I am not trying to talk you out of your build, I´m just pointing out the problems that I see with your build.I think thats what you want us to do.
If you like post a complete build with ability scores at a level when your build comes to maturity.This will be fairly late in the game,I suggest level 15. I think when you figure in ability scores you will see the weaknesses of your build more clearly.
If we have a full build we can do the math and see just how much damage you can expect from that build and what its to-hit scores are.
IMO it is pointless to make a full build for a high level character as there are too many assumptions that are being made. There are some things that are safe to assume but there is no way to know how much access the character is going to have to get the magic items they want. Ability scores, sure. Those simply come with leveling and if you assume that the character will not be dieing along the way then you can build based on that.
That being said I don't think it is an issue to make a few assumptions. Like, perhaps that the character will have access to a couple of +4 stat boost items by that level or a +3 weapon and +4 armor. But going much beyond that is kinda tough as it more depends on what happens in game.
But your right on needing to post up some ability scores. I should do that. Alright, here goes. This is the current build working in the 4th level of Monk for the Ki Pool and the stats with 20 point buy:
1 - Ninja 1: Poison Use, Sneak Attack 1d6, Two Weapon Fighting (1st), Combat Reflexes (Human)
2 - Flowing Monk 1: Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike, Redirection, Weapon Finesse (bonus)
3 - Flowing Monk 2: Unbalancing Counter, Evasion, Improved Trip (3rd)
4 - Ninja 2: Ki Pool, Ninja Trick: Vanishing Trick
5 - Flowing Monk 3: Flowing Dodge, Maneuver Training, Still Mind, Endurance (5th)
6 - Ninja 3: No Trace, Sneak Attack 2d6
7 - Flowing Monk 4: Ki Pool (magic), Slow Fall 20ft., Mobility (7th)
8 - Horizon Walker 1: Favored Terrain: Urban
9 - Horizon Walker 2: Favored Terrain: Forest, Terrain Mastery: Underground (Blindfight as bonus feat), Dimensional Agility (9th)
10 - Horizon Walker 3: Terrain Dominance: Astral Plane (+1 attack/damage vs. outsiders, Dimension Door 3+Wis/day)
11 - Shadowdancer 1: Hide in Plain Sight, Dimensional Assault (11th)
12 - Shadowdancer 2: Darkvision, Uncanny Dodge
13 - Shadowdancer 3: Rogue Talent: Combat Trick: Greater Trip, Shadow Illusion, Summon Shadow, Dimensional Dervish (13th)
14 - Shadowdancer 4: Shadowcall, Shadow jump 40ft.
15 - Shadowdancer 5: Defensive Roll, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Dimensional Savant (15th)
16 - Shadowdancer 6: Rogue Talent: Shadow Clone, Shadow jump 80ft.
17 - Shadowdancer 7: Slippery Mind, Improved TWF (17th)
18 - Shadowdancer 8: Shadow Jump 160ft., Shadow Power
19 - Shadowdancer 9: Rogue Talent: Sudden Disguise, Dimensional Maneuvers (19th)
20 - Shadowdancer 10: Improved Evasion, Shadow jump 320ft., Shadow Master
With 20 point buy:
Str 10
Dex 15
Con 12
Int 8
Wis 17
Cha 10
Possible changes could include to drop Vanishing Trick in favor of an earlier combat trick to get Mobility earlier. That would free up the 7th level feat. The issue is that it would be too early to get ITWF as the character doesn't have +6 BAB by that level. Same with Greater Trip. And she also wouldn't meet the requirements for any of the Dimensional feats. So, really... there is nothing to take there anyway. Although I guess there is Fury's Fall. Hm. I dunno, I really like Vanishing Trick. It might depend on what kind of equipment I have access to at that level.
Alright. Now I believe proper etiquette follows the addage, "I showed you mine, now you show me yours." ;)
Well, of course you are right:)
You can´t know for sure what your character is going to look like exactly at a higher level.What you can do however is, make a "best case scenario" like "I am not going to do much better than that".
