Kensei Trap Wizard?

[DNDWalter]

For solo play. I definitely want the one level of rogue.

Restoration end for my last character when I couldn't open the lock to get to the Canith crystals.

I went to Korthos and even the Harbor and the hireling vendors had no rogues.

At low level Color Spray allows the character to get the jump on groups he has snuck up on or deal with a mob attack.

Idea is that the wizard levels are for that kind of thing and self buffing.

INT is high for skill points and more spells.

Have everything but enhancements figured out to level 20. Enhancements to level 12.

Seven levels of wizard might be too many or I might be taking them in the wrong order.

If anyone has ideas about how to improve the idea/concept, please share.

Level 20 True Neutral Human Male
(12 Fighter / 1 Rogue / 7 Wizard)
Hit Points: 256
Spell Points: 343

BAB: 15/15/20/25/25
Fortitude: 12
Reflex: 11
Will: 10

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(32 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 14 19
Dexterity 16 17
Constitution 14 14
Intelligence 16 16
Wisdom 8 8
Charisma 8 8

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Skill Ranks Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 4 7
Bluff 0 -1
Concentration 2 17.5
Diplomacy 0 -1
Disable Device 4 18
Haggle 4 3
Heal 2 1
Hide 2 5
Intimidate 0 -1
Jump 4 11
Listen 1 2
Move Silently 4 7
Open Lock 4 9
Perform n/a n/a
Repair 0 3
Search 4 28
Spellcraft 0 3
Spot 4 24
Swim 4 8
Tumble 1 4
Use Magic Device n/a n/a

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Diehard
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Human - Human Versatility: Attack Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Human - Improved Recovery (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Human - Don't Count Me Out (Rank 1)

Level 2 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Eschew Materials
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Eldritch Strike (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Item Defense (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Item Defense (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Archmage (Wiz) - Illusion I: Invisibility (Rank 1)

Level 3 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Human - Awareness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Haste Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Haste Boost (Rank 2)

Level 4 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Human - Awareness (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Human - Ambidexterity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Kensei Weapon Specialization: Heavy Blades (Teir 1)

Level 5 (Fighter)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Kensei Weapon Specialization: Heavy Blades (Teir 2)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Contemplation (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Contemplation (Rank 2)

Level 6 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selecteed) Point Blank Shot
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Spiritual Bond (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Critical Mastery (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Kensei Weapon Specialization: Heavy Blades (Teir 3)

Level 7 (Wizard)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Toughness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Toughness (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Toughness (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Wand and Scroll Mastery (Rank 1)

Level 8 (Wizard)
Enhancement: Human - Human Adaptability: Strength (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Human - Nimble Fingers (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Spellsword: Shock (Rank 1)

Level 9 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Human - Improved Recovery (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Human - Heroism (Rank 1)

Level 10 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Extend Spell
Enhancement: Human - Nimble Fingers (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Human - Greater Heroism (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Item Defense (Rank 3)

Level 11 (Wizard)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Wand and Scroll Mastery (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Arcane Barrier (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Arcane Barrier (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Elemental Resistance (Rank 1)

Level 12 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Enhancement: Human - Ambidexterity (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Critical Mastery (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Spellsword: Fire (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Eldritch Knight (Wiz) - Elemental Resistance (Rank 2)

Level 13 (Fighter)

Level 14 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons

Level 15 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Defense

Level 16 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Two Weapon Fighting

Level 17 (Fighter)

Level 18 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Feint

Level 19 (Fighter)

Level 20 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons

[fmalfeas]

For solo play. I definitely want the one level of rogue.

Restoration end for my last character when I couldn't open the lock to get to the Canith crystals.



The quest in Korthos hills? The lock isn't picked, there's a lever/valve in the next room that unlocks it. There's no quest in the game that can't be completed without lockpicking.

[archest]

you dont get evasion until level 2 rouge this helps him not get trapped while he's disabling the trap.
most take 2 levels of rogue .

i just dont do quest i cant complete without running through the trap or in a group with a rogue.

[jskinner937]

The quest in Korthos hills? The lock isn't picked, there's a lever/valve in the next room that unlocks it. There's no quest in the game that can't be completed without lockpicking.

It can be picked so you can skip the lever.

[jskinner937]

you dont get evasion until level 2 rouge this helps him not get trapped while he's disabling the trap.
most take 2 levels of rogue .

i just dont do quest i cant complete without running through the trap or in a group with a rogue.

Agree get insightful reflexes and evasion with the 2nd rogue level. Unless you plan to take ED evasion in primal or SD. But you will miss heroics. In either case take Ins Relfexes if going INT focused.

So many unoptimized feats it seems in your proposed. Point blank shot with oversized TWF and TWD? What is the goal of your build offensively? If going EK go shield and SWF with shield mastery. You will get more bang for your buck. Eschew materials is not worth a feat. You can actually get for free with little investment in DI once epic anyways.

[Blerk]

With your stat distribution as it is, taking insightful reflexes to support evasion (if you take another level of rogue as well) won't improve your reflex save. Your DEX and INT are providing the same bonus as they are almost the same. What you could do is go all in on INT and use the harper tree so you can use that stat for to-hit and damage, get the combat trance for more damage and also benefit from having more skill points. Under that arrangement taking insightful reflexes would make more sense.

