Monster Mashup - Master Thread

Game Master CaveToad

Not a problem, I'll go back and find my original rolls, wasn't sure if it mattered with the 90 pt min stipulation anyway.

Thanks for the clarification.

Does the holy symbol count as "spell components are possessed" part?

Also, think I'm gonna take the Sacred Tattoo faith trait, so I don't have to worry about that.

Would the tattoo stay on my new form, letting me cast cleric spells in wild shape?

Does the holy symbol count as "spell components are possessed" part?

Also, think I'm gonna take the Sacred Tattoo faith trait, so I don't have to worry about that.

Would the tattoo stay on my new form, letting me cast cleric spells in wild shape?

Yes you start with a holy symbol if you need one. Its a simple wooden one.

You can complete the verbal and somatic components of spells while using wild shape. You substitute various noises and gestures for the normal verbal and somatic components of a spell.

You can also use any material components or focuses you possess, even if such items are melded within your current form. This feat does not permit the use of magic items while you are in a form that could not ordinarily use them, and you do not gain the ability to speak while using wild shape.

Assuming you have the natural spell feat, you can use a holy symbol within your melded form as indicated. Up to you if you want to spend a trait on the tattoo. Such things are clearly helpful if you are stripped of all possessions. ( The slightly abnormal beginning of this campaign aside, how often does that happen in the life of a campaign? )

Ah, should have read the feat closer. Thought it only worked with Druid spells.

As for the holy symbol, I don't need the trait.
It'll probably be something tribal-ish, dino claws and feathers and what not.
If that's okay.

Ah, should have read the feat closer. Thought it only worked with Druid spells.

As for the holy symbol, I don't need the trait.
It'll probably be something tribal-ish, dino claws and feathers and what not.
If that's okay.

Yeah no problem. Very themey.

For a backstory, and due to how Ithillids are "born" How long have we been with Goodwin? I know it could vary but a maximum of years? Mindflayers are "born" at about ten years old when they seize control of a host. So Prar could theoretically be like 12 and have only the lingering malice of the Eldar Mind in him not the learned evil of his people.

Also my theme will be "Apprentice of Goodwin, Magical Dynamo"

For a backstory, and due to how Ithillids are "born" How long have we been with Goodwin? I know it could vary but a maximum of years? Mindflayers are "born" at about ten years old when they seize control of a host. So Prar could theoretically be like 12 and have only the lingering malice of the Eldar Mind in him not the learned evil of his people.

Also my theme will be "Apprentice of Goodwin, Magical Dynamo"

Whatever you want ...

I made mine a defective Mind Flayer about to be brain eaten and discarded mainly because of my dice rolls and I had them in a less than optimize order.

For a backstory, and due to how Ithillids are "born" How long have we been with Goodwin? I know it could vary but a maximum of years? Mindflayers are "born" at about ten years old when they seize control of a host. So Prar could theoretically be like 12 and have only the lingering malice of the Eldar Mind in him not the learned evil of his people.

Also my theme will be "Apprentice of Goodwin, Magical Dynamo"

Whatever is reasonable and makes sense with the storyline.

I like your character Quassine, I could even play off your backstory, whereas Goodwin failed his initial grab when he found you, Prar could have been captured as a larva and given a body by the Wizard.

Hmmm. thoughts and thoughts, tasty thoughts.

I officially posted that the deadline for submissions will be June 10th. I will allow some flexibility for people who are close and want to get one in yet at that time, but hopefully people are on top of it by now, as some RP has begun.

I know a few are currently working on characters yet, so don't worry, you won't be excluded.

@CaveToad: how specific do we need to be with our special items? For example, I chose a ring slot item, but did not give it any abilities at all- should have I? the only real baseline I have seen are masterwork weapons.

@CaveToad: how specific do we need to be with our special items? For example, I chose a ring slot item, but did not give it any abilities at all- should have I? the only real baseline I have seen are masterwork weapons.