So, with a starting dex of 15 a Level based dex increase to 16 and a +4 belt as well as a +1 agile kusarigama you would be looking at an average damage at level 10 of:
Damage Per hit: 3-from dex 15+1level +2 from +4 belt +1 from weapon enhancement +2d6sneak(3,5average per d6) + d6/d3 weapon damage
= 3+2+1+2x3,5+3,5mainhand/or 2offhand
Thats 16,5 average damage on your main attacks while sneak attacking or 15 on off-hand attacks
Without sneak attack its only 9,5 for main hand/ 8 for off-hand,.... thats meagre indeed
But lets see your to-hit scores
The average Monster AC at CR10 is 24 you can look average AC´s up under Monster Creation in the CRB or the PFSRD
So, against AC 24 your to-hit at Level 10 would be:
3-dex +2-+4 belt +1-Weapon +8 BAB -2 TWF
= 12...really? To-Hit Chance =50%
On your second iterative attack: 12-5=7To-Hit Chance=29%
So, on a full attack with sneak attack and a flatfooted opponent(and you can´t always expect that) you could expect:
Lets say a flatfooted AC of 20:
0,5x16,5+ crit chance(0,5x0,05)x16,5=8,25+0,4125=8,6625
+0,5x15+crit chance(0,5x0,05)x15=7,5+0,375=7,875
+0,29x16,5+crit chance(0,29x0,05)x16,5=4,785+0,23925=5,02425
Average Damage on a full attack=8,6625+7,875+5,02425=21,56175
Thats not very intimidating:)
OMG:O
I´ve just seen that I have calculated DPR against AC 24
altough I wanted to use the flatfooted AC of 20.
F*#k it I´m not gonna do it again now, and you get the point;)
Things I noted: You need to get higher damage on single attacks,I strongly suggest to switch the stats wis and dex, start with higher dex and drop the rest into wis.You don´t have the points free to get 13 strenght so power attack is out, but if you drop the Kusarigama and take two light weapons instead(best would be Wakizashis) then you can take Piranha Strike. You also need Weapon Focus.Definitely Weapon Focus.
Also, try to get Improved TWF earlier thats a Vital Feat for this build
Hope this helped
I do get your point, Sleet Storm, but you failed to "show me yours". As in I wanted to see what the build you had in mind was capable of compairing to what I had in mind.
Also, while all your numbers seem accurate (with the exception you pointed out) there is another mechanic that is not encorperated within your numbers: AoOs. And that is a BIG part of my build. The character can potentially sneak attack on every AoO. Even if it isn't a sneak attack it could be a trip if they aren't already on the ground. If they ARE on the ground then that is another -4 to AC against her melee attacks. If they are on the ground AND provoke an AoO and fail the save against Unbalancing Counter then they are at -4 and flat footed. If they are charging or power attacking then she gets a bonus to CMD to trip them making it far more likely they will go down. At level 13 trips provoke another AoO with a chance at them being flat footed for another sneak attack.
As you can see these variables quickly make your calculations invalid. It is true that these are all situational variables but they are situations that will come about often because of the mechanics of the build. You are right that in straight up attack bonuses the build is lacking. However, I think it makes up for it with all of the situational variables that it forces enemies to make.
Oh, and the weapons would likely be +1 Guided (rather than Agile) Dueling. That gives another +Wis to hit/damage and +2 to CMB for Trip attacks. The Kusarigama - being a double weapon - also counts as two light weapons. I realize that Wakizashis do more base damage with a higher crit but they don't fit the bill for this build as they lack reach, are not a trip weapon and are not a monk weapon.
While I agree that I'd really like to get ITWF earlier I don't see where I could afford to fit it in at. Also, I really do not think Weapon Focus is worth it. Ever. Except when it is a requirement for a PrC or feat chain that you are going for. +5% to hit is a waste of a feat IMO.
But what can your Magus build do? I'm curious.
Reading my Post again I´m feeling very silly.I just recognized that I messed up the to-hit chances.
I not sure what I was thinking,but it seems that I just substracted your to-hit from the AC score and took that as a basis! Thats of course totally stupid and wrong:) You only add a d20 to your to hit, and you need a 12 on that roll for the attacks at your highest BAB, and a 17 for your iterative attack.The correct numbers are:
To-Hit Highest BAB: 40%
To-Hit iterative : 12,5%
That drops your DPR on a full attack to a shockingly low
15,395625....my Grandma can do more Damage with a rolled up newspaper;)
Just wanted to correct that real quick.I will roll up a magus build later, I´m not sure what to expect exactly (never done a spellblade before) but it will blow this out of the water.
