Spellsword builds

[Hunter548]

Sure a single Mords will screw you over considerably, but I guess that's the cost of having these numbers AND access to 9th level wizard spells.

What stops you from going 27 wizard 3 bard with this path? Wouldn't you hold against dispel check better? I'm curious why the fighter lvls are even there in first place on a path that intentionally scales your ab with wizard lvls.

Feats are fairly useful, as is epic weapon spec. You're fairly feat-intensive (Presumably wanting both EMA and Autostill 3), so the fighter levels help with picking up things like KD, Blind Fight, Expertise and the like, that every melee build should have.

[Orian_666]

Sure a single Mords will screw you over considerably, but I guess that's the cost of having these numbers AND access to 9th level wizard spells.

What stops you from going 27 wizard 3 bard with this path? Wouldn't you hold against dispel check better? I'm curious why the fighter lvls are even there in first place on a path that intentionally scales your ab with wizard lvls.

It's for the Wep Spec. It's not essential as you stated in another comment, and quite negligible considering the bonus from Int on the path. A 27/3 is certainly a very viable option, quite a good one too no doubt, I just like the extra +6 damage, the two extra feats pre epic is also nice to get some handy Melee feats, and even though it's not a massive difference I think it's still 1 more AB than you'd get from taking the 4 extra Wiz levels.
The Dispel resist is clearly a huge advantage for a 27/3 though. I mean breaches would still get you, but the core buffs would be safe.

[Cortex]

Fighter gives heavy armor and martial proficiencies, which bard doesn't.

[Astral]

Fighter gives heavy armor and martial proficiencies, which bard doesn't.

The most reasonable argument is this one. Taking fighter lvls for 6 damage is a bad idea but since the path doesn't provide any melee oriented feats there's no question and fighter lvls are must take.
PDK gets proficiencies? (yes I know it's about to be tweak that's about to happen but it might sill be a viable multiclass afterwards)

[Kirito]

There are other options to get the heavy armour prof too...

Paladin, Blackguard cleric and dwarven defender... they don't add much but can bring a few small perks and give an element of RP. (Paladin of Mystra for example?)

[Nitro]

There are other options to get the heavy armour prof too...

Paladin, Blackguard cleric and dwarven defender... they don't add much but can bring a few small perks and give an element of RP. (Paladin of Mystra for example?)

Fighter does seem like easily the best source of armour proficiencies though, since it also brings a bunch of bonus feat, and weapon specializations to the table while the other heavy armour martial classes have some other perks that rely on another stat to be useful. (CHA for BG's and pallies for example) And spellswords are a stat-hungry enough gish class as is without wantint to throw in any CHA in the mix.

[Jack Oat]

Here:

Wizard 21/Fighter 4/WM 5, either DEX or STR based. Can do that split or 22/3/5. Rapier or Scim depending on DEX or STR. You're a 60-70 AC WM with 45 AB and damage between 33 and 47 base on a 12-20x3 crit range, albeit with fewer hit points. STR/CON/INT split, which can be managed via Maximized Spell + 18 gear points from not having to deal with helm/armor due to EMA. Ideally wouldn't even mess with spells. Combat would consist of already being buffed, hasting yourself, and then attacking. "Oh but Jack, what about the low CL? Wouldn't you be dispel bait to any other caster?" Cue those Counterspell macros boys, they will serve you well.

[yellowcateyes]

Here's the full build layout for a DEX-based spellsword WM. Aesthetically, it will be an unarmored magical warrior using a rapier and buckler.

Magical Fencer Musashi
21 W / 4 F / 5 WM

Race: Human
STR 11
DEX 17 (+2) (Final 26)
CON 14
WIS 8
INT 15 (+2) (Final 19)
CHA 8

Progression: All Dex
Gear: DEX/INT/CON, apply also to helmet and shirt due to EMA.

