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I'm working on a PFS Wayang Arcanist intending to focus more on Illusions and especially Shadow spells. Here is what I have so far:
Wayang Arcanist
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 12 INT 19 WIS 8 CHA 14 (Including racial adjustments)
Traits: Wayang Spellhunter (Shadow Enchantment), Magical Lineage (Shadow Conjuration)
Feats: 1) Spell Focus(Illusion), 3) Tenebrous Spell, 5) Extra Resevoir, 7) Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), 9) Extra Exploit: Dimensional Slide, 11) TBD
Exploits: 1) Potent Spell, 3) Shadow Veil, 5) Quick Study, 7) Metamagic Knowledge (Solid Shadows), 9) Metamixing, 11) Greater Metamagic Knowledge (Not sure. Persistent Spell?)
Primary Spells By Level
1) Color Spray (at low levels), Silent Image
2) Shadow Anchor, Twilight Haze, Haunting Mists
3) Shadow Enchantment
4) Shadow Conjuration
Quick Study and being an Arcanist will give me the flexibility to take blasting or other utility spells as needed, so I'll have something to do in scenarios or situations where illusions aren't practical.
So the thinking is that Shadow Veil will allow me to create an area of shadow around me even when there aren't any in the room, which should then let me use Tenebrous Spell without raising the spell level, so all of my Shadow spells get a DC boost.
Potent Spell lets me boost the DC another 2 when needed.
So before stat boosting items, at 4th when I can cast Haunting Mists or Shadow Anchor, the DCs would be 10+2 spell level+5 Int+1 wayang bonus+1 spell focus+1 Tenebrous spell+2 arcane Resevoir = 22
By 8th, DC on Shadow Enchantment would likely be 25 (including +2 Int headband).
By 10th, DC on Shadow Conjuration would likely be 27 (including +4 Int headband).
This is assuming Solid Shadows will work with Shadow Enchantment. Otherwise I'd swap it to 9th and Metamixing to 7th.
Am I missing anything thematic? I might try to work Shadowy Dash in somewhere.
I'd look to pick up a Lesser Rod of Persistent Spell as soon as I could, then a Rod of the Wayang, and eventually a normal Rod of Persistent Spell.
Extra Resevoir seems better than trying to get Consume Magic Item, especially with the CHA bonus limit. I would pick up a +2 ioun stone for CHA at some point.
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cavernshark - Thanks for the suggestions. Pumping Intimidate might be a little rough, especially since I'll take the size penalty against most opponents. I did think about a familiar, though. Maybe to boost initiative or stealth.
I wasn't thinking to use Shadow Veil every combat. But, it is also a 20% miss chance, and the only way I've found so far to create a localized shadow that wouldn't affect the rest of the party.
I'll read up on Haunting Mists.
I looked at Shadow Gambit. It is thematically appropriate. I'm just not sure the amount of damage is worth a feat.
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Grab a Shadow Stencil set for a cheap +1 competence boost (and some flavor/RP too) to your shadow DCs.
Now this is fantastic. I'm a little surprised it's PFS legal. It's basically the same main benefit as the Rod of the Wayang for 30gp instead of 12,000.
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After rereading and thinking about it, I don't thing Nidalese Shadow Veil will do what I want it to. It grants concealment and says there are shadows around the Arcanist, which would be sufficient for something like Shadowy Dash, but Tenebrous Spell requires actual dim light or darkness.
I did find a few more theme appropriate items:
Globe of Moonlight - I need to doublecheck the text in Ultimate Equipment, but if this is right, it would work against Deeper Darkness as well, acting as a 4th level spell. I'll have to research this one a little more.
Shadow Fletching - Expensive for a situational item, and it would be better if it worked against more creatures, but the effect is cool.
Dust of Darkness - Unlike Shadow Veil, this does actually say a layer of darkness, so I think I have a better standing to argue Tenebrous Spell should work with it.
