Alkarius's page

Hello Paizo community,

I am seeking advice or experience with the spell Blessed Boundary. I love everything about this spell, but I am trying to wrap my head around how to make the most effective use of it. Particularly it's effect on melee allies. Because it makes a ring of adjustable size anywhere within a 120 ft range, it acts a bit different from walls like it's predecessor Blade Barrier.

I'm playing a cloistered cleric in a party of 6, and 4 of them are melee focused martials (Rogue, Barbarian, Monk, Swashbuckler).

It is effective to cast it around a group of enemies to divide and conquer? That would provide the enemies with cover, and lock out any friendly melee from approaching them without risk for the full min duration.

Is it effective to provide a dome protecting my party? The enemies could just sit tight, fall back, or launch ranged attacks (albeit against cover) and our melee would be stuck inside the dome giving me dirty looks. Perhaps a dome covering our entire party but overlapping the enemies first line, hitting and splitting them?

Is it best used to just protect myself? Seems a selfish use, plus the enemies could just ignore me in lieu of easier prey and the spell would be largely wasted. Not to mention if an area effect with duration was dropped and I'd have to run through my own spell.

Seems to me it's best application would be if we were defending from an assault. This can be a fairly rare occurrence, and many enemies aren't dumb enough to just blindly run into it when they could fall back until the duration was over.

As always, thank you!

Greetings Paizo community!

I was wondering if anyone could share their experience playing as, or with, a Cloistered Cleric that took a Bard Archetype.

I have been playing a frontline martial for about 2 years and want to make a switch to a pure support style character. My current plan is an Angelkin Nephilim cloistered cleric of Sarenrae, focusing on the Sun and Healing Domains. With Free Archetype, I am trying to fit in both Maestro Bard for composition cantrips, and Angelic Sorcerer for a boost in Divine Spellcasting and flavor. I am enamored with the idea of using those amazing composition cantrips while also filling the true cleric support role (healing, cleansing, buffing, debuffing, religious guidance, etc.), with the occasional Fireball when the room is too small. We are starting around level 10 or 11, and I'd be with 5 other PC's (classes yet to be determined).

Would a heavy investment in Cha and Performance for Lingering Composition be viable?
Would spending a Focus Point every battle to extend (Courageous or Rallying) Anthem be worth it when the domain focus spells would see less use? (I would have Healer's Blessing, Dazzling Flash, and Rebuke Death).
Is the amount of support focus so overboard that it becomes boring or 1 dimensional? (My favorite 5e PC was a pure support Bard so I think I'd be fine with this)
Would I drive my GM insane?

Any advice would be most welcome, thank you!

Greetings everyone!

I had a build idea for a Finesse Magus, may not be optimal but I wanted to see if it looked viable, had any glaring holes, or anyone just has some advice.

The background is that an Aldori outcaste, a half-elf that is spurned due to his elven heritage but still born into Aldori house. Without going too far into the fluff, here is the starting build.

Ancestry: Human
Heritage: Half-Elf
Background: Sword Scion (access to Dueling sword and RP reasons, but if rare wont fly than unconventional weaponry can cover this)
Class: Magus
Hybrid Study: Starlit Span
Starting Abilities: STR - 10 , DEX - 18 , CON - 14 , INT - 14 , WIS - 10 , CHA - 12
Skills: Acrobatics, Arcana, Diplomacy, Lore:Warfare, Society, Stealth
Ancestry Feat: Nimble Elf (Or Unconventional Weaponry (Dueling Sword)

The play style is that of a flashy, stylistic duelist. Thrower's Bandolier is a requirement, with shurikens due to reload 0. Moving around the battlefield throwing ranged Spellstrikes with the dueling sword reserved for when enemies close into melee, a true switch hitter. I really like the Gambit-esque feel of ranged Spellstrikes, but hate the concept of a standing turret, seems boring. Free Archetype is in play, going to start with Psychic(Tangible Dream) for the buffed Shield and Imaginary Weapon, and extra spell slots. Eventually going to also grab Rogue for Strong Arm and Sneak Attacker. Considered switching that order if I needed to drop Int to 12.

