Eponine Lokrien Savet's page

Where would we be, seriously, without flies, maggots, bacterium, and all manner of vermin? Can you imagine the head on Noah's arc without flies to assist? Can you imagine how horrid landfills would be without the various noble creatures that diligently digest the refuse?

This is my concept for a blight druid. She does not seek to preserve the wastelands. She does not promote the blight. Rather, she honors that microbial and vermin population that takes care of all the s#!t we normal folk don't even care to think of. More, she goes so far as to tend to these creatures where needed to ensure proper degradation of the wastes.

Kind of akin to the Sewer Urchin (from the Tick).

Anyhow, the major wishes:

1) A proper familiar. Right now, I am thinking it should most definitely be a scorpion or vermin as those are the token vermin on the list of familiars. Likely a scorpion as I tend to think of rats as potential pets. A plague rat with all sorts of scabby mottled skin might do though.

2) PFS legality. I want this to be a PFS character down the road.

3) Some major evil channeled for good type abilities that fit the above described character concept.

4) help selecting the other domain.

5) Thoughts on Gnome as the main base. I love gnomes. I can't help it. I just do.

Thats about all I have. Later tonight I will try to post what I come up with, hopefully having incorporated some amazing Advice Board insight into the finer details of Druidism.

I am contemplating an odd build:

Level 1 Oracle of Life w/ Channel (Dual Cursed)
Level 2 Necromancy School Wizard with Command Undead
Level 3 Cleric of Ranalc with Daze variant Channel (Travel and Nobility domains)
Level 4+ Back to Oracle

Race: Gnome
Stats:

6 Str (-2 Points); 12 Dex (2 Points); 12 Con (0 Points); 14 Int (5 Points); 12 Wis (12 Points); 19 Cha (13 points).

Traits:
Magical Knack (Oracle) and Sacred Conduit (+1 DC of Channels)

Level 1: Improved Channel - 5 1d6 channels / day, DC = 10 + 4 (cha) +2 (Improved Channel) + 1 (Sacred Conduit) = 17
Level 2: Spell Focus (Conjuration) - Wizard Bonus Channel to Command Undead DC 17, 5/day
Level 3: Selective Channel - Channel to Daze DC 17 5/day
Level 4: +1 Cha, 5/day channel Negative to Command Undead, 6/day channel Positive to heal 1d6, 8/day Channel Negative to Daze.
Level 5: Channel Ray - Misfortune Hex
Level 6:
Level 7: Versatile Channel
Level 8: +1 Cha
Level 9: Quick Channel
Level 10:
Level 11: Divine interference
Level 12: +1 Cha

+2 Int Ioun Stone, +2 Wis Ioun Stone, and +6 Cha Headband.
+4 Dex/Con belt
Circlet of Persuasion

Cha at 12 should be 28 ish, for +9

Daze DC will be 21
Command Undead DC will likewise be 21
Heal will be 5d6 with DC of 26

Channels will be DC 23 (Daze), 23 (Command), and 28 (heal) via Channel Ray.

I will be able to channel 12/Day (Daze) 6/Day (Command) And 12/Day (Heal) or half that quickened.

A couple disclaimers:
1) This character has to be PFS legal, so please advise if I messed up. This is only my 3rd PFS build.
2) This character is intended for use on various one shot adventures/playtesting with friends, so survivability is a primary concern.
3) The same character cannot be both, so actually one is an evil twin or some such.

Short Version:

Survivability:
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 20 (1d8+9)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +6

Melee:
Speed 35 ft. (25 ft. in armor)
Melee falchion +4 (2d4+6/18-20)

SQ:
Cleric Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (2/day, DC 9) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Cleric Domain (Deception) Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth are class skills.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Endurance +4 to a variety of fort saves, skill and ability checks. Sleep in L/M armor with no fatigue.
Familiar Bonus: +3 to Hit Points You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Fate's Favored Increase luck bonuses by 1.

Spells:
Guidance, Detect Magic, Resistance
Divine Favor, Protection from Evil (D: Disguise Self)

I have only theory crafted an Archaist, and the coin flip landed on Archaist over Oracle for my new PFS level 1. This will be my second PFS character, the first I am playing by the seat of my pants, but this one I want planned in complete detail because otherwise, spell casters seem to slow down games, a lot.

So here goes:

This is a gnome just because I like Gnomes. No other reason.
8 Str, 12 Con, 14 Dex, 18 Int 10 Wis, 10 Cha (don't want negative uses)

Archetype: Occultist

Traits: Seeker: +1 Perception, perception is a class skill; and, Excitable: +2 Initiative.