I've updated the build based on suggestions and new research. Also, I blame lack of sleep for this, but I was 2 levels off on the spell progression and for some reason wrote it up like I'd get 3rd level spells at 8th instead of 6th.
Thanks everyone for the help.
Omarin
Wayang Arcanist
STR 8 DEX 12 CON 12 INT 19 WIS 8 CHA 15 (Including racial adjustments)
Traits: Wayang Spellhunter (Shadow Enchantment), Magical Lineage (Shadow Conjuration)
Feats: 1) Spell Focus(Illusion), 3) Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), 5) Tenebrous Spell, 7, 9, 11) Extra Preparation or a Metamagic Feat or TBD
Exploits: 1) Potent Spell, 3) Quick Study, 5) Metamixing, 7) Metamagic Knowledge (Solid Shadows), 9) Dimensional Slide, 11) Greater Metamagic Knowledge (Quicken Spell)
Primary Spells By Level
1) Color Spray (at low levels), Silent Image
2) Shadow Anchor, Twilight Haze, Dust of Twilight
3) Shadow Enchantment
4) Shadow Conjuration, Enervation
5) Shadow Evocation
Equipment of note: Shadow Stencils, Bottle of Shadows, Rod of Persistent Spell, Rod of Reach Spell, Shadow Fletching, Globe of Moonlight, Dust of Darkness, Spell Lattices, the usual stat, AC, and save boosting items.
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Both are good suggestions. If nothing presents itself as a thematic or cool choice for the build, I'll likely weigh what has been the most troublesome up until those levels and take an appropriate feat. So Extra Preparation or Extra Reservoir if spells prepared or reservoir points have been a problem, Toughness if hit points have been an issue, Greater Fortitude or Iron Will if it's been saves, etc.
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You are planning on taking Wayang Spellhunter and Magical Lineage, right? Slap that on a spell with hours/level at level 1 like Mage Armor and give it a Tenebrous, Umbral, and Shadow Grasp boost for a day-long cloak of grappling, AC-lowering, at-will concealment and a darkness spell for the low price of a level 2 spell. There's not really a reason to pick up Darkness as the spell ever when you can Magic Aura something for 10 hours with a rod of extend at level 5 and it does the same thing.
EDIT: Actually, what you're doing with those two traits is probably a better idea.
If you're worried about will saves, solve most of your problems with a clear spindle and a wayfinder to match. Most fortitude saves can be compensated for with a bottle of antitoxin and a bottle of antiplague at the ready.
Shadow Fletching use after Blindness/Deafness is a really good combo, in case the target is really spooky and has blindsight. Hit them with the ever-present scorching ray for damage, or slap them with a Spectral Hand and any given touch attack.
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Get this. It's only legal if you have the chronicle for Realm of the Fellnight Queen but it is worth it.
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Carla - Thanks for pointing that out. I haven't played that module yet, so I could play it with this character.
Markov - For PFS, I'm not sure I would want to do an all day Darkness. But in the right party (most with Darkvision), being able to put up a 10 min/level Darkness entering a dungeon might be good. I wish there were a good cantrip to put it on. Otherwise maybe Disguise Self or recasting Mage Armor when we get to the dungeon.
There's no way to reduce the area of a spell, is there? I know Widen Spell will double it, but if I could knock it down to a 5 foot radius (or even better, one square), it would make it a lot more practical in PFS.
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I'm bumping this, as I'm possibly going to play this character soon. Now that Blood of Shadows is out, I've altered the build.
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 20 WIS 10 CHA 7 (Including racial adjustments)
Traits: Wayang Spellhunter (Shadow Enchantment), Magical Lineage (Shadow Conjuration)
Alternate Racial Trait: Scion of Shadows: Some wayangs retain an uncommonly powerful connection to the Plane of Shadow. A wayang with this racial trait counts as an outsider (native) and a humanoid (wayang) for any effect related to race, including feat prerequisites and spells that affect humanoids. In addition, attacks made against such a wayang in dim light have a 50% miss chance instead of the normal 20% miss chance. This ability doesn’t grant total concealment; it only increases the miss chance. This racial trait replaces light and dark and shadow resistance.
