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Tweaked my other build.
This time around, I'm adding the "win initiative, act in every surprise round, cast Shield" plan. :D
So here we are, version 2:
Human
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 12
CHA 07
Traits: Reactionary (+2 Init), Something Else
00:Human bonus feat: Improved Initiative
01:Fighter1[Bonus Feat:Dodge], Toughness
02:Wizard1[Bonded Item:Nodachi][Specialty School:Foresight][Bonus Feat:Spell Focus]
03:Wizard2, Arcane Strike[+1]
04:Wizard3[2nd level spells][STR+1=18]
05:Wizard4, Arcane Armor Training
06:Wizard5[3rd level spells][Arcane Strike +2]
Then EK from here on out.
It's awfully situational, but since your wife is one of the other characters you could both perhaps pick up this feat (in your case, perhaps in lieu of Dodge?)
Lookout (Combat, Teamwork)
Your allies help you avoid being surprised.
Benefit: Whenever you are adjacent to an ally who also has this feat, you may act in the surprise round as long as your ally would normally be able to act in the surprise round. If you would normally be denied the ability to act in the surprise round, your initiative is equal to your initiative roll or the roll of your ally –1, whichever is lower. If both you and your ally would be able to act in the surprise round without the aid of this feat, you may take both a standard and a move action (or a full-round action) during the surprise round.
I bolded the good part.
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You can always tier up if there's the choice. I always tier up if I can. Risking death for more money is right up my alleyway.If your GM is doing things right, you only have the option if your table's APL happens to fall into the one-level gap that some scenarios have between subtiers. So in a Tier 1-5 scenario (subtiers 1-2 and 4-5) you'd have to have APL 3 to choose to play up.
Doesn't happen that often.
Happens all the time here. We have lots of gaps of players and characters. The experience players always tier up, partly because all of us have very powerful characters (we all optimize very well usually and know the mechanics quite well). We really haven't been burned by it up to this point.
If there are new players, we use our lower level characters so we're not forced to tier down.
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It's awfully situational, but since your wife is one of the other characters you could both perhaps pick up this feat (in your case, perhaps in lieu of Dodge?)
Lookout (Combat, Teamwork)
Your allies help you avoid being surprised.Benefit: Whenever you are adjacent to an ally who also has this feat, you may act in the surprise round as long as your ally would normally be able to act in the surprise round. If you would normally be denied the ability to act in the surprise round, your initiative is equal to your initiative roll or the roll of your ally –1, whichever is lower. If both you and your ally would be able to act in the surprise round without the aid of this feat, you may take both a standard and a move action (or a full-round action) during the surprise round.
I bolded the good part.
Nice, but my wife's Arcane Archer needs her feats, you know?
Although, your post does remind me of something: I forgot that in the surprise round you don't get both a standard and a move - which means I need to have my wand more easily accessible if I want to Shield right off the bat.
I guess I either put it in a spring-loaded wrist sheath, or have it constantly dangling from the weapon cord - in either case, I whip it out as a swift action, then use my standard to activate it.
For one thing, AdAstraGames, you're rocking a 22pt build there. ;)
Fixed!
Second, I just noticed that your melee damage math involves attacking two-handed with the bastard sword. But that can be done with martial proficiency (which the fighter level has). You only need to burn the feat on EWP if you want to one-hand it.
Correct - and there will be times when it's useful to have it in one hand, but in most cases, it'll be used two handed. The Shield Spell means I don't need a hand free.
I'm kind of torn on Still Spell. It'd be helpful early on (when I have 10% ASF), but once I have a mithral breastplate, it's a choice between spending a feat on AAT and having 5% ASF; or spending a feat on Still Spell and having all my spells but one need to be prepared in higher slots - meaning I'm effectively down one spell level at all times.
Your Mithril chain shirt costs you 1,100 GP for +4 AC and a 10% ASF.
A wand of Mage Armor for three levels costs 2 PA for +4 AC and 0% ASF. You'll still have charges on it left after 9 adventures.
