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I'm building an Arcanist for PFS and I'm not too experienced with Arcane casters in general. If you could, please check out my build and give some advice on what could be better.
Class – Arcanist (Brown Fur archetype)
Race – Elf
* Immune to magical sleep, +2 vs enchantments
* +2 CL vs Spell Resistance
Racial Traits –
* Fleet-footed (Run feat & +2 initiative, racial bonus)
Traits -
* Reactionary (+2 initiative, trait bonus)
* Transmuter
Stats at 1st lvl -
Str: 7
Dex: 16 (+2 added)
Con: 12 (-2 added)
Int: 19 (+2 added)
Wis: 14
Cha: 7
1) Arcanist 1: Bab +0, Extra Exploit: Ice Missle (lvl 1), Familiar (exploit), +1hp
2) Arcanist 2: Bab +1, +1hp
3) Arcanist 3: Bab +1, Extra Exploit: Potent Magic (lvl 3), +1hp
4) Arcanist 4: Bab +2, +1 Int, +1hp
5) Arcanist 5: Bab +2, Extra Exploit: Lepidstadt Shifter (lvl 5), Metamagic Knowledge (exploit), +1hp
6) Arcanist 6: Bab +3, +1hp
7) Arcanist 7: Bab +3, Extra Exploit: Consume Magic Items (lvl 7), Dimensional Slide (exploit), +1hp
8) Arcanist 8: Bab +4, +1 Int, +1hp
9) Arcanist 9: Bab +4, Undecided (lvl 9), +1hp
10) Arcanist 10: Bab +5, +1hp
11) Arcanist 11: Bab +5, Undecided (lvl 11), Greater Metamagic Knowledge (exploit), +1hp
At 4th level, retrain "Extra Exploit: Ice Missle" to "Improved Initiative". Total Initiative bonus at 4th level would be +15.
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With most of my feats I'm trying to scamper around and grab all the really good exploits but maybe I should be focusing elsewhere? I'm drawing blanks on what feats I should take at 9th and 11th level.
In PFS I can purchase a scroll with 5 2nd level wizard spells on it. When using Consume Magic Items exploit do I consume the entire scroll to gain +5 Arcane Reservoir points or does it just erase 1 spell off the scroll?
Is there anything that I'm missing? I'm also considering using my FCB's to gain +1 Arcane Reservoir Points per level. I would have a larger Arcane Reservoir but my Con is only 12 and I wouldn't be gaining the +1hp per level with FCB's. Thoughts?
If you go with cha 7? Dont take ice missile. It is already unimpressive without having -2 on the DC. Decide on a race.
You consume one spell on a Big scroll pr go not several at once.
Brown fur is about buffing friends do you have regular friends to buff or do you hope for completens pig ups?
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If you go with cha 7? Dont take ice missile. It is already unimpressive without having -2 on the DC. Decide on a race.
You consume one spell on a Big scroll pr go not several at once.
Brown fur is about buffing friends do you have regular friends to buff or do you hope for completens pig ups?
Sorry about that guys, I was able to edit it and remove the "Human feat" I had listed as my first thought is "go Elf". I tried to edit again but it locked me out so I wasn't able to update Ice Missle to Extra Reservoir but you're absolutely right that the dmg and DC would be pathetic on Ice Missle with my Charisma dumped. I was just trying to add a feat to give my character some extra actions after my spells were used up, then retrain to Improved Initiative around level 4.
Since it's PFS I won't have regular friends exactly. My allies will change from table to table. Maybe I should lose the Brown Fur archetype? I figured the +2 increase to ability score increase spells would be somewhat handy.
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@Eltacolibre - What are "regular spellcaster feats?" As I mentioned, I'm not familiar with spellcaster feats/progression. I'm familiar with a lot of the spells and a few metamagics like Extend, Reach, Quicken but that's about it. Could use some advise on what feats are pretty important / staple feats for an Arcanist.
please check out my build and give some advice on what could be better.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2rk8j?Arcanist-Optimization-Guide
Brown-Fur Transmuter gets his archetype-defining ability at level 9, i.e. ~2 years into PbP, though 3rd level one is decent too. Both require cooperative beatstick though.Elves are BAD because constitution penalty, though I'm not really knowledgeable on amount of enemies with SR in PFS scenarios.