Feats: 1) Spell Focus (Illusion) 3) Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), 5) Tenebrous Spell, 7) Solid Shadows, 9) Wayang Soothsayer and 11) Quicken Spell
Exploits: 1) Potent Spell, 3) Quick Study, 5) Dimensional Slide, 7) Metamixing, 9) Metamagic Knowledge (Focused Spell), 11) Greater Metamagic Knowledge (Persistent Spell)
Primary Spells By Level
1) Color Spray (at low levels), Silent Image, Touch of Blindness, Shadow Trap
2) Shadow Anchor, Twilight Haze, Dust of Twilight, Spectral Hand
3) Shadow Enchantment
4) Shadow Conjuration, Enervation
5) Shadow Evocation
I decided to dump CHA to 7, which puts me a being able to use Consume Spells once per day instead of twice. That let me raise DEX to 14, CON to 14, INT to 20, and WIS to 10 to help survivability, saves, and boost my Save DC. That was just too much benefit compared to an extra use of Consume Spells. My social skills will be terrible, but I'll have plenty of skill points to put into knowledge skills. None of the Exploits I'm looking at taking use CHA. Stat boosts would go to INT.
Wayang Soothsayer at 9th would give me the Shadow Speaker alternate racial trait without having to give up Shadow Magic and its boost to shadow spell DC. This seems like a better option than taking Great Fortitude or Iron Will, as it's a floating +2 to a save (or other things) 3 times a day, so I can use it for whichever I need most.
In a previous discussion thread, I ruled out taking Shadow Inheritor for a +1 CL to Shadow and Darkness spells in favor of keeping Shadow Magic for the DC boost.
If I continue the character into Seeker levels, at 15th I would take Spell Perfection (Shadow Evocation). I'd also plan on trying to save up for a Staff of the Master by the time I hit 10th or 11th level, so I can apply Solid Shadows to Shadow Evocation while keeping it in a 5th level spell slot.
I just want to repeat my concerns about a Shadow Walker. Be careful about keeping your fellow Pathfinders from seeing.
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Yeah, I'm not planning to have darkness up all the time. If I could figure out a long term way to make just my square dim, I would do that. But I haven't found it yet. I will likely have Darkvision in my spell book, though, to hand out to Humans if there's only one in the group.
For Eclipsed Spell, I don't see the point of having it on a spell higher than 3rd level, and the lesser metamagic rod is cheap, so I'll probably just buy one of those.
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Ok, last time on this, I promise. I'm anticipating playing the character tomorrow, unless tables shift around. I decided to make some changes to round him out a little more. Here he is at 2nd level (where he'll start tomorrow). Then the full build.
Wayang Arcanist 2
Init: +2 Per: +2
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 20 WIS 10 CHA 7
HP: 17
AC: 16 (w/Mage Armor) FLAT: 14 TOUCH: 12
FORT: +2 REF: +2 WILL: +3
Traits: Clever Wordplay (Diplomacy), Veils upon Veils
Racial Traits: Lurker, Shadow Magic, Dark Vision, Scion of Shadows
Feats: 1) Spell Focus (Illusion)
Exploits: 1) Quick Study
Skills: Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (All) +9, Linguistics +9, Spellcraft +10
Spells Prepared: 0: 5, 1: 2 Spells per Day: 1: 5
Spells in book
1) Burning Hands, Color Spray (DC17), Comprehend Languages, Dancing Darkness, Silent Image (DC17), Shadow Trap (DC19), Shield, Snowball
Items of note: Wand of Infernal Healing, Wand of Mage Armor, Acid Flask, Dagger, Mwk Backpack, Shadow Stencil Set, Spell Component Pouch, around 1,400 gold.
