Obligatory link to the document!
I know you're trying to be clever but breaker and Savage technologist don't stack, the both replace trap sense.
See the less clever people don't notice that Savage Technologist doesn't trade out Trap Sense. Cleverer folks than myself found that part out however...
Evil GMs might come to the conclusion that Primal Magnetism should trade out trap sense but for PFS you are in safe waters.
known when you get second and third level spells if you use your spell swaps at levels 4 and 6. This means that you can rock both Glitterdust and Mirror Image at level 4, or Haste and Fly at level 6. Oh, and you have 4 level 3 spells at level 7, instead of the three a Sorcerer normally has. Yay?Hah, nice! I'm really loving the layer-upon layer of brokenness at play here. It's like a munchkin's parfait!
EDIT: Oh, and False Focus is 99% of Eschew Materials, but with some mild WBL breaking and other shenanigans as delicious gravy. Really, all you are losing is the level 9 bloodline ability, and you get so, so much.Eh, I wouldn't say it replaces Eschew Materials. False Focus is still the better feat by far, but it doesn't actually do what Eschew Materials does. The whole point of Eschew Materials is that your basic spellcasting is no longer dependent on any physical item that can be damaged, destroyed, or taken from you. False Focus shifts that requirement from the component pouch to a divine focus, but doesn't remove it entirely. So it's more of a lateral shift in that regard. The other benefits, though, vastly outweigh the circumstantial bonus of Eschew Materials and it's simply the better feat.Holy Symbol, Tattoo. Costs exactly 100 GP for maximum value out of False Focus.
That's what I was assuming a False Focus user would pick up. It's only really worse than Eschew Materials when enemies specifically go out of their way to shut the feat down. That...doesn't exactly happen often.
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That's what I was assuming a False Focus user would pick up. It's only really worse than Eschew Materials when enemies specifically go out of their way to shut the feat down. That...doesn't exactly happen often.
Holy Symbol, Tattoo. Costs exactly 100 GP for maximum value out of False Focus.
Plus you get to do that scene of Benny from the Mummy. "Crap, that one didn't work? How about this one?" :-)
Well you got me on that one, lol
Its still really bad though, you should be taking amatuer gunslinger for quick clear. If you are shooting with a broken firearm, you f!*&ed up. Breaker does not remove the chance for the gun to explode
Like all Barbarians Savage Technologists are feat starved. I'm not saying that you should never fix your gun but after a misfire it's handy that you can continue firing and at later levels even gain a small bonus to damage.
Also with greater sunder the Destructive ability is actually pretty good.
All that still doesn't a good archetype of breaker make but it's not all trash. I still find it hard to argue for anything except a -2 rating although you might want to mention the synergy with savage technologist.
Whew! Sorry for not replying in quite some time, but I have been adding quite a lot of these guides into the document!
Currently I am plugging away at getting the formatting somewhat uniform, and also trying to get the rankings as consistent as possible. For those of you who have already re-ranked their list to match the -2, +2 model, thank you.
Since it has been awhile, here is the current listed classes that have been put down. Note that if you have a suggestion, please make a suggestion in the comments of the page. You will find also the names of the people who contributed to that list in regards to changes, original listings, and etc. If I have missed any, please let me know.
Alchemist
Barbarian
Bard
Bloodrager
Cleric
Fighter
Gunslinger
Magus
Ranger
Sorcerer
Summoner
Wizard
Once again, thank you all so much for making this document come to fruition!
By that rule, Paladins and Oracles need to emulate wisdom to cast scrolls they themselves scribe. I'd imagine this an error carried over from core 3.5, where all divine spellcasters were wisdom-based. The rule doesn't make sense anymore in Pathfinder.
I dont think so......a Paladin scribing scrolls from his own class list wouldnt need to make any UMD or Emulate ability check as the spells are from his own class list.
Casting spells from scrolls using UMD is basically for when the spell in question is NOT on your class list.
Actually, now that the Weapon Master Handbook is out, the Weapon Master Fighter archetype is way better than it used to be. They can take more Advanced Weapon Training abilities than any other archetype, which can grant stuff like Solo Tactics, scaling weapon damage, better saves, and improves weapon styles that used to be considered suboptimal (throwing weapons and dex-to-hit without dex-to-damage for instance). They do lose out on some of the versatility of the base fighter due to losing the ability to take other groups for weapon training, but that's not a huge deal for most builds.Weapon Training (Ex)
At 3rd level, a weapon master gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with his chosen weapon. The bonus improves by +1 for every four levels beyond 3rd.
This ability replaces Armor Training 1, 2, 3 and 4.So this says to me that you get just 1 rank of Weapon Training, whose numeric bonuses improve every 4 levels thereafter, and you get it 2 levels early, but you get no more ranks of Weapon Training that you can replace with Advanced Weapon Training.
As far as I can tell, the only way to get 5 actual ranks of Weapon Training (of which you could replace up to 4 with Advanced Weapon Training) would be to go Myrmidarch Magus (3 ranks) VMC Fighter (2 ranks). Of course, that is assuming that things other than actual Fighter that grant Weapon Training are ruled to give the Advanced Weapon Training optio for later ranks of Weapon Training.
There's a feat in the handbook that fighters can take once every 5 levels to get an additional AWT option, which has a section at the bottom saying the Weapon Master Fighter can take it as a bonus feat without counting against their 1-per-5-levels limit. So starting at Level 4 they can take it at every other level. It's pretty cool.
I dont think so......a Paladin scribing scrolls from his own class list wouldnt need to make any UMD or Emulate ability check as the spells are from his own class list.
Nope, you still need to meet the minimum ability score requirements. It's in the general rules for scrolls:
The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine). Arcane spellcasters (wizards, sorcerers, and bards) can only use scrolls containing arcane spells, and divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers) can only use scrolls containing divine spells. (The type of scroll a character creates is also determined by his class.)
The user must have the spell on her class list.
The user must have the requisite ability score.
The ability requisite is in addition to having the spell on your class list. The rules in UMD say that if you do not meet the minimum attribute (which the scroll rules say you must) then you need to make a UMD check, and goes on to state that the appropriate attribute for divine spells is wisdom. Ergo, if you apply the RAW Paladins must meet a minimum wisdom requirement to cast from Paladin scrolls. This is an illogical result, and leads me to believe it's an editing artifact from the original 3.5 text.
Weapon Master gets Weapon Training that goes to +5 (+7 with Gloves) and can, per the feat, take said feat many more times than anyone else (early at 4th, plus 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th, and then also take it with the bonus combat feats as often as they want).
