Brand New to Pathfinder - Check Character?

[Sphynx]

Hi, I'm brand new to the game, never played, just starting in a campaign and told to make a 3rd level character...

Anyone see any glaringly obvious problems with this character? It was rolled, so no need to add up the attribute points. :P I've been reading the book hectically for a week now, and think I'm gonna aim for a 10th Arcane Trickster, with a single level in Shadowdancer at 6th level.

Also, while it's not as fluffed as other character sheets out there, it's nice single-page format. If anyone wants the .xlsx version of the sheet, blank, I'm happy to share it with whomever.

Gryphynx - Half Elven - Rogue Acrobat 2 / Air Elemental Sorcerer 1

[Emanonpf]

Well for one. Any reason you are using dmg for a small shortbow? 1d6 dmg for a medium creature like you.

Edit: Also try to get some armour, even +2 from a basic leather armour would help a lot. As soon as you get the money (2,000gp) a handy haversack would help keep you to a light load.

[Sphynx]

Emanonpf wrote:

Well for one. Any reason you are using a small shortbow? 1d6 dmg for a medium creature like you.

Not understanding the question. The Shortbow is Medium sized (The M in the Size/Type box). And isn't the damage 1d4 for a "small" shortbow?

[Emanonpf]

Yeah a small shortbow is 1d4. A regular one is 1d6.

[Sphynx]

Emanonpf wrote:

Edit: Also try to get some armour, even +2 from a basic leather armour would help a lot. As soon as you get the money (2,000gp) a handy haversack would help keep you to a light load.

10% spell-failure chance? Any way to reduce that? That's the reason I didn't take Leather in the 1st place...

[Niels]

You could take the feat arcane armor traning to reduce the spell faliur%

Also the bow dmg is off it should be 1d6 (a small version of a weapon is one made for halflings or gnomes)

Any reason why you did not chose any attack spells for lvl1, if i might surgest somthing then take shocking grasp. Let me explaine: since you are a rogue, any "weapon like" spell can benifit from sneak attack so if you are flanking your target and attacking with shocking grasp then you add your sneak attack dmg to the spells dmg. (this trick only works for spells witch requires an attack role.
Also you should take a 0lvl attack spell like acid splash, for the same reason mentioned above.

Also put some ranks in to use magic divice, its one of the rogues major benifits, beeing able to use wands and other sttuff, after all the rouge is a kind of problemsolver class, and beeing able to use a wand of cure light wounds or a scroll on the fly, is really nice.

Pleas forgive my spelling english is not my primary

[Emanonpf]

Ok, that make sense. Yes there is Arcane armour training, though you need 3 caster levels to take it. It reduces spell failure by 10% and the next step lowers it by 20%. Mithral can reduce the spell fail chance by 10%. So with one feat and mithral armour you could bypass the chain shirt's 20% though that would cost you a fair bit. The only thing I wanted to point out is that 13 AC is VERY low, so you might want to augment that somehow.

Edit: Got beat on the armour thing by Niels. and I should note the second level requires medium armour training. If I could find another 5% reduction somehow I would be tempted to play a full-plate wearing wizard.

[Sphynx]

Niels wrote:

You could take the feat arcane armor traning to reduce the spell faliur%

Also the bow dmg is off it should be 1d6 (a small version of a weapon is one made for halflings or gnomes)

Any reason why you did not chose any attack spells for lvl1, if i might surgest somthing then take shocking grasp. Let me explaine: since you are a rogue, any "weapon like" spell can benifit from sneak attack so if you are flanking your target and attacking with shocking grasp then you add your sneak attack dmg to the spells dmg. (this trick only works for spells witch requires an attack role.
Also you should take a 0lvl attack spell like acid splash, for the same reason mentioned above.

Also put some ranks in to use magic divice, its one of the rogues major benifits, beeing able to use wands and other sttuff, after all the rouge is a kind of problemsolver class, and beeing able to use a wand of cure light wounds or a scroll on the fly, is really nice.

