Hello,
We're starting a new campaign, Rise of the Runelords.
We will be 4 players only. I know for a fact that will have an
Oracle
Rogue/Ninja guy with no magic (doesn't understand spells and such, so he's leaning for an easy to use character)
Melee guy, either melee or ranged
ME > my idea was to make some sort of Melee guy (front lines basically) with capabilities to cast Arcane Spell, so we get the utility that Wizards bring to the table.
At first I was thinking about a guy with a W+Shield, but then I noticed that it would be virtually impossible to cast spells without having a free hand, so no AoO means no protection of backlines.
I'm steering towards a Melee Monk with Arcane power.
The idea of having free hands or Hand+Shield and being able to cast spells seems far more attractive.
Point is I've never done something like this and I'm seeing several options.
I don't mind multiclassing, but I WILL NOT do a Paladin multiclasss, it takes too much effort to justify the class at a roleplay level and if I start at level 1 as Paladin then I have to fall and my actions would be guided by my build and not my roleplay.
I know it's to ask a lot, but if you know of a build, or a guide, please share it with me.
What am I looking at?
- highest spell level possible and specially Wiz/Sor Spell list, to get the highest possibility on wands/scrolls (versatility)
- preferred a DEX focus, so I can handle MAD
- DEX also because ASF will be a problem if I wear a heavy armor\
- shield prof can help early levels and if I have Unarmed Feat I will always have a free hand to cast with my shield
I'm TOTALLY in for a Bard build with high CHA. Why? Because I don't wanna play the classic 8WIS/8CHA guy.
I don't know if it's possible, but I'll be thankful for your help
There is no arcane spell failure on a mithril small shield or buckler.
There is no arcane spell failure on a mithril small shield or buckler.
I'm really confused on how to make it work.
I want to have my spells in case we need the utility, like Fly, Invisibility or those things that you sometimes need, but I imagine myself doing damage as a melee pc that can use spells when needed or for buffing himself.
Thing is if I need STR, DEX, CON and INT/CHA it seems a lot of things to handle and be effective as.
Otherwise I'll end up with a 14 on everything and suck
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Look into the Kineticist class. They're from Occult Adventures and are CON casters. I have a sylph aerokineticist who put a lot of points into DEX (20 total) and CON (16 total) and she wrecks house from 120 feet away.
A few archetypes, such as Overwhelming Soul and Elemental Ascetic alter the casting stat, but will basically do what you're looking for.
Best part about the class is that antimagic zones don't influence them and they can suffer mind-altering effects and still be useful, unlike psions.
Also, some of the elemental abilities like earth and ice give you ridiculous amounts of DR or AC at early levels.
Just food for thought.
Why would you suck with a 14 in every thing? You don't need six good ability scores, and not all of them need to be equally high.
How about the Arcane Duelist archetype for the Bard? You can make it rather good in Dex department and it gives you some good free feats in return for Well-Versed and Versatile Performance. Gives you the ability to use medium armor without spell failure chance (eventually) and even later gives you the same with heavy armor (so kind of like a Magus that can sing, but without spellstrike). Another option is a monk with the Qinggong Monk and Master of Many Styles archetypes, focusing on Ki abilities as well as using a feat chain like Shaitan Style to gain a ranged acid blast attack via Elemental Fist and the Dragon Style chain. Unfortunately with the latest changes to it it's not as easily done at early levels (Dragon Ferocity can give you an upgraded version of an ability called Elemental Fist that you can get without prereqs that is used with the Shaitan, Marid, Efreeti, and Djinni style chains, but it is now harder to get due to the change so you won't have it till later). If your GM is okay with the older version which I beleive is still on the PFSRD you can start using the upgraded Elemental Fist at level three (taking Dragon Style at level 1 and Dragon Ferocity at level two since you can ignore prereq, if memory serves me right).
I'm gonna look into Kineticist and Arcane Duelist.
The Monk thing too, I really wanted to be a monk for easier spellcasting, but I'm not familiar with Occult classes, so that's gonna take a bit more.
Mostly because we need the Arcane casting, but if I can have scrolls, that's gonna be a lot easier, and they get UMD
I'm gonna look into Kineticist and Arcane Duelist.
The Monk thing too, I really wanted to be a monk for easier spellcasting, but I'm not familiar with Occult classes, so that's gonna take a bit more.
