Hey guys! So, this is my first post on the site, and this game my friend has invited me to will be my first real go at playing Pathfinder. I have some history in D&D 3.5 and 4e however, so I'm no real stranger to complex character building and optimizing. I always tend to lean more toward character development rather than optimization, though at heart I still want to retain very mechanically effective.
Here's the breakdown; my party needed a caster, so I decided to be a pretty generic Elf Wizard. I wanted so very badly to be a Universalist, but as you guys are probably already aware, the Universalist isn't the most useful option when it comes to Wizardry. Because my GM doesn't mind if we branch out into 3rd Party sources to create characters, I started looking through some PDF's to flesh out my concept.
In "Class Expansions: Love for the Universalist", there's an alternate class feature known as "Arcane Researcher", which improves your ability to study and create your own unique spells...
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Focused Research (Su): As an arcane researcher, your specializing in being a generalist grants you the mindset needed to perform research quickly and efficiently. At 1st level, researching new spells requires 10% less time and materials. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, this bonus increases by 5%. This ability replaces hand of the apprentice.
Inventor's Recall (Su): At 8th level as an arcane researcher, your delving into arcane research has given you a rather photographic memory. You may prepare spells you personally researched into existence without the need of a spellbook. This ability replaces metamagic mastery.
Optimization through Familiarity (Su): At 13th level as an arcane researcher, you learn to tweak your personally researched spells in such a way that would be incomprehensible to anyone other than the creator himself. Your personally researched spells get +1 to their DCs when you cast them. This ability replaces the fact that specialist wizards get bonus spell slots.
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I became really enamored with this idea, seeing as Elves tend to be excellent craftsmen... so it's almost like he's adopting the idea of elven craftsmanship to his spellcasting. He's also using the "The Way Things Work" Background from Ultimate Campaign, so part of his story is tied to the creation of his own spells. I also decided to make him a Spellbinder, as I'm not a huge fan of having familiar 'Helpers' or the item dependency of Bonded Item. The goal of the character is to understand magic so completely that he essentially masters himself, and reality (Nethys: "Magic is all things and in all things"), so the Spellbinder's features seem to coincide with that.
From there, I got really into the concept of Arcane Discoveries. As this character is aimed at mastering and manipulating magic, it would only make sense that he would awaken some ancient secrets along the way. Unfortunately, the original list of Arcane Discoveries was rather short, and leaved much to be desired. Instead, I did some more digging and found "Class Acts: Wizards" and "Ultimate Options: New Arcane Discoveries". Between these two books, I had a lot of new options and is basically where I'm stuck now.
The feat situation is tough. I have limited room, and want to accomplish a lot. I would love for most of them to be Metamagic and Arcane Discoveries (because that fits in with the theme of the character), but also realize that certain staple combat feats such as Improved Initiative and Spell Penetration are a necessity that need to be fit in. Also, I really love the flavor of the 'Breadth of Experience' Feat, but might have to come to terms with loosing it if it weakens the character too much statistically. Basically, I'll post a small preview of my build so far, and then some of the feats/metamagic/discoveries I'd like to incorporate... and hopefully you guys can help me sort it out.
Level: 1
Race: High Elf
Race Variants: Arcane Focus
Class: Wizard, Universalist
Class Variants: Spellbinder, Arcane Researcher
Alignment: Neutral
Deity: Nethys
Background: The Way Things Work
Traits: Seeker of Brightness, Focused Mind, Tireless Logic
Drawbacks: Xenophobic
Feats:
1. Breadth of Experience (?)
1 (Bonus). Scribe Scroll
3. Improved Initiative (?)
5. Fast Study
5 (Bonus).
7.
9. Dual Slot
10 (Bonus).
11.
13.
15.
15 (Bonus).
17.
19.
20 (Bonus).
Notes of Traits: Seeker or Brightness and Focused Mind are staying in the build, as Seeker of Brightness is a big storyline hook for him, and Focused Mind is useful for Concentration. I love the flavor of Tireless Logic for him, but am not entirely sold on it. I refuse to use "Reactionary" or "Warrior of Old" however, simply because they do not fit his extremely scholarly nature.