Unless a feat has come out that is not yet in the publicly available stuff, Advanced Weapon Training is not a feat -- instead, it is an alternate class feature that can be taken instead of ranks of Weapon Training beyond the first, that has been reloaded into the Fighter class description rather than being written as an archetype (and I think that this is a Good thing). Yes, Weapon Master gets numeric bonuses of Weapon Training earlier than anyone and eventually higher than anyone except Myrmidarch Magus VMC Fighter (who ties after a delay), but Weapon Master Fighter, which I just realized is from the Advanced Player's Guide rather than the Weapon Master's Handbook, trades out ALL ranks of Weapon Training that you can pick a Weapon Group with or replace with Advanced Weapon Training starting only with the 2nd rank, and then just gets back just 1 rank of Weapon Training in exchange for ALL ranks of Armor Training (which is seriously going to hurt this archetype even more when the Armor Master's Handbook comes out next year).
Weapon Training (Ex)
Starting at 5th level, a fighter can select one group of weapons, as noted below. Whenever he attacks with a weapon from this group, he gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Every four levels thereafter (9th*, 13th, and 17th), a fighter becomes further trained in another group of weapons. He gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when using a weapon from this group. In addition, the bonuses granted by previous weapon groups increase by +1 each. For example, when a fighter reaches 9th level, he receives a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with one weapon group and a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls with the weapon group selected at 5th level. Bonuses granted from overlapping groups do not stack. Take the highest bonus granted for a weapon if it resides in two or more groups.
* Beginning at 9th level, instead of selecting an additional fighter weapon group, a fighter can choose an advanced weapon training option for one fighter weapon group that he previously selected with the weapon training class feature. Source PPC:WMH
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A fighter with an archetype that replaces weapon training cannot select advanced weapon training options.
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Nowhere in there does it say anything about taking Advanced Weapon Training as a Bonus Combat Feat. Instead, Advanced Weapon Training is something that you take instead of selecting an additional Weapon Group with ranks of Weapon Training after the 1st (and the 2nd rank is at no earlier than 9th level). So this means that archetypes that leave you with just 1 rank of Weapon Training leave you with increases in numerical bonuses at the points where you would have gotten a 2nd or later rank of Weapon Training, but do not leave you with a Weapon Group choice that you can substitute with Advanced Weapon Training. They COULD have written Advanced Weapon Training as an archetype that optionally replaces the 2nd and/or later ranks of Weapon Training (sort of like Qinggong Monk powers or Primalist Bloodrager), and this would have the same effect, but I'm not convinced that this would make it any clearer.
I had to get the above from www.d20pfsrd.com, because Archives of Nethys explicitly still has the Weapon Master's Handbook content on their ToDo list, scheduled for January 2016, but they do confirm the Weapon Master archetype of Fighter as being from the Advanced Player's Guide.
So, unless the Weapon Master archetype gets Errata'd, it is obsolete (and in a few months will become even more obsolete).
^Must be weapon Master's Handbook content that isn't yet on www.d20pfsrd.com (and Archives of Nethys explicitly said this sourcebook is on their ToDo list; not sure if this sourcebook will ever be added to the official Paizo PRD).
Will look again when Archives of Nethys gets this up. If this feat does what is said above, then Fighter archetypes that leave you with 1 rank of Weapon Training are still potentially pretty good, because they let you get this for the cost of a feat.
^Well, it looks like they actually thought about an old archetype that would otherwise get hosed . . . Although maybe this should be surprising, since the Advanced Weapon Training options are sort of 1/3 of Fighter Unchained. (Next spring, the next 1/3 of Fighter Unchained will be Advanced Armor Training. Then we just need 2 more skill points per level and slightly improved class skills, and a tweak to Bravery to make it into more than just very partial compensation for a bad Will Save, and we can call it good, although I would also lean for an upgrade to d12 HD.)
Just a 2c but Cyclopean Seer Oracle (from ISMC) is ridiculously broken unless there is a race restriction I don't know about. Even then you can probably take Racial Heritage and qualify for it anyway.
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Witch archetypes A - L (racial archetypes delayed to a future post; references to archetypes "below" may refer to a future post)
Non-archetyped Witch (defined as +0 versatility, +0 power for both Dip ad Full progression): Witch depends rather heavily upon scaling of Hexes (and/or in some cases Hex substitutes) as well as 9/9 spellcasting, so generally if you are going to be a Witch, you want full progression (with minimimal if any dipping in something else), and in most cases do not even want to take a prestige class, with the exceptions of those that progress your Hexes (Evangelist and Winter Witch prestige classes come to mind). That said, you might be able to come up with specific builds that use only Hexes (or Hex substitutes) that do not need much scaling, although in that case you are limiting yourself from the start (a few specific exceptions will be noted below). Also note that Witch and most archetypes thereof have a Familiar that also acts as your spellbook -- if you are dipping, you really want your other classes to progress this.
First, the archetypes that are not race-specific (A - L in this post):
Alley Witch (Dip versatility -1, power -1; Full versatility -1, power +0): Archetypes that replace the 1st level Hex can be a pain because they prevent you from taking Extra Hex to compensate for trading out a Hex, particularly if you are stacking this with an archetype likek Cartomancer that replaces the 2nd level Hex. That said, if you are doing some kind of dip for an Arcane Trickster or spy type of character for which the 1st level Hex substitute (Speak to the City) is really helpful, the tradeoff might be worth it (in this case, upgrade to Dip versatility -1, power +0 or even +1). For Full progression, the same thing applies, but you also trade out the 6th level Hex for an ability to imbue other characters with your Hexing ability (Hex Trader), but unlike the spell Imbue with Spell Ability, if one of the imbued tokes gets stolen, you can't get your shared Hex back until you recover the token or it is used (possibly with dire consequences to you and/or your friends, and for some Hexes possibly requiring multiple uses), so be very careful whom you hand these out to. Do note that Alley Witch replaces all your Patron Spells, but this is strangely worded as altering your Familiar instead of replacing your Patron, which in a strict Rules As Written interpretation would prevent you from combining it with any archetype that alters or replaces your Familiar.
