Emerald Spire Superdungeon with 2 players: Help with suggestions?

[Phil-D-fferent]

Hello everyone. Longtime lurker, first-time poster here.

Well, the title says it all: my current gaming group is small but dedicated, and they'd like to test their mettle against the Emerald Spire.

They're looking up to me for suggestions as to what classe(s) they should play given that they have, during this last year, already played a magus (both of them, but not during the same campaign), an archer bard, a melee druid, a paladin and a battle oracle, so they'd like to try some thing else...I must say that I'd be curious to see how classes like Arcanist, Inquisitor or Slayer play, but I'm not sure they are appropriate for this adventure.

They have only been playing Pathfinder for a year, and still feel a little bit more comfortable with spontaneous casters rather than prepared ones.

I'll be using 25-point buy for abilities and I'm considering allowing the 3.x gestalt rules, and even some 3.x material on a case-by-case basis (for example, I was considering creating a GMPC with the Healer class from the D&D Miniatures Handbook to support them without any risk of overshadowing them).

Thank you for your imput!

[CWheezy]

Inquisitor and alchemist are a pretty good team

[Hmm]

I'm going through the Emerald Spire with both a slayer and an inquisitor in my party, and they're awesome in it.

Fort Inevitable is a town with a lot of roleplay potential. Make sure that you have fun with it because in my opinion the subtle nastiness of the town is the best part of the adventure. You might want to hint to the players that some social skills would be a good idea... Gestalt characters and high point buy will help with the challenge rating. Maybe allow them access to pet classes too? It seemed like there were times when we were overrun with foes. Animal flanking buddies could help a lot.

There are a lot of ways that a GM PC could be built as support. I know that you don't want to outshine your players, but a life oracle / paladin gestalt would offer a ton of healing -- especially if you go for one of the healing focused archetypes like hospitaler. A non-combat bard could be a great healer too.

Hmm

[Issac Daneil]

I would suggest that you allow each player to run two characters, rather then Gestalt them.

Group Action Economy is more important then having the higher average of options per head.

Beyond that; I've never played Emerald Spire, so I'm no further help. I guess i'd chip in; Slayer and Inquisitors can be built to function as strict killers. So they can function in basically any game.

[Hmm]

The action economy thing was why I suggested the pet classes. I find it easier to roleplay a person and a pet than two fully fleshed characters.

Hmm

[Just a Mort]

Emerald spire is not pet friendly. Not recommended to play pet classes, except summoner. Reason is spoilerific.

[Hmm]

I'm playing in the Spire with a group that includes child players. After I got a familiar, suddenly everyone wanted a pet.

We're going through the Spire with:
1 wolf
1 dog
1 badger
2 mules
1 thrush songbird
1 house centipede

I kid you not.

Emerald Spire Spoilers:

On the third level, we converted a number of rooms into a stable where we keep the animals for animal unfriendly floors like the water level. We're even considering hiring a local (maybe Davon?) to watch the critters while we explore pet-unfriendly levels.

Hmm

[Phil-D-fferent]

@ Hmm: I had thought of pet classes but, as I said, one of my players already played a druid a few months ago, so she'd like t try some thing else. What do you think of a sylvan sorcerer, an inquisitor with the Animal/Feather domain, a lunar oracle or maybe even a hunter? Of course, there's always the summoner, but aren't they a bit squishy?

@ Issac Daneil: as I said, my players don't have years of experience under their belt, so I'm afraid playing 2 characters could be somewhat overwhelming.

BTW, thanks for your replies, everyone!

[Mark Hoover]

I don't know Emerald Spire. I do know megadungeons. They are about action economy, managing resources and the ability to upgrade on the fly. If you only have 2 PCs you also have to pull double duty.

In my current homebrew megadungeon campaign we have one PC who does quite well: a ranger with the Dungeon Delver archetype. He's a Str ranger switch-hitter build with a lot of perks for fighting underground. Also with a skill emphasis on scouting and stealth he spots a lot of dangers first. This has so far translated to a lot of Surprise rounds favoring the party.

If ES doesn't favor pets this may not work, but what about a simple wizard for your second choice? You've got a familiar to Aid Another on skill checks and for scouting around; spell selections are fantastic; finally... scrolls (hear me out). As long as you allow the PC to purchase some materials ahead of time, the wizard can be scribing a scroll even as your characters are exploring. This means temporary replenishment of resources.

These 2 PCs together long term means they can collaborate on scrolls making Cures and buffs for ongoing explorations. Between them they've got enough skill points to cover all the pertinent knowledge skills. The ranger simply needs items from loot piles in order to get more effective.

[Hmm]

Sylvan sorcerers, lunar oracles, inquisitor or cleric with feather domain -- all those are awesome. Hunters have the wonderful teamwork feats option with their pets, and there's also the option of sacred huntsmaster for inquisitors if you want the animal at level 1. Summoners are just as squishy as sorcerers and can wear more armor. If you are doing gestalt, you can probably make up for some of the squishiness.

I am playing a sylvan sorcerer in PFS and love it.

BTW, a great spell for dealing with the issue of bringing your buddy with you is Carry Companion. Druids, hunters, rangers and sorcerers can all cast it.

Hmm

[Undone]

Summoner, druid. You have everything covered, two recoverable tanks, and divine and arcane casting. They'll crush everything but a couple of high level floors.