Character concept - thinks he is a wizard

[Lanathar]

I was looking for some help building to a character concept

There is an archetype for someone who fakes being a wizard and another archetype for a character faking being a cleric

My idea is for a really bookish character who reads lots of magic books and has been able to cast spells thus his belief he must be a wizard

To me this shakes out as a bard (either core or archivist) due to all the knowledge based abilities. Then having perform oratory be his attempt to use magic words and perform act or dance for somatic.

Another option could be phantom their with minor magic but that will be forced to stay low level in terms of spells

What do people think of this ? Are they any classes , archetypes or feats that would make this idea work?
Would spell song be necessary for the flavour ?

Thanks for any help

[Chromantic Durgon <3]

Sorcerer Archetype - False Priest, fills the pretending to be a cleric archetype and is also incredibly powerful probably to the point of being unbalancing if we're being honest.
Sorcerer Archetype - Sage, sort or fills the fake wizard thing because they make the sorc intelligence based.

[MageHunter]

There is one rogue archetype that specializes in magic wands. Might be worth a look.

[DeathlessOne]

Eldritch Scoundrel (Rogue) literally gets wizard spells and spell casting, though at the rate of a Magus. Delayed sneak attack and rogue talents.

[DoubleBubble]

Play a fighter that use scrolls. Have at least +1 Int, +1 Cha too because you want people to like you. Try to go mad. Have at least +1 on everything, Then add remaining points to strength if you are boss, add to dex if you scared to get hit, con if you want to get hit more, Wis if you don't want to get mind raped, Int if you want more Spellcraft and skills, Cha if you want more Use Magical Device and have people like you. However, if you really want it to work, you want to have enough Int, Wis and Cha to cast higher level spells. You need 10+spell level in that ability score to cast that level of spell. Int for wizard, Wis for Druid and Cleric, Cha for Bard and Sorcerer. So if you are aiming to cast level 9 spells in late game, you want to have at least 19 in that ability later on.

Use your Favourite Class Bonus for skill point. Max out in Knowledge Arcane, Spellcraft, also Use Magical Item. Then you still have 20 points to built flavor in your character, or all goes to perception.

Traits, Two trains, Underlying Principles and Classically Schooled. Give you +1 trait bonus to Spellcraft and Use Magical Item. Also make them class skill. Which add another +3.

If you play Human, you get Skill Focus(Use Magical Item), Skill Focus( Spellcraft) with your human Feat. That will give you a +3 to both skills.Then get Magical Aptitude at level 3. What about your fighter bonus feat? Do anything you like. But if you want to focus on the casting side, Caster's Champion if you want play spell sword. More caster-ish, Point Blank Shot gives you +1 to hit and damage with spell that require attack roll. Improved Initiative is always good. Improved Unarmed Strike if you want to cast Fist. Power Attack if you have enough Str and you want to hurt them with a staff.

So you at level 1, you should have +1 rank to use magical device and spellcraft. Spellcraft allows you to read them so you know what spell it is and how to use the scroll. Use Magical Device is very self-explanatory. Another +1 at least from your ability score. +1 from trait bonus and +3 from class skills. You have about +6 to both skills if you only have +1 to your Int and Cha. +3 if you are and you took skill focus for both skills. You are sitting on +9. To cast a level 0 spell with a scroll, you need DC20. That means you have to roll 11 or higher. 12 for a level 1 spell. Good thing is you would put more points than just +1. So it will get easier.

By level 3, you will have 3 ranks in both skills. So You will have at least +12 to both skills. So to cast a cantrip. You only need to roll 8, that, 60% Chance. 55% for level 1 spell.

What about mid level? Level 10? If you can get the scroll, you can cast it. By level 10, you should have + 10 in those rank. So with Skill Focus(Use Magical Item), Skill Focus( Spellcraft) and Magical Aptitude feats, you should have another +10 for both skills. Say, you planned ahead and get yourself enough ability scores to have 19 Int, 19 Cha, With headband or something, you will ended up having +4 from ability score. Adding traits and favourite class bonus. That's +28. You only need DC29 to cast level 9 spell with a scroll. Therefore, unless you GM makes you auto fail a skill check on natural 1, you can cast anything without fail. Normal rules, you can fail on a skill with a natural 1.

So congratulations, you are the most powerful spell caster that are not spell caster by level 10. What's the problem? Well, you can't make scroll, wand, rod and staff... So I guess you just have to beg your GM...

[Dastis]

There is always this

[Mathmuse]

I once played an NPC who thought she was a wizard. Val Baine was one of the first NPCs that the party meets in Fires of Creation, the first module of the Iron Gods adventure path. She is the 13-year-old daughter of the missing wizard Khonnir Baine, whom the party will be hired to find. Two players took the Local Ties campaign trait that made friends of the Baines, and I aged Val to 17 to fit the PCs' backstories into the timeline. She was now an apprentice wizard studying under her father and had learned one cantrip. Little did I realize that by aging Val, the PCs would decide that she was old enough to join their party.

To make her a viable party member and to reflect her Kellid tribal heritage (my players wanted Val to be a barbarian), I redesigned her a 1st-level bloodrager with an archetype that gave her cantrips. That archetype was homebrew, but Enlightened would have worked. She thought she was a wizard/barbarian in training. She studied her cantrips from her spellbook every morning, not realizing that that was unnecessary. She did not learn the true nature of her spellcasting until she finished the module at 4th level, a mere 3 days later (adventurers level up so quickly!).

A few months later, the party at 12th level had to enter the city of Starfall. They had caught the hostile attention of the evil Technic League, based in Starfall. They had used false names since the second module, so the Technic League never tracked them back to their hometown. To sneak into Starfall, most of them reverted to their true identities, but hid their high level. Val Baine dusted off her old spellbook, bought a robe, hid her +1 adamantine sword, and pretended to be a 1st-level wizard.

It is easier for a high-level character to pretend to be a low-level wizard.

[Dave Justus]

I find it difficult to believe that anyone with a lot of arcane lore wouldn't realize they were not in fact a prepared INT based caster when they were something else. I could certainly see them pretending to others for various reasons, but being fooled themselves while being knowledgeable about magic seems unbelievable. Someone who didn't know anything about magical theory could be honestly confused, especially at lower levels.

[K-kun the Insane]

Dave Justus wrote:

I find it difficult to believe that anyone with a lot of arcane lore wouldn't realize they were not in fact a prepared INT based caster when they were something else. I could certainly see them pretending to others for various reasons, but being fooled themselves while being knowledgeable about magic seems unbelievable. Someone who didn't know anything about magical theory could be honestly confused, especially at lower levels.

High INT and dumped WIS would do it, especially if you have a racial penalty to WIS. Just because you know something doesn't mean you understand it.