“So, there I was ..a bottle of single malt and a pocket of reagents. There might have been some..breakage.”
Bera Highpeak
Monday, March 28, 2022
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Toss a coin to your... PT 1(Jassa of Korvosa, PF 2e Rogue)
“Some folk pay a lot for things to be found, others pay for things to be lost. Me? I’m just the one that goes looking for things. Folk, monsters, treasure, whatever pays for my ale.. Toss me some coin or get out of my face.”
Jassa of Korvosa
Jassa is the first character I’ve done for Pathfinder 2e, so bear with me if I’m not too sure with the build combinations and there are some items that I’ll be using that aren’t yet legal for PFS play. So, be warned that this might change in time but don’t immediately go rushing off to use these items.
For those who play a certain game or seen a Netflix series, yes Jassa is based on the Witcher in a broad sense. I looked at the new edition to find things that I would like to do, given a lot of my favorite tactics in design were seriously crippled plus some skills have come off as hard to improve for a specific role. So, I had a few choices starting off for a Witcher-adjacent character: Fighter, Ranger and Rogue for the skill with weaponry, skill, and perception.
The trick from there is how to do the impose the Witcher’s spell like abilities. Dedication feats help a lot with that, as Witchers have some ability with magic and alchemy. You can mix and match, simply take crafting and Alchemical Crafting for the potions. For Jassa, I’ll be going with the Arcane Tattoo heritage feat line and Alchemist class dedication feats.
Jassa of Korvosa - created with Hero Lab®
Jassa of Korvosa
Human rogue 1
Common, NG, Medium, Human, Humanoid
Perception +5
Languages Common, Jotun, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +6, Arcana +5, Athletics +4, Crafting +5, Deception +4, Diplomacy +4, Intimidation +4, Legal Lore +5, Medicine +3, Occultism +5, Society +5, Stealth +6, Survival +3, Thievery +6, Warfare Lore +5
Str 12 (+1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 14 (+2), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 12 (+1)
Other Items leather, unarmored defense, dagger, rapier, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), climbing kit, flint and steel, rations (1 week)s (2), replacement picks thieves' toolss (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, thieves' tools, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (6 gp)
AC 17; Fort +5; Ref +8; Will +5
HP 18 Hero Points 1
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] dagger +6 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+3 piercing/slashing
Melee [1] rapier +6 (disarm, deadly d8, finesse), Damage 1d6+3 piercing
Ranged [1] dagger +6 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+1 piercing/slashing
Arcane Arcane Tattoos DC 11; Cantrips (1st) electric arc
Surprise Attack You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are flat-footed to you.
Feats Arcane Tattoos, Experienced Tracker, Streetwise, Twin Feint
Other Abilities bounty hunter, new thassilon, rogue's racket, sneak attack, swords, thief, vigilant seal champion
Notes: Now the this is Jassa at the start of her life as a bounty hunter/monster hunter/murder hobo (Er Pathfinder) with only a small touch of magic in her courtesy of arcane tattoos. Now since the DC is based off her Charisma, which is not epically awesome.
She is a two weapon fighting rogue mostly, using Twin Feint to get in a flat footed attack with her 2nd attack. So, she fairly often has a way to get in a sneak attack. With an okay survival, which will improve when she raises attributes @ 5th level as well as training as she levels, and streetwise she can find folks in the wild and the city. Very helpful for a bounty/monster hunter. I picked Vigilant Seal for some of the flavorful boons such as mentor, corruption resistance and such.
Jassa of Korvosa @4th - created with Hero Lab®
Jassa of Korvosa @4th
Female human rogue 4
Common, NG, Medium, Human, Humanoid
Perception +8
Languages Common, Jotun, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +9, Arcana +8, Athletics +7, Crafting +10, Deception +7, Diplomacy +7, Intimidation +7, Legal Lore +8, Medicine +6, Occultism +8, Society +8, Stealth +11, Survival +6, Thievery +11, Underworld Lore +8, Warfare Lore +8
Str 12 (+1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 14 (+2), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 12 (+1)
Other Items leather, unarmored defense, dagger, rapier, backpack, batches of infused reagent, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), climbing kit, flint and steel, rations (1 week)s (2), replacement picks thieves' toolss (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, thieves' tools, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (6 gp)
AC 20; Fort +8; Ref +11; Will +8
HP 48 Hero Points 1
Deny Advantage As someone who takes advantage of others’ defenses, you are careful not to leave such openings yourself. You aren’t flat-footed to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] dagger +9 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+3 piercing/slashing
Melee [1] rapier +9 (disarm, deadly d8, finesse), Damage 1d6+3 piercing
Ranged [1] dagger +9 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+1 piercing/slashing
Arcane Arcane Tattoos DC 11, attack +1; Cantrips (2nd) electric arc
Arcane Rogue Minor Magic DC 11, attack +1; Cantrips (2nd) produce flame, shield
Surprise Attack You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are flat-footed to you.
Feats Alchemical Crafting, Alchemist Dedication, Arcane Sense, Arcane Tattoos, Battle Medicine, Combat Climber, Experienced Tracker, Minor Magic, Streetwise, Trick Magic Item, Twin Feint
Other Abilities advanced alchemy, bounty hunter, infused reagents, new thassilon, rogue's racket, sneak attack, swords, thief, vigilant seal champion
Notes: Now at fourth level, Jassa has a bit more accesss due to Arcane Senses, Minor Magic and the Trick Magic Item feats. This gives her access to a few more minors spells, including a free detect magic that heightens with her Arcana skill. Added combat climber to aid in being not flat footed in another situation, trick magic item to use items in those ‘or else’ situations.
Jassa of Korvosa @7th - created with Hero Lab®
Jassa of Korvosa @7th
Female human rogue 7
Common, NG, Medium, Human, Humanoid
Perception +14
Languages Common, Jotun, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +15, Arcana +12, Athletics +12, Crafting +14 (+15 when crafting items of type Alchemy.), Deception +11, Diplomacy +11, Intimidation +11, Legal Lore +12, Medicine +10, Nature +10, Occultism +12, Society +12, Stealth +15, Survival +12, Thievery +17, Underworld Lore +12, Warfare Lore +12
Str 12 (+1), Dex 18 (+4), Con 14 (+2), Int 16 (+3), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 14 (+2)
Other Items leather, unarmored defense, dagger, rapier, backpack, batches of infused reagent, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), climbing kit, flint and steel, rations (1 week)s (2), replacement picks thieves' toolss (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, thieves' tools, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (6 gp)
AC 24; Fort +11; Ref +17; Will +12; +2 vs traps or devices you failed to disarm.
HP 78 Hero Points 1
Deny Advantage As someone who takes advantage of others’ defenses, you are careful not to leave such openings yourself. You aren’t flat-footed to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] dagger +15 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+6 piercing/slashing
Melee [1] rapier +15 (disarm, deadly d8, finesse), Damage 1d6+6 piercing
Ranged [1] dagger +15 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+3 piercing/slashing
Arcane Arcane Tattoos DC 12, attack +1; 1st (1 slots) hydraulic push Cantrips (4th) electric arc
Arcane Rogue Minor Magic DC 12, attack +1; Cantrips (4th) produce flame, shield
Surprise Attack You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are flat-footed to you.
Feats Alchemical Crafting, Alchemist Dedication, Arcane Sense, Arcane Tattoos, Battle Medicine, Cat Fall, Combat Climber, Experienced Tracker, Expert Alchemy, Forager, Magical Crafting, Minor Magic, Ornate Tattoo, Specialty Crafting, Streetwise, Trick Magic Item, Twin Feint, Wary Disarmament
Other Abilities advanced alchemy, bounty hunter, evasion, infused reagents, new thassilon, rogue's racket, sneak attack, swords, thief, vigilant seal champion, vigilant senses, weapon specialization, weapon tricks
Notes: Now at 7th level, she has a much better DC for her minor magic/tattoo spells due to an increased Cha (along with Dex, Int and Wis) and an extra spell courtesy of ornate tattoos. I went with Hydralic push over Gust of Wind as it gives some damage at least. Added Nature to her skills, so now only religion isn’t accessible for trick magic items. She also gained a bit more ability in crafting, adding craft magic item to come up with trinkets and minor magics that would be useful in a fight or afterwards.
Jassa of Korvosa
Jassa is the first character I’ve done for Pathfinder 2e, so bear with me if I’m not too sure with the build combinations and there are some items that I’ll be using that aren’t yet legal for PFS play. So, be warned that this might change in time but don’t immediately go rushing off to use these items.
For those who play a certain game or seen a Netflix series, yes Jassa is based on the Witcher in a broad sense. I looked at the new edition to find things that I would like to do, given a lot of my favorite tactics in design were seriously crippled plus some skills have come off as hard to improve for a specific role. So, I had a few choices starting off for a Witcher-adjacent character: Fighter, Ranger and Rogue for the skill with weaponry, skill, and perception.