Beast-Bonded (Dip versatility +1, power +0; Full versatility +1, power +1): Although this archetype doesn't explicitly state a substitution at 1st or 2nd level, you can move one of your character feats over to your Familiar at any level, so this adds a bit of versatility, assuming that your primary class is going to continue to advance your Familiar. For Full progression, you trade out your 4th level Hex for a minor boost in your Familiar's power; at 9th level, you trade in another Hex for the ability to turn into a copy of your Familiar or a giant version thereof; what you really want this archetype for comes at 10th level, though, where you trade out another Hex (actually a Major Hex) for free backup of your Familiar or yourself (not both at the same time, though -- that would be really overpowered) -- either one that is about to die gets to move into the body of the other. You'll still want to get a new body for whoever lost theirs, but assuming that one of you manages to escape death, this buys you a LOT of time to do that, and in the meantime you aren't totally hosed with respect to the ability to prepare spells (as most Witches would be). This also lets you use your Familiar in combat or for scouting with less worry, even though this takes quite a while to come online. If you make it up to Grand Hex levels, I wonder if you can use Forced Reincarnation to reincarnate your own body if you have to flee into your Familiar to avoid death (or vice versa if your Familiar's body gets killed)?
Bouda (Dip versatility +1, power +0; Full versatility +0, power +0): It is no surprise that several Witch archetypes are EeeEEviiiiil! This is the first of these (and it includes a Code of Conduct in all but name) -- in particular, with a likely connection to Gnolls and/or Lamashtu. For a Dip, this archetype gets added versatility in that your primary class DOESN'T have to progress a Familiar, because this archetype trades it for a Bonded Object (fetish) that stores your spells instead; it doesn't give you a pseudo-Spell Recall like a Wizard's Bonded Object, but instead it gives you the ability to deliver Touch spells as Ranged Touch spells a few times per day. In addition, as your 1st level Hex, you get Bouda's Eye, which is like Evil Eye but once per day lets you inflict 2 debuffs simultaneously (3 simultaneously if you take the actual Evil Eye Hex); like Evil Eye, it only scales once (at 8th level), so this is usable (if not great) for a Dip. Note that unlike most Hex substitutes, Bouda's Eye is described as an actual Hex, so it qualifies you for the Extra Hex feat. For Full progression, you trade your 10th level Hex (actually a Major Hex) for what basically amounts to a Hyena-specific Wildshape, except that you get prerequisite-free Natural Speech and Natural Spell to use with it (although not with any actual Beast Shape spells or other Wildshape that you might gain).
Cartomancer (Dip versatility +1, power +1; Full versatility +1, power +1): This is the Witch's Answer to the Card Caster Magus archetype, and again it replaces your Familiar with a Bonded Object (Spell Deck). Although again it doesn't give you a pseudo-Spell Recall like a Wizard's Bonded Object, for the cost of your 2nd level Hex it gets you prerequisite-free Deadly Dealer (although you may want to get Arcane Strike eventually anyway), and at 3rd level it gives you the option to deliver Touch spells instead of Deadly Dealer card damage with thrown cards. WARNING: DO NOT USE DEADLY DEALER BEFORE 3RD LEVEL! Only at 3rd level do cards from your Spell Deck gain the resiliency to avoid destruction when used this way, and you MUST NOT lose any cards from your Spell Deck, or it becomes unusable. Although you are explicitly allowed to use cards that are not from your Spell Deck with Deadly Dealer (but these do not gain the aforementioned resilience), it would be all too easy to accidentally emulate Yosemite Sam tying himself to the wrong rope, and throw one of your Spell Deck cards. For Full progression, this archetype doesn't make any further substitutions, thus leaving you free to combine it with a decent number of other archetypes. Other than the warning of severe risk for user error at 2nd level, this archetype has cool written all over it, even if it isn't super-powered.
Dark Sister (Dip versatility +0, power +0; Full versatility -1, power -1): At 2nd level, in exchange for your 2nd level Hex, you become a professional Town Gossip (skill-based, so uses per day limited only by the skills), and can increase the DC of any Fear spell once per day; the first part of this doesn't scale with level, and so is usable (if not great) with a Dip, whereas the second part of this scales with level with respect to uses per day (1 per 2 levels). At 8th level you trade in another Hex for the ability to cancel a beneficial effect that a target would receive from one of its allies and inflict moderate Wisdom Damage; however, the extremely limited uses per day and the potential for the caster of the beneficial effect to overcome this with a Will Save (not Caster Level Check) really hurt this. At 10th level, in exchange for a Hex (actually Major Hex), you gain an alliance with a Night Hag, although the extremely limited duration and uses per week really hurt this. Also, this archetype replaces some of your Patron spells. Even if I wanted to be EeeEEviiiiil, I wouldn't choose this archetype for Full progression.
Dimensional Occultist (Dip versatility -1, power +0; Full versatility -1, power +1): Although this archetype does replace the 2nd level Hex (with Dimensional Augmentation, allowing you to increase the caster level of spells in return for minor material components and increased casting time), the uses per day are limited initially, so it only gets good later. For Full progression, you trade your 8th level Hex for the ability to use Contact Other Plane with reduced chance to botch it and greatly reduced time of debilitation if you do botch it; you trade your 12th level Hex (actually Major Hex) for Dimensional Waypoints, which lets you improve the accuracy and safety of your Teleport and Plane Shift spells to a limited number of points (initially only 2, but this gets to be more every 2 levels). This archetype requires you to take the Dimensions Patron (which is not in the standard list of Witch Patrons).
Gravewalker (Dip versatility +0, power +2; Full versatility -1, power +1): We're really digging EeeEEviiiiil here, although technically Evil alignment is not a requirement. Only this time, we're digging -- or more likely digging UP -- graves. For a Dip, this replaces the 1st level and 4th level Hexes to get 2 powers at 1st level: Aura of Desecration (bolsters Undead and increases the DC of channeled negative energy -- also see Hex Channeler below), which scales with level with respect to radius but not with respect to effect within this radius, and Bonethrall (you get to mind-control Undead), which scales with respect to caster level instead of class level. It is not clear that the scaling of the latter ability is limited to Witch caster level, but even if it is, this would still be pretty good if you can get subsequent classes to progress your Witch caster level (for instance, a prestige class such as Agent of the Grave), and if necessary, the trait Magical Knack can be used to compensate for minor deficiencies in caster level. In addition, this archetype replaces your Familiar with a Bonded Object (Spell Poppet), which, instead of giving you a pseudo-Spell Recall, allows you to deliver Touch spells as Ranged Touch spells anywhere in your Aura of Desecration, starting at 3rd level, with no limit on uses per day other than how many spells you can cast. At 8th level you get to possess your Undead minions as if using Magic Jar, but with your Spell Poppet acting as the receptacle (make sure that this and your body stay safe). This archetype replaces some but not all of your Patron spells with spells you need to be proficient at Undead-centric Necromancy, so DON'T choose the Plague Patron, which is meant for Necromancers who do not have this archetype, and will get you duplicate Patron spells, because one of the replacement spells is Animate Dead as a 3rd level spell (like a Cleric) instead of a 4th level spell (like most arcane spellcasters, including non-Gravewalker Witches).
