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Okay. So I've played PFS games for a little while now, and I've discovered I like it. A LOT. A LOT A LOT A LOT.
However, most heroes I have created so far are weak, boring to play, and somewhat difficult to roleplay without slowing down the pace of the game. I got a little advice from my stepdad, who is a bit of a gaming vet, and he gave me a lot of interesting ideas for a character that would be fun to roleplay. I got home, and started using those brainstorms to my advantage. I eventually came up with "Miji Podidunk."
Miji is a Gnome Oracle, with the deafness curse. Originally, I was Nature Mystery, but I discovered the Pyromaniac racial trait and I realized that Flame might be a better choice. At first, I was skeptical, but after some help on the forums and some exploring through traits and mulitclassing, I DID IT.
This morning, the finishing touches were complete. Now, Miji is a Pyromaniac Gnome Oracle with the Flame Mystery, the ability to do 2d6 of fire breathing (or is it 2d4?) and some very decent supporting Orisons and a some pretty good 1st Level spells. BUT...
At 2nd level, Miji will become a BEAST. By taking a level as a Fire Elemental Sorcerer, she will blossom. I can pick up Burning Hands and Shocking Grasp, both of which will deal fire damage, because of my Bloodline Arcana. Plus, by taking Magical Knack (Sorcerer), these spells will be cast as if I was caster level 4 (that's 1 for my level, 1 for pyromaniac, and 2 for magical knack)!!! Dealing a whopping 4d6 of Fire damage from Shocking Grasp, and lighting my enemies on fire with Burning Magic (I picked up extra Revelation)
This means I can have TONS of Fire Nuking potential, a Fire Breathe, a Fire Ray, two EXTREMELY powerful Fire Spells, and a little extra supporting abilities from Oracle.
So, am I a little gnome genius, or am I a little gnome GENIUS?
Let me know if I missed anything, or if I messed something up in my calculations and something isn't legal. Thanks Guys!
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I don't know all the nuts and bolts of what you built - but as a general rule mixing two full spellcasting classes is a BAD idea.
It'll be okay at level 2 - but when everyone else is getting level 2 spells - you'll still be plinking away with level 1 spells.
Eventually you could go mystic theruge I suppose - but the only way I'd ever do that is as a GM character - where I don't have to actually play the rather rough middling levels. (4-7ish)
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um... Magical knack only offsets levels in other classes, it can't raise your caster level above your character level.
Depending on GM, it gives you CL 2 or 3 (depending whether the GM says it applies before or after pyromaniac
Actually, it can't raise your caster level above your hit dice. I might be a little fuzzy on how hit dice work, but I think this still works.
Wait... does it actually matter which triggers first? It's not a multiplyer, it's an adder, so it doesn't matter which order kicks in first. Does that make sense? I think I just made up math words...
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I would definitely have an expert audit your build, there are enough red flags that I don't think this actually works the way you think it does.
PS: Meta-gaming is generally considered a bad thing. Saying you meta'ed yourself a champion would be more like "I built this awesome fire sorcerer, and now I have found 33 scenarios I can play that all have enemies vulnerable to fire.
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PS: Meta-gaming is generally considered a bad thing. Saying you meta'ed yourself a champion would be more like "I built this awesome fire sorcerer, and now I have found 33 scenarios I can play that all have enemies vulnerable to fire.
Meta gaming just means taking the game to the next level using really smart tactics... How is that bad? That's just smart.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Glad you like your character!
As for feedback, Magical Knack won't put your sorcerer spells up to CL4 (yet), because of its built-in cap.
Also, level dipping an oracle means you don't get 2nd-level spells until 5th level. Sure you're okay with that?
But if you ARE doing that, why not make the sorcerer level Wildblooded (primal), to change the arcana such that all your fire spells deal +1 damage per die rolled?
Finally, consider giving yourself some INT and taking Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, for CL boosts on your key fire spells.
Good luck, and have fun!
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um... Magical knack only offsets levels in other classes, it can't raise your caster level above your character level.