The trick from there is how to do the impose the Witcher’s spell like abilities. Dedication feats help a lot with that, as Witchers have some ability with magic and alchemy. You can mix and match, simply take crafting and Alchemical Crafting for the potions. For Jassa, I’ll be going with the Arcane Tattoo heritage feat line and Alchemist class dedication feats.
Human rogue 1
Common, NG, Medium, Human, Humanoid
Perception +5
Languages Common, Jotun, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +6, Arcana +5, Athletics +4, Crafting +5, Deception +4, Diplomacy +4, Intimidation +4, Legal Lore +5, Medicine +3, Occultism +5, Society +5, Stealth +6, Survival +3, Thievery +6, Warfare Lore +5
Str 12 (+1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 14 (+2), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 12 (+1)
Other Items leather, unarmored defense, dagger, rapier, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), climbing kit, flint and steel, rations (1 week)s (2), replacement picks thieves' toolss (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, thieves' tools, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (6 gp)
AC 17; Fort +5; Ref +8; Will +5
HP 18 Hero Points 1
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] dagger +6 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+3 piercing/slashing
Melee [1] rapier +6 (disarm, deadly d8, finesse), Damage 1d6+3 piercing
Ranged [1] dagger +6 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+1 piercing/slashing
Arcane Arcane Tattoos DC 11; Cantrips (1st) electric arc
Surprise Attack You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are flat-footed to you.
Feats Arcane Tattoos, Experienced Tracker, Streetwise, Twin Feint
Other Abilities bounty hunter, new thassilon, rogue's racket, sneak attack, swords, thief, vigilant seal champion
Notes: Now the this is Jassa at the start of her life as a bounty hunter/monster hunter/murder hobo (Er Pathfinder) with only a small touch of magic in her courtesy of arcane tattoos. Now since the DC is based off her Charisma, which is not epically awesome.
She is a two weapon fighting rogue mostly, using Twin Feint to get in a flat footed attack with her 2nd attack. So, she fairly often has a way to get in a sneak attack. With an okay survival, which will improve when she raises attributes @ 5th level as well as training as she levels, and streetwise she can find folks in the wild and the city. Very helpful for a bounty/monster hunter. I picked Vigilant Seal for some of the flavorful boons such as mentor, corruption resistance and such.
Female human rogue 4
Common, NG, Medium, Human, Humanoid
Perception +8
Languages Common, Jotun, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +9, Arcana +8, Athletics +7, Crafting +10, Deception +7, Diplomacy +7, Intimidation +7, Legal Lore +8, Medicine +6, Occultism +8, Society +8, Stealth +11, Survival +6, Thievery +11, Underworld Lore +8, Warfare Lore +8
Str 12 (+1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 14 (+2), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 12 (+1)
Other Items leather, unarmored defense, dagger, rapier, backpack, batches of infused reagent, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), climbing kit, flint and steel, rations (1 week)s (2), replacement picks thieves' toolss (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, thieves' tools, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (6 gp)
AC 20; Fort +8; Ref +11; Will +8
HP 48 Hero Points 1
Deny Advantage As someone who takes advantage of others’ defenses, you are careful not to leave such openings yourself. You aren’t flat-footed to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] dagger +9 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+3 piercing/slashing
Melee [1] rapier +9 (disarm, deadly d8, finesse), Damage 1d6+3 piercing
Ranged [1] dagger +9 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+1 piercing/slashing
Arcane Arcane Tattoos DC 11, attack +1; Cantrips (2nd) electric arc
Arcane Rogue Minor Magic DC 11, attack +1; Cantrips (2nd) produce flame, shield
Surprise Attack You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are flat-footed to you.
Feats Alchemical Crafting, Alchemist Dedication, Arcane Sense, Arcane Tattoos, Battle Medicine, Combat Climber, Experienced Tracker, Minor Magic, Streetwise, Trick Magic Item, Twin Feint
Other Abilities advanced alchemy, bounty hunter, infused reagents, new thassilon, rogue's racket, sneak attack, swords, thief, vigilant seal champion
Notes: Now at fourth level, Jassa has a bit more accesss due to Arcane Senses, Minor Magic and the Trick Magic Item feats. This gives her access to a few more minors spells, including a free detect magic that heightens with her Arcana skill. Added combat climber to aid in being not flat footed in another situation, trick magic item to use items in those ‘or else’ situations.
Female human rogue 7
Common, NG, Medium, Human, Humanoid
Perception +14
Languages Common, Jotun, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +15, Arcana +12, Athletics +12, Crafting +14 (+15 when crafting items of type Alchemy.), Deception +11, Diplomacy +11, Intimidation +11, Legal Lore +12, Medicine +10, Nature +10, Occultism +12, Society +12, Stealth +15, Survival +12, Thievery +17, Underworld Lore +12, Warfare Lore +12
Str 12 (+1), Dex 18 (+4), Con 14 (+2), Int 16 (+3), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 14 (+2)
Other Items leather, unarmored defense, dagger, rapier, backpack, batches of infused reagent, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalks (10), climbing kit, flint and steel, rations (1 week)s (2), replacement picks thieves' toolss (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, soap, thieves' tools, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (6 gp)
AC 24; Fort +11; Ref +17; Will +12; +2 vs traps or devices you failed to disarm.
HP 78 Hero Points 1
Deny Advantage As someone who takes advantage of others’ defenses, you are careful not to leave such openings yourself. You aren’t flat-footed to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] dagger +15 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+6 piercing/slashing
Melee [1] rapier +15 (disarm, deadly d8, finesse), Damage 1d6+6 piercing
Ranged [1] dagger +15 (versatile S, agile, finesse, thrown 10 ft.), Damage 1d4+3 piercing/slashing
Arcane Arcane Tattoos DC 12, attack +1; 1st (1 slots) hydraulic push Cantrips (4th) electric arc
Arcane Rogue Minor Magic DC 12, attack +1; Cantrips (4th) produce flame, shield
Surprise Attack You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are flat-footed to you.
Feats Alchemical Crafting, Alchemist Dedication, Arcane Sense, Arcane Tattoos, Battle Medicine, Cat Fall, Combat Climber, Experienced Tracker, Expert Alchemy, Forager, Magical Crafting, Minor Magic, Ornate Tattoo, Specialty Crafting, Streetwise, Trick Magic Item, Twin Feint, Wary Disarmament
Other Abilities advanced alchemy, bounty hunter, evasion, infused reagents, new thassilon, rogue's racket, sneak attack, swords, thief, vigilant seal champion, vigilant senses, weapon specialization, weapon tricks
Notes: Now at 7th level, she has a much better DC for her minor magic/tattoo spells due to an increased Cha (along with Dex, Int and Wis) and an extra spell courtesy of ornate tattoos. I went with Hydralic push over Gust of Wind as it gives some damage at least. Added Nature to her skills, so now only religion isn’t accessible for trick magic items. She also gained a bit more ability in crafting, adding craft magic item to come up with trinkets and minor magics that would be useful in a fight or afterwards.
Monday, October 7, 2019
Ryla Silvermane - Item Mastery Feat Fighter
Now that my chronic laziness is casually explained away, let's start with an Item Mastery build. One of two that I've been playing with. Now in addition to this blog, I'm adding points to the other one I've been neglecting for literally years. I just finished a post on it to explain the mechanics of the feats behind the idea.
Essentially the character is able to tap into the ambient magics of her magic items and channel them into magical effects. I'll start with the fighter concept. Ryla Silvermane is a Silvermane and as a result has a few relevant points. She's a fighter focused around a bastard sword, her family are Varsian and based around Korvosa. While of the Silvermanes have little to no magic about them, Ryla is a bit different in that respect. Her ability to tap into ambient magical energy isn't quite that of a wizard or sorcerer but it is more than anyone in her family has ever had.
Here is the link to my other page: Andrew's PFS Campaign Log
Ryla Silvermane @1st level
Okay, here we have Ryla at the beginning. She's a first level fighter with the relic master archetype. As per her family tradition, she's trained in the bastard sword and favors the sword/shield combo when she can and is able to use the bastard sword one handed without penalty. She starts out with EWP (bastard sword), Fast Learner (because skills aren't a fighters strong suit), and Curative Mastery (not particularly useful but with improved item mastery @3rd, or a lucky item find, she can use it). Toss it for toughness or power attack if it doesn't fit is just as easy. Pragmatic activator let's her use Int for UMD and Arcane Scholar makes Spellcraft a class skill.