1 W Dodge, Mobility
2 W
3 W Expertise
4 W
5 F Weapon Focus: Rapier
6 F Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack
7 F
8 WM
9 WM Weapon Finesse
10 WM
11 WM
12 WM Imp. Critical: Rapier
13 W Bonus Wiz: Extend Spell
14 W
15 W Blindfight
16 W
17 W
18 W Knockdown, Bonus Wiz: Maximize Spell
19 W
20 W
21 W Epic Weapon Focus: Rapier
22 W
23 W Bonus Wiz: Great Intelligence
24 W Armor Skin
25 W
26 W
27 F Weapon Spec: Rapier, Epic Weapon Spec: Rapier
28 W
29 W Bonus Wiz: Great Intelligence
30 W Epic Mage Armor


Use Maximized Fox's, Bear's, Bull's and Cat's to achieve the following stats:

AC = 66, 71 in Expertise [10 + 20 EMA + 10 INT Dodge AC + 14 DEX + 4 Haste + 2 Greensteel Buckler + 3 Cross-Classed Tumble + 2 Armor Skin + 1 boots/mage armor]
AB = 46 [19 BAB + 5 Spellsword AB + 14 DEX + 3 Weapon Focus + 5 GMW]
Damage = [3x Rapier Crits] + 10 Int + 6 Weapon Spec + 2 STR + 5 GMW + [Essence]
HP: 456
3 APR
Full spellcasting due to lack of armor, and 0% arcane spell failure on the greensteel small shield.

Given your high AC, the greensteel buckler is actually optional. If you want, you can do one-handed rapier fencer (with magic!).

While your preferred end-game weapon is a keen masterly damask, a simple GMW'd bronze weapon will suffice up to level 30 and beyond. If you're feeling fancy, cast extended GMW on a bronze weapon, then add keen via the basin.

Mechanical differences between this build and the STR/armor builds earlier:
+ Better AB
+ 3x Rapier WM crits
+ Better Reflex saving throws
+ Easier gearing. Small greensteel vs. Adamantine tower. Easier to enchant vestments in the basin.
- 3 APR
- No UMD
- No GSF Abjuration for IGMS immunity and better dispelling of other gish builds.
- No room for optional pre-epic feats like Craft Wand, Arcane Defense, or Toughness.
- KD instead of IKD, Expertise but no Improved Expertise
- Not going human will lead to significant sacrifice due to tightness on feats. STR/armor can drop one or two pre-epic feats and work just fine.
- Increased vulnerability to dispel due to lower caster level, and no room for arcane defense: abjuration.

Again, if you spot any errors in the above build or suggestions for improvement, feel free to point them out.

[High Primate]

A problem with that build: no Blind Fight.

[yellowcateyes]

A problem with that build: no Blind Fight.

You are right. I will fix.

[Trunx]

Here:

Wizard 21/Fighter 4/WM 5, either DEX or STR based. Can do that split or 22/3/5. Rapier or Scim depending on DEX or STR. You're a 60-70 AC WM with 45 AB and damage between 33 and 47 base on a 12-20x3 crit range, albeit with fewer hit points. STR/CON/INT split, which can be managed via Maximized Spell + 18 gear points from not having to deal with helm/armor due to EMA. Ideally wouldn't even mess with spells. Combat would consist of already being buffed, hasting yourself, and then attacking. "Oh but Jack, what about the low CL? Wouldn't you be dispel bait to any other caster?" Cue those Counterspell macros boys, they will serve you well.

Scrolls can't be countered, so dispels would still definitely be a major weakness. But EMA can't be dispelled and you have access to things like GSanc, so it wouldn't be a death sentence. At a glance that build actually seems pretty great, both balance and performance wise. A slightly different take on a battlecleric, with largely the same weaknesses.

[Astral]

What I came up with, in this late hour of the day.

Human
STR: 16 +2 (24 total)
DEX: 8
CON: 16
WIS: 8
INT: 16+2 (20 total)
CHA: 8

23 wiz / 4 fighter / 3 bard

01: Wizard(1): GFS: enchantment / necromancy / evocation
02: Wizard(2)
03: Wizard(3): still spell
04: Fighter(1): STR+1, weapon focus, (STR=19)
05: Fighter(2): expertise
06: Fighter(3): blind fight
07: Wizard(4)
08: Wizard(5): STR+1, extend spell, (STR=20)
09: Wizard(6): maximize spell
10: Wizard(7)
11: Wizard(8)
12: Wizard(9): STR+1, spell focus: abjuration, (STR=21)
13: Wizard(10): arcane defense: abjuration
14: Wizard(11)
15: Wizard(12): imp crit
16: Wizard(13): STR+1, (STR=22)
17: Wizard(14)
18: Wizard(15): kd, greater spell focus: abjuration OR great fort/will?
19: Wizard(16)
20: Wizard(17): INT+1, (INT=19)
21: Wizard(18): epic weapon focus
22: Wizard(19)
23: Wizard(20): great intelligence I, (INT=20)
24: Wizard(21): STR+1, Epic Spell: Epic Mage Armor, (STR=23)
25: Wizard(22)
26: Bard(1)
27: Bard(2): automatic still spell I
28: Bard(3): STR+1, (STR=24)
29: Fighter(4): Armor Skin
30: Wizard(23): automatic still spell II, automatic still spell III

The saves against mundane things are terrible but I guess that's the spellsword's soft spot. your thoughts? Also what school would you pick at lvl 1 to kick things off?

