DeathlessOne's page

Putting together my very first Occultist (for play, rather than running as an NPC) for a future Hell's Vengeance game. Its been a while since I first experimented with the class and I've gone back to update my initial rough draft of what I wanted to play. Feel free to offer advice and suggestions as you deem helpful. I am intending this character to be mostly a frontline combatant, competent for the first few levels and then hitting their stride fully by level 6. Squeezing every bit of optimization is not the overall goal and I am trying to keep between the blue ranking and green ranking provided by the Bench-Pressing: Character Creation by the Numbers. There can/will be dips between green and orange at times, as I am not seeking to erase all of his weak points. Positioning and tactics will help bring those numbers up (flanking, magic buffs, etc)

Starting gold was a generous roll, 4d6 (20) x10 = 200gp. Having randomly rolled some key events of his background through the Ultimate Campaign history options, I felt that having the Noble (Gentry) background justified selecting some additional traits (via the Additional Traits feat) that started him off with some masterwork gear. His ability scores were not highly optimized (20 pts) and that is balanced out by an early bonus to hit, and the silvered weapon actually lowers his damage by 1. Most of his 200gp was to purchase a Riding Dog for a companion, which won't really be effective after 3rd level unless I choose to spends feats for Animal Ally. That's to be determined. I expect to spend little to no actual feats in an attempt to boost his combat ability, aside from Power Attack though I might be able to get that through a weapon enhancement (Training).

So... After the ascension of a certain particular sun goddess of the eclipse, I had gotten a little idea based on the actions of my players up to a certain point and mistakenly altered the events that will occur in the final chapter of the book. Partially my fault for not reading far enough ahead to be prepared for the events but also ... I find it hardly palatable that the bad guy ends up 'going home, forgetting the entire thing happened'.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the events and if it feels more satisfying:

On the way to the Temple to retrieve the tablets, the players did a bit of scouting and research to try and figure out what sort of dangers they were going to face. In preparation, they thought ... well ... Let's contact some extraplanar entities outside of the walls of Mzali that might have some interest in the events going on. So, a bit of ritual took place, they spent vast sums of money to barter with outsider forces, and managed to convince a Morrigna to accompany them as a temporary party member for their journey. Thus, was Pharasma's influence brought into the events o Mzali and a shift in one of the party members allegiances.

The crafter of the group, a witch with the pacts patron, a chelixian transfer student that had made a deal with Asmodeus long ago and seeking to break free of the 'family trade', lead the summoning ritual and got in a bit above their head. Part of the payment for the services of the Morrigna was an offer to 'kill' the Imp familiar and have the witch take up the service of Pharasma. Being a huge shift in the character, the player thought fairly long and hard, but eventually accepted the deal. The Imp was not having it that and chose to severe the contract immediately in order to escape with its life. In a moment of humor, I gave the Morrigna a mortal name for them to call her, 'Wednesday'. The other part of the payment was to get Wednesday a personal audience with Walkena.

The players had a somewhat easier time in the Temple and dungeon below than normal because of this helper but they seemed to vastly enjoy the presence of the Morrigna, so I didn't worry too much about the challenge level. They always seem to find the most convoluted way to trigger most of the fights in an area and wipe the floor with them anyway, so they were going to be challenged one way or another. Long summary short, they eventually found the quasi-ascended goddess trapped in her undead form and took pity on her, bringing down the roof to cleanse her body and free her soul. This action pleased the Morrigna, and her goddess, and sparked a new idea. If the form of the undead body was preventing a soul from ascending, well, there was another powerful god-king that might benefit from the same.

This revelation was kept hidden from the players because I did not want to get their hopes up, or allow them to contemplate about what it would do to allow a Lawful Evil god-king to fully ascend, and what the ramifications of that action would be. I did, however, allow them to glimpse the thoughtful expression that Wednesday wore most of the way back to Mzali, and that remained on her face when she shifted shape into a nondescript human to remain hidden from the eyes of the guards and other powerful nobles in the city.

The meeting with Walkena went well as far as the players were aware, with none of the undead or priests in the temple acting as if they were aware of Wednesday's presence. It wasn't until a full seven days later, after the celebrations of the lifting of the rigid restrictions and tyrannical rules of Walkena that a rather powerful earthquake rocked the city. Psychopomps began to planeshift into the city and start dragging off certain nobles, and dragging hidden undead out of the tunnels of the necropolis area of the city.

Walkena appeared at the top of his Temple stairs, wearing a glorious raiment of clothing and accompanied by Wednesday in her own form, wearing a similar adornment, and both of them wearing the mantle that designated them as rulers of the city. There was one distinct difference with Walkena that was immediately apparent. He was no longer the sunken and emaciated undead child-king, but a living, breathing and radiantly healthy young man glowing with the full radiance of the sun gods he had once feared. He announced in a voice that boomed through the city that he had thrown off the shackles of undeath and fully embraced the prophecy of the tablets, as Dajarmube had done so recently. But instead of full embracing his divinity and leaving his people to fend for himself, has chosen to take Wednesday as his queen consort, sharing his power so that he might remain among his people and make recompense for his past misdeeds. He then announced an end to the seven punishments, and that a week of celebration would follow a wedding feast.

Yes, this changed Walkena from a Lawful Evil patron to a Lawful Neutral one, with possible a greater chance of becoming Good in the future. I ruled that both Walkena and Wednesday had become 'quasi-deities' and could remain on Golarion without triggering repercussions so long as their divine influence doesn't reach farther than Walkena's already had. Anything more would require them to leave the Material plane or risk angering Gozreh or potentially destabilizing the prison of Rovagug.

------------------

The reaction from my players was quite ... ecstatic. They had grew very attached to Wednesday over the three sessions she was present with the group, and now had little to no reason to despise Walkena. One of them actually picked up the holy weapon of Dajarmube and became her new High Priest (he is a transmuter wizard with the druid dedication).

So, back to the problem. Walkena was supposed to be the petulant god-king-child that sought out Osibu and attempted to seize it for its riches and secrets, and Dajarmube was supposed to intervene to a degree and make Walkena back off, and eventually go home without remembering the events. How am I going to resolve this and keep the events in Osibu relatively on course?

Well, remember the Imp and contract that got broken through Wednesday's (and Pharasma's) interference. That's how. We've got a contract devil shorted payment and a legion or two of devils eager to get to a hidden city of riches and secrets as payment for their services, in a city that is hidden from most means of divination, so a planar incursion and brief invasion might go completely unnoticed. Not to mention how such an attempt, and success, might bring to its status in the Nine Hells.

Thoughts?

Specifically, I want the Holy Book of a Living Grimoire Inquisitor to count as a one-handed piercing weapon for the purposes of using a Swashbuckler deed (Precise Strike). I know of the Rockshard canister alchemical tool for short term use, but does anyone else have another idea? Smashing the holy book against this item would occupy both hands and I want to keep at least one free at all times.

Thanks

... that are not dependent on having the hex class feature or requiring levels in classes that are not specifically Witch. Aside from the Cackling Hag's Blouse, of course.

Alternatively, anyone know how one might get a Greater Witchcrow as a familiar?

The reason being is that I'm toying with a character concept using the Havocker Witch and was curious if there was a way to get a hex that pairs with Cackle. It is not critical to the build, was just curious if someone knew of something I may have missed. I've got what I think of as a solid chassis to make use of its ... unique ... combination of abilities and want to see if there is room to add a bit of fat, or what I can trim away.

