help building a 'Gnome of Doom'

[ohako]

Right, so you remember when the ACG errata came out, and wouldn't you know it, but someone wrote 'swift' where 'standard' should have been for Merciless Butchery? Funny story...

So argh. If I can't walk up to a bad guy and arbitrarily stab them to giblets, I might as well do that same thing with spells...and I think the first spell that might work here is phantasmal killer.

wizard - 7th level
sorcerer - 8th level
arcanist - 8th level
psychic - 8th level
witch with the nightmares patron - 8th level

Hmm, I just remembered, there's a boon I got recently which unlocks an on-mystery oracle revelation with no true level requirement, I think I just have to be 5th level to get it. Oh yeah, and it's for all my future characters, not just my current happy little orc.

dark tapestry or heavens oracle with a oothesayersay ainmentray tied to the dweller in darkness revelation - 5th level!

The one (admittedly hard) trick with phantasmal killer is you have to force your target to fail two saves. But...with the initial effect tied to only 5 levels of caster, there are a bunch of dips or choices to make that can tip the scales in mean ways. Let's start with this chassis

race: gnome
class: oracle of the heavens 5
one feat: Spell Focus (illusion)
one revelation: Awesome Display

Here are a couple of potential add-ons. Which one do you like the best?

oracle 6
Nets you an extra shot at 11th, could potentially go AoE at 17th level.

unchained thug rogue 3
feat: Enforcer
Shake, sicken, kill

mesmerist 3
50/50 shot at maybe killing that lich dragon

archetype: dual-cursed
revelations: Awesome Display and Misfortune
class: 1 or 2 extra levels in sorcerer, because the dual-cursed archetype trades your color spray for ill omen
Force your target to reroll a successful saving throw.

[Perfect Tommy]

Until the day you meet someone with telepathy, that upon making his save turns it around on *you*, and makes you do the same.

Heavens oracle is great. But forget about phantasmal killer.

1. Two saves, including what is usually the best save for most monsters.
2. SR
3. Lot of mind affecting immune.
4. Telepathy.

Literally every single casting class has a better option.

And that kitsune mesmer is batting 0% with phantasmal killer vs a lich dragon. Immune.

[ohako]

eh, so, hold on. Oh, I see.

Even though psychic inception has a 50/50 chance of getting around an undead creature's immunity to mind-affecting things, it's still immune to the Fort save.

And here I thought that was a good option. Scratch that one then. Well, as a full-caster oracle, there's always naughty spells like searing light or whatnot against lich dragons.