(If the name Runelords of B'hem means anything to you, begone with ye!)
I need to buff the sorceress in my game - she's a non-optimized blaster caster, and two sessions into the campaign her player is already getting frustrated at being useless in combat.
She has a bonded staff, and I'd like to surprise her player by making it an intelligent magic item. One idea is that it isn't capable of any original thought, but it contains the "psychic echo" of her long-ago ancestor, and can recall memories of that ancestor's life. It has senses but can't communicate - the only ways to communicate with it are to use your own telepathy (in which case you can trigger the memories,) or for the staff to take control of you.
The group might first discover this when I ask the sorceress to make a Will save during a combat, and if she fails her save then the staff will take possession of her for enough time to cast a (new) spell. From thence on, she'll be able to activate that spell as a 1/day ability, using her own CL and saves but without costing a spell slot (she remembers the words and actions from when she was possessed, and can now do it by herself by drawing from the staff's power.) As time goes on I'll add more spells (each time with the staff taking possession of her to "teach" her the new spell.)
Should I give it an ego score? If so, what's a good ego? I am thinking the inhabitant of the staff was a 14th level Stormborn sorceress when she was alive, so the staff could eventually cast up to 7th-level spells, but I will slowly add those in.
What are good spells to use? They should be thematic to the Stormborn bloodline (although reflavoring is fine). Currently the sorceress has shocking grasp and shock shield as her spells. I'm considering this list of spells right now, but clearly all won't make it on.
1 Ear-Piercing Scream
1 Shock Arrow
1 Alter Winds
1 Windy Escape
1 Feather Fall
1 Obscuring Mist
1 Grease (ice or water)
2 Aggressive Thundercloud
2 Gust of Wind
2 Whispering Wind
2 Sound Burst
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Storm Step
3 Call Lightning
3 Sheet Lightning
3 Second Wind
3 Wind Wall
3 Fly
3 Tailwind
4 Blast of Wind
5 Control Winds
6 Chain Lightning
6 Cold Ice Strike
6 Sirocco
7 Control Weather
Would appreciate thoughts on:
Mechanics: Right now it's kind of a mish-mash of a staff and a use/day wondrous item. I'm looking for a good power booster, but I'm not sure if this is the best solution.
Related content: Is there anything existing in Pathfinder like a "psychic echo" (that can recall memories from its life but not create original thoughts)? Or anything like an intelligent item with senses but no communication?
Flavor: The ancestor will be Varisian, so I'm looking to make the memories steeped in Varisian lore. Any good Varisian tidbits to try to work in would be great.
Help me help my sorceress?
Ok, probably no one read all that - I don't blame you. Let me try again.
How should I buff an underpowered level 1 sorceress?
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I'm not sure more spells known is going to fix the problem.
If the player is inexperienced and unaware that battlefield control spells are useful, then sure. If they want cool electricity spells but don't have enough spells known to also be versatile, then sure. But if they really want to play a blaster and just don't know how to do it well (or the mechanics don't exist to allow them to do their specific blaster concept well) then giving the sorceress access to Obscuring Mist isn't going to help them feel like a better blaster.
Personally, I would lean in the direction of free metamagic. Empowering or Maximizing electricity spells would increase raw damage numbers. There are probably also good metamagic feats for adding debuff "riders" to the types of blast spells the sorceress likes to use. If not, you could probably make up some new ones.
The "psychic echo" concept sounds like some material from Occult Adventures. Look into Charge Object, Object Reading, and Psychometry.
By default, intelligent items are at least able to communicate through empathic impulses - but these could easily be described as reflexive echoes of the psychic imprint on the item rather than the product of any independent sentience.