Hey, guys. Mid-time player, short-time lurker, first-time poster here.
My group is playing Way of the Wicked, (please no spoilers)an evil campaign. It's a ton of fun, and we're doing pretty well. Since one or two players in our group tended towards the evil or malicious side, we decided to do an evil campaign thinking that it would be cathartic. So far it has been.
I'm playing a sorcerer named Narcissus. 20 Charisma, 8 Strength, classic sorcerer. He's extremely prideful, and focuses on using his insane Bluff check (I think it's at an 18 or 19 at level 4) in social situations. Our party consists of an Alchemist, a Fighter, a rogue (not very combat-y), a blaster sorcerer, and myself. I'm trying to make Narc (as he's known at the table) more of a buffer/debuffer/controller, and I've been choosing his spells with that in mind. I've also been trying to choose spells that have in-combat and out of combat uses. So I guess I need help choosing spells.
I've looked through all of the guides I could find on sorcerers and spell selections. Most of them focus on optimizing combat builds, and that's really not what I want to do. I'm fairly content with Magic Missile as my only blast-y spell right now. I'd like y'all's opinion on low-level buff spells and out of combat spells that could be useful. I'm also looking for advice on feats to take, advice on prestige classes, and general advice. This is my first Pathfinder caster, really.
Further info: Level 4, Human, haven't chosen my 2nd level spell yet, Rakshasa bloodline, and a very reasonable DM. We're all evil, but Narc is LE, so keep that in mind. Right now his feats are Skill Focus: Bluff, Skill Focus: Knowledge Arcana (as a prereq for Eldritch Heritage), and Eldritch Heritage, to get the bloodline bonus of the Arcane bloodline, which is a familiar. Viper, of course, to add to my Bluff skill. Only requirements are: I plan on taking Leadership at 7th level, and I'd eventually like to get an improved familiar. Probably an imp or something.
Anyway, any advice you could offer would be great, including advice on posting here, since it IS my first time, as I said. Thanks!
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Okay, first off, you don't want to be useless in combat. It'll get unpleasant real quickly. It's absolutely possible to be useful both in and out of itthough, so I'd aim for that.
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As for non-combat spells:
Well, Eagle's Splendor is a classic, and even useful in-combat if you have any spells with Save DCs.
Invisibility is absoutely wonderful out-of-combat as well (and you'll get it at 5th level from Bloodline). Alter Self and Detect Thought also both have the potential to be pretty useful.
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But frankly? You really want a 2nd level spell you can use in combat. You really do. I'm a personal fan of Glitterdust.
All your 2nd level spells after that one can be non-combat...but you really want that one combat spell just in case.
The same is true of each spell level as you acquire it.
DoctorYesNinja,
Glad to hear you're playing in Way of the Wicked and having a good time. That is very gratifying to me personally.
Having someone focused on social skills is only going to get more useful as this campaign progresses.
Invisibility is a great spell, both useful in and out of combat for a sorcerer. This is a campaign where detect thoughts could be put to great effect. And I agree that being useful in combat is never a bad thing. Hideous Laughter is a very potent 2nd level spell.
Also, I love reading actual play reports. Think about posting a very short summary of your sessions on this board.
But regardless, have fun being wicked.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
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For the social side of things I would concentrate on skills, there are four fairly underrated social skills......
Regarding skills: I agree, and grabbing those that aren't already (Diplomacy and Sense Motive) as Class skills might be worth grabbing the Cosmopolitan Feat. Or at least, I'd be tempted to go that route.
Linguistics is important. All the social skills in the world won't help if they don't understand you.
Plus, there are a lot of really useful spells like Suggestion that are language dependent. Good both in and out of combat.
If you have a good Bluff score, I also totally recommend Disguise Self. You can probably get by with a wand of it, but it's a great socially powerful option. Be everyone, gather information, establish cover identities, impersonate others...
If you're also going for controller, rather than just buff monkey, I recommend Web or Glitterdust, as your partner will be targeting Reflex saves. If you want to be more buff-based, right now, I'd third the choice of invisibility. It's always useful and gets the rogue on your side. That's a good thing in an evil campaign.
I would take the charm spells as they become available to you. Is spell focus something you are looking into down the line?
So many things to reply to!