Mostly because we need the Arcane casting, but if I can have scrolls, that's gonna be a lot easier, and they get UMD
Might I recommend something? I've been recently constructing a character who would be an upfront caster type character using the Eldritch Knight prestige class. You see you need to be able to cast third-level arcane spells and have proficiency in all martial weapons to take it, so what I've done is start off as a Sohei monk who eventually learns (as in at level 2) that they have an innate knack for magic (using the Magical Knack trait and the Empyreal Wildblood variant bloodline to gain wisdom based casting as an arcane caster which also is a source of your AC as well due to being a monk). This way you can be a magical fighter and not have to worry about armor and arcane spell failure (although as a Sohei you still gain Light Armor Proficiency, just can't use it with the AC Bonus). So at level one you start off as a Sohei monk and at level two you go Empyreal Sorcerer until you hit level 8, which is when you switch to Eldritch Knight. Now you have an arcane caster with Improved Unarmed Strike (won't be terribly good as Sohei doesn't advance unarmed damage like a normal monk) and a slew of spells who also happens to have great saves.
Might I recommend something? I've been recently constructing a character who would be an upfront caster type character using the Eldritch Knight prestige class. You see you need to be able to cast third-level arcane spells and have proficiency in all martial weapons to take it, so what I've done is start off as a Sohei monk who eventually learns (as in at level 2) that they have an innate knack for magic (using the Magical Knack trait and the Empyreal Wildblood variant bloodline to gain wisdom based casting as an arcane caster which also is a source of your AC as well due to being a monk). This way you can be a magical fighter and not have to worry about armor and arcane spell failure (although as a Sohei you still gain Light Armor Proficiency, just can't use it with the AC Bonus). So at level one you start off as a Sohei monk and at level two you go Empyreal Sorcerer until you hit level 8, which is when you switch to Eldritch Knight. Now you have an arcane caster with Improved Unarmed Strike (won't be terribly good as Sohei doesn't advance unarmed damage like a normal monk) and a slew of spells who also happens to have great saves.I'm gonna look into Kineticist and Arcane Duelist.
The Monk thing too, I really wanted to be a monk for easier spellcasting, but I'm not familiar with Occult classes, so that's gonna take a bit more.
Mostly because we need the Arcane casting, but if I can have scrolls, that's gonna be a lot easier, and they get UMD
It does seem interesting, but I fail to see how I'd be doing damage in combat.
Considering all this, it would seem that straight bard is the only answer, but I'm not familiar with Bard Spell List, and not sure if they get a lot of spells.
There is an arcanist archetype that has great synergy with the eldritch knight prestige class. It gives you a weapon that becomes more powerful over time, which is nice, and the exploits are generally pretty interesting class features. I think that you can use variant multiclassing to pick up battle oracle powers which makes it so you don't have to dip into fighter either.
Edit: forgot to mention that, if you take the magical knack trait, you can keep your caster level at maximum as well as keeping all but two levels of your spellcasting.
It does seem interesting, but I fail to see how I'd be doing damage in combat.
Considering all this, it would seem that straight bard is the only answer, but I'm not familiar with Bard Spell List, and not sure if they get a lot of spells.
Well the point is that you would be boosting your primary casting stat, in this case Wisdom, as much as possible. As a monk you would also have that AC boost for being a monk and you would still be able to use Flurry of Blows (and can use martial weapons with it!). The Eldritch Knight has full BAB progression so by the end he will be equivalent to a standard monk in terms of BAB as well as having the same level of spell progression as that of a standard sorcerer. Slap on Arcane Strike and you basically have a Power Attack with no miss chance (when not using Flurry of Blows, since it is a swift action). Just think of it, using Flurry of Blows with a greatsword one minute, using Dimensional Door in combination with Dimensional Dervish the next to teleport behind someone and Flurry of Blows the f#%~er the next.
There is an arcanist archetype that has great synergy with the eldritch knight prestige class. It gives you a weapon that becomes more powerful over time, which is nice, and the exploits are generally pretty interesting class features. I think that you can use variant multiclassing to pick up battle oracle powers which makes it so you don't have to dip into fighter either.
Edit: forgot to mention that, if you take the magical knack trait, you can keep your caster level at maximum as well as keeping all but two levels of your spellcasting.