Still Spell is mildly less useful for a memorization caster, and going the Sorcerer route outlined means you miss out on 6th level spells - which you'll get at 12th level on the cusp of retirement.
I think I'm more inclined to use my early feat for something else, suffer through the 10% ASF for a few levels, and then spend my level 5 feat to upgrade my armor while dropping to 5% ASF.
What it gets you is this:
1) One feat freed up
2) 0% ASF at all times
3) The ability to wear full plate and cast
4) For an Arcane Sorcerer, it's effectively "Spell Focus: Whatever I'm casting in armor."
Both builds have identical BABs, the Arcane bloodline sorcerer has more spells per day, but loses out on one spell level (6th level spell slots), in return for more AC and more armor and better DCs on spells that give them.
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What it gets you is this:
1) One feat freed up
Huh? Still Spell and ArcArmrTrng are each a feat. How is taking Still Spell over AAT freeing up a feat?
2) 0% ASF at all times
True.
3) The ability to wear full plate and cast
Er, I'm not so sure I want to wear full plate. I want my mobility.
4) For an Arcane Sorcerer, it's effectively "Spell Focus: Whatever I'm casting in armor."
If you mean what I think you mean, you're wrong. The higher level slot used up by a metamagic spell does not affect its DC (unless it's a heightened spell, or you have some similar ability).
How does that affect your assessment of the Still Spell plan? :)
Paladin 2 => Sorc 3 or 4 => Dragon Disciple 4 => EK10
This gives you a ton of strength to pump up and should grant you Cha to saves along with some nice AC and STR bumps from the dragon sorc/DD
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Yeah, but an EK can't do cool stuff like...
Yes, that's my point - it's swings and roundabouts. The ElK can caster higher level spells, from a wider spell list - but then again raw spellcasting with near-full BAB is what an ElK is all about. Other classes bring other stuff which balances the equation.
Of course, if there's no Magical Knack allowed in PFS then that's quite a blow against the potential ElK, not to mention the level-cap meaning you get to quit just as your character is starting to outpace the Bard and Magus characters in terms of raw power... But it's hardly so limiting that it's not a viable, and enjoyable, option.
IMHO, natch. ;)
@Jiggy - if you're going for a 1d10 base damage die weapon I'd be rocking the enlarge person spell whenever possible - 2d8+6 damage and reach is good squishy for a level 2 character! The casting time is a bind, but if you can get it in before combat then it works wonders.
Huh? Still Spell and ArcArmrTrng are each a feat. How is taking Still Spell over AAT freeing up a feat?What it gets you is this:
1) One feat freed up
I'd misread when you got your mithral breastplate and was assuming a MW breastplate and Advanced Armor Mastery, which you can get at 8th level...
3) The ability to wear full plate and castEr, I'm not so sure I want to wear full plate. I want my mobility.
You're going to be getting Mithral Full Plate AND the Sash of the War Champion. The Sash adds 4 levels to your fighter level for the purposes of Bravery and Armor Training. These two let you run around in Mithral full plate at 30' per turn (35 in my build, 65 after Exp. Retreat.)
4) For an Arcane Sorcerer, it's effectively "Spell Focus: Whatever I'm casting in armor."If you mean what I think you mean, you're wrong. The higher level slot used up by a metamagic spell does not affect its DC (unless it's a heightened spell, or you have some similar ability).
Bloodline ability - +1 to DCs on any spell the Arcane bloodline sorcerer casts with a metamagic ability.
As a variant on my build, make the bonded item a ring, and free up the feat for Bastard Sword by taking a Greatsword.
The damage starts out higher, but doesn't get to increase as rapidly at higher level, because I'm paying full price for my sword upgrades, rather than half. On the other hand, I can enchant my ring at half price...and rings of protection cost the same as the sword does.
It frees up a feat, which will probably be Toughness at 1st. I can't quite take Lunge at 8th with the bonus feat for EK, though.