Depending on GM, it gives you CL 2 or 3 (depending whether the GM says it applies before or after pyromaniac
Actually, it can't raise your caster level above your hit dice. I might be a little fuzzy on how hit dice work, but I think this still works.
Wait... does it actually matter which triggers first? It's not a multiplyer, it's an adder, so it doesn't matter which order kicks in first. Does that make sense? I think I just made up math words...
Your "hit dice" is your total level. So Magical Knack cannot raise your Caster Level above your total level. You will get the full 4d6 shocking (fire) grasp at level 4.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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PS: Meta-gaming is generally considered a bad thing. Saying you meta'ed yourself a champion would be more like "I built this awesome fire sorcerer, and now I have found 33 scenarios I can play that all have enemies vulnerable to fire.Meta gaming just means taking the game to the next level using really smart tactics... How is that bad? That's just smart.
Uh, that's not what metagaming means. Metagaming means using out-of-character knowledge to make in-game decisions.
EDIT: Ninja'd so hard...
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Your "hit dice" is your total level. So Magical Knack cannot raise your Caster Level above your total level. You will get the full 4d6 shocking (fire) grasp at level 4.um... Magical knack only offsets levels in other classes, it can't raise your caster level above your character level.
Depending on GM, it gives you CL 2 or 3 (depending whether the GM says it applies before or after pyromaniac
Actually, it can't raise your caster level above your hit dice. I might be a little fuzzy on how hit dice work, but I think this still works.
Wait... does it actually matter which triggers first? It's not a multiplyer, it's an adder, so it doesn't matter which order kicks in first. Does that make sense? I think I just made up math words...
Wow. They really need to make that clearer. Hit Dice and Character Level sound like they have nothing to do with one another.
Well that's good to know. But I'll still being doing hecka lots of damage at level 2, and even more at level 4. And that's good enough for me.So that begs the question- should I drop Magical Knack in favor of something else, or is it still a decent strategy.
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PS: Meta-gaming is generally considered a bad thing. Saying you meta'ed yourself a champion would be more like "I built this awesome fire sorcerer, and now I have found 33 scenarios I can play that all have enemies vulnerable to fire.Meta gaming just means taking the game to the next level using really smart tactics... How is that bad? That's just smart.Uh, that's not what metagaming means. Metagaming means using out-of-character knowledge to make in-game decisions.
EDIT: Ninja'd so hard...
Yeah, but then I deleted my post because it sounded like I was taking my bad day out on the kid. :) I don't know how you managed to say EXACTLY THE SAME THING as me, and still come off nicer.
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Glad you like your character!
As for feedback, Magical Knack won't put your sorcerer spells up to CL4 (yet), because of its built-in cap.
Also, level dipping an oracle means you don't get 2nd-level spells until 5th level. Sure you're okay with that?
But if you ARE doing that, why not make the sorcerer level Wildblooded (primal), to change the arcana such that all your fire spells deal +1 damage per die rolled?Finally, consider giving yourself some INT and taking Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, for CL boosts on your key fire spells.
Good luck, and have fun!
Thanks for the advice. Honestly though, the Primal thing is a good idea. I just liked the idea of transforming damage into fire, giving me more freedom of spells, considering my small spell availability.
I think I'm okay with not getting level 2 spells until 5th level. I'll still be getting more 1st level spells to play with.
Alternatively, I considered going Fire Elemental School Wizard for a little while, for the influx of fire spells. Would this be smarter?
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Your "hit dice" is your total level. So Magical Knack cannot raise your Caster Level above your total level. You will get the full 4d6 shocking (fire) grasp at level 4.um... Magical knack only offsets levels in other classes, it can't raise your caster level above your character level.
Depending on GM, it gives you CL 2 or 3 (depending whether the GM says it applies before or after pyromaniac
Actually, it can't raise your caster level above your hit dice. I might be a little fuzzy on how hit dice work, but I think this still works.
Wait... does it actually matter which triggers first? It's not a multiplyer, it's an adder, so it doesn't matter which order kicks in first. Does that make sense? I think I just made up math words...Wow. They really need to make that clearer. Hit Dice and Character Level sound like they have nothing to do with one another.