Is the weapon ability tied to your Arcanist class level? Because if it does it should become less powerful as time goes on.
There is an exploit for the weapon to be tied to your caster level.
There is an exploit for the weapon to be tied to your caster level.
Ah now I see. Certainly could be interesting, then.
If you're trying to combine as much spellcasting and melee ability as possible, an Eldritch Knight that begins with a single level of Urban Barbarian and picks up some Extra Rage is a good candidate. Obviously you can't cast spells while using Rage, but getting involved in hand-to-hand combat generally means spell-time is over anyhow (although there is the new Furious Spell metamagic). While Controlled Rage is obviously useful for the bonus to strength or dexterity, it's just as useful for being able to use a Furious weapon that you've cast Greater Magic Weapon on; if you cast GMW on a +1 Furious weapon at level 8 and then rage, you've got yourself a +4 weapon.
While going dex-based is very useful for obvious reasons, going strength-based has advantages like considerably higher damage potential and way better use of spells like Enlarge Person and Monstrous Physique. On a strength-based Eldritch Knight, taking Arcane Armor Training lets you wear a mithral Kikko, which is one point lower AC than the classic mithral breastplate (and has zero ACP, so you don't even need proficiency); add the Shield spell to that and you're comparable to a martial wearing full plate and no shield - and that's on a character who has access to things like Mirror Image.
As far as having a hand free to cast spells, you can use a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon and light shield and still cast just fine by letting go of your two-hander or putting your weapon in your light shield hand just long enough to cast.
On a Wizard (or a School Arcanist), the Teleportation subschool is absolutely fantastic for a melee character, since with 6 levels you get a 15-foot swift-action teleport. Charge, strike, teleport out of full-attack retaliation range. Teleport 15 feet with a 5-foot step as a full-attack pounce. Open a full attack on a target and then swift-action teleport to continue the full attack somewhere else. It's tactically brilliant with a reach weapon as well.
Anyhow there are really a huge number of pretty potent options for Eldritch Knight and to lesser extend Dragon Disciple. There's even a Wizard Discovery that lets you add your intelligence modifier to combat maneuver rolls.
Wouldn't a melee focused Dragon Disciple build work brilliantly for you?
Barbarian / Sorcerer... gets all the utility from Sor/Wiz spells and you get to claw away at enemies, a breath weapon... Str bonuses, Con bonuses, Natural armor bonuses.
EDIT: Melee focused Bard going into Dragon Disciple could also be very interesting.
Guess I'll have to read tons of guides
My idea was to be melee except when spells are needed for utility purposes, like flying, maybe come Crowd Control to shut down casters/ranged.
The rest should be all melee, otherwise I'll face the problems of casting in melee, which are really annoying.
I think the reason some people are suggesting eldritch knight(myself included) rather than other options is due to the spell list requirements. You could make a budget spell list with the magus and cherry pick a few important spells with arcana, but you just are not going to have the utility that you want really. Wizard list plus martial seems to be largely taboo outside of the eldritch knight.
That said, the EK will end up with cleric base attack bonuses and full wizard casting more or less. The wizard list will give you buffs that will cover the difference easily. Giant form with contingency transformation will make a fighter look like a baby.
I think the reason some people are suggesting eldritch knight(myself included) rather than other options is due to the spell list requirements. You could make a budget spell list with the magus and cherry pick a few important spells with arcana, but you just are not going to have the utility that you want really. Wizard list plus martial seems to be largely taboo outside of the eldritch knight.
That said, the EK will end up with cleric base attack bonuses and full wizard casting more or less. The wizard list will give you buffs that will cover the difference easily. Giant form with contingency transformation will make a fighter look like a baby.
So I would have to go Fighter/Barbarian/Ranger/Something full BAB and then Wizard, then EK, right?
I'm gonna look into that. A Ranged Character would be ideal because I can make use of my full spellcasting and damage with a weapon.
I'm gonna check if it's worth.
Honestly I would REALLY like to play a halfling, I need to check if that's possible.
If variant multi classing is an option, you can grab the proficiencies from an oracle mystery. You lose feat choices but don't lose out on as much spell casting.
Caster level stacks? I get 1 from Oracle, then wizard, then EK?