Ryla Silvermane
Human (Varisian) fighter (relic master) 1 (Weapon Master's Handbook 27)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +2
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 shield)
hp 14 (1d10+4)
Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +1
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee bastard sword +3 (1d10+2/19-20)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +1)
1/day—cure light wounds (item needs 1st lvl conjuration)
/day—breath of life (item needs 5th lvl conjuration) (DC 18), cure critical wounds (item needs 4th lvl conjuration), cure moderate wounds (item needs 2nd lvl conjuration), cure serious wounds (item needs 3rd lvl conjuration)
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Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Curative Mastery, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword), Fast Learner[ARG]
Traits arcane scholar, pragmatic activator
Skills Acrobatics -4 (-8 to jump), Heal +2, Perception +2, Spellcraft +6, Stealth -3, Use Magic Device +5
Languages Common, Shoanti, Varisian
Other Gear scale mail, heavy steel shield, bastard sword, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit[UE], pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 36 gp
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Special Abilities
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Curative Mastery (1/day) Use item with conjuration spell to cast cure spells. Item limits how high level.
Ryla Silvermane @ 4th level
Now at 4th level Ryla is starting to work out her abilities with item mastery feats. Most likely, barring finding an item with 1st or 2nd level conjuration (healing) spells, she'll be using Curative Mastery using her class feature of Improved Item Mastery to spontaneously heal. Using her Sleeves of Many Garments she will be able to vanish using Concealment Mastery.
Also in addition to power attack, she can use Caster's Champion to pull ambient energy from her allies' magic to boost her own attacks. Her shield have been exchanged for a +1 shield with a built in reliquary in preparation of getting Symbolic Mastery soon.
Ryla Silvermane
Female human (Varisian) fighter (relic master) 4 (Weapon Master's Handbook 27)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 21, touch 12, flat-footed 19 (+6 armor, +2 Dex, +3 shield)
hp 44 (4d10+16)
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +2 (+1 vs. fear)
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee mwk bastard sword +7 (1d10+2/19-20)
Ranged mwk composite longbow +7 (1d8+2/×3)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +4)
2/day—cure light wounds (item needs 1st lvl conjuration)
1/day—cure moderate wounds (item needs 2nd lvl conjuration), vanish[APG] (DC 14)
/day—breath of life (item needs 5th lvl conjuration) (DC 18), cure critical wounds (item needs 4th lvl conjuration), cure serious wounds (item needs 3rd lvl conjuration)
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 18
Feats Caster's Champion, Concealment Mastery, Curative Mastery, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword), Fast Learner[ARG], Power Attack
Traits arcane scholar, pragmatic activator
Skills Acrobatics +1 (-3 to jump), Heal +4, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Perception +5, Profession (scribe) +5, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +2, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Kelish, Shoanti, Varisian
SQ improved item mastery
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (3), potion of enlarge person (2); Other Gear mwk agile breastplate[APG], +1 holy reliquary heavy steel shield, mwk bastard sword, mwk composite longbow (+2 Str), handy haversack, ioun torch ioun stone[APG], sleeves of many garments[UE], traveler's any-tool[UE], bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit[UE], pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 259 gp, 5 sp
--------------------
Special Abilities
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Caster's Champion +2 (3/day) Swift action when within 30 ft. of arcane caster ally for damage bonus for 1 round.
Concealment Mastery (1/day) Use item with 1st level illusion spell to cast vanish. At high ranks, use 2nd to cast invisibility or undetectable alignment.
Curative Mastery (2/day) Use item with conjuration spell to cast cure spells. Item limits how high level.
Improved Item Mastery (1/day) (Su) Use item mastery feat with magic item without appropriate spell in construction requirements.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
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Ryla Silvermane @ 7th level
Now at 7th level, she's got a few more options. Extra use of Improved Item Mastery for one, Ability mastery to put a +2 to another stat thru her belt of giant strength (I suggest Con as it buffs her spell-like abilities from her various item masteries. She has the ability to use a holy symbol (like her shield) to throw off a melee touch or range touch of holy power (If you go with someone else besides Cayden, you might have other options)
Add in Combat Reflexes to puff up her AoOs and make her a bit more flexible.
Ryla Silvermane
Female human (Varisian) fighter (relic master) 7 (Weapon Master's Handbook 27)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +8
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Defense
--------------------
AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 20 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, +3 shield)
hp 81 (7d10+35)
Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +3 (+2 vs. fear)
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk bastard sword +9/+4 (1d10+9/19-20) or
symbolic bolt +8 touch (1d3+9 untyped)
Ranged mwk composite longbow +10/+5 (1d8+4/×3)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +7)
2/day—cure light wounds (item needs 1st lvl conjuration)
1/day—cure moderate wounds (item needs 2nd lvl conjuration), invisibility, undetectable alignment (DC 16), vanish[APG] (DC 15)
/day—breath of life (item needs 5th lvl conjuration) (DC 19), cure critical wounds (item needs 4th lvl conjuration), cure serious wounds (item needs 3rd lvl conjuration)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +7; CMB +8; CMD 22
Feats Ability Mastery, Caster's Champion, Combat Reflexes, Concealment Mastery, Curative Mastery, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword), Fast Learner[ARG], Power Attack, Symbolic Mastery
Traits arcane scholar, pragmatic activator
Skills Acrobatics +3, Heal +4, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge (engineering) +8, Linguistics +3, Perception +8, Profession (scribe) +6, Spellcraft +9, Stealth +7, Use Magic Device +12
Languages Common, Kelish, Osiriani, Shoanti, Varisian
SQ improved item mastery, relic channeler
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (3), potion of enlarge person (2); Other Gear +1 mithral agile breastplate[APG], +1 holy reliquary heavy steel shield, mwk bastard sword, mwk composite longbow (+2 Str), belt of giant strength +2, handy haversack, ioun torch ioun stone[APG], sleeves of many garments[UE], traveler's any-tool[UE], bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit[UE], pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 8,634 gp, 5 sp
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Special Abilities
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Ability Mastery (Constitution, 1/day) 10 minutes focus on worn slotted transmutation item, gain +2 to one ability score for 1 day.
Caster's Champion +2 (3/day) Swift action when within 30 ft. of arcane caster ally for damage bonus for 1 round.
Combat Reflexes (3 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Concealment Mastery (1/day) Use item with 1st level illusion spell to cast vanish. At high ranks, use 2nd to cast invisibility or undetectable alignment.
Curative Mastery (2/day) Use item with conjuration spell to cast cure spells. Item limits how high level.
Improved Item Mastery (2/day) (Su) Use item mastery feat with magic item without appropriate spell in construction requirements.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Relic Channeler (5 minutes/day) (Su) Improve potency of magic item, armor, shield, weapons +1, save DC +1, or CL +1.
Symbolic Mastery (Untyped Damage, 5/day) As a standard action, use holy symbol of same alignment deity to blast foes.
--------------------
Ryla Silvermane @ 12th level
Now arriving at Seeker level, she's got a few more item masteries. Flight for one, very helpful for a fighter. Now the bad guys have to worry about her coming to them. Adding in Barroom Brawler, means she can pick a combat feat for a short term. Combat Rhythm and Finishing Cascade allow her to come in and hit with with power attack without as much of a penalty (only -2 for the first shot in a round and -3 for the rest). With the right moment picked, and a caster in play she can hit for +17 damage and only a 2 point reduction for that first hit.
Then you got the Dispel mastery, which combined with the fact that she's a fighter with access to detect magic (courtesy of her discerning way finder) and has Spellcraft and Know (Arcana) she can do a few things most fighters can. The ability to dispel magic lets her help out with popping bad guys defensive spells, counter spelling (iffy but possible).
She's also got a respectable UMD and that could let her pop off a wand to bring the cleric back up in a fight or maybe fool some racial item. A lot of the item mastery items could be changed out, retrain them to something more suitable or go with other options. A few elemental evocation items would make Energy Mastery more useful, the right item makes Curse Mastery a lot more useful.