Human Occultist (SF(conjuration), Augment Summoning at level 1, Superior Summoning at ~7) is a party on his own pretty much like a Summoner.
School Savant plays more like a wizard.
Most PFS scenarios won't let you sleep and can be solved with "generally good" spells (summoning, control, buffing) (or should I say "can't be circumvented with dirty Wizard tricks"?), so I dare say that for PFS sorcerer is better than both wizard and arcanist.
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please check out my build and give some advice on what could be better.http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2rk8j?Arcanist-Optimization-Guide
Brown-Fur Transmuter gets his archetype-defining ability at level 9, i.e. ~2 years into PbP, though 3rd level one is decent too. Both require cooperative beatstick though.
Elves are BAD because constitution penalty, though I'm not really knowledgeable on amount of enemies with SR in PFS scenarios.
Human Occultist (SF(conjuration), Augment Summoning at level 1, Superior Summoning at ~7) is a party on his own pretty much like a Summoner.
School Savant plays more like a wizard.
Most PFS scenarios won't let you sleep and can be solved with "generally good" spells (summoning, control, buffing) (or should I say "can't be circumvented with dirty Wizard tricks"?), so I dare say that for PFS sorcerer is better than both wizard and arcanist.
I would think the Greater Metamagic Knowledge versatility and the Potent Magic exploit to boost CL or DC by 2 would both be worth noting over a Sorcerer? Am I wrong? Also Dimensional Slide and Spell Tinkering seem quite useful (Spell Tinkering seems to stack on top of an Extended spell, allowing some self buffs to have some really long durations).
Maybe I'm missing why it would be better to just play a Sorcerer?
EDIT: I've actually read through that guide and added quite a bit of the advice to the build already. I also ran through a few of the Arcanist that andreww built for a couple playtests that he did. I based my character's stats off of one of andreww's characters, and took his advice on dumping Charisma.
I appreciate the link, but I'm hoping for some additional advice as I'm only able to pull so much from those two sources since I'm not entirely familiar with playing Arcane Casters in general and since I'm completely new to Arcanist.
Maybe I'm missing why it would be better to just play a Sorcerer?
Just my preference, T1 is still T1 in PFS. T1's main strength is flexibility. They can get any spell after a rest, or by leaving slots open or taking Quick Study exploit. However, in PFS you don't really need that versatility, as you can fit most generally good spells into sorcerer's spells known, and sorcerer have more spells per day.
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the basic for the feats:
Spell focus, greater spell focus , actually works well with some transmutation spells. Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Spell Penetration, Greater spell penetration, Quicken Spell.
Everything else is just gravy. If you are good at math and not going to slow down your game time, Sacred Geometry is a good feat (Again you will need to double check if it is available in PFS.)
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Might I recommend a familiar.
If you have a coop beat stick good. But if not those self only transmutation and buffs spells work wonders to make a beater good enough for PFS.
I was thinking of making one for pfs but dont have a steady buddy to pair him with. I feel a familiar can fill in when one is absent but shouldn't be a every scenario thing.
For a trait I recommend transmuter. Its actually better than spell focus considering most good save or die t ransmutations come online at 5th level spells. The +1 CL is worth more than most feats.
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Go tattooed sorcerer if you do not want to be arcane. Tattooed impossible is pretty nice in season 6.
But there is a reason...being int based over cha. Also being int gives more skill points. i also like the brown fur giving self only spells to the beatsticks. Transformation is a deadly thing on most classes. I doubt even cleric would complain. The fighter getting undead anatomy and becoming immune to most will save spells is really nice. Turning a grapple monk into giant form seems over the top as well.
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What are your thoughts on Elf, Human, and Half-Elf for Arcanist? Are any of the Favored Class Bonuses worth it as an Elf or Human? Going Elf as a Sorcerer would be a bad idea but maybe it's pretty decent for Arcanist?
Id think that even if I don't have a companion fighter that almost any random party member would benefit from my being able to give others "self only" spells as Brown Fur.
What is "Tattooed impossible?"
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What is "Tattooed impossible?"
Tattooed Sorcerer is an archetype from Inner Sea Magic.
Impossible is a bloodline from Champions of Balance.
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What is "Tattooed impossible?"
Tattooed Sorcerer is an archetype from Inner Sea Magic.
Impossible is a bloodline from Champions of Balance.
Thanks Desolate.