If you want to go archery, I suggest two to four levels in the arcane Archer prestige mixed into your eldritch knight build so that you can cast spells through an arrow. Two levels is the minimum for imbue arrow.
That said, it may be tough to get all the feats in a timely manor if you variant multiclass battle oracle.
It's a bit of a tall order, but it can be done.
Honestly if you want to be an arcane archer I think it's easier to just be a magus (although that's only my personal, inexperienced opinion). They've got a new Magus archetype called the Eldritch Archer which would be pretty useful for damage and whatnot (although less so in the utility department). Oh, and speaking of arcane monks there's another new archetype for the Magus that basically gives you Improved Unarmed Strike (and Monk unarmed damage progression) and makes your Arcane Pool count as a Ki Pool for a ton of different stuff (if you are still looking at that idea of a spell casting monk). Still probably not as good an all-round caster as an Eldritch Knight, but it does open up some interesting possibilities.
Edit: Apparently the monk-like Magus archetype also is good at using spell tattoos. Weird huh?
Yeah, that definitely works the way you would expect over a broader range of levels. I think the EK probably edges magus out at higher levels, but for most games its academic.
Yeah, that definitely works the way you would expect over a broader range of levels. I think the EK probably edges magus out at higher levels, but for most games its academic.
Oh no doubt, Eldritch Knights have access to 8th and 9th level spells after all! However both the Magus and the Eldritch Knight both have their advantages.
Actually, I have another idea oh glorious poster. A Staff Magus that focuses on Intelligence and casting over simply wading into the melee at the first sign of trouble might be right up your alley. Combined it with the Hexcrafter and between your curses (which you gain through Hexcrafter), your Hexes (again, Hexcrafter), your own set of Magus spells, and whatever magic staff you are carrying (you get the ability at level 10 for Staff Magus that allows you to wield a Wizard's Staff like a quarterstaff with an enhancement bonus equal to the highest level) you would have an interesting assortment of spells and be really hard to kill on top of it (you can use light armor and gain increased AC later on from your staff).
Hello Metric,
what you want can you bulid as dex based gish.
look up some of this builds:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2o3ql?Zolthuxs-Guide-to-the-Gish
best regards
Gonna check that, thanks!
I'm going Archer/EK/Arcane Archer.
Not sure how, probably Tiefling for class, because of the +2 INT/DEX, and I'll be focusing on Combat, and having spells for Utility, buffs.
The idea is to cover the Arcane part in case we need teleport and such.
I'll be going for Max Caster Levels too.
Strength
12
Dexterity
18
Constitution
14
Intelligence
16
Wisdom
12
Charisma
5
One option that seems rather odd at first but is actually quite deadly is to go with a Witch/EK archer, using the Strength Patron for Witch. This gives you access to Divine Favor (combined with Fate's Favored), which is a massive buff for archery, adding +4/+4 by level 9. The Witch has a somewhat unusual spell list for a full arcane caster and there's no point to using offensive Witch Hexes (though there are some nice utility hexes), but there's some interesting stuff in there besides getting Divine Favor and Greater Magic Weapon through Patron.
There's also access to the spell Ill Omen, which is a really great no-save level 1 debuff spell that scales with caster level - it's about as perfect a spellcasting option as a combat oriented EK could ask for. If you don't take Arcane Armor Training, you can eventually throw around Quickened Ill Omen to badly debuff foes with swift actions while you're mowing things down with arrows.
I have a concept for a dex-based Human Witch/EK that can fight with bow, shield and rapier if you're interested - sort of like a Warlock crossed with a Ranger kind of feel.
One option that seems rather odd at first but is actually quite deadly is to go with a Witch/EK archer, using the Strength Patron for Witch. This gives you access to Divine Favor (combined with Fate's Favored), which is a massive buff for archery, adding +4/+4 by level 9. The Witch has a somewhat unusual spell list for a full arcane caster and there's no point to using offensive Witch Hexes (though there are some nice utility hexes), but there's some interesting stuff in there besides getting Divine Favor and Greater Magic Weapon through Patron.
There's also access to the spell Ill Omen, which is a really great no-save level 1 debuff spell that scales with caster level - it's about as perfect a spellcasting option as a combat oriented EK could ask for. If you don't take Arcane Armor Training, you can eventually throw around Quickened Ill Omen to badly debuff foes with swift actions while you're mowing things down with arrows.