Pleas forgive my spelling english is not my primary

Ah, that's what Emanonpf meant, ok, I've fixed the damage on the short bow on my sheet (haven't updated the PDF yet).

The reason I didn't take offensive spells is because I have 6-shots a day with my Elemental Ray, and I seem to do as much damage, with as much likelihood to hit with a bow as with a spell. Why waste a spell slot on something I can duplicate without using the spell slot?

Use Magic Device. Ok, I'll put points into that in future levels. Is there any decent reason for me to take Spellcraft?

Emanonpf wrote:

Ok, that make sense. Yes there is Arcane armour training, though you need 3 caster levels to take it. It reduces spell failure by 10% and the next step lowers it by 20%. Mithral can reduce the spell fail chance by 10%. So with one feat and mithral armour you could bypass the chain shirt's 20% though that would cost you a fair bit. The only thing I wanted to point out is that 13 AC is VERY low, so you might want to augment that somehow.

Edit: Got beat on the armour thing by Niels. and I should note the second level requires medium armour training. If I could find another 5% reduction somehow I would be tempted to play a full-plate wearing wizard.

Ok, 5th level I'll take Arcane Armour training. Added Leather Armour to my list, figure I don't have to wear it, but I at least have the option to. ;)

[leo1925]

Be carefull with arcane armor training, when you take that you pratically lose your swift actions.

[Emanonpf]

leo1925 wrote:

Be carefull with arcane armor training, when you take that you pratically lose your swift actions.

Agreed. It is not ideal by any means, Mage Armour would be better. At Sphynx's caster level thats 1 hour which isn't really enough for the day. It is simply worrying to see such a low AC, but at least Sphynx has rolled very well on HP for a 3rd level char.

[Sphynx]

leo1925 wrote:

Be carefull with arcane armor training, when you take that you pratically lose your swift actions.

You mean, when casting a spell, right? Seems that most rounds wouldn't be just spell-casting (especially if I'm using a bow for combat damage). I mean... there's not -that- many spells to cast in a day...

Note: Not arguing, trying rather to justify your statement so I understand it better. The book says that Swift Actions are mostly using magic items, or feats. Also says "spellcasting", but all the spells I've looked at use a Standard Action, is there something I'm missing where you need your Swift Actions for spellcasting?

[Sphynx]

Emanonpf wrote:

It is simply worrying to see such a low AC, but at least Sphynx has rolled very well on HP for a 3rd level char.

Err... I was told that Pathfinder's default system was max-roll on HP. I didn't roll my HP, I just added 8+8+6. Reading back I see that only the 1st level maxxes HP. Will have to ask my GM if he wants me to modify those....

[leo1925]

The most important swift action (IMO) is a quickened spell (not via the feat which i understand won't be your first choice but via metamagic rods).

[Bruno Kristensen]

leo1925 wrote:

Be carefull with arcane armor training, when you take that you pratically lose your swift actions.

That's a truth with modifications. You only lose your swift actions on turns where you actually want to use a spell. I realise there are other things to use swift actions on, but a character like this will mostly be using swift actions for Arcane Strike or for Arcane Armor Training...and it is rare that you'll be using spells and Arcane Strike on the same round.

[Anonymous Visitor 163 576]

My ranger sorceror has arcane armor training and arcane strike, and it's fine. It will be a LONG time before I can cast a spell AND attack on the same round.

The same applies to quickened spells. It' a long way off, and maybe I'll throw away my armor when I'm 12th level, but it's nice to have now.

[Phneri]

Regarding your level 1 spells. Featherfall is pretty situational, and even more so when you have a significant acrobatics check (to use to negate some fall damage).

If you want something to maneuver with I might suggest jump. A level 3 character that can longjump 21 feet horizontal or 5 feet vertical before the dice get rolled is pretty awesome, and also fits the acrobat theme pretty well.

