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I would keep going with Investigator for Inspiration and talents to let you apply Inspiration to other important skills, plus extra alchemy awesome for Day Job checks.
Saving throws, skill ranks, and BAB are better on an Investigator. Also, I would maybe go with a Carnivalist Rogue dip instead of Wizard unless you really want Knowledge is Power, which I can't seem to find. What does it do?
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Oh, yeah, I forgot about the hybrid class restrictions. If you don't want many levels of Investigator, I wouldn't multi-class much more than has been done if I were you, so maybe just keep going wizard. At low levels it is good, at high levels you could use Bracers or perhaps Arcane Armor Training and Mithral Chain to mitigate Spell Failure Chance if your swift actions are reliable.
Given that lifting stuff in general (as opposed to gates and such) requires no actual check, I don't think it applies to carrying capacity.
The limitation on taking levels in parent classes vanished somewhere in the playtest. It's not there now.
Still, I'd stick with investigator at least as far as level 4. Studied combat should work with combat maneuvers and 2nd level extracts (e.g. Alchemical Allocation) are not to be sneezed at.
"Investigator is a hybrid class of Alchemist/Rogue, so I can't take any levels in these classes. "
you can take levels in your parent class(unlike havine an alt class or archtype) it's abilities that work the same just don't stack. go alchimist and get off with a bomb
"Parent Classes: Each one of the following classes lists two classes that it draws upon to form the basis of its theme. While a character can multiclass with these parent classes, this usually results in redundant abilities. Such abilities don't stack unless specified. If a class feature allows the character to make a one-time choice (such as a bloodline), that choice must match similar choices made by the parent classes and vice-versa (such as selecting the same bloodline). The new classes presented here are all hybrids of two existing core or base classes."
So, for example, would the investigator and rogue levels stack for the purposes of Trapfinding? (+1/2 level to Disable Device and Perception [traps])
The levels do not stack, but the bonuses would.
To have a better understanding of what I mean I will provide an example.
Investogator 7 Rogue 3 would grant you +3 from Investigator levels and +1 from Rogue levels for a total of +4.
If the levels stacked you would have a total level of 10 which would grant a +5 bonus (as if you were single classed). However, it does not work this way, unless abilities are specifically called out as stacking.
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I have a character that I have been building in PFS with a similar intent to this. At the moment he is level 3, 2 Alchemist (Minchesmist) and 1 Wizard Foresight school.
So I am also trying to squeeze as much out of intelligence as possible. The character is not made to be great for combat, I find in PFS most people rock up with some tricked out combat monsters and we eat the combat encounters with barely a scratch. My class abilities that are based off if intelligence at the moment are bombs (uses per day and INT to damage, including splash), double int to knowledge, prescience power from wizard school, extracts and wizard spells. Granted my spell progression is crap.
This guy will be a pure skill/knowledge buff. The future is 2 levels of Empiricist Investigator for the insight and knowledge to other skills. Then 2 levels of master of many styles monk to get Kirin style and Kirin strike. I wasn't aware of the knowledge is power arcane discovery but for someone who will have 26 not this will be great.
If you have a high AC or can get people between you and the bad guy, you can use the Antagonize feat to force them to come after you instead of your buddies.
There are several fun feats you can use to make intimidate to demoralize work well. My favorite is Enforcer that lets you do non-lethal damage to a person and then take a free action to demoralize: if the target fails his save, he's shaken for as many rounds as you did damage to him. (If you can do at least 5 or 6 damage, this often lasts for most of the combat.)
Having all the knowledge skills is really, really useful in PFS. Having a pack filled with "useful stuff" to deal with creatures is also useful.
And heck, we just got back from a game where my arcanist ran out of spells and couldn't hit with her Ray of Frost through cover, can't provide flanking (because the guy was down a hallway--oh, and couldn't be flanked), so she just ran up behind the front liners and said "I have two hands--can I hold something/fetch something for you?" (Turns out yes--someone needed to change weapons, so she took his old one away and saved him having to drop it.)
You might get some ideas for other uses for Intelligence from BigTuna's wonderful document: Getting X to Y - A Pathfinder guide to using your ability scores.
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Get a Quarterstaff of Entwined Serpents. 5050 gold for at will auto-hit 2d4+2.
It will let you attack things with your terrible stats.
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I am playing an Empiricist in PFS with a one level dip in Inspired Blade. I am using a dexerity build with Fencing Grace, and fight with a rapier or a crossbow. So far the character has been moderately useful in combat, but most importantly fun to play.
My character has 18 (16+2) dexterity & 17 intelligence.
Half-elf is an excellent race due to its favoured class bonus.
If you get your UMD high enough or take a dip you can rely on wands for offense. The humble wand of Magic Missile CL1 is only 750 gold or 2 prestige. Sometimes you can grab higher level ones if you get them on a chronicle sheet. The DCs are low so finding things with no save or partial effects on a save are critical.
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That's the beauty of using Kirin Style and Weapon Finesse!
I get to ignore Strength, and 2*Int would be +10 or +12
+12 damage to ONE attack on the third round, IF you actually make your knowledge check to identify the creature on round two.
If you took arcane strike and hit with two attack per round for those three rounds you would have +12 damage for one feat without any wasted swift actions.
I made the mistake of taking Kirin Style once. It looks really cool, and then you realize what you have to actually go through in play to make it work.