I have a concept for a dex-based Human Witch/EK that can fight with bow, shield and rapier if you're interested - sort of like a Warlock crossed with a Ranger kind of feel.
I don't dislike the concept, but I don't like mixing weird classes too much.
Witch as an Arcane Caster seems a good idea, but I'm not sure about the spells.Divine Favor is cool, but I'm looking at a more combat oriented spellcaster.
Besides the 1/hr spells, I would prefer to be a martial class during combat, leaving Arcane Magic as a backup for utility and such, and some buffs.
If I'm doing a lot of damage as a martial with several attacks per turn, casting a spells might be counterproductive.
The idea is to have spells for special situations, but I would be mainly a DPS Ranged.
I don't dislike the concept, but I don't like mixing weird classes too much.
Witch as an Arcane Caster seems a good idea, but I'm not sure about the spells.
Divine Favor is cool, but I'm looking at a more combat oriented spellcaster.
The point of Divine Favor is that it's one of the best - if not the best - combat buffs you can get on a dex-based character. A Witch/EK archer with Divine Favor doesn't sit around casting spells, he pre-casts Divine Favor for a huge bonus to combat effectiveness and then attacks. It adds +1 to attack and damage for every 3 levels of your character, plus the bonus from the Fate's Favored trait.
So if you have a level 9 archer with a +2 composite longbow doing something like 1d6+2 bow +2STR for an average of 7.5 damage per shot, using Divine Favor would make it 11.5 a shot instead and would add a +4 to your attack rolls on top of that. If you're making something like 4 attacks per round with Manyshot, your total damage potential goes from around 30 to around 45 even without counting the fact that you're going to miss a lot less.
I don't dislike the concept, but I don't like mixing weird classes too much.
Witch as an Arcane Caster seems a good idea, but I'm not sure about the spells.
Divine Favor is cool, but I'm looking at a more combat oriented spellcaster.The point of Divine Favor is that it's one of the best - if not the best - combat buffs you can get on a dex-based character. A Witch/EK archer with Divine Favor doesn't sit around casting spells, he pre-casts Divine Favor for a huge bonus to combat effectiveness and then attacks. It adds +1 to attack and damage for every 3 levels of your character, plus the bonus from the Fate's Favored trait.
So if you have a level 9 archer with a +2 composite longbow doing something like 1d6+2 bow +2STR for an average of 7.5 damage per shot, using Divine Favor would make it 11.5 a shot instead and would add a +4 to your attack rolls on top of that. If you're making something like 4 attacks per round with Manyshot, your total damage potential goes from around 30 to around 45 even without counting the fact that you're going to miss a lot less.
Ok, that's good enough, so instead of Wizard you say going witch?
How do I handle the animal companion? And the cool features the Wiz get, like Divination school or transmutation?
Also SPELL list, how limited is the witch spell list? I have NO idea.
Ok, that's good enough, so instead of Wizard you say going witch?
Well I don't want to say "BE A WITCH" like it's the only good option or anything, I'm just saying it can be a really good option.
How do I handle the animal companion? And the cool features the Wiz get, like Divination school or transmutation?
Also SPELL list, how limited is the witch spell list? I have NO idea.
Different GMs and groups handle familiars for Wizards and Witches in different ways; since they don't usually fight or do much in combat, people often just sort of ignore them except for roleplaying. So it's between you and your group really.
For spells, Witches get a lot of the standard arcane utility stuff like teleporting and flying - in fact, the Witch can pick up a Hex for flying instead of a spell. I don't know what spells you were hoping for or what books you're allowed to use, but at least some of the spells that an EK might want like Monstrous Physique don't matter for a dex-based archer. Mirror Image and Haste are two of the biggest things missing, though the Witch can get Ironskin from the Monster Codex book and Divine Power (which is like Divine Favor + Haste on yourself) from Strength Patron.
While Haste doesn't matter nearly as much for an archer EK (or at all for you if you get Divine Power), if you were hoping to be casting Haste on the whole party all the time then you may not want to go Witch. Basically, it's a trade between Divine Favor/Power adding a huge buff to your archery all the time, or Haste giving other characters a buff when you can spend a level 3 spell on it.
