I do not play a mesmerist but one of the players in my Runelords campaign is playing one despite, frankly, my misgivings about this very issue.
We are running into more and more big bads that are immune to mind affecting abilities which is literally 95% of the abilities and spells she has. She has no interest in melee and will grudgingly use a wand just to do something with her actions during combat.
Is there no way around this for a mesmerist? It seems unreal to me that a class would be rendered almost completely useless in an AP but that is exactly what is happening in our big fights which, as you all know, is when you need the best action economy possible.
Appreciate any advice I can pass on to her. I know she gets very frustrated when the DM says yet another bad guy is immune to basically her entire class.
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Play a mesmerist
Psychic Inception: The hypnotic stare and its penalty can affect creatures that are mindless or immune to mind-affecting effects (such as an undead or vermin). The mesmerist can also partially affect such a creature with his mind-affecting spells and abilities if it's under the effect of his hypnotic stare; it gains a +2 bonus on its saving throw (if any), and if affected, it still has a 50% chance each round of ignoring the effect. Ignoring the effect doesn't end the effect, but does allow the creature to act normally for that round.
How a mesmerist doesn't make psychic inception their first bold stare choice every time is beyond me.
EDIT: plus, once you're on board the psychic inception train giving guys the hypno-whammy, the target is susceptible to painful stare. You've got 6-level spellcasting and a middle BAB, don't act like you can't take a shot here and there.
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As above, the Mesmerist gets a Bold Stare ability at level 3. For a super spell focused Mesmerist, psychic inception is a must, as it gives a chance to affect otherwise immune foes. There is also an archetype that can ignore the mind-affecting immunity of undead entirely, although it still needs psychic inception to affect other things with that immunity.
Thanks for the helpful reminders. This is the first time our group has had a psychic class being played so I'm sure the DM just didn't know about the psychic inception ability.
Thanks for the helpful reminders. This is the first time our group has had a psychic class being played so I'm sure the DM just didn't know about the psychic inception ability.
And for the record, I certainly didn't mean anything malicious with my previous post (re-reading it, some of its tone may not have translated into Internet). I figured inception was probably just overlooked. But now, tell your mesmerist to go, grab it with both hands, and never let go! :)
(Thinking about it, the AP predates the class (and the entire concept of psychics as PF currently coneptualizes them) by years, so it makes total sense that the adventure wouldn't take them into account.)
If enemies immune to mind affecting effects are prevalent in your campaign, Psychic inception is definitely the way to go. However, the problem with choosing the bold stare choice at level 3 is that you do not get another choice until LEVEL SEVEN.
Mesmerists have many spells that can affect enemies that are immune to mind affecting stuff already. Grease, Glitterdust, Ill Omen to name a few. During my run as a Mesmerist (Started at level 3, now at level 12)I have found that, while psychic inception does let you utilize your hypnotic stare more often, the mesmerist usually benefits more early on from choosing a different bold stare, such as Sapped Magic (which is probably one of the best bold stares in the game), and Disorientation (stare applies to attack rolls).
Psychic Inception's main strength is letting you utilize the debuffs associated with Hypnotic/Bold Stare against otherwise immune enemies, as well as Painful Stare if they aren't also immune to critical hits, which many are.
Yes, you have a chance of using mind affecting spells against your target as well. BUT you must remember that you are still suffering an additional 50% failure rate right off the bat, not even taking saves and spell resistance into account. That is a significant hurdle for any spellcaster and WILL lead to many wasted spells and wasted turns if they persistently try to make it work. Trust me, I have tried many times, and those percentile dice can be extremely fickle and spiteful.
The best way to use Psychic inception, based on my experience and opinion, is to use it in conjunction with spells that require a will save but are NOT mind affecting. Curses, Glitterdust, etc etc. A mesmerist can debuff a will save like nobodies business. Eating a 50% failure chance on top of other obstacles seems to me like going to your favorite pizza joint, buying your favorite pizza of all time and then throwing half of it in the trash as soon as you leave.
I find that psychic inception is a good second choice (at level 7), unless the GM specifically says that there is going to be a lot of anti-mind affect creatures.
But your mileage may vary.
A sensible approach, that. I'm just a bit paranoid, and like to "plug the holes" ASAP, hence my reasoning.
Is there any way for the Mesmerist to indirectly deal with the BBEG through charming/dominating their minions and thing bringing them along on the fight against the BBEGs?