After confronting the reality of 2 prepared spells, I decided to swap Quick Study to 1st and Potent Magic to 3rd. My Color Spray DC can still get to 18 and Shadow Trap to 20. Quick Study means if I prep two illusions, I'm not stuck throwing Acid Splashes if I run into something immune to mind-affecting or illusions.
I also found space to take Additional Traits, since Wayang Spell Hunter and Magical Lineage wouldn't have been doing anything for me until 6th level anyway.
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 20 (+1 at 4th, 8th) WIS 10 CHA 7 (Including racial adjustments)
Traits: Clever Wordplay (Diplomacy), Veils upon Veils, Additional Traits: Wayang Spellhunter (Shadow Enchantment), Magical Lineage (Shadow Conjuration)
Racial Traits: Lurker, Shadow Magic, Dark Vision, Scion of Shadows
Feats: 1) Spell Focus (Illusion) 3) Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), 5) Tenebrous Spell, 7) Additional Traits, 9) Wayang Soothsayer and 11) Quicken Spell
Exploits: 1) Quick Study, 3) Potent Magic, 5) Metamixing, 7) Metamagic Knowledge (Solid Shadows), 9) Dimensional Slide, 11) Greater Metamagic Knowledge (Persistent Spell)
Primary Spells By Level
1) Color Spray (at low levels), Silent Image, Touch of Blindness, Shadow Trap
2) Shadow Anchor, Twilight Haze, Dust of Twilight, Spectral Hand
3) Shadow Enchantment
4) Shadow Conjuration, Enervation
5) Shadow Evocation
Consider Student of Philosophy instead of Clever Wordplay.
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Hmm... I can see the advantage in getting partial use of two skills. And I'd never end up using Bluff to feint in combat. So, it's really a question of whether I'd rather have Bluff based on Int or Gather Information based on Int (as I get the rest of Diplomacy regardless of which I choose)...
I think I'll go with Student of Philosophy, so nice catch. On a character that uses illusions, having a decent Bluff is probably a good idea. And Knowledge: Local can usually take the place of Gather Information.
Thanks!
EDIT: I'm also going to go ahead and buy a Cloak of Resistance +1 with most of my available gold. I have access early on a chronicle, despite not having enough Fame to buy one yet. That will help get a head start on boosting his mediocre saves.
Ok, off to the game!
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Went pretty well. most of my knowledge skills were overshadowed a little due to an Investigator in the party, but there were a few times when having us both there helped.
This was my first time playing an Arcanist, and I was definitely still figuring out the most efficient use of my two prepared spells. I went with Color Spray and Shadow Trap initially. When the first encounter ended up being Undead, I swapped Color Spray out for Burning Hands. Later there was a construct, so I swapped Shadow Trap for Snowball. Acid Splash was a decent fallback.
In a later encounter, on a different day in game, after I'd gone back to Color Spray and Shadow Trap, a swarm showed up. So after using Shadow Trap on one enemy, I swapped it out for Burning Hands. I should have swapped Color Spray instead, since I never got a chance to use that. I would have had a chance to cast Shadow Trap on an enemy spellcaster, which would have forced a concentration check for a few rounds if she wanted to cast. Instead, I tried a Daze which failed, then spent a couple of rounds trying to get into position to use Color Spray.
Anyway, Shadow Trap worked easily with a DC 19. I boosted the CL so it would last 3 rounds instead of 2. I was thinking anchoring someone in place would be the biggest benefit, but the entangled condition is probably even more important. Used it on an archer for a total -4 to his attacks.
I did find myself wanting to do something with Arcane Reservoir points almost every round. But travel time in the scenario meant I never ran out.
The biggest thing I've got to get used to is spell selection. Once i have more prepared spells, that will be easier. Also, I'm a little unclear on how many actions are required for Quick Study. It says I need to have access to my spell book. Does that mean I need to take a move action to take the book out and then a full round action to swap prepared spells? Or is accessing the book included in the full round action to use Quick Study? Having to take a move action makes it a two round process, and a lot less attractive of an in combat option.