Also, I really do not think Weapon Focus is worth it. Ever. Except when it is a requirement for a PrC or feat chain that you are going for. +5% to hit is a waste of a feat IMO.
While this might be a good arguement for a full BAB character, it is very much "worth it" for a 3/4 BAB character with few options to increase his to hit ratings. 5% to hit turns into much more than an extra 5% damage.
So here we go with the Spellblade build
I will only write it up to Level 10 because I am lazy:P
Level1:TWF,Double Slice
Level3:Weapon Focus(Dagger)
Level5:Power Attack,Extra Arcane Pool
Level7:Extra Arcane Pool
Level9:ITWF
20 Point Buy
Str16+2Human+4Belt,Dex15+2level,Con12,Int14+4Headband,Wis10,Cha7
Relevant Gear:+4Belt,+4Headband,+3Dagger
Magus Arcana:Arcane Accuracy,Hasted Assault,Spell Blending(Heroism)
So using Heroism,Hasted Assault,And Arcane Weapon Enchantments to get two +5keen Weapons,Haste and +2 To-Hit your full attack would look like this
DPR:
Single Hit:17,5=2,5weapon+5enhancement+4powerattack+6strenght
To-Hit:18=7BAB+6strenght+1weaponfocus+5enhancement+1haste+2heroism-2TWF-2po werattack
To-Hit Chance:70%
iteratives:To-Hit:13 To-Hit Chance45%
Full Round Attack:
0,70x17,5+critchance(0,70x0,2)x17,5=14,7
0,45x17,5+critchance(0,45x0,2)x17,5=9,45
14,7x3+9,45x2=62,4
Thats more like it :) ,still way behind the regular Magus with Spellstrike tough.But if you spend a Arcane Pool Point and use Arcane Accuracy your DPR shoots up to 84,00.
Now I have to admit that action economy is the achilles heel of this build and its the reason why I never played a Spellblade. Its a little clumsy with all those swift actions.The regular Magus does more Damage and is more straightforward in play, but its your choice.
Ok, so your build is pure Spellblade? No Shadowdancer at all? I'm definately not seeing the ninja feel here at all. And dagger? Really?
I think if you bear in mind the things I listed in my last comment that you will find she will be hitting about as often as your build. And while she isn't a crit machine she will be getting sneak attacks often due to AoOs. Especially with her weapon(s) being guided and dueling.
Again, though... personally I would prefer to not even go the trip route and focus instead on just using some kind of blades (likely wakizashis) and tearing apart her opponent in a way that I expressed in my original post. The problem is that the build doesn't come into it's primary ability until late in the game as the Dimensional feats can't kick in until she can get Dimension Door. So there isn't a lot to spend feats on before then.
Remember also that you cannot get Terrain Mastery unless you have Terrain Mastery from that same terrain. Just the way it works, I am afraid.
Here is my idea:
Rogue (bandit/knife master)6, Horizon Walker 3, Rogue 11
1 Rogue 1 TWF, Skill Focus: Stealth
2 Rogue 2 Minor Magic: Ghost Sound
3 Rogue 3 Eldrich Heritage: Shadow Bloodline: Shadow Strike
4 Rogue 4 Major Magic: Vanish
5 Rogue 5 Endurance
6 Rogue 6 Rogue Talent, Underhanded
7 HW 1 Extra Rogue Talent: Ninja Trick, Pressure Points
8 HW 2
9 HW 3 Dimensional Agility
10 Rogue 7
11 Dimensional Assault, Rogue Talent, Weapon Trick: Improved TWF
12 Rogue 9
13 Dimensional Dervish, Advanced Rogue Talent, Feat: Improved Eldrich Heritage: Shadow Bloodline: Shadow Well (HiPS)
14 Rogue 11
15 Rogue 12 Dimensional Savant, Advanced Rogue Talent, Dispelling Attack
The idea is that you take Bandit for the ability to do full attacks in the Surprise round (which Ninjas cannot do), Knife Master for the extra Damage dice (which Ninjas cannot do), that will really add up later, especially when getting max damage dice with underhanded. You will be using Daggers most likely, but the difference between the damage dice is evened out nicely by d8 sneak attack.
