Help me with this insane stat array


Advice

Sczarni

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So last night, first session of a new campaign, my character dies. I built an ectoplasmatist spiritualist and he got steamroll'd by a herd of zombies. It's clear, our GM pulls no punches (which I consider a compliment).

The setup is as follows: 5 players, each player runs 2 characters, of which only one at a time is adventuring. They gain xp equally but share wealth by level. We have a hardhitter monk, a cookie-cutter bard, a life oracle, a void kineticist, a bolt ace, a necro wizard, an arcanist, a little girl who's class we still have to guess, a samurai and a rogue.

My other character is an exemplar brawler built for switch-hitting, battlefield control and support.

I rolled stats for my new toon and it came out as follows:

13
13
11
19
13
13

And while this scream 'wizard!', I don't like prepared casting for the hassle and have a strong preference for 6-th level casters. I've thought about making an occultist, but is this viable?

What would you do with this stat array?

Dark Archive

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With the stat array that you got, you can be a very good Int-caster, and a below average hitter if build around it. An Occultist can be done with these, offensive if you pick the Transmutation School and gain the +2 Enhancement bonus to one physical stat. That way, you can pick a race that either gives a strength or dexterity bonus, and increase that bonus with another 2 enhancement bonus for a score of 17 on one of those two. Considering your constitution, I would go with a ranged build. (pick Half-elf for FCB of extra 1/2 Mental Focus, it is really good). The Haunt Collector allows you to to pick a Medium Spirit Seance instead of the resonant power for implements starting lvl 2. Pick the Champion Seance for damage output.

I myself would go for a minion focused Occultist, though. The Necromancy, Conjuration and eventually the Illusion Implements all give powers that allow you to summon minions to the field (some more costly than the others). The Necroccultist also gives you choices of necromancy spells from the wizard/sorcerer list each level, if you want to increase your repertoire.

A different option is a Mutation Mind Psychic. Be a Psychic caster, but when trouble arises, use a swift action to suddenly gain +4 Enhancement to strength and strike your opponent down. Caster with potential physical damage output.


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You haven't factored in racial ability modifiers yet, have you? If you haven't it screams wizard (or Arcanist or Witch) even more. 21 Int is impressive.

Anyway, what about Alchemist? It's a prepared 'caster', which you don't like, but at least it's a 6th level rather than 9th level caster.

A racial bonus to Dex and you'd be all right. Dex 15 isn't impressive, but since you're hitting Touch AC it'll work. And even if you miss more often than most bombers, you're sort of making it up by having such high Int which increases (among other things) splash damage and the reflex save DC to halve it.


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You could be a skill monkey rogue, 12-13 skill points per level is a lot, but you already have a bard and a rogue in the mix. So, I second a bomb-focused alchemist with that stat array. Use the spells for buffing your mates, your skills to fill in gaps, and your bombs for battlefield control and damage.


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Ranged inquisitor perhaps? Drop the 19 in Dexterity, use th racial bonus to boost Wisdom perhaps (or alternatively Strength). Then use level boosts to convert odd numbers into even ones over the course of the campaign?


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for a full caster of int base without prep casting have you considered the psychic?


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How about a Sage bloodline sorcerer? Spontaneous casting, with INT as your casting stat.


Assuming that this is before racials have been added in...

13
13
11
19
13
13

Quote:

Human or Half-Elf Dual Cursed Oracle of Desna. Assuming lvl is at least 3....

Str (13) Dex (11 or 13) Con (13) Int (13) Wis (11 or 13) Cha (21)

Effective Stats for everything except carrying, dex skills and wisdom skills...

Str (21) Dex (21) Con (13) Int (13) Wis (21) Cha (21)

Traits
* Disease Resistance (You gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against curses and diseases, including magical diseases.)
* Fate's Favored (for divine favor smacking people)

Feats
Lvl 1: Scion of War (Cha for Initiative)
Lvl 1 Bonus Feat: Weapon Proficiency (martial)
Lvl 3: Divine Weapon Technique Desna (Cha to hit and damage with star knives)
Lvl 5: Steadfast Personality (Charisma for Wisdom)
Lvl 7: Power Attack
Lvl 9: Furious Focus

Mysteries
Lvl 1: Misfortune
Lvl 3: Prophetic Armor (Cha replaces Dex for Reflex, AC and CMD)
Lvl 5: Fortune
Lvl 7: Primal Companion (You gain the service of a faithful animal of the night. You can select from a bear, boar, crocodile, shark, tiger, or wolf. This animal functions as a druid’s animal companion, using your oracle level as your effective druid level.)

Curse Doesn't Advance: Plagued
* You take a –1 penalty on all saving throws against disease or infestation effects, but you are immune to the sickened condition.

