So, I want to build a character who will eventually go into the Stargazer prestige class. This class looks awesome and full of RP flavor and I want to give it a try. It gives you abilities from the cleric, witch, shaman, and oracle classes. However, my question is: which class would get the most out of it? I'm torn between making a cleric or a witch. With a cleric, I will have more domains, but not as many hexes. For a witch, I will have hexes, but I've seen people suggest that witches should get major hexes before multiclassing into Stargazer.
Thoughts?
Well I think it is obvious that you want either Cleric or witch.
My gut says witch
A cleric might gain more from this PC, but a witch could use the Aurora patron also included on the Stargazer pages of Paths of Righteousness. Such a good book, that one. Stargazer is good, but my fave is Dawnflower Anchorite.
Since the wizard class was brought up, what about some of the other classes? Would a bard or a sorcerer or a skald work with Stargazer?
I wrote a guide on this PrC a while back, and I would definitely say Cleric. Getting access to a third domain would give you more spell access than a normal cleric thanks to the great spell selection of the void domain and stars subdomain. If you take the air and weather domains or either of their relevant subdomains, your spell selection increases further.
Also, your oracle revelations scale with your cleric levels as well as your oracle level.
Using an arcanist or a sorcerer does bring up some interesting ideas.
That's a fair point, Reduxist. Do you have a link to this guide?
Separatist Cleric grants access to a colossal breadth of options even if you have to be a Cleric of Pulura.
Unchained Monk 1/ Cleric works very nicely with the Star Cloak Revelation, and makes it difficult not to be at least competent with a Monk weapon.
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Using an arcanist or a sorcerer does bring up some interesting ideas.
That's a fair point, Reduxist. Do you have a link to this guide?
Sure, it’s right here. it covers a lot of other Prestige classes and the empyreal lords, but stargazer is fairly early in the guide.
Thank you, Reduxist!
Looks like most 9/9 spellcasters could get pretty good use out of Stargazer, except that Arcanist, Druid, and Psychic lose out on considerable class features that Stargazer doesn't offer a way to progress (this is true to a lesser extent for Sorcerer and Wizard).
As with almost all prestige classes, never go into this (except for maybe a dip) from a 6/9 or 4/9 spellcasting class.
I'm thinking that if you want to use any hexes with a save DC, witch would be the answer.
^Shaman should also work for this (if I understand correctly, Shaman and Witch(*) levels stack for computing Hex DC/effects).
(*)And Hexcrafter Magus, but you wouldn't want to use that here.
Witch and Cleric look like they get the best from it.... and its PFS legal!
Would work well with an Evangelist, Herald Caller (although due to the dodgy CG alignment you would need SGM to make it work) or Separatist cleric..... Im not quite sure how the subdomain situation works....it gets Season but doesnt get Void as its main domain? How would this work as a cleric vs any other class? Isnt there a ruling somewhere that states if you get access to the subdomain then you auto get access to the domain? Or is that specific to clerics?
Its a shame that Pulura has such a grim domain selection...
"A cleric who chooses a subdomain must have access to both the domain and its subdomain from her deity. If a cleric selects a subdomain, she cannot select its associated domain as her other domain choice (in effect, the subdomain replaces its associated domain). "
Could go either way, really.
Yeah, doc roc has a good point. Is there an official ruling on this?
Subdomains alter existing Domains, replacing what is listed and otherwise being that Domain. This is explained in the 'subdomains' text. So the Stars Subdomain *is* the Void Domain, but with the listed changes.
The problem comes from the fact, but the rules for sub domains, Pulura can't give you Stars because she lacks Void.
The problem comes from the fact, but the rules for sub domains, Pulura can't give you Stars because she lacks Void.
What does that have to do with anything? Stargazer explicitly grants you the Stars Subdomain, which is the Void Domain with modifications. The fact that by RAW a Cleric of Pulura arguably can't choose the Stars Subdomain (even if that's very obviously a simple text oversight) doesn't apply when the Prestige Class explicitly grants it.
