Paladin is great for Reign of Winter and being "easy". You don't get spellcasting until late, when you can understand the system more. Chosen one archetype gives you a fun companion to Roleplay some and delays some of the choices you make without lowering them overall.
I'd highly recommend Paladin.
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Paladin sounds like it gives the most things he wants, and Chosen One is super fun, so I'd likely go with that of the options thus far.
Bloodrager is another option that meets most of the criteria, though. Depending on Bloodline he could even wind up with claw attacks and thus an unarmed combat option. Going Urban Bloodrager and jacking up Dex and he could switch hit fairly well with, say, an Elven Curveblade (proficiency via Ancestral Arms) and a Longbow.
This skips the Familiar...at first. Eldritch Heritage (Arcane) would get it back though, and Bloodrager will definitely have the Charisma to qualify.
Hunter would work well for Reign of Winter. It gives the user magic and gives them good combat options. You can easily use elven weapons. the only part of the list it doesn't give is the performance. I suggest using traits and skills to fill that in. I strongly suggest using background skills from unchained.
It's not the simplest build. But it's hard to make a simple character that meets all of his needs. I expect that an experienced roleplayer will adapt and figure things out well enough.
Bloodrager or sorcerer can get a bloodline familiar via giving up their 1st level bloodline power so that is an option he could take (draconic bloodline even gives the familiar dragon wings a few mins each day for that anime touch)
I’ll look at hunter it isn’t a class I’ve spent a lot of time on.
To be clear he doesn’t want natural attacks but more martial arts unarmed combat type stuff (ie monk like stuff). So builds with monk in the mix may be an option I’ll consider as well. (Probably unchained monk)
There is the Unchained Monk scaled fist archetype which is very dragon oriented and martial.
There is the Brawler but requires feat mastery and tactical advantages a new player might not have.
The scaled fist definatly fits the unarmed damage type he wants. He could dip into monk 1 level and then take Sorcerer (instead of wizard) the rest. Uses CHA for AC and Stunning fist instead of Monks normal wisdom. I saw he likes Dragon Disciple in your post...so Scaled Fist 1/Sorcerer 4/Dragon Disciple 8/Sorcerer rest. He can even trade out His level 1 bloodline like you said and get a protector familiar.
Wizard (probably admixture evoker) with a familiar (possibly the familiar adept archetype to make his familiar something that later on is more active and flavorful) - drawback is this doesn't lend itself to using a sword/bow effectively (perhaps multiclassing and heading to eldritch knight), doesn't play up the performance capabilities and likely limits his out of combat skills a bit
Admixture Evoker is a very good choice if you like offensive magic, but this approach doesn't align well with Eldritch Knight. EK generally prefers to use spells for buffing, support, and control. Direct offense is what his weapon attacks are for. Admixture Evokers, on the other hand, focus on ending encounters instantly with overwhelming AoE damage. If exploitable elemental weaknesses are present, Admixture Evoker spells are usually save-or-die.
Familiar Adept is a terrible archetype. I'm convinced there must have been a editorial mistake and certain text was cut or changed, because it actually hurts your familiar as much as it helps it (while saddling the wizard with a whole bunch of drawbacks). Don't use it, it's pretty much just a collection of downsides with only a handful of circumstantial benefits. The school familiar option can be used without taking this archetype.
Bard (probably arcane duelist) - doesn't grant the anime like familiar but does make fighting with a sword (or occasionally a bow) pretty effective, long term if he went pure bard he would get to magically enhance weapons and more) - if he wanted to multiclass could add a martial class for more capabilities and then consider either eldritch knight or dragon disciple (which might play up the son of a sorcerer background very well) - would however minimize the bard archetype abilities. Doesn't lend itself to being all that blasty.
Bards are a fun class. Multiclassing is usually a bad idea for them, but Dragon Disciple is workable if you really want to go that road. Generally Sorcerer works better for that, though.
Summoner - would play up the anime like companion very effectively - but for someone new to Pathfinder may be overly complex (I would insist probably on the unchained version). Also the party already has another PC who is doing a lot of summoning as a GM not sure I want two PCs summoning
Summoners are complex to build, not to play. Turns can take a bit longer since you're controlling two creatures, so if this is a player that gets "analysis paralysis" that may be a problem, but otherwise it should be fine so long as you help with the build process. As for the chained vs unchained comparison, the only thing I would be concerned about is the spell list and pounce evolution.
