Playing one for the first time, and looking for some general advice. Is there a guide posted? I found the summoner guide, but can't find one specifically for the synthesist.
I'm not sure it's worth a whole guide.
1) Read the FAQs https://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fz#v5748eaic9obe
2) Get Arcane Strike sooner than later
Optional
1) Try a reach build with slam or another big attack. The synthesist can't attack and cast on the same round. But if you play it like a reach cleric, then you can get some good casts in while grabbing AoOs.
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Zenith Games' guide to the builds has 3 different synthesist summoner builds listed, and their guide to the guides links to a synthesist summoner guide. I haven't read thru any of them and can't advise as to their quality.
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Depends on what kind of "guide" you are looking for. If you are looking for an optimization guide it's pretty straightforward. If you are looking for a guide to being a good party member, it's basically just the reverse of that.
1) Play a half-elf and take the alternate Favored Class Bonus of 1/4 point to the evolution pool. Dump your physical stats (except Strength, you want 13 so you can take Power Attack).
2) Maximize Charisma
3) Take 2 levels of Paladin
4) Take 1 level of Oracle of lore with the Sidestep Secret revelation (or other mystery with Cha-to-AC).
5) Take the Noble Scion of War feat.
6) Choose a Quadruped.
7) Important Evolutions: Pounce, flight, claws
8) Next evolutions: limbs, claws, improved natural attack, rend.
9) If you're at your max number of attacks, spend your evolution points on utility abilities.
Personally, I don't like playing with this kind of player, but if you're in a combat-heavy dungeon crawl it's pretty darn powerful.
Ok, you probably already noticed it's not the most popular archetype around. Make sure your GM is fine with adjudicating a lot of rules questions and the (sometimes) high damage output. Otherwise they can easily ruin your day with banishment / dismissal and decisions like "yes, you need a whole minute to renew your suit, so have fun with the midnight ambush" or "no, I don't like these FAQ, they are not in the book anyway".
Further make sure the player(s) with a regular martial (fighter, barbarian etc.) know that you will join them in melee, with your own set of special powers. Otherwise they might get irritated when the caster joins melee and sometimes hogs spotlight there.
Just throwing this out there, but it's pretty messed up for someone to look for optimization guides for a class that's nearly impossible NOT to munchkin.
It's people like you that are the reason most GMs ban this class.
Nice assumptions there. It's a pretty complex class overall, as I almost never play a caster. It's a group of 7, and everyone else is very well optimized.
We're allowed to play anything on the SRD, and I wanted to play a summoner since it's a little out of my comfort zone, but didn't want the pet taking up extra actions to slow the game down in the large group, hence the synthesist.
I was simply looking for some guidance with it. The FAQ and guides posted help a lot, so thank you to those that actually helped.
Unless you are using point buy or low stat point generation, the synthesist is weaker than the core summoner. You lose a lot in action economy. There are some advantages, like not having to split magic items, but it mostly just boils down to the synthesist being harder to kill.
I decided to play a Druid instead. Another class I've never played.
Depends on what kind of "guide" you are looking for. If you are looking for an optimization guide it's pretty straightforward. If you are looking for a guide to being a good party member, it's basically just the reverse of that.
1) Play a half-elf and take the alternate Favored Class Bonus of 1/4 point to the evolution pool. Dump your physical stats (except Strength, you want 13 so you can take Power Attack).
Dumping Con is also a bad idea. You need enough Con to avoid losing Con when your eidolon suit is dismissed or banished, as that can easily prove fatal.