Ryla Silvermane
Female human (Varisian) fighter (relic master) 12 (Weapon Master's Handbook 27)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +13
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 28, touch 15, flat-footed 25 (+9 armor, +2 deflection, +3 Dex, +4 shield)
hp 148 (12d10+72)
Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +7 (+3 vs. fear)
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 glamered keen bastard sword +18/+13/+8 (1d10+6/17-20) or
symbolic bolt +17 touch (1d3+6 untyped)
Ranged +1 adaptive darkwood composite longbow +16/+11/+6 (1d8+6/×3)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +12)
4/day—cure light wounds (item needs 1st lvl conjuration)
2/day—cure moderate wounds (item needs 2nd lvl conjuration)
1/day—cure critical wounds (item needs 4th lvl conjuration), cure serious wounds (item needs 3rd lvl conjuration), dispel magic, fly, invisibility, undetectable alignment (DC 17), vanish[APG] (DC 16)
/day—breath of life (item needs 5th lvl conjuration) (DC 20)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 20, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +12; CMB +17; CMD 32
Feats Ability Mastery, Barroom Brawler[ACG], Caster's Champion, Combat Reflexes, Combat Rhythm, Concealment Mastery, Curative Mastery, Dispel Mastery, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword), Fast Learner[ARG], Finishing Cascade, Flight Mastery, Power Attack, Symbolic Mastery
Traits arcane scholar, pragmatic activator
Skills Acrobatics +5, Fly +4, Heal +6, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge (engineering) +8, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (nobility) +3, Knowledge (planes) +3, Knowledge (religion) +3, Linguistics +7, Perception +13, Profession (scribe) +6, Spellcraft +14, Stealth +9, Survival +1 (+3 to avoid becoming lost), Use Magic Device +17
Languages Common, Hallit, Kelish, Osiriani, Shoanti, Skald, Thassilonian, Tien, Varisian
SQ improved item mastery, relic channeler
Combat Gear cold iron durable arrow (50), potion of cure light wounds (3), potion of enlarge person (2); Other Gear +3 mithral agile breastplate[APG], +2 holy reliquary mithral heavy steel shield, +1 adaptive darkwood composite longbow (+2 Str), +1 glamered keen bastard sword, belt of physical might +4 (Str, Con), bookmark of deception[UE], cloak of resistance +2, daredevil boots[ARG], efficient quiver, first aid gloves, handy haversack, ioun torch ioun stone[APG], pathfinder's coin, ring of protection +2, sleeves of many garments[UE], traveler's any-tool[UE], vest of surgery[UE], wayfinder[ISWG], bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit[UE], pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 3,954 gp, 5 sp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Ability Mastery (Dexterity, 1/day) 10 minutes focus on worn slotted transmutation item, gain +2 to one ability score for 1 day.
Barroom Brawler (1/day) As mv act, gain combat feat that you meet prereqs for for 1 min.
Caster's Champion +4 (3/day) Swift action when within 30 ft. of arcane caster ally for damage bonus for 1 round.
Combat Reflexes (4 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Combat Rhythm Each damaging melee attack reduces total voluntary penalties by 1 for until next turn.
Concealment Mastery (1/day) Use item with 1st level illusion spell to cast vanish. At high ranks, use 2nd to cast invisibility or undetectable alignment.
Curative Mastery (4/day) Use item with conjuration spell to cast cure spells. Item limits how high level.
Dispel Mastery (1/day) dispel magic as a spell-like ability
Finishing Cascade First combination feat used in rnd inflicts double penalty.
Flight Mastery (1/day) fly as a spell-like ability
Improved Item Mastery (3/day) (Su) Use item mastery feat with magic item without appropriate spell in construction requirements.
Power Attack -4/+8 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Relic Channeler (6 minutes/day) (Su) Improve potency of magic item, armor, shield, weapons +1, save DC +1, or CL +1.
Symbolic Mastery (Untyped Damage, 8/day) As a standard action, use holy symbol of same alignment deity to blast foes.
--------------------
In conclusion, a lot of the choices in Item Mastery are conditionally useful. Of the ones I picked, Curative is the least useful. It's amazingly hard to find spells of the conjuration (healing) school to fully utilize it without resorting to Improved Item Mastery. Easily swapped out for another choice or trained out for something more useful.
I think the class could be fun though. :D
Monday, November 13, 2017
Poisoning (semi)-effectively in PFS (Part 1)
Disclaimer: The first part is my exploration into the ‘potential’ effectiveness of poison use in PFS play, I’ve been experimenting with a series of builds in a variety of classes to replace my nerfed Lore Warden/Trapsmith that just doesn’t work after the recent changes from the Adventurer’s Guide. (That is a rant for another day)
One of these is testing out a race boon I’ve had a while, the Vishkanya racial boon, given their naturally toxic nature. The fact my Lust Wizard/Enchanting Courtesan just about has access to poison use and several interesting options for playing with them also peaked my interest.
The Pros: You can really wreck a bad guy with a good selection of poisons! We are talking all sorts of things like attribute damage/drain, special conditions or even killing them! Poison Use gives you access to a part of those chronicles no one else uses.
The Cons: Poison ain’t cheap, from what I’ve seen and read they cost a lot and have no rhyme or rhythm to why they cost. You can get a poison with a crappy DC, for hundreds and even THOUSANDS of gold. In play/Roleplaying considerations, poison is bad mmmmkay? Some of your party members will not like it. It will definitely offend your foes possibly to the point of of deciding you got to die RIGHT NOW.
Tricks of the (nefarious) trade
- Abilities: these come in several sources: Poison Use (class or racial) is all but needed to be effective. (with a caveat, check the gear section) The big five classes for this are: Alchemist, Investigators, Ninja, Rogue and Stalker; Grippli, Nagaji and Vishkanja to varying levels of utility.
—Poison Use: Nearly a must have. Why? Without it you can’t buy or craft poisons. You have to rely either on the charity of your local party crafter (who has acces to them but has to pay) or what you find in mid-adventure (which is definitely hit or miss). Additionally you run the risk of poisoning yourself in the mix, which means that nice deadly poison is suddenly not so cool as you are trying to gulp down an antitoxin when Mr ‘Nat-1’ comes visiting. That is a 5% failure rate anytime you handle the envenomed weapon, so.... remember how many times you handle it before trying it without poison use. You have been warned.
— Racial Poison Abilities:
— Grippli: They have an alternate racial feature, toxin skin, which is accessible by them as an Alchemist Discovery via access to the Bogborn Alchemist as well as access to Black Marsh Spider venom (800 gp, adds in 1 rd of confusion to Dex damage. Alchemist fc bonus to toxic skin uses/day
— Nagaji: Alchemist class bonus to crafting poison, the ability (from a feat) to spit poison. The hit to Int makes it hard to go all Alchemist but the fc bonus might work if you’re splitting your levels among several classes. Only so-so in my opinion, but a Nagaji Rogue is all sorts of nasty built right.
— Vishkanya: Premiere poisoner race. Full stop. Racial poison use feature allows best flexibility in class choice; allowing access to Poison use even if your archetype trades it in. Keep in mind that most such archetypes also remove access to quicker application of poison. You got feats to supplement your poison for sleep toxin (A rare poison on the approved list), and with the arrival of Deadly Kiss/Vishkanya Perfume from the Villans codex you can change the toxin from injury to contact and inhaled. Several facials items add in even more fun. Keeping in mind, aside from a few items, your racial poison depends on your Con bonus.
- Class Abilities:
— Alchemist: Top tier poisoner. Period. You got archetype fun (Eldritch Poisoner), Discoveries and class abilities. Alchemists get poison use, ability to apply them quickly, and resistance/immunity to them. Discoveries merit a whole section to itself, check it out. Investigators get a bit of this with their access to Discoveries
— Rogues: (and Ninja, Slayers oh my..) Requires either access via talent or archetype mostly but they have some nice tricks too. Plus everyone of them have Sleight of hand as a class skill. The feats will be discussed in its sectio and so will the talents in theirs. Class abilities vary a bit but most of the fun requires follow up and supplements from feats, talents and gear. The Master Poisoner ability, from the Poisoner Rogue, will get special discussion later.
- Feats:
— Adder Strike/Pinpoint Poisoner (UC): Lets you apply a poison to two unarmed strike locations or two darts. Mostly of use to folks like monks and/or brawlers with flurry of blows.
— Brewmaster (Advanced Race Guide): Playing a dwarf, get a bonus to craft (alchemy) AND a bonus to ingested poison DCs.
— Daggermark Lore (Advanced Class Origins): Got a favored poison? Increase the number of saves by 1 and the DC to recognize/neutralize poison it by 5
— Deadly Kiss/Vishkanya Perfume (Villans Codex): lets you change your Vish’s poison type to contact and inhaled respectively.
— Deep Toxin (Dirty Tactics Toolbox): Using vital strike with a poisoned weapon, let’s you deliver a poison in a way that increase its time buy one and immediately onsets. The high to hit makes it useful for Slayers and strength based Alchemists and Rogues.
— Divine Fighting Style (Calistra, Weapon Master’s Handbook): Lets you apply a contact poison to a whip (and three doses at advanced) that works even if you don’t hurt the target.
— Insightful Deliver (Advanced Class Guide): add half your studied strike dice to the poison DC. Fairly high studied strike die requirement (4d6).
— Pernicious Stab (Giantslayer’s Handbook)/Treacherous Toxin (Dirty Tactics Toolbox): Both trade sneak attack for increases to poison DC, pernicious is 2d6/+1, while treacherous is 1d6/+1 BUT is capped to 15 + character level. Depending on your build and poison in hand utility will vary. Keep in mind this is AFTER all other DC bonuses are added in.
— Subtle Poisoner (Alchemy Manual): Draw and poison as part of the same action.