Overall, though, it feels like I've got a specialized character able to put out a high DC spell, but that's also flexible enough to completely change up style mid-scenario. And that's pretty cool.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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This was my first time playing an Arcanist, and I was definitely still figuring out the most efficient use of my two prepared spells. I went with Color Spray and Shadow Trap initially. When the first encounter ended up being Undead, I swapped Color Spray out for Burning Hands. Later there was a construct, so I swapped Shadow Trap for Snowball. Acid Splash was a decent fallback..
If you find yourself using Acid Splash a lot, I recommend investing in a Wand of Magic Missile. Bigger range, slightly more damage, and an autohit.
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Quick study is a full round action, no strings attached.It is but you also have to have your spellbook in hand to use it which generally means a move action as well to get it out and then probably one to put it away.
And that's the table variation I was wondering about. I was hoping there might have been a clarification somewhere I didn't find. I'm leaning towards being conservative about it and assuming I need to have the book out. It's mostly an issue at low levels, I think, as at higher levels I'll have more prepared spells and can cover more bases to start. It sounds like if I want to avoid table variation, I should eventually invest in a glove of storing. I also wish there was clarity on whether or not Magic Vestment works for an Arcanist. I think it does, but again, not sure. That would give me a 1/day any spell in my spellbook access without having to take an arcane bond.
Kurald- I didn't pick up the magic missile wand yet because I didn't want to burn through all of my prestige. I've got the wand of Mage armor and the wand of infernal healing. I might go ahead and get a wand of magic missile now. I just need to look over what else I might want to spend prestige on. Acid Splash isn't a terrible backup, since with an acid flask it's 1d3+1, and it isn't subject to spell resistance. We actually did run into a construct in tier 1-2 in the scenario yesterday. The range on Magic Missile helps a lot, though. With a 14 dex, small size, and +1 bab, hitting touch AC at these levels isn't too hard. Once you to 5th level, the 1d4+1 from magic missile stops being enough damage to really make a difference.
Azothath- Thanks. I had fun yesterday. After running a Sorcerer as my -1 into Seeker levels, I haven't played a full arcane caster since (this is my -12).
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Here's an interesting thought... Would Memorize Page allow me to gain access to specific spells (whatever pages I use it on from my book) without having to consult the book? If so, a wand of Memorize Page would be worth it. It works off target's intelligence, not the casting stat for the wand, so I could memorize up to 5 pages. That would let me have additional spells in waiting that I wouldn't need to consult my book for. Does this sound like it would work?
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Not persisting is actually a good thing, since as far as I can tell once a page is memorized, it takes up one of your limit forever (or until you have a much higher level spell cast to remove it). So having the slate wipe clean every scenario actually gives me more flexibility, and the cost of using charges on a wand is negligible.
It's this part that makes me unsure if it works:
A creature that memorizes magical writing (such as a scroll or a page from a spellbook) cannot borrow, duplicate, or retain any of the magic in the writing. However, this would allow a wizard to copy a spell into his spellbook so he could prepare the spell from his book (assuming the spell takes up only one page in a spell book).
So that stops short of saying that a wizard could prepare a spell from memory, but it also doesn't say they can't exactly. I guess it depends on what "cannot borrow, duplicate, or retain any of the magic in the writing" means. I might start a rules thread on the spell at some point, though I doubt it will get much farther than table variation. It is in a book in the RPG line, though, so there's hope of an FAQ.
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No, I'd be casting Memorize Page from a wand. It would go something like this...
Start of Adventure, I'd choose 2 spells to prepare (Color Spray and Shadow Trap to do my normal schtick).
I would use 1-5 charges from a wand to memorize 1-5 additional spells (Burning Hands, Snowball, maybe Vanish... things that work better at full CL/DC than on a wand, and that I might need in the middle of combat).