Nothing yet. Those who took weapons get proficiency, which could be a boon, as well as the utility of having a masterwork weapon. But no powers are revealed yet. Those who chose miscellaneous items will have their base utility revealed in a different way, so don't do anything yet.

Oh, wait a second.
We get proficiency with the weapon?
Didn't notice this.

I may have to look and see if I can find a more flavorful weapon, if that'd be okay.

Oh, wait a second.

We get proficiency with the weapon?
Didn't notice this.

I may have to look and see if I can find a more flavorful weapon, if that'd be okay.

Yes

PLAYER #91 HAS ENTERED THE GAME!!

OK, so I just discovered this thread today (I don't check recruitment every day) but I am very interested.

I have read most of this thread, about 10 pages in i just started reading CaveToad's posts only. I read all the rules, though.

I had two ideas for characters, and to my dismay, I see multiple changelings and mind flayers already submitted, some even skirting close to the ideas I had. I tried to think of other ideas, but I am really leaning towards one or the other of these ideas.

CaveToad, I invite your input as to which might of the two I might be better served in submitting:

A.) A Changeling. I don't have a solid class set chosen, but I was thinking Bard (because I haven't played one in PF) / Alchemist (I love Alchemists) / and then [ninja/rogue/monk/the like] to round it off in melee and stick with the theme. Or maybe [Sorceror/Wizard] or [Cleric of a deity favoring Bards]. I am picturing this character to be something of a story-chaser, knowledge hound, skill monkey.

OR

B.) A Mind Flayer. I also don't have a class chosen yet, but I was thinking Wizard (because Mind Flayer Wizard) or Sorceror / Cleric (of a darker deity, leaning towards some Evil (brain eating) / Alchemist (distilling brains? making alchemical zombies out of brainless husks?) or maybe some rogue/monk to get decent at nabbing them BRAINS! The general theme here would be like Abe from Hellboy, but of a slightly darker bent. He gets knowledge from eating brains, and endeavors to be a bit of a know-it-all.

I am not really spun up on all the cheesiest combos, but I will go for "rule of cool" and hope for the best. I shouldn't end up with something brokenly bad, but it probably won't be as powerful as many others. I tend to go for versatility over having the most damage.

EDIT: i should roll abilities

5d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 3, 2) = 15 = 11 (dropped)
5d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 1, 6, 4) = 17 = 14
5d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 5, 6, 1) = 17 = 15
5d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 3, 6, 6) = 23 = 18
5d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 1, 4, 6) = 19 = 16
5d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 4, 5, 4) = 20 = 13
5d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 3, 2, 6) = 18 = 13

Puts me at 89, before adding the 10 points. so no complaints there.

will assign abilities once i decide on which character to pursue. same goes for the 1:1 shifts.

One thing to note to people coming in at this point—with tristalt, everyone can fill every role. You don't have to, but party balance certainly isn't important in any scenario.

There's also a moratorium on starting evil, though iirc there's some cool stuff alchemists can do with zombies and simulacra.

One thing to note to people coming in at this point—with tristalt, everyone can fill every role. You don't have to, but party balance certainly isn't important in any scenario.

There's also a moratorium on starting evil, though iirc there's some cool stuff alchemists can do with zombies and simulacra.

Yeah, I wasnt planning on starting evil. It's just that eating brains is considered evil by many. I see it as a grey area, like the poisons discussed earlier. A mind flayer likely wouldn't see it as evil (any more evil than we consider eating meet evil (though some do)), and you could argue that eating the brains of someone who you were going to kill in self defense anyway isn't that bad. But as a seeker of knowledge, he may, at some point later, perhaps seek out a particular brain to eat, which would likely be considered by most to be murder in cold blood.

Xanya would love to work with an unselfish bard(that is not dervish dancer or Dawnflower dervish) as she gets like 6 times the benefits of inspire courage at level one with it only getting better from there. So I hope you pick the bars option. Since I mentioned it, I am curious why those that picked those archtypes did so? With the large monsterous gestalt parties boosting the rest of the party, that is four more people, should be more effective total than just doubling your own boost? Is it just for flavor?