Well that's good to know. But I'll still being doing hecka lots of damage at level 2, and even more at level 4. And that's good enough for me.
So that begs the question- should I drop Magical Knack in favor of something else, or is it still a decent strategy.
Magical Knack is fine. It is actually one of the most desirable traits for multiclass caster characters.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Glad you like your character!
As for feedback, Magical Knack won't put your sorcerer spells up to CL4 (yet), because of its built-in cap.
Also, level dipping an oracle means you don't get 2nd-level spells until 5th level. Sure you're okay with that?
But if you ARE doing that, why not make the sorcerer level Wildblooded (primal), to change the arcana such that all your fire spells deal +1 damage per die rolled?Finally, consider giving yourself some INT and taking Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, for CL boosts on your key fire spells.
Good luck, and have fun!
Thanks for the advice. Honestly though, the Primal thing is a good idea. I just liked the idea of transforming damage into fire, giving me more freedom of spells, considering my small spell availability.
I think I'm okay with not getting level 2 spells until 5th level. I'll still be getting more 1st level spells to play with.
Alternatively, I considered going Fire Elemental School Wizard for a little while, for the influx of fire spells. Would this be smarter?
Or you could even just go straight sorcerer. You could eventually pick up a rod or three of Elemental Spell, letting you hijack non-fire spells for fire damage without having to multiclass.
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Or you could even just go straight sorcerer. You could eventually pick up a rod or three of Elemental Spell, letting you hijack non-fire spells for fire damage without having to multiclass.Glad you like your character!
As for feedback, Magical Knack won't put your sorcerer spells up to CL4 (yet), because of its built-in cap.
Also, level dipping an oracle means you don't get 2nd-level spells until 5th level. Sure you're okay with that?
But if you ARE doing that, why not make the sorcerer level Wildblooded (primal), to change the arcana such that all your fire spells deal +1 damage per die rolled?Finally, consider giving yourself some INT and taking Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, for CL boosts on your key fire spells.
Good luck, and have fun!
Thanks for the advice. Honestly though, the Primal thing is a good idea. I just liked the idea of transforming damage into fire, giving me more freedom of spells, considering my small spell availability.
I think I'm okay with not getting level 2 spells until 5th level. I'll still be getting more 1st level spells to play with.
Alternatively, I considered going Fire Elemental School Wizard for a little while, for the influx of fire spells. Would this be smarter?
Hm...
So much to ponder...You guys have given me so many good ideas, and now I'm all confused again...
Oh great, my brain just stopped working...
Okay. What I need now is for this character to work...
Can it work?
Oh goodness now I'm sad...
I officially hate being a noob.
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Your "hit dice" is your total level. So Magical Knack cannot raise your Caster Level above your total level. You will get the full 4d6 shocking (fire) grasp at level 4.um... Magical knack only offsets levels in other classes, it can't raise your caster level above your character level.
Depending on GM, it gives you CL 2 or 3 (depending whether the GM says it applies before or after pyromaniac
Actually, it can't raise your caster level above your hit dice. I might be a little fuzzy on how hit dice work, but I think this still works.
Wait... does it actually matter which triggers first? It's not a multiplyer, it's an adder, so it doesn't matter which order kicks in first. Does that make sense? I think I just made up math words...
It is an adder with a limiter:
Level + MagKnack + Pyro
1 + 1 (+2 limited to +1 because it cannot raise your CL above 2) + 1 (Pyro)
Level + Pyro + MagKnack
1 + 1 (Pyro) + 0 (+2 limited to +0 because it cannot raise your CL above 2)
Personally I rule MagKnack goes first, other GMs rule the other way.
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Or you could even just go straight sorcerer. You could eventually pick up a rod or three of Elemental Spell, letting you hijack non-fire spells for fire damage without having to multiclass.Glad you like your character!
As for feedback, Magical Knack won't put your sorcerer spells up to CL4 (yet), because of its built-in cap.
