| Rifleavenger |
So, looking over an old thread about Solid Fog, someone made a joke about cross-classing druid to get access to entangle. A brief while later, someone tongue-in-cheek proposed Wizard 3/Druid 1/Mystic Theurge 6/Arcane Hierophant 10, using Alternate Source Spell (a 3.5 Dragon Magazine feat) for early entry into Theurge.
Well, I convinced my GM to actually allow this in a future game, with the stipulation that I have to play from low level and the only 3.5 material allowed is the feat and PrC to make the idea even work. Arcane Hierophant is using a somewhat weaker fan-made adaptation to Pathfinder to counteract some of the mechanics changes between the games.
Now, the smart thing to do would probably be to choose the familiar OR the animal companion, and abandon the other in order to improve my spellcasting. In particular, sack the companion in favor of having more wizard levels, an improved familiar, and a Druid domain. I, however, have decided that I want have my familiar and have my animal companion eat people too. So I'm going DRUID 3/WIZARD 1/Theurge 4/ArcHierophant X so I can start progressing a minion again sooner.
So I'm mostly looking for the following advice:
1. What wizard school to specialize in. I'm mostly torn between Transmutation (for buffing) and Conjuration (to add more animal friends).
2. Feats. I'm going to be a bit strapped, since I NEED to take Alternate Source Spell and Improved Familiar, and highly think I should take Improved Initiative and Boon Companion (the latter would really help in the dry levels of Mystic Theurge before I start progressing a minion again).
The goal of this build is to serve as a buffing and zone control engine for my party plus my tagalongs/summons, but I'm not sure I have the feat budget left to just start taking summoning feats.
3. Should I focus on progressing the Familiar or the Animal Companion?
4. What familiar and animal companion to take? I know there's guides out there on this in regards to the two taken individually, but if there's some secret synergy in lesser options, given that I'll have two, I want to know. Esp. if I can get a familiar that fits the nature/civilization mediator flavor I'm going for with my character. (That said, the familiar has to be able to use wands, so I'll fall back on a Lyrakien Azata if need be).
5. How to avoid an untimely death on the unprogressed minion, or either of them during the runup to Arcane Hierophant.
6. Any other misc. advice.