— Toxic Spell (Dirty Tactics Toolbox): Infuse a poison into a spell. You pick a single creature in the spell's AOE and it has to make a save vs the poison. Note: Uses the poison's DC not the spell, but you can do all sorts of nasty things. Add in a Chelish Death Apple to oh.. Cloud Kill and leave the caster in the middle of noxious toxic death. Additionally, depending on various abilities (class, racial, item based, ect) it adds the poison descriptor.
- Discoveries:
— Celestial Poisons. (Champions of Purity): Allows you to poison evil creatures that are normally immune to poisons. Evil outsiders, undead, ect. Critters that normally aren't effected who occasionally are built with less than sterling Fort saves. Besides who doesn't like poisoning something that doesn't expect it?
— Concentrate Poison (Advanced Player's Guide): Use two does of poison into one, increases frequency by 50% and the DC gains a +2 but it has to be used within an hour of creation.
— Deadly Excretions (Advanced Race Guide): Changes the Grippli's poison from dex to con damage, requires the toxic skin racial trait
— Malignant Poison (Dungeoneer's Handbook): A truly nasty discovery that increases the DC of the poison by 4, increases frequency by 2 increments. Changes it to an immediate onset rather than what it is normally. After minutes equal to Alchemist's levels, it reverts back. Higher level requirement than concentrate poison but it doesn't require multiple doses or lose the poison after the duration.
— Nostrum (Heroes of the High Court): Allows the creator of an infusion to put in an ingested poison into the infusion, and then delay onset up to a number of hours equal to his Int bonus at the time of discovery. Not particularly useful in PFS play but you never know..
— Poison Bomb
— Poisoned Explosive (Dirty Tactics Toolbox)
— Precise Poison (Inner Sea Monster Codex)
— Sticky Poison
— Toxic Skin (Advanced Race Guide) Basically giving the racial trait Toxic Skin to any Bogborn alchemist.
- Gear:
— Blackfinger Paste (Rival Guide): For those who want to use poison without poison use.
— Poison Diffuser (Alchemy Manual) Lets you do a time delay cloud of poison, anyone passing within 5 feet of the diffuser can suffer from a contact or ingested poison like it was an inhaled gas for 3 rounds after activation.
— Poison Lip Paint (Ultimate Intrigue) This one is pretty much self evident.
— Poison Tattoo (Advanced Rivals Guide): A temporary tattoo of henna like paste that adds a +2 DC of the next of Vishkhanya venom.
— Poisoning sheath (Ultimate Equipment): Full round to pour in the poison, then the first time you pull the blade in four hours it applies the poison.
— Snake-tongue concoction (Adventurer's Armory 2): Lets you spit saliva onto a blade as black adder venom or if you're a Vishkhanya it adds another daily use of your poison. For 50 gp a use, and it's an alchemical item, so you can craft them if you're an alchemist.
— Vector Ink (Alchemy Manual): Lets you literally give a poison letter to folks.
- Magic:
<To be added to later.. still evaluating this part>
- Prestige Classes:
— Assassin, Red Mantis Assassin and Daggermark poisoners: These types are out there, Limited one off boons. You might see them, enjoy playing with them.
— Enchanting Courtesan (Inner Sea Intrigue): Very nice caster with some neat tricks. Sleight/bluff to hide spells, the ability to change a poison's effect type, use contact poisons with a touch attack AND magic. Lots of fun let me tell you.
- Rogue Talents:
— Deadly Cocktail (Advanced Player's Guide) Apply two poisons at the same time. Either the same poison or two different poisons. Could make for a very interesting mix of fun.
— Knockout Queen (Adventurer's Guide) Limited uses of Drow Sleep poison. A very good knockout drug but one you don't see on the chronicles.
— Lasting Poison (Advanced Player's Guide): Add the number of times a poison application lasts on a weapon. For a -2 to DC you get to add your Dex bonus in uses before it wears off. That can EASILY make up for the -2 if you are a multiple attacking/sneak attacking/flatfooted attack. -2 to DC, +2 to DC for each application (say 3 or 4 attacks with TWF, you could end up with a +2 or 4 to DC easily.)
— Poison Bombs (Ultimate Combat): Useful for a ninja, not as much for a rogue given you need the Ki pool and the Smoke Bombs talent. Of course Eldritch Scoundrel can replace spell castings for ki Points. Still need smokebombs first.
— Poison Use (Blood of Shadows) The gateway talent to poison use.
— Swift Poison (Advanced Player's Guide) If you don't have other ways of reducing the actions require for applying poison, this can be useful.
- Skills
— Craft (Alchemy): Needed to craft most poisons as well as recognize most toxins out there. You can add a LOT of things to your craft roll for poison. HINT: If it doesn't explicitly state that your character class can USE Craft (Alchemy) to craft poisons (Like Alchemist, Poisoner Rogue, ect) expect table variance. Some folks are going to insist that its like the Alchemist's craft alchemical items and limited to those classes/archetypes that outright state they can.
— Heal: Knowing how to treat the poisons can be useful, .at least when your side is poisoned, and there are things out there that can help out. (Healers Kit and Antitoxin both add to the treatment roll btw)
— Knowledge (Nature): Identifying toxic critters in nature
— Sleight of Hand: Applying poison, hiding poisoned weapons. Fun toy out of Ultimate Intrigue, the wrist launcher requires this to discretely fire this at a potential victim (as well hide it from discovery).
One of these is testing out a race boon I’ve had a while, the Vishkanya racial boon, given their naturally toxic nature. The fact my Lust Wizard/Enchanting Courtesan just about has access to poison use and several interesting options for playing with them also peaked my interest.
The Pros: You can really wreck a bad guy with a good selection of poisons! We are talking all sorts of things like attribute damage/drain, special conditions or even killing them! Poison Use gives you access to a part of those chronicles no one else uses.
The Cons: Poison ain’t cheap, from what I’ve seen and read they cost a lot and have no rhyme or rhythm to why they cost. You can get a poison with a crappy DC, for hundreds and even THOUSANDS of gold. In play/Roleplaying considerations, poison is bad mmmmkay? Some of your party members will not like it. It will definitely offend your foes possibly to the point of of deciding you got to die RIGHT NOW.
Tricks of the (nefarious) trade
- Abilities: these come in several sources: Poison Use (class or racial) is all but needed to be effective. (with a caveat, check the gear section) The big five classes for this are: Alchemist, Investigators, Ninja, Rogue and Stalker; Grippli, Nagaji and Vishkanja to varying levels of utility.
—Poison Use: Nearly a must have. Why? Without it you can’t buy or craft poisons. You have to rely either on the charity of your local party crafter (who has acces to them but has to pay) or what you find in mid-adventure (which is definitely hit or miss). Additionally you run the risk of poisoning yourself in the mix, which means that nice deadly poison is suddenly not so cool as you are trying to gulp down an antitoxin when Mr ‘Nat-1’ comes visiting. That is a 5% failure rate anytime you handle the envenomed weapon, so.... remember how many times you handle it before trying it without poison use. You have been warned.
— Racial Poison Abilities:
— Grippli: They have an alternate racial feature, toxin skin, which is accessible by them as an Alchemist Discovery via access to the Bogborn Alchemist as well as access to Black Marsh Spider venom (800 gp, adds in 1 rd of confusion to Dex damage. Alchemist fc bonus to toxic skin uses/day
— Nagaji: Alchemist class bonus to crafting poison, the ability (from a feat) to spit poison. The hit to Int makes it hard to go all Alchemist but the fc bonus might work if you’re splitting your levels among several classes. Only so-so in my opinion, but a Nagaji Rogue is all sorts of nasty built right.
— Vishkanya: Premiere poisoner race. Full stop. Racial poison use feature allows best flexibility in class choice; allowing access to Poison use even if your archetype trades it in. Keep in mind that most such archetypes also remove access to quicker application of poison. You got feats to supplement your poison for sleep toxin (A rare poison on the approved list), and with the arrival of Deadly Kiss/Vishkanya Perfume from the Villans codex you can change the toxin from injury to contact and inhaled. Several facials items add in even more fun. Keeping in mind, aside from a few items, your racial poison depends on your Con bonus.
- Class Abilities:
— Alchemist: Top tier poisoner. Period. You got archetype fun (Eldritch Poisoner), Discoveries and class abilities. Alchemists get poison use, ability to apply them quickly, and resistance/immunity to them. Discoveries merit a whole section to itself, check it out. Investigators get a bit of this with their access to Discoveries
— Rogues: (and Ninja, Slayers oh my..) Requires either access via talent or archetype mostly but they have some nice tricks too. Plus everyone of them have Sleight of hand as a class skill. The feats will be discussed in its sectio and so will the talents in theirs. Class abilities vary a bit but most of the fun requires follow up and supplements from feats, talents and gear. The Master Poisoner ability, from the Poisoner Rogue, will get special discussion later.
