Building a character around Produce Flame?

[Secret Wizard]

So I had this idea for a character that was built around Produce Flame (obviously, before the Kineticist came out).

I never really did find a way to make it work. My gut thought says that a Nature's Fang Druid using Combat Style Feats to TWF or switch-hit with it might be a fun option.

Any special ideas?

[My Self]

Produce Flame would benefit a lot from a large static bonus to damage. Maybe a Rogue with Produce Flame as an SLA, although it would be rather difficult to get the caster level and the sneak attack. But yeah, maybe a Nature Fang with the Crocodile domain and the Accomplished Sneak Attacker feat.

[supervillan]

Sneak attack is definitely the way to go. I once ambushed an 11th level party in my 3.5 campaign with a gang of spriggan rogues sneak attacking with produce flame. It was carnage. (party wizard died, rest of them were damaged to various degrees, party then teleported out with his body and eventually came back with resist fire spells up and got their revenge).

There's another way to get there apart from nature fang but it is more convoluted. Go wizard into Magaambyan Arcanist at level 6, adding Produce Flame to your spell book via Halcyon Magic. Then take a level of rogue or ninja plus accomplished sneak attacker at level 7, then into arcane trickster.

[Faelyn]

Another option is the Pyromaniac racial trait for Gnomes:

Quote:

Pyromaniac

Source Advanced Race Guide pg. 1 (Amazon), Advanced Player's Guide pg. 1 (Amazon)
Gnomes with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using the bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline or the revelations of the oracle’s flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage (this ability does not give gnomes early access to level-based powers; it only affects the powers they could use without this ability). Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, produce flame. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level; the DCs are Charisma-based. This racial trait replaces gnome magic and illusion resistance.

Select Recharge Innate Magic with the Major Magic Unchained Rogue talent. That way you can look at building up some extra damage dice with Sneak Attack. The one thing that would really make this build is if you could somehow get the Elf FCB for rogue... +1 number of times per day you can use your Major Magic...

[Secret Wizard]

How about Inquisitor with the Green Faith Marshall archetype and the Fire Domain?

[Aerodin]

Maybe Menhir Savant to increase the duration spell. Next take magical lineage and magical knack. One level dip is crossblooded sorcerer orc draconic, or elemental (pick 2). Now start getting meta magic extend, toppeling, dazing etc. Rime if you took t elemental bloodline for cold. This a high dex high school range support build.

Get all the range combat feats you need and you are off to the races.

Shaman flame spirit with flame curse hex, range combat feats, and meta magic would be good too. Drop magic knack you don't need it as you are not multiclassing.

[Faelyn]

Extend Spell would definitely be a must for this build if you go this route as a caster... That's a really good call!

The sorcerer dip is not a bad idea to get a little extra dump to your fire damage.

[Avoron]

Gnome ninja.

Take the Pyromaniac and Fey Magic (urban terrain) alternate racial traits. From the pyromaniac trait you gain dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, and produce flame. From the fey magic trait you gain recharge innate magic and three 0-level spells of your choice (let's say create water, detect magic, and spark).

Produce flame 1/day doesn't sound like much. But whenever you're in urban terrain, you can use your recharge innate magic SLA to regain one use of all of your racial SLAs, including both produce flame and recharge innate magic itself. This can continue indefinitely, because your use of recharge innate magic is recharged whenever you use it. When you're not in urban terrain, you can just use a 750 gp wand of recharge innate magic.

You now start every combat with a full caster level produce flame SLA. That's a touch attack that you can two-weapon fight with, whether in melee for flanking or at range with Rapid Shot. When you can pull off a sneak attack, through flanking or invisibility or surprise, you deal significant damage with each touch attack, plus ability damage or bleed or whatever other effect you stack on via ninja tricks.

At 10th level you get swift action greater invisibility, and ranged sneak attack suddenly becomes much more reliable, making all of your full-attacks deadly. You can use Sniper's Goggles to get sneak attack at any range and +2 on each sneak attack die for targets within 30 ft, which is absolutely vicious.

Let's not forget metamagic! Empower Spell-Like Ability is available from 7th level on, and although it doesn't multiply your sneak attack damage dice, it does multiply the bonus damage from your Sniper's Goggles. Quicken Spell-Like Ability becomes available at 11th level, and is a real game-changer, allowing you to cast produce flame as a swift action at the beginning of a combat and catch your foes flat-footed even when you didn't get a surprise round and haven't had time to prepare. Neither of these spell-like ability metamagic feats actually raise the level of the spell in any way, so recharge innate magic still works fine, although whether or not it can restore the spell in a Quickened or Empowered form will vary from GM to GM.

And finally, you're a gnome ninja. You know what that means? Bewildering Koan. In between throwing around full-attacks worth of sneak attack damage with produce flame, you can use the best swift action debuff ability in the game to deprive enemies of their entire turns by winning a Bluff check against their Sense Motive. You'll obviously want to pump Bluff as high as possible, which has the nice side effect of giving you something fun and useful to do in social situations. Besides, you know, setting things on fire.

[Merm7th]

I have a verminous hunter/snakebite strike brawler that relied heavily on produce flame. It allows her to deliver the produce flame with unarmed strikes to add unarmed strike damage. The archetype gives sneak attack as well. The one thing to remember about produce flame is it's not a touch spell that gives you a free touch attack with its casting. You create the flame one round and can attack with it the following round.

[Aerodin]

Faelyn wrote:

Extend Spell would definitely be a must for this build if you go this route as a caster... That's a really good call!

The sorcerer dip is not a bad idea to get a little extra dump to your fire damage.

Ya you are trading a few spells and 1 bab for more damage and or versatility. You are only using one spell for this build so spell progressions I not that important.

I would also get several pearls of power and some saltpeter. An alchemical reagent to boost damage may be good.

Consider burning, disruptive, heighten, thundering and bouncing as well.

[Hazrond]

Faelyn wrote:

Another option is the Pyromaniac racial trait for Gnomes:

Quote:

Pyromaniac

Source Advanced Race Guide pg. 1 (Amazon), Advanced Player's Guide pg. 1 (Amazon)
Gnomes with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using the bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline or the revelations of the oracle’s flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage (this ability does not give gnomes early access to level-based powers; it only affects the powers they could use without this ability). Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, produce flame. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level; the DCs are Charisma-based. This racial trait replaces gnome magic and illusion resistance.

Select Recharge Innate Magic with the Major Magic Unchained Rogue talent. That way you can look at building up some extra damage dice with Sneak Attack. The one thing that would really make this build is if you could somehow get the Elf FCB for rogue... +1 number of times per day you can use your Major Magic...

You don't even need to be a Rogue if you are in a certain terrain alot of the time thanks to Fey Magic (Fey Magic Urban with Recharge Innate Magic would be interesting)

[Avoron]

Hazrond, look three posts above yours. Because gnome ninjas.

The Fey Magic loop is very fun, but there's nothing wrong with just using a wand of Recharge Innate Magic if you're not in the right terrain - it's only 15 gp per cast (or 7.5 gp per cast if your party makes it).