Put a Spring Loaded Wrist Sheath on one arm to take advantage of Underhanded. Also, get Darkvision goggles as soon as you can. As for weapons, Go with +1 Guided daggers of Speed. The speed enhancement on each dagger allows you to make an extra attack with each dagger.
I went with the Minor and Major Magic Rogue Talents instead of a Ki pool and Vanishing Trick because I like the idea of Dispelling Strike and Familiar at higher levels. You don't have to do this, the Ki Pool and Vanishing trick will actually give you more vanishings per day and open up Shadow Clones instead, which is a viable way to go.
At level 15: you have a BAB of +12, Sneak Attack +6d8, Hide in Plain Sight, 7 attacks a round (if you got daggers of Speed) and Dimensional Savant (for flanking with oneself).
Personally, if I were to try and create a "shadowy teleporter of death" I would create a Synthesist Summoner who can get the Dimensional Agility chain started by 7th level (he gets the spell as a spell-like ability once per day at 6th level and can add it to his spell list by 7th) and then dip into Ninja as much as I wanted thereafter or even start as a 1st level ninja and then take at least 6 levels of Summoner thereby getting the Dimentional Agility feat by 7th level. Since the Summoner "wears" the eidolon, I would describe the eidolon as a living cloak of shadows that feeds off of my character's dark emotions and then focus on getting eidolon evolutions that support that flavor. Hmmm... I think I just came up with my next Pathfinder Society character.
Charisma is relatively important to both classes so it won't feel like a waste to invest in it just for the ninja goodies and Dexterity retains its importance. Sneak Attack is significantly lessened across 20 levels of play, but not much more than the builds already presented here. Also, I can take evolutions like claw, improved damage, pounce, rend, reach, blindsense, blindsight, see in darkness, web, frightful presence, dimension door, incorporeal form, and large. I think those and other evolutions could support the flavor quite well.
Oterisk: I like your build. It is definately another way to go about it and gives the same feel. If I did it that way I would definately go with Ki Pool and Vanishing Trick with Shadow Clones later.
The eldrich heritage is interesting. It does get rid of the need for Shadowdancer for Hide in Plain Sight. That is, however, not even the largest reason I wanted to go for that PrC. I wanted it mostly for the Shadowjump but many of the other abilities are excellent for it as well. I guess the only issue that I have with your build is that the only way that it can gain use of the dimensional agility line of feats is by the horizon walker's ability. It just seems rather limiting and I would prefer to have more options at my dispossal. That is something that Shadowdancer grants.
I could, however, go with the first 9 levels of your build including the eldrich heritage line of feats. Most of what that grants stacks with those of Shadowdancer and where it doesn't they overlap. All of the abilities are very much in theme as well. Also it would allow me to get away from the whole trip happy thing which wasn't really going to be a major focus of the build.
I'll have to think on this....
Ashanderai: While I realize that a Synthesist Summoner can do most things better than other classes it is for this reason that I don't like it. I don't deny that it is effective and I can even appreciate the explanation of it being a symbiotic entity much akin to Spawn's cape. I just don't really like the archetype because I don't think it should have ever been developed. I don't mean any of this to be directed towards you and it is a good idea and would likely make an effective build. Its just not the build I'd like to go with here. I hope you understand and thank you for your post.
Actually I was just taking a look and Ninja can take the bandit archetype. They could also take the Scout archetype which seems like it might fight better. I don't deny that the ability to make a full attack in the surprise round is good, although I think it works better for archer type characters. In the character's earlier career they wouldn't have access to a dimension door ability yet to put them in place to take advantage of the full attack. Once they do get the ability to dimension door it seems more important to make the first attack in the first regular round be sneak attack and use the first turn to setup shadow clones or similar abilities.
There is still an arguement for being able to dim door in on the surprise round and do a bunch of damage and then get to go again during the first normal turn and do the same thing, though. I DO see the benefit. I'm just thinking that Scout would help the character out more when she needs it in the early levels and then still be viable in the later levels as well.
Sadly ninja can't take knife master as they don't have trapfinding to give up. However, I think they more than make up for it by having Wakizashi proficiency at first level.
Basically, though, it seems to me that ninja would do everything that your build does within the first 9 levels but do it better with the exception of trapfinding. I don't care about trapfinding.