RP Validation: Constant danger and reward? Does that describe a Gnome? Check. Does it describe a magic user in general? Check.

Special Skill: Linguistics: Aquan, Auran, Terran, Ignan, Celestial, Infernal, and Abyssal. It is important to be able to direct your summons.
Skills: UMD, Perception, Craft Alchemy, and Spellcraft at maximum/level. Rotate other skill points through the various Knowledge Skills.

Feats/Exploits:

1: Spell Focus (Conjuration) / Replaced by Occultist
3: Augment Summons / School Understanding (Teleportation)
5: Extra Arcanist Exploit (Familiar) / Lepidstadt Shifter
Level 6: Arcane Reservoir now refreshes to 7, maximum of 9
7: Improved Familiar / Replaced by Occultist
9: IExtra Arcanist Exploit Consume Magic Items / Quick Study
11: Superior Summons / Counterspell
Level 12: Arcane Reservoir now refreshes to 11, maximum of 15

Gear by priority:
Int Headband +N
Cloak of Resistance +N
Pathfinder Pouch (Mini version of Handy Haversack, doesn't detect as magic, and appears empty unless you use the magic word. A smugglers best friend! all for only 1000)
Wayfinder
Burdenless Slick Hamaki +1 (I hate being grappled, and encumbrance . . and some things just don't fit into a haversack)
fortification Mithral Buckler +1 (I hate crits . . . against me. Roll this before burning Jingasa)
Dueling Spiked Gauntlet +1 (Doesn't interfere with spell casting, lets me get off AoO if I ever need to, allows me to Aid Others if I can't cast something else, and +4 Initiative)
Ring of Seven Lovely Colors (RP reasons more than anything else, also reason for Lepidstadt Shifter)
Dex/Con belt +2 (Never can have saves too high, or too many HP, or too much initiative . . . )
Clear Spindle Ioun Stone (for Wayfinder, I hate mind control)
Handy Haversack (I hate encumbrance)
Cracked Dusty Rose Ioun Stone (No one ever lost by going first too often, only 500g)
Ring of Freedom of Movement (I hate being grappled)
Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier (Negate 1 crit/day, and +1 AC for only 5000 gold)
Mnemonic Vestment (Cast 1 spell/day from spell book without memorizing in advance)
Eyes of the Eagle (+5 Perception)
Boots of the Cat (Creatures that fall take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6 . . . Never take more than 20 points of falling damage! Leap from zeppelins, mountain tops, cliffs, and castles, all for a maximum of 20 points of damage!)
Necklace of Adaptation (Pairs nicely with Wayfinder + Ioun Stone) no mind control, no air, no food, no water)
Seducer's Bane (nice bonuses to save v. enchant spells for when Wayfinder resonant power is not enough)

--------
Mundane Stuff:
Obsession Log (+2 Craft: Alchemy)
Alchemists Lab (+2 Craft: Alchemy)

Permanent bonuses from equipment, feats, racial bonuses, and traits affect your Day Job check as they would any check for the rolled skill, but temporary bonuses such as those granted by spell effects, other than crafter’s fortune, do not contribute, as the duration over which the Day Job check is made is undefined and represents a longer amount of time than a spell’s duration would permit the bonus to remain. You may take 10 on a Day Job check, but you may not take 20 nor can you aid another.

Taking 10, I should earn 150 gold/level with 2 ranks in Craft: Alchemy by taking 10. (150X12=1800, not a lot overall, but it is something for almost nothing.)

So I want to make a sorcerer who specializes in Color Spray.

Current build:

Gnome (+1 Illusion DC)
Sorcerer (Arcane) +4 initiative improved familiar later, +1 to DC of spells with Metamagic applied.
Feat: Noble Scion of War (With Improved Initiative, and Circlet of Persuasion = 7+ cha mod to init)
Traits: Magical Lineage (Color Spray) and Wayang Spell Hunter (Color Spray)

Level 2: Oracle (Dual Cursed) of Heavens. Revelation = Awesome Display.

Level 3: (and all subsequent) Sorcerer Feat: Heighten Spell

Level 4: +1 to Cha, +2 Cha headband, and Circlet of Persuasion Color Spray DC 18

Level 5: Feat: Persistent Spell - All spells now persistent and heightened to level 2 DC 19 or 20, depending on level 1 or 2 spell slot, roll in round 2 if passed in round 1. Ring of Revelation (Lesser) [Misfortune]

Level 6: +4 Cha Headband DC is now 21

Level 7: Spontaneous Metafocus (Color Spray)

Level 8: (Sorcerer bonus feat) Spell Focus (Illusion); +1 Cha

Level 9: Greater Spell Focus (Illusion) DC on Color Spray now:
10 (Base) + 1 (Gnome) +1 (Spell Focus) +1 (Greater Spell Focus) + 1 (Arcane Bloodline) + 8(Cha) = 22 + Spell Level (Will vary with Persistent and Heighten from 1 to 4).

