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I wouldn't play a Spellslinger like any other blaster wizard. For the Spellslinger, your primary damage comes from utilizing the gun, and for that reason you should absolutely level dip in Gunslinger for it. Quick clear is a godsend of a deed for gun users.
Race: Human
Trait: Magical Knack (Wizard)
Str 10
Dex 15+2 (+1 @lv4)
Con 12
Int 16 (+1 @lv 8, 12, 16, 20)
Wis 14
Cha 7
Gunslinger 1/Spellslinger x (1st level going Gunslinger, no archetype)
+1 Reliable Pistol (Free battered pistol, 8300 gp to upgrade)
+2 Dex Belt (4000 gp)
+2 Int Headband (4000 gp)
+2 Cloak of Resistance (4000 gp)
+2 Con Ioun Stone (8000 gp)
Lantern of Auras (2000 gp) (You need this since you don't have detect magic at will) (on that note, you need to invest heavily in spellcraft to be able to make Read Magic checks on scrolls since you don't have Read Magic at will either.)
Alchemical cartridges of cold iron, silver, and adamantine bullets
Oil of Silence (250 gp each)
Invest in lots of scrolls, especially of useful spells from your opposition schools
Feats:
1: Point-Blank Shot
1: Precise Shot
3: Deadly Aim
5: Rapid Reload
6(Wizard bonus feat) Intensify Spell
7: Rapid Shot
Opposition Schools: Necromancy, Conjuration, Abjuration, Illusion (My suggestions, but I absolutely would not give up enchantment, transmutation, or evocation spells)
As far as spells go, focus on the ray spells as that's what the archetype is pushing you towards. Snag a haste or two, a heroism, and look at Alter Self for boosts to Dex and the like. Look for offensive spells that require a ranged touch attack vs a save to avoid damage, as you don't have the resources to invest in increasing the DC of your spells. Your highest damage will still be coming from your spells, but against mooks you should almost solely use physical damage (admittedly you're only looking at two shots per round at 1d8+6 by lv7, well below average damage for a character of that level)
A bounty hunter has to be able to track down and incapacitate (and usually not kill) his quarry.
Wizards are good at doing that. The Spellslinger limits you to 4 schools of magic, essentially. I think you probably want divination and evocation, and definitely enchantment (for hold person, sleep etc.) You can probably forget about necromancy, but choosing between abjuration, illusion, transmutation, and conjuration is tough.
I would suggest going straight up wizard, or MAYBE ranger or slayer 1/wizard 5/eldritch knight for better BAB when shooting and the extra class skills from ranger or slayer (Perception, Stealth, Survival, maybe Intimidate).
EDIT:
Or you can forgo enchantment and take Merciful Spell so you deal non-lethal damage so you can capture instead of killing your prey.
If you're open to other ideas then this might work: Spellslinger wizard 1 / eldritch archer magus X. Eldritch archer can use a gun with its class features just fine, and a magus in general is good for combining magic and weaponry. If you want to cast a color spray through your spellslinger gun & use spell combat in the same round to shoot them with a full attack while they're stunned you can do that. Or if you want to enhance your gun with mage bullets & shoot your enemy with a bullet loaded with snowball.
Syries' suggested feats are fine, the eldritch archer even gets a bonus feat at level 5. Note that you can make your weapon damage nonlethal with the spellslinger's mage bullets ability (sacrifice a 1st level spell for merciful), you won't need merciful spell.
Tried to do this concept before. This is the best I got
Snakestrike Brawler 1 + Spellslinger Wizard 3 + Arcane Trickster X
Banned Schools: Necromancy, Enchantment, Illusion/Divination(named bullet vs greater invisibility), Abjuration
Feats
LV1 Spell Focus
Lv3 Accomplished Sneak Attacker
Lv5 Spell Specialization/Mage's Tattoo
Lv7 Empower Spell
Lv9 Quicken Spell
Lv11 Spell Penetration
Traits
Magical Lineage(fiery shuriken), reactionary
Spells
Lv1 Mage Armor, Snowball, Fabricate Bullets, Burning Hands
LV2 Scorching Ray/Fiery Shuriken/Admonishing Ray, Make Whole, Full Pouch, Reloading Hands
Lv3 Haste, Battering Blast, Pellet Blast, Greater Magic Weapon
Lv4 Named Bullet/Greater Invisibility, Dragon's Breath
Lv5 Acidic Spray, Cone of Cold
Lv6 Cold Ice Strike, Disintegrate, Elemental Ambassador
Items: +2 Pistol, +1 Training Silver Spiked Gauntlet(improved initiative), 500gp +1 initiative ion stone, +2 int headband, +2 dex belt, cloak of res +2, elemental rod lesser
Elf or Human are the best races. For human I would probably get greater spell specialization. Samsaran is also a nice choice if you want to poach some cleric/witch spells to shoot
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Spellslinger gets all its class features at level 1, so you could go Spellslinger 1/Any Other Full Caster 19, and still use all the Spellslinger features on the other class's spells?
