Fettclub's page

Hey guys. My first character kicked the bucket in the game I am playing, and I'm rolling an Antipaladin to fill the slot. Looking at some builds and archetypes, however, leads me to a question or two.

First, the Tyrant archetype makes him LE, which fits the Darth Vader vibe I want to have with him. His 5th level ability, Diabolic Boon, adds a fiendish servant option to what he can do with the Fiendish Boon ability. This modifies the ability rather than replacing it.

The Knight of the Sepulcher, however, has Touch of the Crypt, which could be very useful, although it replaces the ability. I'm pretty sure I'll have to pick one or the other, but considering that one modifies an ability while the other replaces, is it possible to take both archetypes?

If the answer is no, like I'm assuming it will be, is there something I can do through race, trait or feat that will allow me to be healed by my TOC like a paladin does with his LOH?

Anyone have an idea on Ornn and what he'd be?

I blame Blizzard for the name. Illidan Stormrage wielded them, and the weapons just look cool. I thought it might be fun to have a character than can wield them.

As for small double swords, I wouldn't imagine getting 4 attacks with them, only one attack per weapon. I will keep looking I guess...

Hey everyone. I've been playing a lot of Dota Underlords, and the Anti Mage character in the game has warglaives that are not that dissimilar from those the Illidari use in Warcraft.

I was wondering if someone has seen or done a custom weapon for them, or if something like this exists in Pathfinder. I can think of a couple of cool builds to roll with it. Best I can come up with is to dual wield small double swords as a medium character, but I imagine someone, somewhere has found something better.

If something like this does exist, can you link or share the stats of it?

Fettclub wrote:

Does this mean Sorcerers gain access to Aid at 3rd level and other 2nd level spells at 4, or does this ramp his spellcasting to gain 2nd level spells early?

Just because you have a spell known, doesn't mean you can cast it. You gain these spells known as indicated, even though you can only cast them a level later.

RAW that doesn't make much sense all things considered, even though it does replace the 3rd and 5th level bloodline powers. It's weird that you lose something to get something that you can't use until you level again.

Hey guys. I am looking at the False Priest sorcerer archetype and I'm seeing something that I'm unsure of. At 3rd level, they gain the Lay Healer ability, which states:

Lay Healer (Su)
At 3rd level, the false priest adds aid to his list of spells known as a 2nd-level spell. At 5th level, he adds remove disease to his list of spells known as a 3rd-level spell.

This ability replaces the bloodline spells gained at 3rd level and 5th level respectively.

What is confusing me is that Sorcerers don't gain 2nd level spells until 4th level, and I'm not finding any errata that corrects the ability. Does this mean Sorcerers gain access to Aid at 3rd level and other 2nd level spells at 4, or does this ramp his spellcasting to gain 2nd level spells early?

I'm really digging a lot of these idea. What I'm really thinking of suggesting is a Samsaran False Priest. I rolled a Samsaran Shaman in Curse of the Crimson Throne, and she was awesome after she got a couple of levels on her.

Basically, spin the class to be an actual believer of a pious religion, taking the celestial bloodline (maybe wildblooded)and using Mystic Past Life to take some other useful abilities, like Cure Light Wounds, remove curse, etc. Bloodline gives me bless, which helps give the illusion of being an archetype of cleric. Spells that are sorcerer spells could always be claimed to be my past life spells, even though they aren't. Essentially, this would allow the character to just BS his way through until he actually needs to demonstrate his real power.

It could be fun to even keep the rest of the party from knowing what the character actually is as well. Shape this with damnation feats to avoid being detected as evil, and shape out diplomacy, disguise or boost knowledge religion with traits.

Hey guys. One of my groups is going to be starting Hell's Vengeance soon, and one of the players is looking for some ideas on a character build. Essentially, he wants to build something along the lines of a Palpatine or Lex Luthor type of character that does a masterful job of screwing everyone they come up against but without getting his hands dirty. Someone people will root for and follow, not realizing just how evil they actually are.