Level 10: Nothing

Level 11: Feat: Improved Initiative; +2 Cha tome DC is now 24-27 with a forced preroll from Misfortune, and another the following round from Persistent (which can also be misfortuned) for a total of DC 27 4x over 2 rounds, -9 to HD

Level 12: +1 Cha (Cha is now 19 (base) +3 (levels) +6 (Headband) +2 (Tome) = 30
DC is now 10 (base) +10 (Cha) +1 (Gnome) +1 (Arcane) +1 (Spell Focus) +1 (Greater Spell Focus) = 24 + Spell Level (1-5) = DC 25-29, -10 to HD of monsters.

Did I miss anything?

Oh, forgot: Initiative = 10 (Cha) +3 (Circlet) +4 (Familiar) +4 (Improved Initiative) = +21

Please indicate:

Player Name:
Character Name:
PFS ID:
Day Job: [OOC]Please roll as well if applicable.[/b]
Any items Sold:
Any items Purchased:

Eponine escorts you from the Flaxseed Lodge to the Grand Lodge, where a conversation is already underway:

“I have no love of puns,” announces a peeved Kreighton Shaine, the Master of Scrolls in the Grand Lodge, “Yet it cannot go unremarked that the Overflow Archives have begun living up to their name.” The pale elf gestures across the library’s stone lobby toward a pair of shut double doors from beneath which water steadily seeps. He is only one of the midnight visitors bearing witness to this disaster. Next to Shaine, Paracountess Zarta Dralneen stands with folded arms, glaring at an initiate whose hair and clothes are utterly drenched.

All three speak at once, but Shaine’s shrill voice rises above the din. “Magical shenanigans in the archives are prohibited, especially this soon before the Grand Convocation!”

“Let us prioritize,” Dralneen suggests. “Are the artifacts within the vaults in danger?”

“How should I know?” Shaine barks back. “This delinquent initiate— what was the name? Wormell?”

“Virml, sir,” replies the sodden Pathfinder.

“Virml says he sneaked into the archives on a dare,” summarizes Shaine, painfully emphasizing the initiate’s name with scolding disdain. “Presumably, he thought the holdings would be harmless. Instead, in his naivete, Virml triggered some dormant curse or other. So, yes, thanks to Virml here, the archives and the vaults below continue to flood, threatening all the books therein.”

Miserably, Virml holds up an armload of soggy manuscripts. “I salvaged a few, sir.”

Sighing, Shaine leads Virml towards the stairs. “Take them up to the scriptorium. Start making dry copies.” Then, turning to survey the rest of the room, he continues issuing orders. “The remainder of you should wade in there and plumb the origins of this deluge. Stop it, if you can. I must report this debacle to my colleagues and begin organizing the cleanup.”

Abruptly, he seems to notice the paracountess for the first time. “What are you doing here, Dralneen?”

Zarta smirks and shrugs. “Unlike you, Shaine, I love a good pun.”

Eponine makes a quick apology to the Paracountess for her tardiness, then promptly leaves.

This build is designed as an "Anvil" as TarkXT has labeled such builds in his very well written post on such things.
The primary goal of this build is to exercise control using three main abilities:

1. Rerolls;
2. Battlefiled Control; and,
3. Debuffs.

Action Economy is better than average, thanks to readily available Swift, Immediate, Move, and Standard Actions. Better still, there is a Familiar with her own Swift, Immediate, and Standard Actions!

Rerolls are incredibly powerful. In some cases they are essential buffs, and in others, debuffs. See below. More importantly, this build can hand them out like crazy.

First, Misfortune allows you to force, as an immediate action, a re-roll of any d20 made by anyone (including yourself by RAW) within 30' of yourself.
Second, Ill Omen does not allow a save, but does have to overcome SR. This forces the enemy to roll 2 d20 and take the worst result on the next d20 roll.
Third, Fortune allows just you to re-roll any d20 you have just rolled.
Fourth, Divine Interference allows you to sacrifice a spell slot (level one or greater) to force a re-roll.

Battlefield Control is a little trickier, luckily, Black Tentacles, the amazing Wizard standard control spell is on the Dark Tapestry list. Additionally, all the standard Summon Monster spells are available to the Dark Tapestry Oracle (and all other Oracles).