[msterswrdsmn]

^ I've been kicking around the pros/cons of the different spell schools.

-Enchantment:
With it- Able to make the best gear avaliable and good crowd control. Your melee abilities should be high enough to finish off disable mobs/critters. Being able to dominate enemies will help in lieu of a summon
Without it- No enchanting, dominating or CC, but its not a crippling loss

-Necromancy-
With it- A handful of powerful spells at higher levels, but the inability to take mummy dust will greatly reduce the usefulness of this school
Without it- Probably not an issue if your not planning on summoning or rping a necromancer

-Evocation-
With it- No hellball/Gruin options, but there are a handful of disabling spells and a lot of ranged damage options. Fewer spell slots as a wizard means IGMS spam isn't terribly efficent.
Without it- Probably not a lot of ranged attack options without this.

-Illusion-
With it Some short-ranged spells. The lack of summoned shadows kinda sucks (it'd be cool seeing a spellsword charging with 2-3 clones!). I'm not familiar with how the -project_image clone works, but that could be rather powerful....maybe?
Without it No imp. invis? Thats gonna hurt

-Abjuration-
With it Can't go wrong with this. Defense from missle storms and the ability to dispel enemy buffs? Sounds good!
Without it Don't do it. Don't even think about it.

Divination and Transmutation don't have many/any dc spells, but it'll hurt to loose them (truestrike/premonition and self buffing respectively)

[Jack Oat]

A problem with that build: no Blind Fight.

You are right. I will fix.

Some other problems:
-You forgot to take Expertise before you started WM levels. Expertise is a pre-requisite for WM
-There's no reason to take up to 20 INT as you cap out your Wizard bonus to AC/Damage at +10, so you may as well leave it at 19 and boost to 30 for resting.
-EMA needs to be taken at 30 (which should be a Wizard level), as it requires 21 Caster levels to take, not just 9th circle spells.
-Fighter 4 is taken at 27 to get both WS/EWS Rapier, and Wizard is taken at 30.
-You wouldn't use a GMW weapon unless it was keen'd after the fact
-Wizard AB isn't 3/4, so your BAB ends up at 19, not 21.
-Both of your bonus Wizard feats in Epics may as well be Great Intelligence to boost you to 19, meaning you can drop your other 2 points into DEX to get another AB/AC.
-Your Epic Feat line-up should be: EWF Rapier, Armor Skin, Weapon Spec Rapier, and EMA on your main four (in that order), Great Int I & II in your Wizard bonus feats, and then EWS in your Fighter bonus feat at 27.

As for your points, most of them are right.

Yes, you get better AB than many other builds that take Spellsword. You only get 3 APR as far as I know though, so there's the balance.

UMD is a drawback if only due to the Cleric protective/counter spells, such as NEP, Death Ward, and Freedom of Movement, but I believe Shadow Shield covers Necromancy spells (where Death Ward would be needed) albeit breachably and then NEP comes in potions.

You can probably switch between Knockdown and Toughness and Imp Exp as is preferable to you. As for your point about IGMS spam, I will say this again: Counter-Spelling is your friend.

Given that your reliance is mostly going to be on zoo buffs for a bonus in the way of INT and DEX (which you can still gear up to +9 flat without buffs) and the undispellable EMA, and haste (which comes in potion and wand form as well), I don't personally believe a dispel is your greatest bane like it is for a Battle-Cleric. You don't rely on spells for defense and AB/Damage the same way a Cleric does. You're a WM with spell-slinging ability and high AC.

Speaking of AC, your calculation was a bit off. Should be 70 (10 base + 20 EMA + 10 INT + 14 DEX + 1 Boots + 4 Haste + 2 Greensteel Large Shield + 3 Shield Bonus on GS Large Shield + 3 Cross-classed Tumble + 2 Armor Skin + 1 Mage Armor).