I'm tempted to suggest a bard or witch of some kind (something that could do both would actually be cool, too), something that has a lot of utility, but they'd like something that can actually do some real damage if they are pushed into it, kind of like Palpatine when he just decimated the Jedi Masters in Episode 3. It doesn't have to be a melee character like that, just something that reserves his true capabilities (even with the party) and uses everyone to do his dirty work. I think they are considering damnation feats so they won't detect as evil, thus ramping the RP mastermind elements.

I have a few days to stew on this, but I'd love to hear any solid ideas that anyone might have. The only stipulation our GM has given us is that our characters have to be evil.

Hey guys, I'm looking at building an Eldritch Archer Magus for an upcoming game, and I wanted some clarity on something. Here are the rules I'm looking at.

Ranged Weapon Bond (Ex)
At 1st level, an eldritch archer gains a bonded object as per the wizard’s arcane bonded object; it must be a ranged weapon, and it can’t be used to cast a spell once per day. Holding her bonded item does not prevent the eldritch archer from providing somatic components for her spells.

Bonded Object
Wizards who select a bonded object begin play with one at no cost. Objects that are the subject of an arcane bond must fall into one of the following categories: amulet, ring, staff, wand, or weapon. These objects are always masterwork quality. Weapons acquired at 1st level are not made of any special material. If the object is an amulet or ring, it must be worn to have effect, while staves, wands, and weapons must be held in one hand.

If I'm reading this right, it means whatever object I choose, I start the game with at no additional cost. I was considering using firearms as my ranged weapon of choice. Could I choose something like a revolver as my bonded object?

Hey guys,

My wife and I have been playing Gloomhaven for our RP fix outside of our weekly gaming groups. I'm loving the game thus far, and the character I'm playing is a Cragheart.

What makes this class cool is that he works like a Druid/Paladin with a splash of Barbarian thrown into the mix. The best way to describe him is like a nature paladin. He has heals, a lot of raw damage and high HP. I've really enjoyed his versatility for throwing boulders, diving into melee and using nature spells to support his team. He also uses natural attacks like a monk or brawler (well mine does anyway).

That got me wondering if there's a good class or archetype that might fit that mold in Pathfinder. My group will be starting a new campaign soon, and if I can find something viable that fits his theme, I'd love to build one. Has anyone else considered a build for him?

True, 4 feats is a heavy tax, but my wife's level 15 cleric has struggled to find suitable feats for her character. She mainly serves as a healer/buffer.

I agree, it's not something someone should sink all their efforts into, but it could be a cool route to go if they want to try something different. The argument, as stated already, wasn't that someone wanted to do it, but rather whether it was possible.

My wife plays a cleric in the big campaign our groups play. Hand of the Acolyte/Apprentice is a great ability at lower levels, but it loses it's luster as your spell casting gets stronger.

Still, being able to effectively throw an improvised weapon at an enemy for 4d6 damage or better in the lower levels is impressive. At least if it works.

The fundamental difference though is that Hand of the Acolyte/Apprentice are kind of middle ground. While your character is throwing the weapon, improvised or standard, it's a supernatural ability, so they are not physically throwing the items, more like willing them to fly out of their hands and attack something.

Ok, so let me clarify.

Catch off Guard or Throw anything allow you to attack with an improvised weapon without penalty.

Shikigami Style increases the damage of a melee improvised weapon by one step. The other feats, Shikigami Mimicry and Shikigami Manipulation will increase the damage further, so a 1d6 improvised weapon would become a 4d6 improvised weapon.

The Cleric and Wizard abilities, essentially, allow you to magically throw a melee weapon at an enemy from a range of 30 ft.

What I'm trying to determine is if someone played one of these classes, gained that Hand of the Acolyte/Apprentice ability, and the feats listed above, could they essentially magically throw an improvised weapon for the scaled damage?

Where I'm seeing the loophole is that while the feats only apply to melee weapons, they don't specify they only apply to melee attacks.

Hey everyone. Not long ago, I reached out on a special build, and someone responded with the idea of using an improvised weapon via the catch off guard feat, then the shikigami feat chain to scale its damage.

