I'm playing a Necroccultist in PFS, and I have a Necormantic Servant to back me up in a fight. I've been wondering if I should upgrade his gear at all.
I'm a 6th level Occultist focusing on ranged attacks. I'm basically build like a Wizard, but with medium armour on, and firing with a composite longbow. To help out on melee, I have a Necromantic Servant (usually a skeleton) to be a meat shield and incidental damage dealer. His damage output isn't amazing, but it's decent enough. His claws hit for +6 each, and have a 1d4+5 damage. I've already given him a +1 adamantine scimitar to punch through DR, but his AC is lacking. The standard skeleton has 16 AC, and that's with a broken chain shirt. If I give him a regular chain shirt after summoning him, it'll be at 18 AC. If I splurge and buy mithral kikko armour, he'll have 19 AC. That's the highest it'll get, as he isn't proficient with any armour, and mithral kikko gives an ACP of -0. I could also give him a masterwork light shield (or mithral heavy) for another small increase. And that's the highest it'll get, unless I get Barkskin or something.
I feel it's still decent at this level, but it'll get outdated pretty soon. Also, considering he has only 25 HP (half my HP, which is 51, although I can rejuvenate him instantly), I might start considering him more and more disposable and a lost cause, rather than an actual ally. He's carried me through the first few levels, but I feel like he won't be able to keep up anymore.
Yeah, forgot to mention that. But by now the companion will last for an hour, so more than enough time to last a while. The only downside is lugging all that stuff with me. I'd better buy a Handy Haversack or something. There aren't any exact sizes given, but would an armour fit in a Haversack or Bag of Holding?
A chain shirt's reasonably flexible, so no problem there.
Yeah, I wouldn't invest magical gear into the skeleton. Your servant doesn't get any feats or abilities to help him in combat from progression, right? Then your servant is doomed to become obsolete. You might want to give up on it as a damage dealer alltogether, and have it wear medium/heavy armor and a tower shield. While it uses Fighting Defensively and provides flank for your buddies.
And Tower Shield shenanigans could be really useful with some planning. Make it stand between your allies with reach and the enemies, make it block enemies in doorways, make it a charge-stopper for the backliners.
Yeah, I wouldn't invest magical gear into the skeleton. Your servant doesn't get any feats or abilities to help him in combat from progression, right? Then your servant is doomed to become obsolete. You might want to give up on it as a damage dealer alltogether, and have it wear medium/heavy armor and a tower shield. While it uses Fighting Defensively and provides flank for your buddies.
And Tower Shield shenanigans could be really useful with some planning. Make it stand between your allies with reach and the enemies, make it block enemies in doorways, make it a charge-stopper for the backliners.
Well, it does get a bonus to damage equal to 1/2 level, so it isn't entirely terrible for damage (I would basically say that is near power attack on a lesser companion type creature).
But yes...most of the abilities tied to that servant are 'you can VERY easily repair it with your points when it gets to 0 hp'. So defensive magical items are probably not worth it unless you are just giving it hand me down loot from enemies. This is particularly true since you can have up to TEN of these buggers out at a time
Well, probably like six in PFS at most- general point is there that having a servant limit of 1/2 your level means you would have to equip a new one every two levels.
There is also the fact that you can give the things the bloody template at level 9. That means that you don't even need to bother worrying about their defense, since they would only get knocked out for the fight at worst. In fact, having them as sitting ducks might be a bonus- time spent knocking skeletons about is time NOT spent on knocking you abut.
@lemeres
Hah, 10 of em? Then just make your goon squad with Tower Shields for 30g/servant.
If any of your allies got a teamwork-granting ability, this could become real fun real fast.
@lemeres
Hah, 10 of em? Then just make your goon squad with Tower Shields for 30g/servant.
If any of your allies got a teamwork-granting ability, this could become real fun real fast.
While it only comes up at level 17, that is actually one of the servants' abilities. They get a teamwork feat of your choice.
That is only one line though, so I am vague on the details. Do all the servants gain the same feat and it is a permanent choice? Do you get to choose a feat every time you summon a servant?
If it is the latter, thenyes, things can get VERY interesting as you mix and match combos.