Paladin (chosen one archtype) - this would potentially play up the anime like flavor - possibly combined with bard or another spontaneous caster class to then led into a prestige class like eldritch knight or dragon disciple - but could be fun just by itself - most martial, least magical caster - but could really capture the anime flavor and equipment choices might capture rest - and the player has already shown a propensity to have the character swear oaths to avenge an NPC who had died (so leading into being an Oath bound paladin might happen very naturally - which also boosts magical abilities a bit). Would need the player to pick a good and agree to LG alignment so that is a factor
Simple and straightforward. Multiclassing Paladin/Sorcerer into EK or Dragon Disciple works very well, and was recently buffed substantially with the Prestigious Spellcaster feat.
what is the issue you have with the Familiar Adept? (other than making it expensive to replace the familiar - I don't see how it makes the familiar weaker - yes it like a witch's familiar is now also your spellbook - but in the campaign that would actually be a net benefit as it is likely they may encounter familiars from witches they defeat or perhaps befriend) - otherwise I see it as largely a fair trade - you get some unique benefits earlier than you would otherwise that would otherwise cost two feats (school familiar, greater school familiar) plus your familiar gets some further additional ability to use your school powers - though the utility of that would vary greatly by your specific school - in the case of admixture it would only be useful if your familiar also prepares the right cantrip...
Upsides of this archetype:
- Once per day your familiar can use your 1st level Wizard school ability- Your familiar gets the greater school power ability 2 levels early and don't need to pay a feat for it
Downsides of this archetype:
- Lose scribe scroll, the 5th level bonus feat, and 10th level bonus feat
- Gain an additional opposition school
- Your familiar gains the lesser school power ability 3 levels later than it would have without this archetype.
- Cannot learn spells from spellbooks (by far the cheapest and easiest way to learn spells)
- Cannot keep multiple spellbooks for backup purposes
- If your familiar dies or is replaced you lose every spell you've ever learned
- If you fail a spellcraft check to learn a spell from a scroll, the scroll is destroyed
You're trading three bonus feats to get one bonus feat back (so pretty terrible already). You get the greater school power two levels early, but you get the lesser school power three levels late (as I said, this archetype hurts your familiar as much as it helps). But then you also get an extra opposition school and all the downsides associated with witch familiar rules. Wizard-style spellbooks are simply superior to witch-style familiars; they're cheaper, less risky, and more convenient.
This archetype is just a terrible trade.
For an Elven mage-warrior, Strength Patron Witch crossed with Eldritch Knight wielding an Agile Elven curved blade with Power Attack is fairly simple and quite deadly. Witch hexes are used for cool utility like Feral Speech; Witch spells are used for huge combat buffing and whatever else. Power Attack and a curved blade is already strong, so the build doesn't get stuck relying on an Agile weapon - but Agile pushes the damge up. Witch gets an important familiar. Witch spells aren't quite the same as Wizard, but they have lots of cool options. At higher level, casting Quickened Ill Omen with a hand-wave while wielding a blade is just awesome stuff.
You can also do basically the same thing with Wizard, using Pact Wizard to get Patron Spells.
Ranger.
Great skills (6+, selected from: Knowledges, Perception, Stealth, Survival, plus mobility skills, like Climb, Ride, Swim), best BAB, 2 good saves, 1d10 HD.
It also introduces lots of basics level by level:
1. Creature types (Favored Enemy), Non-combat conflict resolution (wild empathy), Track.
2. Bonus Feats (Combat Styles give you a few options, then those options give you a few options; this is a lot less bewildering than going fighter and being forced to choose one of a thousand feats--I don't think I'm exaggerating...).
3. Endurance, Favored Terrain
4. Hunter's Bond (learn how to buff or run a pet), Spells (a good, short list with lots of utility, no real bad choices).
You could multi-class into Bard for more class skills (Acrobatics, Diplomacy, Perform, even more Knowledges), some spells, and Inspire Courage.
Alternatively,
Hunter has magic, Teamwork feats, and a strong pet.
Actually along the lines of interesting familiar stuff, the Synergist Witch can physically merge with their familiar, which eventually grants strong flight and the pounce ability with a Sylvanshee familiar. So a Witch/EK using Synergist and Strength Patron not only gets very strong combat buffs, but they can eventually make flying pounce attacks with their sword. With cat-eyes.
On a Wizard/EK, the Knowledge is Power Arcane Discovery lets you add your INT to all combat maneuvers. The Divination/Foresight school has a reroll ability than can be applied to maneuvers as well. So combining those makes for extremely effective combat maneuvers.
An Arcanist/EK or Exploiter Wizard/EK can specialize in the swift-action spell Dazzling Blade, applying the Potent Magic exploit and metamagic to make it very hard to resist. Which means that they can run around blinding enemies with bursts of light from their weapon even while making attacks.
In another direction, the Ancient Lorekeeper is a great Elven or Half-Elven Oracle Archetype that lets you pick your own Oracle bonus spells from the Wizard list. Oracles typically make very interesting and versatile characters with both weapons and spells, and cherry-picking great arcane spells just adds to their uniqueness. The Dazzling Blade thing would also be possible for an Ancient Lorekeeper, if a bit less potent.
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It sounds to me like a bard is a perfect fit.