Finally, the debuffs! First, lets be clear, rerolls are a form of debuff:
GM: Natural 20, BBEG threatens a critical.
Oracle: Shadowy black flame briefly engulfs the BBEG a profound feeling of dread permeates the air. . . Please re-roll that d20, Misfortune / Divine Interference.

Aditionally, this build focuses on the tried and true, good-old fashioned debuffs. The build even incorporates some relatively devastating to melee/ranged curses just for that purpose. Oracle's Burden places your curse(s) onto an enemy, without the bonuses. So Wrecker breaks their whatever the enemy is holding (sword and shield for example). (un)Fortunately, the Wrecker Curse is specific on held items, and you do not hold armor . . . Meh (After level 5, your armor is likely to be the Cloak of Darkness with some light weight thing enchanted up with other bonuses). At any rate, the condition imparts:

• If the item is a weapon, any attacks made with the item suffer a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Such weapons only score a critical hit on a natural 20 and only deal ×2 damage on a confirmed critical hit.
  
• If the item is a suit of armor or a shield, the bonus it grants to AC is halved, rounding down. Broken armor doubles its armor check penalty on skills.
  
• If the item is a tool needed for a skill, any skill check made with the item takes a –2 penalty.
  
• If the item is a wand or staff, it uses up twice as many charges when used.
  
• If the item does not fit into any of these categories, the broken condition has no effect on its use.

in addition to Wrecker, Oracle's Burden also delivers Haunted: "Retrieving any stored item from your gear requires a standard action, unless it would normally take longer. Any item you drop lands 10 feet away from you in a random direction." Think of all the fun your allies will have disarming the enemies! Don't just leave it to the allies though. Burning Disarm allows you to force enemies to drop items as well.

Other wonderful debuffs include: Murderous Command and Burning Disarm (Level 1), Burst of Radiance (Level 2), Hold Person for Melee, Silece for Casters (Level 3), Fleshworm Infestation and for the ultimate in Caster elimination, Dark Tapestry grants Feeblemind and then there is Boneshatter for the Melee types. Keep an eye out for enemies without SR, and make sure your wand-wielding familiar is ready for them with a wand of Ill Omen!

A final word on re-rolls. Once you have 2 re-roll pools readily available, make sure the use the right ones for the right job. At level 3, you have 3 re-roll pools, Fortune, Misfortune, and Divine Interference. Use Divine Interference on ENEMIES, Misfortune on ALLIES, and Fortune on YOU.

Final thought, not word, on re-rolls: Only force re-rolls that matter! Ex: Boris the Strong and Fair has 207 Hit Points. The BBEG just swung and threatened on a natural 20. Boris is thus far unscathed, and the 19 the BBEG rolled last round missed. DO NOT WASTE MISFORTUNE. Unless this boss is packing 5d10+56 damage, Boris is likely to be fine. Likewise, if a party member is throwing SOS spells around, get a feel for the BBEG save before you throw in your Misfortune. Rolling twice for a SoS at DC 20 with a +18 save is still cake. The same thing with a +2 really, really sucks.

Last word before the crunchy part: Always speak to your GM (if possible) prior to introducing something like this. A little politeness goes a long way.

Finally on to the meat!

Race: Half-Elf - Why? Access to Paragon Surge, Free level 1 Skill Focus as a Bonus Feat.
Alternate Race Traits: NONE - Why? Most replace Skill Focus or replace the bonus to the most rolled skill in the game, perception.
Deity: Arshea - Why? If you can squeeze in Celestial Obedience, you can gain: "a +4 sacred bonus on Charisma checks and Charisma-based skill checks when interacting with an intelligent creature who could be sexually attracted to you."
Alignment: Neutral Good - Why? To match Arshea
Traits: Warrior of Old (+2 Initiative) and Seeker (+1 Perception; Perception becomes a Class Skill) - Why? Perception is most rolled skill in the game, and Initiative is a primary for Anvil types.
Class: Oracle
Archetype: Dual-Cursed - Why? Misfortune
Curses: Haunted improving, Wrecker non-improving - Why? Great spells from Haunted!
Mystery: Dark Tapestry - Why? Flight, Armor, great spell list, and crazy good debut abilities.
Stats: Str: 8 (-2); Dex: 12 (+2); Con: 13 (+3); Int: 12 (+2); Wis: 8 (-2); Cha 18 (+17)
parentheticals indicate point buy cost, 20 points total
+2 Racial to Charisma for a total of 20 Charisma.

