I always go back to the shaman only to turn away so here is my thing...is it possible to do a battle reach shaman that goes with lore and arcane enlightenment? This is for PFS might do a one level dip if that would make it work or am I delusional?
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It's going to be rough for your stats.
Stats
16/10/14/13/14/14 with a duel talented human seems about as good as it gets.
FCB
3hp then cleric spells divine favor, and grace are great to have. Align weapon is worth a shot too.
Traits
Your going to need the help so take fate's favored.
Hexes
you won't have the Wisdom for save or die hexes so take the Benefactor archtpye. These hexes will let you buff as and immediate action. The fortune hex and soothsayer are another great combo for you and the battle spirit hex for weapon spec and aoo should cover viable hexes. Feel free to pick an choose.
Familair as a protector is likely best, but a mauler or sage can work to help the build. A flanking partner with with a menacing amulet my help.
Now for the dip
Ulfen guardian at level 7. Take moment of clarity as your rage power. Make you weapon furious.
What you now have is a raging shaman with useful non-saves based hexes. That can self buff, rage, still cast in a pinch mid rage. Has furious, bane and weapon spec.
Feats
Combat reflexes, power attack, mauler's endurance(or not shamans don't like losing there familiars),extra rage and as I read it you should qualify for extra rage powers there are many that will help this build.
You could change the build to dip monk at level one or bloodrager. If you wanted to be strong in combat sooner butninwould retrain to ulfen guardian as I have laid out.
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Reach Shaman builds are fine. I think that Battle Spirit works best. Enlarge Person as a Spirit Spell, the Battle Master Hex, the Battle Spirit Spirit Ability, and the Enemies Bane Greater Spirit Ability are particularly useful in my view. But if you go with Lore Spirit you could get these later through Wandering Spirit and Wandering Hex.
Feat-wise you'd go with the standard reach build: Combat Reflexes (possibly not necessary if you have the Battle Master Hex), Weapon Focus (longspear), Power Attack, Lunge, and Phalanx Formation.
Humans, Half-Elves, and Half-Orcs can use the Human Favored Class option to add spells from the Cleric list. Divine Favor is a standard for Reach Clerics.
Tactically you use the Reach Cleric strategy of generally casting during your turn (you can use Hexes instead) and making AoOs with your longspear out of turn.
Edit: There is a ninja running loose in this thread!
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Moment of Clarity only works once per rage, and the "moment" is one round. Raging Vitality may also be prudent at some point.
IMO, if you're going to dip at all in a reach-shaman, it should be a level of Ranger at 1st to get the goodies over your entire career:
* shore up your two weak saves
* all martial weapon proficiencies
* boat-ton of class skills including Perception
* divine item triggering (hello, wand of Instant Enemy)
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Moment of Clarity only works once per rage, and the "moment" is one round. Raging Vitality may also be prudent at some point.
IMO, if you're going to dip at all in a reach-shaman, it should be a level of Ranger at 1st to get the goodies over your entire career:
* shore up your two weak saves
* all martial weapon proficiencies
* boat-ton of class skills including Perception
* divine item triggering (hello, wand of Instant Enemy)
Easy enough to take a trait for perception. You also get it with the prestige class.
You can already use a tone of spell triggering items from the shaman list, any cleric spell you pick up and of any wizard spells you have preped. You really should not need any more spell access with this build.
Buying a wand of instant enemy (15,750 gp) and spending a standard action to cast it for a +2, +2 is a massive waste of resources. You are way better off casting good hope, righteous might or contagious zeal.
You should have some remove spells, emergency healing, or breath of life. That is all moment of clarity is for. If you really need to go permanent caster you just deal with fatigue it's not that big a deal.
Furious guardian boost saves +1 fort, +1 will and +2 fort, +2 will when raging. Though raging vitality is a good idea. Once you have the con score.
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Arcane Enlightenment is (minimum 1), meaning that the difference between a 7CHA and a 14CHA is one spell. For a Shaman who already needs every other ability score, I'd strongly suggest finding contentment in having one Wizard spell. You can always swap out which one as you go up levels.
