Long story short, I really want to design an elven fullcaster (wizard or some such) whose inherited a moonblade, and is training in its use. The problem I'm running into is I know this is not optimal. A frontline wizard or arcane whatever just isn't going to work unless I have system mastery. However, I really really want this to work.
The game I'm applying for allowed us to roll for our stats, and I got 18, 17, 15, 14, 13, 13.
I'd love your help if you're willing. Paizo only. Elf only. The moonblade is a longsword. I don't much care about the rest so long as its viable.
Not sure what you are asking? Elves get proficiency with long sword so any elf that does not trade away that racial trait can use a long sword. They may not be that good at it, but they can use it.
If you take one level of fighter or ranger and go into eldritch knight prestige class you would not sacrifice much in the way of spell progression and be fairly competent in using the sword. You could also go Magus but that is not a full caster. One thing to keep in mind is that unless you get to high level the Magus is not that far behind the eldritch knight. Once you get past 10th level or so the eldritch knight’s spells start to exceed that of a magus.
I forgot to mention no multiclassing. The dm I'm applying for wants a single class character.
What I'm looking for is an elf (insert 9th level caster) with a frontline battlefield control build, and a single target debuff he can put through his sword.
I saw a while back someone mentioning rime frigid touch, so I'll be using that combo. The rest pretty much goes down to
- Survivable in melee
- Damage not absolutely necessary
- tons of battlefield control (which can be done simply by taking those spells)
It's the surviving part I'm not sure how to do.
look at a magus. seems to be what you want. arcane spells, melee, all that good stuff
Minus the 9th level spells. Any other ideas?
does it absolutely have to be a full caster???
but full casters you have:
Wizard
sorcerer
Cleric
Druid
arcanist
shaman
Witch
oracle
NOTE: I am not listing weapon pro. because you said elf so that part wont matter much since the weapon is a longsword
arcanist,witches,wizard and sorcerer have no armor proficiency and would have to rely on feats,items and spells to either allow them to use armor and ignore some asf or get a AC score but can do damage ut front line survivalabilty in frontline.... well... not all there and your bab for melee is poor. that said take light armor proficiency and take no spells that require somatic components or take said feat with still spell
clerics: can use armor and full casting. the only side effect is that you might end up being a healbot. decent melee
druids light armor, full casting and decent bab, animal shifting
shaman cross between oracle and witch aka different skinned druid
full caster good bab light armor
oracle: up to med armor, full casting but its iffy at front line depending on which curse you take....
NOTE: the above is a quick overview as to which feats to take I'm not quite the one to ask.
now if you can get away with a 3/4 caster.
look into the hunter and the inquisitor ( though my prefered is the hunter)
hunter: 6 lvl caster
A hunter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).
inquisitor 6 lvl caster
An inquisitor is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, longbow, repeating crossbow, shortbow, and the favored weapon of her deity. She is also proficient with light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).
again quick look overs and im not the one to ask about feats to take.
though i'd imagin weapon focus longsword might be on your list to take....
EDIT: if that is your score set up with 14 being your int score don't look for a full caster well you can, its just at that point every 4th lvl you will be puting the stat increasinto int just to raise it up to get to being able to c ast spells over spelllvl 4. ( for int based casters) and its the same for wisdom and cha based casters
Blade Adept Arcanist is probably the closest thing to what you are looking for.
But as everyone will point out, what you are trying to do isn’t supported in Pathfinder, particularly not in a single class build. Arcane = no armor. Full arcane = laughable BAB. Full stop.
If you want a full caster in the front lines, divine is a lot better.
and im tired of editing my above post
BUT how many levels is your game that you are in going up to?
The stats can be moved around whatever way is necessary. The only thing left to request out of this is focusing on either spell or sword, no others.
Looking at the options, would a Nature Fang Druid work, and is there any way to gain a longsword as an arcane bond beyond being an arcane caster (feats, traits, etc.)
Edit: remembered eldritch heritage is a thing
if you plan on being a front line caster:sword with buff and single target spells if any ( it still isnt going to be very practical as 1 hit and there goes the neighborhood, unless you are not an arcane caster)
back line caster: spell
pretty much how I look at it.
which is also why I listed the hunter and inquisitor and the magus could work as well.
and no you cant get arcane bond any other way as the key word is "Arcane"
as for the nature fang..
Well .. I dont like many of the archtypes as you have to look at them AND be comfortable trading out for what you are getting isntead.
My end goal is a character who single hands sword in melee, and uses battlefield control spells. I dont care about damage. I want to make a slip and slide under an ogre, then smack him with my tooth pick. < figure of speech.
I dont mind how it's done. I would prefer the ability to stop time, or create demiplane, or teleport, or whatever in the late late game. Wildshape is not my thing. It's cool what can be done with it, but I would prefer sticking to lore thematic themes here.
Elves who wielded moonblades were either fighters, or something similar. The exception is the Ruler of Evermeet who wields the King's Blade. I, eventually, wish to reach his level or surpass him through ample time spent and equal effort.
