I was hoping someone could please give me some advice on this type of build. Should i go for Spell focus Abjuration, Enchantment or both? What other feats would be a must?

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E'Lyn†riss Emberrose-High Merchan† of the Emerald Rose Company-Retired
E'Van†le Emberrose- Cleric of Helm High Watchman of the Emberwa†ch Knights

Usually people go with 24 Sorcerer, 4 Fighter, 2 Rogue for your cookie-cutter Spellsword.
(I have no idea why people love spellswords so much, they kinda suck imo >.>)

Epic focus in Abjuration is good, keep that, but you can't really do both, otherwise your feats are all taken up.

If you would like, I can throw you my version of this build. But so long as you keep Epic Weapon Spec in it, you'll be fine. Pre-epic 17 Sorcerer, 3 Fighter. Pretty easy.

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Occasionally seen as [DM] Raua, or playerside as...

Spellswords suck very much - I have one, it's garbage lol. It's level 29 or 30, can't remember. Speaking purely mechanically, that is. It is actually kind of a fun concept and fun to be so versatile, but it truly doesn't do well mechanically.

A much better build is Sorcerer 23, SD 6, Ranger 1. That build wrecks people and bosses alike.

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Osiris Masud

Hrmmm was thinking of going Drow 21 Sorcerer, 6 Fighter, 1 Rouge. I take it that build would be garbage as well?

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E'Lyn†riss Emberrose-High Merchan† of the Emerald Rose Company-Retired
E'Van†le Emberrose- Cleric of Helm High Watchman of the Emberwa†ch Knights

I highly encourage the sorc/SD/ranger build.

You get epic spells, the ranger level lets you wear armor with 0% ASF and wield shields, and gives you skills, and gives you an epic bonus feat that can be an epic spell focus; SD lets you shadowjump and use HiPS, and gives you tumbledump; and sorcerer is, well, you're a caster. So sorcerer is your magic.

I've never built one, but I've heard of two people with that build, taking down 10+ epic level people at a time. They'd both cast hellball, Shadowjump away, and then spam maximized IGMS, or something like that.

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Osiris Masud

Alllrighty, I wasn't going to comment on this, but... I'll toss my two gp in.

Why a spellblade? Well... they're a warrior, with magic. Keep that in mind. A warrior. If you want a caster, play a caster. Spellblades are most akin mechanically to battle clerics. You set them up to be the best at fighting they can be.

I do anyway!

But, again... why a spellblade? Well.... they can be immune to death magic, have high enough saves if done properly to effectively shrug off most magic tossed at them, they have damage shields, they have damage reduction. They can achieve high AC's, decent damage, and decent AB's.

For instance.... I have one that gets 45 AB (fully self buffed, no aid or bless in that number), 64 AC + expertise, so... yeah, that's 69. And, has 30 STR and EWS. Best ever? Hardly, but, it's pretty darn good. While set up that way, she has 500 hp, and mestil's acid sheath running with 4 APR, hasted.

Oh... I like sorcerers for spellblades because they get so many uses of each spell per day! Mine gets 6 uses of: haste, acid sheath, and tensers.... and that's all extended, so each one lasts almost 5 minutes.

They need no potions, no extra scrolls, no supplies other than healing kits and potions.

Ok... if you're still curious, here's a sample build:

STR 15
DEX 8
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 8
CHA 16

18 sorc pre epic, 2 fighter
2 fighter, 2 rogue, and 6 more sorc in the epics.

In the epics, on either level 24, 27, or 30, take Weapon spec and EWS as a fighter, but make sure you took EWF prior!

I don't like summons much myself.... and familiars make for great rp tools IMHO.... I take Epic Mage Armor, but no other summons.

Charisma: stop at 20. Don't go further. Yup, your spell DC's will suck. I told you... warrior, not caster. All the rest goes to Strength.

Max spell and extend spell are your friends. You can easily max out your STR, DEX and CON, so those 0% ASF chain shirts get maxed out for AC.

If you want more information, I can help, just send me a PM.

I would go with this guy, That guy.