I would not have expended any of my spell slots for the day, but I would have access without my spell book to those additional 1-5 spells at the cost of a full round action, an Arcane Reservoir point, and 15gp per charge of the wand I use. Since the wand would be coming from prestige, the cost isn't as big of an issue.
I don't think Pearls of Power work for an Arcanist. At least, I've seen that opinion most often on the boards. A Runestone of Power should work for an extra spell slot, though, and I will eventually pick one or more of those up. And the Spell Lattice for an extra prepared spell. If I could spend prestige to get a Spell Lattice, I would just do that and pick either Burning Hands or Snowball, but it's outside the 750gp limit.
All of that would be, basically, to save me the move action of taking out my spell book, yes. Since that move action essentially delays access to the spell by a full round, it could be very important in the middle of a combat. Action economy, to me, is one of the most valuable commodities in the game.
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Well, I don't know if it works yet. If it does, then it seems like it would be worth it.
I did go ahead and start a rules thread to find out if it would work.
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Ok, I'm reviving this thread, because 2+ years later, the character has finally reached mid-levels, and I'm changing it up a bit.
Character is 5th level now.
Short version: Shadow Trap has been my main spell, and at DC 21 (23 w/Potent Spell) it usually sticks. Swapping spells around with Quick Study has been more cumbersome than I anticipated, mainly due to the extra action taking out the book. I've picked up a familiar boon that I'd like to make use of, but is throwing the timing of aspects of the build out of whack.
Here's where things stand now:
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 23 (+1 at 4th, Headband +2) WIS 10 CHA 7 (Including racial adjustments)
Traits: Student of Philosophy, Veils upon Veils
Racial Traits: Lurker, Shadow Magic, Dark Vision, Scion of Shadows
Feats: 1) Spell Focus (Illusion) 3) Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), 5) Tenebrous Spell
Exploits: 1) Quick Study, 3) Potent Magic, 5) Dimensional Slide
Primary Spells By Level
1) Color Spray (at low levels), Shadow Trap, Snowball, Burning Hands
2) Glitterdust, Twilight Haze
3) Shadow Enchantment
4) Shadow Conjuration, Enervation
5) Shadow Evocation
The issue comes in with the timing now of Improved Familiar, Additional Traits, and Solid Shadows. In the previous version of the build, Additional Traits (for Wayang Spellhunter and Magical Lineage) and Solid Shadows came online at the same time, level 7, which lets me apply Solid Shadows to Shadow Enchantment and Shadow Conjuration for free. Now, I need to take Improved Familiar at 5th, which means pushing Additional Traits to 9th. Which means I can't really make use of Solid Shadows until 9th (or 8th by putting Shadow Enchantment in a 4th level slot).
Should I just wait until 9th to take both? How would things move around? I'm losing Metamixing from the build to make room for the Familiar Exploit, and likely Wayang Soothsayer to make room for the Improved Familiar. So that looks like:
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 26 (+1 at 4th, 8th, +4 headband) WIS 10 CHA 7 (Including racial adjustments)
Traits: Student of Philosophy, Veils upon Veils, Additional Traits: Wayang Spellhunter (Shadow Enchantment), Magical Lineage (Shadow Conjuration)
Racial Traits: Lurker, Shadow Magic, Dark Vision, Scion of Shadows
Feats: 1) Spell Focus (Illusion) 3) Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), 5) Tenebrous Spell, 7) Improved Familiar (Nightmare Dragon), 9) Additional Traits and 11) Quicken Spell
Exploits: 1) Quick Study, 3) Potent Magic, 5) Dimensional Slide, 7) Familiar, 9) Metamagic Knowledge (Solid Shadows), 11) Greater Metamagic Knowledge (Persistent Spell)
I guess this works out ok? I've tried to bump my DCs as much as possible so the 20% real effect doesn't come into it often. But bumping that to 40% when it does is pretty important.
This doesn't seem to have been a problem,, but there is no RAW in Shadow Veil (Su) to suggest that you are mechanically in dim light. Flavor text aside, and since it is for PFS, be willing to consider that the table may not allow Shadow Veil to qualify for shadow-based feats.