P.S.: I know how people feel about that archetype. I'm not here for personal opinions on the choice.

First off, thanks to pad300 and Derklord for helping with naming the guide.

Google Sheet link to the guide.

Hello, everyone! I finally got around to polishing up my own kind of guide to the Mystic Theurge. It is far from being complete enough to satisfy me but fleshed out enough that it covers everything I intended to touch on when I started it, which is basically analyzing and rating all the potential options that a player has when considering what classes and abilities to take prior to entry into the Mystic Theurge class. It covers ONLY the first few levels of each of the full casting classes (leaving the higher levels to actual focused guides on the classes) and offers suggestions on what classes to pair with another.

Eventually, it will have 'recommended' combinations for classes that share a casting stat, 'focused' combinations for classes that do not share a casting stat, and sometime in the future, fully fleshed out builds for combinations that I feel make excellent choices. I've got one going so far as a pilot attempt on the last tab (Build Tables), but it is far from finished.

So, feel free to take a look and let me know what you think. It is not in the typical style of the other guides, and has no awesome pictures or hyperlinks. It contains bad grammar and likely some spelling errors, as it is more of my running thought process on commentary. I likely won't be fixing any of the grammar but if there are any egregious spelling errors that confuse you, let me know so I can fix them.

If anyone has any build combinations they think are pretty good, let me know and I'll see about adding them to the guide. One thing I ask is try to avoid any kind of discussion about early entry 'shenanigans'. I am not considering them as viable means to enter the Mystic Theurge early, as there is too much table variation, and as such will not be present in my guide. Feel free to check out Iluzry's Guide To The Mystic Theurge if you want more information on how to go about doing that. Its a good resource and also one of the reasons I got started on this guide. Here is a link to that discussion thread.

Thanks and enjoy!

P.S.: I might, just maybe, eventually get around to adding some information on combining Arcanist or Wizard with Warpriest, Inquisitor, or Hunter through the use of the Faith Magic arcane discovery or the Spirit Whisper wizard archetype. Maybe the Zealot archetype for the Vigilante, but those are niche builds and won't be as robust as the other breakdowns.

I've been refining an Arcanist build for a while now and think I've come up with an interesting final product... but, there is a serious downside and wanted to get the opinion of the board on how likely they were to play it given that particular downside.

What's the downside? Significantly delayed casting. Two levels, to be specific. I posted about the build before in this thread. The real 'sweet spot' is level 13, where everything planned comes online but it is functional long before that.

So, what can it do? The same thing as any Arcanist/Crossblooded Unicorn-Phoenix Sorcerer can. Heal with fire spells and do some trickle healing with every spell it casts, except its casting is delayed an additional level. What does it get for that?

1) More trickle healing - up to 4x spell level + half character level healing to one of the targets in the effect of the healing fireball. Even if a character is NOT the target, they still get 2x spell level + half character level, plus a +1 morale to hit for the round.
2) The ability to cast Fireball as a divine spell multiple times (using 4th level or higher spell slots). This is what is getting us that + half character level and +1 to hit for ally.
3) The ability to cast while in a rage, pumping up damage/healing while doing so.
4) Probably the only real unique ability is the interaction between Versatile Spontaneity, Rewind, and Consume Spells which would allow you to essentially turn your Temporal Pool into Arcane points at a 1:2 ratio depending on spell level.

The only ability I really regret not being able to fit in is the Creative Destruction arcane discovery. Since Arcanist only allows one discovery with its exploit, and any other only applies to wizard spell specifically... Well. Throwing around a bunch of temporary HP and acting like an HP battery for the party in addition to a healing font didn't work out.

As far as damage output goes... Well, that's never really a problem. To the degree that taking Orderly Casting and averaging all of our damage/healing still leaves numbers that prove more than adequate. You will pretty much ALWAYS outperform a Cleric using their channel energy class feature, even with a Phylactery to boost their effective level. And outperform them a LOT.

See Faith Magic for an example. I am looking for any/all ways in which a wizard might be able to treat his spells (individual or all together) as divine spells.

Hey all,

I've got a build I'm working on that is showing some real promise and I've looking to finish it up by picking up two spells that will cement its ability to contribute to the group while its other abilities have time to come online. To that end, I need to get Produce Flame on their spell list, and Pale Flame if possible.

The bad news? I can't change race (Half-Elf), multiclass, or use anything that requires a good alignment.

The good news? The class is Arcanist and any archetype is OK as long as it does not replace the 1st level exploit. The first feat that I have available to use is the one granted at 5th level.

The character is currently serving as a hired NPC for an adventure that I am running, and while I could just hand-waive the issue away, I'd like to keep it as close to PFS legal as I can (it is already PFS compliant). After I see how it performs in gameplay, I may eventually run this character as my own in my next game as a PC.

Thanks

tl;dr: No suggestions from you.

As I tend to do when invested in a long campaign, my character is deviating from their initial character concept and just looking to have fun with their potential. As of right now, the character is a hodge-pog of classes that just seem to work out... The original intent was to use White-haired witch to build a witch that is capable of some self-defense in close quarters combat. It has evolved quite drastically since then, as I decided to take few rogue levels to get trapfinding, evasion and regain access to hexes (that don't rely on witch level).

Here is the character currently (some retraining):

Witch (White-Haired) 4 [Infernal Contract: Strength]
Brawler (Strangler) 2
Unchained Rogue (Sylvan Trickster) 2
VMC Magus

Feats:
1) Dirty Fighting
1B) Extra Hex (Protective Luck)
3) Arcane Pool +1 [VMC Magus]
3B) Weapon Finesse [Rogue Finesse Training]
5) Improved Grapple
7) Magus Arcana (Maneuver Mastery: Grapple) [VMC Magus]
7B) Greater Grapple [Brawler Bonus]

Hexes:
Misfortune [Infernal Contract]
Protective Luck [Extra Hex]
Cackle [Rogue Talent: Fey Trick]

With a careful selection of items, the character is swinging around a +27 to grapple checks statically (not accounting for flanking, spell buffs, or other situational bonuses which could push it to the mid-30's). They are quite capable of moving around the battlefield due to acrobatics, carefully chosen speed buffing spells, and is quite able to make use of any of them consumable items that we pick up on our adventure. Wand of Summon Monster III has been quite useful, as has the Wand of Magic Missile (CL 9) they purchased in lieu of having to buy a pricey weapon.

The two paths I am considering right now are to just keep continuing with White-Haired Witch so that my patron spells keep ramping up, my familiar (protector)abilities grow stronger, and I get access to rogue talents. Or to shift gears and pick up Arcane Trickster, to progress my sneak attack damage (which will apply nearly always in a grapple when I constrict the enemy; twice a round with greater grappler, or three times with Rapid Grappler).

Another option I considered was just to focus on Rogue levels, to get more hexes, greater hexes, and sneak attack. But the lure of spellcasting turned me away from it pretty quick.

To sum up the character's role in the group is fairly simple. They are in the traditional 'Rogue' niche, with a few bells and whistles. They switch focus round by round based on what is needed at the moment, and use their spells to get where ever they are needed as quickly as possible.

Note: This is a home game, so some rulings from the FAQ may or may not be acknowledged (such as a VMC class not having an effective level for certain things). Let's not get bogged down in arguing about that.

Hello, all!