Damage would be an average of 36 a hit with maximized Bull's and MD. (3.5 base weapon damage + 3 STR mod + 10 INT mod + 6 WS/EWS + 6 MD + 4 Perm Essence + 3.5 Temp Essence). One less if you go GMW and then keen it in a basin and throw a perm/temp on it, which with Extended GMW would last forever basically. I'd do that personally, as it gives higher AB.


I'm not saying this build is dumb overpowered or the absolute best by any means, but it's definitely viable. As with most builds it has its weaknesses (namely that it's screwed if it gets flatfooted as it has no Uncanny Dodge).

[yellowcateyes]

Some other problems:
-You forgot to take Expertise before you started WM levels. Expertise is a pre-requisite for WM
-There's no reason to take up to 20 INT as you cap out your Wizard bonus to AC/Damage at +10, so you may as well leave it at 19 and boost to 30 for resting.
-EMA needs to be taken at 30 (which should be a Wizard level), as it requires 21 Caster levels to take, not just 9th circle spells.
-Fighter 4 is taken at 27 to get both WS/EWS Rapier, and Wizard is taken at 30.
-You wouldn't use a GMW weapon unless it was keen'd after the fact
-Wizard AB isn't 3/4, so your BAB ends up at 19, not 21.
-Both of your bonus Wizard feats in Epics may as well be Great Intelligence to boost you to 19, meaning you can drop your other 2 points into DEX to get another AB/AC.
-Your Epic Feat line-up should be: EWF Rapier, Armor Skin, Weapon Spec Rapier, and EMA on your main four (in that order), Great Int I & II in your Wizard bonus feats, and then EWS in your Fighter bonus feat at 27.

Lots of good corrections. I'll fix what's needed to be fixed. Re: BAB, it looks like you only get 3 APR from this build if that's the case. 8 from high BAB, 6 from 12 wizard. And since the scripted 4 APR for spellsword only happens at 22 wizard, you're stuck at 3 APR and no UMD for divine power scrolls.

The 22 W / 3 F / 5 WM lets you make use of the full scripted 4 APR, but it has its own issues regarding the important WM level reserved until late epics. I'll poke at it later.

Speaking of AC, your calculation was a bit off. Should be 70 (10 base + 20 EMA + 10 INT + 14 DEX + 1 Boots + 4 Haste + 2 Greensteel Large Shield + 3 Shield Bonus on GS Large Shield + 3 Cross-classed Tumble + 2 Armor Skin + 1 Mage Armor).

Greensteel Large shield has 5% Spell Failure. I used a small greensteel shield instead just so the 5% spell failure wouldn't factor in - an RNG string of 1s is all it takes to ruin your slotted spell selection.

5 EMA + 10 INT (dodge) + 4 Haste + 1 boots already leads to the +20 Dodge AC cap. Mage armor shouldn't be included. Alternatively, use Mage Armor and enchant the boots with something else.

Edit: Also, Mage Armor is conjuration. Something Spellswords can't cast.

UMD is a drawback if only due to the Cleric protective/counter spells, such as NEP, Death Ward, and Freedom of Movement, but I believe Shadow Shield covers Necromancy spells (where Death Ward would be needed) albeit breachably and then NEP comes in potions.

I do agree that UMD is less necessary on wizard characters than other characters. But I include it as a drawback as the absence of Freedom is a consideration, Shadow Shield is breach-able, and you have no access to Divine Power scrolls. The last point might not matter in the long term as Divine Power scrolls could be changed in regard to Spellswords.

As for your point about IGMS spam, I will say this again: Counter-Spelling is your friend.

Counterspelling is useful but not a foolproof defense. For one, you'll have fewer spell slots as a Spellsword than a dedicated caster. If you're up against a Sorcerer, for example, they'll have far more spells than you and spontaneous casting, so counterspelling would only slow them down.

Counterspell also locks you into a combat mode that can be interrupted by, say, attacking or AoOs. It might be less than reliable in a hectic group battle.

Plus, GSF Abjuration is useful for more than defense. As a CL 21 caster, you can throw out your own Mord's and G.dispels at battleclerics and other gishes.

[Astral]

^ I've been kicking around the pros/cons of the different spell schools.

