My hunt to find the right type of enchanter/trickster has led me to rolling a 'Sandman' bard. I see him getting higher enchantment DCs than most Sorcerers (while stealthed) with all the fun skills to influence and play with the newly enthralled.
After searching the boards though, I still have a couple questions about this archetype:
1)Does the "Master of Deception" class feature truly make him the master of deception or do other classes have him beat at bluff, stealth, and sleight of hand? As it looks with those being class skills, a high cha/dex bard would have a pretty insane skill bonus on them that would be hard to beat.
Also, it mentions the ability to disable magical devices, but is it still not a class skill? And if it's not, is there any way to make it a class skill through the rules?
2)If you wanted to make him a great enchanter and thief, what feats would you suggest?
Thanks for any and all advice fellas!
Ryzn
1. He has an advantage, but if this class and another class focus on these things equally the sandman should come out ahead every time.
At level 10 all skills become class skills due to the "Jack of all Trades" ability.
By the time you get to level 6 your bonus cancels out the fact that it is not a class skill. You can also take skill focus(disable device) if you don't want to wait to get the same bonus.
2. Even while stealth he won't have a higher DC than a sorcerer with the same spell unless the spell is a considered a higher spell level for the bard, and the bard puts a lot of emphasis on charisma. Unlike a full caster a bard has to spread ability points around more.
As for being a thief I would probably focus on the Steal combat maneuver, bluff, diplomacy , and sense motive. In short I would make him a conman. The glib spell is your friend. So are the persuasive, and skill focus feats.
Spell focus(enchantment) also helps, but many enemies at higher levels are very resistant or immune to the enchantment school.
Traits exist to make any skill a class skill.