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So, I've got a problem in that I'm soon going to need another low-level PFS character. I've had a few fun ideas, but basically I need eratta to come out to make those ideas viable. In the meantime, I have another idea on the opposite end of the spectrum.
In other words, I have a character concept. A personality and a "raison d'être," but I am having trouble settling on a build that can do what I want, but can also be 'solvent' in PFS.
Let me lay down what I am trying to do here.
1) I realize this character concept will never be super optimized. THAT IS OKAY. I just need her to be 'solvent.' I need her to be able to meaningfully contribute to the party in most adventures. I don't need her to be super powerful.
2)Obviously, built for Pathfinder society, so keep that in mind.
3) Please, try to stick to the core idea of the character. If you tell me 'this build won't work,' that's fine. I can accept that. What I'm NOT looking for is "This is a stupid build you are stupid for attempting it."
So, on with the character concept. I want to make an 'inspirational' magic-user. Someone who uses spells to put on stage shows and put the wonder and majesty back into magic, mainly by using spells such as minor image and mirage arcana to put on great shows. And maybe inspire kids to pursue magic if they so choose.
I've come up with a few ideas, but I'd like to get some more opinions because not everything seems to be 'clicking into place' yet. Hopefully I can get some help here.
Option 1) Illusionist Wizard--- Straight forward, obvious choice.
Pros) Free spell focus makes my illusions harder to spot/resist, illusionist base power increases the duration of my illusions after I stop concentrating. Other good spells when illusions not good enough.
Cons) Int-based means that I'll not have a lot of room to be diplomatic or give amazing performances. I'd need a trait just to get perform as a class skill, and even then . . .
Option 2) Witch with the Trickery Patron--- Another full caster choice.
Pros) Hexes are nice, as is the base witch spell list.
Cons) FAR less illusion spells. I don't even get minor image, and have to wait until level 6 to get major image from my patron. Same skill problem as wizard.
Option 3) Bard --- Partial caster
Pros) Bard Song is almost always useful to the party, even when illusions won't be. Lots of skills that I would need to be an inspirational showman.
Cons) Partial caster slows down my progression, and Bards tend not to have good saves against their spells.
Option 4) Sorcerer ---Full Caster
Pros) Hey! Primary caster with the charisma to put on a show and inspire the kiddies!
Con) UGH, no skills, and I have yet to find any bloodline that helps illusions. I think Rakshasa bloodline is the best just to make it more difficult to know I am casting an illusion. Plus I still have to take traits to get things like perform, knowledge-local, or diplomacy, all things I'd like to have for an inspiration to the kiddies.
Option 5) Puppetmaster Magus --- Partial caster
Pros) Full access to the magus AND bard list is fantastic. Perform is a class skill, 4 skill ranks a level . . . seems good.
Cons) Basically gutted of all things that make a magus a magus. No enhancing weapons, no shocking grasp . . . and on top of that, a partial caster.
Any ideas, thoughts, new ways I could go with this?
P.S. I plan to be human with the racial heritage (Gnome) feat to get effortless trickery. Then, possibly get decietful, then conceal spell in order to weave spells into my performances (and to make it difficult for enemies to realize that the dragon I summoned is just an illusion.)
1) And the Resilient Illusions arcane discovery. If saves are your top concern this is going to be a good option. Some traits or feats (Orator) can switch your diplomacy to being int-based.
2) Yes, witches are not the best illusionists. You could use witch debuffs to make the saves harder to make but that's probably the wrong style for what you're wanting.
3) A negotiator bard with the spellsong or maybe lingering performance feat can mix a performance which penalises saves vs. illusions and enchantments with spells. They're better with skills than even the usual bard too, though losing inspire courage makes them less combat-useful.
4) The maestro bloodline gets you perform as a class skill for a start. They get the fascinate bardic performance which seems appropriate if not combat-useful, you could get the spellsong feat to conceal your casting in the performance. The Razmiran Priest archetype also gets Perform as a class skill & could take a different bloodline - Arcane for k (local) in class or Serpentine for diplomacy perhaps. If you're a human then the Imperious bloodline gets you all 3 of those as class skills.