Slightly worried about my Ability array. With him being an Aldori I felt I HAD to take a bit in CHA, though mechanically it isn't all that useful. Perhaps for the occasional Bon Mot, but how often would that even land. Dumping WIS feels like a bad idea also. I know Expansive Spellstrike can be a trap, but it's particularly good with Starlit Span I think. Obviously base damage is low with STR 10, and shurikens rocking a d4, but theoretically the Spellstrikes will make up the difference, and STR will be increased as he levels. Looks really, really MAD. Could drop CON to 12 (risky) and CHA to bump WIS & STR to 12. Other thought was to flavor it as an Eldritch Scion, drop INT, pump CHA... but then Expansive Spellstrike is kaput. Also I had the Remaster in mind with the build, so focus points will be leaned on heavily.

Cannot really give the party composition as I dont know it yet.

Does this seem viable, or am I trying too hard to make finesse work?

Thank you in advance!

Hello all!

We are playing Abomination Vaults with free archetype, and I have made an orc Fighter that will act as the primary defender/tank: Level 2, just started but I love future planning and theory crafting. We are playing with free archetype, and I was pretty set on playing a gish before I decided to act as the front line guard, so I chose Axe/Shield style with Magus as my archetype, with the plan of getting Spellstrike and Dimensional Assault(Hybrid Study). Spellcasting was a big requirement for me, but with it being wavecasting, and the archetype version at that, it's pretty sub-par... but I am happy with it. Any magic is better than no magic IMO.

Party of 6, with a Monk(wrestler), Cleric(champion), Wizard(familiar master), Rogue(hunter), and Thaumaturge(Marshal).

With that being said, I was planning on taking Bastion as my second archetype to double down on using the shield, but the Psychic just keeps calling my attention. Better casting than the Magus (in terms of spells slots and getting up to 8th level spells) and it quickly gets me up to 3 focus points (vs just 1 from Magus). The Tangible Dream was my first choice with Imaginary Weapon pushing broken paired with Spellstrike, and the Amped Shield. The Oscillating Wave has been the new frontrunner with the Amped Produce Flame, and my character's affection of Nethys paired with the Oscillating Wave dichotomy. Dropping a Spellstrike with massive fire dmg and AOE splash makes me smile... in theory.

I know I can only Spellstrike once per encounter, so my question is: Is grabbing Psychic really worth it over Bastion? It would enhance my Spellstrike significantly and grant me a ton more spell slots, at the cost of shield feats from Bastion such as Shield Warden, Shielded Stride, etc... I can only get so many with my Fighter feats. I would also have to sacrifice Fighter options such as Sudden Charge for Reflexive Shield (Bastion would give that for free). Am I over thinking it with a desire to do more damage, or is Gouging Claw (or limited Shocking Grasp) sufficient? Will I run out of focus points so fast (can only refocus for 1) to make having 3, and therefore the Amped Cantrips, moot? Are shield related feats as required for the playstyle as I feel they are?

I know it comes down to "What do I want to do: more damage and magic, or more shield utility and defense." But I am asking any of you with experience to enlighten me on what I can expect to see or feel with the build. So far I have learned that Aggressive Block is waaaay better than it looks on paper. Thankfully retraining is a thing so I can find my own niche, but I would like to tap the infinite knowledge of the Paizo wellspring if I may.

Thank you in advance!

Hello everyone, first time poster and new to Pathfinder, came from 5e.

We are currently going through The Beginner's box, and asking anyone who has experience with the Magus, I was wondering if a Sparkling Targe Magus would make a viable Defender/Tank?

I realize that the title 'tank' is a bit inappropriate as that's not really how Pathfinder works, but as a Defender other than Attack of Opportunity it seems a little lacking unless you grab Champion as an archetype, which has a steep Charisma cost.

Party currently consists of:
Orc Sparkling Targe Magus - me
Utility wizard
Utility / DPS rogue
Wrestlemania Monk
Potential healing class to join

I am pretty dead set on the Magus because I think it is awesome as a class and I've always wanted to play a Gish Style character, but was originally Inexorable Iron before I switched to Sparkling Targe because we had no real frontliner aside from the Monk. We do have free archetypes, so I plan on getting Bastian and Sentinel. I guess my concern comes from the relatively low HP and AC compared to a Champion, Fighter, or Monk that dedicates to this role. And from my little research, later tears of play involves such high to-hit and damage output that Shields would break constantly and my AC would not negate crits well enough. Also the lack of Party defense, from trips, intimidate, or the like. The Magus seems very action-intensive with Spellstrike, Recharge/Conflux, moving, etc...

All that being said, I'm going to do it anyway because it sounds awesome. Just curious if I am setting myself up for a hard time or if there's any obvious tactics I am missing. Thank you everyone in advance.