Also, level dipping an oracle means you don't get 2nd-level spells until 5th level. Sure you're okay with that?
But if you ARE doing that, why not make the sorcerer level Wildblooded (primal), to change the arcana such that all your fire spells deal +1 damage per die rolled?Finally, consider giving yourself some INT and taking Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, for CL boosts on your key fire spells.
Good luck, and have fun!
Thanks for the advice. Honestly though, the Primal thing is a good idea. I just liked the idea of transforming damage into fire, giving me more freedom of spells, considering my small spell availability.
I think I'm okay with not getting level 2 spells until 5th level. I'll still be getting more 1st level spells to play with.
Alternatively, I considered going Fire Elemental School Wizard for a little while, for the influx of fire spells. Would this be smarter?
Hm...
So much to ponder...
You guys have given me so many good ideas, and now I'm all confused again...
Oh great, my brain just stopped working...
Okay. What I need now is for this character to work...
Can it work?
Oh goodness now I'm sad...
I officially hate being a noob.
I am not a fan of relying on all your spells doing fire damage. You will find an annoying number of enemies are immune to fire. Would it work to just go straight Flame Oracle?
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Play whatever you think you'll enjoy playing as long as you remember this is a social game and *everyone* at the table is there to have fun.
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Okay. Got my thoughts together.
Primal Sorcerer wouldn't work, because that still leaves me with very few low-level fire spells to work with, as opposed to the Elemental Bloodline which gives me quite a few considering that I can change things like Shocking Grasp into fire.
I don't want to abandon Oracle, because this character is deaf, she's supposed to be deaf, and I've spent too long on her to basically just abandon her to become full sorcerer. Also, I've played enough sorcerers that I would really like to try an oracle.
Fire Elemental Wizard could work, as it basically just gives me more Fire Spells and Powers, and that's what I really need to shore up my weaknesses as an Oracle
Spell Focus might be a good idea, but I'd be giving up Burning Magic. BTW, does Fire School count as a school of magic, cause if it does, it would be a smart choice. If not, is Evocation what I want?
I'm keeping Magical Knack because I want/need to multiclass on this char.
Lastly, I'm sorry I used Meta Gaming wrong, I'm still getting used to the lingo. Like seriously... Hit Dice doesn't sound like it's got anything to do with Level.
*GASP*
Okay, now I'm done.
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I am not a fan of relying on all your spells doing fire damage. You will find an annoying number of enemies are immune to fire. Would it work to just go straight Flame Oracle?Or you could even just go straight sorcerer. You could eventually pick up a rod or three of Elemental Spell, letting you hijack non-fire spells for fire damage without having to multiclass.Glad you like your character!
As for feedback, Magical Knack won't put your sorcerer spells up to CL4 (yet), because of its built-in cap.
Also, level dipping an oracle means you don't get 2nd-level spells until 5th level. Sure you're okay with that?
But if you ARE doing that, why not make the sorcerer level Wildblooded (primal), to change the arcana such that all your fire spells deal +1 damage per die rolled?Finally, consider giving yourself some INT and taking Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, for CL boosts on your key fire spells.
Good luck, and have fun!
Thanks for the advice. Honestly though, the Primal thing is a good idea. I just liked the idea of transforming damage into fire, giving me more freedom of spells, considering my small spell availability.
I think I'm okay with not getting level 2 spells until 5th level. I'll still be getting more 1st level spells to play with.
Alternatively, I considered going Fire Elemental School Wizard for a little while, for the influx of fire spells. Would this be smarter?
Hm...
So much to ponder...
You guys have given me so many good ideas, and now I'm all confused again...
Oh great, my brain just stopped working...
Okay. What I need now is for this character to work...
Can it work?
Oh goodness now I'm sad...
I officially hate being a noob.
If I was going to go straight anything, it would be Sorcerer or Witch. The Pathfinder Pandas have more than enough healers and supporters. I wanted to go as either somewhat of a nuker, with lots of high spell damage, or a curser; ie someone like a witch who just really makes the enemy's lives hard.