Nice, but my wife's Arcane Archer needs her feats, you know?
Oh, of course. Wasn't sure if she had one free feat floating around or one that she might be enticed to swap out for this one if both characters had it.
I would also second the recommendation(s) for Enlarge.
I strongly recommend taking Accelerated Drinker and having potions of Enlarge Person instead. It's going to replace your Reactive trait...
But if you get a move and standard action, that's:
Chug potion (move) and get large
Cast Shield from Wand (and get harder to hit).
Assuming I have both in hand already.Chug potion (move) and get large
Cast Shield from Wand (and get harder to hit).
It's not like you're moving on that round. :) Draw your sword on the next round when going in to spatter blood on the walls.
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It's not like you're moving on that round. :) Draw your sword on the next round when going in to spatter blood on the walls.Assuming I have both in hand already.Chug potion (move) and get large
Cast Shield from Wand (and get harder to hit).
What I mean is that if combat starts and I'm bare-handed, I can do one of the following:
A) Retrieve potion (move action) and drink it (standard, or move via that trait - same difference). No wand.
B) Retrieve wand (move action) and activate it (standard). No potion.
C) Retrieve wand (move action) and retrieve potion (move action). Use neither.
D) If I have a spring-loaded wrist sheath, then retrieve wand (swift), retrieve potion (move), and EITHER use wand or use potion.
So to use both in the same round, I need to have them in hand (or have the potion in hand and the wand in the aforementioned gizmo).
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Still Spell is more generally useful than Arcane Armor Training, albeit more so for a spontaneous caster than for a prepared one.
Another plug for Inner Sea Magic's Hidden Priest archetype:
Unseen Devotion (Su): At 8th level, a hidden priest
can apply the Silent Spell and Still Spell feats to
a spell he is about to cast. This does not alter
the level of the spell or the casting time. He can
use this ability once per day at 8th level and one
additional time per day for every four additional
cleric levels beyond 8th.
Potion in left hand, wand in spring loaded sheath in right.
Drink, Spring, shield.
How often do you go into combat with bare hands? :)
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Still Spell is more generally useful than Arcane Armor Training, albeit more so for a spontaneous caster than for a prepared one.Another plug for Inner Sea Magic's Hidden Priest archetype:
Unseen Devotion (Su): At 8th level, a hidden priest
can apply the Silent Spell and Still Spell feats to
a spell he is about to cast. This does not alter
the level of the spell or the casting time. He can
use this ability once per day at 8th level and one
additional time per day for every four additional
cleric levels beyond 8th.
I haven't looked, but if this is a divine caster then it doesn't really help me much.
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How often do you go into combat with bare hands? :)
Well, this past week the four combats began as follows:
One was in the home of a deceased Pathfinder whose body we were supposed to recover, so no one had weapons out.
Two began while I was in the middle of riding a camel, so again nothing in hand.
And one began while I was clinging to a cliff face 150' above the ground.
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Also, if you want to buff with low level spells like enlarge and shield, it's best to just blow the feats on getting a familiar with a good UMD score (homunculus is best here for the added HD and feats for additional UMD skill). Have HIM blow his first couple of rounds dropping those spells (share spelled to you) and when you cast dimension door you can share spell it to him so his turn ends on arrival instead of yours. If you're any good at melee, you don't waste rounds buffing if you dont have to.
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Also, if you want to buff with low level spells like enlarge and shield, it's best to just blow the feats on getting a familiar with a good UMD score (homunculus is best here for the added HD and feats for additional UMD skill). Have HIM blow his first couple of rounds dropping those spells (share spelled to you) and when you cast dimension door you can share spell it to him so his turn ends on arrival instead of yours. If you're any good at melee, you don't waste rounds buffing if you dont have to.
That's why I dislike EK. I'm spending more time buffing than fighting. PFS definitely have quick combats that end in 3 rounds usually if you are partied with good players.