Revelations:
Level 1: Misfortune - Most powerful revelation in Pathfinder, IMHO
Level 3: Many Forms - Alter Self that grows with you as a revelation.
Level 5: Gift of Madness - Confusion 3+ Cha Mod times/day additionally, duration goes up at level 7 to rounds/oracle level. Very nice.
Level 5: Cloak of Darkness - Armor and . . . well in theory Stealth, but that is not a skill we use, and it is not a skill belonging to a stat we have invested much in.
Level 7: Wings of Darkness - Flight is very, very, very handy More or less the only reason I didn't completely tank Dex.
Level 11: Fortune - Yet another preroll ability!

Feats:
Half-Elf: Skill Focus (Knowledge: Planes) - Pre-Req that happens to be thematically relevant.
Level 1: Noble Scion of War (Cha in place of Dex to Initiative) - Initiative is win.
Level 3: Eldrich Heritage* (Arcane) for Arcane Familiar - Arcane Familiar = Imroved Initiative for levels 3-7, thereafter it is wand user allowing you additional spells/day and actions/round. As a bonus, you get Alertness as a bonus feat when close to your familiar!
Level 5: Additional Revelation (Cloak of Darkness) - Strength is kinda tanked, so may as well wear shadows for some decent AC
Level 7: Improved Familiar (What is the best PFS Legal Wand User?)
Level 9: Improved Eldritch Heritage or Improved Initiative - Same as other thoughts on initiative, but Arcane Improved Eldritch Heritage gets you 2 Wizard/Sorcerer Spells! . . . of level 3 or less . . . Keep in mind, you can Paragon Surge into whichever of these two you don't take. . .
Level 11: Divine Interference -More re-rolls!

Since I said Paragon Surge aloud:

Paragon Surge has dozens of uses. First, you can use it for Expanded Arcana. This is the first and biggest game changing feat you might want to take with Paragon Surge. The requirements are 1st Caster Level and having a limited list of spells known. Note that despite having the word Arcana in the title it is available to all spontaneous casters. This basically grants you full use of the entire cleric spell list for the cost of a single level 3 spell slot. Not too shabby.

Eldritch Heritage (Improved) Arcane bloodline is just amazing. Check out the level 9 power: gain sorc/wiz spells known of any level you can cast! Between this and Expanded Arcana, he now has access to the entire sorc/wiz and cleric/oracle spell lists!

Wish you had taken a revelation already? Pick Extra Revelations with Paragon Surge and you are all set . . for a while.

Anyhow, sick spell.

Skills:

Perception: Every level - Going first after the surprise round could mean bleeding before everyone else. Pay attention.
Use Magic Device at every level. Your Familiar uses YOUR ranks for this skill.

Diplomacy/Fly: Alternate ranks between the two. You will need Fly, and Diplomacy gives you a lot to do outside of combat. Additionally, CHA is your primary stat, and it will be a high one. Don't fret overly about all ranks into diplomacy, the end result will be obsurd enough.
Survival/Spellcraft: So, the thing about spell craft is that you don't really use it to identify things like everyone thinks. You use it to identify things after you have identified them the first time with Knowledge: Arcana. First you need to learn auras, then you learn what it means. Anyway, point is you won't use this early on. Put the ranks into Survival first. Spell craft for this build is mostly so you know what is worth wasting a misfortune on.

Example:
GM: The BBEG Caster waves his arms about, and Boris the Strong and Fair. . well make a will save, please, Boris?
BSF: I rolled the number bigger than 4 by one . . . Many! No. . . Five!
You:What was that spell? I want to know if I should use Misfortune on BSF. I kind of REALLY need him to stay alive. .
GM: Roll spellcraft to identify the spell as it is cast?

Knowledge: Planes (Most thematic for Dark Tapestry.) to 6 ranks, thereafter Knowledge: Local. Knowledge: Local deals with Humanoids, probably the single most commonly encountered enemy in PFS. If you know what you are getting yourself into, switch these two to two skills that will have more relevance to your particular campaign.

Anyhow, that was the thought process that created:

So I scrapped my Oracle concept, and switched to Ordain reach concept Gnome.

Gnome: Because they are awesome.
Eternal Hope (re-rolls are nice); Darkvision (arguably better than +2 Perception), and Academisian (no skills for craft, so +2 to K. Planes!)

Stats:
14 Str; 13 Dex; 14 Con; 10 Int; 10 Wis; 16 Cha

FCB: +1/2 Lay on Hands for 8 paladin levels, +1 HP at last paladin level.

