I'm trying to build a character using the Phantom Blade of the Spiritualist class, and seek some good ideas to make it efficient.
Here is the current build:
Class: Spiritualist (Phantom Blade)
Worship: Seranae
Stats focus: Str, Wis
Skills: Heal, Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
Feats:
1- Fey Foulding
3- Heavy Armor
PB 3- Weapon Focus (scimitar)
5- Weapon Specialization (scimitar)
7- Great Fortitude
PB 8- Lunge
9- Divine Fightning Technique: Way of the Merciful
11- Eldritch Strike
13-
PB 13-
15-
(the campaign stops around level 16)
Basicaly, the character plays in Heavy Armor, Buckler and with a scimitar black blade. Bucklers do not stop the character to have a free hand to cast spells, and psychic magic do not get any penality from armor and shields.
The build revolve a lot around the Mindshock level 2 spell, which is a good spell no matter if you decide to go for lethal or non-lethal damage:
- using lethal damage with the scimitar, it allows the Divine Fightning Technique's healing effect to trigger neverless
- using non-lethal damage, it just stacks the damage
Fey Foundling increase the amount of hp healed each round by the divine technique to 2d6+4, and nicely increase the input of the heal spells you cast on yourself.
At level 11, by comining the Greater Invisibility spell and the Eldritch Strike feat, the scimitar tiggers an automatic critical on a 15-20 roll, which activate the confusion effect from Mindshock on a regular basis.
I lack good ideas for levels 13 and 15.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
I too am having a similar issue with my wife's Phantom Blade. I have no idea what to take with those high level feats.
1 – Divine Fighting Technique: Urgathoa
3 – Potion Glutton
3b- Power Attack
5 – Furious Focus
7 – Weapon Focus: Scythe
8b – Weapon Specialization: Scythe
9 –
11 –
13 –
13b –
15 – Deific Obedience Urgathoa
17 –
I suggest checking out this handbook, most of it applies to the Phantom Blade as well. HTH!
Saleem Halabi wrote: I too am having a similar issue with my wife's Phantom Blade. I have no idea what to take with those high level feats.
1 – Divine Fighting Technique: Urgathoa
Little warning: you cannot use a Scythe with Spell Combat or Spellstrike, as those abilities requiers you to have one free hand to cast spells, even when they don't have somatic components.
The only magus-like build that can use spellstrike with a 2H weapon is the Mindblade, and you'll have to wait for the level 13 to do so.
Kurald Galain wrote: I suggest checking out this handbook, most of it applies to the Phantom Blade as well. HTH! Thanks for the advice :)
In fact, I already looked at it before...
Alas most of the advices in this guide doesn't apply, because most feat selection relies either on Magus Arcanas (the Phantom Blade doesn't have any), Metamagic (almost impossible to use due to the spontaneous caster nature of the Spiritualist) or spells that are not in Spiritualist's spell list (like Shocking Grasp or Blade Rush)
Once sorted out, I didn't find any true useful feat to keep from this guide for a Phantom Blade, except Eldritch Strike, which is a very good addition indeed. HURRAY for automaticaly confirmed critics!
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Moonheart wrote:
Little warning: you cannot use a Scythe with Spell Combat or Spellstrike,
Not true. Spell combat requires a free hand. Spell strike does not. Otherwise, we are aware. =)
Saleem Halabi wrote: Moonheart wrote:
Little warning: you cannot use a Scythe with Spell Combat or Spellstrike,
Not true. Spell combat requires a free hand. Spell strike does not. Otherwise, we are aware. =) Well, as long you know you lose about 50 damage per round using a 2H rather than a 1H weapon on a magus-like archetype, that's fine :)
If you keep the 2H, you could still add Lunge (almost always useful) and Cleave (+Greater Cleave)
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
She's mostly going for the thematics (The character is an ancient born dhapmir, and the scythe is the soul of her nosferatu ancestor). Her primary DPS is actually coming from her judicious use of animate dead and hordes of fast zombies. =) Also her huge crits. (My character uses a keen rapier and butterfly sting to pass them along)
She typically casts vampiric touch (or chill touch if we are fighting undead), but more often than not just forgets that she has spells.