An Eclipsed Daylight on a locket or bracelet might work for you, though it risks the party sight depending on composition.
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Yeah, in the final build I moved away from Shadow Veil for that reason. The hope now is to have the familiar use a wand of Dancing Darkness and move them around so they overlap with other light sources to create dim light. It's a shame, because Shadow Veil has a ton of flavor for the character. But I agree with you as to the RAW of it.
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You can do a permanent Eclipsed Continual Flame on a dull grey ioun stone. In normal light it'd show as dim light, in dim it'd show as darkness. As for party members having trouble seeing in darkness, honestly, just offer the darkvision spell to any characters without it; in a dungeon it'll last the entire scenario, and if it's not a dungeon it's probably not necessary to deal with it in the first place.
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Hmm... that might work out. I knew Continual Flame could be permanent in PFS, but I was forgetting that you could add meta magic feats onto that. I won't get access to Continual Flame until next level, but that may just work out.
I still want the familiar for thematic reasons, so the ordering of the feats is still something I'd like to figure out. I'm wondering if it makes more sense to wait to get the familiar until 9th, and go back to taking Additional Traits and Solid Shadows at 7th. That would mean I'd only be 1 level with Shadow Enchantment and without Solid Spells, and I'd be able to use it on Shadow Conjuration immediately.
If I've got a solution for darkness/dim light that doesn't involve the familiar, I think that might be the way to go with the feats, since it isn't so urgent to have the dragon casting things.
EDIT: Ah, might be too good to be true... An eclipsed continual flame would function like darkness. Darkness is going to negate any mundane light sources, so it will be completely dark, not dim light, unless there's an ambient light source. A roomful of mundane torches is going to go into darkness. Darkvision solves the issue of the party seeing in darkness, but several of my spells require there to be some light and for the targets to be casting shadows (mainly shadow trap). So dim light or controlled/limited area darkness is still preferable. A 20 foot radius from me means that I wouldn't be able to use a spell like shadow trap on anyone within 20 feet of me.
What I really need is shield of darkness, but as an archaist spell, and with a duration of 10 mins/level instead of 1 round/level.
If you're an arcanist and you want to reduce the area of a spell like continual light, the spell specialist archetype could help. It wouldn't be compatible with most other archetypes though. I admit I haven't read the whole of this thread so this might not be what you want.
Spellwarp (Su): A spell specialist can reduce the radius of a spread or burst effect or shorten the length of a cone. All changes must occur in 5-foot increments, to a minimum of 5 feet.
Mostly they're not close enough for PFS, I didn't check that. Twilight haze is an exception, it's a spread. Dancing darkness or motes of light and darkness, or eclipsed dancing lights, might give you enough control over light levels without spell specialist required - all of those have short durations though. Dancing lights + eclipse spell is still a cantrip.so you can recast it as often as you wish.
Can you pay for permanent spells in PFS? I know you can't get the permanency spell, but can you pay for it as a service?
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There's a short list of permanent spells that are allowed to work. Continual flame and masterwork transformation are two of them. Can't remember the others.
Dancing Darkness is the direction I'm leaning. The idea is to give a wand of it to my familiar (once I have a familiar, either at 7th or 9th), then have the familiar UMD the wand. Since the darkness globes can move, the familiar can bring them in to cover me while I cast my spell, then ready an action to move them away again so that they're safely out of the way for anyone who has trouble seeing in darkness. Or leave them if remaining in dim light or darkness is useful. The familiar can position them so that I'm in darkness, but the target of the spell is not. Anyway, shifting the casting of it to the familiar means the duration isn't as much of a hinderance, and I don't need to spend my actions on it.
I wish that Motes of Light and Darkness made more sense. I had an elaborate plan to overlap them to create a small pocket of dim light in my square/around me, but it's a really confusing spell, and I couldn't every get any clarification on how it's supposed to work.