I believe that it's definitely a cool option, but only if you want to specifically be ALL about magic, and don't care about optimization.
The likelihood of using all those spell slots in a day is extremely low. There are also staves and scrolls that can effectively get you those spell slots without taking up character build resources.
The two things that make this type of build difficult for me to recommend is 1. Ability score dependency and 2. Skill increase dependency.
If you could get all the casting based off of one stat, that'd be excellent because you can use the same stat to land offensive and counteract checks. When you have low casting stats for your multiclass spell slots you start to realize that your good low level spell options dry up quick. You start to do boring things like loading up on True Strikes (which a staff could do) or buffs (which you'll never get around to using all of, and could easily be replaced by wands).
The worst, though, is tying up all your skill increases. There are some absolutely cool things you can do with different skills. Bon mot, for example. Once you have Arcana, Religion, Occultism, and Nature covered (which is almost definitely going to overlap with another person in the party) basically the only thing you can do with the skill system is Recall Knowledge.
I do think going all in on multiclassing casters for bunches of spells can work for someone, which is a bit surprising giving how much you sacrifice to do so, but the player is going to have to be REALLY creative with their spell usage to keep up.
I don't think you can get all four traditions based on one ability score for a single character. However, you can get them based on two ability scores: bard base class (Polymath muse is the thematic choice and you can leverage Multitalented to pick up Esoteric Polymath*; occult, Cha), Oracle Dedication (divine, Cha), Witch Dedication (Wild patron; primal, Int), and Wizard Dedication (Arcane, Int). You could go bard, Oracle Dedication, Sorcerer Dedication (Elemental, Fey, or Nymph bloodline; primal, Cha), and Witch (Rune patron; arcane, Int) or Wizard Dedication to have 3 of 4 based on Cha, but you lose the ability to learn more primal spells. Alternately, oracle base class (divine, Cha), Sorcerer Dedication (Elemental, Fey, or Nymph bloodline; primal, Cha), Witch Dedication (Baba Yaga, Curse, Fate, or Night patron; occult, Int), Wizard Dedication (Arcane, Int).
Starting with a 14 Int and 16 Cha, you hit 20 Cha at 15th and 20 Int at 20th, while not completely dumping your other scores; you could start with 20 Cha for a 22 Cha at 20th if you choose an ancestry that boosts both Int and Cha. Both bard and oracle can wear light armor, as well.
*- allowing you to learn every arcane (wizard spellbook), occult (bard spellbook), and primal (familiar) spell you want/can afford, switching out your available spells for those traditions each day
I don't think you can get all four traditions based on one ability score for a single character. However, you can get them based on two ability scores: bard base class (Polymath muse is the thematic choice
Yes Bard(Cha-Occult)/Oracle(Cha-Divine)/Sorcerer(Cha - Any)/Witch (Int - Any)/ Wizard (Int-Arcane)/Cleric (Wis- Divine) Druid (Wis - Primal) means that you can do it fairly simply on any two of the casting ability scores.
You probably should seriously consider what you want from your base class because you aren't going to be able to spend anything in the way of feats on them.
If you're concerned about running out of spells as a caster and are lucky enough to play with Free Archetype you can get four spellcasting dedications to Master Spellcasting, and grab the Breadth feat for three of them. You can do three without Multitalented, the fourth you need it. That's either 42 or 50 extra spells per day at level 20.
It takes all your skill increases and every class feat after level 2, but it's doable. Should be extra fun with Flexible Casting.
Is this good? I have no idea. I just thought it was neat.
Were you factoring in Ancient Elf?