-Enchantment:
With it- Able to make the best gear avaliable and good crowd control. Your melee abilities should be high enough to finish off disable mobs/critters. Being able to dominate enemies will help in lieu of a summon
Without it- No enchanting, dominating or CC, but its not a crippling loss

-Necromancy-
With it- A handful of powerful spells at higher levels, but the inability to take mummy dust will greatly reduce the usefulness of this school
Without it- Probably not an issue if your not planning on summoning or rping a necromancer

-Evocation-
With it- No hellball/Gruin options, but there are a handful of disabling spells and a lot of ranged damage options. Fewer spell slots as a wizard means IGMS spam isn't terribly efficent.
Without it- Probably not a lot of ranged attack options without this.

-Illusion-
With it Some short-ranged spells. The lack of summoned shadows kinda sucks (it'd be cool seeing a spellsword charging with 2-3 clones!). I'm not familiar with how the -project_image clone works, but that could be rather powerful....maybe?
Without it No imp. invis? Thats gonna hurt

-Abjuration-
With it Can't go wrong with this. Defense from missle storms and the ability to dispel enemy buffs? Sounds good!
Without it Don't do it. Don't even think about it.

Divination and Transmutation don't have many/any dc spells, but it'll hurt to loose them (truestrike/premonition and self buffing respectively)

Yes its pretty much sums in Are you gonna cast Wotb and FoDs? well, if the answer is yes, then you can totally focus necromancy and throw away enchantment. If the answer is no then it's the other way around and you're set. From a moral perspective, if you are not gonna cast death spells and animate dead you really got nothing to do with necromancy school as a mage as the 'good' spells in this school are mostly divine as far as I noticed (except Clarity lol). Were it possible to be BOTH shadow mage and a spellsword you would throw away the evocation school that as a sharren you cannot cast anyway and that synergy would be too perfect maybe. For myself, I think I'd go GSF enchantment at lvl 1 and GSF abjuration somewhere pre-epic.

[yellowcateyes]

Edit: This build is Obsolete in light of recent tweaks to spellsword. See this link for details.
viewtopic.php?f=23&p=112685#p112685

It was pointed out to me that a Spellsword can take the Epic Spell, Mummy Dust. The Spellsword just can't cast the spell. With that in mind, here's an odd idea:

Necrosword
22 Spellsword / 4 Barbarian / 4 Pale Master

Race: Human
STR 9
DEX 17 (+2) (Final 26)
CON 14
WIS 8
INT 16 (+2) (Final 20)
CHA 8

Stat progression: All DEX
Gear: DEX/INT/CON, apply also to helmet and vestment due to EMA.

1 W(1) - Expertise, Blindfight
2 W(2)
3 W(3) - Weapon Finesse
4 B(1)
5 B(2)
6 B(3) - Weapon Focus
7 W(4)
8 W(5) - Bonus Wiz: SF Necromancy
9 PM(1) - Knockdown
10 PM(2)
11 PM(3)
12 PM(4) GSF Necromancy
13 W(6)
14 W(7)
15 W(8) - SF: Abjuration ( or Imp. Knockdown)
16 W(9)
17 W(10) - Bonus Wiz: Maximize Spell
18 W(11) - GSF: Abjuration ( or Imp. Expertise)
19 W(12)
20 W(13)
21 W(14) - ESF Necromancy
22 W(15) - Bonus Wiz: Great Intelligence
23 W(16)
24 W(17) - Great Intelligence
25 W(18)
26 W(19)
27 W(20) - Mummy Dust, Bonus Wiz: Epic Mage Armor
28 W(21)
29 B(4)
30 W(22) - Epic Weapon Focus

Use Maximized Fox's, Bear's, Bull's and Cat's to achieve the following stats:

AC = 67, before expertise [10 + 20 EMA + 11 INT Dodge AC + 14 DEX + 4 Haste + 2 Greensteel Buckler + 3 Cross-Classed Tumble + 4 PM]
AB = 43 [16 BAB + 5 Spellsword AB + 14 DEX + 3 Weapon Focus + 5 GMW]
Damage = [Rapier] + 11 Int + 1 STR + 5 GMW + [Essence]
HP: 444
4 APR due to 22 Spellsword
Full spellcasting due to lack of armor, and 0% arcane spell failure on the greensteel small shield.