5) A puppetmaster magus is definitely something quite different to the usual kind of magus. That means you have to find & use new tricks. If you're willing to be a Calistrian then Trick Spell works well for them for example. Color Spray-then-stab with spell combat seems like it should be reasonably effective too. While they lose the ability to enhance their weapons they gain the ability to enhance their spell DCs which speaks directly to your illusion plans I would have thought.
Oh, and 6) Arcanist. Some reason to have charisma, can take the Blood Arcanist archetype to get bloodline powers from say the Maestro bloodline, can boost save DCs with Potent Magic.
Edit: 7) Some divine casters can get illusions too. A cleric with the imagination subdomain, a shadow oracle with the dark secrets revelation, a lore shaman with the arcane enlightenment hex, the veiled illusionist prestige class on top of any of these.
Edit 2: 8) The psychic class gets illusions, diplo & k (local) as class skills, they find it easier to conceal spells than most, and the Rebirth discipline has some use for charisma & can pick spells off other lists too.
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AVR: Thanks for all the great suggestions!
I didn't know about half the stuff you suggested, like resilient illusions or spellsong.
In fact, spellsong combined with Effortless trickery can let me concentrate to maintain three illusions at once, making a normal, straight-up bard a pretty solid choice. Actually, the Geisha archetype (re-skinned) works well as it gives me spell focus, and just does away with my weapon and armor proficencies (and I wasn't planning on getting into combat anyway.)
The Imperious bloodline seems to get me most of what I want,the skills (and bonuses to them with humans) but I still have few skill points per level (unless I go Imperious Blood archanist, and use a trait to get the perform skill).
My problem with puppeteer is that I just don't know how to build a magus that works like that. Plus the fact that my build is already pretty feat-intensive . . .seems like a poor decision.
To go cleric, I still suffer the skills problem, plus I can only cast one of those spells a day (unless I go ecclesiastathurge . . . hmmm). And I've already got a PFS shaman and oracle . . . but I'll look into it.
I looked into psychic. None of the phrenic amplifications really appealed to me, and the only discipline that seemed relevant was the rapport discipline, but I'll look it over.
Thanks again! I'm so glad someone was able to troubleshoot this with me.
Cavernshark: thanks for the idea, but to me, just losing inspire courage . . . it just makes me cringe. I want to be able to be useful to the party when they are out there fighting golems and stuff immune to illusions. It's a thought though, thank you.
Ecclesitheurge or Theologian would let you cast multiple domain spells. It's a shame neither is one of the archetypes which give you more skill points (Cardinal, Herald Caller, Cloistered Cleric). Shelyn & Desna are the main deities to get the imagination subdomain BTW. You could take the Evangelist prestige class (not the cleric archetype) or the Stargazer PrC to get more skills but only from 6th level onwards.
You're probably right about puppeteer running out of feats and sorcerers running out of skill points to do this.
The relevant phrenic amplifications would be the straight numbers increases. Overpowering mind etc. Most builds for the psychic are boring but disguised spells via Cunning Caster are relatively easy for them due to not needing verbal or somatic components.
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A gnome mesmerist may work. Gnomes have the best illusion feats, mesmerists have lots of skills, they are charisma based, lots of illusion spells on their spell list. Mesmerist make amazing support characters and amazing save or die caster.
I have played mine as a travelling performer, subtler than in the clip but you can play it much grander.
Some of the best illusion stunts they can pull will be to give out mesmerist tricks. If you want to feel like lots of things are going on, like in the video, having False Flanker, Fearsome Guise, and Mesmeric Mirror all go off in the first round of combat. Follow that up with you stare, and spell.
Honestly, nothing comes as close to being a conductor of illusions as the mesmerist.
