The Emerald Spire - Advice


Advice


Looking for a solid choice of class to run The Emerald Spire with. I was planning on an Alchemist but am now having second thoughts. This is for PFS play so I will never know the exact party composition until I arrive to play, so I am looking for something that can fit multiple roles if needed. Please don't suggest Bard/Skald as I am playing one in another setting and do not enjoy it.

These are what I am interested in playing, but I could be swayed.

Druid - Wild Shape build
Alchemist - Bombs!
Brawler - Mutagen Archetype
Hunter - Wayang with Medium sized Flying Mount (most likely Roc)

Grand Lodge

I'd probably stay away from mounts, especially flying ones. Emerald Spire is pure dungeon and you will likely find flying problematic in a lot of areas.

Druid might work, but again with the narrow hallways of dungeons you might find the larger creatures you can turn into are ill suited.

Grand Lodge

Hunter gets my vote from your short list. That said, I would change the race to tengu and instead of a flying mount, go for flank buddy Deinychus (5 attacks, pounce and 17 Dex and 17 Con Base, add on a 14 Cha and you can do lots of fun things)

Outside of that, might I suggest an unlettered arcanist. Cure Light Wounds is a witch spell, exploits for fun and strong spells.


Why a Tengu? And what kind of good things would a 14 CHA get my Deino/Veloc?

No idea about an Unlettered Arcanist, perhaps I will read up a bit on that one!

Scarab Sages

Out of curiosity, what exactly about bard/skald do you not like? There are several ways to make a Bard, and they tend to be quite different.

From your list, I would go with a hunter, but change the flying mount to a Giant Gecko or Dire Rat for the climb speed. Charging from the walls or ceilings will be more effective than a flying mount in the spire.

Grand Lodge

Hunter seems to be my favorite class right now. That being said, if your flying mount is medium, then it shouldn't be a problem. I do recommend a climbing Animal Companion for you to mount, though, as Imbicatus suggests.

Grand Lodge

Well, tengu gets proficiency in the Elven Curved Blade, a Dex and Wis boost and a stealth and perception boost via skilled. Also, if you go archery, the beak allows you to still threaten around you, something you can not do till Point Blank Master (easily). Also a +4 linguistics, sure it is not a class skill, but a +4 is a large bonus.

The 14 Cha gives you access to Battle Cry being useful, Stout Hearted to up the Will and Smite being useful. Divine Hunter to trade out teamwork feats for Celestial Template and a Domain, lots of good options.

Yes, my suggested Tengu and Dino are both Dex based. 14 STR to take advantage of the 2h blade, also good for an adaptive longbow later. 18-20 crit to threaten crits often enough to pass em back and forth with pet (which has 5 attacks at 7, ie 5 shots at scoring a crit).

Lead Blades is a great spell with ECB, 1d10-2d8.


I am currently running a PFS Emerald Spire group and that just completed the 6th floor. I've looked ahead in the dungeon a bit, as well. My advice:

1. Mounted characters do poorly. Most hallways are either 5' or 10' wide and MANY have obstacles or difficult terrain built in. You will never get to charge. Flying mounts are rarely effective as the floors typically have 10' or 20' ceilings to go with it. 20' is ok, 10' is terrible. You will need to make a large number of Fly checks with the mount and you will not be guaranteed success on that for a surprisingly long amount of time because you will nearly always put them into at least medium encumbrance. Mounts only come into their own once you can get Dragon Style on said mount. Similarly, large-sized creatures are not particularly welcome within the dungeon. There is a halfling cavalier that has gotten only 2 opportunities to charge in the entire dungeon thus far.

2. The light level varies by floor and, in some cases, within floors. This should be more of a race consideration than anything.

3. Most of the encounters are pretty straightforward, particularly for PFS play. Fewer skills are required than normal PFS play.

Honestly, given those parameters, the Alchemist is probably the strongest choice of the classes mentioned.


I think its just the concept of a performing/singing/dancing character that I have difficulty enjoying. I love the skills and social ability possibilities, but I just think I am hung up on this type of clown concept for a Bard...I can't get past it.


My general advice for emerald spire is to play classes that either need no resource management beyond their HP or to go something that has multiple layers of resources. The best class for multiple layers of resources is usually a cleric because of its channels, spells, performances (evangelist), and the domain powers.

Because you mention an alchemist specifically.... An alchemist falls under the category of layered resources, and he is very good at that. Bombs, formula, strong skills, and mutagens are a good package to help out in emerald. The bad news is that none of your resource pools are overwhelming powerful on their own. As such your role would likely be skill monkey and jack of all trades. If your ok with that then you have a great selection that I would welcome at my table. PS: level 6 is a great level for alchemist.

I do not recommend the hunter, or at least the mount. Druid is very good at 6 and at level 8 you can be a wrecking machine. I can't speak for the brawler as I haven't played one.

Scarab Sages

Krell44 wrote:

I think its just the concept of a performing/singing/dancing character that I have difficulty enjoying. I love the skills and social ability possibilities, but I just think I am hung up on this type of clown concept for a Bard...I can't get past it.

You might enjoy an Archaeologist then, as they don't perform at all. Or, if you want an example of battle dance, this might work.

Oratory can be war cries, insults to your enemies, and encouragement to allies.

Not all bards are spoony.


Brawler w/ mutagen archtype calling himself Bane.


My players running it are: Gunslinger, Investigator, Swashbuckler, Witch. They've all managed to contribute a lot to the experience, and I'd recommend any of them to you, depending on which positions are already filled in your group. Gunslinger deals crazy damage at range, Investigator is good for skills, Swashbuckler has plenty of rough terrain and enemies to dance around for endless panache, and Witch has a great mix of spells for any role you care to fill. I think the writers did a pretty great job of providing something for every class, but if you want to stick to what you've listed, I'd recommend the Brawler or Hunter because of how adaptable they are to circumstances.


Personally I'd take a druid over a hunter because from what I've seen so far summons would come in much more handy than an animal companion.

Also an alchemist is probably going to want the precise bombs discovery asap if you decide to go that route.

Pretty much if it's a melee heavy party expect them to be fighting for room for every encounter on the first couple floors and for a number of encounters after that from what I've seen so far (also at the sixth floor but as a player not a GM).

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