So, is there anyone that thinks Arcanist is better in certain situations over a Sorcerer? So far I've only heard "play Sorcerer in PFS" pretty much.
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I played a very generic 'good stuff' build of Arcanist to 8 in society. It is just a generally useful character and has all the benefits of prepared casting, spamming your best spells because of spontaneous casting, and gaining utility from exploits.
Arcanist is almost for sure better than a sorcerer though if you want to know if it's better than a wizard I would just say that's impossible.
Edit: Ditch the brown fur archetype. If you really want to use personal range transmutation spells on allies you can already do this using the spell Marionette Possession, buffing them, and then leaving their body before breaking down the door. You don't want to be trading away 2 exploits.
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I played a very generic 'good stuff' build of Arcanist to 8 in society. It is just a generally useful character and has all the benefits of prepared casting, spamming your best spells because of spontaneous casting, and gaining utility from exploits.
Arcanist is almost for sure better than a sorcerer though if you want to know if it's better than a wizard I would just say that's impossible.
Can you elaborate on how you think the Arcanist is better than a Sorcerer in PFS? Just wanting to get multiple opinions before I roll a lvl 2 Arcanist or Sorcerer (the character has 3 scenario credits already).
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Arcanist knows more spells, exploits are better than bloodline powers, and you don't have increased casting time when using metamagic. For every reason a wizard is superior to a Sorcerer an Arcanist is as well only you traded a faster spell level track for the ability to spam your best spell over and over.
I wonder if people who prefer sorcerer do so for damage. The thing to remember is that direct spell damage is generally inferior to the full round damage of most martial characters. A spell caster's strength lies in versatility. And while you can make a versatile sorcerer, I doubt it's any better than the arcanist's versatility.
For me the big part of arcanist is the occultist archetype. The summon monster series is one of the most versatile in the game and occultist can back it up with the full wizard spell list.
It really depends on what you are looking for.
Arcanist has the flexibility of a wizard in what spells they can prepare and the flexibility of a sorcerer on how many times they use a particular spell. They get less spells per day though. If when playing a wizard or sorcerer you are always running out of spells, that can be a killer.
Their casting statistic is Int, so they get plenty of skill ranks. Most of their exploits do not use Charisma, but the damage dealing ones do. You need to plan out what exploits you want to take to determine if you can dump charisma, need to leave it at 10, or want to improve it.
They aren't much good using the wizard and sorcerer abilities that last all day, since their duration for using full abilities is in rounds and wants a charisma bonus.
I would really suggest you start at 0 XP with one so you can try it a little before getting locked in. It isn't like they need a lot of starting cash in order to equip themselves.
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My feeling is that it is all a matter of personal preference.
SORCERERS
I'm playing a human sorcerer in PFS, and with the cheap access to level 1 wands that PFS offers, I feel I have enough spells to cover any situation. Zahra's a sylvan sorcerer with a pet tiger and a specialty in battlefield control. Do I occasionally do blasting? Yes. But I like setting up situations to help the melee characters shine. I always have enough spells, and the spells I've selected are fairly flexible ones that I don't mind doing over and again.
I also like charisma-based casters and being the party face. Zahra has been using untrained bluff to lie successfully to just about every NPC we meet. She took a trait to give her diplomacy as a class skill, and she rocks that as well.
Strengths of the class:
- Lots of spells that you can cast;
- Excellent at being party face;
- Easy to learn;
- Bloodline powers -- For the right bloodline, they're amazing;
- Bloodline Arcana which can change how your magic works and what creatures it affects;
- You almost never run out of spells you can cast;
- With wands, scrolls and at later levels, pages of spells known and mnemonic vestments, they can greatly expand their spell casting possibilities.
Weaknesses of the class:
- Far fewer spells known, which can cause some lack of flexibility;
- Skills -- You not only don't have a lot of class skills, you don't have a lot of skill points, period. In PFS play, the right knowledge skill can completely save an adventure getting you the information of what you need, when you need it;
- Delayed access to spells of higher levels (particularly your bonus bloodline spells) when compared to when wizards can get them.
WIZARDS
Strengths of the class:
- Earlier access to higher level spells than any other arcane caster;
- Huge potential spell list -- the possibility to "prepare" for any occasion;
- Knowledge skills -- you get all of them as class skills, and with your int you can actually have a lot of skills;
- With traits like pragmatic activator and clever wordplay, who needs charisma?