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Also remember that the utility of a fire blaster will diminish as you go up in levels. A LOT of stuff is resistant or immune to fire at the mid to higher levels that PFS operates in. You want to be a little careful at over specializing... if you run into things that are immune to your one trick (fire), you'll be bored, and may end up being a detriment to your table.
That being said, I am not saying you shouldn't be doing this... just be careful. Make sure you have your defenses ready (perhaps covered by a wand of mage armor and a wand of shield) and can do things to help your party when you run into the fire resistance/immunity. This is what the cost of the added benefit is.
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Also remember that the utility of a fire blaster will diminish as you go up in levels. A LOT of stuff is resistant or immune to fire at the mid to higher levels that PFS operates in. You want to be a little careful at over specializing... if you run into things that are immune to your one trick (fire), you'll be bored, and may end up being a detriment to your table.
That being said, I am not saying you shouldn't be doing this... just be careful. Make sure you have your defenses ready (perhaps covered by a wand of mage armor and a wand of shield) and can do things to help your party when you run into the fire resistance/immunity. This is what the cost of the added benefit is.
Don't worry. I have all the cure spells to heal if necassary, and some detrimental cursing spells to really block up my enemies.
Not to mention that I'll be using elemental spells that I turn INTO fire spells using my bloodline Arcana, so I all I have to do is keep them as shock spells or cold spells, and those fire-immune jerks are in for trouble.I hope that makes sense
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Lastly, I'm sorry I used Meta Gaming wrong, I'm still getting used to the lingo. Like seriously... Hit Dice doesn't sound like it's got anything to do with Level.
*GASP*
No worries. We were all new once.
"Hit Dice" is a weird term, especially in the context of PFS. It has nothing to do with hitting anything and no dice are involved.* :)
*Technically, it is about hitting something and dice are involved (or at least they were).
The term is a carry-over from even before 1st-edition D&D. It comes from D&D's origin from its wargame roots. It is also something that every beginner gets confused about until it is explained.
A "Hit Die" is the die you would roll (if we weren't playing PFS) to determine how many hit points you have when you gain a level. Your "Hit Dice" are all of these collectively. The term "Hit Dice" (abbreviated "HD") also refers to simply the number of dice involved. For characters, that is also their total character level. For monsters, it is their monster racial Hit Dice plus any character levels they might have.
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Lastly, I'm sorry I used Meta Gaming wrong, I'm still getting used to the lingo. Like seriously... Hit Dice doesn't sound like it's got anything to do with Level.
*GASP*No worries. We were all new once.
"Hit Dice" is a weird term, especially in the context of PFS. It has nothing to do with hitting anything and no dice are involved.* :)
*Technically, it is about hitting something and dice are involved (or at least they were).
The term is a carry-over from even before 1st-edition D&D. It comes from D&D's origin from its wargame roots. It is also something that every beginner gets confused about until it is explained.
A "Hit Die" is the die you would roll (if we weren't playing PFS) to determine how many hit points you have when you gain a level. Your "Hit Dice" are all of these collectively. The term "Hit Dice" (abbreviated "HD") also refers to simply this number. For characters, that is also their total character level. For monsters, it is their monster racial Hit Dice plus any character levels they might have.
Wow. The Bestiary just started making a whole lot more sense.
The difference between Hit Die and levels was something they stopped being so specific on in the transition from 3.5. For those of us used to it (whether by playing in previous generations or by having to get used to it for DM purposes), its second nature. For newer types, it can be confusing and downright frustrating.
Just don't go asking about ECL or Level Adjustment. I hear that makes people hiss like Vampires smelling garlic.
If you want to Hadoken enemies for many dice of damage early on at Level 1, you're probably going to have to be a Human who takes Spell Focus and Spell Specialization, which is the only way to get them that early (Human Bonus Feat, 1st level feat). That'll get you an extra +2 caster level on a single spell. If you want, you can even do Tattooed Sorcerer 1 and grab that delicious Mage's Tattoo/Varisian Tattoo (some would argue you can take the other later, since apparently taking the Metamagic Master and Wayang Spellhunter traits are allowed even though they are the EXACT SAME THING. Not just wording, but literally the same with it given a slightly different name for the PFSRD despite it being from the same source... whatever). Sure, you lose Eschew Materials, but do you really care?
