Author Topic: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character  (Read 5044 times)

Offline Poodle lingerie

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What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« on: April 27, 2013, 09:34:38 AM »
Hello Everyone !

My friends and I have just moved from “3.75” to pathfinder and I decided to play a Kitsune wizard, I ended up getting some nice roles and so have 18int and 19cha … I can`t stand to see the cha go to waste, so I was hoping someone here could recommended a good build to combine int(prep)/cha(spon) casting classes.
I found one combination (Wizard 5/Incantatrix 3/Nar Demonbinder 1/UM 10/Incantatrix +1(4) With Practiced Spellcaster Nar Demonbinder ) from
‘Phoenix00`s The Ultimate Magus Handbook’ which looks cool.

I have also seen a few neat combinations with the KotW class on the old Min/Max forum, but I was wondering if anyone could suggest any other interesting ones they have seen or worked up, I was trying to give the character a fey* theme, and I don`t really want him to be evil, but I am happy to settle with infernal if the Nar Demonbinder ends up being the most optimal class.

I am the party's only meaningful spell caster, so I don`t think I will be able to take much advantage of any cooperative magic skills ):

I was also wondering if anyone knew why the author would choose to add the Incantatrix class in as opposed to just leaving it wizard/ Nar Demonbinder/ UM ?

All books after v 3.0 from the 3 major settings are acceptable.

Thanks for your time and any help.

*Some kind of Dream/Phantasmal Theme, Maybe shadow or madness? lol

I found Phoenix00`s guide here, I think it`s really very good lol
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872322/Preliminary_Ulti mate_Magus_Handbook

Offline Soft Insanity

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2013, 03:53:28 AM »
pathfinder and 3.0/3.5 are like water and oil.

Here's what you want to play and why:

Gnome (any subrace you wish, but i prefer tinker gnome from dragonlance)

Illusionist/shadowcraft mage (just look up the shadowcraft mage builds, they're all great)

Now, here's the deal: take the racial sub to get silent image as a cantrip.  Take the trait (if traits aren't allowed for free take the 2 traits feat) and select the magical training one that applies -1 to the metamagic cost to one spell (silent image of course).  Take arcane thesis, earth spell, etc with your extra feats that pathfinder has beyond what 3.5 does.

Why do this? Can you say infinite spells?  Cantrips can be cast all day every day, and all your spells will be cantrips.  This is an excellent option in 3.5, but with pathfinder cantrip rules, it becomes a joke of epic proportions.

Offline Amechra

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2013, 06:10:21 AM »
Soft Insanity, please don't completely ignore what the person actually requests to give your own opinion on what they should play. It is... impolite.

So, I take it you aren't going pure Pathfinder? Otherwise you wouldn't be asking about that particular build... He/She added on Incantatrix because it is very, very powerful, even with just a dip.
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate, there is glory for those that defy it."

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Offline Poodle lingerie

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2013, 12:24:39 PM »
Thank you for taking the time to make the suggestion Soft, unfortunately I am already locked into kitsune, which I am finding very enjoyable truth be told :) but that looks like a really neat build.

pathfinder and 3.0/3.5 are like water and oil.

My friend and I have been working on adding a template to my character, as well as re-writing the ultimate magus for pathfinder; we have noticed the incompatibilities lol

So, I take it you aren't going pure Pathfinder? Otherwise you wouldn't be asking about that particular build... He/She added on Incantatrix because it is very, very powerful, even with just a dip.

Haha no, not pure at all :p
I was wondering what makes it so much more powerful, is it the extra feats ?

Thank you both for the responses :)

Offline Amechra

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2013, 12:38:26 PM »
There are two versions of Incantatrix:

There's one where it gives you some bonus feats, and honestly isn't anything special.

Then there is the one in one of the Forgotten Realms books, which gives out free metamagic like candy. And lets you apply your metamagic to other people's spells. After they cast them.

The second one is the one usually discussed on optimization boards, since it's the cool one (and the absolutely broken one, but neither designation is mutually exclusive.)

What are you thinking of specializing in? Ultimate Magus is nifty, but I have to confess not having much experience playing with it.

As an interesting side-bit, one of the things dredged up recently is that Oriental Adventures lets Sorcerers cast off the Wu-Jen list, so if you have Oriental Adventures allowed (it is 3.0, but it had an update to 3.5 in one of the Dragon Mags, so I don't know where it stands in your allowed books listing), it definitely gives you some more versatility (Wu-Jen have some painfully awesome spells that don't show up on the Wizard list, so this is a definite step-up).

To clarify, the allowed settings are Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron, right? You aren't using Greyhawke (the implicit "basic" setting of 3.5) as one of them (or using Iron Kingdoms material, as cool as a lot of it is)?
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Offline Poodle lingerie

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2013, 01:00:04 PM »
Sorry! that was thick of me, I should have named the 3 setting; Greyhawke, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron.