Curse Advances: Legalistic
* Whenever you break your word (either purposefully or unintentionally), you become sickened for 24 hours or until you meet your obligation, whichever comes first. However, once per day, you can make a vow to yourself that grants a +4 morale bonus on any one roll you make while trying to fulfill a promise made to another individual.
* At 5th level, you gain a +3 competence bonus on Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks while talking to an individual one-on-one.
* At 10th level, you can make a new saving throw each minute to resist mind-affecting effects as your subconscious searches for loopholes.
* At 15th level, any creature that violates its freely given word to you takes a penalty to AC, to spell resistance, and on saving throws against your attacks and abilities equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) for 24 hours.

With overall average stats, but one very good stat...you now use Cha for hit, damage, AC, Reflex, Will, CMD, Initiative and Casting.

As a dual cursed oracle you are going to have re-rolls whenever you need it. The same goes for your party, so you are always relevant to have around. Your first curse does nothing to you except for cancel out a single trait. The second curse has no downside because of the first curse.

You are a spontaneous caster, so no worrying about preparing spells ahead of time.

Casting is your thing. Grab your starknife. Grab a big shield. Throw on some light armor. Cast your spells, and shiv anyone who comes too close to you.


A summoner would work well, focus on buffing and control, use racial bonuses to bring the stat for your chosen combat style up to okay.

Sczarni

I haven't been clear enough, soery about that. Switching stats around is not allowed.. im stuck with the 11 CON x)

Ive been contemplating a wayang shadow discipline psychic


make a throwaway character and then bring in another with more workable stats is my suggestion


What level are you starting at?

Maybe an Arcanist would be something for you? It's a 9th level caster, but perhaps it's not fully as hard to keep track of like a true prepared caster (i.e. wizard).

Perhaps a gnome arcanist? 'Settle' with 19 Int (after all, isn't it already better than what most have in their casting stat. Although the fact that you where able to roll a 19 hints at a non-standard ability score generation method ...). Gain Con, so you're not stuck with 11, and Cha which is a secondary stat for arcanists.

Gnomes have interesting racial traits for spellcasters (gain +1 DC in illusion, enchantment, necromancy or transmutation depending on what you chose), but the limited spell choices of Cha-based casters meant they haven't been fully exploited - until your arcanist comes along!


Lady-J wrote:
make a throwaway character and then bring in another with more workable stats is my suggestion

It's a perfectly viable ability score array for a INT-based caster operating in support/artillery mode.

I second the recommendation for Arcanist. You get the best features of Wizard and Sorcerer: a book o' formulae plus the spontaneous casting flexibility and some of its depth of the sorcerer.


The Mad Comrade wrote:
Lady-J wrote:
make a throwaway character and then bring in another with more workable stats is my suggestion

It's a perfectly viable ability score array for a INT-based caster operating in support/artillery mode.

I second the recommendation for Arcanist. You get the best features of Wizard and Sorcerer: a book o' formulae plus the spontaneous casting flexibility and some of its depth of the sorcerer.

with a con of 11 and only 1 stat higher than a +1 its likely to only last 1-2 sesions


Lady-J wrote:
The Mad Comrade wrote:
Lady-J wrote:
make a throwaway character and then bring in another with more workable stats is my suggestion

It's a perfectly viable ability score array for a INT-based caster operating in support/artillery mode.

I second the recommendation for Arcanist. You get the best features of Wizard and Sorcerer: a book o' formulae plus the spontaneous casting flexibility and some of its depth of the sorcerer.

with a con of 11 and only 1 stat higher than a +1 its likely to only last 1-2 sesions

That really depends on the tactics of the players.


Synthesist summoner. Or any summoner I suppose. I'd go gnome for the small size and Con boost.

Dark Archive

Lady-J wrote:
with a con of 11 and only 1 stat higher than a +1 its likely to only last 1-2 sesions

I'm glad the games I play in aren't as dangerous as yours appear to be.

Sczarni

Were starting at level 1. And while my tactics might have been a little bad (I tried to 'tank' the zombies), the GM has also declared that the level off difficulty will stay high.. think 20 zombies and two oozes at level 1.

I think I'm going for a psychic, they seem like the go-to INT based spontaneous full caster.


Well ... given an apparent predilection for mindless critters, you might want to reconsider psychic classes. Depends on what non-mind-affecting firepower they have at their disposal.

Think far outside of the box: scouting, mount summoned as trap triggerers, slathering copious amounts of lamp oil around while you have a tindertwig in-hand to light the whole thing up. With a 13 Dex, a medium load is not in and of itself a death sentence.

At 1st level, your group is going to need to utterly brutalize this GM's descriptions of the environment. Use reach weapons ... like a humble longspear. Those're great for shoving zombies into flesh-munching oozes, pits, off of balconies, etc. For oozes ... well, run, unless you have pretty decent Knowledge skills.

Grand Lodge

or you can go with the Sage bloodline and ho with an Int based Sorc...

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