If so, is Spellslinger 1/Arcanist 19, Cleric 19, Druid 19, Hunter 19, Inquisitor 19, Magus 19, Oracle 19, Shaman 19, Skald 19, Sorcerer 19, Summoner 19, Warpriest 19, or Witch 19 viable?
I'm assuming Alchemists and Investigators don't technically use spells, so they can't use Mage Bullet, etc. Right? A gunslinging Investigator would be pretty sick.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Spellslinger gets all its class features at level 1, so you could go Spellslinger 1/Any Other Full Caster 19, and still use all the Spellslinger features on the other class's spells?
If so, is Spellslinger 1/Arcanist 19, Cleric 19, Druid 19, Hunter 19, Inquisitor 19, Magus 19, Oracle 19, Shaman 19, Skald 19, Sorcerer 19, Summoner 19, Warpriest 19, or Witch 19 viable?
I'm assuming Alchemists and Investigators don't technically use spells, so they can't use Mage Bullet, etc. Right? A gunslinging Investigator would be pretty sick.
I do believe you're entirely correct, although some are more viable than others. You want a class with some good spells to be cast through the gun, and the arcane lists tend to be much better with that. I believe blasting sorcerer is a popular one.
I think Spellslinger 1 / Druid X works as does Shaman, Eldritch Archer Magus (mentioned above), Arcanist, Sorcerer, and some varieties of Cleric or Oracle. Probably a warlock vigilante or an occultist too. That said I'd avoid a spontaneous 9-level caster because another level of delay in spellcasting would be embarrassing and they don't usually have quite enough class features (maybe with an arcanist) to make up the difference.
And Spellslinger 20 is generally worse than base wizard 20 but still obviously playable. Half the wizard schools is still better than most class spell lists, and they can still access the rest of the schools if they have to.
I think Spellslinger 1 / Druid X works as does Shaman, Eldritch Archer Magus (mentioned above), Arcanist, Sorcerer, and some varieties of Cleric or Oracle. Probably a warlock vigilante or an occultist too. That said I'd avoid a spontaneous 9-level caster because another level of delay in spellcasting would be embarrassing and they don't usually have quite enough class features (maybe with an arcanist) to make up the difference.
And Spellslinger 20 is generally worse than base wizard 20 but still obviously playable. Half the wizard schools is still better than most class spell lists, and they can still access the rest of the schools if they have to.
Are there any good Spellslinger 19/Other Full Caster 1 options to get access to those 4 missing schools of magic, at least for item use and/or creation? Like arcanist, sorcerer, or witch?
Are there any good Spellslinger 19/Other Full Caster 1 options to get access to those 4 missing schools of magic, at least for item use and/or creation? Like arcanist, sorcerer, or witch?
Most simply be good at spellcraft in the case of creation. The DCs aren't hard for an Int based spellcaster and the schools aren't missing, just penalised. For item use Int-based UMD is a trait away. If you want to multiclass crossblooded sorcerer or blood arcanist can be impressive for blasting, psychic adds some new spells which are auto-silenced and stilled and has its own handy pool to boost with, and white-haired witch could be handy for delivering touch spells.
the reason im not to sure omn the second is cause im not sure how many spells i can use with range-spell strike and Arcane Gun
They don't need to be ranged spellstrike. Like I suggested, you can hit them with a debuff like color spray using spell combat and arcane gun. Mage bullets has different options to the magus' arcane pool too.