In discussing this with others in the group, it was suggested that this concept could be used with a Wizard's Hand of the Apprentice ability or a Cleric's Hand of the Acolyte ability. I've also heard that throw anything would be the preferred feat to use, but considering they are supernatural abilities, it was argued that catch off guard would work better, considering the flat footed bonus.

Reading the different abilities, I can see why some justified this, but it seems almost too good to be true. Has anyone else considered this? Is it possible or is it too good to be true as I suspected?

nah I found a couple of ideas. I can deck out a spell caster to have beastly penetration, or I can take gunslinger and just focus on touch AC to things in range.

Hey everyone. My GM started something about a year ago in which the wives from our group started their own, and now we come together every couple of months for one big encounter.

Our party, as it is now, consists of 7 players, with an 8th who sometimes plays. It contains a 2H fighter, a cleric, two rogues, an Arcane Archer Fighter, a Druid and a Ranger (as the flex). My last character was a swashbuckler, but she fell in the last encounter. Because our group is so large, most of what we are facing are Mythic level challenges. Our party level is now 15.

I find myself at an impasse on the direction I should go next. Because these encounters are so hard, we struggle a lot with hitting things, with soaking and restoring the damage we are dealt, and with actually penetrating with spells.

I have a couple of ideas, but am unsure on builds or direction at this time. I've played an Arcanist in the Runelords campaign a while back, so I feel he could be a powerful party member with a lot of spell potential. I do worry over the spell penetration, however. I've also considered a skald/bloodrager combo that just powers up the fighter to ungodly proportions, but it wouldn't do much for the rest of the group, as they are all in the back line. I've also been tinkering with the idea of a shapeshifting blight druid (1 level of monk) with just beastly AC. Lastly, I've been toying with a Magus, but I feel he would die quickly like my last character.

My question is have any of you dealt with similar issues in a larger group, and if so, what steps did you take to stay relevant? Building a character for encounters 8-10 HD above our party is frustrating. I'd like to find something that can contribute without getting wiped out so easily. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Here's a very powerful and flavourful build you might like:

Human, Titan Fighter/Wildborn Barbarian (TF/WB).

Stats: 16+2 12 14 7 12 14
Traits: Rough and Ready, Dangerously Curious, Accelerated Drinker, Drawback

1 WB, Shikigami Style, Shikigami Mimicry[H], Catch Off-Guard
2 WB, Spirit Totem, lesser
3 TF, Power Attack
4 TF, Enforcer (as a Fighter, you can retrain this to Cornugon Smash for free later on if you desire)
5 TF, Shikigami Manipulation
6 TF, Vital Strike
7 TF, Furious Finish
8 TF, Hurtful
9 TF, Devastating Strike
10 TF, Furious Focus
11 TF,...

I think I found a slightly better alternative. It focuses on a 2h Fighter and a standard Barbarian.

1.2HF: Catch off Guard, Shikigami Style, Shikigami Mimicry
2.Barbarian- Rage
3. Barb: Spirit Totem, Lesser, Power Attack
4 and on: build fighter and continue the trend.

Doing this would allow me a few different options. Weapon training would apply only to 2 handed weapons, which could include improvised 2 handed weapons. Even if I rolled in with an oversized one, that would negate the penalty. Overhand Chop would also double my strength modifier with a 2 handed weapon. I would also get me around the wood, stone or bone restrictions to my weapons.

I'm also seeing that adamantine is categorized as metal so I wild-born Barbarian would lose his abilities with it

True it only makes the weapon deal more damage. It was suggested that I use a large sledgehammer as an improvised Earth breaker. Because it's a large two handed item, I would take the negative 2 penalty because of its size. I could always start with a normal sized one though

I am seeing one potential issue. At 1st level, I'd be rolling attack at a -2 penalty because the weapon is oversized. At lvl 3, by taking Titan Fighter, that would be increased to a -4.

With your stats, at lvl 1, I'd be rolling a +1 to attack rolls (1 BAB+ 2 Str-2 Oversized), boosted to a +3 when I'm raging. At level 3, that would still be +1 (3 BAB, +2 Str -4 Oversized) or a +3 when raging. Power attack would hit harder, but a +3 attack won't hit much. Would Wpn Focus not be a better fit?