No good way to do debuffing while doing reach huh? Can't find the Ulfen guardian. Out of curiosity why weapon focus? Sorry been a busy day and mind is only in half gear
A Shaman can also easily pick up Guided Hand, which compresses stats nicely. Something like Dual Talent Human 14/16, 12, 12, 14, 16/18, 7 will allow for strong accuracy and spell DC, decent damage, 2-3 AoO's per round and up to one poached Wizard spell of up to level 4-6 (ranges indicate item bonuses from easy +2 grabs). While Life Spirit grants Channel, you can also get it from Archetypes.
With this setup, you can also grab one level of Unchained Monk and worship a polearm deity like Tsukiyo to use Crusader's Flurry, and also WIS AC crossed with Wind Spirit or Speaker for the Past to get awesome unarmored AC. The only issue with all of this is that feats are mostly taken at this point.
Hmm that is a different path than what i was thinking but interesting. Due to the lore i need a higher cha. (hmm just saw the previous note but bane would get hit)
@ Grandlounge Didnt realize it was a prestige class
Honestly I like both ideas but I need to make them so i get a better feel but bed is taking priority
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A Shaman can also easily pick up Guided Hand, which compresses stats nicely. Something like Dual Talent Human 14/16, 12, 12, 14, 16/18, 7 will allow for strong accuracy and spell DC, decent damage, 2-3 AoO's per round and up to one poached Wizard spell of up to level 4-6 (ranges indicate item bonuses from easy +2 grabs). While Life Spirit grants Channel, you can also get it from Archetypes.
With this setup, you can also grab one level of Unchained Monk and worship a polearm deity like Tsukiyo to use Crusader's Flurry, and also WIS AC crossed with Wind Spirit or Speaker for the Past to get awesome unarmored AC. The only issue with all of this is that feats are mostly taken at this point.
If you're not going to flurry the build spends 2 feats, for a +1 to attack, locking yourself to a select few deities and having to pick the life spirits. On that array I think I would still pick battle for spells and weapon spec, grab weapon focus to replace the +1 with one of the feats, and consider ancestor as a wandering spirit for heroism.
I think that array is great if you still want have good dcs but I think losing that much bane and say blade tutor's spirit and heroism or haste from lore hurts melee a lot. But definitely a worth while trade as casting is the more powerful option.
We see your array, but don't know which attributes the numbers are in. (Why two 13s? ...Can you do this character with a 15(+2),14,14,14,12,07 20pt-array? As a reach concept, you need to ideally be capable of more than one AoO per round.)
One of the best parts of the Battle Master Hex is the extra AoO. Not having to pump Dex or spend a feat on Combat Reflexes can be really nice. Of course play styles differ, so if you find that you frequently have more than 2 AoOs provoked per round then Dex + Combat Reflexes might be worth it.
No good way to do debuffing while doing reach huh? Can't find the Ulfen guardian. Out of curiosity why weapon focus? Sorry been a busy day and mind is only in half gear
I assume that the Weapon Focus question was directed at me. Your AoOs are at full BAB which is great. But you are still only a 3/4 BAB class, and taking the penalty for Power Attack doesn't help. Plus you will still sometimes want to attack during your turn at times. So boosting your attack rolls can make a difference. Shamans have LOTS of options for boosting attacks, but Weapon Focus doesn't use up action economy, spell slots, or other daily consumables so I think it is a good option. It also opens up other feat chains.
Hmm that is a different path than what i was thinking but interesting. Due to the lore i need a higher cha. (hmm just saw the previous note but bane would get hit)
@ Grandlounge Didnt realize it was a prestige classHonestly I like both ideas but I need to make them so i get a better feel but bed is taking priority
If using Battle/Bane then CHA matters more, yeah. 10CHA is still enough for 3/day Bane for a build where you're splitting combat and other things; maybe CHA up to 10 and STR down to 13/15 would work. INT can be at 13 and still reach level 5 Wizard spells with a +2 item, so there's another way to scrounge some points. There's a ton of ways you can split the stats in a workable way if you have Dual Talent Human. You just have to manage expectations.
If you're not going to flurry the build spends 2 feats, for a +1 to attack, locking yourself to a select few deities and having to pick the life spirits. On that array I think I would still pick battle for spells and weapon spec, grab weapon focus to replace the +1 with one of the feats, and consider ancestor as a wandering spirit for heroism.
I think that array is great if you still want have good dcs but I think losing that much bane and say blade tutor's spirit and heroism or haste from lore hurts melee a lot. But definitely a worth while trade as casting is the more powerful option.
