anchoress's page

You have a amazing set of archetypes in this build. That said Ancestral Weapon is pretty bad as revelations go. Your weapon enhances very slowly.

Weapon Mastery from the battle spirit is better. Skill at Arms is also great if you really want the great sword and better armor options.

Are you allowed hurtful (feat)? It would be a nice addition to the build.

Lessons of Chaldira is the real name for second chance and it is tied to a specific god that is no pharasma.

Thank you so much, Grandlounge!

Yeah, Ancestral Weapon wasn't an easy choice to make.
Pro - free (no gp cost), free proficiency, always available, perfectly hideable, style factor
Con - underpowered at certain lvls, takes always a SA to "draw"
In the end i decided that it saves so much money which could be spend otherwise (roughly 4.000gp, which would equal the belt and headband - and both associated attributes are soo important for the Inquisitor...) and looks cool, that i decided to take the slower progression. In worst cases (i guess) you lose up to +2 weapon enhancement and +2 AB / Improved Critical (and ~4 AC comparing spirit shield to a heavy armor).

So yes, Weapon Mastery/Skill at Arms is technically better (way better) - IF (and this is a big if) you have the money to buy the fitting weapons/armour. I admit, this could be made easier by gaining the Craft Magic Armor and Weapons feat, which would halve the price of the gear. I will throw this into my excel sheet and see if i can make this work. Although it takes quite a lot of the character flavour, so i am not sure if i will change that. But thanks for pointing me into the Battle Mystery direction again, if have abandoned this very early in my researches.

Never heard of Hurtful, no. Is it normally tied to a specific race? 'cause it is from the Monster Codex. I know it has no restriction on the d20pfsrd, but that does not mean it has none in the official book itself. Like...

Lessons of Chaldira! Thanks for pointing this out! I wasn't really sure if i should take this trait (felt a bit too cheesy, tbh) and i am now somewhat happy that it is not available to me :D I will look for a more flavorfull trait then in the meantime ;)

Hi folks!

Since you all helped me really out with your answers and suggestions in my first thread (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2uual?New-to-a-group-struggle-with-class-choic e), we now have made the decision that at the next big gap between two storylines in our campaign everybody can rebuild/change his character. What i want to do now over the next weeks is take some time with each player and build a character frame for them.

I want to start with a character idea my girlfriend had. So it is a bit more fleshed out then future builds will be. Here are the frame conditions:

Character lvl 8
Point-buy 15
Only core races (human, (half-)elf, half-orc, dwarf, halfling, gnome)
12.000gp to start (we are playing a rather low magic item campaign)
3 traits to start with (to flesh out the backstory more then usual)
No companions (GM has asked for this due to player group size)
No 3rd party stuff
No gunpowder (group wants to stay more classic fantasy-ish)
Player count: 6, so consider flanking to be easy, maneuver around not so much ;) Since i don't know who is changing his character (yet) please rate the character build on it's own, not related to the character mentioned in the other forum thread.

Airk, Half-orc, Ravener Hunter / Sanctified Slayer 8
Deity: Pharasma, HP: 58, INI 5, AC 18
STR 18 DEX 13 CON 12 INT 10 WIS 18 CHA 10
Ref +7, Wil +14, For +11
Racial: Intimidate +2, Darkvision, Sacred Tattoo
Traits: Fate's Favored, Theoretical Magician, Second Chance
1 Toughness
Oracle Mystery: Lore - Ancestral Weapon (Greatsword +1)
3 Power Attack
3 Demon Hunter (via Ravener Hunter)
5 Craft Wondrous Item
6 Outflank
7 Cornugon Smash
8 Ranger Combat Style (via Sanctified Slayer) - Shatter Defenses
8 Spirit Shield (2nd Oracle Mystery)
Diplomacy +11, Intimidate +17, Sense Motive +19, Survival +12, Perception +15, Spellcraft +19, all class-knowledge skills are +8
Cloak of Resistance +2, Headband of Inspired Wisdom +2, Belt of Giant Strength +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Boots of the Cat, Runestone of Power (1), Ring of Sustenance, Campfire Bead, Masterwork Tools (Spellcraft), Arcane Family Workbook, Sleeves of Many Garment, 190gp left