If you want to use ranged spellstrike & arcane gun specifically then ray of frost or disrupt undead (cantrips), snowball (pre-nerf), ray of enfeeblement, hydraulic push or mudball at 1st level, force anchor or molten orb (2nd), gloomblind bolts or force hook charge (3rd), disintegrate or umbral bolt (6th) are all options.
Reach spell, dazing spell, reach spellstrike and/or spell blending can all add options especially in that otherwise empty 4th-5th spell level range. Useful metamagic like intensify spell or empower spell can move spell levels around. From 16th level magus you can use cones, lines or bursts with that combo of abilities which adds options too.
How are you fully qualifying for Arcane Trickster? Accomplished Sneak Attacker is just fine, but you also have to be able to cast Mage Hand. Spellslingers lose their cantrips.
There's feats which give you cantrip SLAs and items like the Hand of the mage. As it's a named spell the cantrip SLAs will work for prerequisites.
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Arcanists actually gain fewer spells than base wizards because they do not have arcane schools. If you're looking for being a primary damage dealer with spells you should consider going Sorcerer instead.
Ray casters and gun users alike benefit from Precise Shot, and as a half-BAB class a +1 to hit from Point-Blank Shot is helpful.
Empower Spell is a good metamagic feat; however, it's not too useful for you until level 7 when you would get 3rd level spells (Empower uses 2 spell levels higher)
I feel that people latch onto the idea that getting the +1 per die rolled is a must on blaster builds. The Orc bloodline is good for that but it has the drawback of being dazzled in regular light (-1 to att rolls) and as a half-BAB class you can't afford those penalties. Primal bloodline isn't a bad option if you know what type of energy spell you want. Personally I'd choose a different focus for my bloodline.
The issue is that your spell damage will increase naturally as you level up in a spellcasting class. Your gun damage doesn't; therefore, you need to invest in the feats to up your gun damage. Otherwise what's the point of having the gun in the first place? Without Deadly Aim and PBS and enchantments you're looking at a whopping 1d8 of damage, and it's a standard action to reload without Rapid Shot. You're not even that likely to hit without Precise Shot.
The issue is that your spell damage will increase naturally as you level up in a spellcasting class. Your gun damage doesn't; therefore, you need to invest in the feats to up your gun damage. Otherwise what's the point of having the gun in the first place? Without Deadly Aim and PBS and enchantments you're looking at a whopping 1d8 of damage, and it's a standard action to reload without Rapid Shot. You're not even that likely to hit without Precise Shot.
The spellslinger's mage bullets ability combined with spell slots from the other class can increase your gun damage naturally, especially with a full caster. I've discussed how an eldritch archer magus finds a gun useful above.
Rapid reload not rapid shot BTW. Also alchemical cartridges exist, and outside PFS there's the beneficial bandiolier.
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Frankly I'd go with a level in Gunslinger and go the rest in Eldritch Archer, and abandon Spellslinger altogether. At level 13 you get Ranged Spell touch so you can deliver shocking grasps with your gun and all that fun stuff.
Feats:
1: Point-Blank Shot
1 (Human) Precise Shot
3 Rapid Reload (Pistol)
5: Deadly Aim
6 (Magus bonus feat) Rapid Shot
7: Merciful Spell
As a bounty hunter I assume you want to be able to deal nonlethal with spells to take your bounty in alive, thus Merciful Spell. It can easily be subbed with Intensify. From lv9 on you can solely focus on feats to pump up magic stuff- you're practically done with boosting gun damage.
Pros to being an Eldritch Archer: 1) You can hold your bonded gun in one hand, metamagic rod in the other, and still provide somatic components for spells. 2) You have better BAB 3) You have Spell Recall 4) Bonus combat feats
Cons: Literally none compared to Spellslinger Wizard. Not having 4 opposition schools balances out the more limited Magus spell list. Maybe not having access to 7th+ levels of spells can be a downside but if you're a blaster caster that's not that big of a deal when you are able to cast an intensified empowered maximized shocking grasp as a 6th level spell. At range.
*Edit* To be clear, I just think the Spellslinger class is far too inefficient and cost heavy to put into practical use. Gunslinger/Eldritch Archer looks much more viable in my opinion, and has much of the same flavor as the Spellslinger.
any other Suggestions for this build?
Stats? (using 20 point buy)
Arcana?
Feats?