I am seeking an additional one to two more player for a homebrew campaign that I am restarting. We are having a session zero Monday, Aug 31, 2020 between 6:30 and 9:30 pm PST using roll20 (hangouts preferable for voice, using discord as a backup only *video is not used). In the session zero, we will be hammering out details for party cohesion, roles and overall plot arc. This game is intended to be an open sandbox where the players choose their own path (collectively) to follow while the events in the world respond to their actions, or progress on their own via player inaction. Whether you choose to be heroes, anti-heroes, villains or absolute chaos incarnate, that is entirely up to you (the group, actually, but you get the idea).

Generally speaking, the campaign was designed for the player to start off afflicted with undeath (the specific variety is variable) and they begin the campaign in a new realm, overtly hostile to most undead, that they know very little about and must seek their own place within it. Players start out at level two and the campaign has more than enough material to take you well beyond 20th level. There will be options for Mythic gameplay, though there is a specific alternative of my own creation as well.

There are some houserules that we use that change the way the game handles, and seems to streamline combat. I have adopted the Unchained Action Economy (so those of you familiar with PF2 will already have a leg up) and have a list of how this effects certain feats or actions. It is no where near complete, but we hammer out things as they come. Note that some of the houserules change drastically the viability of summoning or minion focused characters, as you must spend action(s) maintaining individual summoning spells or issuing orders to minions. All of this will be discussed in session zero.

What I am looking for in a player is as follows:
Committed to keeping a schedule (Life happens, of course, but we are going to have 5 to 6 people coordinating schedules here)
Willingness to look beyond the RAW mechanics, as the game overall is more of a narrative focus that uses the mechanics to help tell the story rather than dictate it. (I try not to deviate too much as I understand we expect things to work a certain way)
An understanding that the decisions you make, and those made by others have a direct impact on how the game progresses and how the mechanics are reflected in the gameplay. Some people will make choices that seem weaker or more powerful than others, or might hold back on using their full potential. There is no equity in the choices you make, only the opportunities you are presented. Work together as a team and focus on defeating your enemies. Let me, as the GM, worry about the balances of power. I do not play favorites.
Lastly, understand that we are here to have FUN. The only drama I want to see is within the confines of characters interacting with the environment. If you are having issues in real life, let me know and I'd lend you an ear. Just try to keep it out of the game if you can.

So, if this sounds like something you want to be a part of, reach out to me via PM or reply here.

Oh, right. One last thing. PVP will not be tolerated. This includes trying to steal things or hide treasure from your fellow party members. The only time I want to see a PC in direct conflict with another PC is when one of them has been retired, the player allows me to turn them into a NPC, and we both think it would be fun to make them into an antagonist for the next adventure arc.

Anyone aware of a way to do this, without 'hiring' or 'asking' (or anything that requires involving) another spellcaster to do it for you? I want to have a character that uses staves with UMD and don't want to have to shell out massive amounts of gold for new staves.

Thanks

Let's say that you have an archer than is limited to firing their bow once per round, with a single attack action (or rather, assume that they do not have access to a full round action, and must use their move action every round).

How would you go about selecting feats, abilities, items, etc to increase the viability of this kind of character? Serious/productive answers only, please. I REALLY do not want to hear about this crippling what an archer is supposed to be doing. This is a thought experiment that might eventually turn into a character concept if I find it meets a certain level of expectation on my end.

Thanks

Upcoming Tyrant's Grasp campaign, we have four players and this is what is known at this time.

Aasimar Barbarian (Savage, Flesheater)
Half-elf Summoner (Spirit Summoner: Life)
Unknown race/archetype Hunter
Suggestions for 4th player?

From what I can see, the Summoner and Hunter will be providing a bit of Melee support with their pets. The Summoner has Arcane buffing and, because of their choice in spirit, healing on lockdown (she enjoys healing). The Hunter has access to the Druid list, though specializing it somehow would be ideal (she likes TWF and bows) The Barbarian is going an unusual route but seems solid with their Melee presence.

The 4th player tends to have a preference for Arcane gishes and monks.

For those interested: 15 point buy, background skills, fractional BAB/saves, no 3rd party.

So, there I was minding my own business when I get a sudden inspiration for a new character. Happens to me quite often, actually.

Anyway, my intention is to combine the Vivisectionist archetype with the Grenadier archetype, and make use of the Rogue talent/Ninja trick 'Bomber' to regain the ability to use Bombs. This involves a dip of 2 levels (minimum) outside of Alchemist.

Im trying to figure out a way to get both the Ki Pool ability and channel energy on the same chassis without further deviating from the build of 18 Alchemist levels. The hope is to get Ki Channel so that I can use feats to pick up some nice Ninja Tricks to expand versatility.

All 1st party pathfinder material is available for use. No 3rd party.

I am building a Skald for an upcoming game and I intend him to serve as a support role. As of right now, the other party roles are not known and my assumption is that we'll have a decently melee oriented party. If not, my choice of class will change to better serve the group.

As of right now, I plan on using a longspear as my main weapon until something better comes along. I will have close range options but those are not important to the question here.

What sort of spells would you recommend for a 1st level skald to know so that he can provide optimal support to his allies? I will start off with a few scrolls of cure light wounds, so knowing that spell isn't quite important (or get a wand if the group wants to invest early on with wealth traits).

Right now, I've picked up Vanish and Deja Vu. I am considering Enlarge Person in place of Vanish. Other suggestions?

Please, do not hyperlink me towards a guide. I am more interested in personal experiences and what you have seen/used that worked well. Thank you

If that got your attention, welcome!

So, here's the important bits:
The character is going to be (mostly) a Druid. No, synthesis summoner is not an option.
The character is going to be either old, or fragile (or both).
The character is only going to have access to Druid spells, not wildshaping, and is NOT going to be a summoner.
The character is going to have animal companion(s). One of which will serve as a mount (Charger).

What I need advice on is what kind of role in combat can the character serve outside of spellcasting. Should they focus on aiding others? Is there a fighting style that can be "adequate" with (AT MOST) the investment of one feat? I plan on using Bonded Mind and Share Spells to share the more tasty self-only buffs with party members. I don't want to delay that very much.

I have a race and stat distribution in mind but feel free to suggest whatever. Try to stick to Common or uncommon races, and no 3rd party please. Feats are at a premium, for human or half-elf (or another race with skill focus will suffice) are highly desired.

I've been seeing a lot of ... dislike thrown towards kineticists in a separate forum that I like to lurk around on, claiming that a kineticist can not output damage equal to a "half-decently optimized" dedicated damage dealer from another class. Now, I immediately scoff at that because I've seen what a well played, almost no optimization kineticist can do at one of my tables (earth/metal/fire), and my group runs fairly optimized, but, I am not above learning I am incorrect.

So, the point of this thread! I want to see what people over here think a "half-decently optimized" damage dealer looks like in three categories: Melee, ranged, and spellcasting. NOTE: This is not throw me the best builds possible that max out damage. I want half-decent optimized, not fully optimized. Something to get a base level on what an efficient kineticist should strive to match, not outright break the CR system and send it home crying to its mother (to repeat a phrase I saw on the other forum). If nothing less than the best is what you can offer me, I don't want it. You can instead suggest a kineticist build.

