Ok, in a 5th Ed game, I am playing a compulsively dishonest character. Not only that, he is finally getting good at being dishonest. At first there were some problems caused by his not being capable of actually fooling people. I am having a blast with the character. So that got me thinking of a similar concept in PF. (This highlights one of the things I like better about PF. You can build a character to actually be able to use a skill consistently very good. Not just when you happen to roll pretty decent.)
Now I had a build for this based on the bard. However, I’ve never actually played it because I honestly don’t really like the bard class. Don’t want to go into the details, but I just haven’t ever been happy with the results when I tried it. But along comes the Occult book and now there is another way to be excellent at dishonesty. Behold the Mesmerist! Lying to the universe.
So I started looking at all the things I can stack up to be excellent at dishonest. Telling lies, forgery, disguise, etc… I want to try and trick my way past difficulties whenever possible. Yet still be able to function when that isn’t.
Below is my initial build. As a brand new first level, he already has a +16 bluff. At level 10, it is up to +47 without casting any spells, using limited application equipment, situational modifiers, or anything else. It just goes up from there.
Not yet sure if this will be for PFS or a home campaign. (Mostly depends on if my current home game shaman survives.) So I will build as PFS legal. I can always add in other options if he ends up in a home campaign.
Male halfling mesmerist 10 (Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures 38)
CG Small humanoid (halfling)
Init +3; Senses Perception +14 (+16 vs. magic traps)
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size)
hp 63 (10d8+10)
Fort +9, Ref +15, Will +19; +2 vs. fear
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee cestus +5/+0 (1d3-3/19-20)
Ranged +1 mithral elder thing dart gun +10/+10/+5 (1d3+1/19-20)
Special Attacks bold stares (psychic inception[OA], susceptability[OA]), hypnotic stare (-3), manifold tricks (3 tricks), mental potency (+2), mesmerist tricks 16/day (compel alactrity, mask misery, mesmeric mirror, psychosomatic surge, reflection of weakness [DC 23], spectral smoke), painful stare (+5 or +3d6+5)
Mesmerist Spells Known (CL 10th; concentration +18)
. . 4th (3/day)—dimension door, greater forbid action[UM] (DC 24)
. . 3rd (5/day)—clairaudience/clairvoyance, confusion (DC 23), displacement, glibness
. . 2nd (6/day)—alter self, blindness/deafness (DC 20), blistering invective[UC] (DC 20), blur, glitterdust (DC 20)
. . 1st (7/day)—burst of adrenaline[OA], heightened awareness[ACG], hideous laughter (DC 21), ray of enfeeblement (DC 19), unnatural lust[UM] (DC 21)
. . 0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect psychic significance[OA], ghost sound (DC 18), haunted fey aspect[UC], message, prestidigitation
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Statistics
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Str 5, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 26
Base Atk +7; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Deceitful, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Skill Focus (Bluff), Spell Focus (enchantment), Voice Of The Sibyl[UM]
Traits criminal, pesh addict (katapesh)
Skills Acrobatics +3 (-1 to jump), Appraise +5, Bluff +47 (+49 to imitate seances, spirit writing, or other occult practices), Diplomacy +13 (+15 vs. geniekind), Disable Device +19 (+21 vs. magic traps, +15 to checks if more than five feet away from device), Disguise +14, Escape Artist +16 (+18 to imitate seances, spirit writing, or other occult practices), Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana) +5 (+7 to understand the nature and ways of dragons), Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5 (+7 while navigate dungeons beneath the Cairnlands' siege castles, +7 to navigate the tunnels of the Darklands and identify Darklands natives), Knowledge (history) +5 (+7 vs. Azlant, +7 to learn about Thassilonian artifacts), Knowledge (local) +6 (+8 to identify drow and their customs, weaknesses, and tactics), Knowledge (nobility) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Linguistics +14 (+16 to learn about Azlanti sentence construction and idioms), Perception +14 (+16 vs. magic traps), Perform (act) +12, Sense Motive +4 (+6 to distinguish between true statements and exaggeration regarding esoteric topics), Sleight of Hand +9 (+11 to imitate seances, spirit writing, or other occult practices), Spellcraft +5, Stealth +16, Survival -1 (+1 to navigate Jungles of Mwangi Expanse, +1 to notice and follow tracks in Arctic environments), Use Magic Device +12; Racial Modifiers +2 Bluff, +2 Perception, +2 Sleight of Hand
Languages Common, Halfling, Hallit, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Shadowtongue, Shoanti, Skald, Tien, Undercommon, Varisian, Vudrani
SQ automatic writing (linguistics), consummate liar +5, halfling mesmerist, hypnotism (diplomacy), manifestation points, ability scores, phrenology (knowledge [arcana]), prognostication (sense motive), psychometry (appraise), read aura (perception), touch treatment 11/day (Greater)
Combat Gear cold iron repeating crossbow bolts (30), potion of cure serious wounds; Other Gear +1 burdenless glamered shadow slick leaf armor[ISWG], +1 mithral elder thing dart gun with 20 bolts, cestus[APG], charlatan's symbol, cloak of resistance +4, cups of rapport[ACG], eyes of the liar, false coin[OA], handy haversack, headband of alluring charisma +4, honeytongue elixir, knight's pennon of parley[APG], angel's trumpet, blue book[UE], book of letters[UE], fashionable accessories, fraudulent medium's kit[OA], harrow mat, masterwork thieves' tools, pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], pathfinder chronicles, volume 1, pathfinder chronicles, volume 11, pathfinder chronicles, volume 14, pathfinder chronicles, volume 2, pathfinder chronicles, volume 27, pathfinder chronicles, volume 44, poison in the water, sugar glass bottle[ACG], thieves' tool extenders, mithral, 2 pp, 5 gp
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Special Abilities
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+3 to the bonus gained from your seance boon (but not shared seance boons) Increase the number of mesmerist tricks the mesmerist can use per day by 1/3.
