Making a "John Constantine" style Sorcerer


Advice


Interested in making a magic using supernatural investigator. He is explicitly described as a sorcerer, so I figure its a good place to start.

Quick overview:
- Uses wits, cunning, and manipulation more often than his magic, though he is quite powerful. He has literally deceived and conned some of the most powerful beings in the universe.

- He seems to be decent in a fist fight. He can hold his own using dirty tricks and magic. If its more than one on one or two, he'll use magic.

-He is VERY knowledgeable about the occult, and is extremely capable in gathering information about what he doesn't know via his network of contacts.

-He is very lucky, to the point that it is some kind of magic.

-He is a good marksman and quite capable with firearms, but dislikes using them.

-He often uses stealth and illusions to take down opponents.

John Constantine

Basically, i want a Sorcerer with more skill points. Maybe Rogue 1/Sorcerer X?

Thanks all!

Scarab Sages

Sage bloodline with a decent charisma score so you get a decent number of skill points from having intelligence as your highest stat?


I almost hate to "BBT" you, but an inquisitor or urban ranger with umd would work better...


Go wild blooded sage and use INT as your casting stat? Might not seem like much of a sorcerer, but it would provide plenty of flexibility for pulling off tricks on the fly when compared to a wizard.


Rogue/Wizard? (Arcane trickster even?)


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Byrdology wrote:
I almost hate to "BBT" you, but an inquisitor or urban ranger with umd would work better...

Im glad Im not the only one that thinks that when someone offers a completely different class, usually a ranger variant. Its also a BBT if you suggest dual wielding shields.

In the comics (apparently) he is a powerful mage who just doesn't show off. It is most certainly NOT mere UMD.


Bard (detective) or Bard (archeologist) for the luck.

dip one level of Gunslinger (mysterious stranger) for the firearms.

The Exchange

On a totally side note, OP might enjoy reading Pathfinder Tales: Death's Heretic, the main character has some awesome flavor for a Constantine-esque background.


Just found this thread. Maybe he'd be an Investigator now or Occultist?

Scarab Sages

I'd definitely suggest an Occultist - I think John Constantine was one of the inspirations for the class.


He needs some sort of "all your friends die, and it's your fault every time, John" curse.


Ehh I really don't see John as a sorcerer type.. yeah he's crazy good but he isn't ~The~ wizard.. or at least pre52 I don't think he was crazy strong. Just damn lucky well thoughtout plans. Plus really he's punched more than a few deamons in the face (granted powered up a bit via a spell or a writ).
I'd go with Occultist.

The foci are very much like his skills. the sla/su abilities from the foci are very much like his go to spells. then he had a variety of go tospells/rituals that give him trouble if he does too much etc.


Probably an Occult class could work better for this concept, for example an Occultist.

Zwordsman's ninja is strong in him.

Silver Crusade Contributor

I highly recommend an investigator with the psychic detective archetype.

Not a sorcerer, I know. ^_^


I wouldn't give him any sort of full casting class. He rarely uses magic.

I think a 4th or 6th level caster would work better. Personally I would go with a magus, maybe a kensai. You should have access to magic to back you up, and some things that are iconic (such as dismissal/banishment) that you need higher level spell casting to do, but shouldn't be reliant on spell casting all the time.

I would also like to say bloodrager, but 4th level spellcasters just don't get enough spell casting to recreate some of the things you should be able to do (like sending a demon back to hell).

Constantine should be mostly martial, with a little bit of magical might that he occasionally whips out.

Scarab Sages

Claxon wrote:

I wouldn't give him any sort of full casting class. He rarely uses magic.

I think a 4th or 6th level caster would work better. Personally I would go with a magus, maybe a kensai. You should have access to magic to back you up, and some things that are iconic (such as dismissal/banishment) that you need higher level spell casting to do, but shouldn't be reliant on spell casting all the time.

I would also like to say bloodrager, but 4th level spellcasters just don't get enough spell casting to recreate some of the things you should be able to do (like sending a demon back to hell).

Constantine should be mostly martial, with a little bit of magical might that he occasionally whips out.

In other words, an Occultist!

Limited magic? Check.
Respectable combat skill? Check.
Access to the dismissal spell? Check.

Not to mention the ability to bind specific outsiders - literal "underworld contacts" - via magic circles to press for information!


I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
Claxon wrote:

I wouldn't give him any sort of full casting class. He rarely uses magic.

I think a 4th or 6th level caster would work better. Personally I would go with a magus, maybe a kensai. You should have access to magic to back you up, and some things that are iconic (such as dismissal/banishment) that you need higher level spell casting to do, but shouldn't be reliant on spell casting all the time.

I would also like to say bloodrager, but 4th level spellcasters just don't get enough spell casting to recreate some of the things you should be able to do (like sending a demon back to hell).

Constantine should be mostly martial, with a little bit of magical might that he occasionally whips out.

In other words, an Occultist!

Maybe, I haven't bothered to look at any of the Occult classes.

I'm not a fan of the occult, I was playing in a Deadlands campaign and the GM started to introduce occult/Cthulhu-ish things to the game and I hated it. I've just never been a fan.


I'd say that an Occultist or Psychic Detective would be more fitting

Scarab Sages

From what little I know of Deadlands, I don't think I'd normally be able to maintain interest in it - but I'd have loved that game!


Claxon wrote:
I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
Claxon wrote:

I wouldn't give him any sort of full casting class. He rarely uses magic.

I think a 4th or 6th level caster would work better. Personally I would go with a magus, maybe a kensai. You should have access to magic to back you up, and some things that are iconic (such as dismissal/banishment) that you need higher level spell casting to do, but shouldn't be reliant on spell casting all the time.

I would also like to say bloodrager, but 4th level spellcasters just don't get enough spell casting to recreate some of the things you should be able to do (like sending a demon back to hell).

Constantine should be mostly martial, with a little bit of magical might that he occasionally whips out.

In other words, an Occultist!

Maybe, I haven't bothered to look at any of the Occult classes.

I'm not a fan of the occult, I was playing in a Deadlands campaign and the GM started to introduce occult/Cthulhu-ish things to the game and I hated it. I've just never been a fan.

I'd still give the classes a look over- they're good for a lot of different things, especially once the archetypes get thrown in.


Arcanist/ Eldritch Knight can be a very potent combination, and works very much like an intelligence-based Sorcerer. While it's 1.5 levels of spellcasting down from a pure Wizard, it can do a lot with lower level spells - like if you use a Blood Arcanist with the Fey Bloodline arcana and the Potent Magic Arcanist Exploit, you can get a +4 to the DC of your compulsion spells. +4DC Persistent Hideous Laughter comes to mind as a pretty thematic and dangerous option, doable by level 7 if you use Wayang Spellhunter to drop it to a level 3 spell.

On the combat side, the 3-point lower BAB compared to a martial is actually completely offset by just Heroism and the fact that Power Attack is one less of a penalty. Dimensional Slide is an incredible tactical ability. For a melee Eldritch Knight, Urban Barbarian 1 and Extra Rage is very good for switching from spellcasting to attacking, though for firearms Swashbuckler:Picaroon is an awesome 1 level for fighting with a pistol and a weapon at close quarters. One level of Arcane Armor Training allows the use of a mithral Kikko armor (0 ACP so no proficiency needed), and a Kikko is pretty close in concept to wearing an armored vest (under a coat...).


Max out your Bluff check. In the comics, it was his best skill. (Knowledge: Arcane/Religion/Planes were pretty good, too.)

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