Have a possible new campaign starting at level 10 coming up. So far all I know is that it’ll apparently be “a good old fashioned d'n'd fun run”. At this point I have no idea about ability scores (though in the past we’ve used a standard pre-racial stat array of 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8), starting wealth, any homebrew rules in play or what others would play as.
I had an idea for a character a while back for a human telekineticist vmc rogue. I normally play full casters (love playing witches and diviner types) so this is a bit different for me; to be completely honest I’m not 100% sure about the kineticist since I naturally have quite a few character ideas and this one is probably the weakest vis-à-vis damage and utility options.
Feats
L1 feat: Point-Blank Shot
Human bonus: Precise Shot
L3 Secondary class feature: Trapfinding
L5 feat: Weapon Focus OR Weapon Finesse
L7 Secondary class feature: Sneak Attack
L9 feat: Accomplished Sneak Attacker
Infusions
L1 infusion: Kinetic Blade
L3 infusion: Extended Range
L5 infusion: Bowling Infusion
L9 infusion: Foe Throw
Wild Talents
L1: Basic Telekinesis
L2 wild talent: Telekinetic Finesse
L4 wild talent: Elemental Whispers
L6 wild talent: Greater Elemental Whispers
L7 expanded element wild talent: Self Telekinesis
FCB wild talent: Telekinetic Haul
L8 wild talent: Telekinetic Invisibility
L10 wild talent: Greater Self Telekinesis
With Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Extended Range and Kinetic Blade this build should be able to operate in both melee and ranged combat. Choosing between Weapon Focus and Weapon Finesse will likely be down to what the ability scores are. The rogue vmc provides increased utility, damage and defence with Trapfinding, Sneak Attack (2d6) and Evasion (at level 11) respectively. Telekinetic Finesse ties in with the roguishness of the build and provide further utility. The Foe Throw and Bowling infusions allow for some control of enemies. Greater Self Telekinesis provides a pseudo-flight mobility option, useful both in and out of combat. Similarly Telekinetic Invisibility will be useful in combat for defence and Sneak Attacking, and out of combat for scouting and the like. I like the idea of Telekinetic Haul and the additional utility it provides, it’s further improved by Extended Range.
With regard to Elemental Whispers I’m undecided between choosing an aether wysp or small aether elemental. The wysp provides a +1 to hit and damage, would probably make a reasonably good scout , it can provide emergency healing with Living Battery (assuming it can be replaced after paying the usual costs to replace a familiar), and a +4 bonus when using aid other; with a +10 to attack, combat uses of aid other should always be successful. However, the wysp is a tiny creature and as such cannot threaten and thus cannot flank. As a small creature the aether elemental can flank enemies, providing a +2 flanking bonus and allowing sneak attacks to be made. It also has constant Telekinetic Invisibility which is useful for defence and scouting, as well as 60ft blindsense and darkvision. If it makes any difference the GM might allow the HD of the familiar to scale.
If your improved familiar dies, you can still contact its voice in your mind and gain the Alertness feat, but you can’t cause it to manifest. If you pay the usual costs for replacing a familiar, you manifest a new form for your elemental friend.
Familiar is not (or at the very least should not be) replaced as normal, if only for how Living Battery is read.
You can make it be able to flank by giving it the familiar Mauler archetype, since elemental whispers greater bypasses the normal restrictions of an improved familiar (namely the loss of "Speak with animals of your kind" ability)(bumping them up to size medium and giving them some str boosts).
Mauler Skills: A mauler treats Intimidate as a class skill.
Bond Forged in Blood (Su): A mauler isn’t impressed by fancy words—only furious battle. A mauler can’t speak or communicate via language in any way, even if it’s a type of creature that normally could.
At 5th level, whenever the mauler’s master drops a foe whose Hit Dice are at least half its level to below 0 hit points, the mauler’s empathic link surges with power, granting both the mauler and its master a +2 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls for 1 round.
This replaces speak with master and speak with animals of its kind.
Increased Strength (Ex): At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, a mauler’s Strength score increases by 1. As a result of this ability, the familiar’s Intelligence score remains 6; a mauler can never have an Intelligence score higher than 6.
This alters the familiar’s Intelligence score advancement.
Battle Form (Su): At 3rd level, a mauler gains the ability to transform into a larger, more ferocious form and back as a standard action three times per day. In battle form, the mauler’s size becomes Medium and it gains a +2 size bonus to its Strength score. Since many familiars are Tiny or Diminutive, be sure to check for any additional Strength and Dexterity adjustments for increasing in size from Tiny or Diminutive to Medium (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 212). This is a polymorph effect.
This replaces deliver touch spells.
Damage Reduction (Su): At 11th level, a mauler gains DR 5/magic.
This replaces spell resistance.
But if you want a life battery, I would use the "Figment Familiar" archetype, which makes it come back at the start of the next day, no questions asked and also gives it some evolution points.
Recurring Dream (Su): A figment has a total number of hit points equal to 1/4 of its master’s total hit points. If the figment dies, it vanishes, appearing again with 1 hit point after its master awakens from a full night’s sleep. If a figment ever strays more than 100 feet from its master or enters an antimagic field, or if a figment’s master is unconscious or asleep, the figment disappears until the next time its master prepares spells or regains her spells per day. Because it is a being of its master’s mind, a figment can never serve as a witch’s familiar, a shaman’s spirit animal, or any other spell-granting familiar, and it can’t use any divination spells or spell-like abilities the base creature has.