At this point, you're rolling along with a Caster Level of 4 for your Sorcerer spell of choice at level 1. KER-BLAMMO! Of course, that's just the specialized spell. You're only rolling at CL 2 for your chosen field, but whatever.
Pick a good spell, then go Wizard as well and grab that bad boy of a spell again. Nothing says the feat is restricted to the spells of one class. Starting as Sorc 1 using Burning Hands for a 4D4 AoE? Awesome. At level 2, grab a level of Evocation Wizard and get another pair of the things. Or use the early Wizard spell ranks for utility spells and zap with the Sorc slots. You lost the Eschew Materials from Sorcerer #to trade for Mage's Tattoo#, but that doesn't bother you much since Wizards don't start with that anyway.
Of course, the problem there is save DC's. There's a few ways to deal with this.
Way 1: Who cares? Just leave Cha at 11 or so for the minimum reqs and don't bother with the save DC's much. Everything at low level that passes will still take more than double what it should, and likely die. Course, problem here is that eventually those slots will be purely wasted unless you use retraining rules. Or go with another way...
Way 2: Adapt... grab the Arcane bloodline and your Int will serve instead of Cha. Of course, you eventually outgrow the solution still as that 1st level won't help too much and you'll swap out Spell Spec later. Of course, then you also have the problem in that you might have to go with the class you intend to raise most, first (Wizard, in this case, but whatever), due to the wording of Spell Spec. (You go Sorc 1 and grab it, then go pure Wiz, can't switch it out.) Plus, you might be losing out on cool stuff like +1 damage per die of an element you could have gotten from another bloodline.
Way 3: Pick a low level spell that scales well and is useful for most of your lifetime in a low level slot. Good examples include Snowball, Shocking Grasp, and Magic Missile (don't worry, there's a way around its limited shots, but some may disagree). Incidentally, these spells don't care about save DC's (Well, Snowball's does for its added effect), so you really aren't too worried about what you lose out on. Only problem is that Snowball is Conjuration, Magic Missile is blocked by Shield, and eventually making touch attacks is a bad bad idea for a full caster.
Now, depending on utility, you have to decide if you WILL be using that spell even at higher levels or not. If you're just dipping into a class (like Sorc 1 or Oracle 1 or whatever) for its benefits, BUT it also gives you that trademark spell, and it's useful having a decent level on it, by all means, put the Knack in for that. Otherwise, if you have a main class you focus on but intend to dip into more than a level in something else, you may want to Knack your first class. So, for instance, if you were going a blastery Wizard X / Sorc 1, and you wanted to focus on Shocking Grasps or Snowballs or the like, you could put that Knack into Sorc and chuck quite potent 1st level attack spells around that have the 1 level, +2 trait, +2 spec, +1 tattoo bonuses #ie: 6th level equivalent caster, though most cap out at 5.) So why stack all those bonuses on something that caps out at such a low level?
"Intensified Spell", that's why. Which is why you picked Metamagic Master/Wayang Spellhunter for that spell. And if you get items or other benefits that boost the CL of spells in that school? Even better.
What about Spell Resistance? Well... that's what Knowledge skills are for. You obviously don't shoot at the high SR monster with the low-level class spells. Or, in case of spells like Snowball, it doesn't matter one bit since they don't get any.
Note: There may be other, more useful class combos. I'll admit I know little about the Oracle class, so there's probably something horribly broken there that I missed. I'm sure others can point that out.
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Ow... Brain... Hurts...
Okay. Lots of advice here.
So, a decent amount of you say I should probably drop Oracle entirely, but I see that a lot of the advice here involves making a completely new hero. Which might be smart.
WELL! I have a lot to think about here. Thanks so much for the advice, people. I'll have to find a way to play a tattooed sorcerer, as that sounds cool.
