Underappreciated PrCs: The Runesmith

[JaronK]

IIRC when you bind Sovok you get heavy armor proficiency, so why not go with Binder 1/Wizard 3/Anima Mage 10/Runesmith 5/Tainted Sorcerer 1?  Just always bind Sovok every day (yay free AC) and rock out.  More importantly, you get any Craft feat you want via vestiges, and you can persist spells all over the place.  Hey, if you can persist spells for free, can you craft runes of Persistant buffs for your melees to have?  Persistant Wraithstrike all around!

JaronK

[Tshern]

I think it's where the Swedes do their fishing. They also export hockey players to the States.

Surreal won the thread. Over and out on my behalf.

[PhaedrusXY]

IIRC when you bind Sovok you get heavy armor proficiency, so why not go with Binder 1/Wizard 3/Anima Mage 10/Runesmith 5/Tainted Sorcerer 1?  Just always bind Sovok every day (yay free AC) and rock out.  More importantly, you get any Craft feat you want via vestiges, and you can persist spells all over the place.  Hey, if you can persist spells for free, can you craft runes of Persistant buffs for your melees to have?  Persistant Wraithstrike all around!

JaronK

Wow... that sounds crazy good o.O  I haven't even looked through the Tome of Magic, but I keep hearing awesome stuff like this from it. I'm going to have to check it out.

[JaronK]

As a warning, Tome of Magic is divided into three sections: Binders, Shadowcasters, and Truenamers.  So about 2/3 of the book is a total waste of space... but the Binder section is absolutely awesome, and the shadow magic items section has a few gems.  Really, if they'd called it "Tome of Binders and also hey look some neat magic items" it would have been the best book ever.

But yeah, Anima Mage is an incredible class... with the restriction that you have to lose a caster level to Binder to get in.  If we make that same level also get you into Runesmith, then it's awesome.

To be clear, the build I listed above has no casting stat (casts of Taint), and is only Charisma and Con based (since Binders are mostly Charisma based with a little con).  You can craft any magic item that can be made by Wizards through the use of only one feat (prerequisite feats would be an issue).  You can persist up to three spells a day free off Anima Mage, and even more than that off Tainted Sorcerer.  Persisting with Tainted Sorcerer gives you con damage... how nice that binding Naberius heals ability damage at a rate of 1/round.  Now, you can only bind two vestiges at a time, and you need Sovok permanently bound, so you can't craft on a day where you use Tainted Sorcerer tricks, but that's just a matter of decided which days are for crafting and which are for laying down the appocalyps.

JaronK

[Ubernoob]

You could just dip a level of dragonslayer or something like that.  Bait 'n switch.

[PhaedrusXY]

As a warning, Tome of Magic is divided into three sections: Binders, Shadowcasters, and Truenamers.  So about 2/3 of the book is a total waste of space... but the Binder section is absolutely awesome, and the shadow magic items section has a few gems.  Really, if they'd called it "Tome of Binders and also hey look some neat magic items" it would have been the best book ever.

But yeah, Anima Mage is an incredible class... with the restriction that you have to lose a caster level to Binder to get in.  If we make that same level also get you into Runesmith, then it's awesome.

To be clear, the build I listed above has no casting stat (casts of Taint), and is only Charisma and Con based (since Binders are mostly Charisma based with a little con).  You can craft any magic item that can be made by Wizards through the use of only one feat (prerequisite feats would be an issue).  You can persist up to three spells a day free off Anima Mage, and even more than that off Tainted Sorcerer.  Persisting with Tainted Sorcerer gives you con damage... how nice that binding Naberius heals ability damage at a rate of 1/round.  Now, you can only bind two vestiges at a time, and you need Sovok permanently bound, so you can't craft on a day where you use Tainted Sorcerer tricks, but that's just a matter of decided which days are for crafting and which are for laying down the appocalyps.

JaronK

So you could do pretty much all of it without the uberly broken Tainted Sorcerer it sounds like? I doubt most DMs would allow that class.

[jameswilliamogle]

Nice build, JaronK...  I like the heavy crafting emphasis / class abilities.

There's another role for the Runesmith / Unseen Seer which I had in mind: namely, using the auto search for traps / stonework along w/ Search as a class skill to fill the role of trapfinder (in dungeon settings).

[JaronK]

So you could do pretty much all of it without the uberly broken Tainted Sorcerer it sounds like? I doubt most DMs would allow that class.

Oh sure, Tainted Sorcerer is fun but it's not critical at all.  Honestly, I'd expect the DM to allow the Tainted Sorcerer if he's allowing Anima Mage and Runesmith.  Banning the TS at that point is like nerfing Wild Shape when the Cleric's got Persistant Shapechange.

Tainted Sorcerer means you don't need Int to power your casting and gives you a little more free metamagic (but you already had 3/day from Anima Mage, enough to Persist up to 6 spells with Extend Spell).  If anything, it's a little dangerous since with arcane casting you can't cast Restoration or Heal to lower your taint score when it gets too high.  Blood casting is obviously handy, but you can't bind Buer, Naberius, and Sovok at the same time (Buer would heal the hitpoint damage free, Naberius would handle the con damage for free metamagic, but you need Sovok for the armor proficiency).  Still, it's obviously helpful, and this would be an AWESOME necromancer since you don't need to pay for onyxs.

But if your DM won't allow it, that's cool... take a level of Mindbender for Mindsight and enjoy.  You can still craft tons of stuff, bypass costs with the Runesmith, and all that fun.  So it definitely works without TS.

JaronK

[ronyon]

I've seen this mentioned frequently for gish builds that want to wear armor, and ronyon always pimps it when he posts on 339. He likes to use it with necromancers, and I think specifically mentioned using it for Animate Dread Warrior as a SLA. So it's not totally underappreciated, but probably has a smaller following than it deserves.

Well, I guess our brains went to the same place then.  But I've rarely heard it ever mentioned, and never for necromancers.  Great minds, and all that.

And yeah, Limited Wish is fun too.

It should be noted that Gold Dwarfs have no con bonus, but instead have an Int bonus and a dex penalty, and their favored class is Wizard.  As such, they're much better for entering this class.  Cleric 1/Wizard 4 or Crusader 1/Wizard 4 become options... neat.  And hey, that makes Crusader 1/Wizard 4/Runesmith 5/Abjurant Champion 5/Spellsword 1/X4 a pretty awesome gish.  Maybe some Earthdreamer in there?

JaronK

Heh. Have to fess up here. I love the Runecaster, but I might have confused the name with the Runesmith a few times. Or a lot.
Still its nice to be noted. I must check out the Runesmith if I ever want to be a dwarf...

[Operation Shoestring]

I like the idea of an Unseen Seer / Runesmith combination.  Share Hunter's Mercy w/ a heavy duty ranged combatant, for example,

My book has Hunter's Mercy as transmutation.  Someone check this?  is it supposed to be Div?

[PhaedrusXY]

Heh. Have to fess up here. I love the Runecaster, but I might have confused the name with the Runesmith a few times. Or a lot.
Still its nice to be noted. I must check out the Runesmith if I ever want to be a dwarf...

Oh, or maybe I forgot which one you were always pimping.