Is anyone seriously going to argue that you get some kind of nonsensical broken half-Domain? That's not how Subdomains work.
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The problem comes from the fact, but the rules for sub domains, Pulura can't give you Stars because she lacks Void.
This seems pretty relevant.
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Best Class for the Stargazer
Thoughts?
8.282J/12.402J Introduction to AstonomyBest Class for the Stargazer
Thoughts?
Okay. Now that is funny. Thank you for that.
Any other thoughts?
Any other thoughts?
Do you have any idea on what hexes you might pick? There are plenty to choose from, both from the witch and the shaman.
^Why wouldn't they? Stargazer doesn't have any text saying that its Hexes do not qualify you for Extra Hex. Compare to VMC Witch, which does (and not only that, read literally would even disqualify you for Extra Hex if you did something dumb like went Hexcrafter Magus VMC Witch).
I found an old FAQ answer that says you can take Extra Hex. I wish paizo would add stuff like this to their FAQ listings since SKR was how they used to answer.
Do you have any idea on what hexes you might pick? There are plenty to choose from, both from the witch and the shaman.I don't think the Stargazer alone qualifies a character for Extra Hex, and the witch hex debuff routine doesn't work without two hexes plus cackle. So I'd probably go for Flight. Or maybe prehensile hair. Of the Heavens Shaman list, the only one I really like is the teleporting one.
Flight sounds like a good all around choice, but the Guiding Star hex would also make him a good binder and a better spellcaster overall at night. It’d synergize well with the Stars subdomain offering the Planar Binding spells.
I'm still having a bit of trouble trying to figure out which class to take. The concepts that I'm thinking about for the character would be centered around worshipping Pulura, stars, the Cosmic Caravan (I love the RP potential behind this), the northern lands, harrowings, spirits, traveling, and tattoos. Given these aspects, there are many different classes and feats I could take. Some of these may need to be kept as RP flavor bits. If it does seem a bit cluttered, then I could easily drop some of them.
The classes (and possible archetypes) that seem to fit this would be cleric (varisian pilgrim/separatist archetypes with the Seasons subdomain and the Travel domain), shaman (heavens spirit), oracle (tongues or haunted curse; heavens mystery; spirit guide or possessed oracle archetypes), witch (choice of aurora, fate, moon, space, stars, or winter patrons), spiritualist (Involutionist (heavens spirit) archetype), or sorcerer (tattooed archetype; arcane, boreal, destined, dreamspun, harrow, solar, or starsoul bloodlines).
Thoughts on the options I have presented?
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It might be a bit of a stretch, but what about an Occultist(Silksworn) for a character that wears constellations of brilliant gemstones on their clothing and gains a closer connection to Pulura through them?
The Pact Wizard from Huanted Heroes Handbook is another options, and can show a character that made a deal with Pulura or one of her proxies in exchange for power. As a bonus, it stacks with Exploiter Wizard or the other Pact Wizard(from Familiar Folio). The latter grants an aura which could look like an aurora during spellcasting(no in-game effect, just flavor).
Those seem like some cool ideas.
^Why wouldn't they? Stargazer doesn't have any text saying that its Hexes do not qualify you for Extra Hex.Because the "Extra Hex" feat keys of the "Hex" class feature, and the Stargazers class feature is not called "Hex".
And yes, I know that sounds petty, and if I were running a game I would totally allow it, but IIRC PFS doesn't allow stuff like that to work. So I can't plan a character expecting Extra Hex to work.
Class feature prerequisites don't get stuck on names; what's relevant is what the ability actually grants. For example, Necromancer Wizard qualifies as having Channel Energy as a prerequisite despite the fact that their ability is called Power Over Undead. I wouldn't be surprised if some PFS GM was an ass about it, but they'd be flat wrong.
I’m playing a Cleric/Stargazer, and as long as you take the Mother early on, you lose nothing for being a cleric. Granted you’re down on HP, but all the other stuff you get makes you a far more versatile caster. I love it.