Weaknesses of the class:
- Bookkeeping and complications -- the class needs some thought and a lot of advance preparation;
- Cost of getting new spells for your spell book can be expensive;
- The possibility of wasted spell slots is very real as your prepared spells may turn out to be poor choices for the given adventure -- keep spell slots open!
ARCANISTS
I think that in many ways, arcanists get the best of both worlds. They have a lot of spells to choose from, some flexibility in how they cast them, and they get some interesting exploits. They also have enough skill points to rock Knowledge skills in PFS. I view them as a wizard with training wheels.
Their downside (and it is large) is that they will run out of spells. As an arcanist you will likely want to collect wands so that you don't need to rely on your small set of spell slots.
I like the Brown Fur archetype, and I like the Occultist as well with its standard action summons. I say: play want you what!
If you want to buff your melee beatsticks -- go for it! They will not complain.
Did this help?
Hmm
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Tattooed sorcerer archetype. Impossible bloodline. Its a good bloodline for dealing with constructs which seem to be a popular enemy type in PFS. But tattooed sorcerer archetype grants a familiar.
Yeah most party love to be buffed with those self buffs. I mean who wouldnt want to bd a gargoyal or manticore.
As for what race...how optimized you want? I personally love elves. They have built in spell penetration. Int boost always welcome. The con hit hurts but you can get by with a 12 con. All 3 races are just fine as optimization in pfs is less than most home games.
Any arcane caster is well advised to pick up a few wands and scrolls to cover odd situations and to provide long-term casting power.
Both wizard and arcanist suffer a little in PFS, because crafting feats are disallowed, and because gold needs to be dumped into your spellbook. As a result, i find all three roughly equal in power.
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How much Arcane Reservoir points are enough? (Using level 2, 6, and 10 as example?) If I go Elf I'm down to 12con, would putting the FCB into +1 Arcane Reservoir points be a dangerous situation?
Maybe going Half-Elf and spending 1 feat on Elven Spirit would be a better choice?
At what amount of Charisma is Arcane Barrier worth getting? It seems like it doesn't absorb much damage at level + Cha mod.
From what I'm reading on Twilight Transfer, in order to use Breath of Life there also has to be a willing or unconscious living creature within 300ft with equal or greater HD that will instantly die. How would someone use this in PFS? This seems a bit situational at best.
Seems the Twilight Sage doesn't gain much in usefulness unless I'm missing something here. I like the Twilight Barrier but the Consume Life seems like it may get some eyebrow raises at a PFS table.
What are your thoughts on the Twilight Sage archetype? Also, how much is enough for Arcane Reservoir points and would going Half-Elf and spending the feat be more worthwhile to avoid the Con penalty while still having access to the Elf's FCB?
The good thing about the elf FCB is that it's dippable. You can pick up hp at the low levels when you need it and grab the extra pool at higher levels.
Note that the elf FCB doesn't increase your starting number of points per day. It just allows you to store more.
The Twilight Sage is very cool, but honestly you shouldn't need to worry about running out of either spells or arcane reservoir in Pathfinder Society. There just aren't enough encounters in a typical 4-hour adventure to ever run dry.
Brown-Fur Transmuter is a very neat archetype. As Ragoz stated up-thread, it's possible to duplicate its Share Transmutation class feature with possession magic, but Share Transmutation is still a very cool thing, and much simpler to use and to explain to the Fighter whom you'd like to use it on. That being said, if you'd like to polymorph your friends before level 9, Marionette Possession is definitely the way to go.
If you are going Brown-Fur Transmuter, I would recommend preparing polymorph spells from the Monstrous Physique line. These spells will allow the Fighter that you transform to keep using the gear they worked so hard to buy.
Check out the Polymorphamory guide if you'd like to learn more about awesome forms to polymorph your buddies into.
As an aside, please feel free to completely ignore the "blast" exploits and keep your CHA at minimum. Paizo didn't really manage to incentivize having CHA on an arcanist at all. Also, ignore the elf FCB for Arcanist, as it is a trap as the poster above mentions.
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The good thing about the elf FCB is that it's dippable. You can pick up hp at the low levels when you need it and grab the extra pool at higher levels.
Note that the elf FCB doesn't increase your starting number of points per day. It just allows you to store more.