- Bards get a decent selection of weapon proficiencies; a lot of overlap with the traditional elven weapons too.
- A half-elf with the Kindred-Raised alternate racial trait can get both a Strength and Charisma bonus giving you a good head start in combat.
- Arcane Strike feat works very well for battle bards.
- Half-elves can use the human-bard favored class bonus to gain more spells. And the bard spell list is quite good.
- As long as you make good choices about racial abilities and ability scores at level 1, it's quite doable to grow into the rest of the bard rules later on. But the class does gain lots of moving parts later on, to keep your experienced player interested.
The key choices are mostly, making a choice of whether you want high charisma to push save DCs hard, or whether you prefer to have an even spread between charisma and physical scores to also be good at weapons. In the latter case you'll use save-DC spells mostly against monsters who are weak in that save. And of course a thousand buff spells.
- As a bard the player will have the skills to participate in just about every part of the adventure (social, knowledge, sneaky).
Well... characters can be flavored however one likes, really. I'm not sure what would really make a character specifically scream 'Eastern/Tian", other than maybe race, weapons or deity... but race is Half-Elven and weapons are Elven. So at this point, whether a character is high fantasy or eastern is in their character, not their mechanics. Heck, a Ninja can be played as a medieval warrior with a longsword if one wants; and a Witch/Fighter can be a perfect fit for a yamabushi.
I guess there's always Oracle with 2 levels of Ninja if you want to lean really obviously Eastern. No reason they can't wield Elven style weapons while they do their thing. Lots of skills and personality, lots of options in and out of combat, skilled caster but not an optimized full caster. Throw in an eastern god like Hei-Feng and act chaotic but restrained Taoist/nature sage.
But you have the mechanics of the familiar adept wrong.
I had to pull out the book, and confirmed that this is the case. This familiar archetype does work differently from the others. So yes, you are correct that the lesser school power comes one level early rather than three levels late. This detail simply isn't listed in the online resources; the school familiar rules never explicitly say that you require a feat to take them, so if you don't have the feat sitting right in front of you then you'd never know.
However, this doesn't really change my opinion of the archetype. It goes from insultingly bad to just regular bad.
And the familiar gets to use your school ability to use your level 1 school power up to 5 Times without it countingntowards your used (1 time at level 1, a second time at level 5 and more times at level 10, 15 and 20) the value of this of course will depend greatly on your school.
The problem is, most of the schools are pretty useless by the time you're 4th level. There are a handful of exceptions, like the diviner's fortune ability you mention, that are quite good. However, there's a huge problem with actually using them in combat: you're using your familiar in combat. That's something witch-style familiars shouldn't do. Most GM's will have a bit of a detente with familiars and won't target them, but if you violate that and put your familiar on the front-lines and have it start using magical abilities right in front of vicious monsters... it's going to get targeted, and familiars that get targeted tend to die.
Also note that you don’t have to meet the requirements of the feat so could spend your skilll points in other ways.
What skill requirements? These feats have no skill prerequisite.
Conjuration school familiars with the greater school power for example can inhabit your summoned creatures if you have the teleportation subschool that then means your familiar in asummoned creature can teleport around with that creature as a swift action using the shift school power.
That doesn't actually work; summoned monsters cannot use teleportation or planar travel abilities. Setting that aside, the Shift power ends the turn of the user when it's used (unless you have the Dimensional Agility feat, which I don't believe any summoned monsters have), so in the vast majority of cases it's strictly inferior to just charging.
(reign of Winter has lots of witches for example so in this case trading spells with other familiars may have more utility than hoping to find spellbooks.
It's not a matter of "hoping" to find spellbooks. Spellbooks are relatively inexpensive magical items, and thus are generally available for sale in the markets of even small towns. Unless you're playing a campaign that entirely takes place in the wilderness, you will have the opportunity to purchase spellbooks containing a large selection of spells at affordable prices, giving a cheap and readily available method for a Wizard to vastly expand their repertoire.
Witches might occasionally have the opportunity to trade for a new spell, but Wizards are virtually guaranteed to be able to acquire spellbooks from which they can learn dozens.
If you want a familiar with a Bard, the duettist archetype isn't bad. You lose out on bardic knowledge, but gain a familiar and that familiar can do performances, so it isn't a bad trade.
A magus has a lot of the elements you are looking for as well. I don't know of any easy way for them to gain a familiar at first level, but at third level they can take an arcana for it. (Personally, if a player wanted the familiar to be part of his story from first, I'd certainly let him have the 'base' animal that will become the familiar from the beginning)
A bloodrager could also be built to fit this concept.
That doesn't actually work; summoned monsters cannot use teleportation or planar travel abilities.
Not being able to use (their) teleportation abilities is not the same as not being subject to a teleportation effect. A summoned creature cannot teleport, but it can be teleported.
