The typical “goal” of a gish is 9th-level powers or spells (usually a minimum of 17 effective levels in the manifesting or spellcasting class) and BAB +16 (full four attacks from BAB, usually a minimum of 11 full-BAB levels). Dak'kon from Planescape would be an excellent example of what I would like to build, as would The Witcher.īased on Kryan's excellent answer, it seems to be leading up to using duskblade and a specialist wizard to lead into Abjurant Champion. I definitely favor swords though specifically which sword is flexible. Thematically, I envision the character as a generally honorable, but working as a monster hunter and mercenary. I am new to 3.5, but I have a fair bit of roleplaying experience including AD&D. I personally own absolutely no 3.5 books, but we have access to a fair bit and just about anything from WoTC is permitted. The setting is 'modified Forgotten Realms'.

We do know that we will be working up to dragon in relatively short order, which is a factor in wanting to focus on large damage output to individual creatures as opposed to being able to deal with numerous weaker creatures. The initial encounter is up in the air, but there is a definite fondness for gryphons. The other two are more up in the air but they one is looking at various rogue classes and the other is looking at some sort of melee class, with this gishy rounding out the team. Not all of the rest of the characters have been fully fleshed out, but we will have a cleric and a wizard. I'm not sure how long this will last so I am focused on the next few levels instead of trying to plan all the way out to 20. In this particular case, the characters will start at level 7, and equipment rules are liberal as long as the characters can afford it. I have considered the duskblade and that may be the best answer, but as I have limited experience with 3.5 I want to find out if I should use a pure duskblade, a duskblade which steps into other classes, or some other class I have not considered. But I am specifically looking to optimize for high targeted damage output and have no need to balance between sword and spell if focusing on one is more effective. This question: How can I make a fighter/sorcerer that contributes to the party? is related. There is no need to balance sword and magic, though I would prefer to have the melee abilities remain at least relevant through at least mid-levels.

Specifically, the group is looking for a character focused on delivering high damage or other debilitating effects to an individual target. So, given that, how do I make the best Gishy character I can? I have a foundness for those that can sling spell along with blade, like Dak'kon from Planescape: Torment. What is the best class or classes in 3.5e to build a character that uses both a sword and either arcane magic or psionics which can be fluffed as arcane magic and focuses on fighting powerful individual creatures?

3.5 warblade gestalt