Something like Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16+2=18 for a start. Or you could swap Int and Dex. That leaves you with a couple of points to make up from the other stats; 2 10s and an 8 or 2 8s and a 12. I'd put 8 in Str and 10s in Wis and Cha because tracking in the wild uses survival and tracking in town uses diplomacy (gather info).
You want traits (assuming they're in use) on metamagic cost reducers, magical knack and on making survival and diplomacy class skills. Depending on which style of tracking you see this bounty hunter using most I'd put one trait there and another on magic knack (magus).
For arcana, L3 on a familiar which gives a bonus to one of those skills, L6 on arcane accuracy, L9 on reach spellstrike, L12 on distant spellstrike, L15 on bane blade seems good to me. You might replace reach spellstrike with spell blending to a similar effect.
I'd start with the feats Syries suggested. L9 goes to Amateur Gunslinger (quick clear) as you're making enough attacks now that misfires may be a real problem. L11 Spell Penetration, the magus 11 feat Empower Spell, L13 Quicken Spell, L15 Spell Perfection. I think you said somewhere that you'd likely finish the campaign about level 15?
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I'd start with the feats Syries suggested. L9 goes to Amateur Gunslinger (quick clear) as you're making enough attacks now that misfires may be a real problem. L11 Spell Penetration, the magus 11 feat Empower Spell, L13 Quicken Spell, L15 Spell Perfection. I think you said somewhere that you'd likely finish the campaign about level 15?
If you're going Gunslinger 1/Eldritch Archer x you don't need to sink a feat in Amateur Gunslinger. You get a good amount from just one level in Gunslinger that i believe it's worth a level of that and taking Magical Knack to keep up caster level.
I'd start with the feats Syries suggested. L9 goes to Amateur Gunslinger (quick clear) as you're making enough attacks now that misfires may be a real problem. L11 Spell Penetration, the magus 11 feat Empower Spell, L13 Quicken Spell, L15 Spell Perfection. I think you said somewhere that you'd likely finish the campaign about level 15?If you're going Gunslinger 1/Eldritch Archer x you don't need to sink a feat in Amateur Gunslinger. You get a good amount from just one level in Gunslinger that i believe it's worth a level of that and taking Magical Knack to keep up caster level.
It's a possibility. The DC increase from spellslinger (which doesn't have to be from spellslinger spell slots it's been confirmed) can be quite important to a magus who would otherwise avoid spells with saves at higher levels. Edit: and later you save on merciful spell because mage bullets has merciful on the gun damage as an option.
A similar concept to the spellsplinger is the Gun Chemist alchemist archetype. Take the Tanglefoot Bomb discovery, and you're all set.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/archetypes/paizo-alc hemist-archetypes/gun-chemist-alchemist-archetype/
The Alchemist skill set has Perception and Survival, which are also handy for a bounty hunter. Getting Diplomacy (or at least a way to Gather Information) is also a good idea.
Pearls of Power since you'll be expending spell slots to use Mage Bullets?
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If you're really set on Spellslinger, take a level of that rather than Gunslinger and pick up Amateur Gunslinger for Quick Clear at some point.
Actually, delay getting Rapid Shot and get Amateur Gunslinger at 5, Deadly Aim at 6.
You'll likely be spending a lot of 1st and 2nd level spells such as Snowball and Scorching Ray, and at level 13 Shocking Grasp, so heavily invest in 1st level pearls of power and get a few 2nd level ones too. And seriously, invest heavily in scrolls. Heroism, Mage Armor, as well as situational spells like Tongues or Levitate.
Most importantly, pick up metamagic rods. a huge plus I saw in the Eldritch Archer states that your bonded ranged weapon (AKA your gun) does not interfere with providing somatic components for spells. This means you can hold a rod in one hand and your gun in the other and have no issues with casting. No need to get the metamagic Merciful Spell* feat, just get a rod of it. You'll probably want to pick up Empower or Intensify Spells as actual feats though, and use rods to supplement your spells even more.
Spellslinger opposition schools: Necromancy, Illusion, Conjuration, and Abjuration. You wont use any 1st level Wizard spells from any of those categories, but you probably will end up using Evocation, Divination, Enchantment, and Transmutation spells.