I agree with other posters that there are a lot of feat choices that could be better. In particular I'd suggest you reconsider taking Diehard, Eschew Materials, Oversized Two Weapon Fighting and Two Weapon Defence. Point Blank Shot also kind of seems like an orphan since you don't have any other feats supporting ranged combat. I suppose you could add more ranged combat feats in place of the more dubious ones you've taken but the game rewards specialisation more and more as you level so you will find trying to support two combat styles becomes increasingly costly and ineffective in higher difficulties.

With your skill point allocation I'd suggest you put points toward UMD and make sure you have full ranks in search and disable, and spot too unless you are very familiar with trap locations in all the quests. If your gear is very good you can get by as a trapper with less than full ranks in trapping skills, particularly as an INT based build, but if you aren't that well geared you may find yourself not finding boxes or blowing them in elite and higher difficulties.

I'd also suggest you read up on arcane spell failure if you intend for your character to wear armour. You may already be aware of this but if you aren't just make sure you will be able to build and gear your character so his spells aren't failing due to armour penalties. If you do end up taking another rogue level for evasion you will be limited to robes/outfits or light armour so this may not be so much of an issue.

For what you've said you want your character to do, you might actually be better off with a build like 18 bard/2 rogue. You will have some self healing and your buffing will be significantly better, both for yourself and your party. Provided you invest enough in INT you could support trapping skills and perform. Swashbuckler bards can be effective in melee combat and are also quite durable even with few to no past lives, so this option has a lot to recommend it and will always be welcome in parties for what it can offer other players.

Good luck with it.

[C-Dog]

At low level Color Spray allows the character to get the jump on groups he has snuck up on or deal with a mob attack.

Idea is that the wizard levels are for that kind of thing and self buffing.

Offensive casting should not be attempted with a multi-class character, end of discussion.

Spell damage is based on Caster Levels, so you're giving away damage there. And Spell DC's, the "Saving Throw" of your target, is also based on Caster Levels, so by level 20 you're giving your targets a +13(!?) bonus to save.

If all you were doing is using Wizard for buffs and/or self-healing, great - but don't kid yourself that Color Spray (or any other DC-based* offensive spell) is going to do anything for this build. It's just not.

(* There are some spells that have "No saving throw", or that still have a good partial effect even if the ST is made - those can be useful, but they tend to be mid-/high-level.) (Have we not had this conversation? :confused:)

[magaiti]

If it works for you now, go with it, and see how far you can go.

Most newbie build ideas fall into these 2 categories:
- unviable from the start
- viable till mid-heroics, then fall apart

It looks like all your game experience is based on Korthos/Harbor so far.
You have to experience the mid-heroics before you can really comprehend what kind of problems a successful build has to solve.
Until then, any received build advice will all be Greek to you.

My only advice at this point would be to play melees as THF. It really is superior for solo leveling.

[DNDWalter]

If it works for you now, go with it, and see how far you can go.

Most newbie build ideas fall into these 2 categories:
- unviable from the start
- viable till mid-heroics, then fall apart

It looks like all your game experience is based on Korthos/Harbor so far.
You have to experience the mid-heroics before you can really comprehend what kind of problems a successful build has to solve.
Until then, any received build advice will all be Greek to you.

My only advice at this point would be to play melees as THF. It really is superior for solo leveling.

Playing C-Dog's Explorer has given me some experience with THF. I can believe it is superior for solo leveling.

My experience is Korthos, Harbor, Cerulean Hills, Borderlands, Saltmarsh, Tangleroot Gorge, which I do fine in.

Three-Barrel Cove and the Searing Heights are where it falls apart for me, which is pretty much what you predicted. :)

Or maybe that's a little earlier than mid-heroics.

[Blerk]

... And Spell DC's, the "Saving Throw" of your target, is also based on Caster Levels, so by level 20 you're giving your targets a +13(!?) bonus to save. ...

Spell DCs aren't based on caster level. The DC is calculated based on the spell level (which is why heighten is important to offensive casters using lower level spells) and your casting stat bonus, along with other bonuses from equipment, enhancements, etc.

[C-Dog]

Spell DCs aren't based on caster level...
Huh, you're right, and I should know that. Gotta own that gag, oops. :o:

Well, Damage is still lost, got that part right.:rolleyes:

(I know some DC's are based on Caster Level - now I have to wonder which?) :confused:

[Blerk]

CDog, maybe you were thinking of spell penetration, which is based on caster level. That's harder to keep effective than DCs on a hybrid build. That being said, although there are some examples of heavy hybrids achieving usable DCs for some spells, I agree it's definitely not something to attempt as a novice player.

My advice to the OP is the same as others; avoid the temptation of making heavy multiclass builds that try to do too much and end up doing nothing well. There is a real danger you will get stuck, especially if you play mainly solo, and either have to limp to cap or abandon the character.

Instead, try playing something less involved through to 20 or 30 to get a sense of what the game is like, then start experimenting with multiclassing once you have a better sense of what is required to be successful at all levels of content. The past lives you accumulate by doing this may help you bolster less conventional builds in the future.