At first, WIS > STR is a +1 difference. By the time ability scores have bumped WIS up twice and there are items involved, it's easily a +3 or +4 difference. Guided Hand is likely to be picked up at level 7, just at the point where this difference starts to really play out.
You don't need the Life Spirit. Spirit Warden and Witch Doctor both grant Channel Energy, and they aren't terribly annoying to take.
Haste isn't relevant if buffing with Divine Favor or later Divine Power, since it's very unlikely both can be used, and Divine Power makes it redundant anyhow. Blade Tutor's Spirit might be handy, but again it's a question of how easily it can be run along with other buffs (especially in PFS). Heroism can be picked up through other methods. In general, crippling melee stats to get a Wizard spell to help melee stats seems like a poor strategy. For a more dedicated melee Shaman, I wouldn't use Lore.
It's a question of priorities, and I was under the impression that he was going for good spellcasting with some melee ability using reach. If the idea is to build a dedicated melee Shaman, things change a bit (though maybe not that much). If he's interested in debuffing with spells or hexes, mediocre WIS isn't really going to fly. Guided Hand at least means that both debuffing and melee can operate well together.
Another possibility then: 14/16, 10, 12, 13, 16/18, 10. Use Spirit Warden to get Channel Energy, and grab both Lore and Battle. Items and Battle help fill-in for INT and DEX needs. Guided Hand appears by 7, so that by the time WIS is really pulling ahead from item/leveling you're switch to WIS attacks. Or go 12/14STR; it's a pain to have a 14 attack stat until higher level, but with Divine Favor it's not so awful at least.
For a properly aggressive melee/caster hybrid Shaman, ditch Lore and go Battle Spirit and Speaker for the Past with a one-level dip in Unchained Monk, using Witch Doctor for Channel. For ease of use, worship a god whose weapon is already a Monk weapon - the coolest one being Hei-Feng, the Duke of Thunder (TM), and his 9-ring broadsword, "9-Crow". Use Speaker for the Past to grab Heroism, Spirit Shield and Temporal Celerity. A thunder-worshipping Battle Spirit Witch-Doctor with a shield of spirits and a 9-ring Bane flurry, who throws full-powered Shaman and Cleric spells and warps time for initiative. Shamans are just... so great.
I was going to mention Blade Tutor's Spirit as being a Sorcerer/Wizard spell to nab if you really wanted Power Attack, but unfortunately it seems to be not PFS-legal.
If you want to save the point buy points used for Dexterity, you could worship Torag, Wield a Warhammer, and use Torag's Divine Fighting Technique (which is PFS-legal according to Archives of Nethys) instead of Combat Reflexes, thereby using your Wisdom modifier instead of your Dexterity modifier to determine your number of Attacks of Opportunity. Unfortunately, this requires that you use a Warhammer as your weapon, and that isn't a Reach weapon, so that means that you are going to have to allocate one of the Sorcerer/Wizard spells you nab to be Long Arm (which is PFS-legal according to Archives of Nethys); at later levels you might want to replace this with Monstrous Physique II or higher (if you can get high enough Intelligence to cast it) to polymorph into something that has even more Reach but that can still wield your weapons. If you are a Dwarf, you don't even need to dip martial to be proficient with the Warhammer, although on the other hand, this does hurt Charisma (in case you wanted to spend the point buy points that you saved from Dexterity on Charisma instead), although a dip in Unchained Monk to get Wisdom to AC would still be attractive (as well as 1 or 2 more hit points, depending upon FCB choice in your Shaman levels, if you do it at first level).
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Good thoughts on different stat spreads though I don't love 12 con on a d8 character.
Your build would still want a strength belt for damage so 2 level increases, high wis, and an extra +2 on the headband at level 8 is covered would put you +3 again +2 ahead after weapon focus with a free feats. That's a good trade at that level. But not something can't be made up for.
So you are running off strength until you get the 2 feats, to be a bit better for a when you can afford a +4 belt and hit level 8 for the sat boost.
For straight damage this is way behind raging and extra bane but like I said maintianing casting can be worth the sacrifice. So like you said it's about expectations.
