I want to make a really heavily support focused character. Either a divine sorcerer or oracle to provide lots of buffs and healing. I also want to leverage the cha focus and take the marshal archetype. However, the 10 (or 20 on a crit) foot radius seems somewhat limiting, at least in my theorycrafting. Is there a way to increase the radius, is it not really a significant issue in actual play, or should I forgo it altogether?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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I went Marshal on my bard. The radius is rather small without the crit. I'm using it mostly for myself (melee bard) with Dirge of Doom for the party, so it's not a huge issue for me. But for a pure supporter, I doubt it's really worth it. The Marshal is meant to be at the Frontline themselves.
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You don't have to take the Aura feats. Focus on the other single action buffing feats, like Snap Out of It or Steel Yourself. Cadence Call gets really good when coupled with Tactical Cadence. Free quickened for your allies once per minute.
You don't have to take the Aura feats. Focus on the other single action buffing feats, like Snap Out of It or Steel Yourself. Cadence Call gets really good when coupled with Tactical Cadence. Free quickened for your allies once per minute.
The problem is that those feats only affect allies within your aura. If you're moving close enough to use them, you might as well have one of the aura feats - which are also your only chance of increasing the aura size.
You don't have to take the Aura feats. Focus on the other single action buffing feats, like Snap Out of It or Steel Yourself. Cadence Call gets really good when coupled with Tactical Cadence. Free quickened for your allies once per minute.The problem is that those feats only affect allies within your aura. If you're moving close enough to use them, you might as well have one of the aura feats - which are also your only chance of increasing the aura size.
You're right, I never noticed that. Boo!
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If you don't want to use bard, consider a plain cloistered cleric. They're going to have good enough cha to get your 10ft aura (you'll never reliably crit anyway) and are better than the oracle and divine sorc in general thanks to heal font and being able to prep any spell from the divine list as needed. Pick a deity with strong domains or spell options and you're set.
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Even the 10 ft. aura is fine. You don't have to be any closer than 15ft from the monster.
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Depending on your GM's definition of hostile action, a CG Cleric of Keyephys (for Invisibility) doing only buffing and healing should be fine with Sanctuary and Invisibility + Stealth. Champion MC Dedication for the reaction, Bard MC Dedication for Inspire Courage.
If you can grab some illusions to confound opponents without being hostile, even better. Or some Summoning to add targets.
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I want to make a really heavily support focused character. Either a divine sorcerer or oracle to provide lots of buffs and healing. I also want to leverage the cha focus and take the marshal archetype. However, the 10 (or 20 on a crit) foot radius seems somewhat limiting, at least in my theorycrafting. Is there a way to increase the radius, is it not really a significant issue in actual play, or should I forgo it altogether?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
The main problem with the Marshal is that it doesn't have the word Bard in the title. Much of what the bard has and is just better than what everyone else gets. Their aura is 60ft radius and they don't even have to roll. At least you don't have to spend upkeep actions maintaining yours, plus you can help Superstitious Barbarians.
Move your aura around. Consider that your maintenance/sustain cost. There are easy ways of getting free moves like independant mounts or Goblin Scuttle. A 10ft emanation is not so bad. A caster tends to have a bit more flexibility about where they stand. The marshall has some good powers but be selective.
I actually like the combination of Bless and Circle of Protection on my bard, in combination with Dirge of Doom. I've thought about Marshal, to replace the bless.
I'm not to concerned about being close to the martials, that is fine. With the extra buffs, the bard is just an extra target with a decent AC, and we have a Liberator in the party, preventing damage and the option to step away after a first attack. With the Guardian Deflection reaction from Swashbuckler, it's useful to be close to martials without another circumstance bonus.
To go for Marshal: @lvl10, max CHA, max Dipl, +2 skill item, standard DC is 27, you need to roll a 4 for a success, and a 14 for a crit. Not to bad.
Diplomacy is actually the main skill for my bard. I didn't go for Marshal, as the bless can do the same. Also, there isn't always time to spend the extra action on a double buff. CoP @lvl4 has the advantage of lasting an hour. Thinking of retraining into it, but that if more for RP purposes.
So it's certainly a very valid option, even for a bard who has lots of other buffs and action to perform.
If I were you I'd consider perhaps the fervor witch?
Charisma would be your secondary, but casters massively benefit from charisma in 2e, what with demoralize and bon mot.
With inspiring aura and stoke the heart, you could be just a huge asset to your group, constantly casting strong divine support spells as well as stoke the heart for up to +6 status bonus to damage.
This works better for smaller parties though. And it works even better if you have a champion, because as a caster, you want to be 15ft. away from the champion not 60ft. behind.