Over four sessions with Kirin Strike I was able to use that damage bonus one time. Something always prevents it from happening. You fail the knowledge check. Your target dies after you identify it. You have to take an immediate action and interrupt your swift action next round. Even if you also take combat style master to be able to freely enter the style without wasting a swift action to enter the style, it's too unreliable to be worth the four feat investment.
Kirin Style is awful, and if you take it you will regret it.
ACP does not apply to spells from spell trigger, use activated or command word items. That said a CL 1 wand of MM is a waste of time, even aid another is a better use of your combat action - especially if you're using UMD and so activating the wand is not quite guaranteed.
Wand spells which might actually help are those which avoid saves and which have enough of an effect to matter. Buffs mainly though some which create zones of difficult terrain or greater danger (entangle, create pit etc.) may be situationally useful.
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Why not choose a build that has basic martial competence and lots of skills? That way you have a way to contribute to combat baked into the character, in case no one brings a tricked out combat monster, and you still get to be a skill monkey.
Skills are really useful in PFS scenarios. However, skills become less and less important as you level up. Also, there is often a crudely direct approach that obviates the need for skill. For example, an axe is pretty good at opening a locked door. Acrobatics ceases to matter much when you can Fly. A hail of arrows trumps Diplomacy. A Summon Monster I spell is often the best way to disarm a magical trap.
I've seen a lot of people struggle in PFS with 'skill monkey' builds. Not in the ROFLstomp scenarios, but in the difficult ones. They can't contribute much in combat, yet out of combat the full casters often render their skills irrelevant. "Well, we could create disguises and try to talk our way past the gate guards, or the Wizard could turn us all invisible and fly us over the wall". They tend to have a hard time pulling their own weight, especially at middle and higher levels. See here and here, for examples on the boards right now. One can easily find dozens of examples in archived threads of people starting this approach, which works OK at low levels, then asking how they can contribute in combat, after the build is already locked in. Once they decided to dump Strength, without being a full caster, their options became very constrained ...
I don't know the Investigator class very well, but here's one very simple, cheap way for any character to be competent at combat:
* Have at least 14 Strength and 12 Constitution
* Wield a two handed reach weapon, probably a longspear. The Investigator is proficient in the longspear.
* Use your superior intelligence to generate AoOs and protect your allies. I.e. Choose to stand in the tactically best place.
With that as a starting point you'll be all right. You can spend all your other build resources being good at skills, yet remain competent in a fight. Your awesome intelligence will appreciate the use of smart reach tactics to offer foes a lose-lose proposition. Any buffs you receive will boost an already effective combat style. You can take creative actions in combat on your turn while also dealing damage in the form of AoOs during enemy movement. You also provide a protective screen to nearby allies. Just make sure to always grip your longspear in both hands at the end of your turn.
You don't need feats or high DEX to use this combat style. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Sure, they help, but the whole idea is to get you the best combat ability possible for the smallest investment. There you go.
P.s. Hope you never adventure with a Bard using the Pageant of the Peacock ability. Said Bard "Knows everything about everything" and consequently is a vastly better skill monkey than you are, yet can also contribute to combat through both lots of direct damage and through bard song.
P.P.s. You are free to invest in any of the dozens of possible combat styles. There are lots of ways that can work. Other people have suggested, and will suggest, all sorts of ways you might fight. I present one method that definitely works well and costs you very little.
P.P.P.s. If you can get access to the True Strike spell your longspear options just got a lot better. Facing a horrible foe (who lacks reach) that wants to eat you for breakfast? Move 15' from the foe and cast True Strike. When the foe generates an AoO you trip them at reach. You provoke an AoO but, since they lack reach, they can't take it. The +20 from True Strike means it will almost certainly work. Foe falls prone. Foe stands up and provokes again, still 10' away, and is done with its turn. You 5' step away and again cast True Strike ...
P.P.P.P.s. Example of how this approach makes you combat effective from 1st level:
* Move 15' from a humanoid foe who lacks reach and ready an action to attack the first foe to come in reach.
* Foe moves up to attack, triggering your readied action and provoking your AoO. You take two attacks, each for 1D8+3.
* If both your attacks hit you inflict 2D8+6 damage, 15 HP average. This is probably only slightly less than what the Barbarian will do in one hit. That's less effective than the Barbarian, but now your combat ability is being compared to that of a Barbarian!
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Here's thread discussing Trap Options that seem like they might be good, but are actually a trap. DEX to damage is a trap option, because it costs lots of investment and gives worse results.
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Here's thread discussing Trap Options that seem like they might be good, but are actually a trap. DEX to damage is a trap option, because it costs lots of investment and gives worse results.
Prior to the ACG, this was true, but the inspired blade swashbuckler and Fencing Grace makes this a very small investment with a very large return.
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Here's thread discussing Trap Options that seem like they might be good, but are actually a trap. DEX to damage is a trap option, because it costs lots of investment and gives worse results.Prior to the ACG, this was true, but the inspired blade swashbuckler and Fencing Grace makes this a very small investment with a very large return.
I suppose that's true. I personally intensely dislike those options and pretend they don't exist except when I'm GMing PFS, but I should not let my personal bias interfere. Thanks for the correction.
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You technically can use finesse with a quarterstaff as written. As a double weapon, it can be wielded as a one-handed and a light weapon. You can finesse any light weapon, so you can finesse it when used as a double weapon, just attacking with the "light" side.
However, there is no way to get dex to damage with one, as it doesn't qualify for the agile property.