Having some troubles with adapting your build, Oterisk. I guess I didn't realize that it was so Charisma dependant. Charisma is a weak stat for most of the things that the build does but it is needed for both the eldritch heritage as a requirement to get those feats and for the ki pool. I could take some levels of monk to use Wis for Ki pool instead and probably end up with a better AC but then it would be a very MAD build. It would probably be better to leave Monk out but getting 3 bonus feats (1 from weapon adept) is very appealing. I could leave out the eldrich heritage feats though, I suppose. Hm.
I'm going to have to think on this some more.
Oh, another problem is that if I take the monk levels then it delays ninja or rogue 4 which is needed for the first archetype abilities. I could delay the other PrCs by 1 level but it is painful to do so as those PrCs are needed for their class abilities for the build to do what it is supposed to.
I knew you wouldn't care about trapfinding, that's why I switched it for Knife Master, which is a good archetype. By level 15, you are doing 6d8 SA damage where a full ninja would be doing 8d6 SA Damage. So by then, you aren't hurt a bit by the three level dip into Horizon Walker. If you actually play to level 20, you have more sneak attack damage than any Ninja, as 9d8 is better than 10d6. The Underhanded Rogue Talent makes it even better when you pull it off.
Does it make up for the Wakizashi? I think so. But that's just my opinion. Because you need to rely on sneak attack for competitive damage, crit ranges and base weapon damages aren't as important. But I can understand if you want to take it for flavor purposes.
I suppose other GM's would allow the Ninja to take Rogue Archetypes, but mine won't. Considering how hard you are working on this concept, I'm glad yours will.
In my mind, relying on Horizon Walker isn't a terrible option, especially if you pump your wisdom pretty high. With a +4 headband, a character starting with a 16 wisdom could easily get to a 10 times per day. This might be enough for me. There are other ways to get Sneak attack damage. This kind of trick puts you in flanking position with other characters. You might need to do it maybe twice an encounter. A normal adventuring workday of 4 encounters gets you through with 2 left over for utility.
I'm overall glad you like some of my ideas, as you seemed pretty unhappy with the other builds. Keep pondering it and I am sure you can come up with something you like.
Well, I do like it in concept but it just seems difficult to work a melee character in with needing a high Wis and Cha score. I mean, any melee character can benefit from having a high Str, Dex and Con including this build. I'm interested in how you would prioritize stats for a 20 point buy for this build.
I'm assuming Str would no longer be a priority and honestly it can afford to have a low Int as well. But with Wis and Cha being a priority for this where does that leave your Con and Dex? Dex needs to be high to qualify for TWF feats and no melee build will want to tank Con. Cha needs to be high to qualify for the Eldritch Heritage feats and for Ki Pool but Wis is still important to fuel the Dimension Doors which are pivotal to the build.
Needing a high Wis makes Monk very appealing but I'm not sure it can be fit in to any significant degree. It also seems like it would help to boost AC in a character that is only allowed light armor otherwise and already is suffering from MAD so as to take advantage of a Wis that otherwise would only power a single per day class ability.
Lets say I was interested in changing the following things in your build (admittadely mostly for flavor purposes):
Ninja rather than rogue, so no knife fighter
Wakizashis rather than daggers, so no knife fighter
Due to no knife fighter Scout seems better
Add Monk in somewhere to take advantage of high Wis, pick up some bonus feats and all good saves (2 levels is preferable to 1 for more bonus feats and weapon focus from weapon adept)
Using Shadowdancer after Horizon Walker (I realize this sacrifices SA progression but I love the class abilities it grants for this build)
How would you change your build to accomidate these changes? In other words I am willing to sacrifice some effectiveness for flavor here and realize some of my decisions will make this happen.
Ashanderai: While I realize that a Synthesist Summoner can do most things better than other classes it is for this reason that I don't like it. I don't deny that it is effective and I can even appreciate the explanation of it being a symbiotic entity much akin to Spawn's cape. I just don't really like the archetype because I don't think it should have ever been developed. I don't mean any of this to be directed towards you and it is a good idea and would likely make an effective build. Its just not the build I'd like to go with here. I hope you understand and thank you for your post.