Now, to the important bits:
Point buy 20pts
Races: stick to common and uncommon
Classes: Any and multiclassing is allowed, with kineticist and the target groups.
Wealth: Typical for level, assume crafting not available.
Resources: NO 3RD PARTY AT ALL. Anything 1st party is good. Variant rules available are fractional BAB/SAVES and multiclassing.
Additional: Do not assume that optimal circumstances are available for your damage potential. Smite evil? Assume they aren't evil. Favored Enemy? Assume they aren't what you selected. Sneak attack? Assume they have uncanny dodge or are immune. Don't like that? Fine, post the damage for your favored circumstance, but put the non-ideal damage in a prominent place, preferably bold.

Let's pick some arbitrary levels to give a spread to target. Ideally, we'll have 3 builds (1 Melee, 1 ranged, 1 spellcasting) in each level group and they don't have to be the same builds. Let's pick Level 6, level 11, and level 16.

Hopefully this will garner some attention and support. I did not attempt to do all this myself, even though I have the capacity, because I am quite biased on the matter and want to get an idea of the community's perspective and creativity in the mix. Overall, we want to shoot for a range where the kineticist matches the expectations of a typical adventure path and doesn't break the system

The build thus far:
Rogue (Unchained) 1 / Magus (Eldritch Scion) 19
OR
Rogue (Unchained) 1 / Magus (Eldritch Scion) 15 / Eldritch Knight 4 [for +16 BAB]

Bloodline (Verdant) - Reach, Natural Armor, Fast Healing

Half-Elf (+2 Dex) - I like half-elves
Fey Thoughts & Round ears alternate race traits
Neutral Good (worships Shelyn)
Ability Scores (20 pts)
Str: 14
Dex: 15/17 (+3 level)
Con: 12
Int: 13 (+1 level)
Wis: 10
Cha: 13 (+1 level)

Feats: (in no particular order/retraining is available)
Weapon Finesse (Rogue 1)
Combat Reflexes
Weapon Focus (glaive)
Bladed Brush
Power Attack
Cornugon Smash
Dazzling Display
Hurtful
Shatter defenses
Furious Focus
Accomplished Sneak Attacker

I will be receiving three bonus combat feats from Magus and/or Eldritch Knight levels.
Will receive 7+ Magus arcanas (elf favored class bonus). Planning Arcane deeds (parry/riposte, precise strike, evasive). We house rule that Magus Level = swashbuckler Level -4 (min 1) for deeds. Will use spell blending to get Sense Vitals for much sneak attack.

Any suggestions on improving the build? Things you would do differently? I don't want a completely min/maxed character, and prefer to not have any negative ability score mods.

I am working on a character concept that uses non-lethal means to defeat their (living) enemies (non-living creatures get the normal, lethal damage treatment) and was wondering if anyone knows any ways to boost the damage from non-lethal sources, namely via spellcasting.

I am familiar with the typical sorcerer bloodline/mutation abilities that boost damage per die of spell.

As the title suggests:

Half-orc Skald (Belkin War Drummer, Sunsinger) VMC Bard
Half-Elf Inquisitor (Monster Tactician) VMC Rogue
Human Druid (Nature Fang) VMC Barbarian

The Skald intends to be a force multiplier, on several levels, never entering actual combat until the second round (minimum). Going to pump the abilities of ANY summoned creatures (through sharing rage powers, combat teamworks feats, etc) that the Inquisitor or Druid pump out via Inspire Rage and Inspire Courage (once he has 4th level spells and the capability to have two performances going). Can perform role of backup healer and arcane utility through UMD. Also has a trick in store for anyone that manages to kill a summoned monster that has the potential for permanent debuffs. Intimidation/Bluff Focused for demoralization.

The Inquisitor will be a summoner of sorts (Augmented Summoning), scout, trapfinder, and flanking/damage dealer. Domain is, as of yet, undetermined. Looking for a stacking archetype with Monster Tactician but NOT something that trades out Stalwart. Can also perform role of backup healer. Flanking role is not set in stone. Ranged might be a better option.

The Druid is planning on being a melee combatant. Worships Gorum and will be using a twohanded weapon and charging in with Vital Strike though Gorum's Divine Fighting Technique. Crocodile domain for familiar and added sneak attack. May multiclass for 4 levels of Rogue (Scout), might not.

Some thoughts I had was a ranged damaged dealer that can hit HARD with fire damage. Maybe a Pyrokineticist or a Witch (Havoker) that uses fire blast. There are reasons for the choice of Fire. I am leaning more towards the Witch for the arcane full casting, even without the Havoker archetype, as a single level dip into sorcerer can help with the damage issue.

So, thoughts?

I’m toying with building a new character for a potential game in the future and wanted to see what the community would, as a whole or separately, put together a....

Unchained Rogue (Underground Chemist, Eldritch Scoundrel) with the Alchemist variant multiclass.

The sort of role I am going for is a dexterity based, rogue-like character that is fascinated by how people use magic and alchemical items to enhance their abilities. To that end, they have sacrificed (knowingly or not) progression of their rogue-like abilities to dabble in those areas. Martial abilities should be more restrictive but not to the point where they suffer. I don’t want actual Alchemy as a casting mechanic.

My first thoughts would be a focus on ranged weapons, with a high crit range weapon for melee combat. Scribe scroll and Brew potion might be interesting feats to pick up. Maybe deviate a few levels (at midgame, levels 11+, for Arcane Archer).

Anyway, I am eager to here suggestions. If you know of a way that might pull the concept off easier, or a different way, I am open to suggestions. It will be 15 point buy, as if preparing for an adventure path. No weird races, please. Try to stick with the Common and some of the more ... normal of the Uncommon. I am perfectly fine with playing Humans and the human half-breeds, especially since they can get more rogue talents through the favored class bonuses.

Assume the role of main damage dealer (Melee), frontline fighter (and Face) and divine caster is already filled, and we are filling the Arcane/skill role. Design as you will.

Benefit: You can modify a spell that deals acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage to deal damage through high-pressure water instead. The spell gains the water descriptor, and you can either replace the spell’s normal damage with bludgeoning damage or split the spell’s damage so that half is bludgeoning and half is of its normal type. Creatures with damage reduction apply their damage reduction to bludgeoning damage from a benthic spell, but the spell counts as bludgeoning and magic for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction.

A benthic spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level.

So, I have a Shaman running through the Strange Aeons campaign (now level 6) that has chosen the Waves wandering Spirit, and the Crashing Waves Hex. His main spirit is Nature (and has the witch doctor archetype) but that is unimportant. What I want to do is use Benthic spell (and Magical Lineage/Wayang Spellhunter) to maximize my ability to force Fortitiude saves or be prone with EVERY elemental spell I cast, while combining it with other unpleasant effects.

I have chose Pale Flames (a better Produce Flame) and Call Lightning as my chosen spells to reduce metamagic costs with Benthic Spell. I am open to alternate options. I want to come up with interesting descriptions of what these spells would look like when used to deal bludgeoning damage, and gaining the water descriptor. I know the feat was surely intended to make elemental damage spells work better underwater, but it is not limited to underwater.

The only thing that I can think of that seems plausible (or believable) across the spectrum of all the spells I will eventually use with the feat is that the addition of the water descriptor “supercharges” the spell into a form that is more “real” than the target it is hitting, more “solid” in reality. So, instead of taking the elemental damage, the energy just bludgeons the target as the energy refuses to interact with it (or partially interacts with it, should we only want to convert half the damage to bludgeoning).