Your life spirit build can still benifit from heroism. Lore is a better way to get it compared to ancestor but I would like to hear the other ways to get it. Kightns pennon seems like the most obvious answer but I always like to see others. Haste always has value in PFS or at least the ability to bring haste to the table of you like. Haste often increases dpr more than divine favor (especially before level 9) even on an individual basis. When you include other people it is the superior option.
As for mentioned archtypes witch doctors make a terrible debuffer as they give up too many hexes. Spirit warden is a bit better but it still make it hard to get good debuffing hexes. A hex is way better then an even more situational channel. I think life spirit is by far the best option for the op if going the guided hand route.
I'm 100% with you on the speaker for the past it's my favourite archetype for the shaman. I would have suggested it but it does not fulfill what the OP asked for.
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Good thoughts on different stat spreads though I don't love 12 con on a d8 character.
Your build would still want a strength belt for damage so 2 level increases, high wis, and an extra +2 on the headband at level 8 is covered would put you +3 again +2 ahead after weapon focus with a free feats. That's a good trade at that level. But not something can't be made up for.
So you are running off strength until you get the 2 feats, to be a bit better for a when you can afford a +4 belt and hit level 8 for the sat boost.
For straight damage this is way behind raging and extra bane but like I said maintianing casting can be worth the sacrifice. So like you said it's about expectations.
12CON isn't so great, yeah. It could be bumped up. On the upside, False Life is a Shaman spell, and FCB can mostly be HP. The Monk level shores up Fort save at least.
I'm not sure I'd prioritize a STR belt either before or after Guided Hand, since before 7 there are a lot of pressures on cashflow, and after 7 it's not that big a deal. I'd quite possibly grab a +2DEX belt first for the AC, AoO and initiative, then make it a +2STR/DEX later; though really, if you have or are soon to have Guided Hand (and maybe Monk AC), the priority is to grab a +4WIS item and a good weapon before worrying about belt. There's always Bull's Strength as a stopgap if min/level spells are possible on top of Favor.
Heroism can be gotten with Speaker or Ancestor, though neither of those work if the objective is both Lore and Battle spirits. I just don't see using Lore and needing good CHA for multiple Wizard combat buff spells to be worth it when the price for picking up those things is that you have to lower combat stats anyways, and they often gimp action economy and eat up spell slots. If I was using Lore, I'd use it for one good control grab for whatever level, like Color Spray, Glitterdust, Wandering Star Motes.
If the OP wants both Lore and Battle, then Life is out. Spirit Warden drops one Hex. Again, it's a question of priorities; if this is a Hex focused Shaman who's going to stand around throwing assorted hexes and chanting... why have the melee power? One good Hex and some good spells is already a lot to do on top of combat, and there's always Extra Hex if it's really wanted. Witch Doctor does hurt hexing bad, no question; it can be recovered somewhat by Extra Hex, but it's ideally for a more casting or fighting focused Shaman.
Especially within a PFS context, I wouldn't be so sure that Rage is going to beat a Monk dip for effectiveness. A bonus attack with zero penalty is a huge, huge deal, especially when you get no iterative attack until 8. By 8, a Battle Shaman's attacks are so strong when it counts that the benefits of +3 attack and +3-4 damage vs. a whole other attack still aren't clear cut.
I think my favorite Shaman iteration, personally, would have to be what I just posted somewhere else for fun:
Theme Music: Judge, Jury and Executioner
Witch Doctor Speaker for the Past Shaman 10/ Unchained Monk 1
Dual Talent Human: 14/16STR, 10DEX, 14CON, 10INT, 16/18WIS, 10CHA
Traits: Fate's Favored, Magical Knack, Wayang Spellhunter: Aura of Doom. Drawback: Power Hungry
Deity: Hei-Feng, the Duke of Thunder
Spirit: Battle
Weapon: 9-Ring Broadsword
1M. (+Improved Unarmed Strike) / (+Stunning Fist) / +Dodge / Power Attack
2S.
3S. *Hex: Battle Master* / Mantis Style
4S. *FCB: Divine Favor*
5S. *Channel Energy* / *Revelation: Spirit Shield* / Channel Smite
6S.
7S. *Revelation: Temporal Celerity* / Guided Hand: 9-Ring Broadsword
8S.