Deadmanwalking: Yeah, I'd been thinking about picking up Scorching Ray, or somesuch as my first 2nd level. The problem with that is that the other Sorcerer (Syril) is a Efreeti bloodline focused on blasting with fire spells. And most of the strictly combat spells for 2nd are fire, with the notable exception of Acid Arrow which some people seem to hate with a passion, and some people seem to really like. To counter this, I'm considering choosing Pilfering Hand which seems to have in-combat and out of combat uses. Glitterdust has been recommended to me a few times, but Syril took Blindness/Deafness, and I really don't want to step in his bailiwick. As to Cosmopolitan, I didn't even know that feat existed! Thanks for pointing it out. It seems perfect.
8 Red Wizards: Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention a lot of details. I have access to anything Paizo, and some 3rd party, pending DM approval. I looked long and hard at Crossblooded, but I didn't think it gave minimum one spell at each spell level? That, and I can't really retcon my character to have a different archetype (probably). =\ Yeah, I have Charm Person, of course. It's probably one of the best low-level spells I can think of. How would Eagle's Splendor be useful in-combat? I know that's probably a dumb question, but it seems like it would mostly be OK for upping DC's a little bit, or social skills.
Petterco: I really like the imagery of the iron fist beneath the velvet glove, and how that describes Narc. That list of skills is excellent, and combined with Dead Man's idea of grabbing Cosmopolitan, I think you guys have really helped quite a bit. And you know? For all that I've been thinking about the character, I haven't really thought of using magical items. I guess part of it is because I have what is essentially a Hat of Disguise already, but I'll definitely look in to skill-enhancing items. I'll make sure to keep you guys informed.
Fire Mountain Games: Hey! Thanks so much for responding to this. Feels good to know that you guys watch the forums. I've gotta admit, Way of the Wicked is one of the funnest campaigns I've ever had the pleasure of playing. Invisibility is awesome, and I get it at 5th level for free because of my bloodline, which is both good and bad. Good because I get it for free, bad because I have to wait for 5th level. And I can do Detect Thoughts as a spell-like ability once a day, now, which has proved useful (though I need to do it more often). I'll definitely do a write-up of what's gone on so far as soon as I figure out where to post it. Haha.
rkraus2: Very true. Another good reason to take the cosmopolitan feat. It gives two additional languages as well as letting me add a couple of skills to the class skill list. Suggestion I also get for free at a later level. Again with the whole double-edged sword of choosing the Rakshasa bloodline. I get awesome spells that I would choose anyway for free, but I tend to get them one level later. Right now I'm getting by with my Circlet of Disguise (or whatever it's called) but I definitely do need to take disguise self eventually. Of note: I also have Vocal Alteration to help with disguising. Combine that with my bluff and I'm a fairly potent spy.
Shalafi: I am, certainly. To both. Haha.
All I can reply to right now. I keep writing responses but posts are happening faster than I can keep up with them. I hope this one isn't too long. O.o
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So many things to reply to!
It's a helpful forum. :)
Deadmanwalking: Yeah, I'd been thinking about picking up Scorching Ray, or somesuch as my first 2nd level. The problem with that is that the other Sorcerer (Syril) is a Efreeti bloodline focused on blasting with fire spells. And most of the strictly combat spells for 2nd are fire, with the notable exception of Acid Arrow which some people seem to hate with a passion, and some people seem to really like. To counter this, I'm considering choosing Pilfering Hand which seems to have in-combat and out of combat uses. Glitterdust has been recommended to me a few times, but Syril took Blindness/Deafness, and I really don't want to step in his bailiwick.
Hmmm. You really want something good that can remove foes from combat. Perhaps Create Pit? It's surprisingly funny creating pits under people, very effective, and doesn't step on your compatriots thematic toes. It's found in the APG, and seems amusing and appropriate (though the latter may just be from the Evil game I played where our Rakshasa Bloodline Sorceress abused that spell, and it's later variants, a lot).
As to Cosmopolitan, I didn't even know that feat existed! Thanks for pointing it out. It seems perfect.
You're very welcome. Always happy to be of assistance. And I love that Feat with all my being, and reccomend it to everyone I think would find it remotely useful. :)
How would Eagle's Splendor be useful in-combat? I know that's probably a dumb question, but it seems like it would mostly be OK for upping DC's a little bit, or social skills.
+2 to Save DCs on top of an existing Cha 20 is really a pretty serious combat buff, actually. It reuces their chances of success by a flat 10%, making a 50% chance only 40% and halving a 20% chance to 10%.