Airk starts the fight with "drawing" his Greatsword +1 (standard action), Studied Target (MA) and Bane (SwA). This adds up to
17/12 for 6d6+17 damage (when flanking, which is pretty much doable with 6 players)
This can be buffed to 20/15 6d6+20 (via Divine Favor) and shield for +3 (total of 21) AC. Vs. AC 22 (which should be average at lvl 8) he hits for ~64 Dmg per round. Not included an extra attack via haste from one of the other players, f.e. Not maxed out, but not too shabby as well. Take Cornugon Smash, Shatter Defenses and Blistering Incentive into consideration as well and he should be a damage dealing while also debuffing character in combat.

While not fighting Airk can craft a lot of items (which is really powerful considering we have a lot less money/magic items then usual), be the face if noone else steps up (Studied Target will add +2 to some skills), can detect alignment and discern lies at will. I gave him some flavourful spells like Speak with the dead, Cure Modereate Wounds, Focused Scrunity, Voluminous Vocabulary, Keep Watch, Nature's Paths, and the Ring of Sustenance. So all in all he is a Half-orc without (visible) weapon and armour, who has no need to eat, drink or sleep. Being a spontaneus caster also improves his viability in random social/combat encounters.

To be honest, i love this character concept (and most likely will be a bit jealous if my girlfriend will actually pick it). I guess playing him can be a blast! It's not like he is top notch in any category, but he will excel at almost all tasks if needed!

So, first of all thank you for sticking around with me until this point! Now, it's up to you: What do you think about this build? Any suggestions? Rules I'm missing/misinterpreting? Can you think of any feats/traits/gear I have overlooked? Any suggestion to improve the "flair" of the build? Feel free to leave a comment, I am happy to read them all :)

Note that absent some fairly serious shenanigans familiars do NOT get extra feats. This makes going the teamwork feat route pretty problematic.

Also, familiars are VERY squishy if they come out and fight. Even Mauler familiars.

Don't forget about the Solo Tactics feature the Inquisitor gets at lvl 3. A familiar is considered an ally, so the Inquisitor can have some profit by fighting side to side to his familiar. True, even Mauler are squishy. Familiars are definitely not designed for tanking damage. But it can help you out in battle if really needed (due to Solo Tactics like said above) and is not too expensive to replace.

@OP: Maybe you want to make a little bit too much at once. There are other archetypes (like Sacred Huntsmaster) that get an animal companion, which would be a lot better at fighting. You could still get a familiar via feats or dipping. But i understand that the Living Grimoire is very unique and sadly it is not very mixable with other archetypes. So if you like it, just go for it and have fun :)

I found Outflank and Precise Strike to be fairly good teamwork feats (never played an Inquisitor though, just my impression from reading the feat selection). It depends on how you will fight. If you will be able to flank enemies somehow regularly both feats will increase your damage output quite considerably.

I wouldn't count your familiar in for the fight. It is just too squishy (if he is a valet, a mauler can deal some damage actually - pair it with the shaman disciple(?) racial trait of the half-orcs to increase a physical attribute further).

While i just mentioned half-orcs, they are great for an intimidation build. If you haven't planned your race yet, take a look at these bad boys! They make awesome inquisitors! Go for Cornugon Smash/Shatter Defenses to further go down the intimidate route. But be aware that high enemies are often immune to intimidate, so it is rather useful at low to mid level campaigns.

You could also ask your GM if he would allow you to pick the Ravener Hunter Archetype as the Inquisitor. If so you could pick an Oracle mystery instead of a domain/inquisition. There are some really nice things to get, for efficiency as well as fluff.

What about Coordinated Shot, specially since you have PBS already and the animal companion will help you out with that a lot! Also, this will let you qualify for Enfilading Fire, which is a nice boost as well (you will need to pick up Precise Shot beforehand though).

Again, thank you all so much for your contributions!! Yeah, i guess one side of the coin is our GM as well. I feel a bit uneasy by buffing all the other players/characters. I mean we wouldn't have this problem, if she would be 100% proficient with the rules (like i said, there is no surprise round, drawing weapons takes no time, etc.) and i don't want to be THE guy who steps up and undermines her authority. That's not cool and like i said, everybody else has fun. So i don't think that leading the other players into the more optimized direction will be a solution for this particular problem.