As a side note, I do not plan on being a blaster. My character is designed to be able to shift into multiple different roles as the need calls for it, though his primary tactic is to “buff” his wife (Bloodrager) with Protective Luck (Hex) and Chant to keep it up, while using his other standard actions to drop another Protective Luck on another, or follow up with another “buff” to his wife. He uses Shield Other on her as well (though earlier in the day) and serves as a backup HP batter for her. It is only after that, that he begins to consider using his other spells. Since he has the Healing Token spell, he only has to use immediate actions to heal his allies in combat (though this uses spells or channels as normal).

If it comes down to it, he can enter Melee with his Morningstar and Barbarian rage (VMC Barbarian). Since I plan on almost never making a full attack, I will (maybe) be picking up Vital Strike and Improved Vital Strike eventually, though the (GM approved) Split Hex feat takes precedence. How effective my spells turn out to be may sway me towards other feats.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to suggestions. (Oh, he has a Protector Familiar to serve as his own HP battery.)

I have a player that has chosen a Snark as their familiar for our soon-to-begin Iron Fang invasion game, and I can not find an image for the avian/bat/bio-luminescent fey creature ANYWHERE. My google-fu has failed me. I did find a very non-nonsensical poem about snark hunting.

So, my GM has instituted a new house rule that seems to be beneficial to everyone. At every even level, we are able to pick up an extra feat, however that feat must primarily serve to enhance the characters social skills or role play. This is being done so that we are encouraged to take feats that we would not normally consider due to tight restrictions focused in combat. The feat CANNOT have a primary function or benefit for combat. Crafting feats are considered a benefit to the character’s overall combat ability and are not included in the feats we can take. Feats that boosts skills are kind of in the middle, but are allowed.

Anyway, my request for advice would be perhaps a list of decent “social” feats that people would invest in given the same opportunity. Skill focus and the few feats that boost two skills (like persuasive) are a given.

Thank you

This is probably a dead end attempt ... but does anyone know any way to gain the Still Mind class feature without taking levels of Monk, or Unchained Monk (no 3rd party please). I want to be able to qualify for the Champion of Irori prestige class without Monk levels and to specifically gain their Ki Pool ability (allows use of Ki to activate Lay on Hands). The Irorian Paladin archetype is not sufficient for this.

Thank you

So, first thing to get out of the way ... I know this is not optimal and I don't particularly care. I'm just running with a character concept that I had in mind and exploring its potential. I want to take the concept, expand on it, see what others think about the flavor, and then start trimming the excess off.

Anyway, the concept is thus:

Point buy: (15)
Race: Half-elf (though I am open for changes, mostly wanted the evolution points)
Reanimated Medium 1 (maybe max of 4 levels)
Spirit Summoner 19 (16 if GM allows Boon Comapnion to work)
Eidolon subtype: Agathion
Bipedal form (maybe quadruped... Maybe)

I am trying to pin down the best way to tackle combat with the two. The Eidolon is definitely going to be a Melee combatant, natural weapons. The summoner is going to buff and maybe used ranged weapons, though will have access to hexes, so ... might gear towards a switch hitter.

Anyway, that's where I am at the point. What do you think would make this combination more interesting (without cutting anything away at this point)?

I've got this little idea bouncing around in my head that I could use some help on. I want to use Flame blade as a main weapon, but I want to vital strike with it. To make this happen, and to be effective, I will need to be able to carry over some additional damage with the weapon blow (i.e., spell strike or similar) and I will need to be able to over write the base damage for the flame blade itself.

The warpriest sacred weapon (via weapon focus) would be ideal, but (for reasons that I will keep to myself for now) the character class has to be Paladin. Yes, it has to. There is an archetype for Paladin that gets sacred weapon damage, but it removes spell casting, which is needed to use flame blade.

So:
Must be Paladin
Must retain spellcasting (or gain flame blade as spell-like ability)
Sacred weapon damage, or similar ability to overwrite weapon-like spell damage
Variant Multiclass is an option, but not ideal

Yes, I am aware of UMD but want to avoid it. Yes, I know vital strike isn't ideal for this kind of thing. This is a thought experiment after all. Just exploring the potential.

So, our group has moved past Skulls and Shackles (so long gnome havocker witch), and will be switching gears to Strange Aeons. I am finding my creativity strangely (haha) muted at the moment and looking to stir some ideas. Most of the other players know what they want to play and I am trying to fill in the gap. Hit me with suggestions, though keep in mind the following:

House rules:
Only one archetype per class
Only one multiclass allowed (VMC or standard multiclass, not both. One prestige class)
No uncommon races
No 3rd party (this should be assumed unless stated, but, yeah)
Must take one campaign trait (no campaign traits outside of this one)
15 point buy
Absolutely no life link ability.

My PERSONAL rules:
Versatility is at least as important as pure power. Lean on the side of versatility if a choice must be made.
Shoot for mid-optimization, not high.
Max of ONE ability score below 10 (prefer none), as low as 8. No lower.
No starting ability score over 17
I WILL be taking the VMC option for Barbarian.

Party:
Spiritualist (buff/controller main, backup combat phantom)
Paladin (Melee, damage, heals, status healer)
Bloodrager VMC Bard (pure Melee, trading away spells, force multiplier, very nice will save)
Witch (arcane spells, debuffer) *this one is up in the air. Maybe a Sylvan Trickster Rogue, he wants hexes*
And myself.....

I've got the green light to play a full caster. I am fairly well known at my table to be quite skilled with full casters, though I tend to enjoy the 6th level caster niche the best. I ... don't like being ... squishy. Depending on how the Witch/Rogue decides to go, I am either leaning towards a Spirit Guide Oracle or Pei Zin Oracle (for witch) or a Shaman (if rogue). I'm pretty well set on what to do as an Oracle but the Shaman is a bit more problematic. None of the archetypes seem fairly worthwhile to me.

Additional info:
This character (male) and the Bloodrager (female) will be a couple as part of their backstory, originating from the same semi-tribalistic people. They will be designed to be complimentary to one another, fighting and supporting each other as a team, even within the larger team. They may pick up teamwork feats together, depending on how things work out.

So, onto the mechanics. These are all open to suggestions, though I would prefer NOT to be a half-Orc if possible:

Shaman (no archetype)
Half-elf (Round Ear & Fey Thoughts alt racial traits)
STR: 14, Dex: 13, Con: 12, Int: 10, Wis: 15, CHA: 12
Favored Class bonus (+1 hp), future +5ft range for hex
Spirit: Mammoth, with Restoration as wandering (usually) or Slums
Spirit Animal: ?????? (Protector archetype)
Feat: ?????
Traits: Criminal (Disable Device), Twitchy (+2 init, +1 Ref)

So, the Sylvan Trickster archetype takes away trapfinding, uncanny dodge, and improved uncanny dodge for Wild Empathy, Resist Nature's Lure, and damage reduction/cold iron. In addition, it lets you take WITCH HEXES in place of rogue talents.

That is ... amazing. Especially on top of the Unchained Rogue. What do you think are the most beneficial hexes (hex, major, and grand hexes) to pick up to boost the overly effectiveness of the Rogue chassis? Flight would be an obvious one ... Maybe something could be worked out with Prehensile hair (get dex to damage?).

Ooh, the possibilities...

So, with the release of Exotic Heritage from Ultimate Wilderness, we finally get a way to pick up some of the more exotic bloodlines with Eldritch Heritage, and no more rules arguing about mutated bloodlines.

