Gnome Sorcerer 1
Str 5
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 20
Arcane Bloodline
Spell Focus: Illusion
1st level Spells: Silent Image, Color Spray or Ventriloquism?
Favored class: Skill Point
Skills:
Bluff
Handle Animal
Knowledge: Arcana
Ride (or Spellcraft)
I was thinking for a magic trait I might try Magical Flair. Other trait will be Born Rider. ASAP I'm going to purchase a Llama and he'll ride on it most of the time.
Going to go with a familiar. I'm trying to decide between a skunk and a rabbit. If I go Rabbit, then I'll invest in touch spells as soon as deliver touch spells is available. I'm attracted to the spray attack and Fort bonus of the Skunk, though.
Could use a better trait than magical flair. I seem to recall one that you picked a magic school and increased DC's by one, but maybe I'm crossing my wires.
Suggestions?
Bump.
Looking for trait advice, input on familiars well-suited to an illusionist.
Yes, I know that this build is technically a Sorcerer and not a wizard of the Illusion school. Seems like it better optimizes the gnomish illusionist.
I am leaning toward Ventriloquism over Color Spray. Since this build is exceedingly squishy I don't want to be caught anywhere near a group of orcs if the closest one rolls a nat 20 on his will save.
As a general tip, if you want advice, ask specific questions at the beginning or end instead of making a big post and then saying something like "Thoughts?" or "Suggestions?"
You're also better off searching "Pathfinder gnome illusionist" to find one of the many many builds that are out there. Since you haven't posted anything about the flavor of the character, all we can give is generic advice anyway.
That said, not taking Color Spray would just be silly. You might not have a choice about whether you end up head-to-head with that group of orcs, and if you do, then Color Spray is probably the only way you're coming out alive. At low levels, it's basically just the best spell there is.
As a general tip, if you want advice, ask specific questions at the beginning or end instead of making a big post and then saying something like "Thoughts?" or "Suggestions?"
You're also better off searching "Pathfinder gnome illusionist" to find one of the many many builds that are out there. Since you haven't posted anything about the flavor of the character, all we can give is generic advice anyway.
That said, not taking Color Spray would just be silly. You might not have a choice about whether you end up head-to-head with that group of orcs, and if you do, then Color Spray is probably the only way you're coming out alive. At low levels, it's basically just the best spell there is.
Thanks for the tip. This isn't my first rodeo.
Okay, so my main dilemmas are:
Rabbit vs. Skunk - Improved Initiative or +2 Fort? I'm leaning towards rabbit, but the spray attack of the skunk strikes me as more useful than the rabbit's ability to run real fast.
Traits? I like Born Rider (a llama gives me a spit attack and effectively doubles my speed) but I'm not married to it. I like Trickster but I'm not married to it. If there were a feat that made Perform a class skill I'd take it, but I haven't found one.
Color Spray - I've been burned too many times. It strikes me as one of those take-it-for-granted pieces of advice that often don't hold up at the table. (The other being "never invest in poison") The first character I had that took it got killed when she failed to drop three NPCs in a row and since then I actually can't remember a time when it's worked, though I've used it a bunch. And I can always get a wand or even scroll of Color Spray if I think I need it.
I'd rather have a couple of spells that work really well together.
Flavor: this is an extremely lazy character who got into adventuring to avoid a career toiling away in his family's gem mine. He doesn't want to have to walk anywhere for any significant length of time, hence the llama.
Despite being lazy and kind of a coward (note the extremely low strength, even for a gnome), he's an imaginative individual and has an innate knack for illusions. He's also good at talking his way out of tricky situations, which he developed when growing up and dealing with bullies.
His basic strategy when combat starts (and he should be at the back of the party, on his llama) will be
a) throw up a (illusory) wall to divide the battlefield
b) if I know what the bad guys are afraid of, spend the first round casting Ventriloquism and using Perform (Oratory) or possibly Intimidate to sound like the thing. Next round cast Silent Image to give the voice a form. So now there's a giant bugbear or kobold-eating sloth or whatever and it's audibly licking its chops and talking about how hungry it is. Use bluff to supplement the illusion.
Talented makes any perform skill a class skill. It's from Ultimate Campaign. Initiative isn't a huge deal for an illusionist, so go with the skunk since it seems like you want that more.
Loathsome veil is the best level 3 or below illusion spell in the game, in my opinion.
You know what I just realized? For what I want, I actually want to play a bard.