My poor lizardfolk sorcerer bit the big one this past session (damn devilfish...).
Anywho, I'm looking to make a new arcane caster, since the group lacks one and all the other roles are filled. We have a fighter, druid, cleric, and rogue.
3rd level, 25 point buy. We're on the last leg of the first book, and I will be playing one of the NPC's until we finish it, giving me a couple of weeks to figure something out.
Does anyone have any suggestions or fun ideas for an arcane caster for Skulls and Shackles?
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Well, if you wanted to go sorcerer again, a human word caster could be pretty fun. You become very random and expanded in spells, being able to kinda build them yourself.
Again Human, or H-Elf, or just Elf, a spell dancer Magus.. possibly hex crafter.
Or Sea witch/Sea singer bard
I never played the campaign so, I'm going off random ideas here.
If you wanna get really mean.. A draconic or celestial Merfolk Sorcerer. Hyrdrolic push is a first level spell, which you can easily get a huge bonus to blasting people with it.
I wouldn't really feel compelled to play an arcane caster, it is not a role in itself, neither does a role as controller or blaster necessarily be filled or might already be filled by a non-arcane character.
That said a bard seems to be a fairly good choice for your party, unless the cleric is an evangelist..
My second choice would be a magus since more melee combatants tend to be a good deal for the rogue and is otherwise a good blend of arcane magic and melee.
I wouldn't really feel compelled to play an arcane caster, it is not a role in itself, neither does a role as controller or blaster necessarily be filled or might already be filled by a non-arcane character.
True to a certain point. But arcane can accomplish certain things that divine can't; haste, fly, and glitterdust are all examples of awesome options arcane casters bring to the table.
While I'm certain the party won't be cripple without a arcane caster, it will certainly make things more difficult.
Then how about a Summoner? You get another combatant with the Eidolon as well as spell casting ability.
Alright, so thus far I have a few ideas that might be interesting. They are:
1. A Sylvan Bloodline sorcerer who rocks the Boon Companion feat and uses an animal companion that can function on land and and sea; I'm thinking an gator.
2. An abjuration specialist wizard. I don't see too much discussion about abjurers on the boards, so I'm curious as to whether or not it's a porr specialization.
3. A magus. I've never played one before, mainly because I'm turned off by the linear nature of the class; spam intensified shocking grasp during full attack, and repeat. It seems dull at first glance, but I'm open to having my mind changed.
If anyone has thoughts on these ideas, or some of their own, please let me know. :)
Yes, that's the standard magus thing, but there's other ways to spice it up. You can try other touch spells, like frostbite. I honestly played my magus more like a tank or a stealthy person than someone that shocking grasp people to oblivion. It's why I like Strength magi better. I don't really need shocking grasp if a good Power Attack can do the job, so spells like Vanish and Shield are much more useful and interesting to use.
I noticed all of your party members are front-line fighters. Maybe something that sits in the back, then? I'll throw a few suggestions:
1) Spellslinger Wizard
A wizard that uses a gun. You can go straight spellslinger or pick up one level in gunslinger.
2) Whip Magus
Spellstrike those shocking grasps with a whip! Pick the kensai archetype, select whip as your weapon, and take Whip Mastery as your 3rd level feat.
3) Cardslinging Bard
Be a swashbuckling, cardslinger! Be an arcane duelist and pick up ranged feats. At 5th level, get the Deadly Dealer feat and make a Harrowing deck be your arcane bond.
All of these might fit a pirate campaign.
I've played a lot of abjurers before. It is imo the easiest specialist wizard to play, it is easy to find a useful abjuration spell at every level and it is easy to find situations where an extra abjuration will help the party.
How was your experience as an abjurer? Most casters like to be proactive with their casting. I assume an abjurer would be a little different, throwing wards all over the place and shielding his allies from harm. Did it ever get dull? And were there any complaints that you didn't memorize an extra fireball?
Yes, that's the standard magus thing, but there's other ways to spice it up. You can try other touch spells, like frostbite. I honestly played my magus more like a tank or a stealthy person than someone that shocking grasp people to oblivion. It's why I like Strength magi better. I don't really need shocking grasp if a good Power Attack can do the job, so spells like Vanish and Shield are much more useful and interesting to use.
I noticed all of your party members are front-line fighters. Maybe something that sits in the back, then? I'll throw a few suggestions:
1) Spellslinger Wizard
A wizard that uses a gun. You can go straight spellslinger or pick up one level in gunslinger.2) Whip Magus
Spellstrike those shocking grasps with a whip! Pick the kensai archetype, select whip as your weapon, and take Whip Mastery as your 3rd level feat.3) Cardslinging Bard
Be a swashbuckling, cardslinger! Be an arcane duelist and pick up ranged feats. At 5th level, get the Deadly Dealer feat and make a Harrowing deck be your arcane bond.All of these might fit a pirate campaign.
The whip magus sounds intriguing, but just how effective is it? I can see the appeal of using spell combat from a safe distance, but using kensai would lower the number of spells you have, and a magus is already low on magic. What happens when you run out and are forced to rely on the rather small damage a whip deals?
The whip magus sounds intriguing, but just how effective is it? I can see the appeal of using spell combat from a safe distance, but using kensai would lower the number of spells you have, and a magus is already low on magic. What happens when you run out and are forced to rely on the rather small damage a whip deals?Yes, that's the standard magus thing, but there's other ways to spice it up. You can try other touch spells, like frostbite. I honestly played my magus more like a tank or a stealthy person than someone that shocking grasp people to oblivion. It's why I like Strength magi better. I don't really need shocking grasp if a good Power Attack can do the job, so spells like Vanish and Shield are much more useful and interesting to use.
I noticed all of your party members are front-line fighters. Maybe something that sits in the back, then? I'll throw a few suggestions:
1) Spellslinger Wizard
A wizard that uses a gun. You can go straight spellslinger or pick up one level in gunslinger.2) Whip Magus
Spellstrike those shocking grasps with a whip! Pick the kensai archetype, select whip as your weapon, and take Whip Mastery as your 3rd level feat.3) Cardslinging Bard
Be a swashbuckling, cardslinger! Be an arcane duelist and pick up ranged feats. At 5th level, get the Deadly Dealer feat and make a Harrowing deck be your arcane bond.All of these might fit a pirate campaign.
Whips are not entirely for damage output, you can trip without provoking and do a lot of other maneuvers with them and also full attack.
The whip magus sounds intriguing, but just how effective is it? I can see the appeal of using spell combat from a safe distance, but using kensai would lower the number of spells you have, and a magus is already low on magic. What happens when you run out and are forced to rely on the rather small damage a whip deals?
You can Power Attack using a whip. It's also good for combat manuevers. Magi are pretty good at maneuevers and even have a magus arcana for it.