It's not a matter of "hoping" to find spellbooks. Spellbooks are relatively inexpensive magical items, and thus are generally available for sale in the markets of even small towns. Unless you're playing a campaign that entirely takes place in the wilderness, you will have the opportunity to purchase spellbooks containing a large selection of spells at affordable prices, giving a cheap and readily available method for a Wizard to vastly expand their repertoire.
The availability of wizard spellbooks for purchase is very much a game master decision. While their are rules for how available magic items are in settlements, their are no rules for anything like a spellbook, and GMs will determine that depending on how they view things. For me personally, I generally don't view them as being for sale. Usually wizards in my games (or the wizards I have played) assume that the cost of a scroll is going to be pretty close to the cost of getting access to the same spell via other means.
Not being able to use (their) teleportation abilities is not the same as not being subject to a teleportation effect. A summoned creature cannot teleport, but it can be teleported.
I'd disagree with this; the familiar and summoned creature are merged and are the same creature. However, even if we accept your ruling it still wouldn't work since the Shift power can't bring along other creatures with it, so the familiar would have to leave the summoned creature behind.
The availability of wizard spellbooks for purchase is very much a game master decision. While their are rules for how available magic items are in settlements, their are no rules for anything like a spellbook, and GMs will determine that depending on how they view things. For me personally, I generally don't view them as being for sale. Usually wizards in my games (or the wizards I have played) assume that the cost of a scroll is going to be pretty close to the cost of getting access to the same spell via other means.
I would disagree; spellbooks are magic items just like anything else, and their availability shouldn't be treated as categorically different from other classes of items. For low-cost spellbooks below the settlement's base price, that means it's basically guaranteed there should be some spellbooks for sale. There certainly is the difficulty that spellbooks can be non-standard in a way other items aren't (in terms of the exact spells they contain) but in principle the item class as a whole should be generally available for purchase.
From a realism standpoint, we'd expect them to be more common than scrolls (which, by RAW, are absurdly common) since they are never consumed when used, and once a wizard has learned everything he can from a spellbook he has nothing better to do than resell it. If anything, we'd expect the market to be saturated by old spellbooks.
I’ve been looking at so many things I think I hallucinated the skill requirements. My mistake. (One online resource archives of Nethys does mention the feat requirement but only in their table not in the archetype page)
Yeah, I had checked both D20PFSRD and AoN, but since it was from google search I went straight to the page and missed the table. I had to pull out my physical copy of the book when I got home to confirm. I don't fault anyone for it (since in physical print form the prerequisite is very obvious) but it is definitely a detail that is easy to miss if you're using web resources primarily.
And this school ability is also amazing for keeping a familiar alive while it is an effective force in combat.
It doesn't seem to actually improve the creature in combat (except for the Shift ability, if you rule to allow that) but it does keep the familiar safe for as long as the spell lasts. Well, provided the familiar doesn't appear in the creature's space when it dies; if that's the way the ruling goes, this ability is a pretty massive risk. In any case, this seems like one of the weakest options on offer for the School Familiar.
Not sure what if anything is the official rules on familiars after the death of their master
It takes 1 hour/spell level to learn, so unless you're picking up very low-level spells you're probably only getting 1 or 2 spells out of this. Nowhere comparable to what a Wizard would get from a captured spellbook, where he can take his time to literally learn everything from it.
So he would like a character that uses elf weapons (longsword, perhaps bow), has some magical ability, some performance ability and perhaps an asian/anime like companion (he also indicated an interest in perhaps having some unarmed combat ability but mechanically getting all of that may be difficult)
Bard (probably arcane duelist) - doesn't grant the anime like familiar but does make fighting with a sword (or occasionally a bow) pretty effective, long term if he went pure bard he would get to magically enhance weapons and more) - if he wanted to multiclass could add a martial class for more capabilities and then consider either eldritch knight or dragon disciple (which might play up the son of a sorcerer background very well) - would however minimize the bard archetype abilities. Doesn't lend itself to being all that blasty.
I recommend the Duettist Bard. It gives you the magic, performance, companion and weapon skills you want. It lacks unarmed combat, but you could take Improved Unarmed Strike as your 1st level feat, or take a dip in Brawler or Monk at level 2. If you want to focus more on combat than Bard spellcasting and class abilities, Dragon Disciple could be an interesting way to go.
Of the choices brought up by the OP, Pathfinder Wizard is the one which is most like the 1st and 2nd edition Wizards. Sorcerer won't be too, too bad, since the Spells these days have a lot in common with way-back-when, speaking as a grognard myself.
Another Class to consider is Cleric, also changed only a little since first edition. And every party likes to have a Healer.
I kind of like the idea of making him a Mystic Theurge: Wizard and Cleric. The Spell Lists will be familiar to him. The party in any group will appreciate him because his can blast and heal. He can learn about how multiclassing works. He can take some time to learn about Feats and Skills before trying his hand at being a Rogue or Fighter or something.
