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Alright, i've always liked the idea of playing a caster that focuses on a single element type, such as a flame or winter oracle. However, when you run into a something that has high resistance to your element, you're boned. In 3.5 there were ways to get around this, feats you could take that would let you partially bypass it, or items. is there anything like that in pathfinder that allows you to mitigate some of the enemy resistance, like a casting version of penetrating strike? I know you can take elemental spell and change the element, i'm talking about keeping it as cold or fire and getting around resistance to that element. Thanks!
If a Witch takes the Winter Witch archetype (Reign of Winter Player's Guide [free to download] and Inner Sea Magic) _and_ the Winter Witch prestige class (Reign of Winter Player's Guide [free to download] and Paths of Prestige), then she can reduce/work around a foe's cold resistance/immunity.
You can always switch to summoning, or buffing the party.
My 3.5 fire savant had a spell he referred to as "Khalid's blazing speed", and it did plenty of damage against fireproof foes.
Or, just use the 3.5 feats, the game is backwards compatible that way.
...and this is the price you pay for optimizing in the first place.
You have made your bed. Lie in it. LIE IN IT!!
...and this is the price you pay for optimizing in the first place.
You have made your bed. Lie in it. LIE IN IT!!
This is the price paid for being a single trick pony. Optimization is a whole different ball of wax - and done correctly has no price to pay.
Like rkraus2 said, change tactics. Take some spells that deal damage other than your element, but flavor them to fit the element.
For example, describe your magic missile as icicles (or miniature fireballs or acid droplets, or lightning bolts) shooting out of your fingers.
Or...
Describe your summoned animals as being made entirely from flames (or ice, or stone or wind). There's no mechanical difference, they are not dealing elemental damage, they just fit your element.
Magic Weapon: describe it as a coating the weapon in ice or fire.
Spiritual Weapon: Describe it as a weapon composed of ice or fire.
etc...
Be creative and have fun with it.
-Aaron
Be a blaster sorcerer (elemental bloodline). Choose acid as your element. Never take any acid spells, but just substitute acid element in from your bloodline ability. Get bonuses when dealing acid damage. When acid is ineffective, just cast the spells you already know without substituting the damage type.
Change "acid" to "fire" or "cold" or "electricity" to taste.
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If you start describing whatever spells as made of fire and it then does not deal fire damage you are breaking the most important rules of the game, the one even more important than the rule 0. It's a rule that is so much given for granted than no one think of it as a rule, but is embedded into one's playing.
I'm talking about the fact that "things have to make sense". If i'm seeing a black horse made of fire I may not know that is a Nightmare, but i can use my intelligence to deduct that it's maybe a bad idea throwing fireball at him and I would be best served if I used something like Polar ray or the like.
Reflavoring is good, but it still have to make sense and must be universaly understendable and must not rework the fundamentals so much that it become unreicognisable. Magic Missiles are famus for being a force effect, you can't describe them as a phisical icicle.
Magic Missiles are famus for being a force effect, you can't describe them as a phisical icicle.
But they could still look like icicles. That's the point of the thematic reskinning.
Fat Goblin Games has the Pyromancer, which can eventually ignore resistance, still deal half damage with fire to things immune, and completely ignore hardness.
Fat Goblin Games has the Pyromancer, which can eventually ignore resistance, still deal half damage with fire to things immune, and completely ignore hardness.
That... doesn't sound like a good thing. xD
Fireballs are already famous for causing a ridiculous amount of collateral damage and destroying a ton of treasure. I can't imagine the amount of havoc you could wreak while ignoring hardness.
You can tell where they've been because they leave behind a trail of perfect 20 ft radius spheres of empty space in their wake.
Introduce a "Shape spell" metamagic, +0 lvl, it does change the appearance of a spell according to a specific character theme.
Just to not do a purely RP feat, you could give to your spells a bonus half of the Spell Bluff one... a +2 DC to counterspell your casting.
Suppose someone shoots what looks like icicles at my friend out of their hand, and I either don't have Spellcraft or I don't make my Spellcraft check to identify the spell as it's being cast. I am going to cast Mass Resist Energy (cold) on my turn based on what I saw. If I saw a fireball, I will cast Mass Resist Energy (fire) on my turn. I will drink a potion. I will hide my Necklace of Fireballs. A spell's visual effects, with the exception of the Illusion school of course, are practically a non-caster's only indication of what the spell does.
I would be highly against re-skinning spells to appear to do different damage types unless the damage types are actually changed or a metamagic feat that does this is used.
"A sudden blizzard springs up as the evil northerner cackles and chants. You all take X fire damage, reflex DC Y half." (reflavored fireball)
I'm in agreement with you about reflavoring spells being good and fun. It's if someone does something like this example that I take issue. You're making one damage type look like another. If you're conjuring ice, it should deal cold damage. Your succubus example is fine. It reflavors the spell and there is nothing indicating a damage type that is not actually present.
I'm just saying I personally feel there should be limits to how much you can reflavor the look of a spell.
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My concern is not so much the ability to have versitility, I hate being a one-trick pony. But let's say you are a flame oracle, and you have a good spread of other types of spells, not just fire spells. but you're playing in a campaign that has any kind of demon or devil (see second darkness, not a perfect example) as the main bad guys for the second half of the campaign. It's not that you cant use your shtick against some enemies, ALL of the mare either immune or highly resistant to your element. That is what frustrates me.
Dip into admixture wizard or elemental sorcerer. There are also Metamagic feats or a metamagic rod.