Ok, I think it get it. So the Arcanist gets 3 + 1/2 spell points a day for their Reservoir and any points from the previous day are lost. So a 6th level Arcanist would have 6 Arcane Reservoir points to start with but their maximum point allowance would be 9.
I see now where the Elf FCB only increase the maximum allowance and not how many points you start with at the beginning of the day after studying spells. I plan on using Spell Tinkerer at Mid-levels to make some spells combined with Extend Metamagic to last a long time. I also think I'd be using Lepidstadt Shifter at times as it allows me to cast spells while using Polymorph spells such as Beast Shape I and greater. I'm assuming I'd be using Quick Study at times to quickly shift my spells known for the day to adjust for the situation also. Using these three abilities makes me think I'm going to be running through my Arcane Reservoir pretty quickly. I'm not even including Potent Magic which would up my crucial save of suck spells' DC.
I guess I could consume spells or consume magic items to help regain lost points after fights. But it seems I should pickup Extra Reservoir at least once or twice? Anyone care to give some advice on how much a typical person runs through their Arcane Reservoir and if Extra Reservoir needs to be taken once or twice?
Really appreciate the info you guys have given so far.
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Well, I'm having a hard time fitting everything in but I decided to go with Elf.
Class – Arcanist
Race – Elf
Traits -
* Reactionary (+2 initiative, trait bonus)
* Magical Lineage: Undecided
Stats at 1st lvl -
Str: 7
Dex: 16 (+2 added)
Con: 12 (-2 added)
Int: 19 (+2 added)
Wis: 14
Cha: 7
1) Arcanist 1: Bab +0, Improved Initiative (lvl 1), Familiar (exploit) +1hp
2) Arcanist 2: Bab +1, +1hp
3) Arcanist 3: Bab +1, Potent Magic (lvl 3), Quick Study (exploit), +1hp
4) Arcanist 4: Bab +2, +1 Int, +1hp
5) Arcanist 5: Bab +2, Extra Exploit: Dimensional Slide (lvl 5), Spell Tinkerer (exploit), +1hp
6) Arcanist 6: Bab +3, +1hp
7) Arcanist 7: Bab +3, Extra Exploit: Metamagic Persistent (lvl 7), Consume Magic Items (exploit), +1hp
8) Arcanist 8: Bab +4, +1 Int, +1hp
9) Arcanist 9: Bab +4, Metamagic Dazing (lvl 9), Metamixing (exploit), +1hp
10) Arcanist 10: Bab +5, +1hp
11) Arcanist 11: Bab +5, Metamagic Piercing (lvl 11), Greater Metamagic Knowledge: Quicken (exploit), +1hp
I have a couple questions. Are my metamagic feats I'm selecting good or should I be getting wands of these instead? I'm trying to figure out how to make use of Metamixing and Greater Metamagic Knowledge.
Are there some feats that I'm really lacking here?
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Ehh.
Not a fan of quicken spell until 13-15 because it is a +4. Your looking at quickened 1st level spells. Not worth it yet.
Dazing is good by level 11 because you could then daze with 2nd level spells.
Persist is good at 7. I would say 5th but an arcanist is on sorcerer progression so 7 is more optimal.
I recommend persist 7 and dazing at 11. Drop quicken and buy a lesser rod of extend so you have extend spell.
Drop piercing spell....grab spell pen at 9. And pick up a few dewomer essence snd your looking at a +9 to spell pen.
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Ehh.
Not a fan of quicken spell until 13-15 because it is a +4. Your looking at quickened 1st level spells. Not worth it yet.
Dazing is good by level 11 because you could then daze with 2nd level spells.
Persist is good at 7. I would say 5th but an arcanist is on sorcerer progression so 7 is more optimal.
I recommend persist 7 and dazing at 11. Drop quicken and buy a lesser rod of extend so you have extend spell.
Drop piercing spell....grab spell pen at 9. And pick up a few dewomer essence snd your looking at a +9 to spell pen.
Thanks for your response, very insightful. Any other feats I should consider or that I'm missing?
Quicken is one of the most powerful things you can be doing the moment you can afford a Staff of the Master.
Seriously, drop everything and buy that as soon as you're able.