Automatic Writing (Linguistics, 1/week) You can produce mysterious writing that pertains to the immediate future.
Consummate Liar +5 Counts as Combat Expertise for some feats.
Fearless +2 bonus to save vs. fear (stacks with halfling luck).
Greater Spell Focus (Enchantment) +1 to the Save DC of spells from one school.
Hypnotic Stare (-3, 30 feet) (Su) As swift action, target creature takes penalty on Will saves.
Hypnotism (Diplomacy, 1/day) Use power of suggestion to alter subject's mind or recover memories.
Manifestation Points, Ability Scores ([none], 25/psychic duel) Every combatant begins a psychic duel with a pool of MP equal to the combatant’s HD + the average of her Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. As a free action, a combatant can draw from this pool to generate MP. A combatant who draws any numb
Manifold Tricks (Su) You can have mulitple tricks implanted at once.
Mental Potency (+2) (Ex) Increase HD limit and total HD of enchantment or illusion spells by 1.
Mesmerist Tricks (200 feet, 16/day) (Su) Implant hypnotic bond with allies. granting edge vs. foes.
Painful Stare (+5 or +3d6+5, 1/round) (Su) As a free action, hyp. stare target takes extra precision dam from a hit.
Phrenology (Knowledge [Arcana], 1/day) Examine a creature's skull to learn it's psychological attributes.
Prognostication (Sense Motive, 1/day) You are skilled in means of folk divination.
Psychic Inception (Su) Hypnotic stare can affect creatures that are mindless or immune to mind-affecting effects.
Psychometry (Appraise, 1/day) Read the psychic impressions left on objects or in places.
Read Aura (Perception, 1/day) Read the psychic impressions left on objects or in places.
Spell Focus (Enchantment) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Susceptability (Su) Hyp. stare applies to Sense Motive vs. Bluff, reduces DC of Diplo & Intim checks vs. target.
Touch Treatment (Greater, 11/day) (Su) Remove certain conditions from creature touched.
Voice of the Sibyl Gain bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Perform (oratory) checks
Thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions?
If you have the deceitful feat and you want to lie to everyone, it seems a shame not to get a followup feat to cast spells undetected. Conceal spell (PFS), or the better feat cunning caster (if not PFS). It's probably better than another +1 to save DCs.
Placebo effect is an important spell for psychic spellcasters IMO and spite is one of the better tricks a mesmerist gets.
Where is an elder thing dart gun from? Can humanoids even use such a thing? IIRC Lovecraft's elder things at least had tentacles rather than hands.
The Elder Thing Dart Gun is from Emerald Spire.
"The dart gun functions as a hand crossbow that can hold 20 darts and automatically reloads between shots, allowing the wielder to make full attacks with it. It fires an additional shot each round as if its wielder possessed the Rapid Shot feat. It is an exotic weapon that elder things are proficient with."
I don't actually have that book. If it isn't something that I can actually use, it isn't critical to the build.
I will look up those 3 feats.
Ok, Placebo effect is a definite. Lying to allies for their own good is right in his wheel house.
The Spite spell is pretty good. But it only works with touch spells. I hadn't been planning to give him any touch spells. I will have to think about it.
I looked again at the wording of Conceal Spell and Cunning Caster. I'm not sure they work with or even needed with Psychic spells. They talk about hiding the verbal and somatic components, which psychic spells don't have. Since psychic spells don't have verbal or somatic components, can someone tell if you are casting them? I've only just started using psychic spells and this kind of thing hasn't come up before. What do you folks think?
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Ok, Placebo effect is a definite. Lying to allies for their own good is right in his wheel house.
The Spite spell is pretty good. But it only works with touch spells. I hadn't been planning to give him any touch spells. I will have to think about it.
I looked again at the wording of Conceal Spell and Cunning Caster. I'm not sure they work with or even needed with Psychic spells. They talk about hiding the verbal and somatic components, which psychic spells don't have. Since psychic spells don't have verbal or somatic components, can someone tell if you are casting them? I've only just started using psychic spells and this kind of thing hasn't come up before. What do you folks think?
Still useful, and in fact more useful for a psychic caster since they don't take the penalties associated with hiding verbal and somatic components. The feat lets you pass off the spell manifestations as something unrelated to spellcasting. Without it, you're still obviously casting a spell to an onlooker even if the spell has no components at all.
(Whether that should have been a feat instead of just something people can try to do is another matter entirely....)