I never said or meant to imply that "...that a Synthesist Summoner can do most things better than other classes..."; mainly because I simply do not believe that. All I meant is to say how I would approach making the kind of build you were looking to make. I was just sharing my thoughts because even if you didn't like my exact idea it might lead you to thinking down a different avenue that could take you somewhere that you do like.
Oh... and spawn-like is not how I see the eidolon at all for this build concept - more like his shadow or just a barely tangible darkness that surrounds him at all times.
Here's the thing. Pathfinder rules are not near as useful for multiclassing as 3.5. In 3.5, from what I understand, multi-classing all day long was a beautiful thing. In Pathfinder, multi-classing and prestige classes are only worth it if you do what the prestige class is awesome for and it isn't far out of your useful feat path.
The more you do, the less you do.
So if you want to hand away the death part of what you wanted for the shadowy part, you can do that.
If you want to be a Ninja/Shadow Dancer, do it. Forget the Dimensional Dervish feats and just do Ninja until you qualify for Shadow Dancer, and go with that until you have to go back to Ninja at the end. If you want to do hit and run, just get Spring attack at level 7 or so (about the time you get HiPS), and since you can Stealth as part of a Move Action, Stealth in the surprise round to get into position, move, attack, stealth. Get 3d6 sneak on each hit, avoid all AoO's and full attacks because you are stealthing by, crank Acrobatics when you can't. Dump wisdom and intelligence, Pump Dex, make a showing in Con and Cha.
Your Character concept hits its stride at 7th level.
10
19
14
7
11
14
1Dodge, Weapon Finesse
2Vanishing Trick
3Mobility
4Pressure Points
5Combat Expertise
6Shadow Dancer 1, HiPS
7Spring Attack
Carry a second wakizashi for looks. You won't be using it if you move 10' before attacking every round. Don't spend feats on TWF if you don't have to. Of course you could get them after you do this build if you need to full attack, but why bother when you can basically be invisible to anyone you can stealth past. And then be actually invisible with vanishing trick if that fails.
I would take Skill focus Stealth at level 9, and go from there. A halfling is better at stealth than humans, and it is doable to make a halfling build, but mobility is down, so its not the best option.
I see what your problem is, Didn't read this thread so closely. You think Shadow jump works with dimensional agility. It does not. Here:
Shadow Jump (Su)
At 4th level, a shadowdancer gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell.
As if does not mean it is.
Dimensional Agility
Teleportation does not faze you.
Prerequisites: Ability to use the abundant step class feature or cast dimension door.
Benefit: After using abundant step or casting dimension door, you can take any actions you still have remaining on your turn. You also gain a +4 bonus on Concentration checks when casting teleportation spells.
This is very specific, you need to cast dimension door, or use abundant step. That is it.
Astral Plane: The horizon walker gains a +1 competence bonus on attack and damage rolls against outsiders. He gains dimension door as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + the character’s Wisdom modifier (caster level equal to the character’s level).
Spell-Like Abilities
Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability's use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.
A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell.
I'd format this all so it was easier to read but my keyboard is crapping out on me. Bottom line is the Horizon walkers spell like ability fulfills the dimensional agility's pre req of casting dimension door, and shadow jump does not. I know it sucks, trust me a lot of people looked back at shadow dancer in a hurry when UC came out and were disappointed by this as well. This is the only reason I did not advocate shadowdancer beyond 2. If you have a lenient Dm who is willing to wave it, more power to you.
Glutton: I disagree with your interpretation of that ruling. More importantly my DM disagrees with your interpretation so it is moot here. As far as the game that this character would be playing in is concerned Shadow Jump is the equivalent of Dimension Door for the purposes of the Dimensional Agility feat (and likely for anything else).
Lune,
I know you are trying to avoid 3.5 but have you conisdered a dip into Warlock for the at will Flee The Scene invocation? Unlimited use Dim. Door that leaves behind a illusory image of yourself. Unsure of the level you cant take it, so some research would be needed to be sure. But the class has Rogue BAB, a host of other good unlimited use power for your build and my DM house ruled it to D8 HP based on the BAB.
If the Dim door is attainable at low levels it might save you some of the extra class splashing and cut down on how many hoops you need to jump through.
Also if you come up with a nice clean concise build for this that doesnt bend too many rules I would love to see it posted...I want to make Nightcrawler soooooo bad. lol