- Feats:
— Adder Strike/Pinpoint Poisoner (UC): Lets you apply a poison to two unarmed strike locations or two darts. Mostly of use to folks like monks and/or brawlers with flurry of blows.
— Brewmaster (Advanced Race Guide): Playing a dwarf, get a bonus to craft (alchemy) AND a bonus to ingested poison DCs.
— Daggermark Lore (Advanced Class Origins): Got a favored poison? Increase the number of saves by 1 and the DC to recognize/neutralize poison it by 5
— Deadly Kiss/Vishkanya Perfume (Villans Codex): lets you change your Vish’s poison type to contact and inhaled respectively.
— Deep Toxin (Dirty Tactics Toolbox): Using vital strike with a poisoned weapon, let’s you deliver a poison in a way that increase its time buy one and immediately onsets. The high to hit makes it useful for Slayers and strength based Alchemists and Rogues.
— Divine Fighting Style (Calistra, Weapon Master’s Handbook): Lets you apply a contact poison to a whip (and three doses at advanced) that works even if you don’t hurt the target.
— Insightful Deliver (Advanced Class Guide): add half your studied strike dice to the poison DC. Fairly high studied strike die requirement (4d6).
— Pernicious Stab (Giantslayer’s Handbook)/Treacherous Toxin (Dirty Tactics Toolbox): Both trade sneak attack for increases to poison DC, pernicious is 2d6/+1, while treacherous is 1d6/+1 BUT is capped to 15 + character level. Depending on your build and poison in hand utility will vary. Keep in mind this is AFTER all other DC bonuses are added in.
— Subtle Poisoner (Alchemy Manual): Draw and poison as part of the same action.
— Toxic Spell (Dirty Tactics Toolbox): Infuse a poison into a spell. You pick a single creature in the spell's AOE and it has to make a save vs the poison. Note: Uses the poison's DC not the spell, but you can do all sorts of nasty things. Add in a Chelish Death Apple to oh.. Cloud Kill and leave the caster in the middle of noxious toxic death. Additionally, depending on various abilities (class, racial, item based, ect) it adds the poison descriptor.
- Discoveries:
— Celestial Poisons. (Champions of Purity): Allows you to poison evil creatures that are normally immune to poisons. Evil outsiders, undead, ect. Critters that normally aren't effected who occasionally are built with less than sterling Fort saves. Besides who doesn't like poisoning something that doesn't expect it?
— Concentrate Poison (Advanced Player's Guide): Use two does of poison into one, increases frequency by 50% and the DC gains a +2 but it has to be used within an hour of creation.
— Deadly Excretions (Advanced Race Guide): Changes the Grippli's poison from dex to con damage, requires the toxic skin racial trait
— Malignant Poison (Dungeoneer's Handbook): A truly nasty discovery that increases the DC of the poison by 4, increases frequency by 2 increments. Changes it to an immediate onset rather than what it is normally. After minutes equal to Alchemist's levels, it reverts back. Higher level requirement than concentrate poison but it doesn't require multiple doses or lose the poison after the duration.
— Nostrum (Heroes of the High Court): Allows the creator of an infusion to put in an ingested poison into the infusion, and then delay onset up to a number of hours equal to his Int bonus at the time of discovery. Not particularly useful in PFS play but you never know..
— Poison Bomb
— Poisoned Explosive (Dirty Tactics Toolbox)
— Precise Poison (Inner Sea Monster Codex)
— Sticky Poison
— Toxic Skin (Advanced Race Guide) Basically giving the racial trait Toxic Skin to any Bogborn alchemist.
- Gear:
— Blackfinger Paste (Rival Guide): For those who want to use poison without poison use.
— Poison Diffuser (Alchemy Manual) Lets you do a time delay cloud of poison, anyone passing within 5 feet of the diffuser can suffer from a contact or ingested poison like it was an inhaled gas for 3 rounds after activation.
— Poison Lip Paint (Ultimate Intrigue) This one is pretty much self evident.
— Poison Tattoo (Advanced Rivals Guide): A temporary tattoo of henna like paste that adds a +2 DC of the next of Vishkhanya venom.
— Poisoning sheath (Ultimate Equipment): Full round to pour in the poison, then the first time you pull the blade in four hours it applies the poison.
— Snake-tongue concoction (Adventurer's Armory 2): Lets you spit saliva onto a blade as black adder venom or if you're a Vishkhanya it adds another daily use of your poison. For 50 gp a use, and it's an alchemical item, so you can craft them if you're an alchemist.
— Vector Ink (Alchemy Manual): Lets you literally give a poison letter to folks.
- Magic:
<To be added to later.. still evaluating this part>
- Prestige Classes:
— Assassin, Red Mantis Assassin and Daggermark poisoners: These types are out there, Limited one off boons. You might see them, enjoy playing with them.
— Enchanting Courtesan (Inner Sea Intrigue): Very nice caster with some neat tricks. Sleight/bluff to hide spells, the ability to change a poison's effect type, use contact poisons with a touch attack AND magic. Lots of fun let me tell you.
- Rogue Talents:
— Deadly Cocktail (Advanced Player's Guide) Apply two poisons at the same time. Either the same poison or two different poisons. Could make for a very interesting mix of fun.
— Knockout Queen (Adventurer's Guide) Limited uses of Drow Sleep poison. A very good knockout drug but one you don't see on the chronicles.
— Lasting Poison (Advanced Player's Guide): Add the number of times a poison application lasts on a weapon. For a -2 to DC you get to add your Dex bonus in uses before it wears off. That can EASILY make up for the -2 if you are a multiple attacking/sneak attacking/flatfooted attack. -2 to DC, +2 to DC for each application (say 3 or 4 attacks with TWF, you could end up with a +2 or 4 to DC easily.)
— Poison Bombs (Ultimate Combat): Useful for a ninja, not as much for a rogue given you need the Ki pool and the Smoke Bombs talent. Of course Eldritch Scoundrel can replace spell castings for ki Points. Still need smokebombs first.
— Poison Use (Blood of Shadows) The gateway talent to poison use.
— Swift Poison (Advanced Player's Guide) If you don't have other ways of reducing the actions require for applying poison, this can be useful.
- Skills
— Craft (Alchemy): Needed to craft most poisons as well as recognize most toxins out there. You can add a LOT of things to your craft roll for poison. HINT: If it doesn't explicitly state that your character class can USE Craft (Alchemy) to craft poisons (Like Alchemist, Poisoner Rogue, ect) expect table variance. Some folks are going to insist that its like the Alchemist's craft alchemical items and limited to those classes/archetypes that outright state they can.
— Heal: Knowing how to treat the poisons can be useful, .at least when your side is poisoned, and there are things out there that can help out. (Healers Kit and Antitoxin both add to the treatment roll btw)
— Knowledge (Nature): Identifying toxic critters in nature
— Sleight of Hand: Applying poison, hiding poisoned weapons. Fun toy out of Ultimate Intrigue, the wrist launcher requires this to discretely fire this at a potential victim (as well hide it from discovery).
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Andrew's 'X' Items of underused utilty.
There is an amazing number of underutilized and underestimated items in Pathfinder that never hit the 'required' items list like Swarmbane scarab, alchemist's fire, and the obligatory 2 PP wand of cure light wounds.
Here are a few ideas and items. Some I'll make the comments on the ones that I have used or plan to use, but check out the others.
Armor Enchantments:
Going to keep these in the 'plus-less' enhancements of 5,000 gp or less (with two exceptions)
- Burdenless (Advanced Class Guide) Good for low strength PCs, adding it to my favorite set of 'caster armor' of Silken ceremonial armor.
- Comfort (Pathfinder Society Guide) Self -cleaning, endure element.. good things. Plus you can sleep in your armor with it.
- Corsair (Advanced Class Guide)
- Creeping (Ultimate Equipment)
- Cushioned (Armor Master's Handbook)
- Glamered (Core Rulebook)
Weapon Enchantments
- Concealed (Greater/Lesser, Spymaster's Handbook)
- Dry Load (Ammo, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment)
- Exclusionary (Advanced Class Guide)
- Glamered (Ultimate Equipment) .
- Impervious (Ultimate Equipment)
- Phantom (Ammo, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment)
- Resizing (Giant Hunter's Handbook)
- Shrinking (Melee Tactics Handbook)
- Sniping (Various, Range Tactics Toolbox)
- Spike Hilt (Dirt Tactics Toolbox)
- Undine Weaponshaft (Advance Player's Guide, Ultimate Equipment)
Magic Items
- Aegis of Recovery (Rival Guide)
- Aerialist's Rod (Villain Codex)
- Backbiter's focus (Harrow Handbook)
- Bladed belt (Ultimate Equipment)
- Blinkback belt (Ultimate Equipment)
- Metamagic Rods (Various, Ultimate Equipment, others)
- Metamagic Gems (Rival Guide)
- Riffle Scroll (Inner Sea Magic)
- Sash of the War Champion (Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Equipment)
- Tunic of careful casting (Ultimate Equipment)
Books
- Blue Book (Ultimate Equipment)
- Pathfinder Chronicles (Adventurer's Guide, Inner Sea World Guide)
- Pathfinder Chronicles (Selected volumes, Pathfinder Society Primer)
Adventuring Gear
- Burglar's torc (Dirty Tactics Toolbox) Hidden lockpicks and other tools.