All right, well thanks guys!
Step 1 play what you wish to play, if you set your sites on a fire wielding oracle lets look at how to make that work best for you.
so starting off, we get to open with a CL 3 for fire spells, pyro, magical knack, and caster level. we are going to stick to that ruling unless your gm says otherwise as that is the only GM that matters in this scenario.
So right there we get to dish out 3d6 fire damage with shocking grasp.
alternatively if we go another earlier mentioned fire sorc, or dragon sorc of the right color, we get +1 damage on fire spells, in which case we can use burning hands to dish out 3d4+3 fire damage, statistically the same damage but as a 15ft cone instead of a melee touch attack. Down side reflex save instead of touch ac. although with your build reflex save may be better anyways. On top of this later fire spells granted by the oracle of flame get boosted damage as well, down side less fire spells since we aren't getting to change spells to fire damage for free.
also in late game fire ball and flame strike will be your good friends
Wow. The Bestiary just started making a whole lot more sense.Lastly, I'm sorry I used Meta Gaming wrong, I'm still getting used to the lingo. Like seriously... Hit Dice doesn't sound like it's got anything to do with Level.
*GASP*No worries. We were all new once.
"Hit Dice" is a weird term, especially in the context of PFS. It has nothing to do with hitting anything and no dice are involved.* :)
*Technically, it is about hitting something and dice are involved (or at least they were).
The term is a carry-over from even before 1st-edition D&D. It comes from D&D's origin from its wargame roots. It is also something that every beginner gets confused about until it is explained.
A "Hit Die" is the die you would roll (if we weren't playing PFS) to determine how many hit points you have when you gain a level. Your "Hit Dice" are all of these collectively. The term "Hit Dice" (abbreviated "HD") also refers to simply this number. For characters, that is also their total character level. For monsters, it is their monster racial Hit Dice plus any character levels they might have.
!!!
LOL
FYI though Magical Knack cannot raise your caster level above your actual level, the Lava Gnome ability that boosts fire spells can.
So check with your GM but I would rule as a GM that Magical Knack would give +1 CL and the Racial ability would also give +1 CL, to a total of 3 levels for fire spells. So you could burning hands for 3d4.
Note though that the oracle mystery revelations are not spells. So neither magical knack nor the gnome racial ability improve those.
Peet
The gnome trait specifically extends beyond spells, Peet.
Pyromaniac Gnomes with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using the bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline or the revelations of the oracle's flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage (this ability does not give gnomes early access to level-based powers; it only affects the powers they could use without this ability). Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, produce flame. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome's level; the DCs are Charisma-based. This racial trait replaces gnome magic and illusion resistance.
I'd advise against multiclassing. If you want to cast sorc spells you won't be able to take advantage of wearing armor like Oracles get to, which will keep you safe as your low level fire spells have rather close range.
stuffWow. They really need to make that clearer. Hit Dice and Character Level sound like they have nothing to do with one another.
Well that's good to know. But I'll still being doing hecka lots of damage at level 2, and even more at level 4. And that's good enough for me.
So that begs the question- should I drop Magical Knack in favor of something else, or is it still a decent strategy.
it's because all entities have hit dice but not all entities have player levels. aka, a dog has 3 hit dice, but has no levels, but can still get that feats to do things.
The gnome trait specifically extends beyond spells, Peet.
Ah, so you are right! My bad. Magical Knack will not apply though, which means at level 2 if you dip into sorcerer then your revelations will function as level 2, not 3.
I'd advise against multiclassing. If you want to cast sorc spells you won't be able to take advantage of wearing armor like Oracles get to, which will keep you safe as your low level fire spells have rather close range.
I do have to second this. While there are some caster builds that exploit a single level of sorcerer for some bloodline arcana effects (usually a crossblooded sorcerer of some kind, like draconic/orc), it is usually preferable to get as much out of your primary casting class as possible. Each level you gain is also a building block for the next available level.