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A gnome mesmerist may work. Gnomes have the best illusion feats, mesmerists have lots of skills, they are charisma based, lots of illusion spells on their spell list. Mesmerist make amazing support characters and amazing save or die caster.
I have played mine as a travelling performer, subtler than in the clip but you can play it much grander.
Some of the best illusion stunts they can pull will be to give out mesmerist tricks. If you want to feel like lots of things are going on, like in the video, having False Flanker, Fearsome Guise, and Mesmeric Mirror all go off in the first round of combat. Follow that up with you stare, and spell.
Honestly, nothing comes as close to being a conductor of illusions as the mesmerist.
I'm planning on being a human with racial heritage-gnome.
As for mesmerist, I have considered it, but I already have one, and I feel that mesmerist a make poor main casters. That's why my mesmerist is a feint/pain strike build.
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Thought about it, came up with a couple builds.
Theoretical build 1), bard
Str:10, dex 14, con, 14, int 10, wis 10, chr 18
Human lvl 1, racial heratige-gnome, effortless trickery
3) spellsong
5) lingering performance
7) threatening illusion
Upsides: can make knowledge checks untrained, inspire courage, can maintain three illusions at once.
Downsides: slow spell progression, uses up a lot of my (few) spells known on redundant spells (silent->minor->major image)
Build 2: Rebirth psychic (rapport psychic?)
Str:10, dex 14, con 12, int 18, wis 8, chr 14
Human lvl 1, racial heratige-gnome, effortless trickery
3) deceitful
5) Cunning Caster
7) extra phrenic pool or something. . .
Pros: full caster, phrenic amplification for saves, good backup spells (like magic missle etc)
Cons: not as good at showmanship as bard, not as universally helpful as bardsong
You could go enchantment school wizard to get bonuses to social skills and then pick feats and stuff for illusion.
Also you could go gnome, their DC increase to illusions is the same as having +2 int, and then having the cha boost and stuff makes them better faces too.
Thought about it, came up with a couple builds.
Theoretical build 1), bard
Str:10, dex 14, con, 14, int 10, wis 10, chr 18
Human lvl 1, racial heratige-gnome, effortless trickery
3) spellsong
5) lingering performance
7) threatening illusionUpsides: can make knowledge checks untrained, inspire courage, can maintain three illusions at once.
Downsides: slow spell progression, uses up a lot of my (few) spells known on redundant spells (silent->minor->major image)
A far as redundant spells go you could keep swapping out the lower level versions once you have a new version, and maybe keep silent image as a page of spell knowledge. The 2/3 spell progression is something you're stuck with as a PF bard tho'.
Build 2: Rebirth psychic (rapport psychic?)
Str:10, dex 14, con 12, int 18, wis 8, chr 14
Human lvl 1, racial heratige-gnome, effortless trickery
3) deceitful
5) Cunning Caster
7) extra phrenic pool or something. . .Pros: full caster, phrenic amplification for saves, good backup spells (like magic missle etc)
Cons: not as good at showmanship as bard, not as universally helpful as bardsong
A rebirth psychic gets to make knowledge checks untrained with an ability mechanically identical to bardic knowledge. Alternately, a rapport psychic has showmanship as a spell with enthrall.
The floating spell you choose each morning as a rebirth psychic could be universally helpful (haste as a 2nd level spell perhaps), or some flashy spell to aid in showmanship.
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Cavernshark: good suggestion, but I already have an occultist, and I am trying to play different classes.
Avr: yeah, but Bards only get to trade out spells once every what, four levels? Psychics get to trade out spells every other level, and can trade out more if they go the undercasting route (replace mindthrust 1 with 2, retrain 1 for free)
On the other hand, bards are far better at social skills, come equipped with a different way to help the party, hard to ignore them.
But psychics get the better spells, get more spells, and that floating spell is really tempting.
Just, hard to choose.
Bards get to trade out spells every 3 class levels, the class level after they gain a new spell level - 5th, 8th, 11th etc.
But I've got nothing more to help you decide, aside from suggesting you roll a die if you really can't.