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Drop metamixing and quickstudy right off the bat. You don't need these if you just prepare a bit ahead of time. I think most buffs either last too long long to bother spell tinkering because they are 10/min or 1/hr or are too short to bother rd/lvl so drop it too. You can always just cast the spell again if needed.
Don't bother with consume magic items. You have consume spell naturally as an arcanist if you are desperate for additional pool points.
As with above drop piercing spell and grab spell pen.
I think you should pick a school of magic and grab spell focus and greater. Along with this buy your int to 20. Your dcs just increased by 3. You even can get additional spells by having a higher int. I'm not sure what wisdom does at a 14 on this character.
Since you take a familiar maybe get an improved familiar later? They are very strong.
...oh yeah and staff of the master because ultimate power.
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Drop metamixing and quickstudy right off the bat. You don't need these if you just prepare a bit ahead of time. I think most buffs either last too long long to bother spell tinkering because they are 10/min or 1/hr or are too short to bother rd/lvl so drop it too. You can always just cast the spell again if needed.
Don't bother with consume magic items. You have consume spell naturally as an arcanist if you are desperate for additional pool points.
As with above drop piercing spell and grab spell pen.
I think you should pick a school of magic and grab spell focus and greater. Along with this buy your int to 20. Your dcs just increased by 3. You even can get additional spells by having a higher int. I'm not sure what wisdom does at a 14 on this character.
Since you take a familiar maybe get an improved familiar later? They are very strong.
...oh yeah and staff of the master because ultimate power.
Not sure I'm following your suggestions here. From what I understand, the Quick Study exploit allows an Arcanist to replace a higher level spell with a lower level spell with metamagic on it, or just replace equal level spells if they come up against something unexpected. Not all PFS scenario descriptions give you an idea of what you'll encounter and sometimes they throw in a monster or two that can throw you for a loop. I'd think having this exploit is what really makes an Arcanist as flexible, or more, as a Sorcerer.
The metamixing exploit allows you to throw one of your known metamagic feats onto a spell on the fly without increasing the casting time. Wouldn't think be a pretty decent exploit? It can prevent elongating casting time and allows you to put metamagic on a spell on the fly.
Spell Tinkerer can be used on an Extended spell. So a level 3 Mage Armor that has been extended with a Metamagic Extend Rod lasts 6 hours. Using Spell Tinkerer on it you're increasing it to 9 hours. Later on this allows buffs to reach 24 hour duration quicker and afterwards extend into days after so you don't have to spend spells or arcane points on them the next day. In PFS missions usually last only 1 day but sometimes they span over a few days. Having 24 hour Overland Flight earlier (and later having it extend multiple days) seems like a really good exploit to me.
Consume Spells eats away my limited spells per day. If I spend 2 prestige I can get 5 2nd level spells on a scroll which with Consume Magic Items can get me 5 arcane points back without depleting my effectiveness for the day. I'm thinking this is a far better trade.
I don't think I'm going to go for Improved Familiar. I know a familiar that can use wands would be great but if I do that I'll lose the +4 initiative I gain from having a Rabbit familiar. With Reactionary, Fleet-footed Elf racial, +3 mod Dex, Improved Initiative, and Familiar I'm looking at a +15 initiative. Saving a feat and going first more often seems better to me.
If I drop Wis from 14 to 11 I can raise Int to 20 but then I'm lowering my Will save, Perception, and Sense Motive by 2. Not sure if I should do this. I can't lower my Con as 12 is already low and I'd rather not lower my Dex (since it affects my touch AC, Initiative, and Ranged touch attacks). Str and Cha are already dumped. Any suggestions?
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If you prepare spells ahead of time with metamagic that also keeps a normal casting time.
Its very rare you don't generally know what you are up against. You could always just leave a spell slot unprepared and prepare it when you have more information instead of in combat with quick study.
You aren't taking spell tinker until that mage armor lasts 7.5 hrs extended. Even if it was shorter I probably wouldn't even prepare mage armor and would instead use my wand of it. Overland flight lasts at least 10hrs when you use it. I know it seems really cool that it could last 15hrs (or I guess if you are getting a medium extend rod longer) but most of the time this just isn't needed.
If you think of yourself as a wizard with some supernatural abilities I think you'll get more out of your feats and exploits. Using these sort of abilities less also lets you use other abilities such as potent and slide more.