My group sees the encounter or gets surprised, but then we immediately disable the opponents, or cut them down extremely quickly. Because this is PFS, the GM can't change the encounter, and now we're not supposed to change the tactics either. I believe it's to make sure everybody has the same experience when it comes to that encounter, and from that to decide if it's too strong or not (most encounters are not overpowering, I've only felt threatened a handful of times, and I have 1 level 10, and 2 level 6s.)
If you want something different, you could try Fighter 1/Witch 6 (strenght patron) with hexes beneficial to you (Fortune, Ward, Flight, Prehensile hair for a shield, etc.).
Don't bother with hexes affecting others since your save DC will be lame.
The spell list is quite ok actually - Looking only at the witch specific spells you get Beguiling gift for easy disarms, Ill Omen, Perceive cues is always nice to have up and Screech combined with combat reflexes and a good dex is scary.
Could be fun, actually.
Been trying to get this build "right" for some time!
I think the "right" build is witch/ magus / EK
Why? Spell Combat seems rather useless, as you only can use it with spells from the magus spell list. I would rather take the +1BAB and the feat.
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I haven't looked, but if this is a divine caster then it doesn't really help me much.Still Spell is more generally useful than Arcane Armor Training, albeit more so for a spontaneous caster than for a prepared one.Another plug for Inner Sea Magic's Hidden Priest archetype:
Unseen Devotion (Su): At 8th level, a hidden priest
can apply the Silent Spell and Still Spell feats to
a spell he is about to cast.
A Hidden Priest is a cleric who masquerades as a wizard for one reason or another (usually because their faith is forbidden). If they start off as Fighter[Cad] at first level, their Bluff and Slight of Hand checks rapidly become absurd, and they can get away with just about anything. Given all the new books, there are plenty of blaster and control type divine spells.
Other comparisons:
Bard12 ... BAB9, F+4/R+8/W+8, HP(+FC) 74
Cleri12 ... BAB9, F+8/R+4/W+8, HP(+FC) 74 (identical for Magus)
F1/C11 ... BAB9, F+9/R+3/W+7, HP(+FC) 76
F1W5EK ... BAB9, F+6/R+3/W+5, HP(+FC) 71
F1M1C10 ... BAB8, F+11/R+5/W+9, HP(+FC) 75
Fighter(and/or monk)/clerics are the most durable in melee as nearly full casters capable of very high AC and good saves without excess feats, whereas bards and EKs have to be careful whenever they're fighting anything that dishes out fortitude saving-throws. Spell-level maxing EKs also have surprisingly lousy will-saves and the fewest class+favored hitpoints.
Annoying data-point for players who like swinging extended-threat weaponry: Not one of these "gish" types can acquire Critical Focus in PFS because none of them meet the BAB9 prerequisite at 11th-level.
Another reshuffle on the Arcane Sorc build:
A reshuffle of my Sorcerer build, because I'm entertained by it.
I'm trying to get evenly set between Casty and Smashy.
STR: 15 [7] DEX 14 [5] CON 13 [3], INT 10 WIS 10 CHA 14+2=16 [5]
Sorcerer: Arcane Bloodline [Bonded Item: Bastard Sword]
Traits: History of Heresy [Will Save booster], Magical Lineage [Scorching Ray]
Favored Class: Sorcerer
Fighter 1st, Power Attack, Toughness, Weapon Focus: Greatsword.
HP 10+1+3=14
Melee: +1+2+1-1=+3 to hit for 2d6+3+3
After 1st adventure, buy masterwork greatsword.
After 3rd adventure, sell off armor, and spend 2 PA for a wand of Mage Armor.
Sorcerer 1st, Shield spell, Magic Missile, +1 HP (FavClass)
HP: 14+4+1=19
Melee: +1+2+1+1-1=+4 to hit for 2d6+3+3.