For a Spellsword I would prefer to go with sorcerer. Reason? You just choose essential spells needed for combat and you have tons of them to keep going. What next? Strength of the spellsword is in stayin' alive - you have decent saves (superb against spells), you can get great AC (epic mage armor + adjusting armor to it) and you should aim for evasion (it is truly awesome to be standing in the rain of fireballs and being uninjured).
Classic of all spellswords is Sorc - Paladin - Monk. That is usually unplayable for most types of characters because of RP demands. Sorcerer - fighter - rogue is good substitution. You get lot of space for feats, you get evasion etc. Depending on your character's nature and alingment you could also go for PM builds or blackguard. Some hardcore spellsword versions can have devastating crit + epic mage armor.

To answer original question - unless you are going for summon from epic mummy dust I would probably not go for spell focuses.

Sorry for jokes inside, it's 7:45 in the morning in my zone and I am stuck at school already and kinda bored

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Zendaer Amattis
Torgon Crimsonshade
Khalid Athanalo
CET time zone

There are many different builds you can use.

Personally I would aim for 26 levels sorcerer, or at least 25, so you won't easily be dispelled. Having a longer duration on your spells and make Flame Weapon better is also something worth taking into consideration, although 23 levels is the bare minimum imho. You definitely want Epic Mage Armor and Mummy Dust.

You only need two levels of a full BAB class pre-epic (fighter, divine champion etc.), or four levels of 3/4 BAB (bard, rogue etc.) to get your third attack per round, which I would deem essential for a spellblade. That is four attacks hasted, which works fine.

IF you should want more diversity, there is always bard as a main class. You could consider them spellblade candidates as well, utilizing arcane magic.

In terms of spell foci, I would avoid that on a sorcerer. Only wizards have enough feats via meta feats to effectively boost their spells. Not that you need it, besides Extend, Empower and Maximize Spell. You will be focusing on buffs, debuffs, non-save damage spells and summons mainly. And there are plenty of spells that can make you very deadly in a mage fight as well, so you can adapt to most situations with ease.

This is what you will have as a level 20 sorcerer, with 20 basic charisma (max buffing not necessary. +8 cha from gear is plenty).

The numbers in brackets are spells per day.

Spells:
1 (9): Mage Armor, Expeditious Retreat, True Strike, Grease, Protection From Evil
2 (8): Bulls Strength, Endurance, Cat's Grace, Balagarn's Iron Horn, Flame Weapon
3 (8): Negative Energy Burst, Vampiric Touch, Greater Magic Weapon, Haste
4 (8): Evard's Black Tentacles, Improved Invisibility, Ice Storm, (Insert spell of your choice)
5 (8): Energy Buffer, Lesser Mind Blank, Mestil's Acid Sheath, Bigby's Interposing Hand
6 (7): Tenser's Transformation, Mass Haste, Isaac's Greater Missile Storm
7 (7): Spell Mantle, Shadowshield, (Insert spell of your choice)
8 (7): Greater Sanctuary, Premonition, Horrid Wilting
9 (7): Mordenkainen's Disjunction, Power Word, Kill, (Insert spell/s of your choice. PW, Kill isn't necessary, but awesome I tell you!)
0: Epic Mage Armor, Mummy Dust

Another thing to bear in mind. There are limits to gear you can use with 0% arcane spell failure. The best I have seen is a chain shirt. Not like buffing yourself up 18 dex is a problem.

The spellblade is amazing, because it's a great concept and you won't be locked in a single role. Adaptation is the key.

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It is also good to go over the spells that already dont have somatic component (Mordekain, True Strike, Wail of Banshee) and find those, which you might really use. That might allow you to use heavy armor without any problem.
Of course Still spell might come handy.

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Zendaer Amattis
Torgon Crimsonshade
Khalid Athanalo
CET time zone

Sorcerer spellswords, in comparison to wizard spellswords, get more spells per day, and are more flexible with what they can cast on the spot, which is very nice tactically if you need to decide whether to use spells offensively or for tensers/buffs. On the downside, they're tighter on stats (since the wizards don't need CHA), they don't get as many feats, and get a lot less skill points. You can still make them work pretty well. A lot of it is picking the right tool for the right job, flexibility can mean a lot.

