Are Psychics and Clerics the only 9th level casters without access to immortality? Either not ageing, or automatically coming back to life. Seems like all the rest can get it in one way or another.
Wizards get it as a 20th level discovery.
Sorcerers can do it via the Imperious bloodline. Maybe Astral too if you just sit in a timeless demiplane (that you don't take any of the retroactive ageing penalties from if you do leave) with your mega-astral-projection.
Arcanists get it by taking the Blood Arcanist archetype and grabbing the same bloodlines Sorcerer has.
Witches have Forced Reincarnation that they can just use on themselves.
Druids can take the Reincarnated Druid archetype and effectively live forever starting at level 5.
Multiple Oracle mysteries grant it.
Shamans get it through the Heavens spirit.
The ones with automatic resurrection/reincarnation don't care about ageing, and the ones who don't age can be brought back if an accident happens with things like contingency or clones.
Clerics are all about serving their god, so I can see why they wouldn't really care about immortality, because dying lets them go live with their favorite being in the universe.
Psychics are pretty much left out, except for one subpar and mostly non-functional option. The "Artificial Ascension" Psi-Tech Discovery.
The smaller problem is that it requires access to robots (not constructs, specifically robots). Really only found in one specific part of Golarion, and even then not exactly common.
The middle problem is that if the robot body dies, thats it. "You cannot be brought back to life by any means". So you don't age, but you're never coming back if you do die.
The biggest issue is that you have to be 20th level to select it. Psi-Tech Discoveries can be taken in the place of either a feat or a Phrenic Amplification. Psychics get their last Phrenic Amplification at 19th, and they don't get a feat at 20th, so you can't take it anyway even if it was worth it, which it really isn't in comparison with the other classes.
Did I miss something or is that really Psychic's only in-class option?
The occult classes didn't get a long time to get extra options. But I think Major Mind Swap gets the job done.
I'd also expect Wish to be adequate to prevent yourself from aging. Wishing for eternal youth is pretty iconic.
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I dunno about Psychics, but high level Clerics get to spend an eternity with their deity - is that not the best kind of immortality?
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I dunno about Psychics, but high level Clerics get to spend an eternity with their deity - is that not the best kind of immortality?
You'd think so, but when your deity spends half their time watching replays of the last crusade with that annoying Iomedae character, hasn't updated their look in a thousand years, isn't listening to you anymore and then some adventurer summons you just as you were about to get some quality time in it just doesn't look so good.
I feel like Wish and it's equivalents would cover immortality, but in the Golarion setting even very high level casters go to very extensive means to not die of old age.
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Psychic gets Major Mind Swap. Just steal a new body every half century or so, or steal the body of something functionally immortal. Psychic 18/Mesmerist 2 is a notorious build that can become the Tarrasque.
Captain Ginyu I choose you.
More seriously the major mind swap specifies the target has to be of the same race so that does cut down the options quite a bit and if they make their save/have some other form of mental projection it could end quite badly for you. Especially if its not a my mind -> your body powers as you could find yourself facing something in your body that's quite able and willing to kill you as their abilities will now make your body immortal anyway or just swap back with their own casting.
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Psychic gets Major Mind Swap. Just steal a new body every half century or so, or steal the body of something functionally immortal. Psychic 18/Mesmerist 2 is a notorious build that can become the Tarrasque.Captain Ginyu I choose you.
More seriously the major mind swap specifies the target has to be of the same race so that does cut down the options quite a bit and if they make their save/have some other form of mental projection it could end quite badly for you. Especially if its not a my mind -> your body powers as you could find yourself facing something in your body that's quite able and willing to kill you as their abilities will now make your body immortal anyway or just swap back with their own casting.
You're talking about one of the most brilliant minds on Galorian. An at least 18th level psychic that is approaching Venerable age. Also one evil enough to sacrifice another's life to extend their own. I certainly think that such a person would at least spend a few days to consider exactly who would be the perfect victim. Someone young, inexperienced, low willed, and nobody will miss.
Picking from your own race isn't much of a limitation, unless you come from some extremely obscure race. If that really bothers you pay for a wish. Or get yourself reincarnated. Or retrain two feats so you count as a human and then the race you want to be.
I was pointing that out more in relation to the become a Tarrasque comment. If you can become Tarrasque enough to steal the body of a Tarrasque you wouldn't need too steal it.
I assume its more young, naive and depending on if you keep your powers or get theirs possibly with no power as well. Rather like that horror moviea about a black voodo witch and her brother stealing the bodies of two young white children (who were then hung by their father) to extend their life and get wealth/power. I think it was called skeleton key but I'm not sure only watched it once as I prefer happier endings in my movies.
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I didn't notice the race restriction. Goes to show you should check theoretical optimization builds you find posted.
Still, Psychic does have a route to immortality. As for Cleric, avoiding death forever kinda seems opposite their entire thing. How does one get powers from a god then work to avoid ever meeting that god?
Especially a god of death/the afterlife. Though I suppose with planeshift and the like you could stop in for tea every tuesday as presumably they have a "realm" somewhere in the multiverse.
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As for Cleric, avoiding death forever kinda seems opposite their entire thing. How does one get powers from a god then work to avoid ever meeting that god?
"When She wants me, She always knows where to find me. Until then, I've got Her work to do."
Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.
The mind swap target doesn’t have to be weak willed. You just have to knock them out first.
I feel like Wish and it's equivalents would cover immortality, but in the Golarion setting even very high level casters go to very extensive means to not die of old age.
Too strong for wish, at least without side effects. It might serve as a means to get by until a more permanent solution can be found, though.
Edit: Then again, you could wish yourself a casting of cyclic reincarnation.... Bit of an "oops" there.
Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.The mind swap target doesn’t have to be weak willed. You just have to knock them out first.
Doesn't matter. The target still gets a Will save.
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I feel like Wish and it's equivalents would cover immortality, but in the Golarion setting even very high level casters go to very extensive means to not die of old age.Too strong for wish, at least without side effects. It might serve as a means to get by until a more permanent solution can be found, though.
Edit: Then again, you could wish yourself a casting of cyclic reincarnation.... Bit of an "oops" there.
I don't think so, you'd want to word it carefully but there are several similar level immortal abilitites.
At the least, I'd expect Wish to be able to make you young again, so you could age normally and do it again some day. But eternal youth is just so iconic, and it's so unlikely to effect a game mechanically, that I couldn't see a GM saying no to it.
I don't see a GM saying no to it...but I do see them getting a bit malicious and twisting the 'eternal youth' to being that of say...eternally 2 yrs old?
I don't see a GM saying no to it...but I do see them getting a bit malicious and twisting the 'eternal youth' to being that of say...eternally 2 yrs old?
Avoid using the Jerkass Genie as your wish source.
But yeah, it could happen anyway if the GM decides the effect is too powerful for the scope of a wish. Though I'd be kind and at least let them be 6 or 7. : D
Ćlerics can become liches, which would be very fitting for any cleric of a god of death as long as that god of death is not the "cycle of life and death is a good thing" kind of god.
A decent subset of Evil deities of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting would approve of Lichdom for their Clerics, or at least the ones they see as being deserving of such life extension.