Mystic Theurge: Cleric/Empyreal Sorcerer so you can run pure wisdom and only have to prepare one side which makes easier IMHO. This will at least make sure his saves won't be trash on both sides because he will be ramping Wisdom.
Mystic Theurge is really rough at low levels due to those outlandishly severe prerequisites. Using Empyreal Sorcerer to focus on one stat exclusively helps in the long-run, but only makes the short-term pain even more severe. That would also prevent you from taking blaster-friendly options like the Draconic bloodline, which are even more critical than usual due to sacrificing caster level to multiclassing.
I actually quite like the Mystic Theurge at high levels (it's particularly great at necromancy) but if you're playing through a whole campaign... that's a lot of suffering to get there.
If he likes the idea of Sorcerer but wants some combat ability, I'd very much suggest Ancient Lorekeeper Oracle - especially considering how perfect it is for a Half-Elf who is attuned to or seeking their Elf half. You cast spells spontaneously with charisma just like a sorcerer, and you get to blend arcane and divine spells. Oracle also has the huge skill advantage of 4+INT skillpoints per level instead of 2, while their charisma already makes them great social characters.
The female Elf artwork for Ancient Lorekeeper is pretty great as well.
Taking Eldritch Heritage: Arcane Bloodline gets a familiar through feats. Arcane Bloodline fits the character concept perfectly.
The Lore Mystery grants the ability to use charisma as intelligence in various ways, and actually has a Revelation that grants bonus intelligence as you go up levels (Mental Acuity). So it's an ideal fit for being both intelligent and charismatic. It also fits an Eastern mage/sage type theme very well.
On the combat side, an Oracle is typically decent - or even quite strong - in battle. Divine Favor and Divine Power with the Fate's Favored Trait is a major buff of course; and Ancient Lorekeeper can grab Heroism for a buff to everything from skills to combat. The Warsighted Oracle Archetype can be combined with Ancient Lorekeeper, and it grants bonus combat feats on-the-fly as a move action (so you can use it on the same round you cast a buff).
There are tons of multiclass and spell options that also boost combat easily. Sneak Attack, spells and a blade can be a really good combo, for instance. The Scaled Fist Monk Archetype is a really great combo with Oracle, but it's more about Monk weapons or fists (the temple sword and 9-ring broadsword are quite nice for it). You can get an Oracle to Flurry of Blows with a longsword, but it takes a couple things to get there.
Edit: regardless of class, note the "Kindred-Raised" and "Ancestral Arms" options for Half-Elf - Kindred grants a +2CHA as well as the usual +2 to whatever, and Ancestral Arms grants a free bonus proficiency feat with any weapon, including exotic Elven weapons.
I will look at the ancient lorekeeper oracle. Not sure the Oracle flavor and curse will appeal to him however. Kindred raised isn’t an option as he wants a human mother and an elf father for his backstory. Eldritch heritage is certainly an option but he may already be low on feats. Scaled fist monk mechanically would add a fair bit but not sure about the flavor he might like it he might not. Also not sure about fates favored trait for him I’ll see if that works. In any case I don’t think he will want to be stacking buffs for many rounds before doing anything in combat. But we will see. Spontaneous casting does appeal to him
You certainly don't go buff-stacking; just a Divine Favor or Power is enough to be very combat-capable. Heroism lasts for 10min/level, so unless taken by total surprise it should usually be 'always on'. The Dazzling Blade spell that I'm sounding like a broken record about is a swift action to cast, so it's seamless with combat. The trait Magical Lineage suits a mage-father-legacy very well, and is a great combo to make Dazzling Blade a feature 'legacy' spell. A "shining blade" sword-wielder could be a great Tian/Elf theme (and pretty great in combat as well, since you're handing out blindness with your blade).
Buffs really depend on how a GM runs things - many GM's assume a character will typically have at least a few seconds to toss on a buff as they move into battle or prepare for an attack, depending on the situation. Other GM's run a totally cold opening to a battle. 2min/level spells (using a cheap lesser rod of Extend metamagic) last quite a while, so it's a possibility depending on preparedness and timing. But regardless, one round is plenty with the best Cleric/Oracle combat buff.
A great plot-hook regarding a lost Elf father could be to have a Weapon Finesse and Elven curved blade character - kind of the quintessential Elf weapon in Pathfinder - who is either going to find their father's Agile blade as a major plot point, or who already has it - but doesn't know why its magic seems 'lost', and has to find out how to restore it. Perfect fit with Ancestral Arms.