Sorcerer 2nd, Fleet I (Surprisingly useful!) +1 HP (FavClass)
HP: 19+4+1=24
Melee: +2+2+1+1-1=+5 to hit for 2d6+3+3+1
Ranged: Magic Missile
Equipment: +1 enchantment on sword.
Sorcerer 3rd, +1 STR, Grease, Identify, +1 HP (FavClass)
HP: 24+4+1+1+1=31
Melee: +2+4+1+1-1=+7 to hit for 2d6+6+3+1
Ranged: Magic Missile x2
Equipment: +2 STR Belt (first big purchase)
Sorcerer 4th, Scorching Ray, Still Spell, Expeditious Retreat (FavClass),
HP: 31+4+1+1=37
Melee: +3+4+1+1-1=+8 to hit for 2d6+6+3+1
Ranged: Magic Missile x2, or Scorching Ray at 3+2=+5 vs Touch AC
Equipment: Mithral Breastplate, possibly +1.
Sorcerer 5th, Resist Energy (10 min/level buff), Invisibility, Ray of Sickening (Favored Class), True Strike (No ASF)
HP: 37+4+1+1=43
Melee: +3+4+1+1-1=+8 to hit for 2d6+6+3+1
Ranged: Magic Missile x3, or Scorching Ray at 3+2=+5 vs Touch AC
Equipment: Enchant bonded item as Ring of Spell Storing (lets me use up 3 of my 1st level spells by pre-casting them.) 9,000 GP because this is the only item enchantment allowed in PFS rules.
Sorcerer 6th, Feat (Toppling Spell?), Haste, Stone Call (Favored Class),
HP: 43+4+1+1=49
Melee: +4+4+1+1-2=+8 to hit for 2d6+6+6+1.
Ranged: Magic Missile x3, or Scorching Ray at 4+2=+6 vs Touch AC
Equipment: +2 CHA circlet, Robe of Eldritch Heritage.
Eldritch Knight 1: +1 CON, Arcane Strike,
Melee: +5+4+1+2-2=+9 to hit for 2d6+6+6+2+2.
Ranged: Magic Missile x4, or Scorching Ray x2 at 5+3=+8 vs Touch AC
Equipment: Improve STR belt to STR+CON belt; improve sword to +2.
Eldritch Knight 2: Vital Strike. Lightning Bolt, Create Pit, Ray of Enfeeblement
Melee: +6+4+1+2-2=+11 to hit for 4d6+6+6+2+2, or +11/+6 to hit for 2d6+6+6+2+2
Ranged: Magic Missile x4, or Scorching Ray x2 at 6+3=+9 vs Touch AC
Equipment: Sash of the War Champion, Mithral Full Plate +1 or +2
Eldritch Knight 3: Cantrip, Black Tentacles.
Melee: +7+4+1+3-2=+13 to hit for 4d6+6+6+3+2, or +13/+8 to hit for 1d10+6+6+4
Ranged: Magic Missile x5, or Scorching Ray x2 at 7+3=+10 vs Touch AC, or 9d6 Still Lightning Bolt at a save DC of 10+3+5+1=19
Equipment: Enchant sword to +3, +4 CHA circlet.
Eldritch Knight 4: Empower Spell, Protection From Arrows, Fly, Summon Monster IV,
Melee: +8+4+1+4-3=+14 to hit for 4d6+6+9+4+3, or +14/+9 to hit for 2d6+6+9+4+3.
Ranged: Magic Missile x5, or Scorching Ray x2 at 8+3=+11 vs Touch AC, or 10d6 Still Lightning Bolt at a save DC of 10+3+5+1=19
Equipment: Enchant sword to +4.
Eldritch Knight 5: +1 CHA, Weapon Spec: Bastard Sword. Stoneskin, Communal,
Melee: +9+4+1+5-3=+16 to hit for 2d10+6+9+5+3+2, or +16/+11 to hit for 1d10+6+9+5+3+2.