Granted, over time that penalty would improve, but I'm more worried about getting there. Did I read this wrong?

Holy crap that is awesome!!!

One question though. Shinigami Manipulation gives magical weapons an enhancement bonus equal to my caster level. since I'd have no caster level, it wouldn't give me anything would it? The extra boost to damage is nice in any case.

Melee Summoner

PERFECTION!!!! I love it

I didn't think about a Monk. Both ideas seem interesting. I'll give them a look. He doesn't wear armor but he does have a lot of health and he hits like a freight train.

Hey everyone. I'm going to be starting a new campaign here in a few weeks, and from the look of it, it's the perfect opportunity to break out something a little different. Essentially, I'd like to build something along the lines of Yorick from League of Legends (rework not original).

Basically, he's a juggernaut character who carries a massive shovel and can raise little ghouls and command them to attack his enemies. I know a cleric could be good for this, but he also has a lot of health and really solid melee damage. I'm looking for some ideas on how to build this guy. My best ideas so far are either a warpriest or bloodrager. Any help would be appreciated. thanks.

There's some good stuff here to think on. Sadly I'm restricted to Core as it is a Society game. Still, there's plenty for me to consider. I really like your armor approaches, but my tentative builds so far have my Dex bonus as no higher than 12, so I'm thinking of just taking heavy armor proficiency and a solar weapon.

Did you run into any issues with the attunement for casting being too slow? I'm also curious to know what feats you went with for each type.

Hey guys. I've been playing Starfinder for a short while now. I'm GM'ing Dead Suns in my main group, and I'm playing an exocortex Mechanic in sanctioned society play. I'm wanting to build a new character to start working on my Skittermander unlock, and considering what our group has and might need, I'm looking at a Solarian.

I like the class from what I've seen, but I'm having some issues building it. Specifically, I want to make it more caster focused, but a lot of the battles I've seen (GM and playing) haven't lasted long enough to make it viable. It seems that by the time I'd be attuned enough to use my caster abilities, the fight is essentially over anyway.

Specifically, I'm looking for some ideas that others may have done along these lines. I'm really committed to the weapon or armor, so at this point, I can build whatever. Our party does have a lot of range, so having some melee might be better for the group.

I guess I'm curious to see what others have done with the class and really utilized the caster side of it. Any ideas or help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hey everyone, I'm trying to put together a monster with bite and spit attacks. I'd like for it to have some kind of poison ability. SF Core has some good stuff on how poison works, and some races in the Alien Archive have similar effects, but I'm not seeing any kind of grafts or abilities in the custom creation sections.

What I'm mainly looking for is how to determine what kind of saves are required based on it's CR rating. I'm looking at the Con Track on p 415 of the Core rulebook. I just need to learn what save DC might be based on it's CR rating. Can anyone suggest something or point me in the right direction?

Both the Traveler page and the Star Wars wiki were very helpful. I think I can piece something together with these. Thanks for the help.

Preferably template, but if I had something I could piece together I'd consider it.

I don't plan to do a lot of ship combat, at least not in the beginning. What I'm looking for are cruiser templates for boarding runs and that kind of thing. Think Star Wars New Hope with the Tantive.

Hey everyone. I'm currently working on a SF campaign that I'd like to launch in my group sometime early next year. Most of it seems pretty straightforward, but I'm having trouble with the starships.

I'd like to have a few different designs, but is there a good generator or map maker that can build ships like this? I'd like to have multiple decks for big cruisers, small craft like the Millennium Falcon and maybe something for in between.

If anyone has something to recommend, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

*Raises dead* XD

Camille the Steel Shadow

Hmmm... I would go with an android brawler with blade boots (which are close weapons) and a pair of flying talons for the grappling hooks.

Rakan the Charmer

Male Strix Bard, wielding daggers.

Xayah the Rebel

Female Strix Ninja, wielding daggers as well... or feather-shaped shurikens

Rakan I feel would make a good cloakfighter Bard. Lot of utility, but he'd lose his spellcasting capability, which would be fine I think. If you combined that with Flowing Creek style from an expanded book, he'd be right on the money.