Hedge Witch (Dip N/A; Full versatility -1, power +1): Finally, an archetype for Good Witches, although Good alignment isn't technically a requirement. This doesn't do anything special for a Dip, but for Full progression, at 4th level you gain a standard Cleric's Spontaneous Spellcasting ability in exchange for a Hex (and you don't even have to actually learn the Cure-series spells to use them with this ability). The 8th level Hex replacement (Empathic Healing) is less exciting, because it only works if you are susceptible to whatever condition (Poisoned or Diseased) you are taking from whatever creature into yourself, and as far as I can tell from the wording, you don't even get to use your own (bad) Fortitude Save to mitigate the effects on yourself. Better to invest in something that will actually cure the condition, but I suppose it's nice to have this as a backup in case that fails. This archetype specifies that your Patron should have "a Healing theme", but does not specify a Patron or replace any Patron spells; normally, you would want the Healing Patron, but the Endurance Patron also fits thematically and could work mechanically. For extra bad status removal, combine this archetype with Herb Witch (see below), which is more powerful (although less flavorful) than combining it with Hex Channeler (see further below).
Herb Witch (Dip versatility -1, power +0; Full versatility +0, power +2): Yet another archetype that replaces your 1st level Hex, although the replacement gives you some serious bad status remova capability, of which the substitution of Profession (Herbalist) for Craft (Alchemy) scales with level, although unfortunately for a Dip, this substitution is for practical purposes mandatory even though it is technically optional. (If you find a primary class/archetype which can make the same substitution, upgrade this archetype to Dip versatility -1, power +2.) In addition, your 2nd level Hex must be the Cauldron Hex, although at least this qualifies you for the feat Extra Hex, unlike most Hex substitutes. This archetype restricts Patron, but leaves you with a choice of several (including Healing but unfortunately not Endurance), so you could combine it with Hedge Witch (see above), although the 2nd level Hex restriction means that you can't combine it with Hex Channeler (see below). The Patron list includes Death and Plague as well as Healing -- this archetype can be used for Good or Evil.
Hex Channeler (Dip versatility +0, power +0; Full versatility +0, power +0): If you want to channel energy like a Cleric, this is the archetype for you. Unfortunately, even though only the 2nd level Hex replacement is mandatory, in practice you need to replace as many even-level Hexes as possible to make it good (although due to the broken nature of Meditation Crystals, it is actually possible to get quite good use out of just the single die of channeling that you start with -- hence the lack of lower ratings -- if Meditation Crystals get Errata'd to keep you from getting a lot from a little, this archetype degrades to Dip versatility -1, power -1). Furthermore, it has the same restriction as Cleric with respect to the correspondence between your alignment and what kind of energy you can channel. Fortunately, this ability has the clause that you use your Witch level as your Cleric level "for all other effects dependent upon channel energy (except increasing the amount of damage healed or dealt)" -- this means that you do not lose out on Save DC for damaging creatures with your channeling even if you couldn't replace all of your even-level Hexes with energy chaneling dice (because, for instance, you combined this with another archetype, and maybe left 1 even-level Hex as a normal Hex to qualify for Extra Hex even though the other archetype also replaced your 1st level Hex). For fun, even though it isn't optimal, you can combine this archetype with Gravewalker (see above) on the Evil side, or with Hedge Witch (but not the more powerful Herb Witch) on the Good side.
Ley Line Guardian (Dip versatility -1, power -1; Full versatility -1, power +1): This archetype is frustrating because for the forseeable future it probably fills up the archetype slot that would have been occupied by a Sorcerous Witch -- that is, a spontaneous spellcasting Witch (translating your Patron into Bonus Spells and removing your Familiar altogether) -- and it has a couple of undesirable features baked in, even though the Sorcerer-style spellcasting at least alleviates one of the Witch's weaknesses (small number of spells per day). One of these is that you trade your 1st level and 8th level Hexes in for an ability that lets you increase your caster level for the next spell you cast (and this only improves slightly at 8th level), but at the risk of staggering yourself for a number of minutes equal to the spell level if you fail the associated Fortitude Save -- and you have a bad Fortitude Save. The other is that when the archetype was made into a spontaneous spellcaster, it WASN'T changed away from being Intelligence-dependent. Now, that is not always a bad thing, but sometimes you want a different primary spellcasting ability score (for instance, playing a race that gets an Intelligence penalty), and spontaneous spellcasting would have been a great excuse. Between this and the recent undesirable change to Scarred Witch Doctor (see below), the lesson is that you can't have a Witch who can't spell.
* * * * The remaining Witch archetypes coming in one or more future posts * * * *
Edit: Fixed omission in Ley Line Guardian.
If it matters, the correct name of 'Dark Sister' is 'Hag of Gyronna'.
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I never have a full combat day go less than twenty rounds at 4th-5th level. How would that kind of scaling affect your analysis?
Well, at level four, numerous classes have 10 - 12 rounds of their main ability per day (e.g. a barbarian has about 12 rage rounds, a sorcerer has 11 spells other than cantrips, a druid has 9 spells, and so forth). If the adventuring day is going to be longer than that, you either have to compensate with feats or items (e.g. extra performance, or a wand of magic missile), or pace yourself by spreading your powers throughout the day, instead of assuming that you'll always be raging/performing/spellcasting.
So if the average adventuring day has 20 rounds of combat, I'd expect bards to take Extra Performance, and clerics to carry a few Pearls of Power, and an eldritch scion to use Extra Arcane Pool or a wyroot terbutje (2 pool points for level, 3 for charisma, 2 for EAP, 2 for wyroot = 9 points = 18 rounds of bloodline ability, that's certainly doable). And, of course, an archer or a witch can keep going all day without further investment.
Frankly I'd say that archetypes with diminished spellcasting will have more trouble with staying power than this.
Regarding hex channeler, note that it qualifies for variant channeling, which has a number of effects that work pretty well for just one die.
I wwass wondering about that -- in that case, upgrade Hex Channeler a bit (Dip versatility +1, power +1; Full versatility +0, power +0, or Dip versatility +0, power +0 if Meditation Crystals get Errata'd).
Also realized after re-reading Cleric's Channel Energy class feature that lost channeling dice for Cleric (due to replacement by archetypes) also do not reduce the DC to resist Channel Energy using the remaining dice, so this makes archetypes like Evangelist Cleric a bit better (was already pretty good as long as you weren't concentrating on Channel Energy).
More witch archetypes coming soon (in a separate post, so that the Edit timer doesn't expire on this one).
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Frankly I'd say that archetypes with diminished spellcasting will have more trouble with staying power than this.
