I have an idea for a character design for Iron Gods and I'm looking for some input on character build. I don't have backstory fleshed out yet, but the general idea is an Android Spellcaster of some kind (Arcane caster) whose spells are not actually magic. Instead they are Hardlight Projections or the result of tech upgrades in his own body. As he gains power he awakens more and more of these pieces of technology and learns to use them.
Summons and Conjuration spells would be Hardlight Constructs (a-la drones or barriers in Mass Effect). Evocation/blast type spells would be integrated weapon systems in the characters body. Etc...
I was thinking a Conjuration Specialist Wizard would be a good build but I am playing a Wizard in Kingmaker right now. The build is quite different but it's still a Wizard. I don't really mind playing the class twice in a row, but something different would be cool too.
Alchemists don't have enough conjuration type spells to bring the Hardlight Projections to the forefront like I would want, and Sorcerers won't do because of the Android's charisma penalty.
A Summoner might work since their summon spells last longer and having a lower Charisma score isn't as bad for them. I've never really played a summoner though so I'm not sure how best to build one.
The last thought I had was Arcanist, but I won't know enough about how to build one until the book comes out later this month.
Any suggestions are appreciated. Build, feats, class suggestion, etc...Thanks in advance!!
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Have you considered Sorcerer instead of wizard? I know it's not optimal compared to a wizard, but for what you are looking at, the spontaneous casting and no material components or spellbook just makes so much more sense. And, Well, Nanite bloodline.
You could go with an illusion build. It seems to make more sense if you are dealing in light. Shadow Conjuration is a terribly useful spell. If you want to do sorcerer, I think Wildblooded Sage is good to be Intelligence based, and you get the +2 to any school of your choice at level 15 (11 with Robe of Arcane Heritage.) There's a Shadow Conjuration guide out there somewhere, it's pretty good.
An NPC in one of the campaigns I ran was this actually. Used an aberrant blooded sorcerer that was re-fluffed. Not optimal, but became many of the player's favourite npc and still gets brought up in conversations quite often.
Spells were refluffed as executing weapon subsystems and similar. She used Force Punch with her extended reach to do some pretty nasty damage too. Magic missile was finger guns. Fly was boosters, etc. She wasn't entirely humanoid and the aberrant bloodline helped reflect that surprisingly well.
Fun character. You'll be a caster so even if you knowingly nerf yourself some it tends to work out fine anyway. Have fun with it!
Dreamscarred Press: Ultimate Psionics.
This book has casters that will do everything you want with a lot of the flavour built in.
You could go for a sage bloodline sorcerer, which runs off of Intelligence instead of Charisma. I've certainly considered it a time or two, though my thoughts were more towards a magical programming theme, with glowing sigils resembling circuitry forming in midair as he says, "force.projectile.count=3.exe"...
A summoner could work reasonably well, perhaps a master summoner if you really want to focus on the summoning angle. Resolute summons, perhaps? Lantern archon makes for a good drone or something similar.
Arcanist could definitely work out well, I think, though you'll have to wait and see what the final version is like.
For that matter, there might be some archetypes in Advanced Class Guide that will be particularly suited...and I understand there are some upcoming tech-related archetypes in the Technology Guide, so it's possible one of those would suit. If you think you can hack the math, there's some oddball numerology spells in Occult Mysteries which could be flavorful if you want to add in some math...but steer clear if you can't do it quickly, or you'll just clog up gameplay.
I thought of that Sorcerer build but you lose the Arcane Bond which is a big hit. Also it's a module so I may never have access to the capstone ability depending on what level it goes to. Robe of Arcane Heritage is nice through, and may solve that particular issue.
I think I will wait til the Class Guide is released for Arcanist to make my final decision but Sorcerer could definitely work....
A psion (kineticist) would do pretty well with that theme. For a less casty and more combat type, maybe a soulknife (soulbolt) or cryptic. The cryptic, especially, has very close flavour to what you're looking for. Their powers revolve around recognising the patterns in reality and altering them. Play like you're hacking the code of existence. :)