I've never played a spell caster ever in my face, and in fact, the only thing besides fighter I've ever played has been a Slayer that later dipped in fighter for PFS. I am looking for help building a spell caster that just specializes in using magic missile, and is legal for PFS. The most optimized thing that can be made, and hopefully it's human, but if another legal race exist that far outshines human, then I am more than willing to consider it.
One of the first people I met during PFS normally plays by being very silent, and typically fires out magic missile as his goto 24/7 spell, and while joking around, I told him that I will play him in PFS. He ended up telling me that if he existed in PFS he would be a human spellcaster who used magic missile (which is why I'm aiming for Human), and I told him I will try my best to get him up and ready. Next week he is running a low level game, and I would like to introduce him to himself by then.
Please, anyone that can give me some helpful advice, or show me a level 1-11 build for PFS would be much appreciated. I am extremely ignorant to using spellcasters, so I really need the help, and possibly some explanations to why things were chosen etc. ABSURD MAGIC MISSILE MAN PLEASE!
And the battlefield control wizard will just be rolling his eyes at you and winning fights with one spell while you plink...plink...plink the BBEG for an average of 3.5 HP per missile per round.
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And the battlefield control wizard will just be rolling his eyes at you and winning fights with one spell while you plink...plink...plink the BBEG for an average of 3.5 HP per missile per round.
Except he never said he wanted to be the strongest wizard in the universe. He said he wanted to be a magic missle specialist. So take your snark elsewhere.
THe problem here is being PFS legal.
If he could take the FOrce Missile Mage PrC from 3.5, you can make a pretty good damage dealer...although having access to Twin Spell from 3.5 would make it even better!
Magic Missile remains at its heart a level 1 spell, and so will never do the damage you desire it to. Without crowd control, its nearly useless except against incorporeals, which are otherwise hard to damage.
Unless there are some higher level variants out there you can shoot the moon with damage, you're going to have problems with an MM spec past level 5.
Just letting you know!
==Aelryinth
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I had someone at PaizoCon a few years back describe to me in painful detail about how to abuse magic missile. I can't remember all the details, but the gist was similar to what andreww outlined above - use metamagic feats up the wazoo. I believe a key ingredient was signature spell, which might be a trait, and, I think, lets you apply a metamagic feat for free.
Sorry that's not more helpful. Good luck with your build!
My original post has some errors, but that's what happens when you use a phone+ Swype.
I am well aware that limiting myself to magic missile makes it so I won't be the over powered wizard that just wins instantly. I am interested in being a super one trick pony, and focusing almost all my spell slots on blasting each round. Lessening the metamagic do I can prepare at lower slots seems like a great idea, so I can have more beefed up mm on deck, and I am thinking of maybe adding other spells that will be defensive for survival, or help mm be stronger. I still need to look more into how spell casters work, and what they can do.
Metamagic feats all I got? Tripping things worries me, because as a primary martial user, I know the limitations on trip.
. . . There is also a feat and/or trait that raises the max damage by 5. That could be good since it would give your 3 extra magic missiles at 10th. . . .
Intensify spell. It's a +1 level adjustment metamagic. It increases the damage cap by 5 and is based on your caster level. The problem is magic missile gets extra missiles and not extra damage, so it doesn't work like you think it does... unless I'm not remembering correctly.
You might take the above proffered build and expand on it a little. It looks like he had spell focus evocation twice (1st and 5th). Switch the second to extra traits, for magical lineage and wayang spell hunter both on magic missile. That will bring the Metamagic in.
But then expand your focus just a bit, let's say force spells. Have magic missile as your key spell, but include a few others like;
Mage armor
Chains of perdition
Admonishing ray
Ablative sphere &/or ablative barrier
Resilient sphere
Emergency force sphere
Wall of force
Battering blast
That way you expand your higher lvl options some, but still keep a theme. Just a thought
This is a 3.5 build that was entirely about spamming magic missile, but most of it doesn't carry over.
Battering Blast does seem like a nice spell to have.