You want the extend, empower, and maximize spell metamagics. Your bread and butter offensive spells will be Ice Storm, IGMs, Bigby's hands, and Mords. For epic spells, Epic Mage armor is a must, and epic mummy dust and epic greater ruin are very nice as well. You do want to have some offensive spellcasting ability, otherwise you'll likely be outclassed by other fighter types. You'll also want weapon focus, blind fight, IMPR Crit, and epic weapon focus as your usual martial feats.

If you want to include spell foci, you can still get DC 36 spells on an epic spell focus with a 20 natural stat, if you gear it to +12, which can be expensive. Generally though this is a better option for wizard spellswords, not that it can't be done on a sorcerer. (Though you'll want one of the fighter or divine champion builds for this.)

The standard builds I'd suggest are:

23/6/1 Sorc/Fighter/Rogue, this one's pretty straightforward, fighter gets bonus feats and EWS, meaning more damage. Pretty simple and straightforward. You'll have pre-epic feats to spare.

23/6/1 Sorc/Divine Champion/Rogue, this is like fighter, but instead of EWS, you'll get better saving throws, and you'll get a 1 use divine wrath and purge infidel/day. It won't be that powerful, but it can definitely help in a tough fight. Be sure to gear up your CHA mod if you do this though, it doesn't last long.

24/5/1 Sorc/Knight Commander/Rogue, this is an interesting one. The KC auras are keyed to charisma, which synnergizes well with Sorcerer's need for charisma. This also allows some interesting options, you can deploy ordinance support and barricade of swords, along with premonition and mestil's acid sheath, to give yourself some impressive stacking damage shields. You'll have just enough room for the core feats if you play a human base.

There are some more exotic combinations you can use though. Paladin or Blackguard can work, but do keep in mind the divine might and shield are capped by paladin/BG level, meaning they won't get the full bonus (and those options are feat tight). AA is probably better for wizard spellblades due to the feat requirements, but I think you can manage with sorcerer, though AA has the unique distinction of getting +3 AB (and AB is oft lacking in spellblades).

They can work, but playing tactically is important here more so than others, because in most cases you won't be able to out-cast a mage, or out-fight a dedicated fighter.

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I play:

A sorc 21/Pal or BG 8 and rogue or bard 1 could be interesting since you become bascially a charisma stat monster for some insane AC and added damage with divine might and shield... but alas dispels be your enemy.

The other thing to keep in mind is your dodge AC caps at 20, and you will hit it if you go that route.

5(Boots)+4(Haste)+1(Mage armor)+5(Epic Mage armor) = 15, so divine shield gives you a +5 boost, or can help cover a lack of haste, mage armor, or epic mage armor if it runs out. The +5 AC boost is still pretty big, but it's something to keep in mind. (You also hit it if you go 23/6/1 instead, though your divine might will be less effective)

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I play:

A build that I did do once was a dev critting spellsword with EDK as support.

It is a pure PvM build but a lot of fun but of course its always rough to level in early days.

I'll update this if I can find the spread, Doing laptop cleanup.

Definately a fun build in later levels and also very good to solo with.

(Will Add levels,Feat and stat spread shortly)

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Xalibossk, Body Tamer & Terror Of The Underdark

going to necro this old topic

I have a drow sorc I'm looking to drag out of my vault and was made back when I had absolutely no idea about building (was actually my very first created PC on multiplayer nwn)

understanding the drow ecl and modifications, whats the best way to spec out a sorc for pvp? Ideally looking to have some melee abilities and was looking at BG but idk if that's actually feasible in a good sorc build

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Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words

Hmm, you sent me a PM about this, not sure how to answer reallly. I prefer the 24/4/2 model, being 24 sorc, 4 fighter (2 pre epic, 2 in the epics, and you get EWS that way and 3 attacks, 4 w/haste), 2 rogue (evasion).

For a Drow? Well.... you could skip EWS, and go 24/2/2, or... if you're looking for dex based, 23/2/2. Still not convinced they're that great though.

If you want BG in there.... ehh, you have to give up a lot of sorc to make BG worthwhile I think.

Also... though dexers are generally the better option for survivability, my experience with spellblades is go STR based, my dexer has 1 AC higher than my STR based, and does so much less damage I want to cry. Sure, it fit Raina's roleplay to be a dexer, but... hurt her mechanically.

My 2 cents!

I'm not married to the spellsword build, I know losing 2 levels to drow is huge haha. If I dropped melee what's a better build?