I'm iffy on Breadth of Experience, and where exactly to place Improved Initiative. Fast Study sounds way too awesome to pass up at level 5, and Immortality is just plain win at 20. Dual Slot is one of the new discoveries implemented in Class Acts: Wizards. It basically allows you to prepare two Spells of the same School and Level in one spell slot, and when you use that spell slot, you choose which spell you wish to cast, which expended both spells stored in the spell slot. I like the flexibility of that option, and think it really fits for the theme and helps him be more of a toolbox. I also am really interested in Split Slot, as comboing that with Dual Slot would allow him to store a large amount of spells that could help him cover a wide variety of situations, but for the most part it seems like people aren't too keen on the Split Slot discovery.
For Metamagic, I definitely want Quicken, Daze, Reach, and Persistent. I'm not exactly sure where to fit them into the feats, but they will be there... no question. I also want Spell Penetration for sure, but do not know where to put it. I'm also not sure if Greater Spell Penetration is necessary for an Elf Caster, but if it is, I'd like that as well.
When it comes to the newer discoveries from the 3rd Party books, there's a lot of neat option. There's one called "Sovereign Arcana", which allows you to select a number of Spells you've chosen for the 'Spell Mastery' feat and convert them into Spontaneous Spells that can be cast using your Spell Slots a number of times equal to your Intelligence Modifier+3. Once again; I LOVE the utility and flavor here, and Spontaneous Casting on Wizards is sweet. Plus, since I get two Feats at 15, I could get both Spell Mastery and Sovereign Arcana in one Level and have immediate access to some Spontaneous Spells.
"Spellbane" is another cool option, which allows me to count HP Damage done to enemies as 'Continual Damage' until the beginning of my next turn to interfere with their casting and concentration checks (usable Int Mod+3 times a Day). I like the idea of him being so proficient with Magic that he can interfere with the enemy's spell power, but perhaps Dispel Magic already accomplishes this to a greater degree?
"Insightful Preparation" (Class Acts: Wizard) is a cool ability that allows me to give myself a buff depending on which spells I prepare for the day. It also coincides with the fact that the character can more or less manipulate the magic within himself, so it has RP value. Along with Fast Study, it also means I could very easily switch bonuses on the fly, and change what unique boons I get. The feat is as follows, so people can better understand it...
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INSIGHTFUL PREPARATION (SU): Whenever you prepare arcane spells, you may choose to gain one of the following benefits, as long as you have at least one spell of the highest spell level that you can cast prepared from the school of magic specified below. Each time that you prepare arcane spells, you may choose a different benefit.
Abjuration: You gain DR 1/magic.
Conjuration: You gain a +4 armor bonus.
Divination: You gain a +4 bonus on Perception skill checks. Enchantment: You gain a +2 resistance bonus on Will saving throws. Evocation: You gain a +2 bonus on initiative checks.
Illusion: You gain a +2 bonus on Bluff and Intimidate skill checks. Necromancy: You gain 2d4 temporary hit points.
Transmutation: Your natural armor bonus is increased by +2. Universal: You gain a +4 bonus on Spellcraft skill checks.
You must be at least an 11th-level wizard in order to select this discovery.
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There also minor discoveries, such as "Life Lessons" which allows me to gain 4 Spells per Level as opposed to 2, and "Read Magic", which enables me to use Read Magic as an at-will Supernatural Ability... but while helpful, I don't know if they deserve Feat Slots.
I appreciate everyone who stuck around this long to read this wall of text, and hope you can help me shed some light on this build. It's complicated, I know, but the character means a lot to me and making sure he is powerful on the field as well as having a strong roleplaying backbone means a lot to me. Thanks for all your help in advance! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. And I reccomend those 3Rrd Party PDF's to anyone who wants more wizard options. They are dirt cheap and offer really cool alternatives!