Traits:
Blessed Touch, Sun-Blessed

Levels:
1: Paladin; 3-5 Oracle; 6+: Paladin

Feats:
1) Fey Foundling
3) Additional Revelation (Channel) - or- Combat Reflexes
5) Combat Reflexes -or- Celestial Obedience
7) Celestial Obedience -or- Power Attack
9) Additional Traits (Magical Knack - Paladin For Level 11 Feat, Below if needed, and Reactionary) -or- Honestly, no idea here.
11) Divine Interference

If I do not need Magical Knack to get to CL 10 (Paladin) and I can instead add Paladin CL to Oracle CL to get Divine Interference, I will take

Level 2 Oracle of Life (Dual Cursed)
Level 1 Revelation: Life-Link
Level 2 Revelation: Channel (See Feat above)
Level 3 Revelation: Misfortune

At level 7 I would have Lay on Hands as a level 4 Paladin, plus level 3 Oracle channels.

Lay On Hands for 2d6 +2 (Fey) +2 (Obedience) +1 (blessed touch) +2 (FCB)= 9 minimum, 19 maximum, 14 average as a swift action, 5 times/day, and can hold up to 7 overheal as temp HP.

So the of DOOM might be an overstatement. This is a Work in Progress for my second PFS character. It hasn't been run through Hero Labs for verification yet, so there are likely errors as I often miss some details when using only books.

Revelation: Bones (Channel Negative to Control Undead, I don't make them, I just use them)

Goal: Break evil necromancer control over undead, use them against the evil necromancers (letting them get vengeance for their current state) then put the undead to rest.

Plan/Path
Stats: 19 Cha, rest are kinda meh.

Race: GNOME! (+1/2 to curse effective level [Wrecker])

Deity: Either Lythertida (young death) or Ashava (lonely spirits)

Class: Oracle
Archetype: Dual Cursed (only really want the one revelation from bones, this lets me have other useful, read as misfortune, revelations)
Curses: Wrecker and Blackened (plan to use Oracle's Burden to stack these onto the BBEG weapon and armor users)

Feats:
1) Skill Focus (K. Religion)
1b) Control Undead (from Bones revelation)
3) Eldritch Heritage (Arcane) - Arcane Familiar (greensting scorpion)
5) Spell Focus (Necromancy)
7) Improved Familiar (Homunculus)
9) Undead Master
11) Divine Intervention.

Revelations:
1) Undead Servitude (Channel DC 15 to control undead)
3) Misfortune
5) Fortune
7) Armor of Bones (it goes to the improved version at level 7)
11) Near Death (for the +4 to a whole slew of saves . . . )

Traits:
Sacred Conduit (+1 DC on the Channels)
Dangerously Curious (+1 UMD, and UMD a class skill . . . just so wonderful)

Tactics:
Nothing special levels 1&2 other than heal bot and occasional Burning Hands to attack groups. . . Typical fare for level 1-2 casters.

Level 3-5 same as 1-2 but with more spells, and negating BBEG cries/party failed saves with Misfortune + Fortune. . . Using Level 4 and 5 using Oracle's Burden to debuff BBEG warrior types, all gear broken:

• If the item is a weapon, any attacks made with the item suffer a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Such weapons only score a critical hit on a natural 20 and only deal ×2 damage on a confirmed critical hit.
  
• If the item is a suit of armor or a shield, the bonus it grants to AC is halved, rounding down. Broken armor doubles its armor check penalty on skills.
  
• If the item is a tool needed for a skill, any skill check made with the item takes a –2 penalty.
  
• If the item is a wand or staff, it uses up twice as many charges when used.
  
• If the item does not fit into any of these categories, the broken condition has no effect on its use.

and blackened adds:

• You take a –4 penalty on weapon attack rolls

Total Debuff = 1/2 AC from armor/shields, double ACP, -6 to hit with weapons,

At level 7, bypass all construct DR, and have a Homunculus of my own! Whee!

At level 10, any weapon that hits me needs to make a DC 20 something save or be destroyed. Yay. Full caster, yay, and armor for the adventuring day, yay!

Side question: Conjured Armor e.g Bone Armor, is it actual armor, thus broken condition + I can add magic vestment, or no broken condition, cannot magic vestment?