@Tenro, for the changeling, I would suggest going Unchained Monk as your third class for full BAB and a D10 hit die. It will really help the character in combat, even if that's not your main focus. Sure, you don't get precision damage, but the extra to-hit score and the ability to qualify for feats earlier should you want them would probably be a good idea, plus you'll be more durable. Empyreal Bloodline Sorcerer//Cleric//Monk would let you really take advantage of a high WIS score if that's what you want, and once again I recommend Unchained Monk, because you're not really losing much (unless you want an archetype), but you're gaining a good deal more. In order to avoid getting too MAD, I'd also suggest the Unchained Rogue, as it gives you Weapon Finesse as a class feature, though Ninja also gets some great tricks that would really come in handy.

Rogue really benefits from getting full-BAB, as does Bard. Any class does, really, since it raises your to-hit scores significantly, and with spells that go against touch AC, your chances of missing begin to approach zero. Given the classes you seem most interested in, here are my suggestions:

Bard//Sorcerer//Unchained Monk - Full BAB, Wisdom to AC, and charisma-based spontaneous arcane casting. Sing and dance your way to victory! You're pretty MAD, though. Weapon Finesse could help with that a little if you're planning on going into melee.

Unchained Rogue//Alchemist//Unchained Monk - Full BAB, Wisdom to AC, crazy mad skills, all the Alchemist goodies, and precision damage. Dex is your main stat for throwing alchemical bombs and such, but Weapon Finesse also gives you some decent melee capability. No casting, but you can make all sorts of fun poisons to deliver with your flurry, and mutagens are super fun.

Unchained Rogue//Wizard//Unchained Monk - Full BAB, Wisdom to AC, crazy mad skills, full arcane casting, and precision damage. Once again, Dex is your main stat for delivering spells as well as defending yourself in melee. Your high Int will make you a great skill monkey, and you'll be decent if you end up in close combat.

Empyreal Bloodline Sorcerer//Cleric//Unchained Monk - Wisdom is the name of the game here. You're a very holy individual, gaining healing from your bloodline power and Cleric abilities (unless you want to channel negative). Full BAB and Wisdom to AC means you'll be hard to hit and harder to dodge.

Bard//Unchained Rogue (or Ninja)//Unchained Monk - once again, full BAB, weapon finesse, and Wis to AC. This makes for a great skill monkey, with Bardic Knowledge and Versatile Performance augmenting your large number of skill points per level. I mention Ninja here because your high charisma score would really help your ninja tricks, which are hands down better than rogue tricks. You don't get Weapon Finesse for free, but ninja would synergize well here.

Totally up to you how you want to do it, though. I happen to value certain things perhaps too highly. The better your stat spread, the wider your options will be. If you've got four or more 18's, the world's your oyster, so go ahead and make just about anything you want, since the stats you're using don't matter much at that point.

Thanks for the tips!

Good thing you said that, i was going off of classes from memory and misremembered ninja tricks being WIS based. In any event, with the stats in this game, MAD is no problem i dont think. I was actually going to stray from say, having everything key off of one ability, fearing poisons/curses/undead draining that ability and screwing me entirely.

Re: Alchemist, i find i tend to either trade mutagen away in an archetype or ignore it. I might try cognatogen though, seemed kinda fun.

I am not super knowledgeable about all the wizard schools, cleric types, or sorceror bloodlines, as i typically dont play them. I'll have to look up what you were talking about and see if it fits with my idea.

Xanya would love to work with an unselfish bard(that is not dervish dancer or Dawnflower dervish) as she gets like 6 times the benefits of inspire courage at level one with it only getting better from there. So I hope you pick the bars option. Since I mentioned it, I am curious why those that picked those archtypes did so? With the large monsterous gestalt parties boosting the rest of the party, that is four more people, should be more effective total than just doubling your own boost? Is it just for flavor?

havent played a bard myself but i dont imagine i would play it as a dervish sort. If i went bard route, I'd really try to cheese my way into the magical equivalent of having an electric guitar weapon.