This replaces improved evasion.
Manifest Dreams (Su): At 3rd level, a figment is shaped by its master’s dreams. Each time the master awakens from a full night’s rest, he can apply to the figment 1 evolution point’s worth of eidolon evolutions that don’t have a base form requirement. At 7th level, he can apply 2 points’ worth of eidolon evolutions; at 13th level, he can apply 3 points’ worth of eidolon evolutions.
This replaces deliver touch spells, speak with animals of its kind, and scry on familiar.
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On the feats:
>Definitely Finesse if only for relying on Dex instead of Str for the blade.
>If you go healing battery and less combat buddy route, I would swap the Accomplished Sneak Attacker for something else.
Some Options maybe?:
There's the new "Gather Might" feat in the Martial Arts Handbook, that allows your gather power to be used for physical stat boosts for a time.
"Metamagic Invocation" which will add some more options for metakinesis.
"Mobile Gathering" for... well, mobility when gathering power.
"Expanded Metakinesis" for even more metamagic options.
Or even "Extra Wild Talent" if you need more talents.
Then there's the respective familiar archetype feats for Mauler and Figment
Mauler's Endurance gives the familiar +2 HP per HD (1/2 your HP + 2/HD; ex. Master HP @ lvl 10 (10 HD) = 100, Familiar HP = 50 (1/2) + 20 (+2/HD)).
And Figment's Fluidity allows reassignment of the Figment's evolution points 1/2/3 times per day depending on level.
Thanks for the feedback. How does Greater Elemental Whispers bypass the normal restrictions of a familiar? The Mauler archetype would be perfect as it makes the wysp a reliable flanking buddy. The Figment archetype could be interesting with he evolution points so I'll look into that. Life Battery would only be used if it's the only way to prevent my character from dying so I don't think I'll build around it.
Talent Link Link
Element universal; Type utility (Su); Level 3; Burn 0
Prerequisite elemental whispers
Your friendship with the elements has grown. You gain your choice of a wyspB5 or Small elemental of your primary element as an improved familiar, without needing to meet any of the usual prerequisites for gaining such a familiar. Unlike with elemental whispers, this improved familiar acts in all ways like a familiar: it’s always manifested, it has hit points equal to 1/2 your own, and so on. You no longer receive the familiar benefits from the original creature you selected. If your improved familiar dies, you can still contact its voice in your mind and gain the Alertness feat, but you can’t cause it to manifest. If you pay the usual costs for replacing a familiar, you manifest a new form for your elemental friend.
Unless I have massively misread the intention and functionality of the bolded part, GEW bypasses the Caster Level, Alignment, and Removes Speak With Animals of your kind (as it functions as and doesn't state whether or not you gain the full effects of the feat it derives from, other than "...acts in all ways like a familiar..."). Again I could be grossly misinterpreting this.
It was my interpretation that the clause in Greater Elemental Whispers bypasses the requirement for the improved familiar feat of "Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level". Whereas the body of the feat includes "improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with others of their kind" which would preclude Maulers and Figments.
I've done Emissary and Sage Wysps with greater elemental whispers, I'm pretty sure that's legal (and useful, just less so in combat.)
So is the small aether elemental worth considering?
I personally like the Wysps since as a 3/4 BAB class with no magic items available to give a to-hit bonus (aside from your dex belt) your accuracy is not great. Moreover, since most turns you're a "one big hit" class, missing is very bad.
For those shots you really have to land, the wysp can give you +1 (resonance) +4 (servitor) to hit, which is huge.
I had considered the wysp for the bonus to aid another in combat but it appears to be limited to melee combat:
In melee combat, you can help a friend attack or defend by distracting or interfering with an opponent. If you’re in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat, you can attempt to aid your friend as a standard action. You make an attack roll against AC 10. If you succeed, your friend gains either a +2 bonus on his next attack roll against that opponent or a +2 bonus to AC against that opponent’s next attack (your choice), as long as that attack comes before the beginning of your next turn. Multiple characters can aid the same friend, and similar bonuses stack.
+5 to hit from resonance+servitor is certainly a plus but as the wysp is a tiny creature it would provoke an attack of opportunity getting into a position where it can use aid another. A small elemental would be able to get into position without provoking an aoo use aid another; while the wysp has the greater bonus from aid another, the elemental can flank which provides a +2 bonus and allows the kineticist to hit with sneak.
I think the elemental makes a better combat buddy as it can flank while kinetic invisibility provides it with a bonus to hit and good defence. Out of combat the invisible elemental would make a good scout. The main combat benefit of the wysp is the easily applied resonance bonus, the servitor bonus is nice but could be difficult to utilise. With the aforementioned servitor bonus the wysp would be useful outside of combat for making skill checks and such.
The emissary could make for a flavourful and useful archetype. Having a divine guide could be interesting from a rp perspective and with a poor will save the kineticist needs all the help it can get.
Familiar aside, what about the general build, is the vmc rogue worth it or would I be better off with the extra feats?