Normally this would be true, but staying power depends not only upon supply, but also on burn rate. If a character having an archetype is able to use abilities gained in exchange for Diminished Spellcasting to substitute for enough of the spellcasting, such a character might come out ahead. For Cloistered Cleric, this is unlikely to work except in very skill-heavy corner cases, but I wonder if some other archetypes (not necessarily of Cleric) that have Diminished Spellcasting could pull this off under a less restrictive set of circumstances.
Whew! Sorry for not replying in quite some time, but I have been adding quite a lot of these guides into the document!
FYI, I revised my Razmiran Priest ranking up to +2/+2
Witch archetypes M - Z and then racial archetypes (see post from last night for archetypes A - L; references to archetypes "above" may refer to that post) -- first continuing the non-racial archetypes M - Z:
Medium (Dip versatility +0, power +1; Full versatility +1, power +2): This archetype is not at all related to the Occult Adventures class of the same name -- they serve different purposes. Not everybody needs to be able to fight Incorporeal creatures, but if you need this, you need it bad. Note that the wording of the 2nd level Hex substitute DOESN'T say that it applies only to Witch spells, and it not only gets you free Ectoplasmic Spell, but also gets you a few free uses of it per day; this ability doesn't scale with level, so you can Dip and get it, although needing 2 levels for this is a bit painful to take out of any other spellcasting class (Magical Knack is a must-have). For Full progression, for the cost of another Hex at 6th level, you get a No Save, No Spell Resistance anti-Undead (not just Incorporeal) mind-reading ability that you can use any number of times per day per target; anti-Undead Inquisitors will wish that they could have this, but it is too high level for a Dip. If you get to capstone levels, this archetype hurts for having to replace your 20th level Hex (actually Grand Hex) with the ability to become Incorporeal for up to 20 minutes total per day -- this isn't a bad ability, but I hate having to replace a Grand Hex with it, since by that level, you probably can find other ways to become Incorporeal if you need to (if you go all the way to 20th level, this archetype degrades to Full versatility +1, power +1; this hurts less if you are allowed to go beyond 20th level).
Mountain Witch (Dip versatility +0, power -1; Full versatility +0, power +0): This is the first of an incomplete set of elemental-themed Witch archetypes that are odd due to being rather non-parallel, as well as currently lacking a Fire-themed member and an Electricity-themed member: Mountain Witch (Earth-themed), Sea Witch (Water-themed; see below), and Winter Witch (Cold/Ice-themed; see below). For a Dip or Full progression, you can select a Stone Spirit Shaman Hex in place of any Witch Hex except for the 2nd level Hex substitute -- this option helps versatility overall, but for a Dip this is compensated by the 2nd level Hex substitute being a very situational pseudo-Wild Empathy, and for Full Progression this is compensated by your Patron being fully replaced in all but name (although technically, the lack of a Mountain Patron name might allow you to qualify for some other archetype that doesn't replace the 2nd level Hex but that has a specific Patron restriction; on the other hand, a strict Rules As Written interpretation would probably forbid you from taking any such archetype unless it replaced no other Hexes, since you get optional Hex replacement at any level -- expect table variation).
Sea Witch (Dip versatility -1, power -1; Full versatility -1, power +0): This is the second elemental-themed Witch archetype. Like Mountain Witch, it replaces all your Patron spells (which hurts Full progression versatility), although oddly it also has a mild restriction on what Patrons you can choose. Dip versatility and power is hurt by replacing the 1st level Hex with a situational pseudo-Wild Empathy, although you also get free Know Direction at will when near large bodies of water -- this is a Cantrip/Orison, but it is not on the Witch spell list (why didn't they just add it to the spell list of this archetype?), so this and the pseudo-Wild Empathy for water-dwelling and near-water creatures could be okay for a waterborne campaign, such as Skull & Shackles, but you wouldn't want this archetype for most campaigns; on the other hand, if you start out in such a campaign, and then get dumped somewhere else, it isn't so terrible that you would be a fish out of water.
Synergist (Dip versatility +0, power +0; Full versatility +1, power +1): This is sort of like Beast-Bonded with respect to keeping your Familiar safe, but trades out some of the ultimate security (the Immediate Action merge) in return for getting online sooner -- soon enough to be good for keeping your Familiar healthy even at 1st level (unfortunately replacing your 1st level Hex), and this even gives you your Familiars Low-Light Vision or Darkvision when merged (if you don't already have Darkvision of your own and your Familiar does, this archetype upgrades to Dip versatility +1, power +1). For Full progression, as you level up, you gain more abilities of your Familiar when merged, and the wording doesn't say that you can't do this with an Improved Familiar, so go ahead and get creative. You get several upgrades in this ability, but only trade out Hexes at 1st level, 8th level, and 14th level.
Veneficus Witch (Dip versatility +1, power -1; Full versatility +1, power +1): This is the poisoner Witch archetype. Poison isn't all that easy to get good use out of, and the Toxic Words 2nd level Hex substitute that it gives you reduces the DC of both your Hex and your poison by 2 if you use both at once. On the other hand, since most Hexes are (short) ranged, if you do manage to build for the serious debuffin needed to overcome this DC reduction, AND you manage to get hold of effective poisons, this can work, although you will really want Full progression to get more debuffing Hexes (with increasing DC) for this purpose, including the 10th level Hex (actually Major Hex) substitute that upgrades Toxic Words so that the DC reduction for the combination is only 1. You also get Poison Use (starting at level 2), plus the option to select a limited set of Alchemist Discoveries in place of any of your remaining Hexes.
White-Haired Witch (Dip versatility -1 to +0, power -1 to +2; Full versatility -1, power +0): I used to think of this archetype sort of like Vivisectionist Alchemist, replacing a major class feature entirely with a completely different class feature more oriented towards melee combat (although in the case of White-Haired Witch the replacement is a greater fraction of class features than for Vivisectionist Alchemist). But in recent months, this archetype makes me think of Donald Trump, enthralling masses with voodoo proclamations and attacking opponents with his hair/toupee (okay, I made that last part up). For a traditional Dip of 1 or 2 levels, your White Hair/Toupee isn't very good, having a reach of ony 5 feet, but I have seen builds posted in the Paizo messageboards that do Dips of 4 levels to not oly extend the reach to 10 feet, but also get the Universal Monster Ability Grab, and the combination makes this much better (hence the very smeared Dip power rating); some of the posted builds (which also dip in several other classes) are scary grapplers, although note that since these tend to involve some archetype of Monk, you will be super-MAD in a build like this; such combinations deserve further study, and the full set of such combinations may have not been completely explored (hence the smeared Dip versatility rating). If you do decide to go Full progression with this archetype, you will have the problem of trying to do attacks and Combat Maneuvers with 1/2 BAB, which hurts a lot; on the other hand, if you do manage to figure out a way around this, you get some nice additional abilities -- and as one bit of help, Full progression is not especially MAD, including the fact that you use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls and Combat Maneuver checks. At 6th level, you get the ability to pull opponents; at 8th level, you get to strangle them, which is especially good against spellcasters unless they can cast without Verbal components. At even levels starting with 10th, you can select from a limited set of Rogue Talents, and at 18th level, this improves to Rogue Advanced Talents. Do note that these are pre-Unchained Rogue Talents and Advanced Talents -- this archetype might need a bit of an update to correspond to Unchained Rogue. Also, some of the choices of available Rogue Talent are odd, such as Minor Magic and Major Magic; however, Minor Magic could actually be useful if you really need some Cantrip that isn't on the Witch spell list, such as Mage Hand if you want to do something really crazy like go Arcane Trickster (although this would also require you to Dip and/or go VMC Rogue and take the feat Accomplished Sneak Attacker to get Sneak Attack).