Peet
Didn't read the whole thread, but I would advise to have other forms of attack than just fire. Sure fire's a great form of magical attack and non magical attack too. One of the best really. But it's also the least flexible. You can't cast fire spells in say, a house that you are trying to take back for some guy. If you did, then the house would be burnt down and the dude wouldn't pay you and the party gets upset. Plus, the fire could kill you guys if you aren't careful in that house. Smokescreens are nasty bro, nasty. Plus you don't want to set the vessel you're on on fire when at sea too. Also, you can't really do fire spells in a forest either, for obvious reasons. If the smoke or flames don't take you out, the elven Druids will be out for your blood when the forest is destroyed.
So I'd recommend a couple of other forms of attack like Lightning and Ice. This will allow you to do some damage when in a situation where fire just isn't an option.
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I'd advise against multiclassing. If you want to cast sorc spells you won't be able to take advantage of wearing armor like Oracles get to, which will keep you safe as your low level fire spells have rather close range.
I do have to second this. While there are some caster builds that exploit a single level of sorcerer for some bloodline arcana effects (usually a crossblooded sorcerer of some kind, like draconic/orc), it is usually preferable to get as much out of your primary casting class as possible. Each level you gain is also a building block for the next available level.
Peet
The problem is that I would really like to utilize the Flame mystery, but there are very few fire spells available to Oracles/Clerics. Ergo: Sorcerer, for their large amount elemental spells I can turn into fire spells. A lot of you have concern for that, but don't worry. I can choose not turn them into fire spells, so I will have lots of kinds of elemental spells at my disposal.
Note to you: Unless it specifically says otherwise, you apply modifiers in you choose.
So, yes, at level 2 you'd get a 3rd level Fire spell off.
The real spell boosts come with Spell specialization, and Spell Perfection that doubles modifiers for feats w certain spells. It won't modify a trait or a racial modifier, but those do get 'stacked on'.
I'll post a link to the firebombing sorcerer build, which is similar to what you want, you can probably modify it to fit an oracle if you choose to.
==Aelryinth
Your sorcerer spells known are separate from your oracle spells known, so they won't advance when you continue as oracle. You'll just get their first level spells to cast and never advance past CL 4 when doing so. That's not adding as much breadth as you might be imagining.
And Oracles don't really get that many blaster spells of other elements in the first place (they get few relatively few blaster spells period).
This may just be something you learn by experience though, so I won't sweat it.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2nn33&page=3?Evocation-optimization#144
Keep in mind this is not my build, it's been put together by regular posters and is a standard high end optimized blaster caster build. It can certainly be tweaked in other directions.
-==Aelryinth
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I would avoid the deafness curse. It means your character lacks information everyone else at the table has and complicates communication. This will make roleplaying harder and if your GM enforces player character knowledge separation will eventually get you killed when you need to hear a shouted warning and can't.
There's a reason we don't let deaf people join the armed forces. The oracle class is a poor design in general, but if you take one of the lighter curses it's a lot less bad. Tongues is probably best. In PFS people mostly won't be able to understand you in combat, but you can understand them and they can tell you're shouting something.
I think Celestial, Auran, and Terran are the most recommended languages for communicating with summons so may be more likely to be understood, but a PFS veteran could probably give better advice.
Yeah, I was thinking a lot about this, and I think you are right. I thought it would be fun to RP a deaf char, but I've realised it's probably a bad idea. I was thinking rotting or tongues could be could.
HOPEfully, The ACG will give us some more curse options...|
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http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2nn33&page=3?Evocation-optimization#144
Keep in mind this is not my build, it's been put together by regular posters and is a standard high end optimized blaster caster build. It can certainly be tweaked in other directions.
-==Aelryinth
Thanks Aelryinth. I've been looking for something like this, just didn't know where to find it. :D
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Aside:
There's one deaf oracle in our playgroup and he has saved our lives on several occasions BECAUSE he is deaf. It's not always a drawback (immunity to sonic effects) and having Silent Spell tacked on for free is nice too.
Casting silence on yourself kills the opponent's ability to cast spells but not yours.
