Hey everyone! I'm going to be starting a low level (4th) campaign relatively soon and was hoping to get some advice on one, my gear choices, and two how to utilize my familiar to the best of it's abilities.
As it stands my Wizard is fairly basically fleshed out with all the mundane gear he can use but I'm not sure if there is anything else that I can bother with to make him any better.
We're going off a "here's 6000gp cause you're level 4, don't spend more than 1500gp per item" and my DM is pretty stringent about NOT going over that 1500gp limit.
I have purchased the following thus far:
1x Cloak of Resistance +1 - 1000gp
1x MWK Haramaki------------ 155gp
1x MWK Dagger-------------- 302gp
obviously the cloak is mandatory! The MWK Haramaki is just cheap and fancy and has the MWK quality so that I can make it magical down the road and the same goes for the dagger (getting extra enhancements and stuff for better quality of life).
Other than that I'm not sure if there are any CORE items that I should be looking at picking up. I'm mostly just looking at items for my familiar which leads me to my next question:
I have a Compsognathus (for obvious reasons hehe) and figure that at this level there is not much that the little guy is going to be able to do for me OTHER than give me my +4 initiative and run about the field doing my bidding. That being said, it it best to utilize this guy as a battlefield controller? He has 40 ft of movement and has an INT score. My question is how can I use him to the best of his abilities to aid me and my team?
My assumption was that I could give him a bag with a bunch of alchemical fires, acids, caltrops, tanglefoot bags, smokestiks, etc and have him utilize them as they need be. The fires would be thrown for the use of pyrotechnics when I followed him actions, the acids would be there for just basic damage, caltrops for more battlefield control as well as the smokestiks, and the tanglfoots just to make people sad pants. Is this an effective use of my familiar and would these ideas even work?
(((P.S. is it possible for the familiar to move 20ft, draw an item as part of his move action, drop the item as a free action at that 20ft mark, and then move his remaining 20ft? So he advances, draws so caltrops, drops them, walks back to his previous location?)))
I think the mini dino familiar dosent have arms and hands so he cannot ude items for you like you discripe.
Toget than that get some level 1 wands and lots of scrolls. At max price 1500 consumables is your best buy, i think.
Hmmm, yeah you're right I did not think about that (thinking to much of Jurassic Park Raptors and their door opening skills, hahaha). Is there any minion at this level that I can get my hands on that will give me the ability to have more battlefield control? I'll be getting Improved Familiar for better choices later on so I'm just trying to get the most out of my familiars at this level without running the risk of getting them slaughtered!
As for extra information:
This is a very high magic world that will have many many options down the road to make lots of money and buy a fair amount of stuff. The only stipulations are that I cannot purchase any consumable items that are above the caster level that I currently posses. So no buying stupid high level 1st level spell scrolls/potions! I really have no preference for any items, just due to the high magic world that we're in I'm always looking for useful items and devices!
Just a note but don't you have to be arms length to get the familiar bonus ... the +4 initiative. Wouldn't your initiative drop once he left you to do other things?
I think it works within one mile of one another?
"A familiar grants special abilities to its master, as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other."
Bracers of armor.
Pearl of power. 1st level spells.
I'd say ring of protection, but it's over 1,500.
It's Alertness that requires arm's length.
Well, I looked up the haramaki. Bracers of armor wouldn't stack with it, So it probably should be a +1 haramaki.
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bracers are a bad choice -- too expensive (at this level for what you get).
pearls are a good choice.
I like the pearls and I agree that I could get a fair amount of use out of a Pearl of Power 1 (getting an extra level 1 spell a day is pretty useful!) I'll have to look into that.
I figure that my party composition will probably have a cleric or other class with cure light wounds on their list so I might buy a wand of cure light wounds for the sole purpose of handing it off to them should theirs run out.
I can't honestly think of anything that I could really use other than situational potions/scrolls and what not. With a pearl of power purchased and if I +1 my haramaki I'll have 2543 gold left over. Any particular potions or scrolls that you think I could get with my Caster level restraint that will give battlefield control or help my party out?
Also I have been looking at my familiar choices again... I really really want to have that +4 Initiative (at 4th level with my DEX and a Ioun stone [500gp if I get it]) I can have a +9 initiative modifier and go first ALOT. However, I'm not 100% sure I know what I could do with a scorpion or a dino that wouldn't just result in them getting killed from sending them out to fight. Obviously the scorpion is more prone to getting things done (having 20 AC (with my bonuses added in) and a few other stats) but given that I'm focusing on summoning things I should have equally powerful monsters on the field to aid my companions (with 2-5 eagles or what ever I like from summon monster II). I want my familiar to actually be able to do something other than sit at my side and dick around. Would it be worth it to take the monkey so that it could use alchemical items (fire, ice, acid, etc) as well as the other great low level items (tangle foot, caltrops, etc)? As I said... I really do not want to lose that +4 INIT bonus... going first means more bodies on the field or other things to mess up the enemies.
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At low level, I would go for a speaking familiar (Thrush is good with its Diplomacy bonus). They are great tools for roleplay and they provide you with a second roll or an aid another on many skills (especially Knowledges).
At higher level, swap it for the Initiative critter unless you go the Improved Familiar way. Going first is nice at low levels, but not critical. This changes at higher levels.
MWK Mithril Buckler - 1005gp
+1, you will keep a mithril buckler for your entire career.