I was reminded that the Eldritch Gaurdian fighter archetype might fit this character concept well not sure if it combines with any other fighter archetypes (unfortunately it doesn’t combine with unarmed fighter) but it would be a way for him to get a familiar early and if he multiclasses with another class that gets a familiar the two classes would generally stack for the effective level of the familiar. If he took two levels then sharing all combat feats with his familiar does open up some possibilities (especially strong for teamwork combat feats) but is also complex.
Mauler might be mechanically a strong option for the familiar however story wise I don’t think he is thinking of his character being bloodthirsty (but his tiny familiar transforming into a larger animal would be thematic to his concept. I suspect emmisary fits his concept better.
Does anyone know if familiar archetypes apply if you get an improved familiar? Seems like some could work but others wouldn’t.
He can very easily make an Eldritch Knight with E.G. Fighter 2/Transmutation Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 10.
The Familiar will continue to grow and you can also look into Spirit Binder for the wizard if he wants the Familiar to stay full BaB and get better saves (Looking at Paladin).If he goes human he can Take the alternative racial to give the familiar an extra +2 to a stat of his choice.
There is also Spirit's Gift Feat to give the familiar an extra tool to stay alive in harder fights. The Stone spirit would give the familiar DR 5/Adamantine for Minutes/day equal to his level. So the familiar can have a little more survivability. At least until you can Polymorph it into something really freaking sweet.
I was reminded that the Eldritch Gaurdian fighter archetype might fit this character concept well not sure if it combines with any other fighter archetypes (unfortunately it doesn’t combine with unarmed fighter) but it would be a way for him to get a familiar early and if he multiclasses with another class that gets a familiar the two classes would generally stack for the effective level of the familiar. If he took two levels then sharing all combat feats with his familiar does open up some possibilities (especially strong for teamwork combat feats) but is also complex.
Mauler might be mechanically a strong option for the familiar however story wise I don’t think he is thinking of his character being bloodthirsty (but his tiny familiar transforming into a larger animal would be thematic to his concept. I suspect emmisary fits his concept better.
Does anyone know if familiar archetypes apply if you get an improved familiar? Seems like some could work but others wouldn’t.
Yep, Improved Familiar only works with some familiar archetypes.
Anyone can add up to four levels onto their familiar with Boon Companion, if that's an issue.
Familiars in combat are pretty dicey without careful choices; Mauler and Mauler's Endurance are a pretty good idea if you don't want to send your little buddy to their death on a regular basis. Well, depending on the GM, of course. Losing a familiar that your build is built on for a week at a time is kind of awful.
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...a half-elf raised in Tien by his mother who was a renowned sorceress with a snowcaster elf father (who may have been an Eldritch Knight or something similar) - we are starting at level 1 (in Reign of Winter) so his initial motivation is to seek out his father (wherever he has ended up)
So he would like a character that uses elf weapons (longsword, perhaps bow), has some magical ability, some performance ability and perhaps an asian/anime like companion (he also indicated an interest in perhaps having some unarmed combat ability but mechanically getting all of that may be difficult)....
Rycaut, try this: The PC begins play with a silvanshee, the cute little cat which I'm guessing was already the familiar you or he were thinking of when contemplating the Chosen One paladin archetype (since it fits the classic anime trope of a small magical creature whose purpose is to mainly sit on your shoulder and be totally squee! cute. In fact, he'll get it even if he doesn't take paladin at 1st level (which I recommend not to in this case; see build suggestion below). It's initial stats, however, will be very much like an ordinary housecat (i.e., not a INT10 magical outsider quite yet, as it's more immersive to build these things up).
But not for long, though, as there's just something a little off: At second CL, the cat becomes preternaturally hungry (eating twice as much Meow-Mix or mice as a normal housecat its size would) and begins putting on weight. (As the GM, you should have the cat raiding the party's pantry and running off with sausage-links, etc.) When the character levels to 3nd, his pet grows up from size tiny to small (i.e., bobcat-sized, although still cute and playful rather than ornery like a real bobcat), and a faint pattern of spots appears in its coat. At 5th CL, it reaches medium in size, and it is now painfully apparent that what was initially assumed a full-grown cat was in fact just a kitten of snow cat lineage. At 7th, it becomes size large with the Narrow Frame feat, and is available as a paladin bonded mount (any existing weapon or animal bond waived). Initially shy when tiny, it has become quite brave (treat as having the war-trained and attack-unnatural tricks built-in and also conferring Mounted Combat to its rider). If the character accepts it as his paladin Divine Bond mount (specifically: only as a paladin), it will remain a full-level familiar and animal companion provided no more than two class levels do not grant full-level companion advancement. Penalty: the quite intelligent cat will sense wavering commitment and develop a sense of despondent ennui should the character abandon the path of righteousness; it will not advance by any means whatsoever should the PC stray from the path of paladin. -- if the player wanted an Oath, this is it: be true to your buddy.