9S. *Enemies' Bane* / *Counter Curse* / (+Weapon Specialization: 9-Ring Broadsword) / Cornugon Stun
10S. *FCB: Aura of Doom*
11S. *Countering Hex* / Persistent Spell
Guided Hand lets you attack with WIS, while Unchained Monk grants Flurry of Blows. So flurry with two-handed 9-ring broadsword strikes with Power Attack and Divine Favor are devastating; throw on Enemies' Bane and things get vaporized. Speaker for the Past also grants Heroism (10min/level), just to toss another +2 attack in there.
Spirit Shield grants a scaling armor bonus when unarmored, and Monk grants WIS to AC when unarmored. So Spirit Shield and high WIS is excellent "armor" that costs nothing. Shaman also gets Barkskin (10min/level), which is even more defense while saving more cash. With nothing but a robe on, you've got AC that would make a Fighter in plate armor happy. Shaman also gets False Life for hours of temporary HP.
Mantis Style grants a +2 to Stunning Fist WIS DC and an extra Stunning Fist per day, while Cornugon Stun lets you use a 9-ring broadsword to throw Stunning Fist. So by 9, you can make 4 extremely strong Stunning Fist attacks per day through your sword. Fits the 'Duke of Thunder' theme perfectly.
All of this is on top of having nearly full high-WIS Shaman spellcasting (and you can pick from the Cleric list too with Favored Class Bonus). By level 10 you can grab Aura of Doom and then make it Persistent by level 11, which grants an incredibly strong fear aura that's 10min/level.
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We see your array, but don't know which attributes the numbers are in. (Why two 13s? ...Can you do this character with a 15(+2),14,14,14,12,07 20pt-array? As a reach concept, you need to ideally be capable of more than one AoO per round.)One of the best parts of the Battle Master Hex is the extra AoO. Not having to pump Dex or spend a feat on Combat Reflexes can be really nice. Of course play styles differ, so if you find that you frequently have more than 2 AoOs provoked per round then Dex + Combat Reflexes might be worth it.
If you do end up taking a level of barbarian, then a second level could give you the rage power Quick Reflexes, granting another AoO not requiring dexterity. (So you could have up to three per round with lousy DEX. Can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'd wager there's at least one item out there that'll grant another.)
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Monk dip excels with lower ac no Dr, rage dip tends to put perform with higher AC enemies and does better against dr.
Both are great I use both regularly. Every version of the build comes down to is +2 to attack worth either give up the battle spirit (losing bane, an aoo, and Weapon spec and 2 feats), or taking spirit warden (trading away spells for less melee oriented spells, losing diplomacy as a class skill, give up 2 and 10th level hexes). It maybe but it does not seem clear to me.
Thanks for bringing Cornugon Stun to my attention. What are counter curse and countering hex are they new? They seem like things I may like.
I would go a bit more basic and grab quicken spell at level 11 or maybe a pick something with a more potent effect then shaken if sticking with persistent. Shaken is a small effect with a lot of immunities, though having it for multiple fights is great, slow or confusion may be more potent options.
Thanks everyone there are a lot of options, if nothing else hopefully when someone looks up shaman this will give them some ideas. My origional goal is to try to use a reach weapon and sprinkle in hex with spells. Ideally misfortune or sleep.
That said could you use the 9 ring broadsword two handed?
Honestly there is a ton to go through :)
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My favourite melee build that uses hexes is the Dex based speaker for the past one level unchained monk. Your damage come from rime frostbite, eventually bane, and weapon spec. The benifit is you can use hex strike for amazing action economy to add a pile of debuffs while maintaining respectable to great damage.
Hex strike evil eye seems pretty darn nasty. So what go dex and wis and pick up a agile neck? Along with a high wis and dex add in everything else and heck he is a tank. No such thing as a reach monk weapon huh? Lot to process I do like the idea of the storm spirit warrior, just wish I could get reach. Trying to get time to actually work on the character instead of just using the phone to comment :P
Hex Strike is great, though it's too bad that in PFS you can't take Ascetic Style to use it through a weapon. You can always just Hex Strike punch once per round while otherwise wielding a weapon, but that gets messy if not using strength.
Counter Curse and Countering Hex are Witch Doctor things, where you sacrifice Spirit Magic spells to make strong Dispel or Remove Curse checks, eventually as counterspelling. It's a cool concept, but relies on sacrificing Spirit Magic spells so it's limited.