Hell, maybe if the Goodwin Golem didn't have a penalty to CHA I'd make a golem with an electric guitar! Or a half golem minotaur.....

Basic thing to keep in mind with Sorcerer is this: Most bloodlines have you casting from Charisma, but two of them let you change your casting stat. Sage lets you cast from Int, Empyreal lets you cast from Wis. If you want to stack up as many class features onto a single stat, this makes Sorcerer the most flexible casting class, and a personal favorite of mine for Gestalt.

Oh, one more possibility I'd just thought of: Ninja//Sorcerer//Unchained Monk would let you hit three of the four classic roles - arcane caster, skill monkey, and melee fighter. You're practically a party unto yourself. Sorcerer can stack with Rogue for Int or Cha as a casting stat (since both are important to a Ninja), or it can stack with Monk for Wis. A build like this would have to be all about versatility and being able to adjust to any situation. If the party needs more casting, you cast. If the party needs skills, you ninja the hell out of those skills. And if the party needs help on the front lines, you run up there and beat the tar out of the baddies with your flurry. Ninja Tricks also let you replicate some spells, freeing up your limited spells known.

Oh yes, I've played with some hilarious bards in my time.

The organ bard. He used summon instrument to crush his enemies. The GM was new and gullible. Hilariously effective.

The "Dane Cook" bard. This campaign was an adventure into how level 20 Pathfinder classes worked. He used the bard capstone ability "Deadly Performance" to tell jokes that were so bad that people just flat out died. Lovingly satirical.

The modern bard. He did interpretive dance. It's hard to explain how this went because every single combat was an entire adventure with him, each was a new experience.

The air guitar bard. Not very original, but always work a chuckle.

The yodeling bard. Outcome is entirely dependent on how socially awkward your friends are. Even balors aren't taken seriously when a three-hundred pound man gets up and starts violently yodeling at the GM.

Xanya would love to work with an unselfish bard(that is not dervish dancer or Dawnflower dervish) as she gets like 6 times the benefits of inspire courage at level one with it only getting better from there. So I hope you pick the bars option. Since I mentioned it, I am curious why those that picked those archtypes did so? With the large monsterous gestalt parties boosting the rest of the party, that is four more people, should be more effective total than just doubling your own boost? Is it just for flavor?

Just worked with the rest of the build. And really, this is the only thing I would EVER use that bard archetype for. Otherwise it's pretty meh.

Adrian, I heavily disagree with you that optimizing for versatility is the best or most fun way to go in x-stalt, though it's certainly a viable way to play since the GM will balance the encounters to the specific party anyway. If you focus on versatility you can quickly end up with a jack-of-all-trades character where someone else in the party will acomplish what you are trying to do in a given situation better than you. That means less spotlight and less fun imho. If you specialize in a few directions you will be better at doing that. This is done by picking classes and abilties that produce effects greater than the sum of their parts.

Xanya Zellor wrote:

Xanya would love to work with an unselfish bard(that is not dervish dancer or Dawnflower dervish) as she gets like 6 times the benefits of inspire courage at level one with it only getting better from there. So I hope you pick the bars option. Since I mentioned it, I am curious why those that picked those archtypes did so? With the large monsterous gestalt parties boosting the rest of the party, that is four more people, should be more effective total than just doubling your own boost? Is it just for flavor?

Just worked with the rest of the build. And really, this is the only thing I would EVER use that bard archetype for. Otherwise it's pretty meh.

I am just curious and like discussing different options for more fun for all. I hope you don't get offended by my questions as I mean nothing bad by them. What is it that work so well with the build that you don't get from the standard bard? Your flavor combination is really cool though. I personally actually really like the archtype. I've been wanting to combine it with Paladin in gestalt in a game that allows Words of Creation and other 3.5 stuff for a ranged build for a while, but haven't found a fitting game yet. It works great when only a small number of members actually care about attacking the enemies (1-2 others), but when 3-4 others benefit as much from inspire courage etc as much if not more than you then it is indeed "meh" as you put it.

