My PFS Master Summoner wants some advice

[lalallaalal]

I'm finishing up my Master Summoner for PFS and I'd like some thoughts on the build and what items would be useful for him.

Elf Master Summoner

Str: 12
Dex: 17 (15 +2 racial)
Con: 12 (14 -2 racial)
Int: 13 (11 +2 racial)
Wis: 10
Cha: 14

Traits: Reactionary, Warrior of Old

Feats:
1st: Improved Initiative
3rd: Precise Shot
5th: Superior Summons
7th: Point Blank Shot
9th: Rapid Shot
11th:

Spells:
0th: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Mending, Acid Orb
1st: Enlarge Person, Mage Armor

The Eidolon will be built towards using wands and running away from combat.I'm not too worried about adding strength to my bow attacks. I like a 12 strength so I can carry a few situational items like alchemist's fire. What would be some good items to go with this? Feats?

[james maissen]

lalallaalal wrote:

I'm finishing up my Master Summoner for PFS and I'd like some thoughts on the build and what items would be useful for him.

Elf Master Summoner

Str: 12
Dex: 17 (15 +2 racial)
Con: 12 (14 -2 racial)
Int: 13 (11 +2 racial)
Wis: 10
Cha: 14

Traits: Reactionary, Warrior of Old

Feats:
1st: Improved Initiative
3rd: Precise Shot
5th: Superior Summons
7th: Point Blank Shot
9th: Rapid Shot
11th:

Spells:
0th: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Mending, Acid Orb
1st: Enlarge Person, Mage Armor

The Eidolon will be built towards using wands and running away from combat.I'm not too worried about adding strength to my bow attacks. I like a 12 strength so I can carry a few situational items like alchemist's fire. What would be some good items to go with this? Feats?

You have some mistakes.

You cannot take precise shot before point blank shot.

Honestly making a so so archer is not imho the best choice here.

What do you want out of your character here?

Many rounds you will be summoning. Then you will be casting. When you not doing either of these only THEN would you be firing a bow.. don't waste so many resources on a third tier action.

My suggestion would be focus more on casting (if master summoner is the focus here) as a high CHA will give you more summons, more spells and higher DCs on the save based conjurations that you get.

Spell selection.. you get guidance.. take it!

As to the STR: have someone carry your stuff for you. You get floating disk, ant haul, a critter, and a high CHA for charms/handle animal.

I would go:
Halfling Master Summoner (swift as shadows racial.. or something of that name)

STR 5 (-4pts) (7-2racial)
INT 12 (2pts)
WIS 07(-4pts)
DEX 16 (5pts) (14+2racial)
CON 14 (5pts)
CHA 19 (13pts) (17+2racial)

You have 3 points left... this can bump your INT to 14 or raise either STR/WIS by 2. See what skills you want, and if you can make do then bump STR to a 7.

Feats:
1st Skill Focus: Stealth
3rd Improved Init (or salt to taste)
5th Superior Summons
7th Hellcat stealth
9th Eldritch Heritage (Shadow)
11th Improved Eldritch Heritage (Shadow)

Traits:
Regional: Bandit (River Kingdoms)/ Uskwood Hunter (Nidal) (Stealth class skill & +1 trait)
Various choices: +1 diplomacy & class skill in diplomacy.

Skills:
Stealth (maxed)
Diplomacy (maxed)
Dips: Perform, Handle Animal, UMD, Spellcraft, Linguistics

At 10th give yourself a +8 racial bonus in Stealth & Diplomacy via evolutions. If you really wanted to have the diplomacy through the roof instead of Improved Init take skill focus: diplomacy... for some reason you've never had problems getting people to do what you wanted them to do...

This is assuming strait Summoner. You could elect to delay one level in a PrC (I always recommend selling your soul, but maybe that's the Chellish heritage leaking through... Diabolist is a nice PrC and makes a number of CHA skills class skills.. if you do this alter your 2nd Trait)

-James

[lalallaalal]

What are they? I assume one is the traits not being able to stack due to both being trait bonuses.