Broken Version is 0 ACP, 5 AC (3+2) and Unbroken is +6

Equipment:
Heightened Continual Flame item for torch (to defeat dark spells) ~750 gp, or 2 PP.
Handy Haversack
Circlet of Persuasion
Darkwood Buckler (target for Magic Vestment)
+1 Adamantine Spiked Dueling Gauntlet - Perhaps with Impervious to keep it safer. . . and Gamered to keep it looking less like . . . . well, a spiked gauntlet
Ring of Protection
Cloak of Resistance
Amulet of Natural Armor
Wayfinder with ________ Clear Spindle Ioun Stone.
Homunculus with Voice

• 2k/hd, aiming for 11 -15 additional HD for +3-+4 in stats, as well as +5-7 Feats on the Homunculus at a cost of un to 30,000 gold.

Well, that's about all I can think of . . .

Help?

This post and the next will deal with the Homunculist and Homunculus Improved Familiars.

Please FAQ.

Relevant Rules and Citations:
Pathfinder RPG Bestiary P. 176

Link to the PRD

"This vaguely humanoid creature is about the size of a cat but looks more like a toothy, winged devil."

"A homunculus's creator determines its precise features; some are more refined looking, but most creators don't bother to improve the creature's appearance beyond the minimum necessary for functioning."

Although the photo is not on the PRD, the illustration is vaguely impish. The creature pictured does indeed have hands, legs, and wings. From these facts, I conclude that the Homunculus is, or can be, humanoid.

Str 8, Dex 15, Con —, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 7

From the above facts, I conclude that the Homunculus has the requisite intelligence to use a magical item (a homunculus is not of vermin or animal intelligence).

Unfortunately, it its native state, a Homunculus cannot speak:

Telepathic Link (Su) A homunculus cannot speak, but the process of creating one links it telepathically with its creator. A homunculus knows what its master knows and can convey to him or her everything it sees and hears, out to a distance of 1,500 feet.

However, this deficite can be overcome:

Voice: By adding dew of lunary and platinum to the homunculus, a crafter can grant it the ability to speak in a voice that sounds eerily like a diminutive version of its master's. Price: +500 gp.

From the above facts, I conclude that a Homunculus can speak if the master pays an extra 500 gold.

Question: Can an Improved Familiar with the Hands slot, appropriate intelligence, and the ability to speak it is permanent, natural, and current form use magical items, such as wands?

Edited for Clarity:
Help!

This is for PFS. I like Gnomes, so even though it is perhaps the most sub-optimal magus, a gnome it is.

Stats: 8 Str, 14 Dex, 12 Con, 18 Int, 8 Wis, 12 Cha
I don't like this array because there are no odd numbers!

Feat: Enforcer
Traits: Wayang Spell Hunter (Frostbite) and Blade of Mercy

Level 1: Dawnflower Dervish Bard
Pros:
Get Battle Dance for +2 to hit and damage
Get Dervish Dance
Get a TON of skills, and almost everything is a class skill.
Get a couple level 1 spells/day as spontaneous caster, and some cantrips

Cons:
Delays casting as Magus by 1 level

Level 2+ Magus (Hexcrafter)

Level 3 (Magus 2): Rime Spell
Level 4 (Magus 3): +1 Int
Level 5 (Magus 4): Flight Hex, and Feat: Riving Strike
Level 6 (Magus 5): Bonus Feat: Improved Initiative
Level 7 (Magus 6): Familiar Arcana, Improved Familiar 'wand user'
Level 8 (Magus 7): +1 Int
Level 9 (Magus 8): Extra Arcana (Flamboyant Arcana)
Level 10 (Magus 9): Arcana: Arcane Accuracy
Level 11 (magus 10): ??
Level 12 (magus 11): ??

I am not sure this is the debuff build I am looking for, no idea on other hexes after flight.

I think my next character should be a reach cleric of some sort. I am not sure i understand the mechanics, which makes it hard to come up with the build concept. Specifically, I am not sure how Reach stacks with other things, like enlarge person?

Advice wise, I am debating Human v. Half-Orc. The half orc gains +2 to all saves for a alternate racial trait and trait. This is great for defense, but offensively, the Human extra feat is hard to beat.

I think spell wise, I want to focus on summons, self buffs, and strictly spells with no save. Wisdom will be an after thought.

15 point build:
17 Str 14 Dex 12 Con 7 Int 13 Wis 7 Cha

I am not sure i want to dump to quite this degree, but I can't seem to make it work with a lot less.
It seems Reach builds are most dependent on Dex + Combat Reflexes so you can spend the Standard Action to set up, and AoO to actually deal damage,

Would someone take a moment to spell out reach for me?

Essential feats?

Example:

You have reach, You cannot hit those who are in the square next to you,(5'), but you can hit those who are 10' from you.

You have reach and you are size Large: You cannot hit those who are ___ but you can hit those who are ____ to ____feet from you.