Ranged: Still Magic Missile x5, or Still Empowered Scorching Ray x3 at 9+3=+12 vs Touch AC, or 10d6 Still Lightning Bolt at a save DC of 10+3+6+1=20
Equipment: Manual for +1 CHA. +3 CHA if possible.
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NECRO!
I'm more certain than I was before that an Eldritch Knight will be my next character, so I'm revisiting the idea. It'll be Fighter1 for the martial part, and a Foresight wizard for the spells (I love the "win initiative, act in every surprise round, cast Shield" plan.)
I can't decide on stats, though. A good AC will be important at early levels, and CON will be important due to a few low hit dice from the wizard levels, and I don't want to be impotent with melee damage either...
Basically, I can't decide if I should go the Finesse route (better to-hit and AC, less MAD; but really low damage until I get an Agile weapon at 5th or 6th level) or the MAD route (STR to hit, meaning lower DEX/AC and/or CON and/or INT).
Human
STR 18 (16+2)
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 13
WIS 11
CHA 07
Human
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 13
INT 13
WIS 11
CHA 07
Human
STR 16 (14+2)
DEX 16
CON 12
INT 13
WIS 10
CHA 10
Human
STR 10
DEX 18 (16+2)
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 10
Thoughts?
I like this one:
Human
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 13
INT 13
WIS 11
CHA 07
But I'd rather have a 14 INT coming out of the gate, personally. I'm presumming you'll be going Wizard at 2nd level? Arcane Strike might help make up for some of the lesser damage if you have a spare feat, but if you're going Fighter at level 1, you won't be able to get it until level 3.
You could also probably drop Wis to a 10 and bring your Cha up out of the Abyss, as your Wizard levels will afford you a decent enough will save on their own. =P
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I like this one:
Human
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 13
INT 13
WIS 11
CHA 07But I'd rather have a 14 INT coming out of the gate, personally. I'm presumming you'll be going Wizard at 2nd level? Arcane Strike might help make up for some of the lesser damage if you have a spare feat, but if you're going Fighter at level 1, you won't be able to get it until level 3.
You could also probably drop Wis to a 10 and bring your Cha up out of the Abyss, as your Wizard levels will afford you a decent enough will save on their own. =P
I kind of like this one too, except...
I have 3 level-based stat bumps (4th, 8th, and 12th - and 12th doesn't really count), and 4 odd-numbered stats. :P
I could take WIS down to 10 (though note that taking CHA up to 8 from 7 will cost two points, not one). Come to think of it, if I really wanted to avoid allegations of min-maxing, I could make the following adjustments:
STR 16 (14+2)
DEX 16
CON 13
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 10
Level 4 stat bump goes to CON, and sometime before 6th level I pick up an INT headband. (And at some point, probably a STR belt.)
I was planning on Arcane Strike at 3rd (high damage is less important at the first couple of levels anyway).
What do you think of that?
I think this is as close to ideal as you can get. I like it a lot. Personally though, I'd drop Dex to 15 and bump Int to 14, but yeah I think what you have here is super good.
Now I just need to pick a cool Eastern one-handed martial weapon (gonna be a Tien character).
I've always liked the Temple sword - I just think they're neat.
Also, Tinalles says a lot of very good things about having a high dex. I would rather have some extra spell slots down the line and get hit in the face a little more often in exchange, but that's more a play style preference than anything.
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DEX does do a lot of things for me, but it also costs me a feat (Weapon Finesse) and about five levels worth of sucking in combat.
I think I might go with something like this:
Human (Tien)
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 07
Human bonus feat: Toughness
Traits: Reactionary (+2 Init),
01:Fighter1[Bonus feat:Dodge], Improved Initiative
02:Wizard1[Foresight Subschool][Prescience 4/day][Forewarned +1]
03:Wizard2, Arcane Strike
04:Wizard3[2nd level spells][STR+1=18]
05:Wizard4, Arcane Armor Training
06:Wizard5[3rd level spells][Bonus feat:???]
07:EldritchKnight1[Bonus feat:Weapon Focus], FEAT
At 9th (EK3) I pick up Weapon Specialization.
