I want to make a False Priest human 'charlatan' sorcerer. Pretends to be religious, philanders money out of people. Uses basic divine scrolls/wands and prestidigitation/illusions to convince people he's much more powerful. I plan on him being very socially powerful, taking Leadership to get myself a real combat PC, etc...
I feel overwhelmed by the options, however. His bloodline is Imperious, which is going to play into these -Moments of Greatness- that he has, where suddenly something from his ancestry hits him, and he feels overcome with nobility and power and gives these rousing speeches or powerful inspiration. I want to keep him a sorcerer, probably not going to multiclass...
He's going to be CN, despite me being sick of that alignment, because it makes the most sense for him. He's not a bad guy, and he honestly does like making people feel proud and inspired with his (deceitful) sermons, but he needs/wants the money too much to stop. He constantly begs forgiveness whenever he can. Think of him like a... like Isaac from the anime Baccano(don't hate me, I like good anime), or like Clyde of Bonnie and Clyde fame, minus the violence.
Thinking Spell Focus (Illusion) as a first feat, taking UMD traits to help with his archetype features. Any other advice on spell choice/feat builds?
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Oh ok, I was going to suggest that Razmiran Priest be your archetype but I see that d20pfsrd have renamed Razmiran Priest and that is what you're using.
I built a razmiran priest myself once and took SF: Illusion and GSF: Illusion and used a lot of shadow evocation and shadow conjuration. You don't want to dip into anything before level 9, False Channel is amazing and you want it ASAP. After that for my character I took three levels in Pathfinder Savant (Arcane Savant on d20pfrd) and then the rest in Cyphermage.
My character was a member of the Cyphermages and used the rules from Inner Sea Magic for guilds to take Eclectic/Esoteric learning to make up for the lost caster level. He also had the Sage bloodline as basing everything from Intelligence suited the character better. And half-elf for access to Paragon Surge. Ended up very flexible!
I dont want to multi too much. And I'm considering going sylvan/Boon for the mighty bro animal.
I would use the Bard class as the base - They already get a number of cleric(like) spells and massive social skills and abilities and fit right into the charlatan model. Give him oratory as a performance and he can preach up a real storm - for which ever god he follows at the moment.
The story that features as fiction in the Kingmaker AP is based on the concept :)
I agree. Bards can do this "trope" without requiring any sort of archetype or prestige class.
Bards don't need to sing :) They could take Oratory as their primary performance type - which would let them deliver stonking sermons :)
However, as you say - singing includes chanting - so a combination of the two would make a very believable false priest.
I love the False Priest archetype for sorcerers. Sorcerer's naturally high charisma (and by extension bluff and use magic device) mean that the archetype itself makes you the ultimate false priest. At level 9 you can use divine items with your own spell slots. You can do all this with NO further build investment, so consider carefully how much each additional feat or spell known you spend on it contributes to your "False Priest" persona, and takes away from your versatility as a sorcerer.
Personally, I would just take a standard sorcerer build (with a smattering of battlefield controls, utility spells, and blasts), and perhaps a few choice illusion spells.
I almost want to try bard, but at the same time, I'm still very attached to the sorcerer class... Bards can't use divine scrolls, correct?
I almost want to try bard, but at the same time, I'm still very attached to the sorcerer class... Bards can't use divine scrolls, correct?
Correct, not without Use Magic Device anyway. You would also be locked into the buff/illusion/enchantment spellcasting role. If that's what you want, Bard is great, and you get 3/4 BAB out of it too.
I feel like the Ramziran/False Priest Sorcerer archetype is the best bet. I would probably take Leadership to get a fanatical cohort for damage. Like, some crazed religious zealot who believes I'm a demi-god.
I like crazy. And with sorcerer I'd also have access to ye olde fireball and such, to supplement the illusions/field control. We'll probably have a full time mage cannon, so I don't want to compete on that level.
So, I have decided on a thing or two. I want this character to have some sort of animal helper. Potentially an animal companion from Sylvan (though I hate the idea of shrinking and growing wings) or Familiar from Arcane.
The idea is, I want a monkey who can pickpocket people in the crowd while I'm blabbing on about stuff. Are monkeys capable of doing that? Or would I have to go Sylvan to get an ape and just hope to got the ape is able to sneak around, being a gorram ape and all?
Monkeys are indeed capable of that, especially those with a relevant archetype.