Xayah would be better suited as a Farsight Monk doing flurry of daggers throwing attacks. Some monk powers would suit her kit well.

I'm curious to see what people would think Kayn should be.

Would still be nice to somehow find a way to adapt a Solarian to High Dex melee. Could be a really fun build.

I agree. I'd be content with an augment that gave them the ability if all else failed.

Before I say anything else, I've been looking at a lot of the Starfinder races, classes and rules so far and I'm loving the game. I can't wait to play it, and I think it will be an awesome experience. So far, I haven't found a whole lot that interests me, and I believe Paizo has done a really good job of making something that is easy to get into and learn.

I only have two real complaints about the game thus far. First, I don't care for the lack of a Weapon Finesse feat. Granted, there are a small number of weapons (daggers mostly) that have the operative ability, which means you can use your Dex modifier for attack rather than your strength. That said, I feel the game loses something without the feat.

In Pathfinder, I have built several different characters who used it. Swashbucklers and Duelists excel with it, Bards get a lot of flair and utility, and a Kensai Whip Magus can just devastate enemies if you build it right.

In Starfinder, however, that isn't an option outside of house ruling it. I was keen on the idea of some scifi heroes who fought with the bravado of some old Pathfinder classes. I also like the idea of letting Solarians have it for their Solar weapon, which cuts down on the need for a high Strength and Dex score.

My other complaint is Combat Manuevers. Granted, some disliked the way it all worked in Pathfinder, but I disagree. I often played more utility based characters, so building with the idea of trips and disarms in mind weren't difficult once you got started. In Starfinder, however, doing these will be next to impossible, given the ridiculous bonus it gets. Even having a +2 to weapons that can do this better is kind of a joke, as it still makes landing the rolls highly unlikely.

I like a lot of the creative capability that Pathfinder has (Law Domain + Nets= easy targets), and I think Starfinder will provide this to a point. Even so, it would be better if feats like Weapon Finesse were added, even if at a later date.

I'm still picking through the Starfinder Core Rulebook. I must say I'm pretty impressed by it so far. I'm curious, however, about something that was pretty necessary in Pathfinder, but I haven't found anything speaking to it in Starfinder.

In Pathfinder, firing a ranged weapon into melee combat gives you a chance to hit an ally fighting in melee combat. This, of course is negated by the Precise shot feat.

Is there a chance to do this in Starfinder, or have they just done away with the possibility of shooting your allies altogether?

Hey guys,

MY GM is starting up an interesting group with a lot of new players. To keep things simple, he's restricting us only to Core rulebook for the sake of the campaign.

I had an interesting idea based around an offensive battle cleric. Basically I'd be using the Law Domain with Net proficiency to really tie up bad guys. It's a good way to auto hit with them, which would make killing stuff a lot easier. I'd also be front line so I could follow up and kill stuff more easily myself in doing so.

I'm not the group healer, though, and I was thinking of taking Plant as my second domain, mainly for entangle and other spell utility later on.

My problem, however, is the channel energy ability. Since I'm not the healer, I want to be able to do burst negative energy damage. The only deity who has both domains, however is Erastil, who is LG. My tenative alignment is going to be LN, but if I'm reading the rules correctly, my deity restricts me to channeling positive energy. Am I correct on this, and is there another way around it, or do I need to take a different deity and second domain?

Hello everyone.

I'm tossing around the idea of putting together a group to play for a few hours every week. Since we all live some ways off, however, I figured it might be better to try and do it online, but I'm not sure as to the best direction to go with it.

I'm assuming that some of you have probably built successful online groups, and I'd like to hear about what you did. Specifically, what software you used, how you handled locations and maps, and if you had any relevant hardware (webcams, etc) that made doing it easier. I'm also curious to know what problems you might have run into in doing it.

I'm looking for an option that is pretty simple and cheap. There are a lot of threads out there, so if there is one you found useful, please refer it to me as well. Thanks in advance for your help.

Arcanists have an exploit which allow me to take a spell not on my list, but it is one spell level higher. I'll look into it for Desecrate later on. If all else, if we leave the dungeon we're in, I'll purchase a wand and deck out my UMD skill.