Winter Witch (Dip versatility -2, power +1; Full versatility -1, power +1 to +2): This is the third elemental-themed (Cold/Ice) Witch archetype. This archetype gives you a DC boost to Cold-based spells at the cost of not being able to learn Fire-based spells, and it doesn't say that this applies only to your Witch spells, so presumably this also applies to your primary clasas if this is only a Dip for you. You also get constant Endure Elements against cold, and Ray of Frost is added to your spell list (which may be important if you want to go into the Winter Witch prestige class, although in that case you want Full progression instead of a Dip -- see below, although some kind of Crossblooded Sorcerer Cheese Dip might be up your alley). Note that you get a limited choice of Familiars and Patrons (for the latter, strangely a now fairly old Errata banned the Vengeance Patron instead of just converting the Fire spells to Cold spells.) For Full progression, the only Hex substitution is at 4th level, which gets you scaling cold resistance, which is okay but nothing to write home about. Where this archetype really shines, however, is that it is as yet still the only way to get into the Winter Witch prestige class (hence the smeared power rating), which was strangely not just rolled into the archetype (which only progresses Witch spellcasting, so you can't even use a Winter Witch archetype Dip to get another spellcasting class into the progression). The Winter Witch prestige class gives you full progression of all Witch class features except for a 1 level interruption of spellcasting progression (and adds 3 more useful Cold spells to your spell list), and for the cost of 3 forced Hex choices (of which all are potentially useful), it gives you several additional abilities (distributed among battlefield control, movement, debuffing, and damaging) that don't cause you to actually lose any Hexes. If that inability to learn Fire spells is really getting in your way, you could also go VMC Wizard (Evocation:Admixture) to get around this.
Racial archetypes (all):
Bonded Witch (Half-Elf; Dip versatility +0, power +0; Full versatility +1, power +1): This is the only Witch archetype that does not replace a Hex. It replaces your Familiar with a Bonded Object, although instead of giving you a pseudo-Spell Recall like a Wizard's Bonded Object, it gives you a specific list of spells that can be chosen for the once per day Bonded Object spellcasting. The specific list of spells depends upon the type of Bonded Object chosen; in some cases, the spells are actually lower level spells modified by Metamagic. Unlike the Bonded Objects of almost all other Witch archetypes, you can enchant your Bonded Object without needing the corresponding Magic Item Creation feat, just like a Wizard with a Bonded Object. Familiar is the only thing that it replaces or alters, so it is compatible with all archetypes that do not replace or alter Familiar.
Dreamweaver (Changeling; Dip versatility +0, power +1; Full versatility -1, power +1): For a Dip, trading out Heal for Sense Motive as a class skill is generally good, even if you want to invest in healing -- Sense Motive is overall a better skill to have in class and invest multiple skill ranks in. For a little bit more of a Dip, the 2nd level Hex substitute gives you a DC boost when casting Mind-Affecting spells on creatures that you put to sleep with a spell or Hex. For Full progression, this archetype oddly says that your Patron is normally Portents or Stars, but then proceeds to replace all of your Patron spells with spells for Psi-Ops. The 6th level and 10th level Hex substitutes are also very good for Psi- Ops. If you are a Psi-Ops type and are a Changeling, this archetype is for you -- just make sure that you take the Witchborn alternate racial trait, so that you get a racial +2 boost to Intelligence instead of Wisdom.
Scarred Witch Doctor (Half-Orc/Orc; Half-Orc Dip versatility -1 to +0, power +0 to +2; Orc Dip versatility -1 to +1, power -1 to +1; Half-Orc Full versatility +0, power +2; Orc Full versatility +0, power +0): The recent Errata that replaced the Constitution-Dependent alternate class feature with Fierce Intelligence changed this archetype immensely. Before this change, this archetype was great for Orc (and to a lesser extent Half-Orc) Gish Witches (even without going Eldritch Knight and/or VMC Magus), who could use their massive Strength bonus to make up for 1/2 BAB up into mid-levels and pump Constitution hard to boost both their spellcasting and their survivability (if using pre-Errata Scarred Witch Doctor, alter the rating to Half-Orc & Orc Dip versatility -1, power +1; Half-Orc Full versatility +0, power +1; Orc Full versatility +1, power +2). Now, though, Paizo has decided that you can't have a Witch who can't spell, and so severely nerfed Orc Gish Witches, but didn't think Fierce Intelligence through very carefully. Not only did they apparently forget that the floating ability score +2 bonus can go anywhere on a Half-Orc, thereby making Half-Orc Scarred Witch Doctor but otherwise conventional Witches stupidly overpowered in standard Full progression, but this new alternate class feature as worded is apparently not confined to Witch spells -- expect table variation, though, if for no reason other than that some GMs might get a heart attack from you doing a triple cheeseburger combination of Magical Knack, Scarred Witch Doctor Dip, Crossblooded Sorcerer Dip, and Wizard primary class (hence the smeared versatility and power ratings for a Dip). This archetype replaces your Familiar with a Bonded Object; unlike a Wizard's Bonded Object, it does not give you a pseudo-Spell Recall, instead giving you bouses to Heal and Intimidate and to Saves against Pain effects, but like a Wizard's Bonded Object (Fetish Mask) and unlike almost all other Witch archetype Bonded Objects, you can enchant it at 5th level as if you had Craft Wondrous Item without actually needing the feat. Furtheremore, if you are inclined to join the Hellknights (as a Signifer), your Mask can also become your Hellknight Signifer Mask, and Hellknight Signifer levels stack with Scarred Witch Doctor levels for determining what enchantments you can add to it. The final Dip-relevant alternate class feature is Scarshield, which improves survivability, but hurts low-level versatility by replacing your 1st level Hex, and scales in both duration and effect with class level, so it isn't very good at low levels.