The point buy is up to you. My characters probably don't have point buys that line up with what other people feel comfortable with but hey I haven't died yet. I would do 7str, 16dex, 14con, 20int, 7wis, 7chr and call it a day. Win init and use dimensional slide to position yourself safely.
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@Ragoz - Thanks for the additional info/advice you provided. After considering your stat build I adjusted mine to what I feel a bit more comfortable with 7str, 16dex, 12con, 20int, 11wis, 7cha.
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I'm wanting to have a "save or suck" or "blaster" feel to my character, but I'm still planning to focus on being versatile and using battlefield control. I'm just trying to consider what spell I should put Magical Lineage into and what spell I should pick if I go Spell Focus and Spell Specialization feats.
Which spell would be great to focus on?
1) Shocking Grasp (using Reach metamagic or Spectral Hand spell)
2) Scorching Ray
3) Blindness/Deafness
4) Touch of Idiocy
5) Ghoul Touch
6) Phantasmal Killer
7) Confusion
I'm really not sure what spells are great for Save or Suck as I do want to be able to lay down a crippling spell or lots of damage if it comes down to it. Any suggestions anyone?
Note that stacking intelligence at creation is only worth it if you expect to be casting a lot of spells that have saves. There are plenty of good builds that don't care much about saves, so you don't have to dump your other stats as much.
Of course your current build being save or suck should stack it to the ceiling.
Depends on how badly you want the enemy to suck, and how soon. Dazing metamagic is the harshest save-or-suck in the game, but generally doesn't come online until later in the character's career where you can leverage spells that force saves repeatedly (such as Ball Lightning).
Glitterdust can be a very solid choice if you pump it up with metamagic like Persistent Spell, since it bypasses SR and doesn't target Fortitude.
If you want to be tricky, you could take advantage of the retraining rules in PFS by taking Magical Lineage etc. via the Extra Traits feat. That way you can focus on a low-level trick early on (like Toppling Magic Missiles or Rime Snowballs) and then retrain to a higher-level spell and different metamagic later.
If you want a blaster feel i suggest you Pick School savant evocation ( admixture)
That Will allow you to blast with the Best of them.
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Ok, revised my Arcanst's build. School Savant does seem like a decent choice when taking the Teleportation School focus. Taking Enchantment and Necromancy as Opposition Schools.
Class – Arcanist (School Savant)
Race – Elf
Racial Traits -
* Fleet-footed (+2 initiative, racial bonus)
Traits -
* Reactionary (+2 initiative, trait bonus)
* Magical Lineage: Undecided
School Focus: Teleportation School
Opposition Schools: Enchantment & Necromancy
Stats at 1st lvl -
Str: 7
Dex: 16 (+2 added)
Con: 12 (-2 added)
Int: 20 (+2 added)
Wis: 11
Cha: 7
1) Arcanist 1: Bab +0, Extra Exploit: Familiar (lvl 1), +1hp
2) Arcanist 2: Bab +1, +1hp
3) Arcanist 3: Bab +1, Extra Exploit: Potent Magic (exploit), +1hp
4) Arcanist 4: Bab +2, +1 Int, +1hp
5) Arcanist 5: Bab +2, Extra Exploit: Metamagic Persistent (lvl 5), Additional Traits (exploit), +1hp
6) Arcanist 6: Bab +3, +1hp
7) Arcanist 7: Bab +3, Quick Study (lvl 7), +1hp
8) Arcanist 8: Bab +4, +1 Int, +1hp
9) Arcanist 9: Bab +4, Improved Initiative (lvl 9), Consume Magic Items (exploit), +1hp
10) Arcanist 10: Bab +5, +1hp
11) Arcanist 11: Bab +5, Spell Penetration (lvl 11), Greater Metamagic Knowledge: Dazing (exploit), +1hp
Plan to use Additional Traits to grab Wayang Spellhunter and Magical Lineage to add both to 1 primary spell and use metamagic Persistent for free on it.
Still thinking Quick Study and Consume Magic Items are worth getting. I think my character is close to be finished. If anyone has some suggestions feel free.
Lol, first you are a brown fur transmitter, then a blaster, now a teleporter. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of magic!
One possibility I have considered in the past is taking school savant, getting the bloodline development exploit and taking 1 level of sorceror. Full bloodline plus full school! Of course, it would delay spellcasting a level, so it would depend on your build and what you want to achieve.