Hybrid cat stats: combine what's at both of those links, taking the better in each case (i.e., such as highest stats, the silvanshee's cold-resistance 10, keeping both familiar and companion abilities, etc), then advance to Large as per druid AC. Exception: its Spectral Mist ability only manifests in the case of taking any damage or effect which would kill it; death instead poofs it into a cloud of vapor which then dissipates. It reappears 1d6 days later, during which time the character endures whatever penalties come with losing an animal companion. (Don't let him know this ahead of time, and expect some real roleplaying out of it the first time it happens. (Treat the cat as a summoned creature which can't actually killed while on the material plane.)
To those who think this is all maybe a little too much, consider that the Chosen One archetype would normally grant both a familiar and Divine Bond, meaning that if both are being folded into one critter, it should be awesome. (Besides, he's a martial, and every once in a great while a martial should get a nice thing he can actually keep. Especially if they're good, and a good outsider has taken a shine to them.)
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Character build: Start him off with two levels of ranger, then all paladin (he'll get Divine Bond at 7th).
STR:14
DEX:14
CON:14 (half-elf 15,14,14,14,10,08 20pt array)
INT:10
WIS:08
CHA+17 (all bumps)
racial trait: Ancestral Arms (Exotic Weapon Proficiency:Fauchard)
character traits: Dangerously Curious, Demon Slayer
01 ranger1 [beastmaster archetype], Feat(g):Fey Foundling
02 ranger2 [combat style:archery:Rapid Shot#]
03 paladin1 [Chosen One:Divine Emissary:Religious Mentor], Feat(g):Fast Learner*
04 paladin2 [Smite Evil][Lay on Paws], CHA>18
05 paladin3 [Mercy], Feat(g):Greater Mercy
06 paladin4 [Divine Grace:CHA>saving throws/share w/cat]
07 paladin5 [Divine Bond:(Mounted Combat if Mount)], FEAT(g):Spirited Charge#
08 paladin6
09 paladin7 [True Form], Feat(g): Wheeling Charge
* Half-elves can take human feats, and in this case it's particularly good because half-elves get to chose two favored classes.)
# At 7th, use the retraining rules to swap ranger archery style to mounted style, and take Ride-by Attack, thereby permitting Spirited Charge at the same time in the general slot.
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Backstory: The character begins play with a wicked-looking polearm only he knows how to use, a strange cat with luminescent purple eyes, and a small wooden box (a mundane family heirloom) containing a very old piece of parchment from his mother: It is a scroll discernible as of Instant Enemy to those with Read Magic -- which the character is unable to cast due to lacking sufficient wisdom to access ranger spells, or indeed any knowledge of magic whatsoever. But such inability has given him a fascination for all things magical despite lacking the genetic disposition for it, and thus the Dangerously Curious trait and the Fast Learner feat).
Eldritch Knight can be great, but it can also be a disappointing mess if not done well. In particular, if you want an EK with decent spellcasting, you need to minimize lost casting levels and lost CL.
There are a lot of things I don't like about the Magus, but it's certainly not a bad class. It may be an easy way to do what you're trying to do.
One issue to note with EK is that it won't advance familiar levels. Boon Companion works for 4 levels, but no more. Familiar Bond works, but with severe restrictions. Eldritch Heritage works, but requires 13 CHA and isn't full level without Boon Companion.
One major question - does he want a strength-based or dex-based character?
'Focused' or not, you either make your attack rolls with strength or you take Weapon Finesse and make them with dexterity. You certainly don't need to obsessively stack ability scores, but one score is generally going to be higher than another even before you start buying items that boost ability. Dexterity is often ideal for an unarmored caster/melee character, but not necessary.
Shaman is an awesome class; Battle Spirit is a huge combat buff by level 8.
very fun idea and nice build - but not for my player (I know him) - that said I do like the mechanical ideas here - though ranger doesn't really fit his overall concept entirely (he is more interested in magic than martial ability) - hence the idea of eventually going Eldritch Knight with this character
So did he not like the Eldritch Guardian 2/Spirit Binder Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 10 build with a Mauler familiar?
Seems like a good go to since you share feats with your familiar and they can have some really nice ones to use like Dirty Fighting.
He can choose not to wear armor and use a Wand of Mage armor for himself and the Familiar. With transmutation as his specialty, he can get a free +2 Enhancement Bonus to a physical score of his choice as well as prepare +1 spell of each level of the transmutation school a day. Later levels he can use that to turn his familiar into a formidable creature like a Dragon.
Easy traits of Magical Knack to recover his Caster Level and still reach 9th level spells at Level 20. Shapechange on a Familiar would be pretty kickass due to share spells.
Lastly, with this build, I do not believe you need to worry about Boon companion due to the familiars HP and BaB scaling with his and using the better of the saves between the two of them. So other than that only thing he loses is the Level 11 ability Mauler gains and Natural armor adjustment which gets fixed with Polymorph spells.