My suggestion is to play more of a back line caster rather than a frontline basher. This will give you a handicap vs playing a wizard in the same role, but still give you and “out” if combat gets too rough as you can stab/nova your way out of a desperate fight.

Yeah, i thought about that in the meantime as well! I am not sure yet how i want to communicate this change in playstyle, but i guess it will be the smoothest solution. Additionally, i thought about picking up the Craft Wondrous Item trait. This way i can ramp up the gear of everyone a bit and will contribute to the group.

I came to this idea because i really thought about switching the character. After a few days i learned some things about myself. That it is hard for me to actively build an anti-optimized build. Which really annoys me! But i also found out that the "Craft X" feats can help me contribute to the group and do something for them with their money. Luckily my Magus has a high spellcraft ratio already, so no cheating needed. Next playtime will be on friday. I will see how much adjustments i can make until then!

I don't think, an ingame-decision will be the solution here. Why? Because the player does not act to a restriction by you as the GM like a paladin would act to a restriction by a god.

It's obvious that you disagree on how to play a paladin. Talk about that.

I had a similar situation with a good friend of mine. He was only excited if there was action. Literally, if the group was not fighting he was bored. Hell, he was even cheating and levelling his characters double sometimes. I just told him, that this is not the way i like to play the game. When it was clear that we disagreed, we talked about it with all members of the group. To make this clear, i wouldn't do so in the first step. If it is obvious that you will argue about some points and that the other players are on your side, don't put him in a situation where he will just be "the bad guy" and block everything. It's not necessary, just see if you can talk something out first. - If not, though, talk with the whole group. Make clear, that everybody says loud what he thinks the future should look like. If you have a good chemistry without this one player, it just maybe does not fit. That's okay, btw, sometimes people have different oppinions how to use their free(!) time in life.

But maybe you can make some things a bit clearer. If the player knows where you want to go with your story, the game, etc., he can adjust his actions better to certain situations. He will NOT (and i am 100% certain about this) change his behaviour, if you take away his powers. Because he won't think about his actions but about YOUR actions - and be pissed because of your solution. Something a Paladin would obviously not be - but you are not god for him but just a friend (sorry, bro ;)). In the end i would guess that he would just leave the group or change the character. So, better be clear about it and try to fix the problem OOC.

In the end, it is your friend and you know how to handle the situation best because noone of us knows him. But i would choose this approach, just because i made some similar experiences in the past.

Thank you for all your input!

@Dave Justus
Summoning is sadly restricted by our GM, because 6 player are already more PCs than she likes to take care of. I kind of understand that, especially it makes the battles even more time consuming, so i try to stay away from summonings, companions,familiars, and so on.
A frost-debuffer sounds interesting. I think i remember 1 or 2 spells and feats which are working together pretty good.

@Rhaleroad
I maybe aimed too high with 75, i just did a quick excel sheet and got 74.something. Nonetheless, 10 is not unlikely. The Paladin has neither used smite yet,nor Power Attack. The Cleric has still 9000gp in her pocket, because she does not know what to buy with it. The Rogue player is trying pen&paper for the first time, i have to explain her flanking from time to time again. But you are right, she can deal some damage! And no, technically i am not the problem, but my way is to go with the flow when i join a new group - so practically it is my problem ;-)

@Zolanoteph
No worries, i deserve that! To be honest, i have played a system and with a group for more than 20 years in which atmosphere came first, efficiency last. After moving due to my job and finding this new group i was hyped like a kid to finally do some theorycrafting for the first time. I mean, come on, how much immersion can there be in a World in which magical items have the suffix of "+1". How do you even talk to a merchant that you only can afford the sword for 2000 instead of 8000gp? A system in which magic items are usual as rats being your first enemies in video game rpgs! And I ran into the trap with open eyes - so yeah, i know i deserve some rant :-D
Didn't look into the trip mechanic yet (and nor has the GM, i guess), but if strength is needed it would probably not fit, cause i play a halfling. I will have a look at it though!

TL;DR Thanks everyone, i take away that i should look more into the support/debuff sections of the Magus, so i can probably stick with the class and character. I will do this right now!