-Thief's ring (Dungeoneer's Handbook) A great last backup that lets you pick manacles, while wearing them.
Alchemical Remedies
- Air Crystal (Pathfinder Society Field Guide)
- Alchemist's Kindness (Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Equipment)
- Blood-boiling Pill (Alchemy Manual)
- Blood-chilling Pill (Alchemy Manual)
- Elemental breath (Advanced Race Guide)
- Troll Stypic (Adventurer's Armory 2, Seeker of Secrets)
Alchemical Tools
- Alchemical Solvent (Advanced Player's Guide, Adventurer's Armory, Ultimate Equipment)
- Armor Ointment (Armor Ointment)
- Blackfinders Paste (Rival Guide)
- Efreeti Cord/Switch (Ultimate Intrigue)
- Troll Oil (Ultimate Equipment)
Alchemical Weapons
- Acid Neutralizer (Alchemy Manual)
- Artoku's Fire (Alchemy Manual)
- Blanch Bomb (Various, Alchemy Manual)
- Congealer Spray (Alchemy Manual)
- Fuse Grenade (Adventure's Armory, Ultimate Equipment)
- Ghast retch flask (Ultimate Equipment)
- Holy Weapon Balm (Advanced Class Guide)
- Liquid Blade (Ultimate Equipment)
- Pellet Grenade (Various, Ultimate Equipment)
- Slime Grenade (Alchemy Manual)
- Slime Slow (Demon Hunter's Handbook)
- Stormstone (Alchemy Manual)
- Tangleburn bag (Ultimate Equipment)
Tools
- Balancing Pole (Advanced Player's Guide, Adventurer's Armory, Ultimate Equipment)
- Bottled Sunlight (Undead Slayer's Handbook)
- Climber's Kit (?)
- Masterwork Tool (Core Book)
- Musical Instrument, Masterwork (Core Book)
- Musical Instrument, MW Silver (Occult Adventures)
- Spiritbane Spike (Undead Slayer's Handbook)
Here are a few ideas and items. Some I'll make the comments on the ones that I have used or plan to use, but check out the others.
Armor Enchantments:
Going to keep these in the 'plus-less' enhancements of 5,000 gp or less (with two exceptions)
- Burdenless (Advanced Class Guide) Good for low strength PCs, adding it to my favorite set of 'caster armor' of Silken ceremonial armor.
- Comfort (Pathfinder Society Guide) Self -cleaning, endure element.. good things. Plus you can sleep in your armor with it.
- Corsair (Advanced Class Guide)
- Creeping (Ultimate Equipment)
- Cushioned (Armor Master's Handbook)
- Glamered (Core Rulebook)
Weapon Enchantments
- Concealed (Greater/Lesser, Spymaster's Handbook)
- Dry Load (Ammo, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment)
- Exclusionary (Advanced Class Guide)
- Glamered (Ultimate Equipment) .
- Impervious (Ultimate Equipment)
- Phantom (Ammo, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment)
- Resizing (Giant Hunter's Handbook)
- Shrinking (Melee Tactics Handbook)
- Sniping (Various, Range Tactics Toolbox)
- Spike Hilt (Dirt Tactics Toolbox)
- Undine Weaponshaft (Advance Player's Guide, Ultimate Equipment)
Magic Items
- Aegis of Recovery (Rival Guide)
- Aerialist's Rod (Villain Codex)
- Backbiter's focus (Harrow Handbook)
- Bladed belt (Ultimate Equipment)
- Blinkback belt (Ultimate Equipment)
- Corset of Delicate Moves (Melee Tactics Toolbox)
- Gloves of Arcane Striking (Ultimate Equipment)
- Gutbite Belt (Inner Seas Gods)- Metamagic Rods (Various, Ultimate Equipment, others)
- Metamagic Gems (Rival Guide)
- Riffle Scroll (Inner Sea Magic)
- Sash of the War Champion (Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Equipment)
- Tunic of careful casting (Ultimate Equipment)
Books
- Blue Book (Ultimate Equipment)
- Pathfinder Chronicles (Adventurer's Guide, Inner Sea World Guide)
- Pathfinder Chronicles (Selected volumes, Pathfinder Society Primer)
Adventuring Gear
- Burglar's torc (Dirty Tactics Toolbox) Hidden lockpicks and other tools.
-Thief's ring (Dungeoneer's Handbook) A great last backup that lets you pick manacles, while wearing them.
Alchemical Remedies
- Air Crystal (Pathfinder Society Field Guide)
- Alchemist's Kindness (Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Equipment)
- Blood-boiling Pill (Alchemy Manual)
- Blood-chilling Pill (Alchemy Manual)
- Elemental breath (Advanced Race Guide)
- Troll Stypic (Adventurer's Armory 2, Seeker of Secrets)
Alchemical Tools
- Alchemical Solvent (Advanced Player's Guide, Adventurer's Armory, Ultimate Equipment)
- Armor Ointment (Armor Ointment)
- Blackfinders Paste (Rival Guide)
- Efreeti Cord/Switch (Ultimate Intrigue)
- Troll Oil (Ultimate Equipment)
Alchemical Weapons
- Acid Neutralizer (Alchemy Manual)
- Artoku's Fire (Alchemy Manual)
- Blanch Bomb (Various, Alchemy Manual)
- Congealer Spray (Alchemy Manual)
- Fuse Grenade (Adventure's Armory, Ultimate Equipment)
- Ghast retch flask (Ultimate Equipment)
- Holy Weapon Balm (Advanced Class Guide)
- Liquid Blade (Ultimate Equipment)
- Pellet Grenade (Various, Ultimate Equipment)
- Slime Grenade (Alchemy Manual)
- Slime Slow (Demon Hunter's Handbook)
- Stormstone (Alchemy Manual)
- Tangleburn bag (Ultimate Equipment)
Tools
- Balancing Pole (Advanced Player's Guide, Adventurer's Armory, Ultimate Equipment)
- Bottled Sunlight (Undead Slayer's Handbook)
- Climber's Kit (?)
- Masterwork Tool (Core Book)
- Musical Instrument, Masterwork (Core Book)
- Musical Instrument, MW Silver (Occult Adventures)
- Spiritbane Spike (Undead Slayer's Handbook)
Monday, August 14, 2017
The Magaambyan Intiate/Arcanist
The Magaambian Intiate/Arcanist.
With the recent release of the Adventurer’s Guide a few new archetypes and some old ones have been release. One of the new ones is the Maagambian Intiate, an Arcanist archetype that lets you do a lot of things only done by the Maagambian Arcanist prestige class. Halcyon Magic and a good aura like a cleric, utilize spell mastery in the same way as the class does, and the various types of spontaneous spell mastery and changing spells on the fly.
Additionally it lets you continue on these in the prestige class as well, though the mechanism for some are a bit diffent. The arcanist archetype gets to pick a Druidic spell of any level they can cast, including their current highest level whereas the prestige class can pick any spell 2 levels BELOW their highest level. A big and telling difference. One perk pointed out is that the prestige class allows the arcanist to continue accumulating points in their arcane reservoir. Which means they can use their exploits more as they level, though due to the archetype’s progression change they have fewer chances at a ‘free exploit’ as they level up than a normal arcanist.
Halcyon magic makes up for some of the ‘free spells’ you can progressing as an arcanist though they are of typically lower level and only one for the 2/level you get as an arcanist. You get access to Druid spells, which has some interesting implications. You can work in Summon Natures Ally, which gets you access to critters you might not see with Summon Monster, but it’s a bit of a trap as you’ll never get access to the fun critters like a cyclops till long after you get access to the ‘big bad’ list on Summon Monster. You can be the ‘back up’ healer guy with access to Cure l/m/s Wounds, Restoration, Slow/Neutralize Poison, Remove Disease and so on. Useful spells even if you’re just using access to them to access scrolls of them. If you partner with an animal companion user, you can throw out things like Magic Fang (and greater), Lockjaw and about a dozen or so ‘critter buffs’ that make Fido the wonder mutt suddenly become a much more scary puppy or add in other buffs that let you (or others) fill roles. Druid also have some fun spells for crowd control and debuffing like the Entangle spells (Sickening and Burning) and Faerie Fire and so on. Nasty stuff in the right environment.