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...with a spring-loaded wrist sheath containing a wand of shield. Since I always act in the surprise round and have a +10 initiative, I start each fight by popping out the wand and bumping my AC to 22.
Or if I'm feeling really nerdy, I can instead pop out the wand and ready an action to activate when I get attacked and yell "PROTEGO!"
This is really solid, Jiggy. Good work!
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I can't decide on stats, though. A good AC will be important at early levels, and CON will be important due to a few low hit dice from the wizard levels, and I don't want to be impotent with melee damage either...
A spellstoring weapon makes any nerdy twerp formidable in terms of damage-per-hit (DPR is another matter). (Bonus: you don't "lose" the stored spell if you miss.)
Surviving the backlash is the tricky part; and what I would frankly be worried about most in module play (particularly in a cleric-scarce region).
With such a low INT, you're relegated exclusively to buff and utility spells (since opponents will make their saves against damaging spells other than Magic Missile). Basically you're a "fighter" who trades attack bonus and durability (in the form of diminished BAB and lower hitpoints) in order to buff without spending cash on consumables (but this is being offset by having to park dough in an INT headband to even be able to cast 3rd-level spells).
Built thus, the new PC will be essentially mirroring Cledwyn's current role as a melee, but doing so in a more complicated manner with IMO reduced results. With the 7 CHA, I worry you'll become annoyed if you find yourself becoming outclassed both in and out of melee (i.e., relative to a bard).
= = = = =
Have you considered making an archer mage? Swap INT and STR, and go to town.
= = = = =
Pre-racial 15,14,14,14,12,07 is my favorite 20pt array, as it's very dense in positive bonuses; see if you can make something with it.
E.g, Elven artillery (could be played as a straight wizard):
STR:14
DEX+16
CON-12
INT+17
WIS:12
CHA:07 (swap STR and CHA for no-bow pure caster & social)
= = = = =
Anyone else remember the Enlightened Fist prestige class from 3rd edition's Complete Arcane?
Now there was a kick-ass melee arcanist fresh out of bubblegum.
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= = = = =
Have you considered making an archer mage? Swap INT and STR, and go to town.
= = = = =
What? Like me?
I took Wizard 1st to get the free Composite Longbow +2 Str, and with Gravity Bow spell provide great missile cover.
At 4th Level I take my Dex to 19, at 5th my Physical Enhancement becomes +2 taking my Dex to 20.
Feats- 1st Precise Shot, 3rd Point Blank, 5th Focused Shot.
6th level- switch to Ranger and get bonus vs Humans.
7th EK
That's the plan, anyway. :-)
DEX does do a lot of things for me, but it also costs me a feat (Weapon Finesse) and about five levels worth of sucking in combat.
I think I might go with something like this:
Human (Tien)
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 07Human bonus feat: Toughness
Traits: Reactionary (+2 Init),01:Fighter1[Bonus feat:Dodge], Improved Initiative
02:Wizard1[Foresight Subschool][Prescience 4/day][Forewarned +1]
03:Wizard2, Arcane Strike
04:Wizard3[2nd level spells][STR+1=18]
05:Wizard4, Arcane Armor Training
06:Wizard5[3rd level spells][Bonus feat:???]
07:EldritchKnight1[Bonus feat:Weapon Focus], FEAT
At 9th (EK3) I pick up Weapon Specialization.
This is just my personal opinion, but I would not go with stats like that for an EK. Having such a low Int really means you will not be casting any offensive spells, just buffs. And dependency on a headband to actually cast your later spells is a huge weakness IMO.
I think it might be more efficient for you to just pick arcane archer and simply not go for the archery route. You only need the feats, which are easy to come by, can take 6 levels of fighter/ranger/..., 1 level of wizard, and there you go with your progression. This way you could keep your Int rather low (as stated not THAT low as you made it), have a decent progression and be much better at actually fighting.