You could easily create a polearm build along the lines of what I posted above, since reach weapon deities are fairly common. Fitting in Crusader's Flurry isn't that difficult; just switch bonus Dodge to bonus Combat Reflexes, and switch Mantis Style and Power Attack to Weapon Focus and Crusader's Flurry. Then switch Cornugon Stun to Power Attack. Or you can just not use Guided Hand and instead use a reach Monk weapon. Lots of options.
It sounds like either way I should skip lore to put less strain on the stats. To save feats I think I would move away from guided hand. I think it might come down to the age old str vs dex. Is speaker of the past realty great, just thinking I could keep the familiar and go wind for the armor. Was leaning towards a lore familiar.
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A protector familiar is nice and wandering spirit and hex are super useful but if you want the battle spirit for melee (the best option for that purpose) having to take wind and a wandering spirit is really limiting your versatility. So it follows, if you are going to stick with a single wandering spirit why not get a number of amazing revelations instead (roll 2x on initiative), get slow/haste as spell like abilities, become full bab for a few rounds etc. If you are taking a single spirit as your wanting spirit especially wind (as speaker for the past has the same power) spirit guided is better most of the time.
Lore familair do you mean sage? It's good I should stack with figment so it can never die.
Odd thought is you keep int and cha high you can have a mauler familiar with 10ft reach. Might not be a good idea but evolved familiar is a pretty good feat.
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Is speaker of the past realty great, just thinking I could keep the familiar and go wind for the armor.
I've played both a Speaker for the Past and a regular Shaman; they seem about equal to me. Speaker for the Past adds Heroism to your spell list, and gets you Haste through a Revelation, but you lose Wandering Spirit and Wandering Hex.
Use Lore Spirit if having access to a Wizard spell is something defining for the build. Like if you want to be a Battering Blast specialist Shaman whose build concept is hammering foes with pure spiritual force. Or if you want to melee with Greater Invisibility. Or if you want to be a spear-fighter who can hurl his spear with Named Bullet as a special move. Otherwise Lore is a big resource-sink for... what exactly?
Yeah that's what I started to think, of lore was worth it. Probably not. I really want to go with a sage familiar but speaker of the past has potential.
Lore can be great if you grab an interesting spell. A Shaman with Rage could specialize in Furious Intensified Battering Blast, and be throwing 3x7d6 knockdown force orbs by level 10 or 11. When they get Battering Blast at level 6, it can already be 10d6 force.
Been doing more research on the monk route. There is a lot out there. I kinda like the debuff idea but on the flip side i want to do damage...sigh
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Strength monk with a two hand weapon does good damage. Dex monk with frostbite, bane, and weapon spec lays out damage quite well too.
Once you get an agile amulet you can do a good amount of damage 1d4+5(4 Dex +1 trait) + 1d6+5 this is around level 6.
Barbarian Two-handing at this level 2d6 + 7str + 6 power attack +3 furious weapon + 3 rage. 26 damage about 25% less on the iterative.
That's 32 damage from two attacks with frost bite verses 45(1.75*26) damage from a barbarian attack and the iterative.
Note those are not actual dpr calculations just damage adjusted for the different between flurry and iterative. But that's pretty close considering you will evil eye on one punch, having already entangled and fatigued, with a stun to follow up the next round.
I should also note that level 6 is the level that gives the biggest advantage to full Bab characters. So you can consider this worst case level for comparison for frost bite based shaman. There are troubles with hardness and immunities that are worth thinking about when building this character.
Another interesting option would be to worship Ra and take Guided Hand with the spear, so that whether you throw a spear or melee with it you only need WIS to attack... then use Lore Spirit to grab Named Bullet. Spear attacks with Named Bullet at 30ft or under are touch-AC no-concealment auto-crit-x3 damage-bonus attacks. Named Bullet is a 10min/level spell, so you can cast it if you have any foreknowledge of either an enemy type or a creature's identity. For early levels, you can throw a Returning spear once per round and potentially even use Chant while doing it. For later levels...
