My concept was inspired by this image of Flemeth from Dragon Age II. I wanted to create a magic casting, dragon shape-shifting, kick ass lady with a polearm. I know I've done the best that I can personally do, but I'm looking for suggestions from people with more Pathfinder experience. I don't necessarily want to redo the whole build as much as I want to optimize what I already have here. You know... switch around some feats/levels, add or subtract levels, etc. The campaign already started at 1st-level, but the GM is willing to let us mulligan feats/spells until we level up.
The build is focused more on two-handed melee/intimidation, and less on spell casting/dragon form. I want the dragon form ability to feel epic by not being able to do it as often, and only have spells to buff/debuff or as a last resort. I do, however, want to take advantage of the ability increases from the DD PrC. Also, with limited weapon proficiency, she has a longspear until her first level of fighter (in which she'll equip a lucerne hammer from the APG). I know that all classes involved become watered down when multi-classing, but I'm going for optimized flavor, and not optimized power gaming. Here's what I have so far:
Half-elf (I know Flemeth is "human", but I want 2 favored classes for even more HP.)
3rd-level Sorcerer (Draconic Bloodline) (A total of 10 caster levels and 13 sorcerer bloodline levels with the DD PrC.)
7th-level Fighter (Two-handed Weapon variant from APC)
10th-level Dragon Disciple
STR 14, DEX 13, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 8, CHA 15
Feats & Abilities:
SORCE 01] arcane strike, claws, draconic bloodline (black, acid)
SORCE 02] N/A
SORCE 03] dragon resistances, mage armor, lightning reflexes
FIGHT 04] arcane armor training
FIGHT 05] intimidating prowess, shattering strike, weapon focus (lucerne hammer)
DRDIS 06] blood of dragons, natural armor +1
DRDIS 07] str +2, bloodline feat (improved initiative), resist energy, dazzling display, dragon bite
DRDIS 08] breath weapon (acid)
DRDIS 09] str +2, fly, natural armor +1, rending claws
FIGHT 10] overhand chop
FIGHT 11] shatter defenses, weapon specialization (lucerne hammer)
FIGHT 12] weapon training 1 (two-handed weapons)
DRDIS 13] blindsense 30 ft., bloodline feat (power attack), furious focus
DRDIS 14] con +2, fear
DRDIS 15] dragon form (1/day, medium), dreadful carnage, natural armor +1
FIGHT 16] bloody assault
FIGHT 17] backswing, bonus feat (cleave?)
DRDIS 18] int +2, bloodline feat (quicken spell), spell resistance
DRDIS 19] expanded arcana, wings
DRDIS 20] blindsense 60 ft., dragon form (2/day, large)
I'll get more bloodline powers and spells from levels of sorcerer + DD (and +4 more with robes of arcane heritage). I want to gain the Dragon Form ability by 15th level or earlier. Fighter levels take care of a lot of power attack/intimidation feats. And I intentionally waited until 13th level to get power attack as a bloodline feat, but am wondering if I should interchange Improved Initiative and Power Attack. I took Expanded Arcana near the end to add a couple more higher level spells. I'm just not sure what bonus feat I should take at 17th level. I was thinking Cleave, but I don't know if it'll be entirely useful at that point.
THINGS ALREADY SET IN STONE FOR THIS BUILD: 1st-level sorcerer, female half-elf, black dragon type, use of intimidation/power attack feats, two-weapon fighting. These things cannot and will not be changed. Any suggestions not considering these things will not be entertained.
If there is any information or further explanation needed, don't hesitate to ask. And thanks in advance!
Very nice. I once started up an Abyssal Sorcerer with a level of Barbarian with an intimidation theme, but never got to use her much. I'm seeing similarities here. Something you haven't mentioned but could easily think of is the half-elf's bonus feat of Skill Focus. Take that for Intimidate for what turns out to be a massive bonus at level 10.
Barbarian has some potential in place of Fighter here but you seem to have Fighter fairly well incorporated and the bonus feats help keep the build together.
Always remember the +4 size bonus to intimidate checks if you're larger than your opponent; even if you're out of Dragon Forms, Enlarge Person is a great spell to carry as it has great synergy with a two-handed melee build, let alone an intimidator.
Damn... I don't know why I didn't think of that! I chose Perception for Skill Focus because her Wisdom score stinks, and the GM confessed to using that skill a lot. Since I can still mulligan, I think I'll switch it to Intimidation, though. Half-elves get a Perception bonus anyway, so I doubt I'll miss it. And I already had Enlarge Person in mind (at the GM's suggestion, as well), so I'll probably learn that the next time I get a new 1st-level spell. The 1 round casting time kind of turned me off, but I'm sure I won't regret learning it.
Also, since I'm OCD when it comes to planning builds (flavorful or otherwise), I actually re-worked an alternative build last night. I wanted to work in the Deadly Stroke feat, as well as Sunder feats to take advantage of her lucerne hammer CMB bonus and Shattering Strike ability. I lose two Dragon Disciple levels, but I've read that those last two levels don't make a huge difference anyway.
