Author Topic: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder  (Read 8853 times)

Offline farkerhaiku

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Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« on: September 21, 2012, 07:55:16 PM »
Howdy!  I've got a character that I feel isn't living up to his potential, and in looking through my available spells list I'm just not seeing how I can improve drastically without advice.

World description:
The old gods are all but abandoned, and a new god is rising.  His religion is monotheistic.  Kind of an unimportant detail.  Wizardry and magic is ruled by a group that hunts down and judges practitioners who aren't part of the club.  Basically they have to agree to the rules and play nice. 

Character concept:
Son of a human wizard and elven sorceress, my father worked for the group that hunts down rogue magic users.  He was betrayed and ultimately both parents were slain by the group that he belonged to.
My character is a half-elven arcane sorceror/fighter (level 5/1) but I took a level of fighter at second level so I could enhance my ranged skills.  I was raised in the house of a fletcher, and my primary skill is craft - bow (every level a point goes into there).  Eventually I'm hoping to make some magic weapons and possibly go into the arcane archer prestige class, but I haven't really decided on that or just continuing on the sorcerer path.  The only magic item I have at the moment is a crown of the kobold king.   My spells are
1st
magic missile
sleep
identify (arcane bonus)
gravity bow
2nd
invisibility (arcane bonus)
acid arrow
scorching ray

I'd love ideas to make my character a more powerful one, but I'm pretty much completely over shadowed by the druid in the damage department  :???

Offline carnivore

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2012, 08:37:55 PM »
need more info....

What Feats do you have?
any other equipment?

can you redo the character .... while keeping the same goal(Wiz 4/Fighter 2 or Ranger 2/Wizard 4 , etc....)


 :D

Offline farkerhaiku

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2012, 08:49:50 PM »
need more info....

What Feats do you have?
any other equipment?

can you redo the character .... while keeping the same goal(Wiz 4/Fighter 2 or Ranger 2/Wizard 4 , etc....)


 :D

No other equipment, and no, I can't redo the character. I'm pretty much just trying to figure out where I should be heading.  Without my character sheet here, I'll try to list the feats off. 
Skill Focus (Craft - had to throw that in there for the character concept.
Point Blank Shot
Precise Shot
Can't remember the others.  I don't recall them being useful though.  Maybe something like Weapon Focus Bow?

I quickly found that without precise shot my character was almost never hitting except for crits :)
« Last Edit: September 21, 2012, 08:52:07 PM by farkerhaiku »

Offline carnivore

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2012, 09:00:20 PM »
what are your characters stats?

 :D

Offline farkerhaiku

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2012, 09:14:46 PM »
If I recall correctly, we used a 20 point buy system where all stats start at 10.  Half-Elf bonus went into Cha, so I started with a 20. 

21 cha (23 with the crown)
14 con
14 dex
14 int
10 wis
10 str

Offline carnivore

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #5 on: September 21, 2012, 10:07:07 PM »
why the High Cha if you are a Wizard ..... wouldnt it be better to have it in Intelligence instead


 :D

Offline farkerhaiku

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #6 on: September 21, 2012, 10:14:26 PM »
I'm a sorcerer....

Offline carnivore

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2012, 10:20:55 PM »
 :banghead .....sorry about that, its been a long day

what Bloodline do you have?

 :D

Offline farkerhaiku

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2012, 10:27:10 PM »
arcane, i thought it fitting given the character background

Offline carnivore

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2012, 10:46:20 PM »
Fey probably would have been better

 :D

Offline radionausea

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #10 on: September 22, 2012, 07:04:54 AM »
To make it easier for anyone else who wants to drop some advice I'll jot down all the information in one place rather than spread over loads of posts.

(click to show/hide)
Instead of Arcane Archer head into Eldritch Knight first, fewer lost caster levels and more feats.

Join a mage's guild (from Inner Sea Magic) at some point so that you can use the Esoteric Training ability and offset some lost caster levels.

Take Paragon Surge as one of your third level spells.

Your dexterity is really low for an archery based character so boost that as soon as you can. Bracers of Falcon's Aim from Ultimate Equipment cost 5,000gp and give you a constant Aspect of the Falcon spell (+1 competency to hit, +3 to perception, crit range with bows increases to 19-20/x3).

For feats, aside from that skill focus in craft (makes me cry) you're on the right path for archery anyway. You are missing one though.
1. Point Blank Shot
1bonus. Skill Focus
2fighter. Precise Shot
3. Possibly weapon focus
5.????

That 5 should be deadly aim. or rapid shot.  Your to-hit is already pretty low so either of them isn't ideal at the minute but eventually you'll want them so pick them up.  I'd say deadly aim.
Something inside me dies when I see the word fallacy applied to ideas held about roleplaying. And a small bit of vomit comes up when I see a character called a 'toon'.