If you're considering Bard, I'd also recommend checking out the Occult Playtest's Mesmer—you're essentially a psychic Bard, with similar levels of illusion/enchantment spells and awesome skills, but the added bonus of performance replaced with a bunch of swift-action hypnosis abilities, perfect for someone who wants to mess with minds.

@CampinCarl—I've only rolled up two Bards before: the annoying bagpipe-playing armchair general bard, who uses a mix of musical wailing and backseat swordplay-ing, and the magical mime bard, who does exactly what he sounds like.

... golem with an electric guitar! ...

Was that a Fallout Reference Tenro, as in Johnny Guitar, or do I just play that game too much since normally I wouldn't listen to that song? ... lol

Cave Toad

Since Mind Flayers normally speak with Telepathy, is that the same with my Mind Flayer or does he speak with sound?

Adrian, I heavily disagree with you that optimizing for versatility is the best or most fun way to go in x-stalt, though it's certainly a viable way to play since the GM will balance the encounters to the specific party anyway. If you focus on versatility you can quickly end up with a jack-of-all-trades character where someone else in the party will acomplish what you are trying to do in a given situation better than you. That means less spotlight and less fun imho. If you specialize in a few directions you will be better at doing that. This is done by picking classes and abilties that produce effects greater than the sum of their parts.

I do not advocate Jack of All Trades as the best way to do Gestalt, or the most fun. I do admit that it can be a fun way to play, and something that someone might want to do. In general, my goal in Gestalt is to have nothing go to waste. If you're playing a Monk//Barbarian, don't waste half your Monk abilities by wearing armor. Pretty much never mix Fighter with an arcane caster class unless you take an unarmored figter archetype or get arcane armor training somehow.

Now, versatility is definitely a good thing when you don't know what role you want to take. If you've got several options open, you can let your character grow into being good at a few things the build does well.

Suggestions for Monk//Ninja//Sorcerer would be:
Utility - use Ninja's great utility as a base, and combine it with the Sorcerer's array of spells and things like the Monk's Fast Movement. You'll eventually be running along invisibly with a base speed faster than that of most animals, disabling traps, jumping over walls, and generally wreaking havoc for your enemies. You'll have a skill for just about everything. Casting and fighting become secondary roles that you're still quite good at. One fun thing you can do while invisible is set up traps, so you can scurry undetected around a potential battlefield and set up the mother of all Rube Goldberg enemy-killing devices.

Fighter - probably the weakest choice here, the goal is to buff yourself and attack from the shadows. Reduce Person will increase everything but your base weapon damage, but you'll never miss, and if you can get dex to damage, you're gold. Cat's Grace and similar spells also make great buffs. Summon Monster can give you flanking partners. Get that precision damage every round, and flurry like hell.

Untouchable Mage - the goal here is to use your mobility and durability to wade through the battlefield delivering those dreaded touch spells. Unlike most casters, who want to hang out at range, your goal is to slip through the chaos delivering debuffs and battlefield control spells. Go invisible for casting buffs on your allies undetectably, or give your enemies a nasty surprise by bypassing all their defenses to take the sting out of that one guy in the back that everyone wants to get rid of but can't reach. You don't have the breadth you could get by taking multiple casting classes, but your spells will pretty much always land in the most unexpected and unwelcome ways.

Thing is, you can do any of these fairly well with those three classes, and even if you pick a role and focus your build around it, you'll probably still be decent in the other roles.

Or Monk/Ninja/Arcanist so you don't have to worry about (4) Stats. I guess you can always be a Dragon Disciple to boost your atts but you loose level 9 spell casting. But I guess if you roll good, Monk/Ninja/Sorcerer will work.

Cave Toad

Since Mind Flayers normally speak with Telepathy, is that the same with my Mind Flayer or does he speak with sound?

I removed the telepathy ability for the race, you can talk, its sort of a burbling gurgling whisper.

PLAYER #91 HAS ENTERED THE GAME!!