Not interested in buffing the party, we will have an Oracle Healer/Support.
I wanna do damage.
I'm really liking your idea, it seems great for self buffing, thought it does require an action wasted but what you get it's far superior.
I was aiming mostly at having Long buffs and using the Arcane Magic in combat if it's really needed.
I wanna cover the Arcane part of the party, utility mostly, not crowd control, not debuff, just utility like teleports and what other Arcane people do.
Honestly in sheer utility your best bet is the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list in my opinion (since you don't want to focus on buffing). I'd say get very familiar with scrolls, so that you can always have the right spell on hand. On top of that you want to do damage and use a bow. If you have set your sights on that and being an Eldritch Knight that uses a bow I'd say be a wizard, grab a level in fighter, and then go wizard again until you can be an Eldritch Knight. Remember to take Magical Knack to keep your casting level on track.
Also take a look at Bonded items, since your Familiar won't progress due to levels in EK, Fighter, and AA. There's a trait you can get that allows you to make a Wayfinder a bonded item. Upgrade it like a normal bonded item and not only do you have a free spell once a day (make sure to keep it protected on your person) you can slot an Ioun Stone in it for added benefits (there's a really expensive unique Wayfinder that allows three Ioun Stones to be slotted into the thing, fairly certain you could upgrade it to that for a lot less than the actual cost).
I was afraid of that.
I'll need to post a build and check for possible damage. I need to be sure I'll be dealing a lot of damage!
But yeah, versatility seems to favor Wizard.
I was afraid of that.
I'll need to post a build and check for possible damage. I need to be sure I'll be dealing a lot of damage!
But yeah, versatility seems to favor Wizard.
I think another part to it is that you want to go archer. One of the advantages in my mind of being something like an Eldritch Knight or a Dragon Disciple is that what you can be an extremely dangerous switch-hitter. Unlike normal switch-hitters however you use your magic to destroy non-magic users while you press the attack with your weapons against magic users (making it harder for them to use their very nasty spells). There isn't a lot of arcane focus on being able to do damage with archery from what I've seen and have a ton of utility spells at the ready.
I'd say you should also look at the bard's spell list, they have quite an interesting selection of spells. They may have some of the spells your looking for (I'm not very familiar with their spell list, honestly). Like I said before, the Arcane Duelist is a great upfront fighter that has quite a few skill points and abilties (plus the Arcane Duelist gains some fighter-only feats!) so if you like the spell list you can combine it with the duelist for some interesting times.
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I'm really liking your idea, it seems great for self buffing, thought it does require an action wasted but what you get it's far superior.
It really comes down to how your GM runs the game and what the situation is. Since you can cast a spell along with making a move action, it can make sense in many situations to basically say "I cast X as we move in to begin the battle", but some GM's don't run with that. In any situation where you need to move into position to start shooting, you wouldn't be getting a full attack anyways. In any situation where you can see the enemy coming, you can cast on yourself before they're in range.
But yeah, versatility seems to favor Wizard.
Yeah, the Wizard is overall going to be more versatile, with the one exception that Witch gets some healing stuff. You can check the Wizard and Witch spell lists online for convenience, and look to see if something you really want is missing. I don't think there's really any way for a Wizard/EK to compete with the damage and accuracy of a Strength Witch/EK archer though, so it's a tough trade-off.
Just as an example, this is the Witch/EK concept I was tinkering with - it's set up to use a rapier as well, partly because Point Blank Master isn't an option for an EK until high level and partly for assorted other reasons:
Madoc, the Witch-Warden
While the outward appearance and weaponry of this bowman might lead some to think he is a Ranger, there is far more power in his connection to the unknown spirits of the wilds than a little dabbling in nature magic.
Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 1/ Witch 6-8/ Eldritch Knight
Human: 12STR, 16/18DEX, 14CON, 15INT, 10WIS, 7CHA
Traits: Fate's Favored, Magical Knack
1IB. (+Swashbuckler Finesse / +Weapon Focus: Rapier) / Point-Blank Shot / Rapid Shot / *Panache & Deeds*
2W. *Hex: Cauldron*
3W. Precise Shot / *Hex: Flight*
4W.
5W. Quickdraw / *Hex: Tongues*
6W.