As GM you can always house rule the Familiar archetype works with the Improved Familiar choices. Honestly, it won't make much of a difference in the long run.
The Valet familiar allows the use of the Improved Spell Sharing Teamwork feat (NOT the far worse Improved Share Spells!). That feat is just awesome, especially if you have really strong buffs like Divine Power.
The Valet familiar allows the use of the Improved Spell Sharing Teamwork feat (NOT the far worse Improved Share Spells!). That feat is just awesome.
The Eldritch Guardian gives:
At 2nd level, when the familiar can see and hear its master, it can use any combat feat possessed by the eldritch guardian. The familiar doesn’t have to meet the feat’s prerequisites, but at the GM’s discretion may be precluded from using certain combat feats due to its physical form. For example, an eldritch guardian’s pig familiar with access to Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) would not gain the ability to use spiked chains, since it doesn’t have any limbs capable of properly handling them.
All Teamwork feats are considered Combat feats now.
So no need to use Valet Familiar at all with Eldritch Guardian. Mauler will more than make due.
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very fun idea and nice build - but not for my player (I know him) - that said I do like the mechanical ideas here - though ranger doesn't really fit his overall concept entirely (he is more interested in magic than martial ability) - hence the idea of eventually going Eldritch Knight with this character
EK will leave the familiar high-and-dry (i.e., not advancing).
I'd just make him a straight-class warpriest. It's easy, deity options are almost endless, and he'll have more magical choices available per round than he'll know what to do with. He can start with a 17 in wisdom, a 14 in one more stat with 12s in everything else, and still be awesome at almost everything.
House-rule piggybacking the Chosen One paladin archetype (if he's still interested in the familiar) onto warpriest is just as easy: change the Delayed Grace class feature into Delayed Fervor (warpriest gets Focus Weapon and Sacred Weapon at 2nd rather than 1st, and get Fervor at 4th instead of 2nd), and the Lay on Paws ability keys off the warpriest's channeling and spontaneous casting abilities (burning additional uses as if LoH w/paladin).
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One more thing just for funsies: little does the PC know, but his father was more than just snowcaster elf, he was actually a half-drow/half-snowcaster, meaning l'il Jr. is a quarter-drow mutt. Every several levels, have a new feature from the half-elf(drow) list show up as a freebie for the character (don't have darkvision be the first thing, and don't tell him why; it's something he'll have to figure out).
very fun idea and nice build - but not for my player (I know him) - that said I do like the mechanical ideas here - though ranger doesn't really fit his overall concept entirely (he is more interested in magic than martial ability) - hence the idea of eventually going Eldritch Knight with this characterEK will leave the familiar high-and-dry (i.e., not advancing).
Only thing a Mauler Misses out on for not advancing is the 11th level ability and Natural armor Adjustments. If you polymorph the familiar to something with Natural armor like FotD or other big Poly spells that hardly matters. Maulers are capped at 6 INT.
A Familiar gets half HP of the master, Uses Master's BaB, and the Better saves between the two.
So really not much is missing IMHO.
Here's something with spontaneous INT-based casting:
'Feng Shui' Eldritch Knight
Inspired Blade 1/ Ley-Line Guardian 6-8/ Eldritch Knight
Half-Elf: 13STR, 15DEX, 12CON, 15INT, 9WIS, 13CHA. Bonus to either DEX or INT. +1 to both DEX and INT at 4 and 8.
Traits: Fate's Favored, Magical Knack, Bruising Intellect. Drawback: Sentimental.
She practices spontaneous, INT-based 'feng shui' style magic, drawing power from the universe to cast arcane spells. Her geomantic strength patron grants her great power in combat through bonus spells.
She wields an Elven jian-style rapier (think the Green Destiny from Crouching Tiger) with special martial arts skills from INT-based Panache, using her speed and grace to strike fierce DEX-based blows with Fencing Grace. She has an heirloom blue silk scarf that magically focuses her skill and grace with her blade. Her fierce intelligence intimidates foes - whether at court, or in battle with Cornugon Smash.
She has a familiar not from her class, but from her innate connection to the arcane.
1IB. +Swashbuckler's Finesse / +Weapon Focus: Rapier / Fencing Grace / +Skill Focus: Knowledge: Arcane
2LG.
3LG. Eldritch Heritage: Arcane: Arcane Bond / HEX: Familiar Feat
4LG.
5LG. Toughness / HEX: Tongues
6LG.
7LG. Improved Familiar
8EK. +Power Attack
9EK. Cornugon Smash
...EK, possibly two more LG for Divine Power.
Special item: Swashbuckler's Flair: Blue Scarf. With this family heirloom silk scarf, she can spend a point of Panache to grant her sword a 10ft reach, which combined with the Dodging Panache ability means she can dance around foes martial-arts style and make surprise AoOs.