(It basically replaces Skill focus as the prerequisite for Eldritch heritage)

So, now how about that Sylvan bloodline?

Got a concept for a character bouncing in my head and wanted to get a list of all the little tricks (non-spell tricks anyway) that allows a character to deflect, evade, or render useless attacks made at him.

So for I've got:
Deflect arrows (feat)
Cut from the Air (feat)
Smash from the Air (feat)
Ki Diversity [Wings of the Crane] (feat, +1/Rd deflect arrows with ki point)
Missile Shield (feat, as if deflect arrows, probably not stackable)
Armored Sacrifice (Adv Armor Training)
Weapon Sacrifice (Adv Weapon Training)
Stone Dodger (teamwork feat, boulders/rocks/ballista)
Arrow Deflecting (magic armor property)
Impact Gauntlets (wondrous item, rock catching)
Parry and Riposte (Swashbuckler deed)

This list isn't exhaustive. Anyone have something new to add?

Greetings!

I am starting a 1st level character in our upcoming Hell's Rebels game and have convinced the entire party to play Vigilantes! This is going to be great.

The characters:
Half-Elf Vigilante (Warlock)
Tiefling Vigilante (Magical Girl)
Human Vigilante (Teisatsu Stalker)
Halfling Vigilante (Zealot)

Anyway, I am looking for the ability to get a familiar and the evasion ability, to go along with the Stalwart ability I gain later on. I do not want to deviate from the Vigilante class at all, but I am willing to spend character feats either normally or through the variant multiclass options. I have found ways to get a familiar (witch, wizard, sorcerer) or evasion (monk, rogue) using VMC, but not both. The Eagle domain offers it VERY late through VMC (though only when flying) but my deity does not fit that domain (Milani).

At this point, I am going to save up for a ring of evasion unless the forums have a better option.

Thank you

Anyone know any ways to allow a Druid to use Wildshape to shift into the Magical Beast types? Failing that, adding Beast Shape III to their spell list? The saurian subdomain seems to add it without restrictions.

Reason? I want to turn into an Aurumvorax.

I will be making a level 10 character for entry into the Hell's Vengeance campaign. I believe we picking up in book 4. I have not played a Vigilante before but I am fairly experienced with Pathfinder. I've already read through several Vigilante guides to get a feel for the class and wanted to get some advice or opinions on how you would go about building a melee oriented Vigilante to suit the campaign.

As of right now, I know only that we will have an Unchained Rogue (Drow) in the party. The other two are unknown, but one of them likes to play spellcasters (arcane) and the other likes the the 6th level casting divine classes.

I'm trying to decide if going for a two-handed build would suit me best, but I am also looking at Sword & Board (more like Whip and Spiked Board). Whip of Vengeance, Vital Punishment, and Shield of Fury all appeal to me.

I am open to suggestions at this point. I have no preference either way with Avenger or Stalker, though I'd like to not step on the toes of the UnRogue. I am not opposed to only having 4 or even 6 levels of Vigilante and then branching out. Slayer may be appealing, just for the ranger fighting styles.

Greetings. I was inspired today to come up with a concept for a campaign that will hopefully intrigue my players and capture their attention.

Disclaimer: I took a little inspiration from The Avatar movie (the blue space monkey one, haha)

Group of 3-5 players start at 13th level. They can use pre-existing characters if they want. They are summoned by the king/country leader to assist with a growing threat with an unknown enemy, but they do know the Aboleths are behind some of it. Deep in their hidden lairs, hidden from the touch of most deity supplied divine magic, they are summoning something really nasty. Something with enough power to cause another shattering, and possibly free Rovagug.

The plan is to use some newly developed technology from Numeria to send the player's consciousness into newly cloned bodies suited for an aquatic environment. The distance is too far to travel in time, the environments deadly, enemy presence too well fortified, and teleportation magic has been rendered useless going in. The plan is to sabotage the defenses enough to allow their combine troops to flood the place, which is deep in the Darklands, and stop the ritual.

Needless to say, things go wrong. The player's avatar bodies are destroyed before they can get to them and they have to inhabit weaker forms. Effectively they become level 2 gestalt (one side their choice, the second their original class limited to the same level). They have to survive the facility being torn apart and find a way to accomplish their mission while growing stronger. They'll have support from rebels in the Darklands and can report to the surface when they sleep in their Avatar bodies, waking up in their originals.

Also, they will have to face encounters both as the Avatars and themselves as things happen simultaneously. In addition, after 5th level or so their Avatar bodies start to develop their own cognitive functions and personalities that are similar to their 'Riders', allowing them to take independent actions while not being piloted (though without the benefit of their Rider's gestalt levels).

As an added challenge, no spells above 6th level work in the Avatar bodies and divine magic/abilities derived from deities will not function (so Paladin, Oracle, Hunter, Ranger should be fine). Players will be warned beforehand.

So, thoughts and opinions?

Yep, playing a Mystic Theurge for a one-shot game at level 10, though it is likely to see more play should we actually survive the adventure. Note, by one shot, I mean maybe a four to five sessions long adventure. I am bringing out an old character from retirement and reworking him to utilize new material that has been released since his retirement.

He was previously a Druid 3/Sorcerer 4/Mystic Theurge 1. Crossblooded Draconic/Sylvan (for the animal companion) and also a Tattooed Sorcerer for the Familiar. Its a bit much, yeah, but that is what we had available at the time. Now, I can fully flesh out his ties to nature, which were always more elemental than physical. Druid was picked mainly for the divine casting aspect and because the character was not so much religious as he was in tune with the harmonies of nature, and the fey.

Keeping with that theme, I decided Shaman hit the right note for a prepared divine caster to add to one side of the build, and brings with it some level independent abilities that could help fill in the gaps from the massive dip I have to take in spellcasting. I managed to make up for it though. Also, I'm dropping the Sylvan bloodline and using feats to make up for the animal companion.

So, long story short, see spoiler for build:

Potentially having a game in the near future where we are using material from Heroes of the Jade Oath. It will be a one shot, taking place at level 13. I saw the flying guillotine and thought, hmmm? How to build around that!?

I'm thinking going for two weapon fighting (not improved) route, but only the one feat. Then picking up Weapon Trick (two weapons) and using the Dual Strike trick. Getting a third arm (or extra set of hand) to trigger the second set of blades (like a familiar or vestigial arm) wouldn't be out of the question. Vital strike feat(s) should still work, though the effect is delayed until just after the attack.

Building a ranger-esque Paladin for an all dwarf party in the Ironfang Invasion adventure path. Would like some advice on how to tackle this. Race & class selection is set in stone (no point in suggesting to change it, let's work with what I have)

Race: Dwarf
Slow and Steady
Darkvision
Defensive Training
Hatred
Alt racial traits:
Conservative Diplomacy (replaces stone cunning). Min/max die roll for diplomacy is 5/15.
Craftsman (replaces greed): +2 craft/profession with stone/metal
Mountaineer (replaces stability) immune to altitude sickness/keep Dex AC climb or acrobatics
Shadow hunter (replaces weapon familiarity) can hit incorporeal with nonmagic weapons, +2 vs neg level and heals ability damage faster.
Unstoppable (replaces hardy) +1 fort saves, free toughness feat

Ability Scores (starting, 20pts):
STR 13, Dex 16, Con 14 (12+2), Int 10, Wis (8+2), CHA 13 (15-2)
Level up points go into CHA, Dex, Dex, Dex, Dex.
Plan of being somewhat capable in Melee, not dumping STR.