7W. Fencing Grace / *Hex: Feral Speech*
8EK. +EK: Arcane Armor Training
9EK. Manyshot
10W/EK?.
11W/EK?. Deadly Aim
Standard Buff Spells: Divine Favor, Greater Magic Weapon (hour/level), Heroism (10min/level), Ironskin (min/level), Divine Power?
Weapons and Armor: composite longbow, Spell Storing rapier (Ill Omen for free when you need it), quickdraw light shield (equip as free action), mithral Kikko (5AC, no ACP).
With a mithral Kikko, quickdraw light shield and the Ironskin spell, armor is actually pretty good. So it's possible if attacked (or for some other reason) to draw the quickdraw shield, move the bow into the shield-hand, and draw the rapier all in one seamless free action. Then you can fight with dex-to-damage rapier and Swashbuckler parrying, and use the Ill Omen spell you put into the rapier at the start of the day to curse the creature trying to kill you just by hitting it. In fact, you can use the Swashbuckler parry ability with your bow if you get charged even before you draw your sword.
I've gotta say, that build is amazing.
You end up being decent at melee with Agile weapon, you get tons of things for free, and the buffs from Divine Power and others are awesome.
They are also low level, so you can buy Pear of Power to have them all the time.
I think I'm going this build, will have to check about spells if there is something missing, but overall great guide.
One thing though, why do you go 6 levels of Witch when you only need 5 to get the 3rd level spells?
Most likely to access the different patron spells, which are gained at even levels. In the case of the Strength patron, it'd be Divine Favor (L2), Greater Magic Weapon (L6), and Divine Power (L8) - hence the toss up :)
Even levels also have the benefit of giving you +1 BAB as a witch, compared to odd levels.
I'm curious how that works from an RP standpoint. How and why does a swashbuckler become a witch of all things?
You actually don't need an Agile weapon if you've got Fencing Grace - it comes in pretty late for the purposes of most builds, but as a backup weapon that's getting damage off a buff spell anyhow it's not that big a deal if rapier dex-to-damage waits a bit here. You could always take Agile and something else instead of Fencing; I just usually prefer having it as a build/feat thing instead of needing a special weapon property.
As far as the RP goes... it goes something like:
"Madoc of the Cairngate, a scion of lesser nobility in the north, was trained from a young age to be a hunter, tracker and guide, skilled in the use of the traditional weapons of his house - the military rapier and the targe. Living in and off of the deep wilderness, he began to feel a towering presence reaching out to him from the very roots of the mountains..."
You actually don't need an Agile weapon if you've got Fencing Grace - it comes in pretty late for the purposes of most builds, but as a backup weapon that's getting damage off a buff spell anyhow it's not that big a deal if rapier dex-to-damage waits a bit here. You could always take Agile and something else instead of Fencing; I just usually prefer having it as a build/feat thing instead of needing a special weapon property.
As far as the RP goes... it goes something like:
"Madoc of the Cairngate, a scion of lesser nobility in the north, was trained from a young age to be a hunter, tracker and guide, skilled in the use of the traditional weapons of his house - the military rapier and the targe. Living in and off of the deep wilderness, he began to feel a towering presence reaching out to him from the very roots of the mountains..."
Sounds about right. Hopefully it will fit Letric's character and campaign setting.
I'm curious how that works from an RP standpoint. How and why does a swashbuckler become a witch of all things?
Unless its divine i dont ser classes as a big problem. Martial classes are different approach to hitting things.
Being a fighter and transitioning to wizard seems more unlikely than being a witch.
I dont get patron spells unless i lvl witch, and that worries me.
8 lvls in witch seem to hurt my BAB a lot, doesnt it?
I'm curious how that works from an RP standpoint. How and why does a swashbuckler become a witch of all things?Unless its divine i dont ser classes as a big problem. Martial classes are different approach to hitting things.
Being a fighter and transitioning to wizard seems more unlikely than being a witch.
I dont get patron spells unless i lvl witch, and that worries me.
8 lvls in witch seem to hurt my BAB a lot, doesnt it?
Really depends on the character and whether you started out as a martial class or if you started as an arcane. If you were a wizard you could be interested in the application of sword and sorcery (or just fed up with things getting close to you and proceeding to mess you up) and as for a fighter? Your learning magic to better hit things. It really depends on the classes you are combining.