Dragonlance is allowed, but Iron Kingdoms would probably not fly lol

To be honest, I have not thought much of specialising; I just can`t stand to see that charisma go to waste....
My wizards school is wind, however enchantment, illusion, and conjuration are the sorts of spells I think I will try and focus my character around - I feel they have a nice fay flavour lol.
I do plan on taking the improved familiar feet... otherwise the character is still very bare-bones
 
There are two versions of Incantatrix:

There's one where it gives you some bonus feats, and honestly isn't anything special.

Then there is the one in one of the Forgotten Realms books, which gives out free metamagic like candy. And lets you apply your metamagic to other people's spells. After they cast them.

The second one is the one usually discussed on optimization boards, since it's the cool one (and the absolutely broken one, but neither designation is mutually exclusive.)

Thank you very much for clearing that up! I had not realised there are two  :blush

Offline Amechra

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2013, 02:06:06 PM »
There is an adaptation for Shadowcraft Mage that allows Illusion-specialized Wizards to take it, even if they aren't gnomes; check with your group on that.

Otherwise, you might want to look into Shadow Weave stuff; the feats that boost it work quite well with the stuff you are looking at (oh, I'm sorry, your petty divinations ignore the fact that my illusions exist! Which is terrifying great if you are running with Shadow Conjuration, since you can make objects that are invisible to divinations.  :D)
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate, there is glory for those that defy it."

"Now that everyone's so happy, this is probably a good time to tell you I ate your parents."

Offline Soft Insanity

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2013, 06:02:14 AM »
Sorry! that was thick of me, I should have named the 3 setting; Greyhawke, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron.

Dragonlance is allowed, but Iron Kingdoms would probably not fly lol

To be honest, I have not thought much of specialising; I just can`t stand to see that charisma go to waste....
My wizards school is wind, however enchantment, illusion, and conjuration are the sorts of spells I think I will try and focus my character around - I feel they have a nice fay flavour lol.
I do plan on taking the improved familiar feet... otherwise the character is still very bare-bones

Any time Eberron is allowed, the go to class is artificer, for good reason.  Your high charisma would not go to waste since it boost your UMD.  That way you don't need to specialize in anything, and can be the best at everything.  If you allow 3rd party feats from pfsrd, artificer becomes an ultimate class as well.  I should warn you, if you play one, pathfinder's rule for item creation are not even close to 3.5.  Just use the 3.5 rules.  Pathfinder also has a 3rd party artificer class, but it's very tricky to play imho.

Artificer probably has a more powerful 'extra tails' option as well.  If you make slotless items with the custom item rules and refluff them as "extra tails".  You could probably also refluff some iounstone powers.  Literally anything is possible with artificer.

Offline Endarire

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2013, 03:06:03 AM »
Are these tails prehensile?  Can you wield a super-magic sword in X tails for a higher STR multiplier to damage?  Can you use a bunch of wands/staves/scrolls/other items at once because of your tails?

Offline Soft Insanity

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2013, 11:30:30 AM »
Are these tails prehensile?  Can you wield a super-magic sword in X tails for a higher STR multiplier to damage?  Can you use a bunch of wands/staves/scrolls/other items at once because of your tails?

I know pathfinder is big on kitsune having extra tails, to the extent of making a huge and pointless feat tree for it.  I'd much rather refluff something else to serve that function.  IRRC, the warforged artificer has some silly extra appendage for wands as it is.

Offline Amechra

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2013, 11:34:26 AM »
Out of curiosity, what is everyone else playing? What level of optimization is everyone.
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate, there is glory for those that defy it."

"Now that everyone's so happy, this is probably a good time to tell you I ate your parents."

Offline Poodle lingerie

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2013, 09:08:34 PM »
Sorry for the late reply ! uni sneak attacked me -_-

Thank you for all the responses -

The party has a Wizard (me), Barbarian, Bard, Monk, Ranger, Rogue - I would say the level of optimisation  in the party is average, and most of the party rolled well.

In the end (.. the end of last nights session) I decided to go straight wizard and changed my race to Samsaran,

I asked one of the players to make me a template to add to it to make it less ....... base racie .... Yeah.

I think I may give the character a sort of undead theme - a Samsarans that remembers more of it`s past lives than usually and wants to become a lich to break the cycle. - I have not re-arranged my roll`s yet ... But I will ...
 
I`ll leave the 18 in Int (20 now delicious, delicious Samsaran) - I know I have to move the 17 out of Cha

(..... I hate having a low cha, even tho it is so very useless (unless you are a Sorcerer/Bard))

So I guess I will put a 16 there then put my lowest roll`s (14/15) into Str/Con.

any advice on optimising a Samsaran wizard is welcomed -- Sorry and thank you again to everyone for taking time to give me advice  :blush   
 


     

Offline WarlockLord

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Re: What to do With my First Pathfinder Character
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2013, 09:33:17 PM »
If you absolutely must get something out of having a high cha you can be a necromancer wizard to command undead.