I had hoped to build it up as a vital strike build since I knew her use of spells wouldn't be super frequent, but it turns out she forgets to use that as well. So uhhh. Yeah. At a loss for feats at the moment.
That's fine, I play Phantasm Blade for the theme too, otherwise, I'll be building a Mindblade :)
IMHO, you should pick Eldritch Strike. If she learns to use Keen and Greater Invisibility, she could do even more criticals... try to motivate her by speaking her how much she would look like an invisible reaper :)
Otherwise, Cleave is always a good option for 2h users.
Airavata is my personal take on the phantom blade.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Moonheart wrote:
IMHO, you should pick Eldritch Strike.
What book is it from? I can't locate it on Archives of Nethys or d20pfsrd.com
Moonheart wrote:
otherwise, I'll be building a Mindblade
Funny story, I'm actually playing a mindblade in PFS and loving it.
Volkard Abendroth wrote: Airavata is my personal take on the phantom blade. Nice. I didn't thought about Unhindering Shield
Saleem Halabi wrote: Moonheart wrote:
IMHO, you should pick Eldritch Strike.
What book is it from? I can't locate it on Archives of Nethys or d20pfsrd.com Sorry, it's Eldritch ASSAULT:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/eldritch-assault/
But it requiers 2 feats, even if they are good ones.
I forgot this in my own build, so I should do something like this probably:
Feats:
1- Fey Foundling
3- Heavy Armor
PB 3- Weapon Focus (scimitar)
5- Weapon Specialization (scimitar)
7- Great Fortitude
PB 8- Lunge
9- Divine Fightning Technique: Way of the Merciful
11- Improved Initiave
13- Blind-Fight
PB 13- Eldritch Assault
15-
Enforcer could be somewhat useful, since I can use it.. but I fear that most opponent at level 15 will be immune to it.
Dimensional Agility looks nice, but I wonder if I would use Dimensional Door that much... 4th level spells are precious.
I need to choose a race, too.
Volkard Abendroth wrote: Airavata is my personal take on the phantom blade. Looking a second time at your build, I see the advantage of building of dexterity.
It would cost me only one more feat that currently (I'll go for the Dervish route) and I'll end with more initiative, reflex saves and a bit more of AC
Taking human for race, this would give those feat plan:
1- Fey Foundling, Weapon Finesse
3- Dervish Dance
PB 3- Weapon Focus (scimitar)
5- Weapon Specialization (scimitar)
7- Great Fortitude
PB 8- Lunge
9- Divine Fightning Technique: Way of the Merciful
11- Improved Initiave
13- Blind-Fight
PB 13- Eldritch Assault
15-
Combat Reflexes seems a good idea to compelete this build.
What puzzle me with this archetype is that we have the ability to reshape our weapon, or even harbor it and go unarmed, and I don't see any build that can exploit this aspect.
What is the purpose of Reshape if we specialize in only one weapon?
Moonheart wrote: What puzzle me with this archetype is that we have the ability to reshape our weapon, or even harbor it and go unarmed, and I don't see any build that can exploit this aspect.
What is the purpose of Reshape if we specialize in only one weapon?
You can pick/lose reach or change your damage type if you need to without requiring spells or feats.
But using a feat, you don't lose spell combat to get reach.
Saleem Halabi wrote: I too am having a similar issue with my wife's Phantom Blade. I have no idea what to take with those high level feats.
1 – Divine Fighting Technique: Urgathoa
3 – Potion Glutton
3b- Power Attack
5 – Furious Focus
7 – Weapon Focus: Scythe
8b – Weapon Specialization: Scythe
9 –
11 –
13 –
13b –
15 – Deific Obedience Urgathoa
17 –
Didn't notice at first, but your wife didn't pick the Heavy Armor Proefficiency?
Would help her to have a better defense, no?
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