The only real disadvantage to having a ton of servants out is that it takes 1 focus point for each, and they last for 10 min/level. So you could only fully pull this off twice per day at most. You would most likely only have like 3-4 up at a time usually.
@lemeres
Hah, 10 of em? Then just make your goon squad with Tower Shields for 30g/servant.
If any of your allies got a teamwork-granting ability, this could become real fun real fast.
While it only comes up at level 17, that is actually one of the servants' abilities. They get a teamwork feat of your choice.
That is only one line though, so I am vague on the details. Do all the servants gain the same feat and it is a permanent choice? Do you get to choose a feat every time you summon a servant?
If it is the latter, thenyes, things can get VERY interesting as you mix and match combos.
The only real disadvantage to having a ton of servants out is that it takes 1 focus point for each, and they last for 10 min/level. So you could only fully pull this off twice per day at most. You would most likely only have like 3-4 up at a time usually.
The Occultist is a rules nightmare. I already have to ask each GM what the range is of summoning a servant (some treat it as a summon, so close range, some treat it as an animate dead, so touch), whether I need actual earth and/or possible skeletal remains to do so (and not, say, summon on a boat), and how many I can have active, as that line is only listed at level 13. Needing to specify a teamwork feat is just terrible. A FAQ/errata would be nice here.
Also, I don't think it's wise to have a squad summoned all at once, as one single AoE spell can wipe them all out, and you can only save one per turn. I usually have one summoned, and summon a second one if we're outnumbered or he's in the wrong spot.
Also, I don't think it's wise to have a squad summoned all at once, as one single AoE spell can wipe them all out, and you can only save one per turn. I usually have one summoned, and summon a second one if we're outnumbered or he's in the wrong spot.
Well, even without AoE, they only have familiar levels of health, while lacking the nice scaling bonus to natural armor. So they are easy targets for multiple melee enemies too. At least before you can make bloody skeletons.
So yeah...3-4 is probably best. Enough to gang up for a 'fake full attack' (when compared to a pouncing animal companion), enough that you can lose 2 and still hve something on the field, enough that you can flank with pretty much the whole party. Sure, you might loose a couple...but getting a new one is the same cost as saving one. So meh. I did note that the fact that they die REALLY easily is one of their advantages, since it distract enemies.
(side note- the bloody template probably comes so late because you couldn't even benefit from it without at lest 7 levels, since it takes an hour for them to revive- level 13 just means you have actual time to run around and do things other than waiting for respawn)
Can animate dead raise skeletal champions? That would make a good companion. They can do a lot more and are just stronger. That might require gm approval however.
In a AP I am currently in, I have an Inquisitor/Undead Lord Cleric.
I picked up the feat
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/charnel-soldiers
So that My corpse companion came online with the teamwork feat.
I chose the teamwork feat "Escape Route" so that I can move in tandem with my companion.
Yes, I was eyeing that as well, but I'm not sure if I qualify for it. do I "create" the undead? I certainly control them, that's for sure, but I think it's a grey area.
Also, since I'm a back-row character, I'm not sure if Escape Route would be the best option, and I'm looking through the teamwork feats and nothing really appeals to me. Do you have any suggestions?
Yes, I was eyeing that as well, but I'm not sure if I qualify for it. do I "create" the undead? I certainly control them, that's for sure, but I think it's a grey area.
Also, since I'm a back-row character, I'm not sure if Escape Route would be the best option, and I'm looking through the teamwork feats and nothing really appeals to me. Do you have any suggestions?
The feat says you when you create. That could mean summoning, raising, and such related terms. The occultists says "raise a single human skeleton or human zombie from the ground "
you are literally creating a zombie from nothing.Also,
Depends what you want to do.
More damage? Go with Outflank for the +4 flank bonus, or the Precise Strike Feat for the extra 1d6 prescion damage.
I enjoy the Escape route, just because if a get rushed by a character, my zombie helps me back away with more than just a 5 foot step. (Think Defensivebly!)
If you want more defense, and get the betrayal feat "ally shield". Suddenly your skeleton buddy will be taking the hits for you... or more or less youll force him to take the hits.
Shake it off is good too. +1 to all saves isnt too bad.