So I have always had a huge turn off when it came to magic. There was always too much going on and something about not having the right attention span to learn how to utilize magic properly. Some people can do it I however can not, so I turn to those who can and humbly ask for advice please break down magic for me barney style so that I may learn how to use it properly.
If you feel so inclined to go the extra step I am a Ranger who has caught an interest in the prestige class known as Arcane Archer. So the extra step is to explain how a half-elf ranger can learn Arcane magic.
Are u trying to be primarily a ranger with some arcane spellcasting/bow senaigans, or more of a limited archer that relies heavily on buffs to augment ur abilites.. the former i would suggest somthing like ranger 6/wizard or sorc. 1/arcane archer x, the latter prob ranger 2/wizard or sorc. 8/AA X, or pure caster 12 into AA.. A stronger option for an bow gish is fighter 1/wizard 5/eldritch knight 3/arcane archer 4/edritch knight X.. More detail about what u want the character to be will be needed for more advanced advice..
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OK. Rangers are part of the group of casters known as divine, which covers the healers primarily. To become an Arcane Archer u need to poses arcane magic. There is a few classes that poses arcane magic and u will need to multi class in2 1 of them to get the prestige class. Now then there is a few things to ask ur self when going after an arcane class. First, do i want to blast, (de)buff, or all of the above. Second, do i want to carry a book(s) every were i go or just know what i know. Finally, am i gonna be a primary caster or some thing else. If u want to go blasty any arcane caster class would do with exception to bard. If u want to go (de)buffer then any arcane class would do but magus. Carry book verse knowing what i know is tough decision that comes down to do i want variety and versatility, being books, or do i want a shtick that im good at and am able to do it greatly. Book casters know more spells but cant cast as many spells as those that just know.
Casting spells might i add takes certain actions to perform and periods of time depending on the spell and / or class.
Personally i get that ur going for the caster class just for prestige class which is fine. So id recommend the classes that are not learned magic but born with it. The sorcerer is 1 of the best in its respective field. When it comes to spells people will tell u to go with spells that usually are if the spell goes off they die but if they save nothing happens. I would strongly dis-advise going this right. Go with spells that always do something even on a failed save. AoE spells like fire ball is a perfect example of enemy saves but it still does 1/2 damage and on tom of that it hits a large amount of targets and with Arcane archer u can use ur bow's range instead of the spells range.
Now when it comes to caster level that means ur spell casting class level plus what ever prestige classes u have that adds to it. Example if ur a level 1 sorcerer and u have 3 levels in Arcane archer it states u get +2 to ur existing arcane class meaning u are a level 3 sorcerer for determining the effective power of ur spells and in the case of sorcerers also the amount of spells u can cast and know.
Casters are a fickle bunch and i highly advise not playing 1 unless u have some experience of the games mechanics, patcience, and a lot of time to read. Yes i said it the great 4 letter word that most people hate or think they do but they dont and that is READ. In this game literally the phrase reading is power actually has some standing ground lol. Well i hope this helped and sorry that im a crappy speller i know.
well for the sake of all the nitty gritty details lets just pretend i dont know anything about Pathfinder or DnD I never took the time outta my busy day to learn the diffrence between wizard or sorcerer to me its all potato patato
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well for the sake of all the nitty gritty details lets just pretend i dont know anything about Pathfinder or DnD I never took the time outta my busy day to learn the diffrence between wizard or sorcerer to me its all potato patato
The basic difference is a question of when you choose your spells and in what combination.
Wizards choose their spells and the combination of spells at the start of each in-game day. For this, they are allowed to change their spells.
Sorcerers choose their spells at character generation and then choose the combination of spells during the in-game day. For this, they are NOT allowed to change their spells.
Wizards learn their magic, through long hours of study.
Sorcerer's possess magical talent through the power of their blood, maybe a dragon ancestor or a fae ancestor or maybe he was born under a certain sign in a certain manger...
Mechanically, the wizard has to spend time each day studying his spell books to memorize which spells he wishes to cast that day. This lets him prepare for certain occaisons and makes him more versatile. He then casts those spells he has prepared and loses the ability to cast it that day (unless he memorized the same spell more than once). The spells available to him are learnt by capturing or purchasing other wizard's spell books, or scrolls, and the number of spells they may know is limited only by the number of pages in each spell book. To cast a spell Wizard style, one must have the intellect to understand the complexities of arcane lore - Intelligence is the key ability of the Wizard.
Sorcerer's have a set list of spells that the just know. Something in their blood gifted them the knowledge and power to be able to manifest the spells. They do not need to select spells each day, instead are able to cast any spell they know upto a set number of spells per level, per day. The number of spells they know, however, is far less than what a wizard can potentially learn. The trade off is that whle you are able to cast more spells, the pool from which to cast from is less than the wizards. The cast a spell Sorcerer style, one must have a strong sense of self and a stronger will - Charisma is the key ability of a Sorcerer.
Once cast, however, arcane magic is arcane magic, regardless of its source or method of casting. There is no mechanical difference between Magic Missle cast by a Sorcerer or a Wizard.
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Sethizar's summary is a good one.
If you are very new to casting and you are making a character from scratch, I would take levels in Sorcerer. Choosing your pool of spells once and then casting with flexibility each day as a sorcerer is easier for a novice than learning and re-preparing spells constantly as a wizard does. In this case, place your high scores in Dex and Cha. If you're already playing this character and your Intelligence is much higher than your Charisma, you'll probably want to take levels in Wizard instead.
As WerePox47 pointed out, you'll also want to decide whether you want to use a lot of offensive magic through your bow or whether you just want to use a little magic to enhance your archery ability. For the former, you'll want a lot of caster levels before taking the prestige class. For the latter, just take 1 level in caster.
Do you have someone in your group to advise you in the use of specific spells?