| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
So my friend challenged me to play one of my more ridiculous character concepts, which is a Fighter (or any martial) who wears robes like a Wizard, carries wizard gear and essentially pretends to be a Wizard, but he has no magical abilities whatsoever. All he does is beat down his enemies with his trusty quarterstaff wearing light armor all while using underhanded tactics he calls “spells”.
One potential scenario if a group of enemies (let’s say bandits) suspect that he is, after a general look, a Wizard and thus begin to take counter measures to prevent him from casting, such as rushing to him as quickly as they can. Moments later, they realize they’ve made a terrible mistake when he starts beating them all down with his quarterstaff.
I looked at a few interesting options (such as Monk and Brawler) before finally settling on the perfect class and archetype for this absurd character concept. Without further ado, I present to you, Tim “The Wizard”!
Tim “The Wizard”
Race: Human
Class: Lore Warden (Fighter Archetype)
Languages Known: Common, Draconic
Stats (25 point buy): 16 STR, 16 DEX, 12 CON, 13 INT, 12 WIS, 8 CHA
Stats (20 point buy): 16 STR, 15 DEX, 12 CON, 13 INT, 10 WIS, 8 CHA
Stats (15 point buy): 15 STR, 15 DEX, 12 CON, 13 INT, 10 WIS, 8 CHA
Feat Build (up to level 8)
1. Power Attack
1. Two-Weapon Fighting
1. Skill Focus (Use Magic Device)
2. Combat Expertise (free from Lore Warden)
2. Improved Dirty Trick
3. Weapon Focus (Quarterstaff)
4. Weapon Specialization (Quarterstaff)
5. Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (feat re-trained at Lv8, originally Double Slice)
6. Quick Dirty Trick
7. Greater Dirty Trick
8. Greater Weapon Focus (Quarterstaff)
8. Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
Alternative Racial Trait
Focused Study: All humans are skillful, but some, rather than being generalists, tend to specialize in a handful of skills. At 1st, 8th, and 16th level, such humans gain Skill Focus in a skill of their choice as a bonus feat. This racial trait replaces the bonus feat trait.
Traits
• Pragmatic Activator (Magic): You may use your Intelligence modifier when making Use Magic Device checks instead of your Charisma modifier.
• Underlying Principles (Religion – Nethys): You gain a +1 trait bonus on Use Magic Device checks, and Use Magic Device is a class skill for you.
Skills
Tim will invest max skill ranks in Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft, Use Magic Device and invest in other knowledges as well as a few other skills here there.
Combat
During combat, Tim will attack his enemies using his trusty Quarterstaff as a double weapon, sometimes using a scroll or two to enhance his abilities in the earlier rounds. He uses Dirty Trick ever now and then during combat, insisting that he’s performing “magic”, such as the spell “Blindness” where he kicks sand in the eyes of his foe.
Short Background
Tim is man who wanders from town to town, offering his assistance dealing with magic-related matters, posing himself as a Wizard. He hails from a long and proud family line that has produced many Wizards and Magi, however Tim was never able to develop any sort of magical abilities, no matter how much studied. He was considered a failure and therefore shunned by his relatives and so Tim eventually left to explore the world on his own.
He had acquired some knowledge of arcane matters in his years of training at the family estate, most of it relating to the underlying principles magic and magical items. Despite his lack of magical ability, he still believed in what he was taught, and so he decided to honor Nethys by carrying around his favored weapon, the Quarterstaff.
Tim quickly learned that the world was not a friendly place and that he needed to defend himself, so he trained in the art of combat, dedicating himself to mastering the only aspect of Nethys he could wield, the Quarterstaff. Masking as a real Wizard allows him to find work much easier, he only needs to make sure his clients don’t catch on that his spellbook his blank or that he requires scrolls to perform any sort of magic.
During combat, Tim will attack his enemies using his trusty Quarterstaff as a double weapon, perhaps using a scroll or two to enhance his abilities before the enemy reaches him. The young man has also picked up the art of using underhanded tactics in order to even the odds against stronger and more heavily armored foes.
Closing Remarks
We use a number of house rules in our group, so I adjusted a few things to make this build as RAW as possible. One thing I’m not sure is if taking the Pragmatic Activator trait would allow Use Magic Device to become a class skill for the Lore Warden, since the Scholastic ability states that all Intelligence-based skills are class skills for the lore wardens. As insurance, I took the Underlying Principles trait to ensure he’d have his +3 class skill bonus to Use Magic Device.
One future possibility is to put ranks in Craft (Weapons) and take the Master Craftsman feat followed by Craft Magic Arms and Armors, which brings the “Fake Wizard” act to a whole new level.
I had lots of fun building this character (I’ll only be playing him after a few other campaigns are done) and my friends got a good laugh at how I managed to make it all work, so I figured I’d share it for all see.
Let me know if you have comments and/or suggestions about this build.
Remember not to restrict yourself to wizard spells. There are lots of gems out there from other lists, even if you don't touch healing and all that stuff because of concept.
Still, a CL 9 scroll of divine favor is a good thing to carry around a few of, for when you need good buffs on the cheap. 225gp for +3 to hit & damage for the combat is nothing to turn your nose up at. You can start affording these for the occasional clutch moment at level 4 or so.
A wand of the same would cut it down to 135gp/casting, but it's more of a mid-level piece of gear.
If you do that, maybe grab the fate's favored trait. You don't strictly need underlying principles, even though the fluff is nice.
Don't forget to put ranks in bluff/disguise. If you're trying to convince someone you're a wizard, it helps to be good at convincing
If you really want to sell it you should pick up Magical Aptitude and False Casting. Flip your INT and CHA and replace the pragmatic activator trait with the one that brings Bluff in class. The character description sounds like somebody with more force of personality than brains anyway.
Grab a Lantern of Revealing so you can Identify Magic Items with your spellcraft.
You mean the Lantern of Auras, right?
Good suggestions so far, I'll keep Divine Favor in mind as a good buff to keep in my back pocket for a tough fight.
False Casting looks exactly like what I need to properly fake being a Wizard, wow.
Thanks for the tip and clarification, Avoron. I had a feeling, but I hadn't checked the FAQs for it.
Great advice so far, really gives me more ideas for the character. I can make up fluff for any sort of tricks, so I'll keep all of this in mind when I actually play the character.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
That's a very interesting concept.
Dotting for future NPC use.
So what do you do with this concept when practically everyone knows you're a fake?
Every SC class. Not everyone.
This leads to the question : How many SC-classed people are ther per 1.000?
1? 10? 100?
Because the Commoners and Experts will not be able to tell. Only true Casters will know.
How many of them maximize spellcraft? You can spike Bluff pretty high.
Also, real wizards aren't casting all day every day. You can just look and act the part most of the time. Make sure that your "casting" happens while they're on the other side of the battle field, etc. The OP isn't trying to put on a traveling magic show.