Maybe I've been reading too much Jim Butcher but this idea is really appealing to me at the moment. Using a baseline aasimar to get early entry he can finish eldritch knight at level twelve which is quite appealing for a possible society character. Would want to focus on ranged touch spells in general rather than rays in particular to maximise the potential for criticals - won't have enough feats to take weapon-specific feats for both rays and a gun. and of course at some point he needs to get a gunman's duster to complete the look.
So. How bad an idea is this? or if it isn't, what feats / spells / bloodlines should I be considering?
As far as I know Mysterious Stranger is always a bad idea, unless you take the Amateur Gunslinger feat to offset the lack of quickclear.
I think the cha to damage deed is a good enough replacement that I'm willing to take the risk. Hell, I can always being along a backup gun in case it's needed.
That's a very cool item. All kinds of stylish.
I'm thinking that the best solution to trying to find a bloodline that will actually contribute in a meaningful way to a sorcerer who will never hit level two is to go Tattooed w/ primal (or maybe just elemental; not sure if bonus damage or versatility is more valuable) to get rid of the crappy ray powers. Draconic would be more or less the same, but with a redundant class skill.
Daylight SLA takes care of the spellcasting requirement; it's the reason for going standard Aasimar rather than anything else.
This is fairly similar in effect to my EK archer, here's what I did:
1) mostly rely on weapons for damage
2) use spells to cover typical ranged damage weak spots
(Darkvision, see invisibility)
3) supplement with ray spells, since you'll be killer accurate
4) think about buff spells that also help with #1
(Eagle's splendor, haste)
Remember, things like point blank and precise shot work on everything, and arcane armor training is really nice for PFS, you're really not losing out on more than a level of quickened spells.
The problem with mysterius stranger is that he need to spend a swift anytime he wants to full attack to get any kind of damage going. This is very crippling, since it lock you out of quickned spells, arcane strike, and the capstone of the EK.
But if you endure till Stranger 5 + caster level 8 you can get dirty with named bullet + dead shot.
As far as I know Mysterious Stranger is always a bad idea, unless you take the Amateur Gunslinger feat to offset the lack of quickclear.
I dont think gunslingers can take Amateur gunslinger.
And if you want to make Harry isent some sort of wizard the way to go? Just give him a pistol as a back up.
Edit: spelling
I don't see much competition for swift actions before level 12 though - it's not like he's going to be quickening anything before then anyhow, and arcane strike would be less of a damage boost than cha bonus anyhow, so why would I spend the feat?
Harry calls himself a Wizard, but his methodology seems very spontaneous to me (and more like words of power than proper spells really).
could just go trench fighter 3 / wizard 17 for more castery stuff, trench fighter 3 / wizard 7 / EK 10 for a gishy build (with CL17 wizad spells, 19 with magical knack), or trench fighter 3 / myrmidarch magus 17 for more blending of spell and combat (at the cost of some spells).
As far as I know Mysterious Stranger is always a bad idea, unless you take the Amateur Gunslinger feat to offset the lack of quickclear.I dont think gunslingers can take Amateur gunslinger.
And if you want to make Harry isent some sort of wizard the way to go? Just give him a pistol as a back up.
Edit: spelling
As far as I can see in either Gunslinger or Mysterious Stranger there is nothing that says that the feat can't be used. Also the Amateur Gunslinger feat makes no mention of not using it for the reason I suggested. So he could use Mysterious Stranger, get the feat and quick clear and what ever else the class gives.
The prerequisite of the feat is not having a Grit class feature. And it says that if you later get a grit class feature it gets replaced with Extra Grit.
I'd still consider asking the GM. over balance the character. You are using one of your few feats and the character gets to have quickclear which the 'Stranger doesn't get to have. Also, you don't intend to take more than one level of Gunslinger. It doesn't hurt to ask.
I could see Harry as a sorcerer, I could also see him as a bit of an oracle, given the right mystery, curse, and spell selection. I know he isn't divinely powered/inspired, but set aside those fluff aspects for the mechanics of the class, and you can refluff it in a dresden appropriate style.
Really, there are a very few times harry gets as ritualistic as a wizard would tend to be; and that is usually centered around major rituals, or potion making (which he doesn't do nearly as much now - he started with 2 or 4 in almost every book, then it dwindled away)...
Hmm, thinking about the potion thing - maybe even a witch, if flavored right. He does have Mister, and Mouse (or, he did...no spoilers beyond that he doesn't have them any more...) He also uses his various focii, one of which could be used in place of a familiar.
I think that is actually the best bet. Several hexes could fit some of his spells, many of his other spells are based on his focus... yeah.
I'm not really setting out to make Pathfinder Harry; it's just that as I was thinking about a touch-attack focused EK who enters via Gunslinger and wears a Gunslinger's Duster it occurred to me that it was very Harry-ish.
The main thing I'm trying to figure out at this point is if I can actually make him effective with the high number of feats required to make the pistol at all useful.
Rapid Reload is required at level seven, earlier if I also want Rapid Shot (could take both at 7th or 3rd level - Rapid Shot is useless without Rapid Reload, Rapid Reload is mostly pointless before seven if I don't take Rapid Shot as well).
Precise Shot is mandatory for any ray caster, even without the gun. Point Blank Shot's not of any significant importance on its own, but is necessary for everything else.
Without Deadly Aim, the gun won't do enough damage, but it's a third feat that does nothing for spellcasting.
That leaves only three feats everything else, which makes it difficult to prioritize.
And I also need to decide on which school to choose for Varisian Tattoo; evocation seems like the obvious choice to boost, but perhaps another school will benefit more from the CL increase?
And then there's a rule question. Does Magical Knack apply before or after Varisian Tattoo? If it's after, then the feat is 90% wasted as the trait's bonus can't take the caster level above the character level.
This is for PFS? I thought Gunslingers were not allowed. Or has there been a FAQ ruling since the one thread I read.