Regarding hex channeler, note that it qualifies for variant channeling, which has a number of effects that work pretty well for just one die.
And for the Divine Barrier feat, which doesn't care about number of dice at all.
By the way, also just noticed that Command Undead (the feat, not the spell) and Turn Undead do not depend upon the number of healing/damage dice you do with Channel Energy. This improves Hex Channeler (if you can't get full Channel Energy dice) and Cleric archetypes that trade out some Channel Energy dice if you can make good use of whichever of those feats corresponds to your channeled energy type. In particular, this makes the combinations of Hex Channeler with Gravewalker or Hedge Witch a lot better, enough that Hex Channeler deserves a slight upgrade in rating (Dip unchanged unless you can find something that stacks Channel Energy levels and not just dice; Full progression now versatility +0, power +1). Herb Witch is still probably the better combination with Hedge Witch from a power optimization point of view.
Just had a thought: Leaving aside the considerations of which archetypes seem better, what have people seen most often in actual use? I have been following PbPs of all of the APs from Rise of the Runelords through Giantslayer (although in most cases they have not gotten very far in), as well as a custom Golarion AP (made mostly of Paizo modules and Pathfinder scenarios) and handful of campaign journals of APs, so I have seen a decent if not outstanding sample size -- enough to get a feel for classes that are used reasonably often and do not have a huge number of archetypes. So here goes (including AP where exceptional archetypes appeared, when possible, in case the AP theme makes a difference); caution: this report is admittedly unscientific:
Core Classes (including Alternate Classes thereof)
Barbarian: Have only found a few Barbarians, so no clear favorite yet, but may be finding a trend to non-archetyped Barbarian as the favorite, although Brutal Pugilist has also appeared (in Rise of the Runelords).
Bard: Have found surprisingly few Bards, and Bard has a huge number of archetypes, with examples scattered among these, so no clear favorite.
Cleric and Druid: Non-archetyped Cleric and Druid seem to be the clear favorite; despite a lot of posts on these boards about certain archetypes (especially Crusader, Ecclesitheurge, and Evangelist) no archetypes found yet in service, except for 1 instance of Menhir Savant Druid in a Wrath of the Righteous PbP (and this PbP also has some 3rd party classes in it).
Fighter and Monk: Only a few uses of Fighter and Monk (the latter all built before Pathfinder Unchained), with no concentration on any particular archetype, and Fighter has a huge number of archetypes anyway, of which several show up frequenty on the messageboards, but not yet in a PbP (especially Lore Warden).
Paladin (and Antipaladin) and Ranger: So far, non-archetyped Paladin and Ranger seem to be favorites, but rare exceptions exist (so far have found Warrior of the Holy Light Paladin but I can't remember the AP, and a 3rd party (Kobold Press) Spell-less Ranger archetype (works sort of like a backcross of Slayer with Ranger) starred in a Rise of the Runelords campaign journal that ran from start to finish). No Antipaladins (not surprisingly).
Rogue (and Ninja): Only a few Rogues and 1 Ninja have shown up (and all were built before Pathfinder Unchained), which have been scattered with respect to archetype, and Rogue has a lot of archetypes, so no clear favorite.
Sorcerer and Wizard: Several of these have shown up, and non-archetyped Sorcerer and Wizard have been the clear favorites, with the only exceptions being 1 Thassilonian Specialist (Evoker) Wizard in Shattered Star and a few Wildblooded Sorcerers. (Note: Thassilonian Specialist is an archetype in all but name; Wildblooded Sorcerer other than Sage or Empyreal is really just a choice of Bloodline that has unnecessary archetype wording in it.)
Base Classes of Advanced Players Guide and Ultimate Magic
Alchemist: A few of these have shown up, but scattered among archetypes, with no clear favorite (and even including a 3rd party archetype, Herbalist).
Cavalier (and Samurai) and Gunslinger: Only a handful of these have shown up (including 1 non-archetyped Samurai), scattered among archetypes, with no clear favorite.
Inquisitor: Although I have only found a few Inquisitors, non-archetyped Inquisitor is so far the clear favorite (no archetypes found in service, despite a few archetypes showing up in messageboard posts).
Magus: So far, have found non-archetyped Magus (may be the favorite) and Bladebound Magus (2 examples found, in Rise of the Runelords and Jade Regent, suggesting a thematic connection); no other archetypes that frequently appear on the messageboards (Hexcrafter and Kensai).
Oracle: So far, non-archetyped Oracle appears to be the favorite, but have also found 1 Black-Blooded Oracle (in the first 2 books of Second Darkness) and 1 Dual-Cursed Oracle (in all but the first 2 books of Council of Thieves, staying in until completion, and acting almost as a Witch substitute).
Summoner: Only a few examples found, but so far non-archetyped Summoner appears to be the favorite, and have also found 1 example of Synthesist (in all but the first 2 books of Council of Thieves, staying in until completion, and featuring a 1 level dip in Barbarian and somehow gaining more rounds of Rage than should be possible).
Witch: So far, the favorite seems to be non-archetyped Witch, but have also found 1 Cartomancer (in Shattered Star) and 1 Dimensional Occultist (late entry in the Rise of the Runelords campaign journal starring the Kobold Press Spell-less Ranger); no examples of other archetypes that show up frequently on the messageboards (mainly Scarred Witch Doctor and Winter Witch).
Hybrid Classes
None of these have shown up frequently enough to get a feel for favorite archetype -- ony ones found at all (1 each except as noted) are Arcanist, Bloodrager, Hunter, Investigator (more than 1 found -- possible trend to favorite of non-arhetyped), Shaman, Slayer (actually built during Playtest), Swashbuckler, and Warpriest. No examples yet of Brawler or Skald.
Psychic Classes and (as yet in Playtest) Intrigue Classes
None of these classes have shown up at all, probably because they are too new (all PbPs that I am following started well before Occult Adventures came out, in most cases before its Playtest even started), but this may change when I select PbPs Hell's Rebels and Hell's Vengeance (and eventually Strange Aeons) to follow, or if yet another PbP of Jade Regent, Shattered Star, Wrath of the Righteous(*), or Iron Gods dies and I have to select a replacement (could happen to one of the other APs, but these in particular seem to be cursed with a high rate of infant mortality -- actually did happen to a heavily modified Skull & Shackles, but while it lasted it was too awesome to replace with a mundane Skull & Shackles).