Hello everyone. I started a campaign a few weeks ago and I wanted to build a necromancer. There's a lot of different ways to do this. Ultimately, I wanted to build one that didn't have massive hordes, but rather maybe one or two minions and dealt a lot of corrosive and debuff spells.

At first level, I chose the school understanding exploit and took the Universalist ability, Hand of the Apprentice. Considering our group makeup, this has proven to be very valuable with some of our combat situations. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have taken this, though we might have wiped a time or two if I hadn't. Most of the group are new players, and some of their decisions have almost killed us.

I've reached a bit of a snag, however, in that I'm not sure what to do. I had considered eventually retraining, but I have no idea if or when we will be leaving the area we are in, as it is a massive dungeon crawl. I've also locked myself away from being able to some effective cross classing for Channel and Command Undead, as my Wisdom is a dump stat and my Charisma isn't that high.

Basically, I'd like some advice on potential directions to go and what I should possibly take. I don't mind the idea of cross classing to a point, but I don't want to really fall behind on my spellcasting to do it.

I'm been doing some research on a potential character build, and I came across the Titan Fighter archetype of the Fighter class. I found something a little curious and I wondered if someone could clarify it for me. The initial ability is:

Giant Weapon Wielder

At 1st level, a titan fighter can wield two-handed melee weapons intended for creatures one size category larger than himself, treating them as two-handed weapons. He takes an additional –2 penalty on attack rolls when using an over-sized two-handed weapon.

This ability replaces the fighter's 1st level bonus feat.

When I consult the rules for inappropriately sized weapons, it says:

Inappropriately Sized Weapons: A creature can't make optimum use of a weapon that isn't properly sized for it. A cumulative –2 penalty applies on attack rolls for each size category of difference between the size of its intended wielder and the size of its actual wielder. If the creature isn't proficient with the weapon, a –4 nonproficiency penalty also applies.

If I'm reading this correctly, a standard lvl 1 vanilla fighter could wield a enlarged sword (for example) at a -2 penalty, and a lvl 1 Titan Fighter gives up a feat for something he can already do. Am I reading this right? Is there something between these two that I'm missing?

I made an attempt at this type using the school understanding for Necromancy. It provided an offensive touch ability and a limited command undead ability with the feat, but it was practically useless with intelligent undead. The DC to be free every time I wanted them to do something against their nature was just too easy. With the unintelligent undead, they would get obliterated by most things we came across after level 5, right about the same time it was easy to replace them with spells. Perhaps it was the campaign, but it ended up being underutilized, so I retrained out of it for something more useful.

How did you retrain out of the exploit?

My GM was given a D&D module called the World's Largest Dungeon. Not sure what's in it, but I wanted to make sure I'd be able to be useful. An undead horde build may not be terribly effective and highly situational, plus it might not be well received by some of my party members. I was considering the Universalist school for the nice throw ability early on. It's something I can do without having to burn spells or waste ammo, plus I'd have better hit with my high intelligence.

I figured a decay/ poison necro build would be a safer and more useful approach. The problem is if I take the universalist school understanding exploit I can't do the spell and command without cross classing, which is why I wanted to know how essential it was.

Hey guys. I'm starting a new campaign this week, and I've decided to try out the Arcanist class. There is a lot about it that I really like. Here's where I need help. I'm planning to build him as a Necromancer type. I don't want him to have massive undead hordes, but rather, I'd prefer to build him to be a decay and poison caster, with the potential of having maybe one or two good minions later on. So my first question is has anyone done a build like this, what did you do and how did it play?

Second, I was looking at the School understanding exploit, which would allow me to learn to channel energy and gain Command Undead. I've seen a lot of talk both ways about this combo, but with the route I'm taking, how essential is it for me to take this?

Third, are there any exploits, feat and/or spell combos I should consider when building this character?

I looked an the unsworn archetype. I like the build, but I don't care for losing my hex capability in the tradeoff. I also looked at some of the Occult classes. To be honest, I forgot they even existed. There some good ideas for character building, but they fall a little short with spell progression. Shamans unlock new spell tiers every two levels, wheareas many of the other options unlock new spells tiers every 3 or 4 levels.