• Having Mummy Dust, 26 UCL and ESF Necromancy leads to this Spellsword commanding a trio of very powerful undead.
• This build went DEX instead of STR/Armor, as it proved difficult (impossible?) to get Auto-Still III, EMA, and Mummy Dust on a spellsword build with both 4 Fighter and 4 Pale Master. If someone can figure out how to do so, please inform me.
• Barbarian provides Uncanny Dodge, allowing this DEX-focused spellsword reliant on Dodge AC to survive when caught flatfooted.
• Though the Necrosword lacks a melee PM's sneak and crit immunities, it retains full spellcasting up to 9th level spells at a CL of 24. It is a spellcasting Pale Master that is competent in melee.
• You can still go STR on this build. In this case, you either go in unarmored at 52-53 AC (before expertise) or wear armor after buffs.

[msterswrdsmn]

So i'm seeing mostly str/melee based builds. Any suggests for a mostly INT based build leaning more towards spellcasting with passable melee abilities?

[Astral]

So i'm seeing mostly str/melee based builds. Any suggests for a mostly INT based build leaning more towards spellcasting with passable melee abilities?

The thing is your dodge bonus to ac is capped at +20 and you get it around 30-32 int so you dont get much from int afterwards in this path. If you're gonna go melee mage, might as well take the necessary int score and focus on str/dex as the prime attribute. What you'd get from 40 int build is basically what a normal wizard gets from 40 int so there'd be no point to pick this path and all the melee feats if you're building for spell DC. Worth pointing out that with 32 int and epic spell focus you get decent DC on high lvl spells like finger of death, banshee, bigby's spells.

[yellowcateyes]

So i'm seeing mostly str/melee based builds. Any suggests for a mostly INT based build leaning more towards spellcasting with passable melee abilities?

INT on spellsword improves dmg and AC but not AB. The issue with a mostly INT build is that your final AB ends up in the mid to high 30s, which isn't that great at hitting things.

This is especially problematic since the 'soft' ab bonus provided by Spellsword levels contributes to the +ab bonus cap. This limits how much you can ameliorate your low AB with Truestrike.

Kirito also mentioned changing Tenser's and Divine Power scrolls as they relate to spellswords, so relying on one or both for your AB might not be the best long-term strategy.

[Kirito]

Kirito also mentioned changing Tenser's and Divine Power scrolls as they relate to spellswords, so relying on one or both for your AB might not be the best long-term strategy.

As they relate to each other too... they are both meant to boost you to fighter BAB equivalent... if one boosts you to that level the other should do nothing...

Tensors assumes you are a pure wizard too.

In short, they both be broked

[Opustus]

PM/Barbie/Spellsword Build of Dhoom!

You could try substituting the Barbie with CoT for the feats, if you can bear to play a non-evil PM. You can also tinker with the starting abilities spread to ditch at least one Great INT. Can't be arsed to sort out the details, so not sure how it'd work precisely. A very kewl concept!

[Cortex]

Fighter gives heavy armor and martial proficiencies, which bard doesn't.

The most reasonable argument is this one. Taking fighter lvls for 6 damage is a bad idea but since the path doesn't provide any melee oriented feats there's no question and fighter lvls are must take.
PDK gets proficiencies? (yes I know it's about to be tweak that's about to happen but it might sill be a viable multiclass afterwards)

Late reply, but PDK doesn't give any proficiencies, otherwise my Bard/WM/PDK dream would've been real.

[The Drow in my Basement]

Kirito also mentioned changing Tenser's and Divine Power scrolls as they relate to spellswords, so relying on one or both for your AB might not be the best long-term strategy.

As they relate to each other too... they are both meant to boost you to fighter BAB equivalent... if one boosts you to that level the other should do nothing...

Tensors assumes you are a pure wizard too.

In short, they both be broked

I swear to god if you nerf my Melee PM through changing D. Power, I'm coming for you

On topic: has anyone had any luck with a Strength-based Spellsword? Curious to see how it's playing out for y'all.

[Astral]

On topic: has anyone had any luck with a Strength-based Spellsword? Curious to see how it's playing out for y'all.

Havent played it a lot but I role str based one and I think I like it. It's not as hard to lvl early as it seems because you can cast your GSF infi spells with armor so essentially all you need is a bronze greatsword, scrolls of GMW +5, full plate, and you spam that blind/deaf or color spary at the low lvl mobs and smack them with a greatsword when their offense is diminished.