(*)As much as I'd like to, I can't blame this on Mythic Rules, because Wrath of the Righteous PbPs (and 1 campaign journal) that I have followed so far have always died before anything Mythic starts -- unfortunately, despite the sheer number of PbPs (and campaign journal) explored and characters seen, this means that I cannot make a judgment about whether Mythic Rules have any effect on class or archetype popularity.
I have only seen Barbarians run unarchetyped out of ignorance; if you know Invulnerable Rager exists and are not choosing to take an archetype that conflicts with it, you are taking Invulnerable Rager. Nobody plays a Barbarian because they want Uncanny Dodge.
(Note: Thassilonian Specialist is an archetype in all but name)
Agree, although every specialization would need to be ranked separately. Most of these would be straightforward +1 power/-1 versatility trades, but anything that opposes Conjuration or Transmutation is much, much worse.
screw tier lists and just pick what works best for your character idea
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screw tier lists and just pick what works best for your character idea
People who don't consider power or optimization in character building will never even bother reading a guide like this, so why do you even care?
These sort of rapid-fire "this is good, that is bad, and here's the reason why" guides can be very useful for less experienced players who want to make sure they aren't hobbling themselves.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Agree, although every specialization would need to be ranked separately. Most of these would be straightforward +1 power/-1 versatility trades, but anything that opposes Conjuration or Transmutation is much, much worse.
Don't forget that a specialist has substantially more spells per day (which is more power AND more versatility) and gets a pick of several school abilities and familiar abilities (which is yet more versatility). Overall that makes the specialist wizard a +2p / +1v archetype; there is very little reason not to specialize unless you want to be an exploiter wiz.
Don't forget that a specialist has substantially more spells per day (which is more power AND more versatility) and gets a pick of several school abilities and familiar abilities (which is yet more versatility). Overall that makes the specialist wizard a +2p / +1v archetype; there is very little reason not to specialize unless you want to be an exploiter wiz.
I was specifically speaking to the Thassilonian specialist, which doesn't just oppose but completely bans two schools, and you don't get to pick which schools those are! Illusion Thassilonian specialists, for instance, are forced to ban Conjuration and Transmutation. I'd much rather play a generalist than a Thassilonian Illusionist.
And yes, I agree that specialists are flat-out superior to generalists (with the sole exception of the Exploiter archetype).
Not archetypes, but does interact with archetype selection:: Ratings of VMC options.
Any chance we can get the stuff most recently posted here into the guide document? (Note that the document is now linked on the Zenith Games Guide to the Guides.)
I'm sure OP is just busy during the holidays and will update the doc when he has time to spare.
Any chance we can get the stuff most recently posted here into the guide document? (Note that the document is now linked on the Zenith Games Guide to the Guides.)
*notices spelling errors in his own contribution*
Oh god, I can't even make suggestions to fix them. This is going to drive me insane.
Oh and let me just make a minor addition while I'm here.
The Samurai
Sword Saint (Dip: Power -2, Versatility 0; Normal: Power -2, Versatility -1)
I'm not a fan of mounts in 90% of situations, but Iajutsu strike should be unusable against any competent enemy until level 10. You have to move up to an opponent with your weapon sheathed, and watch them move 10 feet away from you because you aren't threatening squares. It's that or you walk up with your weapons out, and then you eat an AOO for sheathing them so that you can attack with them Oops, forgot quick draw doesn't impact sheathing a weapon. You also take a -4 penalty to armor class when you use it, and you can only ever attempt it against a foe once/day. Here's the kicker of all kickers: At no point does the ability state that drawing your weapon as part of an Iajutsu strike doesn't provoke an AOO. It is a total dumpster fire.
You also lose your banner for a shaken effect you could use the intimidate skill for and greater banner for the always mediocre deafening debuff. Both require to you to use stupid Iajutsu strike.
I hate this archetype.
Even with light armor, you can just put armor spikes on 'em.
Anyways, since we're on the topic of edits and addendums, I'd like to reiterate that I raised my ranking of the Razmiran Priest Sorcerer archetype to +2/+2
I just realized that Razmiran Priest has something mildly broken in it: Lay Healer replaces your bonus spells gained at 3rd and 5th levels (which are 1st and 2nd level, respectively) with Aid and Remove Disease, which are 2nd and 3rd level, respectively, and even described in the Lay Healer text as such. This would be just a moderate buff . . . Except you can't actually cast those spells at those levels! You have to wait 1 level for each.
Note that False Channel replaces your 9th level Bloodline Power, which hurts if you want to use the Abyssal or Orc Bloodlines to get super-Strength to compensate for 1/2 BAB, or Nanite Bloodline to get super-Constitution to compensate for d6 HD. This doesn't make you terrible, but does hurt if you are trying to emulate a Cleric . . . Um . . . Faithfully.
I think you mean reduced and your are wrong to do so. Effectively adding a huge swathe of spells to those available to you, meaning you never have to waste actual spell know slots on things, adds massively to versatility. Giving the sorcerer easy access to important buffs like death ward and freedom of movement and hugely to survivability. Allowing them to cheerfully make full use of animate dead sheannanigans with a one off cost is incredibly powerful.
+2/+2 is the highest rating available under the current rating system. I'm aware that several people have said +3/+3, just to emphasize how "above and beyond" this archetype is. The question isn't whether Razmiran Priest is worthy of a "transcendent" ranking (because I fully agree that it's first in line if any archetype is) but whether we're going to diverge from the agreed-upon ranking schema at all.
To reiterate what was said earlier, this is what +2/+2 means:
+2 Power means that the archetype is unambiguously more powerful than the base class. Any downsides are either very minor or completely irrelevant for the kinds of character builds that will be using this archetype. While these archetypes may not fit every build, for those that fit with their focus there is a dramatic increase in effectiveness.
+2 Versatility means that the archetype expands on what your character is capable of doing without sacrificing any of the competencies of the base class. Not only are there more possibilities, but you can do more within a single build with an archetype like this. These archetypes are so versatile that they can fit on almost any build, with advantages that are broadly applicable to a variety of situations.
I feel this description does suitable justice to Razmiran Priest, and don't feel the need to create a +3/+3 ranking level to emphasize just how "above the curve" it is.
Drawing a weapon doesn't provoke in general. Also you are threatening, but with a gauntlet, because they are included with medium and heavy armor
TIL
I've been playing 3.5/PF for 6 years now and I've always played in games where drawing a weapon provoked and AOO. Gauntlets are still going to be less harmful than your drawn weapon strike, and I still think Iajutsu is bad because full-round action attacks against a target once/day are crap.
I think it's less crap, but I'd still hold it down at -2.