Offline farkerhaiku

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #11 on: September 22, 2012, 03:09:00 PM »
Its possible i created the character wrong.  Is the half elf trait of adaptability (free skill focus feat) not automatic

Offline farkerhaiku

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #12 on: September 22, 2012, 03:11:15 PM »
Come to think of it, i think i took only one trait and that was it (everyone else has two, so i can convince the dm i need another i think)

Its entirely possible (likely) that i just went down the pathfinder half elf page on the srd and just took those two traits, bonus skill focus feat and keen instincts for the completely useless perception bonus (its become a joke that if  i'm rolling perception then I'll roll less than a five)

« Last Edit: September 22, 2012, 03:19:37 PM by farkerhaiku »

Offline Halinn

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2012, 03:04:58 AM »
Its entirely possible (likely) that i just went down the pathfinder half elf page on the srd and just took those two traits, bonus skill focus feat and keen instincts for the completely useless perception bonus (its become a joke that if  i'm rolling perception then I'll roll less than a five)
Those aren't traits, those are racial features...

Offline radionausea

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #14 on: September 23, 2012, 05:38:34 AM »
Yeah, you might have to have a word with your GM. Your character hasn't been built properly.

You get all of the traits listed under 'racial traits' so

(click to show/hide)

And then you get to choose two traits from here.  If you're not going to be using Faction rules then one of those traits is going to be Magical Lineage to improve your CL. The other one could be anything but I recommend Reactionary for +2 to initiative.

On initiative - you're an arcane blooded sorcerer: what is your arcane bond?  Make it a Greensting Scorpion or Deinonychus for another +4 to initiative.
Something inside me dies when I see the word fallacy applied to ideas held about roleplaying. And a small bit of vomit comes up when I see a character called a 'toon'.

Offline Halinn

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #15 on: September 23, 2012, 10:32:02 AM »
And then you get to choose two traits from here.  If you're not going to be using Faction rules then one of those traits is going to be Magical Lineage to improve your CL. The other one could be anything but I recommend Reactionary for +2 to initiative.
The CL bonus one is magical knack.
I generally suggest magical lineage and wayang spellhunter, for -2 to metamagic costs for a specific 3rd level or lower spell.

Offline radionausea

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #16 on: September 23, 2012, 04:50:49 PM »
Ah yeah, I was working from memory and in a rush (I forgot I was supposed to GM a game this afternoon...  :rolleyes). And since Inner Sea Magic came out I just don't bother with magical knack anymore. I'd much rather have +1 caster level for everything including spells per day and spells known from Esoteric Training.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2012, 04:52:36 PM by radionausea »
Something inside me dies when I see the word fallacy applied to ideas held about roleplaying. And a small bit of vomit comes up when I see a character called a 'toon'.

Offline Empirate

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #17 on: September 23, 2012, 06:32:14 PM »
Your spell selection is actually horrible for a Sorcerer - especially a Sorcerer that hopes to shoot his bow a lot. Your spells are highly redundant: Magic Missile, Scorching Ray, Acid Arrow basically all do the same thing, namely, mediocre single-target ranged damage. Which is what you're also accomplishing by shooting your bow a lot. Gravity Bow is a lame spell in its own right, giving a slight damage boost and nothing else. At least this one actually does something for your conceptually-chosen fighting style.

Now archery is powerful in PF, and getting a bit of Sorcerer into your build to make use of utility, multi-purpose, and buff spells (as well as all kinds of spells in wand and scroll form) is probably not a bad idea for a ranged warrior, howevermuch PF encourages single-classing it all the way. But in that case, you should work on your spell selection to give you a bit more versatility, as well as focusing it on much-needed buffs (seriously, two damage spells in 2nd level, but no Cat's Grace?).

If, on the other hand, your build is focused on a lot of spellcasting, your bow will become very underused very quickly anyway, and I'd recommend forgetting all about it ASAP. Take only Sorcerer levels from here on out, and try to diversify your spells known list as much as possible. Cover your bases. Get one good offensive, one good defensive, one good multipurpose/multi-threat spell, maybe one summons or one mobility option at each spell level if possible. Try to vary the kinds of offense and defense you get: one damaging single-target spell should suffice - how about locking down an area? How about debuffing the hell out of your opponents? Can you target different saves, should you be facing a mix of fighters, rogues, and spellcasters? Consider your defenses: if you can say "check" to miss chances, AC buffs, 'can't-touch-me'-buffs (like invisibility), defense vs. magical, mind-affecting etc. assaults to a reasonable degree, you're set. Finally, is there some utility option your character simply cannot be without? Teleporting, for instance, or creating matter from thin air, or reading minds, or something? Go ahead, grab a spell that does that.

Sorcerers live and die by their spell selection, have very few spells known available until they get to rather high level, and will need to cover a lot of bases if they're the primary arcanist in the party. If you're 'just a gish' (warrior type augmenting fighting capabilities with magic), you can forget about a lot of those bases - but you want to focus your selection on what you absolutely need, and nothing else. All the other nice and fine spells in this game? That's what wands and scrolls are for.

Offline Halinn

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Re: Help with sorcerer/fighter pathfinder
« Reply #18 on: September 23, 2012, 06:47:13 PM »
Ah yeah, I was working from memory and in a rush (I forgot I was supposed to GM a game this afternoon...  :rolleyes). And since Inner Sea Magic came out I just don't bother with magical knack anymore. I'd much rather have +1 caster level for everything including spells per day and spells known from Esoteric Training.
It stacks, but holy shit that's an awesome bonus. +3 CL for everything at 35 fame (HD capped, like the +1 at 5 fame). That's like a nonbroken loredrake bonus!