Inspiration struck. Bardic archmage:
Human/Half-Elf Herbalist Bard (Polymath muse), Free Archetype feats
10 Str, 14 Dex, 12 Con, 14 Int, 12 Wis, 16 Cha at 1st
1st- Otherworldly Magic*; Natural Medicine**; Versatile Performance***
2nd- Esoteric Polymath, Wizard Dedication; Recognize Spell
3rd- Fleet; Expert in Arcana
4th- Arcane School Spell, Basic Wizard Spellcasting; Arcane Sense
5th- Supernatural Charm; Expert in Nature; 12 Str, 16 Dex, 16 Int, 18 Cha
6th- Witch Dedication (Wild patron), Basic Witch Spellcasting; Magical Shorthand
7th- Toughness; Master in Arcana
8th- Arcane Breadth, Patron's Breadth; Quick Recognition
9th- Multitalented (Oracle Dedication); Master in Nature
10th- Basic Oracle Spellcasting, Mysterious Breadth; Consult the Spirits; 18 Dex, 18 Int, 14 Wis, 19 Cha
11th- Incredible Initiative; Expert in Religion
12th- Expert Wizard Spellcasting, Inspirational Focus; Assured Identification
13th- Otherworldly Acumen; Master in Religion
14th- Eclectic Polymath, Expert Witch Spellcasting; Influence Nature
15th- Incredible Investiture; Legendary in Arcana; 19 Dex, 14 Con, 19 Int, 20 Cha
16th- Effortless Concentration, Expert Oracle Spellcasting; Unified Theory
17th- Magic Rider; Legendary in Nature
18th- Master Witch Spellcasting, Master Wizard Spellcasting; skill feat
19th- Canny Acumen (Reflex); Legendary in Religion
20th- Master Oracle Spellcasting, Ultimate Polymath; Divine Guidance; 20 Dex, 16 Con, 20 Int, 16 Wis
Spells from all four traditions, plus innate spells (detect magic and another arcane cantrip, charm, and a 2nd level arcane spell of choice).
*- any arcane cantrip except detect magic
**- to give the character something to do with Nature apart from identifying spells and magic items
***- not earth-shattering, but allows the character to focus on just a Performance item bonus for multiple activities
It might be interesting to try to come up with something similar for Eldritch Archer, maybe using champion or ranger as the base class.
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It might be interesting to try to come up with something similar for Eldritch Archer, maybe using champion or ranger as the base class.
<Sigh>
Sometimes, I can't stop planning characters. Spoilered, since this is tangental to the thread:
Human Half-Elf Pilgrim Champion (Paladin) of Erastil, Free Archetype feats
12 Str, 18 Dex, 10 Con, 12 Int, 12 Wis, 14 Cha at 1st
1st- Otherworldly Magic*; Pilgrim's Token; Ranged Reprisal
2nd- Deity's Domain (Nature), Oracle Domain Dedication (Ancestors mystery); Experienced Tracker
3rd- Divine Ally (Steed); Fleet; Expert in Nature
4th- Basic Oracle Spellcasting, First Revelation; Express Rider
5th- Supernatural Charm*; Expert in Religion; 14 Str, 19 Dex, 12 Con, 16 Cha
6th- Basic Mysteries (Domain Acumen [Family]), Eldritch Archer Dedication; Exhort the Faithful
7th- Toughness; Master in Religion
8th- Magic Arrow**, Mysterious Breadth; Consult the Spirits
9th- Multitalented (Sorcerer Dedication [Elemental/Earth]); Expert in Survival
10th- Basic Sorcerer Spellcasting, Bloodline Breadth; Survey Wildlife; 20 Dex, 14 Con, 14 Wis, 18 Cha
11th- Incredible Initiative; Master in Survival
12th- Devoted Focus, Expert Oracle Spellcasting; Planar Survival
13th- Otherworldly Acumen*; Master in Nature
14th- Basic Blood Potency (Dangerous Sorcery), Expert Sorcerer Spellcasting; Influence Nature
15th- Incredible Investiture; Legendary in Religion; 16 Str, 21 Dex, 16 Wis, 19 Cha
16th- Advanced Blood Potency (Bespell Weapon), Advanced Deity's Domain (Nature); Divine Guidance
17th- Pinch Time*; Legendary in Nature
18th- Master Oracle Spellcasting, Master Sorcerer Spellcasting; skill feat
19th- Canny Acumen (Reflex); Legendary Survival
20th- Arrow of Death, Sacred Defender; Legendary Guide; 18 Str, 22 Dex, 18 Wis, 20 Cha
*- ending with an arcane cantrip of choice, charm, a 2nd level arcane spell of choice, and haste (self only) as innate spells
**- pick three out of antler arrow, sleep arrow, vine arrow, and viper arrow
If you are OK with fewer spells and are more concerned about the skill increases/skill feats, then starting with rogue as the base class and pursuing three traditions via dedications can still get you a decent selection of spells. The skill feats at each level and the skill increases at each level from 2nd on up give you some flexibility to do other stuff, instead of being entirely focused on gaining Legendary rank in three skills.