Class: Paladin
Archetypes:
Chosen One (I want the familiar, and the lay on paws ability)
Holy Guide (For Favored Terrain/Teamwork feat)
(No, I do not want Divine Hunter)

Traits: (these are not set in stone)
Adopted (Weapon Training): +1 damage for a small list of weapons (longbow included)
Deadeye Bowman: Negates the +4 AC for soft cover
Chernasrando Hopeful: Campaign trait reduces effective concealment in forest/plains.
Loner (drawback)

Feats: (in no particular order, except fey foundling)
Fey foundling (+2 hp per die of healing received)
Point blank shot (+1 to hit/damage within 30ft, ranged)
Rapid shot (-2 all attacks, get bonus shot)
Precise shot (ignore penalty for firing into Melee)
Word of healing (ranged lay on hands, but 1/2 effectiveness, required for Sunblade)
Sunblade (fire blast as kinteticist of character level -4, uses charisma for calculations, uses a lay on hands to fuel ability)

Planning on using a greatsword and longbow. Up for suggestions on this and whatever else you can think would be useful. Like what mercies, teamwork feat, etc. favored terrain is most likely going to be forest. I'll make use of shield other to protect the cleric, as I'll have the extra HP to burn.

Oh, other party members are: (dwarves of course)
Barbarian (unchained)
Cleric of Erastil, plans on being mounted (animal domain and an inquisition)
Arcanist (plans on VMC Rogue, possibly into arcane trickster but maybe not prestige)

Quick, simple question.

Stone Dodger is a teamwork feat that, among other things, gives you a reflex save for half damage vs boulders/Boulder-like-things. I'm sure that Evasion kicks in at the point if someone has it. Anyone disagree?

Anyone know a way to get Life Link (or similar, but not shield other) without levels (or variant Multiclass) in Oracle or Shaman?

I'm trying to put together an Pei Zin Oracle with the Succor Mystery and want to take advantage of its mock lay on hands to act as an Oradin, but be specifically a support character with Perfect aid and Bodyguard (and the like). I've figured a way to get channel energy later (level 7) so all I am missing is the life link.

I think that the Soothsayer's Raiment might be what I need, as it lacks the text saying that UMD can't be used with it, though it had to be an oracle.

Planned build is:
Druid (Nature Fang, Druid of Gorum) 16 / Unchained Rogue (Scout, Swashbuckler) 4
Fleet of Foot & Underfoot

The goal is to deal massive damage in a ride-by attack with a Greatsword vital strike while staying out of the reach of the Giants. I will be using Nargrym's Steel Hand in order to use a medium size Greatsword (it isn't armor, so no issues with casting). I think it will be about 36d6+60 at level 20 (+4d6 sneak attack) when Large Size and Impact weapon.

I need help deciding on two slayer talents, two character traits (or three if I take drawback), and possibly getting a familiar without too much change to the build. If I can get a mount easily, Nature Soul, animal ally, and accomplished sneak attacker are feats I could trade away. Will use protector archetype with familiar and charger with animal companion/mount. Rage powers are also up for changing, if something better comes along. Tips on how to build the companion are welcome as well. I'm partial to the wolf, out of my options, because of the free trip attack. Charge -> Bite -> Trip -> Imp Vital Strike Sneak attack vs prone -> Keep on riding out of range.

Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for anything in Pathfinder that mimics the ability the Diehard grants to stay conscious below 0 HP. Preferably via magic item or spell format as race and class is not subject to change. Ways to get orc blood without actually being that race is good too.

Any ideas? Character is a Tiefling

I've got this idea bouncing around in my head to make a Wizard (Spellslinger) 1 / Witch (Havoker) 19. I've given it some thought already and want to see if it is viable. Note that I said viable, NOT optimal. Here is what I have so far:

Gnome (+1/6 Hex per level)*
INT>DEX=CON>WIS>CHA>STR (Level up bonuses go +4 Int, +1 Dex)
Str: 6
Dex: 15
Con: 14
Int: 16
Wis: 12
Cha: 9
Alt Racial Traits:
Blended View (low-light & darkvision)
Fey Magic (Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Purify food/Drink, Produce Flame)
Fey Thoughts (Perception, Stealth)

*I know that the official ruling is that you have to have the class feature in order to gain +1/6 of that ability but we do not acknowledge that rule at our table. This means that at 7th level, I will receive my first hex and can qualify for extra hex. This also means that I will never gain major or grand hexes, as those are separate class ability from Hexes. This is not something that I want to discuss in this thread.

So, why am I doing this? Well, I want to shoot spells out of my gun and use the increased DCs to my favor, especially with witch curse spells. Also, since the gun is 'firing' the spell, the weapon property conductive may allow me to carry over the kinetic energy blast of my choice through the weapon.

Any advice or tips for playing such a class combination? Any spell choice suggestions? Hexes? Pitfalls to watch out for? Best firearm to use?

Greetings all,

I am looking for a bit of advice with my character currently running through the Giantslayer campaign. Like a lot of character builds, his original intended focus has shifted a bit to better suit the play-style of the group and as a reaction to story events.

Druid (Nature Fang)/Crocodile Domain (Protector archetype)
Variant Multiclass: Cleric of Gorum
(more information in spoiler below, full stat block)

Original concept was a Bashing Finish, shield and shield style, type martial druid. I have since taken up the use of a Warhammer that will be (is) an artifact once it is restored. It does 2d6 damage and is one handed (+2 wpn)... I'm using it until something better comes along. I've replaced the Exotic Weapon Prof feat with Ironbound Master (gives me armor training as a fighter = character level -4).

As of right now, these feats are locked in. Next level, I will be taking the slayer talent 'Combat Trick' and choosing Improved Shield Bash so that I can retrain one of my character feats to something else. I am inclined to take Bonded Item and apply it to my shield. Its from Heroes of the Jade Oath, so you might not find it on the d20pfsrd. It basically lets me pick an item, weapon, armor, shield, etc and get a +1 luck bonus towards it use. With Fate's Favored, that's a +2. With the shield selected, and my ability to use it as a weapon, that's a +2 shield AC and a +2 luck bonus to hit with it.

Anyway, back to my initial request. Any feat choices, slayer talents, spell selection, or other tips/suggestions to offer? The spell list is my biggest hangup as there are so many good spells to choose from. It might not look like it, but my character can take a beating. I effectively have another 34 HP to play around with due to my familiar.

So, this is mostly a thought exercise at this point but I've gotten enough thought put into this to know it is viable. I'm looking for a critique and suggestions on what could be improved with this concept. That concept being gaining as much action economy as possible with a single character build, while remaining viable as far as power level goes.

The build so far:
Alchemist 9
-Promethean Disciple (no bombs or mutagen)
-Chirurgeon

VMC Summoner

Discoveries:
Tumor Familiar

Feats:
Nature Soul
Animal Ally
Boon Companion x2

The results:
Animal Companion
Familiar
Homonculus
Eidolon

All companions progressing at full power at level 9.

Considering all of this, what would you recommend for fleshing out the companions?

Greetings!

The last few weeks, I've been contemplating a new campaign for my players and my ideas have finally coalesced into something tangible. In fact, the pot is full and nearly boiling over. So, on to the good stuff!

