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I'm putting together a shadowdancer for Pathfinder Society. My main draw to the class is the ability to have a shadow companion, so I've been trying to figure out what else to do with the character to support that aspect of it. This is what I've come up with so far:
Magus as my main base class Magus has decent BAB and hit points to support the shadow, has access to darkness as a second level spell to help with hiding in plain sight, and gets a bonus feat at fifth level to help with how feat heavy this build is.
Chill touch as my main spellstrike spell I know there's some debate about how chill touch interacts with spellstrike, but it seems pretty unfounded to me, and the rules as written currently support this working favorably. I have to take Combat Reflexes anyway and I like the idea that I could cast and deliver, then deliver three or four more times with attacks of opportunity to get the most Strength damage for my buck to help support my shadow. Going into shadowdancer from 6th level on will leave me with precious few spell slots anyway, and I like that I'll get a lot more hits out of each casting than I would with the more traditional shocking grasp.
Combat Patrol as a vehicle for delivery. Combat Patrol has prerequisites in common with shadowdancer, and just seems so good if I can find or make an area of dim light, as it will give me way more options for making attacks of opportunity. The way I'm reading it, every time I move I can make a stealth check, so I should be able to re-hide using hide in plain sight every time I move to take an AoO. Expeditious retreat is on the magus spell list too. It just all feels so cohesive, and I've never seen another character that operates like this before.
QUESTIONS
1) Is there any reason to stay in shadowdancer after level 8? My shadow doesn't seem to care what levels I'm taking, and this would give me the option of taking more magus levels for more spells, levels of fighter for more feats and better BAB/HP for the shadow, or levels of ninja for sneak attack and pressure points since I'll have a reliable flanking partner.
2) I have a wayang boon and was planning on using it, but is there a compelling reason I should go human instead? I'm feat tight, but am I that tight? I need Dodge, Mobility, and Combat Reflexes for shadowdancer. Counting my magus bonus feat at fifth, I can take all that and Weapon Finesse in time, plus Dervish Dance at seventh, and Combat Patrol at 9th. Can anyone think of a reason I'd need more feats before then? Or a class level I should take instead of magus 5 that would leave me a feat short?
3) How important are my spells? Right now I'm in need of ways to be faster, ways to generate dim light, and chill touch. Obviously I'm in need of some pearls of power, but right now my only reasons for taking that fifth level of magus are more spells, the ability to enhance my weapon on the fly, and the bonus feat. If I went fighter instead I'd still get the feat and I'd qualify for Combat Patrol two levels earlier, plus my shadow'd be a little better. Are my speed and dim light needs accomplishable enough with fewer spells and the right equipment?
4) Is hexcrafter worth it? I was going to go that route for some hexes, but I'm action-starved enough that I'm having doubts. Which hexes are even worth it if my plan is to kill with Strength damage? I was considering Fortune and Cackle, but I just don't see having the actions free.
5) Does anyone have equipment recommendations? Or other recommendations? Or see complications I'm missing? I just want to make sure this character is fun, so I'm trying to be careful.
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Hexcrafter is nice because of the slumber hex which is great. I cant really see any feats you need, you seem to have enough to work with your character. If you are going for shadow dancer, you should go all the way and try to get to level 15 with 12+ games (if society) because shadow master is awesome. DR5/-, +2 on all saving throws, and blinding foes with critical hits. Also, shadow jump is good for those times you need to retreat. You may want to pick up improved critical scimitar when your BAB gets high enough, so you can use your arcane pool points for other things than keen, if you are dervish dancing anyway. If all you want from spells is Chill Touch and Darkness then you can get those at level 4 and go fighter to get combat patrol. You need pearls of power 1st and 2nd, and probably want Elven Chain listed here for armor because it provides nice AC and you seem to mainly prepare chill touch, so no, or at least less, shield spells. If you do stop taking levels of Shadow Dancer, than you should probably go with a full BAB d10 class like fighter or go with more Magus levels to gain more spells per day.
Do ask your DM how he treats HiPS, attacking from Stealth, HiPS vs Darkvision, etc.