Unseen servant is ok, but there are better uses of that level 1 spell slot as mage hand can accomplish a lot of what the servant can do. Vanish as a get out of jail free card or positioning device isn't bad (thought it'd be better if you stayed sorc for a few levels to get a 3-4 round duration). Grease is good for making people flat-footed. Mage armor isn't a terrible way to get around problems with AC and armor stuff.

Another option would be to ditch the cloak of elvenkind and buy a wand of mage armor to use. You then have another 1500ish gold to spend on fun stuff. Dumping ALL of your starting wealth into a single magic item is usually a bad idea, particularly at low levels when that mechanical bonus is only going to mean your success is now a really good success.

Looking at stat points and hp:

Your hp only maxes at first level. With 8 + d6 + d8 + 3 (con) +3 (level) you may be a bit fragile. I'd drop Charisma to 14 and put those points in Con and elsewhere, preferably strength. If your focus is rogue you don't need an enormous casting stat.

Note that your bow damage is currently just d6. You need a strength of 12 (+1 modifier) to use a composite shortbow for a strength bonus.

Buy potions, mundane items, etc, etc. You should have at least 3 daggers handy, as you can both throw them and fight in close when the bow doesn't cut it. tanglefoot bags, alchemist's fire, etc. can be life savers against the right bad guy.

I'd ditch the caltrop weight for most of this. You can get interesting things like smoke sticks/smoke arrows, alchemists fire, bloodblock, potion of clw, etc. that weigh significantly less. And you can afford all of this stuff without that expensive cloak.

Regarding skills and feats:

I think you can be better served by something other than skill focus: stealth. Especially in a character that will easily be able to use items that cast invisibility on a regular basis. Deadly aim would be a suggestion to go for down the road.

[Sphynx]

Thanks Phneri, I truly appreciate much of this advise, even if it's not possible for me to use most of it yet. I did want to comment some on things you said, just to make sure I truly understand...

Feather Fall being situational, I don't understand that one. In my AD&D phase, my 3.5 phase, even in my 4e phase, it's always been a useful spell (as long as you use it proactively instead of just reactively, like casting it before jumping off a roof or into a pit for example). Admittedly, at that point, ALL non-combat spells are too situational...

I like what you say about Unseen Servant, but gonna ALWAYS have that spell, it's saved my character/team more often than is fair for such a low level spell. Mage Hand just doesn't set off traps the same way. :P And it lasts hours, making that load a bit lighter at the same time. ;)

As for ditching the cloak, in retrospect, I can't agree with you more. Unfortunately, I made such a big deal out of it with the group that I'd lose face to drop it now. :P Though, I may try to weasel out of it... :P

Stat rolls I can't move. They're dropped in the order I rolled them, and classes picked afters.

Thanks for the catch on the bow. I originally took Point Blank, but changed to Mobility and forgot to 'fix' the +1's in there.

Thanks for the advise. :)

[Emanonpf]

Phneri, good post. I agree about the mundane items, looking at my rogue right now she has a lot of mundane items bought relatively cheap. I bought a mule to haul it all >.>

PS: Phneri the skill focus is a racial, so Sphynx could change the skill but not the feat (unless maybe alt an racial in the AGP)

[Phneri]

Sphynx wrote:

Feather Fall being situational, I don't understand that one. In my AD&D phase, my 3.5 phase, even in my 4e phase, it's always been a useful spell (as long as you use it proactively instead of just reactively, like casting it before jumping off a roof or into a pit for example). Admittedly, at that point, ALL non-combat spells are too situational...

Your dude has an acrobatics check of 10. A DC 15 lets you ignore a 10 foot fall entirely when jumping. That means you can fall 20 feet deliberately and just eat a d6 of nonlethal damage, which gets you off of most rooftops and into most pits after just a d6 of lethal damage.

Is it perfect? No, but given your spells slots are very limited I'd go for another first level spell and trust my skill check for times I had to jump off something.

Forgot about the required skill focus. Whoops. I think I'd be inclined to swap dodge and/or mobility for deadly aim, though. Particularly since level 4 is an upgrade level for the feat.