Zen Archer Empyreal Sorcerer with Mythic Rules - worth it? Advice needed

[Albion, The Eye]

Hello everyone,

I am currently playing a Zen Archer in A WotR game - he is sitting pretty at level 4 (Trapper Ranger 1/Zen Archer 3). The trapper ranger level was taken since when he joined the game it was already ongoing, and the group needed a scout/trapfinder.

From then on, the idea was to play a straight up ZA, and it has been working out quite decently so far - the character is actually versatile, offering some decent skills to the group, as well as being able to hold his own in combat, putting out decent damage (as ZAs usually do).

According to our GM, we are soon going to gain a Mythic tier, and for game flow reasons, we will gain 2 levels + 1 Mythic Tier.

I had already started thinking about ways to offer even more versatility to the character - thought about multiclassing into Inquisitor, moving into Evangelist (which was disallowed by the GM for being kinda cheesy - I can understand it), gaining another level in Ranger, etc.

I have seen posts around the boards about Multiclassing ZA with Empyreal sorcerer, and while fun the consensus seems to be that in the end it is usually better to stick with ZA. However, with the Mythic Rules, maybe dipping Sorcerer is actually more worth it.

My thoughts:

- One level dip in Empyreal Sorcerer
- Mythic Path chosen: Champion
- Mythic Feat: Dual Path (second path: Archmage)
- Path Ability from Archmage: Wild Arcana

This by itself means that a single dip in Empyreal Sorcerer affords me ALL the level 1 spells, cast at CL+2. While it is not earth shattering, it seems to offer a LOT of versatility.

Defensive: Mage Armor (3 hours), Shield, Obscuring Mist, Vanish, etc.
Offensive: Gravity Bow, Magic Weapon, Enlarge Person (for a melee companion for example), etc.
Utility: Too many spells to be named.

On top of that, one could go with stuff like Arcane Endurance (I was initially thinking about Impossible Speed, or something along those lines for the champion, but this may prove more useful), and by spending a mythic point, simply getting a Mage Armor that lasts 7 hours..

Basically what I am looking as far as advice is twofold:

- Do you think this is worth it, and eventually useful?
- What progression would make sense from here (stick with ZA after the sorcerer level? go for Arcane Archer?)
- Has anyone ever tried something like this?
- Last but not least, I have something about dipping warpriest also being a great option for a Zen Archer. Anyone ever tried it?

Thanks in advance for any possible advice.

Cheers.

[Albion, The Eye]

Bumps?

[solitary_solidarity]

I've been DMing WotR for the past few months, and the one thing I will say about mythic tiers is that you don't really have to care about whether or not a build is viable/not viable. The mixture of Champion/Archmage sounds to be a really interesting and rewarding combination, but I would warn you to keep a strong idea of what your character is doing later in the game. You might reach the point where you're not sure if you're really filling the role of Archer or Caster, and that can be frustrating. "Do I wanna fire an arrow or cast a spell?" If you're able to find a combination of classes and paths that compliment each other and don't just kinda clunk around, I would definitely jump on that.

With all that in mind, I would suggest moving into AA after experimenting with the different spells you like and which are useful to you as a ZA. You have some unique options for controlling the battlefield, and your archery is going to improve considerably through buffs and class abilities. Just don't lose sight of the image you have of your character. As long as you're happy with how it plays, the rest should be fine.

[Renegadeshepherd]

Not worth it. Zen archer needs to be almost purely a zen archer to work or else he doesn't get his volleys of shots going with flurry. A full caster needs to stay pure as well so the two conflict. An alternative worth considering is sensei since he gets performances and can attack with a number of weapons with his wisdom mod but even this I couldn't recommend.

[Albion, The Eye]

In all honesty, I am considering a couple of ideas - being a caster is definitely not the main one, but... Think about it - there are several level 1 spells useful for an archer. With dual path and Archmage + Wild Arcana, I will have access to ALL of them :D

Add a dash of Arcane Archer (say... 4 levels?), and I can be looking at a level 14 Zen Archer that can cast all level 1 and 2 arcane spells plus some nifty archer related powers - sound fun as heck :D

Just not sure if I will be gimping me too much, but doesn't it sound tempting?

[Renegadeshepherd]

But by the time level 14 comes around almost all level 1 and 2 spells are meaningless or very near it.

Zen archer needs flurry maxed out and unlike all other archers he gets to shoot well while skipping almost half of the entire archer tree AND gets free feats on top of that. It's so hard for ANY archer to beat this quality that zen archer is probably the standard by which archers are judged. So despite the temptation, if your not going full zen the. You know that your not optimal and could even be subpar.

If you want spells while shooting a bow and using wisdom to do it I would grab inquisitor or cleric whose deity has longbow as a favored weapon. Take guided hand and ur shooting with wisdom and casting with wisdom. All features scale as normal. Only problem with that is that you will be feat starved for a long time and u practically have to be human but i can honestly say over the long haul it is better since ur a full spellcaster.

[Zilfrel Findadur]

ZA monk is already uber powerfull later levels and with mythic, he could 1 hit ko some of the most powerful adversaries in the AP if they are not buffed (like I do ;) so 1 level will bring flavor, versability and will balance more the game. Good job and I approve this as a WotR GM.