Question for veteran players

[shockon]

Trying to make a viable character thats not the normal -- for group and solo

Just wondering if anyone has input on a fighter/sorcerer... My idea is high dex, char, and con.  Str is low, but plan on using bull's strength to increase that... I am specializing in a long bow, thats why the dex and str concern.

Any ideas? I am currently sorcerer(4) and fighter(1)

I am taking all bow feats, and taking defensive spells and a few nuke type spells for now(magic missile, melfs acid).  I think I will take a few damage shield type spells(death armor) to use, not sure if I can cast that on my pet. Also taking the summon creature spells so I can go into battle with 2 helpers(my familiar and a creature) and then I nuke and fire my bow.

Any ideas would be helpful.  I don't have a ton of time for the game, so I want to be effective when I do have time to explore when Im not running my mouth around town.

Thanks.

[xXDenizeNXx]

Sounds like you should rethink the whole idea and instead ask the question, what would make my charachter a fun and unique charachter to role play, what your asking sounds like min/maxing and powergaming to me.

[miltonyorkcastle]

mechanically, multiclassing ftr/sorc will never give you the power of the straight class, though you can still be helpful, and will be able to explore.   Exoect to be a support character in parties.

RP-wise, it doesn't matter what class you play, obviously.  And Den's right about just playing a fun character, though I understand, much of the fun of the world is exploration and discovery, and certain class types make that easier.

[stormspirit]

I can understand the desire to make the most of the numbers, and no matter what we say most of us do mxamise feats, stats and so on (just look at the number of aasimar paladins and clerics). The circular arguement of people doing what they are suited to or min/maxing kinda gets lost in it all. I wouldnt call that powergaming min/maxing just a fair degree of practicality. From the perspective of levels you need to have fighter and sorcerer at least five apiece (clearly rp should dearly direct your characters advancement). Beyond that your completely open.
  Unfortunately I dont have a fighter/sorc to comment, Dorg's character Connor is so perhaps get in touch with him if you want pointers on what works and what doesnt overall.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Take Weapon Finesse. Otherwise you're screwed, buddy.

[typically_annoying]

There are actually a reasonable number of fighter/wiz .. or at least used to be .. and apart from the swapping of int/cha, the concept isnt that far apart. other than you have to be far more careful with your spell selections.

You haven't mentioned what split you were looking at, but personally, I would make more of the sorc levels and use fighter just to boost the fighting ability a bit ... 15/5 -> 12/8 ... why not 10/10? because of greater stoneskin! if you are gonna melee at all with your fighter/sorc then you need greater stoneskin.

hmmm .. bows are good, but if you are gonna specialize in bow and use spells for buffs, then why not go Arcane Archer later?  If you are determined to use the bow, then why not chat in-game to the likes of Jacchri or Talan, who are both AA's .. even if you don't become an AA and stay Fighter/Sorc, they could probably help you with the bow feats, stats and spells.

If not, I would got with a fighter/sorc wielding a great big 2-handed sword or dual-wielding.  Dual-wielding is great, especially if a high-dex build ... and the potential for criticals, knockdowns, etc is so much more improved.

Just try and keep things open as RP can seriously affect what you end up becoming.  I know my path has changed with Moonlight and Ravenne, because of in-game experiences and so have many others.

[Dorganath]

*looks around* Someone say my name?
  Connor is a Sorcerer/Fighter with a 14/6 split. He's not a finesse fighter or a strength fighter, but he does know both Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace, and wields a quarterstaff as his primary weapon (also a Lucindite thing) and a longbow for ranged combat. I built him as a sorcerer primarily, but one who got frustrated due to his inability to survive well in his early years relying on his magic alone. His fighter feats are unremarkable and besides taking the Exotic Weaponproficiency (he used to wield a bastard sword)and Point Blank Shot, they're mostly defensive in nature (Toughness, Mobility, etc.). His Sorcerer feats reflect more of a natural spellcaster (Eschew I & II, Combat Casting, Empower Spell) and not a purposefully built combat mage. In other words I didn't give him Still Spell, and he no longer wishes to take the risk of spell failure in combat situations, so he only wears Greater Mage's Armor.
  He's now at the point where he can buff himself up to decent levels of protection and combat prowess, but if you look at what a pure class could do at the same level, he lags pretty far behind.
  He hasn't gotten into using summons for combat really, and he almost never brings out his familiar in combat. He also doesn't use polymorph to take advantage of those forms. The only "summon" he has is actually through Greater Shadow Conjuration, which is technically an illusion and very weak as summons go.
  As he progresses, he's concentrating solely on being a sorcerer....becoming a better fighter through practice and such no longer appeals to him, and he can improve his abilities through magic instead.
  Now...the up-side to having taken fighter levels is that he has much better BAB and HPs than a pure sorcerer of the same combined level....so in effect he's not as fragile as a mage would normally be, and he can contribute to combat situations even when he runs out of applicable spellpower.
  My advice to you is to think more about the character concept and not worry so much about the build. Multiclassing has its benefits but also has its disadvantages. I'd much rather make the build fit the character concept than to let the character be driven by the build.
  Layonara is designed with groups in mind, so you don't have to have a character who can just tear through whatever's in his/her way. I'd rather have an interesting, versatile character who is weakerthan one who is built for a singular purpose. In my personal opinion, the latter lacks depth, as it is driven by numbers, not personality.

[typically_annoying]

Dorganath - 3/11/2006  5:26 PM  p>Layonara is designed with groups in mind, so you don't have to have a character who can just tear through whatever's in his/her way.  I'd rather have an interesting, versatile character who is weaker than one who is built for a singular purpose.  In my personal opinion, the latter lacks depth, as it is driven by numbers, not personality.

 I totally agree with this .. Moonlight and Eamane are a very strong pair.  Moonlight is your basic bash 'em fighter and Eamane is a sorceress.  Eamane on her own, is relatively weak and does struggle to solo at times.  Moonlight can in many areas, but so many she cant.  But, bring them together and they are very strong and compliment each other totally.  Moonlight will guard and protect while Eamane blasts them with AoE spells, and Eamane will buff Moonlight so she can go rampaging through hordes of monsters.  Alone, they have weaknesses, but together they are a force to be reckoned with.   And they are much stronger and better personalities for it I think.

[Weeblie]

I also agree. No matter how strong or weak your character are on the paper, who you party with will be the most important...