This campaign isn't for a long while now but I wonder what you guys think and maybe you'll help me make a decision.
As it stands I plan on going Half Elf Druid/Void Wizard/Arcane Hierophant/Mystic Theurge, for the stacking Wild Shape levels and reaching 9th level casting in both classes.
I haven't figured stats yet but I'm pretty sure we're 20 point buy.
I love the Void school because Reveal Weakness is pretty damn nasty with no save and it's keyed off of your caster level.
This will be our final campaign, according to our DM. We're doing a full level 20/mythic tier 10 in a Wrath of the Righteous campaign.
I plan on going Champion/Archmage dual path, focusing on the different polymorph Archmage abiliies (Lose a minute from a polymorph school spell to change into something else? Yeah that's basically at-will Wild Shape. Plus that one path ability that uses your caster level as your BAB when wild shaped)
How effective do you think this character will be? How would you set up the stat block and feats? It could easily go in either direction. I know I'll want Shaping Focus and Natural Spell. I've considered maybe a level of Ranger for Shapeshifting Hunter (definitely taking Evil Outsider as a Favorted Enemy, we will be in the Worldwound after all) as well as a level or two of Talented Monk for the boosted natural attack damage.
Note that polymorph spells and wildshape are not the same thing. You won't be able to use the polymorph Archmage ability while in wildshape and you can't use natural spell while you use actual polymorph spells.
Arcane hierophant is a 3.5 prestige class? I just checked it and it looks like a Mystic Theurge with medium BAB, more skill points, levels stacking for wildshape and the ability to cast arcane spells in "non-metallic medium or light armor" (iron wood brastplate, anyone?). MT is a weak class but that's an overpowered upgrade if I've ever seen one. So your build gets 17 aster levels of Druid and Wizard PLUS wildshape? I doubt you can buld a weak character with that much utility.
If you want to take it further: Check for ways to reach MT even sooner. The Serpent Shaman archetype has access to the Trickery domain, which allows you to meet the MT-requirements with Druid 1/Wizard 3. If you get a level 2 arcane SLA from your race, you can even go with Druid 1/Wizard 2 (or the other way around). So you can become a character with 18th level druid casting, 19th level wizard casting and 11th level wildshape.
Wow, that sounds rediculous. I'm not gonna tink more about this.
The spells emulated by Wild Shape are all of the Polymorph subschool, so why wouldn't they count?
Half Elves have a Drow Magic racial that allows early entry for MT, I'll just go druid 4 to get wild shape. It'll end up something like druid 4/wizard 1/hierophant 10/MT 5.
They don't count because wildshape is not a spell. Not even a spell-like ability. It's supernatural. If just references the spells for simplicity instead of getting a whole new set of rules. There are also some differences between the spells and wildshape, most notably the duraton and the lacking ability to gain a magical beast shape.
Also, druid 4/wizard 1/hierophant 10/MT 5, does not grant 9th level wizard spells. Though I think there's some option in Inner sea magic that would allow that. I'm not sure since I don't own the book.
Ahh, just realized that. Luckily hierophant will grant access to wild shape at the proper level, stacking as long as you have at least one druid level. So it'd be more like Druid 3/Wiz 1/Hierophant 10/MT 6. 19th level druid, 17th level wizard, 13th level wild shaping. 17th level wild shape when you take into account Shaping Focus. This will also offset the Quick Wild Shape penalty from swift action wildshaping.
Wild shape itself isn't a spell, but it specifically says it functions as per those spells. That's where the confusion hits me.
Plus it's a mythic path ability, so it'd make sense if it affected wild shape.
For instance Shapeshifting Mastery, of the Archmage path.
Your ability to magically adopt other forms is unparalleled, and you can expertly translate your arcane might into brawn. You add half your tier to the caster level of spells or extracts from the polymorph subschool. While under the effects of a spell or extract of the polymorph subschool, you can use your caster level instead of your base attack bonus when making natural attacks that rely on your new form.
It says it affects extracts, which are (Su) abilities of Alchemists. Wild Shape is a (Su) ability of Druids.
Why would it affect one and not the other.
Shifting Mastery (Su): Whenever you cast or use an arcane polymorph spell, you can grant the target the ability to expend 1 minute of the spell's duration to assume another form allowed by the spell.
It's a mythic path ability that specifically calls out working only with arcane polymorph spells. Wild shape is neither arcane nor a spell. It doesn't work.
Ahh, I see what you're saying about that one. Luckily I can still prepare actual arcane polymorph spells and use it that way. In fact I can mix and match using Natural Spell if need be. Wild Shape and then use Polymorph spells if I need to change to something else in the middle of the fight, to conserve both spells and WS uses.