Setting specifics:

Golarion setting, about two thousand years into the future, so expect a more steampunk sort of feel as magic and technology has started to intermingle. Less of the world is unexplored due to ease of travel and technological advances in defense/offense, though it is no less wild. Gnomes are widely credited for this advancement (more details on request).

The Worldwound has been closed.

Good and Evil countries have drifted to Neutrality. All countries are currently shifting towards Lawful, thought most are still True Neutral. There are no more chaotic countries (see TN above) and all (almost all) nomadic tribes, monstrous humanoids, etc have come together in more of a civilized manner. Those that have no longer in existence, either abandoned or hidden from the outside world. Warfare between countries becomes rare.

Direct interference by Outsiders has decreased dramatically. Summoning still works but very few appear willing to remain in the Material plane for long.

Divine magic has experienced a change. The deities that represent Good and those that represent Evil have been slowly fading from the forefront. Less and less worshippers are being granted spells, though the spells are just as powerful and effective as always. These deities still respond to request and communicate with their followers, but are often vague with responses, as if distracted. As a result, the Neutral deities have experienced an increase in popularity, the Lawful ones most of all. Like the Good/Evil deities, the Chaotic Neutral deities are seeming to fade into the background, though they aren't as interested in communicating. Especially Gorum.

So, here is where things get ... really interesting.

No new souls are being born. Pregnancies are resulting in still-births very rarely more than 8 weeks into term. This is not limited to a single race or creature type. Every animate, sentient creature that reproduces and possesses Int, Wis and Cha scores of 1 or higher do not survive long past conception. Even sentient plant creatures are experiencing this. Regular plants seem to be uneffected. Resurrection type spells are still functional.

This has thrown the world into confusion and the church of Pharasma is at the dead center of this maelstrom of confusion. Not even two months into this had many of them whispering about the 'End', the prophecied time when the stream of souls comes to an end and Pharasma's role nears its conclusion. They now have the soul responsbility to prepare the world for this coming event. Trouble is ... that's not what is going on. Pharasma can see the end of the stream and it is not time! Something has gone horribly wrong and she can not see what! She will need to take matters into her own hands.

This is where I want to get some input. I want to flesh out the setting so that it feels realistic to the players, who will be one of the last few souls born. How does the world initially react to something like this? How does their mentality adapt to the thought of oblivion not more than a few 'generations' in the future? How do the longer lived races look upon the shorter lived races and know that even they will perish long after the others?

All this is important. The characters will either have grown up during this time (if short-lived) or witnessed the start of this period (if long-lived). The adventure starts with Pharasma herself appearing in the dreams of the Adventurers, beckoning them to action. This is meant to be a very powerful experience and much will be laid at the player's feet in regards to responsibility. Undoubtedly, the character's will ask why they where chosen. They will ask what's in it for them. They will ask what happens if they refuse. She will answer them truthfully. They are the last vestiges of Chaos left on Golarion and they have no choice if they seek to have a future.

She will not allow them to die and pass into judgement until the mission is fulfilled. Should they fall, they will rise again. Should they fail, they will be left as the only living, sentient creatures on the planet when all the rest have died from old age, with only themselves and the local vegetation for company.

If they ask her if she knows what is going on, she will give them a sly smile and reply that she does. "The forces of Good and Evil have united with Chaos, seeking freedom from their responsibilites in this universe. They have finally realized, as I did long ago, that they can not win in this struggle. They were just clever enough to change the rules. I still have a role to fill and now, so do you..."

Wanted to get an opinion on this possible combination.

Druid (Nature Fang)
Animal Bond (crocodile)

VMC Cleric
Crocodile Domain (mauler familiar)
-Character is still a druid and should be able to take this domain

Half-Orc (because why not?)
-Wisdom +2
-Fey Thoughts (Acrobatic & Sense Motive
-Sacred Tattoo
-Shaman's Apprentice
-Orc Blood

Str 16
Dex 13 (+1)
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 17 (+3)
Cha 11 (+1)

Fate's favored
Serpent Runner (Two Weapons)
Shield Bearer (Ulfen)

Superstitious

We'll end up with a character that has Druid spells, cleric & druid spontaneous spells, animal companion, familiar, studied target, slayer talents, ranger combat styles, cleric channeling, sneak attack +4d6, and alter self at will.

No wildshape though....

I was thinking something along the lines of the the Weapon and Shield fighting style.

I have character I am running through the Carrion Crown adventure path (end of book 3, beginning of book 4). We have some downtime and I am considering a bit of retraining to take advantage of the new VMC rules. My character was pretty much the only spellcaster in the group until this point, until our dwarven slayer was slain during a really tough battle near the end of book 3. He has since been replaced with a Lunar Mystery Oracle. Between him and the paladin, I've got more room to be a jack of all trades again.

Anyway, got the go-ahead by the DM to make use of the VMC Magus. My character has made a habit of learning a trick or two from every party member he's come across, so this sort of branching out is part of his character. He's learned a bit spellcasting from his parents, defensive tactics from his adopted sister (our paladin tank), swashbuckling and finesse fighting from our swashbuckler, stealth/acrobatics from our (now deceased ranger, killed by a untimely crit) and studied target/gunsmithing from the slayer (died due to massive damage and rolling a 1).

Anyway, I've planned very little of his build up to this point (level 8), mostly just going with what seems the best at any given level. Now I've got a chance to train with a Magus in a city we are stopping at for some R&R. I'm aware that the Bard spell list has very few touch spell, and exactly zero that do any significant damage. Its fine, as the DM is going to allow me to pick up a few spells from the Magus list (one per spell level), though they count towards my spells known, as long as I take Broad Study with Bard spells.

Ideas:

Archeologist's Luck + Arcane Pool = Big boost to combat effectiveness for medium BAB character. At a point where I notice my damage is starting to lag behind the others, this is a big help.

Ki Pool + Ninja Tricks + Ki Arcana = Means I can stop wasting spells on Mirror Image and toss in a bunch of versatile ninja tricks to compliment my combat effectiveness.

Spellstrike + Broad Study = Occasional damage boost when I need it.

Amateur Gunslinger/swashbuckler/Sleuth = Massive pool of grit/panache/luck to spend as I need.

Lingering Performance + Masterpieces (revolt) = I gave up bardic music to give myself an edge in combat. What better way to make up for it than granting the whole team teamwork feats?

Thoughts, concerns, comments?

Just looking for some feedback on a potential build that makes use of the new Variant Multiclass rules (and fractional BAB).

Half-Orc
Oracle (VMC Cleric) 10 / Hellknight Signifer 10

Progression would be Oracle 6, HKS 1, Oracle 1, (HKS 3, Oracle 1)x3.

Oracle (Spirit Guide)

The above build makes use of Catchesis to maximize benefit from Oracle, allows mask to be a bonded item, has two revelations and one hex that they can change daily.

The character is sort of going for the Lawful Neutral, the ends justify the means approach, being able to channel both positive and negative energy. Every tool has its use and the versatile channeler (even though it comes in late) give them the option to spend all channel attempts as harm or heal as needed.

The use of the Rage subdomain is to allow a targeted approach to hunting down and slaying spellcasters (and the like).

Any thoughts, comments or suggestions? I've played around with using the VMC Sorcerer to get the Arcane Bond feature but ultimately decided the Eldritch Heritage was the best approach. Can't duplicate channeling/domain powers as easily.