CaveToad, I invite your input as to which might of the two I might be better served in submitting:

Welcome, and I don't have any specific strong input, as you mentioned there are people of those races already and with synergistic builds. Lots of advice has been offered. There only been one cleric so far.

Tenro wrote:

PLAYER #91 HAS ENTERED THE GAME!!

CaveToad, I invite your input as to which might of the two I might be better served in submitting:

Welcome, and I don't have any specific strong input, as you mentioned there are people of those races already and with synergistic builds. Lots of advice has been offered. There only been one cleric so far.

Others have healing ability but not as strong as a Cleric. I believe one has their Twin-Mind Class slotted for a Vitalist. I have spontaneous healing but I have to burn both an arcane spell and arcanist pool point to cast heal but can only heal (4) people before I am out.

Quassine Alator wrote:

Cave Toad

Since Mind Flayers normally speak with Telepathy, is that the same with my Mind Flayer or does he speak with sound?

I removed the telepathy ability for the race, you can talk, its sort of a burbling gurgling whisper.

Thank you again!

Quassine Alator wrote:

Cave Toad

Since Mind Flayers normally speak with Telepathy, is that the same with my Mind Flayer or does he speak with sound?

I removed the telepathy ability for the race, you can talk, its sort of a burbling gurgling whisper.

So... Mindflayers are now Octodad?

Greebins Higgo wrote:

Xanya Zellor wrote:

Xanya would love to work with an unselfish bard(that is not dervish dancer or Dawnflower dervish) as she gets like 6 times the benefits of inspire courage at level one with it only getting better from there. So I hope you pick the bars option. Since I mentioned it, I am curious why those that picked those archtypes did so? With the large monsterous gestalt parties boosting the rest of the party, that is four more people, should be more effective total than just doubling your own boost? Is it just for flavor?

Just worked with the rest of the build. And really, this is the only thing I would EVER use that bard archetype for. Otherwise it's pretty meh.

I am just curious and like discussing different options for more fun for all. I hope you don't get offended by my questions as I mean nothing bad by them. What is it that work so well with the build that you don't get from the standard bard? Your flavor combination is really cool though. I personally actually really like the archtype. I've been wanting to combine it with Paladin in gestalt in a game that allows Words of Creation and other 3.5 stuff for a ranged build for a while, but haven't found a fitting game yet. It works great when only a small number of members actually care about attacking the enemies (1-2 others), but when 3-4 others benefit as much from inspire courage etc as much if not more than you then it is indeed "meh" as you put it.

Part 1: My build is all about movement, and Dervish Dancer gives a lot of nice buffs for that. Extra speed, extra attacks, and at 12 full attack with haste even when I move.

Part 2: Losing the ability to buff the party with performances is a pretty big cost. And the capstone is so situational to be useless. Great for clearing out a room full of weanies, but if your fighting one big bad guy, you're just the guy that the party wished had been replaced with a different character. Like the Archaeologist.

Tenro wrote:

... golem with an electric guitar! ...

Was that a Fallout Reference Tenro, as in Johnny Guitar, or do I just play that game too much since normally I wouldn't listen to that song? ... lol

hmm i dont recall Johnny Guitar, it has been several years since i played fallout 3 though. And if he was in new vegas i might have missed it since i didnt really like that one as much.

This?

This?

Exactly and like Radio Mojave plays it too much. I eventually replaced it with RACE and Conelrad, and the extra Mojave Radio packs helps too.

For the record I think Bard and Alchemist can work together quite well. Bard song boosts the alchemist's bombs. This could be combined with fast bombs, rapid shot and the twf line of feats for massive nova potential. A full BAB class will obviously help out tremendously. I think paladin with smite which also works with bombs would be good for this, though ranger with favored enemy could also probably be good too. If the GM allow bombs to fall into the fighter weapon group thrown weapons you could go sohei(even better if it's allowed with UC monk) and be able to flurry with bombs as well. With Flurry or twf+improved twf and rapid shot you are looking at 5 bombs thrown per round at lvl 8 while potentially benefitting from bard song, smite and cognatogen (or Dex boost if you have problems hitting). Paladin would give you a tremendous boost to saves through divine protection. If you go Kobold you can put your FC towards extra bombs per day, making you actual have enough bombs to do this frequently, though sadly changelings doesn't have the same option.