Hi everybody,

I'm currently playing a Magus in a Pathfinder group in which i am relatively new (6 times played together, iirc). We started at lvl 5 and are at lvl 7 now.

The problem: my character is rocking the fights - in an obscene way. To defend myself, i am new to pathfinder (not new to D&D or pen&paper though) and was afraid that i would be the lame duck at the table. So i read some threads and guides and came up with a cool halfling derwish dance Magus, who now deals around 75 DPR at current lvl. The other characters are around 10, i guess.

Nobody buys magic items, follows favorable trait lines, we play without surprise rounds, drawing weapons takes no time, we roll one skill per play day, we even don't get much money - in the two levels i earned maybe 1000 gp. So i did not only missed the groups playstyle by an inch or so but more likely by a few miles. But all players are very happy with the state of the game - and this is what it's all about! But now i want to ask you how you would solve this personal situation of mine.

Currently our group has a Paladin, Cleric, Bard, Rogue (not unchained), a Scared Witch Doctor (pre-errata) and my Magus.

The thing is, i don't know which class to switch to without hurting someone. As it is now, fighting is a joke - or everyone except my character is in heavy danger. This is not cool for most players, especially the Paladin. If i switch to a more social, skill-based one though i will cut off the Rogue, Bard and Witch Doctor. We have the divine and arcane spells included and a party buffer with the Bard. Great healers as well. Seriously, i don't know what class i could go for and how i could possibly contribute in a positive, constructive way to this group. If you have any suggestions, i would love to hear them!

Thanks for clearing this up for me, Kurald! We don't have been in touch with PFS, still we are a german group of players and even though english is not a problem the consensus was to stick to german rulebooks (which is why i listed them all up in the first post).

Okay, i took your critics into consideration and thought about the low CON rating. I really tried to change it on my char, but the -2 modifier from being an elf was annoying me so hard that i finally tried to make a halfling instead. And to be honest i have a way better feeling with this char! Changes in a nutshell:
- race changed from elf to halfling
- class changed from Magus to Bladebound archetype (losing 2 arcane points but saving 2000 bucks for the weapon AND it is better as well; sure it is not as good as other familiars but we have a fairly big group with 6 players, so all important roles are taken!)
- sacked the scabbard and bought a headband of intellect

In detail:
Halfling Bladebound 5
CG, INI +5

Offense
+2 Scimitar (blackblade) +12 (1d4+7, 18-20/x2)

Defense
AC: 21, touch 16, flat-footed 16 (Mithralchainmail +1, DEX +5)
HP: 44 (8 + 4d8 + 10 CON + 5 Toughness)
Fortitude +6, Reflex +6, Will +4

Spells
0th (4/day): Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand
1st (5/day): Grease, Shocking Grasp (2), Shield, Vanish
2nd (3/day): Escaping Ward, Frigid Touch, Mirror Image

Stats
STR 5, DEX 20, CON 14, INT 18, WIS 11, CHA 9 (+2 DEX and INT from items)
BAB +3, CMB -1, CMD 14
Traits: Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp), Highlander (Stealth), Fate's Favourite (Luckboost)
Feats/Abilities: Lvl 1) Weapon Finesse, Lvl 3) Derwish Dance, Lvl 3) Blackblade Arcana Replacement, Lvl 5) Toughness, Lvl 5) Weapon Focus (Scimitar) Bonus feat
Skills: Climb (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) (+12), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (+12), Knowledge (Planes) (+11), Perception (+9), Perform (0; had to put 2 points in here for DD), Spellcraft (+12), Stealth (+13), Swim (+1)
Gear: +2 scimitar blackblade, +2 belt of dexterity, +2 headband of intellect, +1 mithral chainmail
Got worse in concentration checks (+9 instead of +11), but got Adaptable Luck and the Fate's Favourite trait which is great

Okay, so i guess Heighten Spell has no particular meaning? Like I said, Preferred Spell sounds really good. Will defenitely take this into consideration.

To the Ioun Stones: Where does this rule come from? Seekers of Secrets? Because i can't find it in the rule books stated in the opening post.

Thanks, Kurald. I have already seen your guide! Since it talks about so much stuff my group is not using i didn't payed that much attention to it. But i will do so this evening!