Plus, depending on how early I can afford a Robe of Arcane Heritage, I can get some bloodline powers/bonus spells a little bit earlier than the planned progression. That might make up for learning Dragon Form way later than planned if I can get access to the Form of the Dragon bonus spells beforehand. If I did my math correctly, I gain access to Form of the Dragon I (and will be able to cast it) as early as 13th level! The robes cost 16,000gp, though. That's pretty steep.
Let me know what you think. The more I look at it, the more I like it. (I only included feats and relevant class abilities.)
Sorce 1: Arcane Strike, Claws
Sorce 2: n/a
Sorce 3: Dragon Resistances, Intimidating Prowess
Sorce 4: n/a
Fight 1: Arcane Armor Training, Weapon Focus (Lucerne Hammer)
Fight 2: Dazzling Display, Shattering Strike +1
DrDis 1: Improved Sunder, Natural Armor +1
DrDis 2: Ability Boost (Str +2), Bloodline Feat (Power Attack)
DrDis 3: Breath Weapon (Acid, 60 ft. line), Shatter Defenses
DrDis 4: Ability Boost (Str +2), Natural Armor +1
Fight 3: Furious Focus, Overhand Chop
Fight 4: Weapon Specialization (Lucerne Hammer)
DrDis 5: Arcane Armor Mastery, Blindsense 30 ft., Bloodline Feat (Toughness)
DrDis 6: Ability Boost (Con +2)
Fight 5: Dreadful Carnage, Weapon Training 1 (Two-handed Melee Weapons)
Fight 6: Greater Sunder, Shattering Strike +2
Fight 7: Backswing, Expanded Arcana
Fight 8: Greater Weapon Focus (Lucerne Hammer)
DrDis 7: Deadly Stroke, Dragon Form (1/day), Natural Armor +1
DrDis 8: Ability Boost (Int +2), Bloodline Feat (Quicken Spell)
This also increases her BAB progression, and keeps it a little more steady all throughout. Now the only things I'm not sure about are Expanded Arcana at 17th level and Quicken Spell as a Bloodline feat at 20th level. There are only so many Bloodline feats, though. None of them are really worth taking at 20th level. Access to extra spells is good at any point, though. Thanks for your advice!
I do hear that Dragon Disciple after level 8 is sub-optimum. I've also seen people recommend taking Eldritch Knight levels at the end, but in your case you're benefiting from the Fighter class features. Notably, you only lose one level of spells by dropping two levels of Disciple. You can probably make do with Blindsense 30 and in many games 90 feet of flight is overkill (fun overkill but still).
And yeah, at 20th level with partial casting, Quicken may or may not be great, but it's worth having in case you need to squeeze any basic but useful spells into dire situations. Normally any build that has so many caster levels should be prepared to capitalize on it, but the Disciple seems so uniquely synergistic that it can get away with the spells being secondary.
There are a lot of ways to go with Disciple but considering your emphasis on hammer combat I think your current build is superior to your old one. You lose the Form of Dragon II SLA but with so many feats in your hammer you're better off only transforming when a dragon's racial features are advantageous to you.
Have you figured out any ways to take advantage of the +1 energy damage per die ability? There might be some niche spells out there such as in the APG, 3rd party materials or wherever else you and your GM are comfortable drawing from that could give you some type of acid damage you could incorporate into melee, or at the very least, cast in a pinch.
Is the plan to play all the way to 20? Should be a fun character in any case, but I have to admit I find something fun about playing hybrid characters - they transform from level to level, having to depend on new methods and powers over time. I had an Arcane Archer in 3.5 who could barely afford a bow at level 1, at level 2 was actually handy with low level magic, filled in for melee sometimes around 3 to 5, then somewhere around 8 or 10 became this DPR monster. I hope you'll have a good time, and who knows, maybe you'll wind up adjusting that build as you realize the character's potential.
Great! I'm glad you approve of the new build. When I picture her in my mind, these feats just seem to make more sense. Polearm wielding, armor sundering, intimidating, acid breathing... lady. We do plan to play until level 20 (or as far as we can until disbanded), so I'm looking forward to seeing if she actually progresses the way I think she will. And like you said, I'm sure I'll still be tweaking this build down the line.
I do plan on grabbing any spells with the acid type or generic energy type (and choosing acid) as soon as they are available to me. Acid Arrow and Acid Pit come to mind. Right now, I only have Acid Splash, and that +1 damage has already made a difference in dropping a few enemies. I chose acid intentionally because with acid usually comes Con damage, and that's always a plus.
Right now she fills in for melee a lot because we have no straight melee classes. Sorcerer, Cleric, Rogue, and Aristocrat (Why?). It's all about casting Color Spray and coup de grace as many enemies as I can before they wake up. Later on she should be better suited for the frontline, but for now it's a big risk. That Cleric is on overtime channeling positive energy and casting Cure Light Wounds!
I was actually considering an elven Arcane Archer if my current character should ever die. I'm a big fan of mixing melee and magic, so that seems perfect for me as well. A Wizard (Transmutation school)/Fighter (Archer Alt) with Focused Shot seems like a pain in the butt to handle. Knowing what you said, it seems like something to strongly consider, especially if I enter the game at 8th level or so.
Thanks again! I'm feeling more confident about my choices, and about creating builds in general.