If you went for archery you would be really great of course, but you seem to aim for melee :-)
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Hmm... Some good thoughts on the low INT...
Okay, here's my thinking. I've not actually played a wizard or sorcerer before, but I know with druids and clerics you can get by as a no-save offensive caster. For instance, my druid (14 WIS) uses frostbite, produce flame, flame blade, stone call, etc.
I guess I just assumed I'd be able to do the same here, but I'm not actually that familiar with the spell list.
What are some good offensive sorc/wizard spells that don't grant saves? I know there's magic missile and scorching ray, so surely there are others... right?
Right?
shocking grasp - that spell seems to be the magus' bread and butter, I imagine it'd be pretty useful for an EK too.
An EK can buy a spellstoring sword though. Puts Shocking Grasp right back into action. It's equivalent to 5 hits with a shocking sword, pretty decent.
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Why all the talk about Spellstrike? The only difference between spellstrike and normal touch spells is your odds of hitting and an extra damage die. I could still cast-move-touch without spellstrike or a spellstoring weapon.
Even so, I'm starting to see an appeal to a 14 INT. Considering PFS wizards get Spell Focus as a bonus feat, that puts my DCs at 13+lvl for one school. Not astronomical, but at least outside the "don't even bother" range.
Also:
Built thus, the new PC will be essentially mirroring Cledwyn's current role as a melee, but doing so in a more complicated manner with IMO reduced results.
That's kind of a good point. And the idea that my Eldritch Knight would have lower INT than Cledwyn (my fighter) is a little embarassing.
Let's try this little tweak:
STR 16 (14+2)
DEX 16
CON 12
INT 15
WIS 10
CHA 07
So instead of hitting 18 STR at level 4 and then getting an INT headband at 5th(ish), I reverse it: hit 16 INT at 4th and get a STR belt at 5th(ish). I still have 18 STR by mid levels, I have higher INT (opening up blasting or SoS spells), and lose only a little bit of HP.
At 2nd level, I'm looking at the same "wand of shield in every surprise round for AC 22" plan as before, I'm +5 to hit with a masterwork longsword for 1d8+3... really, it's pretty much the same plan as a few posts up, but with a better selection of viable spells.
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Just occurred to me that I could do Dervish Dance, if I wanted to blow two feats.
That would mean no Toughness (I'd have ImpInit, Finesse, and DDance by level 2) and also taking Fighter1 at 2nd instead of 1st. So my HP would be a bit lower...
Hm, the above build would give me 20 HP at level 2.
I could get 17 at 2nd with the following build:
STR 12
DEX 18 (16+2)
CON 15
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 07
Level 3 would be 25 vs 23. After that, I'd be bumping CON to 16, leaving me with 32 vs 33 in favor of this build, and going up from there.
I'd have the same AC, 1 point higher Initiative, 2 points higher Fort, worse Climb and Swim, would consider an INT headband but wouldn't need a STR belt...
Tempting. On the other hand, it just feels so... done.
Thoughts?
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At 2nd level, I'm looking at the same "wand of shield in every surprise round for AC 22" plan as before
I didn't bring it up earlier, but I really hate seeing casters -- especially those who have a built-in sure drop on the enemy nearly all the time -- wasting (yes, that's the word, and I'm sticking to it) their favorable initiative to pop off a self-only defensive buff.
It's literally the least productive cooperative thing such a class can do, aside from nothing at all.
Living Greyhawk mods were chock-full of nastiness, like ambushing APL3-4 parties with a half-dozen raging orcs and an ogre as a fourth encounter as the half-dead PCs were dragging themselves ashore after a just-concluded exhausting underwater combat. If you can cast Sleep or Colorspray, you WILL pop the AoE spell -- or see one or more of your buddies and/or yourself taken down.
(I'm reminded of David's SoS gnome sorcerer, who basically doesn't have any armor class; he simply avoids/evades melee, and hides behind cover or goes invisible if subject to ranged attacks.)