*Someone else mentioned on this thread that Merciful Spell is unnecessary as Magic Bullets gives that to you. This is incorrect: it merely allows the regular damage from the gun be nonlethal. Spells cast through the gun would still be just as lethal as normal; you'd need to apply the actual metamagic feat to the spell for a spell to deal nonlethal damage.
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Assuming you're starting out at level 7:
Human
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 12
Int 16+2 +1@lv4
Wis 12
Cha 07
1: Wizard(Spellslinger) [PBS, Precise Shot]
2: Magus(Eldritch Archer)
3: Magus: [Rapid Reload (Pistol)]
4: Magus: (Arcana: Arcane Accuracy)
5: Magus: [Amateur Gunslinger]
6: Magus: [Deadly Aim]
7: Magus: [Rapid Shot](Arcana: Familiar)
You get to look forward to Reach Spellstrike arcana at character level 10. You have the benefits of spell recall which is awesome. At level 7 you're at 4 BAB. Buy a +1 Reliable Pistol and a +2 Dex belt and you have +10 to hit vs touch ac within 20 ft, so you're not doing bad for yourself in your to-hit ratio. Spells like heroism can help bump that up a good amount, too, and Arcane Accuracy is there to help with the particularly dexterous enemies you face. With Alchemical cartridges you have free action reloading, metamagic rod of empowerment for your snowballs, and a good amount of versatility. Spending arcana to increase enchantment bonus to your gun is what you'll usually end up doing, because that means an increase to your spell DCs as well.
@Syries: That was me about merciful/merciful spell; so long as some of the damage is nonlethal you're unlikely to kill your prey, and if they're so weak that it is likely you don't need offensive spells anyway. Maybe buffs or debuffs.
You still need a free hand to reload your gun unless you cast reloading hands and/or get a beneficial bandolier if you want to shoot twice a round; reloading three or more times a round requires expensive or crappy magic weapons. Rods are a problem due to reloading hands alone not really being enough and a beneficial bandolier taking up your swift action.
@JC: A +1 reliable pistol, sure. Probably not pearls of power; you have spell recall and a bonded item. Reliable means that you don't need quick clear immediately IMO. A +2 dex belt and a +2 int headband, a +1 spell storing mithral chain shirt, a +1 buckler and a +2 cloak of resistance are as much of the big six (the standard magic items) as you can afford just now. Most of the rest will be a handy haversack, nonmagic equipment and some specialised ammo, plus whatever costs your GM finds reasonable for getting a few extra spells in your spellbook. These can range from buying scrolls and the cost of copying them into your spellbook to just the cost of copying. I don't recommend metamagic rods just yet, you can't really afford them besides the problems with reloading I mentioned to Syries.
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It's a free action to drop a metamagic rod. Start spell combat by casting your spell and channel it through the rod, drop it, continue firing with your gun. If you need to use the same metamagic rod more than once in a combat you're not using rods correctly.
As for ammo, pick up Alchemical Cartridges. With rapid reload it reduces the action of reloading a pistol to a free action. You want to craft them yourself whenever possible, with craft (alcheny), since they get expensive. One way to save money is to load a regular bullet out of combat then use alchemical cartridges for reloading in combat.
You want cold iron, silver, and adamantine alchemical cartridges.
Looks pretty good, but a couple things.
You forgot to add +2 to Will saves from Wizard level 1.
Your backup weapon is a dagger? It's good for grappling or throwing, but you're proficient in all martial weapons. You might want a bigger emergency melee weapon, like a greatsword or battleaxe and Morningstar.
Is your GM letting you use Profession bounty hunter to Gather Information? If not, you might want to put some ranks into Diplomacy so you can Gather Information about the bounty you are hunting.
EDIT:
I usually like to leave 1 skill point per level to dabble in stuff. Like 1 rank in Climb, 1 rank in Ride, 1 rank in Knowledge dungeoneering, 1 rank in Craft alchemy, 1 rank in Profession boating, etc.
No defensive spells? Mirror image or shield should be in there IMO.
Any light weapon would do as a backup, and a throwable one makes sense for an eldritch archer. A dagger's fine in other words.
I'd usually carry a few basic remedies - a cure light wounds potion, antitoxin, antiplague and smelling salts. And a few other useful things - rope, food, waterskin, bedroll, a backpack to carry all those.
I'm going to throw my vote in for (Pistolero or Musket Master) Gunslinger 5/Eldritch Archer Magus 15.