Another cool synergy is to combine Preservationist with infusions and any number of familiars and simulacrums(or lesser versions) and bard song to be able to summon a massive amount of roughly level equivalent summons in a very short time and then boost them all with bard song. Though neither is required if you rather want to focus on other areas.

You guys... seem to be taking this a bit too seriously. This campaign has an insane point buy (90 combined scores means a 42-point buy at *minimum*), which means you can build a 6AD character while barely suffering at any one role (or roll). "Jack of all trades" isn't going to be an issue in tristalt; pick all the roles you actually want to do, then do them, because your big limitation is how many things you can do in a round.

Also, the DM has specifically said you can only have one companion, one familiar, etc., no matter how many of your classes grant that feature.

You guys... seem to be taking this a bit too seriously. This campaign has an insane point buy (90 combined scores means a 42-point buy at *minimum*), which means you can build a 6AD character while barely suffering at any one role (or roll). "Jack of all trades" isn't going to be an issue in tristalt; pick all the roles you actually want to do, then do them, because your big limitation is how many things you can do in a round.

Also, the DM has specifically said you can only have one companion, one familiar, etc., no matter how many of your classes grant that feature.

Just trying to help the guy :S.

Can you have different ones though? Specifically I am looking to pick up a familiar in addition to my eidolon.

You can: I specifically have a Familiar and an Eidolon. You can also take specific archetypes that give multiple companions. You can't just go Hunter + Druid and have a hunter companion and a druid companion, though.

Contemplating a couple of potential edits to my character. (currently medusa sorcerer||ninja||fighter(weapon-master:longbow) (building towards a character that freezes enemies in place and then shoots them full of holes with her longbow)

(1) rearranging ability scores to raise her wisdom in preparation for adding a psionic class via twin-mind that uses wisdom (thinking marksman) Maybe reducing strength to boost wisdom? The charisma-based psionic classes don't do much for me.

(2) I'm thinking about replacing fighter(weapon-master) with ranger(hooded champion,trapper) to trade straight damage for flavor.

Any opinions?

Hooded champion is quite neat, but trapped just isn't interesting to me, except as fluff.

Statwise, you're likely trading damage soon for damage later. And adhering better with a class. Just remember to alter some of your characteristics a bit, possibly. :)

Contemplating a couple of potential edits to my character. (currently medusa sorcerer||ninja||fighter(weapon-master:longbow) (building towards a character that freezes enemies in place and then shoots them full of holes with her longbow)

(1) rearranging ability scores to raise her wisdom in preparation for adding a psionic class via twin-mind that uses wisdom (thinking marksman) Maybe reducing strength to boost wisdom? The charisma-based psionic classes don't do much for me.

(2) I'm thinking about replacing fighter(weapon-master) with ranger(hooded champion,trapper) to trade straight damage for flavor.

Any opinions?

Also, read the information on the medusa's gaze attack on Cavetoad's profile.

I think it gives them hardness, which will be hard to deal with.
Just my thoughts.

Hooded Champion is great once you get Signature Deed, but before that you're just a ranger. Also, the Archer Fighter is still the ultimate master of archery—and a lot of those ranger spells you trade away for Trapper are really, really good (Instant Enemy, Named Bullet, Terrain Bond...)

Thanks for the suggestions, they all seem very good. But not quite what i was going for.

For the bard one, which i am leaning towards, my idea was that he would boost other folks or have some strong knowledge utility from bard. Another strong theme i was going for was the ability to "be anyone" as a sort of master of disguise. I also am looking at maintaining at least passable combat ability (via spells, melee, or ranged weapons, i havent decided) and would like some good buff/debuff spells.

Bard and Rogue make for excellent Knowers, and tend to use similar stats. Good for what you seem to be aiming for.