Note that the Eldritch Trickster racket doesn't actually help, since you would not have a valid archetype feat to take at 2nd with the Free Archetype variant: Eldritch Trickster grants a multiclass archetype dedication at level 1, but you need to take two additional archetype feats before you can select another dedication and multiclass archetypes don't have any archetype feats (other than the dedication feat) that can be taken at level 2.
Were you factoring in Ancient Elf?If you're concerned about running out of spells as a caster and are lucky enough to play with Free Archetype you can get four spellcasting dedications to Master Spellcasting, and grab the Breadth feat for three of them. You can do three without Multitalented, the fourth you need it. That's either 42 or 50 extra spells per day at level 20.
It takes all your skill increases and every class feat after level 2, but it's doable. Should be extra fun with Flexible Casting.
Is this good? I have no idea. I just thought it was neat.
Why would Multitalented or Ancient Elf matter for any purpose but order of feat acquisition? You would need 3+ feats in each of the classes you multiclass into in order to advance your spellcasting as far as possible anyway.
Multitalented is required to fit the 4th dedication with 3 Breadth feats. I think. This is what I got anyway.
2 - Dedication 1
4 - Basic X, Basic Spellcasting 1
6 - Dedication 2, Basic Spellcasting 2
8 - Breadth 1, Breadth 2
9 - Dedication 3
10 - Basic Spellcasting 3, Breadth 3
12 - Expert Spellcasting 1, Expert Spellcasting 2
14 - Dedication 4, Expert Spellcasting 3
16 - Basic Spellcasting 4, Expert Spellcasting 4
18 - Master Spellcasting 1, Master Spellcasting 2
20 - Master Spellcasting 3, Master Spellcasting 4
Yes, Multitalented effectively gives you an extra class feat that can only be used for an archetype dedication feat. Similar to how Natural Ambition gives you an extra class feat that can only be used for a level 1 class feat.
Also note that this will only work on a rogue base class if all four dedications are in different traditions, unless there is some other way to get Legendary in more than three skills (arcane - Arcana, divine - Religion, occult - Occultism, primal - Nature). Standard skill increases can be used to gain Legendary at 15th, 17th, and 19th.
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From a skill feats perspective, Occultism and Nature don't have any feats requiring Legendary proficiency, so those may be the two that are more easily dispensed with for dedications. Arcana is probably the most useful for Universal Theory; it would probably make the most sense to "double up" on arcane caster dedication feats.
From a character-building perspective, I'd avoid requiring more than two ability scores for spellcasting. Some possible combinations:
1) Bard base (occult, Cha) with cleric (divine, Wis), druid (primal, Wis), oracle (divine, Cha), and sorcerer (any [arcane], Cha) dedications;
2) Bard base (occult, Cha) with oracle (divine, Cha), sorcerer (any [arcane, divine, or primal], Cha), witch (any [arcane, divine, or primal], Int), and wizard (arcane, Int) dedications;
3) Cleric base (divine, Wis) with bard (occult, Cha), druid (primal, Wis), oracle (divine, Cha), and sorcerer (any, Cha) dedications (although you won't be able to select an arcane tradition with sorcerer and get Master Sorcerer Spellcasting);
4) Druid base (primal, Wis) with bard (occult, Cha), cleric (divine, Wis), oracle (divine, Cha), and sorcerer (any [arcane], Cha) dedications;
5) Oracle base (divine, Cha) with bard (occult, Cha), cleric (divine, Wis), druid (primal, Wis), and sorcerer (any, Cha) dedications (although you won't be able to select an arcane tradition with sorcerer and get Master Sorcerer Spellcasting);
6) Oracle base (divine, Cha) with bard (occult, Cha), sorcerer (any [arcane, occult, or primal], Cha), witch (any [arcane, occult, or primal], Int), and wizard (arcane, Int) dedications;
7) Sorcerer base (any [arcane], Cha) with bard (occult, Cha), cleric (divine, Wis), druid (primal, Wis), and oracle (divine, Cha) dedications;
8) Sorcerer base (any [primal], Cha) with bard (occult, Cha), oracle (divine, Cha), witch (any [arcane, divine, or occult], Int), and wizard (arcane, Int) dedications;
9) Witch base (any [primal], Int) with bard (occult, Cha), oracle (divine, Cha), sorcerer (any [arcane, divine, or occult], Cha), and wizard (arcane, Int) dedications;
10) Wizard base (arcane, Int) bard (occult, Cha), oracle (divine, Cha), sorcerer (any [divine, occult, or primal], Cha), and witch (any [divine, occult, or primal], Int) dedications.