You have reach are are size .

Those Improved Familiars with a hands slot, the ability to speak, and the requisite intelligence score can use wands.

In general, a Homunculus lacks the ability to speak.

In the Alchemy Manual, you can purchase (for 500g) the ability to speak for your Homunculus improved familiar.

The ability is permanent and irrevocable.

Question:
Can an Improved Familiar that is created, permanently, with all the requisite abilities necessary to use a wand, e.g. a Homunculus created with the Voice ability found in the Alchemy Manual, use wands even though its base form cannot?

Only certain familiars can use wands.

The familiar has to be able to actually use the magic item to be able to use the magic item, weird, I know!

If a good argument can be made to allow, the rules can accommodate an Improved Familiar being allowed to use wands.

The Homunculus is humanoid, "This vaguely humanoid creature is about the size of a cat but looks more like a toothy, winged devil." They can likely be made even more humanoid than that because they are sculpted!

• "A homunculus's creator determines its precise features; some are more refined looking, but most creators don't bother to improve the creature's appearance beyond the minimum necessary for functioning."
  

Unfortunately, Homunculi are mute, which makes the use of trigger words impossible.

• "Telepathic Link (Su) A homunculus cannot speak, but the process of creating one links it telepathically with its creator. A homunculus knows what its master knows and can convey to him or her everything it sees and hears, out to a distance of 1,500 feet.

The Alchemy Manual is listed in the Additional Resources as allowing:

• Misc.: the new abilities for improved homunculi on page 14 are legal for play. The ooze crafting section on pages 22-23 is not legal for play.

Among the other improvements to a homunculus allowed is Voice:

• Voice: By adding dew of lunary and platinum to the homunculus, a crafter can grant it the ability to speak in a voice that sounds eerily like a diminutive version of its master's. Price: +500 gp.

Argument for allowing a Homunculus to use wands (so long as the player has the Alchemy Manual, and spends the additional 500 gold for voice):

Some kind of forum tool for pbp would be an easy sell to me. Just saying...

I mostly use my iPhone or iPad for my . . . everything. Is there an app to make PbP easier on mobile devices?

Thanks,

Mike

I have made my first PFS character for the upcoming game day. Please see the spoiler as otherwise it is TL;DR.

Notes: I have all books until about 6 months ago, so just about anything legal is fair play. I will be getting the new Codex on release and before I level up just incase Wayang end up getting a nice Alchemist racial.

In short (gnome joke!)

7 Str; 14 Dex; 12 Con; 18 Int; 10 Wis; 11 Cha.

Eternal Hope alt racial
Pyro alt racial

Grenadier Archetype - Shortbow (more gnome jokes!)

Progression:
1) Feat - Splash Weapon Mastery
2) Smoke Bomb Discovery - Discovery tax on Stink Bomb
3) Feat - Extra Discovery - Stink Bomb
4) Tumor Familiar Discovery - Greensting Scorpion; +1 Int
5) Feat - Extra Discovery - Infusion - Another Tax . . .
6) Wings Discovery - Just because sometimes you don't have the time to drop all your buffs.
7) Feat - Improved Familiar - Homunculus (or Faerie Dragon if available by then)
8) Discovery Confusion Bomb +1 Int
9) Feat- Improved Initiative (lost+4 2 levels ago to Improved Familiar)
10) Explosive Bomb (anti Minion
11) ---- I have no idea what Feat to put here ----
12) Madness Bomb

Firebug + Pragmatic Activator traits.

A homunculus is much like the other familiars that can activate magical items. They have intelligence, they are bipedal, and they share their master's ranks in Use Magic Device. They are not, however; able to speak, and this should prove a barrier.

The Alchemy Manual now provides a way to bypass this muted condition. By spending an additional 500 gp, you can have a talking Homunculus.

Unlike other Improved Familiars, a Homunculus costs over 5,000 gp. Another 500 must be spent to grant the ability to speak.

A homunculus represents a substantial gold and a modest feat investment, more so than those that can currently use wands.

If I add speech to my Homunculus, can it use wands?

I have played a ton of RPGs, mostly palladium and gurps, with a dash of 3.5 and predecessors. I was recently introduced to Pathfinder, and I find the concept of PFS play intriguing and wonderful since I can, in theory, port my character around with me as I move.

I want to make a gnome illusionist, but that class doesn't really exist. Nearest I can tell, the closest approximation would be a one level oracle of heavens and an arcane sorcerer. Is dipping as bad an idea as the forums lead me to believe?

Also, I am pondering Mystery Cultist at level 7 onwards. Horrible idea?