As a result, moonblades cannot be inherently inherited from the get-go. That means I would need an ability that makes making an intelligent weapon a little easier. Magus' are not what I would like. They dont have 9th level casting, are prebuilt to be gishes, and I dont like being a gish.
So, elf fullcaster with an arcane bound longsword or something similar who is built to survive in melee. That's all I'm asking for. If I need to take toughness at 1st with a 16 for con, and every fcb goes into health, cool. How do I build on that, though?
If you don't mind pre casting spells then switching to melee, lvl 6 spell Transformation boost your melee ability to that of an equal level fighter, with that sacrifice of all spell casting while in fighter mode, but unless extended, it only lasts one round/level, so you would be back to full spell caster after it ended. Time stop, self buff, ending with Transformation, unleash the beast!
With the restrictions you have listed (Elf, Full 9th level arcane caster, and no multiclassing, using a longsword) you are not going to be able to do what you seem to want to do.
The closest I can think would be to use a rapier instead of a long sword and take weapon finesse. Max out DEX as much as you can, and play a Blade Adept Arcanist. Since you cannot wear armor your AC is going to suffer. You will need to boost that with everything you can. This is going to mean your ability as a caster is probably going to suffer. Your accuracy with the sword will be fairly decent, but your damage is going to be disappointing. Don’t bother with toughness as the extra HP are not going to matter especially at low level, and your first level feat is going to be weapon finesse. You will need Great Fortitude to shore up a weak fortitude save. Don’t bother with feats to increase your damage because most of them are reliant on BAB which you don’t have.
The funny thing is that at 1st level you will be better at what you want to do than you will be at high level. Your AC and chance to hit will be comparable to that of most of the martial characters, but as you level up you will fall behind rather quickly. With the right exploits you can boost your combat ability for short periods of time.
This is about the only viable route I see for your concept. You will be weaker than other 9th level arcane casters, but you are still a full 9th level caster. Considering that is about the most powerful thing in the game you will still be viable.
Quote: I really want to design an elven fullcaster (wizard or some such) whose inherited a moonblade, and is training in its use. Quote: Paizo only. Elf only. The moonblade is a longsword. I don't much care about the rest so long as its viable. Quote: I dont like being a gish. I am clearly misunderstanding something. You literally are describing the character you want as a gish (a frontline caster), but then say you don't like being a gish. Are you saying that you just want to be a full caster that stands in melee and holds a sword, but doesn't actually fight?
I'm leaving this thread since you guys dont get the point. Battlefield Controller Elf Wizard who is durable enough to stand in melee. Does not want to range. Does not care about damage. Moonblade is purely for fashion and magical use. Cares about helping allies and assisting them. I'll figure this out.
Thank you.
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What level is the character starting at? Assuming 1st level, and since damage isn’t a concern, go wizard (transmuter) with an arcane-bonded longsword (blade adept arcanist also looks good but i haven’t played one). Highest stat in Intelligence, next in Dex, tertiary in Con. I’d avoid armor and arcane training feats (instead rely on high dex, mage armor, shield spell). If wizard, you’ll want Craft Wondrous Item as one of your bonus feats to build protection items for yourself.
As you advance in level, you can use arcane bond to gradually boost your sword—-I can see the character starting off with a dormant moonblade that slowly awakens as they gain power. Feats will be pretty standard initially—-combat casting, item creation. toughness (only if you are starting at really low level and even then, only if you get knocked down repeatedly during fights).
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That is almost a regular wizard.
With a specific focus, but still.
You've confused people with all that sword talk, when it seems to be much more of a flavor thing than a mechanical one - not as obvious as it could have been, is fine, it happens.
If the sword is just for show : elves are proficient. Get a sword.
Or a rapier and either weapon finesse or the agile enchantment if you want to actually hit once in a while (still not gonna happen often with a wiz's BAB, but heh ...).
Blade adept arcanist or even sword binder if you want to get weird, although that's hardly necessary.
Bonded witch is also a thing, for a weapon as a bonded object - it's normally a half-elf thing though. You could see with your GM about house-ruling, if you like it ?
Either way : you have great stats so good Dex and Con will help you survive. Toughness wouldn't be bad if you can fit it in.
And if you go for mostly non-saves spells, which should be reasonably doable, Int is less vital and you might even be able to pump up those physical stats.
Maybe starting off with 15+2 dex, 18-2 con and 17+2 int ? Switch up dex and int if you're really willing to never force saves, in kind of a cleric-y support approach ? Feels risky and I wouldn't, but it's a possibility.
Grab an assortment of control, defensive spells and buffs, and you have what you're talking about.
AC is nice, miss chances will save you, Temp HPs help, etc. Nothing unusual here, wizards have decent tools for survival. You'll just be more reliant on them
The feels like it would be a pretty standard control/support wizard build. This really seems like more of a playstyle thing.
Just add WFinesse/WFocus/Xing Grace as is possible if you want to try and make that sword work.
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