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Lol, first you are a brown fur transmitter, then a blaster, now a teleporter. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of magic!
One possibility I have considered in the past is taking school savant, getting the bloodline development exploit and taking 1 level of sorceror. Full bloodline plus full school! Of course, it would delay spellcasting a level, so it would depend on your build and what you want to achieve.
Yeah, I get overwhelmed by all the options. But luckily you guys are here to help me sort through all the crap lol.
I don't want to slow down my spell progression any as I'm already behind a Wizard. Good thought though.
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So I'm thinking of moving a few things around. Quick Study to level 1 since I only have so many spells I can use a Buff spell, Quick Study to exchange it for a debuff or damage spell and have options instead of half my spell selection being self buffs.
1) Arcanist 1: Bab +0, Extra Exploit: Quick Study (lvl 1), +1hp
2) Arcanist 2: Bab +1, +1hp
3) Arcanist 3: Bab +1, Extra Exploit: Potent Magic (lvl 3), +1hp
4) Arcanist 4: Bab +2, +1 Int, +1hp
5) Arcanist 5: Bab +2, Extra Exploit: Metamagic Persistent (lvl 5), Additional Traits (exploit), +1hp
6) Arcanist 6: Bab +3, +1hp
7) Arcanist 7: Bab +3, Improved Initiative (lvl 7), +1hp
8) Arcanist 8: Bab +4, +1 Int, +1hp
9) Arcanist 9: Bab +4, Extra Exploit: Bloodline Development Arcane (lvl 9), Consume Magic Items (exploit), +1hp
10) Arcanist 10: Bab +5, +1hp
11) Arcanist 11: Bab +5, Spell Penetration (lvl 11), Greater Metamagic Knowledge: Dazing (exploit), +1hp
I'm considering taking Bloodline Development (Arcane) at 9th level to use a "Staff of the Master" for half price (15k instead of 30k) as my Arcane Bond.
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The more I think about my character, the more I want to have a dominating or debuffing focus. At my local PFS area most of the casters I've seen use "Create Pit", "Fireball", or "Magic Missle" with a few random less effective spells.
I think I'd still take a few damage spells just to have something to blow stuff up if needed. But most of the spells I'm really liking are Necromancy or Enchantment. I could use some advice on what choices are good.
Trying to figure out what spell would be great to throw Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter on to reduce metamagic on it by -2. Glanced through Core only spells so far but these are the ones I liked between level 1 - 5.
((I'm considering using Wayang Spellhunter and Magical Lineage on 1 of the below spells to reduce metamagic cost on it by -2.))
* lvl 2 Blindness/Deafness - Calls for a Fort save but with Persistent metamagic it could have an easy time sticking.
* lvl 3 Vampiric Touch - No save, Elf has racial Spell Penetration. Could put Empowered metamagic on it for free. Can use a Reach meta rod or Spectral Hand to reach targets.
* lvl 3 Ray of Exhaustion - Persistent metamagic makes them Exhausted automatically? Sounds like auto win to me.
If I retrain later at 10 or 11 to a 5th level spell I'm considering these -
* lvl 5 Waves of Fatigue - Any way to make this more deadly with metamagic?
* lvl 5 Feeblemind - Will save debuffer and Int/Cha based caster destroyer. Free Persistent metamagic on this to make them save vs this twice.
* lvl 5 Dominate Person - Make a creature your ally for the entire day. Can use Persistent metamagic on this.
I'm only looking at Core spells with the above but if you know of any spells that would rock as debuff/dominate spells let me know.
My School Focus would stay Teleportation School but my Opposition Schools would be Divination (I can use scrolls for spells if needed) and some other school. I hate to make Evocation an Opposition but I don't want to hurt my buffing schools (Abjuration and Transmuation).
Note that divination is a tough opposition school because you will need to use double spell slots to prepare detect magic and read magic.
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Does Persistant Spell metamagic cause enemies to get hit twice by Ray of Exhaustion and Ray of Enfeeblement? Both say they receive an effect if the enemy makes their save (Enfeeblement is 1/2 Str penalty) and Ray of Exhaustion makes the enemy fatigued if they save.
Have it been FAQed that you can take extra exploit before you get one "real" exploit? Rules say "A character who takes an alternate class feature does not count as having the class feature that was replaced for the purposes of meeting any requirements or prerequisites."