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Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words

Hrm, I always thought the best drow 'direct' sorc build was the 26/1/1 Sorc/Ranger/Rogue combination, but that's not very spellswordy.

You could go 23/4/1 Sorc/Divine Champ/Rogue though, focus in longsword or rapier from elf proficiency. Divine champ will get you a saves bonus.

There's also the knight commander option, though it's synnergy with drow isn't /great/, it synnergizes well with a 1 ECL character, though.

Blackguard is hard to work with, because you need a lot of BG levels to make divine shield/divine might's bonuses optimal. Plus, you can hit the dodge cap with just 5 more AC with boots, mage armor, haste, and epic mage armor.
You could always do something crazy like use AA..., too feat tight though, I think.

You'll also have the choice of if you want to go dex or STR based. Dex based will hit higher AB/AC thanks to synnergizing with drow's dex bonus.

Any paths you'd particularly like to take?

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I play:

I was thinking that the 28 level limit for drow might be a bit too constricting, so maybe toying with a pure sorc.

10 str
12 dex
13 con ->14
12 int
8 wis
20 cha -> 26

this is the layout i was thinking for 28 sorc.. but i'd like to get into some 0asf armor long term (if i can get in a 0-10%asf plate it would be fantastic). thats the 26sorc/ 1 ranger/ 1 bard(rogue) right?

and build order for that would be
ranger 1
sorc 26
rogue 1 (30 tumble ranks)

i might be tight for skillpoints if i want to max concentration and spellcraft though.. do i have to spend them all at level 1?

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Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words

I'm no expert, nor do I like spell blades as a whole; but-… why 12 DEX?

Assuming you're aiming to eventually use plate, you won't benefit from it much at all; considering Tenser's adds to DEX, CON, and STR. It'll be useful 'until' then, sure; but everyone knows you never build for early game convenience.

Those 2 points would be much more useful in INT.



Plus, if you're going spell blade -- again, no expert, but -- do you really need that much CHA? It seems to 'me' like it'd be more useful past 20 going into CON or STR.

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Playing: Tanar'i Shit Disturbers

i've been tossing it around and i think spellblade doesn't really work with only 28 levels tbh, was leaning more towards pure caster

but i see your point, 1ac with 2 dex is far less useful than the extra int, or even the extra con

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Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words

would

10 str
10 dex
13 con ->14
14 int
8 wis
20 cha -> 26


1 ranger/ 26 sorc/ 1 rogue
be better for caster-sorc?

or should i scrap that entirely and just go for 28 sorc?

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Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words

Take the ranger level in epic so you can get an epic spell focus with the bonus feat.

As for stats, generally I'd recommend for a drow sorc: Go 18 CHA, with the drow's +2 and a great CHA feat, that gives you a +15 modifier at 28, which is quite nifty. I'd get a 12 CON (14-2 for elf), 14(16 with drow) INT for many skillpoints, and put your remaining two character points into dex (12).

Starting stats: 8/12/12/16/8/20 (After Drow modifiers)

Pre-epic(7): Extend Spell, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, Spell and Greater Spell focus 1, Spell and Greater Spell focus 2
Epic(3+2S+1R): G-Cha 1, 2x Epic Spell Focus, Epic Mage armor, Epic Summon, Epic Greater Ruin

This would be the 'bread and butter' drow sorcerer.

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I play:

And if you want spellsword, just buff and cast Tenser's.

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Davion Telemos - Monk of the Four Winds
Korthan Isharnos - Dragon Shaman of Thunder Spirit Zamasham

ok now this looks pretty fantastic

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Slander [Zanthair Akarupa of the Horsemen of the Apcalypse] - Sorcerer 'Mediocreare'
Isendu't'tar Ussen'd'Vhid d'My'ana'd'Xull'd'Vharcan - possibly the longest name in Amia
Tiffany Seagrass - weak and fragile weaver of words

Are Ranger and SD levels all taken in epic levels?

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Yes.

Sorc to 21
22 ranger
23 SD
24 sorc
25-29 SD
30 sorc

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so he would always have a friend

Thanks! What feats would you suggest in epic levels?

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Find me in game! I play Ashera. I like talking more there than forums. If that's okay!

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so he would always have a friend