[james maissen]

lalallaalal wrote:

What are they? I assume one is the traits not being able to stack due to both being trait bonuses.

Yes, sorry got sidetracked on writing out a build.

-James

[Qik]

I think James has made some good suggestions, although I disagree a bit on a few points (as always, IMHO).

Personally, I would never feel comfortable with a strength of 5. The lowest I would probably go is a 7 or 8 (after the racial penalty). I'd also bump wisdom to 8, unless you really need those extra 2 points for your build.

I do think the idea of going small is good; that way you have the option of using your eidolon as a mount right out of the gate. That would provide you with another option in combat if you're not going to be using multiple summons at a time in a given encounter; plus, you're getting some more use out of your eidolon that way, and negating the 20' movement of a small race.

Just as an aside, I prefer gnomes to halflings - the +2 con is nice to have, and I feel they're better suited for a casting class (at least partially due to flavor, although there are some minor mechanical reasons for this as well). Gift of tongues would be a nice (if slight) way to boost your abilities as the party's face. Every little bit helps. Plus, if you take master tinker, you're proficient in any weapon that you craft yourself (hello, heavy repeating crossbow). Although this may not fly in PFS - don't know much about its rules myself.

Just a few scattered thoughts.

[james maissen]

Qik wrote:

I think James has made some good suggestions, although I disagree a bit on a few points (as always, IMHO).

Personally, I would never feel comfortable with a strength of 5. The lowest I would probably go is a 7 or 8 (after the racial penalty). I'd also bump wisdom to 8, unless you really need those extra 2 points for your build.

I do think the idea of going small is good; that way you have the option of using your eidolon as a mount right out of the gate. That would provide you with another option in combat if you're not going to be using multiple summons at a time in a given encounter; plus, you're getting some more use out of your eidolon that way, and negating the 20' movement of a small race.

Just as an aside, I prefer gnomes to halflings - the +2 con is nice to have, and I feel they're better suited for a casting class (at least partially due to flavor, although there are some minor mechanical reasons for this as well). Gift of tongues would be a nice (if slight) way to boost your abilities as the party's face. Every little bit helps. Plus, if you take master tinker, you're proficient in any weapon that you craft yourself (hello, heavy repeating crossbow). Although this may not fly in PFS - don't know much about its rules myself.

Just a few scattered thoughts.

As always feel free to tweak the build. I know many people balk at low STR PCs.. but use it as a base and see what you'd trade out for it. I did the build with 3 floating points to bump either INT from 12 to 14, STR from 5 to 7 or WIS from 7 to 9.

In any event the PC will never do anything useful that's based on STR or WIS. The WILL save is lowered that's true, but the less you are targeted the less that it matters. Spring for a ring of counterspells (glitterdust) at some point if it crops up against you.

I disagree with Gnome over halfling. The halfling racial bonuses are HUGE for this build. No penalty on stealth checks, the racial bonus to DEX, the racial bonus to stealth, and the racial bonus to saves.

-James

[lalallaalal]

Did james post something I'm not seeing? I just see his 2 posts pointing out a mistake.

I'm going elf for the bow proficiency and because I like having a combat alternative to wands and spellcasting. I'm not trying be the optimal summoner, I just like to summon things. I want a high initiative to get summons into the battle faster. I figure combat will go something like 1st round: Summon or Haste. 2nd round: Summon or Enlarge Person, 3rd round+: summon or shoot my bow. My Eidolon will be casting buffs from wands.

I like a bit higher strength so I can carry things besides my armor and weapons and not be encumbered. I don't want my eidolon getting killed and disappearing with all gear. I want eidolon to be targeted as little as possible. I plan on getting him a wand of invisibility so he can just be invisible all the time.

[lalallaalal]

Alright, now I see the rest of that post.

[cp]

lalallaalal wrote:

Alright, now I see the rest of that post.

As an amusing alternative, why not go synthesist, and wear your eidolon as armor/hitpoint/physical stats.

Dump your physical stats, boost your mental ones. Choose evolutions that boost your eidolon physical stats and go straightline FIGHTER!

RAR!