1. RETRAINED / RETRAINED
2. RETRAINED: Channel Smite / RETRAINED: Guided Hand
3. Two-Handed Thrower
5. RETRAINED (Was Vital Strike)
7. Quick Draw
9. RETRAINED: Martial Focus: Spears / Ricochet Toss
With Ricochet Toss you can always throw the same spear no matter how much throwing you're doing, so you can lay into enemies with spear full attacks at range using Enemies' Bane. The concept of Ricochet is pretty lame, but a Shaman can re-skin it as throwing ghostly spirit spears that appear in-hand or whatever. With a decent STR score and all the assorted Shaman bonuses, thrown spears hit really hard; plus Named Bullet is a tactical nuke. And of course, you can melee with it seamlessly if you need to. Shaman gets Overland Flight at 9 as well, so you can fly around raining spears.
There's also the Sharding weapon property, but it's a real drag to use in PFS where you can't use item creation. Still, it's another possible way to go that saves a whole lot of other resources, and Enemies' Bane makes having a base +1 weapon not so bad. If you were willing to go with a Sharding spear, you could even do the Crusader's Flurry thing and flurry-throw Sharding spears... which is kind of amazing, come to think of it.
Badbird: That is sooooooo cool!
Badbird: That is sooooooo cool!
Yep. If there's anything cooler than trafficking in the spirit world and hurling full-sized spears like snowballs at christmas, I've never heard of it.
Badbird: That is sooooooo cool!Yep. If there's anything cooler than trafficking in the spirit world and hurling full-sized spears like snowballs at christmas, I've never heard of it.
Under this build, even an illustration is good.
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/72/8a/14/728a1417c0911e7592c120a8ad08e32a.jpg
Badbird: That is sooooooo cool!Yep. If there's anything cooler than trafficking in the spirit world and hurling full-sized spears like snowballs at christmas, I've never heard of it.Under this build, even an illustration is good.
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/72/8a/14/728a1417c0911e7592c120a8ad08e32a.jpg
I always liked the Dread Mask in Guild Wars. Disclaimer: not my pic or anything to do with me.
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Side note on named bullet. Hunters get it as a third level spell the spell could be renamed hunters smite :).
Named bullet is a good spell to grab with lore and super fun but it's in a slot that has a lot of competition dim door gets everybody close for a full attack, telekinetic charge throws a barbarian instead of a spear, black tentacles does...what it does, greater invis, polymorph spells in addition to save or die spells like confusion if you keep your dcs up.
This is why lore is very valuable even if it stretches stats, (bad bird had ideas to help the stats). Once you start getting spell storing armor, rings, weapons and/or ioun stones you see your versatility sky rocket.
Sorry with a cold and life I havent had a chance to really iron the character out. While I would really like to go the lore route just not sure how feasible. I do like the spirit throwing spears idea...honestly I like all the suggestions. Named bullet is cool but being consumed after one hit kinda sucks.
I think part of the issue is how to spread out the stats to be effective without burning a lot of feats/hexes. Obviously going str would make the most sense but losing def hurts. I'm thinking evil eye/chant and misfortune will be my go to hexes (besides combat oriented ones from battle) Hex strike with evil eye seems a good mix since every time you hit you can stack a debuff...but then again after a ac and will I could switch to a two handed weapon... I also wonder how much str would be needed when you count the divine favor/bane/evil eye and possibly heroism. I'm hoping I'm making sense but honestly realizing I'm really tired :) Thanks guys this is really giving me ideas
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That is a good point and the reason I recommend hexstike with soothsayer. Use evil eye each round until they fail their save. Soothsayer means the penalty will always be there on your next round even if they pass. When you start getting 2 rounds of misfortune on a failed save you can grab hexstrike again.
The chant combos make you pretty immobile, and prevent full attacks. I don't think they work very well for a melee build.
Although you CAN still make good use of Attacks of Opportunity, so it's not all bad. The trick is how to deal with times when you need to move ore than 5 feet per round. Ways exist, but they are not easy to get on a Reach Shaman build (the Outslug Style feat chain requires that you be using a Close weapon at the same time as your Reach weapon, and it eats a LOT of feats; VMC Wizard (Conjuration:Teleportation) lets you get around, but also eats a LOT of feats, and that's before you even add Dimensional Agility to make it good, and then arguably you have to have Dimension Door as one of the Sorcerer/Wizard spells you nab).
Are there any swift action, short range teleport spells or special effects, like 5E's misty step?
^Quickened Dimension Door (with Spell Perfection if you want it not to eat an absurdly high level spell slot (and require a huge investment in Intelligence).