Magic Missile is difficult to really abuse but you could do something like this:
Human Wizard 1:
Feats:
Wizard1: Spell Focus (Evocation)
Human Bonus: Spell Specialisation (Magic Missile)
Level 1: Varisian Tattoo (Evocation)Traits:
Gifted Adept (Magic Missile)
Student of Philosophy (to have something to do during the talky bits)So, at level 1 you have increased your caster level for magic missile to 5 and are shooting 3d4+3 damage per missile.
Level 3: Toppling Spell
You can now make people fall over when you cast magic missile. With a CL of 7 you have 4 missilesLevel 5: Improved initiative
Wizard 5: Spell Focus: EvocationLevel 7: Dazing Spell
Your magic missiles can now deny people a whole turn of actions based on a will save. Your CL at this point is 11 so you are easily breaking most SR and have 5 missiles to launch. Note toppling is not so good by now, your bonus doesn't keep up with CMD and you will be seeing more flying monsters.Level 9: Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
You want them to fail the save against dazing.Level 11: Heighten Spell
Heighten a dazing magic missile to increase the number of rounds of action denial.
To modify this a little, you could take Fury's Fall which allows you to add your Dex to CMB for trips, which should let you add both your casting stat and dex to your Toppling Magic Missile.
MM builds are all about the metamagic.
Some people don't think Intensify works with magic missile, others consider the missiles as dice of damage like any other. Thematically, it should work fine.
The problem is that raising the damage cap by 5 levels gets you to 14th...which is a +2 missile raise, not a +3, and so pretty annoying. You need the extra damage EARLY, not later...get +2 dice at CL 14 means nothing. The force missile mage, for instance, added the +2 missiles over 5 levels of the PrC, and you could get into it at 5th.
I believe there's a Sword and Sorcery Scarred Lands variant magic missile that gives you +1 missile, but it was ranged touch and fire based.
The key spells for a 3.5 build were Arcane Thesis to lower all metamagic costs; Metamagic SPell (magic missile, eff = to Magical Lineage); Empower SPell; Twin Spell; Quicken Spell; and then your choice of things like Burning SPell (+1/die), Consecrate Spell (Empower vs Undead, no +LA with Thesis); Admixture (using FOrce Missile mage to give it an element); and Efficient Metamagic (TWin Spell) to further reduce MM costs. You could actually get pretty good damage that way.
==Aelryinth
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Human Sorcerer (Sylvan)
Str 7 (-4 points)
Dex 12 (2 points)
Con 13 (3 points)
Int 10 (0 points)
Wis 12 (2 points)
Cha 20 (17 points +2 race) all increases to charisma
Traits: Wayang Spellhunter (Magic Missile), Magical Lineage (Magic Missile)
Feats: Toppling Spell (1), Spontaneous Metafocus (Magic Missile) (1 human), Eschew Materials (1 sorcerer), Boon Companion (3), Dazing Spell (5), Heighten Spell (7), Quicken Spell (7 sorcerer), Spell Penetration (9), Greater Spell Penetration (11)
Spells:
Cantrips: Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Light, Mending, Prestidigitation, Ghost Sound, Open/Close, Mage Hand, Ray of Frost (, Message, Spark, Disrupt Undead)
Level One: Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Shield, Grease, Reduce Person, Entangle (, Floating Disk, Unseen Servant)
Level Two: Mirror Image, False Life, Create Pit, Acid Arrow, See Invisibility, Hideous Laughter (, Invisibility, Glitterdust)
Level Three: Haste, Fly, Stinking Cloud, Slow, Deep Slumber (, Suggestion, Dispel Magic)
Level Four: Wall of Ice, Dimension Door, Telekinetic Charge, Poison (, Confusion, Charm Monster)
Level Five: Animal Growth, Telekinesis, Tree Stride
The spells in parentheses are if you decide to use your favored class bonus on spells known rather than hit points, both are valid choices. You also get an animal companion to build, but tastes vary on that so I didn't build it, that's why Animal Growth is rated your best spell at 5th level.