@Matt2VK: Yeah, this is what i have feared. I will try to change up the attributes a bit. Maybe i can switch things up by switching to the bladebound archetype, saving some money on the weapon, sacking the scabbard and buying another +2 (attribute) item.

@master_marshmallow: Couldn't find any ioun stone with this feature. There is one which is giving you proficiency or familiarity - but nothing like a weapon focus (which is required by other feats, too).
I picked up Intensified Spell at lvl 5, because it will come in hand at lvl 6 already. But you are right, i can wait for it until lvl 7 if i find something better. Preferred Spell sounds really good, but i don't understand what Heighten Spell is for ^^ And sadly it's a requirement.

Also I think you need weapon focus Scimitar before you can take dervish dance

No, the rules say otherwise:

Dexterity 13, Weapon Finesse, Perform (dance) 2 ranks, proficient with scimitar

Quick note, Pathfinder 0th level spells (cantrips, orison, knacks) are unlimited use. You prepare four different cantrips and use each one as often as you like. That is unless you house ruled otherwise.

Ah, thanks for this note! Will edit my first post immediately!

Hi folks,

this is my very first post here on the forums and I'm searching for some advice on my current character build. I have around 25 years of experience with RPG but got just recently in touch with pathfinder. After testing a Zen Archer for 3 days of playing, we had a TPK. So this is like the "real" start for me ;)

Here is our composition so far:
Human Paladin
Human Cleric (Fire/Healing)
Human Sorcerer
Human Bard (or Skald, player has not decided yet)
Elf Rogue (very first time of rpg for the player)

I decided to go for an Elven Magus. We are playing with Advanced Player Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Campaign, Ultimate Equipment and the Bestiaries I-IV. Since we don't want to start from scratch the GM allowed us to create lvl 5 chars. This is what I went with:

Elf Magus 5
CG, INI +5

Offense
+1 Scimitar +10 (1d6+6, 18-20/x2)

Defense
AC: 20, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (Mithralchainmail +1, DEX +5)
HP: 34 (8 + 4d8)
Fortitude +4, Reflex +6, Will +4

Spells
0th (4/day): Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Read Magic
1st (5/day): Grease, Reduce Person, Shocking Grasp, Shield, Vanish
2nd (3/day): Frigid Touch, Mirror Image (2)

Stats
STR 10, DEX 20, KON 10, INT 18, WIS 10, CHA 7 (+2 DEX from items)
BAB +3, CMB +3, CMD 18
Traits: Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp), Scholar of the Great Beyond (Knowledge (History)), Weathered Emissary
Feats/Abilities: Lvl 1) Weapon Finesse, Lvl 3) Derwish Dance, Lvl 3) Familiar Arcana, Lvl 5) Intensified Spell, Lvl 5) Weapon Focus (Scimitar) Bonus feat
Skills: Climb (+4), Knowledge (Arcana) (+12), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (+8), Knowledge (History) (+13), Knowledge (Planes) (+13), Linguistics (+13), Perception (+10, the familiar), Perform (0; had to put 2 points in here for DD), Spellcraft (+12), Swim (+4)
Gear: +1 scimitar, +2 belt of dexterity, +1 mithral chainmail, scabbard of vigor
Familiar: Owl (the plan is to get a faerie dragon at lvl 7 for additional skillcheks, utilities and wand wielding)

---

So i guess i can fill up a good damage dealer role here. We have a tank (paladin), 2 cc ddler (rogue and me), two swiss army knives (cleric and bard) and a caster (sorcerer). I know my HP pool is very low for a melee fighter but i wanted some action for our cleric here ;) And i can still cast vanish, grab a longbow and shoot/buff from afar. I took a close look at Walter's Guide to the Magus and decided not to take a certain archetype.

We are a not a min-maxed, instead more roleplaying focused group. Maybe having one battle per day or so and not much special rules applying from GM's side (no enemies that are trying to disarm or grapple you, very few spellcasters, mostly raw amounts of melee fighters like undead, villains and so on). I guess this char can play a decent role in this campaign, having some skills, high burst damage, a few utility spells and a familiar for scouting purposes (and double skill checks). But what do you guys think?