Also, the compsognathus is defined as a "Biped (claws/paws)" body type in the Animal Archive. Its available item slots are armor, belt, chest, eyes, headband, neck, ring, shoulders, & wrist; sorry, no hand slot to manipulate items. From experience I've found smaller familiars make excellent scouts and with a speed of 40ft. it should be able to hightail it back to the party if seen, hopefully trailing the enemies into an ambush.
I always forget the buckler... I can use the buckler and still have my dagger in the same hand right (or is that thunder striker im thinking of?) i think there is a resistance bonus enhancement i can get on my weapon (+1 enhance) that takes the magical +1-5 bonus and turns it into saving throw bonuses (which will be nice for ensuring that i pass the late game save or be extremely sad checks i know my DM will be throwing at us). I would like to keep my dagger in one hand and a rod in the other! If i can have the buckler out as well that would be handy!
Other than that... Im really muddled up over my familiar choices now :( The roleplaying aspects of my character will be fairly limited (think of him as a pre-cottage frankenstein for those who have read it haha, OR someone who doesn't talk much or interact much but grows to) at this level im gunning for sheer use over everything else until my character grows to have a voice (which is when ill have improved familiar and one that can speak, use magic devices, and have a number of SLAs). Thus you can understand my conflict. Having a familiar used for touch attacks or "attacking" (if you can call it that lol) with 13hp and up to 20AC is essentially a 1 turn dead familiar.
I know I sound like a broken record but I really do want the most out of my familiar and aside from my spells I am placing a lot of trust and reliance on it, lol.
P.S.
How exactly does Improved Familiar work? Obviously I get to pick a better familiar from the list provided (which is great) but the list of familiars provided from the basic ones all give special bonuses (such as the +4 INIT discussed already) where as the ones from improved familiar do not. Are you replacing your familiar and losing the bonus in lieu of just getting better EVERYTHING in general?
Unless you instead "upgrade" one of the standard familiars (to celestial/fiendish/resolute/anarchic), yes.
Another pearl of power?
This is not advice, but I always thought that a pseudodragon was the coolest familiar ever. Just a personal preference.
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First off, do you have Craft Wondrous Item feat? If you don't, GET IT SOON. It's really a survival skill for you, because it halves the cost of your most important items, allowing you to spend more money on your MOST important item: Your spellbook.
If you already have it, this MIGHT convince the DM to let you craft some of your own items at half price (staying within the 1500 gp rule, you then get a 3k item for 1500 gp. This is reasonable enough IMO.
Here is my personal "must own" list, some of which you can't get, but once the campaign starts there is nothing stopping you from getting them ASAP.
Stuff you can make with Craft Wondrous Item:
You should craft all of the following yourself. Remember that you CAN craft items before you reach the caster level of the item (look it up). Prices listed assume you made it yourself.
Blessed Book - 6.25k GP- Write spells in your book for an upfront price of 6.25 gp/spell level, instead of the exponential writing costs in the book (5 gp for level 1, 20 gp for level 2, 45 gp for level 3 etc.) This is a HUGE money saver!
Headband of Vast Intelligence +2 – 2k – Buff your DC’s and spells per day. Also, this grants you max ranks in one skill of your choice and is upgradable – freaking awesome.
Stuff you can’t craft yet but should still try to get:
Mithral Spiked Buckler – 1465 gp – This is right in your price range. This is the fashion accessory for all status conscious wizards! It grants +1 AC at 0% spell failure, it stacks with your Haramaki. You can enchant it as both a shield and as a weapon which means it will age well with your character, and you can use it to add important enchantments from the weapon and armor enchantment lists. The DM may rule that the armor spike is NOT mithral, but the price includes a masterwork spike anyway, so you don’t really care. Remember, if you ever actually USE it as a weapon or a shield you screwed up some-place. And best of all, it leaves your hand free!
Wand of Mage Armor – 750 GP - 4 points of AC, in 1 hour increments. 50 charges will last you till you reach level 10 at least, at which point you will have the money to make bracers of +5 or more. My advice: Forget about the Haramaki. It doesn’t stack with mage armor, and you will be using that most of the time anyway.
Other good wands -750 GP – You want a wand that is generally useful, but where caster level doesn’t matter much (since it will be level 1) The following are some examples: True strike, Expeditious Retreat, Shield. The last two have 1 min durations, so you open a combat with one of them. Often if I want to double move, I’ll burn a charge off the wand of Expeditious Retreat, and simply do a single move at +30’, now I’m fast for the rest of the combat.
Ring of Sustenance - 2.5k GP – this item lets you only sleep for 2 hours per night, so you can spend lots more time making items and writing spells in your spellbook. Time is a major limiting factor for mages. This eases that limit somewhat.
MOST IMPORTANTLY…
Feed your spellbook! Your spellbook is your most important investment. You should have NO extra money at the start of the game. Assume you found a friendly mage and rented his spellbook, and spend every extra dime on spells. Even spells you can’t cast yet. Also, choose spells that are NOT in the CRB. Most DM’s and ALL modules only offer spells that are in the CRB in the loot. Pick all your spells from non CRB sources, and work in-game to round out your spells with other essentials. I promise you will not regret it.
Having a wide range of spells is crucial for creative casting both in and out of combat. Remember to track your spell durations: At 10th level the Extend Spell Feat lets you cast spells like False Life that last for 20 hours. This means you can BANK MAGIC on one day to wear into combat the next. Even an extended Bear’s Endurance at 10th level gives you 20 minutes of +4 Con. This equals 20 HP and a +2 to fort save for the length of most dungeon crawls.