I assume you are referring to the Possessed Shaman archetype. Granted, if I started with Lore, I'd lose access to all the spirit magic spells, which (aside from perhaps identify) I'd rarely use anyway. The problem, however is I couldn't take Arcane Enlightenment as a Hex bonus until much later, unless I spent a feat for Extra Hex. I'm not even sure if I could take the feat until I gained access to hexes.

I hadn't considered making Lore the Wandering Spirit, but it could be viable. I could even take Spirit Talker to bypass DM discretion and just choose it as my daily hex. In the long run, that might be a better option. If the DM is accepting of the wandering spirit hex to reset what spells I can use daily, I could snag it at 5th with the Extra Hex feat anyway, and still possibly take Spirit Walker to add a little more versatility to the class.

I had already planned on the spirit being more active than simple spell preparation. I had considered having him always try to sleep near people who snore loudly or near rooms with passionate lovers to drown out the constant agony of a nagging spirit.

I'd already considered Rough and Ready as one trait. I've considered Surprise Weapon for better melee combat, or perhaps Possessed to build the character flair a bit more.

Hello everyone. My group will be starting a new game soon, so I'm tinkering with some character ideas. I'll share them here, as well as my build ideas and see what help you might offer towards fixing them.

My character will most likely be human. He's a cemetary worker who found himself being haunted by the spirit of a vengeful necromancer, demanding retribution against those who killed him. Overall, he will be a common worker, with no real martial weapons training at all. His will be a character walking the fine line while trying not to ultimately succumb to the evil that is plaguing him, so his alignment will most likely be Neutral. All he wants is to be free. Because he works in a cemetery, I was considering making his only melee weapon of choice to be his shovel. Now that you have an idea of the story, let's go into builds.

At first, I was considering a Wizard or Sorcerer for the mix, as his primary casting will be necromancy type spells.I wanted to focus more on necromancy style spells early with maybe some minionmancy flare later on. Given the nature of his backstory, however, I started looking at Shamans and Oracles. At the moment, I'm leaning towards a shaman. Here's why:

1. A shaman spirit fits the backstory better. I was considering a Lore Shaman first, opening up the access to wizard spells early, focusing more on necromancy that could stray towards minionmancy later on. For wandering spirit, I'd probably go Bones, giving me additional access to higher necromancy spells later on, and I can keep developing and rotating spells from Lore.

2. A lore shaman can be a more versatile caster than an Oracle, and even though his spell casting is divine in nature, the lore build grays the area between divine and arcane a bit.

For Feats, I was considering Catch Off Guard as one of his, given the shovel would be an improvised weapon, and possibly using Rough and Ready and/ or Surprise Weapon to give him some melee capability early on. Granted, He will become more of a caster as the story progresses, but I'm trying to build according to character rather than for OP class.

I'm leaning human for the extra feat so I can focus on casting, but I'm unsure where to go. I've even considered cross classing at least one level of Wizard to arcane bond with his shovel, so he can store a spell in it (though it will have to be masterwork), and through the necromancy school, he can gain an extra feat to improve the necromancy and channel energy for control later on. It would also open a lower Wizard spell slot for casting once I start replacing the low Wizard spells for higher ones with Arcane Enlightenment.

I know this will require some good stats, but it could be an interesting build. Any ideas or critiques would be appreciated. I have some time before this game kicks off, but I like to prepare early so I can shape my characters well.

I took selective channel so I can heal if I need to, but the group is pretty self sufficient, so there hasn't been much healing needed thus far. I like the idea of being able to debuff. I saw a combo in Eldritch Heritage- Dreamborn and the Slumber Hex that I might consider trying by fourth level.

At 4rd, however, I'll gain access to Ancestor or Time revelations, which gives me a lot of options to play around with. Ancestral Weapon could be good for damage, spirit shield for defense or give myself more out of combat ability. With Time I could reroll checks or iniative or phase a tougher enemy out of combat briefly if need be.