Starting off..
Aishia @ 1st Level
Human (Garundi) arcanist (magaambyan initiate) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, Pathfinder RPG Adventurer's Guide 122)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +5
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Defense
--------------------
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 7 (1d6+1)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +2
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (1/4), consume spells
Arcanist (Magaambyan Initiate) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +5)
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 11
Feats Scholar[ISWG], Spell Mastery
Traits tomb raider, wise teacher
Skills Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9, Knowledge (nature) +10, Knowledge (planes) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Linguistics +8, Perception +5, Spellcraft +8
Languages Ancient Osiriani, Aquan, Auran, Common, Ignan, Osiriani, Terran
SQ halcyon spell lore
Other Gear 150 gp
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Special Abilities
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Arcane Reservoir +1 DC or CL (4/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +1 CL or DC while cast spell.
Consume Spells (1/day) (Su) As a move action, expend a spell slot to add its spell levels to arcane reservoir.
Halcyon Spell Lore (Su) Gain a variety of spells which can be cast by using points from arcane reservoir.
Scholar (Knowledge [arcana], Knowledge [nature]) +2 bonus on two Knowledge skills.
Spell Mastery (+4 Spells <see Notes>) You can prepare the chosen spells without a spellbook.
Notes: This is Aishia at the start of her journey. Spell Mastery can wait but you need at least one of these as well as scholar, so get it over with and start with them. Halcyon Spell Lore requires a ‘at that moment’ spending Of reservoir points to access those Druid spells but you have access to any one Druid spell of 1st level (or cantrip if you like) but it’s also on your SPELL list.. so you can use wands/scrolls. Hence the role of backup healer suddenly being yours.
Aishia @4th Level
Female human (Garundi) arcanist (magaambyan initiate) 4 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, Pathfinder RPG Adventurer's Guide 122)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +8
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Defense
--------------------
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 22 (4d6+4)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +4
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (2/7), arcanist exploit (dimensional slide[ACG]), consume spells
Arcanist (Magaambyan Initiate) Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +9)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 13
Feats Scholar[ISWG], Spell Mastery, Spell Mastery
Traits tomb raider, wise teacher
Skills Craft (alchemy) +9, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (planes) +12, Knowledge (religion) +9, Linguistics +12, Perception +8, Spellcraft +12, Survival +1, Use Magic Device +8
Languages Ancient Osiriani, Aquan, Auran, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Ignan, Kelish, Osiriani, Terran, Thassilonian
SQ halcyon spell lore
Other Gear 150 gp
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Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Reservoir +1 DC or CL (7/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +1 CL or DC while cast spell.
Consume Spells (1/day) (Su) As a move action, expend a spell slot to add its spell levels to arcane reservoir.
Dimensional Slide (40 feet) (Su) Use 1 reservoir as part of move/withdraw, move to spot in sight for only 5 ft movement & no AoO.
Halcyon Spell Lore (Su) Gain a variety of spells which can be cast by using points from arcane reservoir.
Scholar (Knowledge [arcana], Knowledge [nature]) +2 bonus on two Knowledge skills.
Spell Mastery (+10 Spells <see Notes>) You can prepare the chosen spells without a spellbook.
Notes: Now at 4th level, Aishia has a bit more to play with, 4 spells in Halcyon spell lore grants a bit more bite or utility depending on your picks, and access to an exploit. I went with dimensional slide but you could choose pretty much anything that you qualify at this point. Metamagic to gain access to those feats your missing out on by buying spell mastery a second time but you now how 10 spells you’ll never forgot and 15 to 20 with next levels bonus and regular feats (if you got for both)
In two levels, you’ll be eligible for the prestige class so pay attention to those skills and thanks to your jump to 20 Int you’ll add in skill points and a free spell. Pick it for the best effect because starting @ 7th you’ll be paying for you spells all the time.
Aishia @7th level
Female human (Garundi) arcanist (magaambyan initiate) 6/magaambyan arcanist 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, Pathfinder RPG Adventurer's Guide 118, 122)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +11
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Defense
--------------------
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 37 (7d6+7)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (4/10), arcanist exploit (dimensional slide[ACG]), consume spells
Arcanist (Magaambyan Initiate) Spells Prepared (CL 7th; concentration +12)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Scholar[ISWG], Spell Mastery x5
Traits tomb raider, wise teacher
Skills Craft (alchemy) +11, Diplomacy +5, Knowledge (arcana) +17, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +17, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (planes) +15, Knowledge (religion) +9, Linguistics +15, Perception +11, Spellcraft +15, Survival +4, Swim +0, Use Magic Device +11
Languages Ancient Osiriani, Aquan, Auran, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Ignan, Kelish, Osiriani, Terran, Thassilonian
SQ aura of good, halcyon spell lore
Other Gear arcanist starting spellbook, 150 gp
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Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Reservoir +1 DC or CL (10/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +1 CL or DC while cast spell.
Aura of Good (Ex) You emit an aura of good.
Consume Spells (1/day) (Su) As a move action, expend a spell slot to add its spell levels to arcane reservoir.
Dimensional Slide (60 feet) (Su) Use 1 reservoir as part of move/withdraw, move to spot in sight for only 5 ft movement & no AoO.
Halcyon Spell Lore (Su) Gain a variety of spells which can be cast by using points from arcane reservoir.
Scholar (Knowledge [arcana], Knowledge [nature]) +2 bonus on two Knowledge skills.
Spell Mastery (+25 Spells <see Notes>) You can prepare the chosen spells without a spellbook.
Now you’’re finally there.. Initiate no longer, you are a Magaambyan Arcanist (granted only 1st level). Building like I have, you now have Spell Master five times.. that’s 25 spells you don’t need a spell book for (more if you get a +2 Int headband by now!). You might have swapped out some of these for things like Extra Arcane Exploit, and/or other feats so actual experience will vary. Right now you got a potent mix of spells you can cast, with or without your spell book, and that ‘pool’ of spells will become more effective later on. Don't worry if you picked out the wrong spell for the Mastery list..next level you’ll be able to swap out spells as needed with a ritual and some time.
Aishia @ 12th level
Female human (Garundi) arcanist (magaambyan initiate) 6/magaambyan arcanist 6 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, Pathfinder RPG Adventurer's Guide 118, 122)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +16
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Defense
--------------------
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 62 (12d6+12)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +8
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (6/15), arcanist exploits (dimensional slide[ACG], potent magic[ACG]), consume spells
Magaambyan Arcanist Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +7)
Constant—protection from evil
Arcanist (Magaambyan Initiate) Spells Prepared (CL 12th; concentration +18)
3rd (5/day)—fly
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 22, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +6; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Extra Arcanist Exploit[ACG], Sacred Summons[UM], Scholar[ISWG], Spell Mastery, Spell Mastery, Spell Mastery, Spell Mastery, Spell Mastery
Traits tomb raider, wise teacher
Skills Craft (alchemy) +12, Diplomacy +10, Fly +11, Knowledge (arcana) +25, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +12, Knowledge (engineering) +11, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (history) +10, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge (nature) +25, Knowledge (nobility) +11, Knowledge (planes) +21, Knowledge (religion) +11, Linguistics +21, Perception +16, Spellcraft +21, Survival +4, Swim +0, Use Magic Device +16
Languages Ancient Osiriani, Aquan, Auran, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Dwarven, Elven, Hallit, Ignan, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Shoanti, Skald, Terran, Thassilonian, Tien, Varisian
SQ aura of good, halcyon spell lore, immediate spell mastery, intoned recollection, lasting goodness, spontaneous spell mastery, superior spell mastery
Other Gear arcanist starting spellbook, 150 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
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Arcane Reservoir +2 DC or CL (15/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +2 CL or DC while cast spell.
Aura of Good (Ex) You emit an aura of good.
Consume Spells (1/day) (Su) As a move action, expend a spell slot to add its spell levels to arcane reservoir.
Dimensional Slide (60 feet) (Su) Use 1 reservoir as part of move/withdraw, move to spot in sight for only 5 ft movement & no AoO.
Halcyon Spell Lore (Su) Gain a variety of spells which can be cast by using points from arcane reservoir.
Immediate Spell Mastery (1/day) (Sp) Cast any spell mastered, even if it wasn't prepared for the day.
Intoned Recollection (minute action, 6/day) (Ex) As listed action, fill open, unused spell slot from spellbook or Spell Mastery list.
Lasting Goodness (6 rounds) (Su) Extend duration of [good] spells unless duration is concentration, instant or permanent.
Sacred Summons Summon monsters whose alignment subtype matches yours as a standard action
Scholar (Knowledge [arcana], Knowledge [nature]) +2 bonus on two Knowledge skills.
Spell Mastery (+30 Spells <see Notes>) You can prepare the chosen spells without a spellbook.
Spontaneous Spell Mastery (1/day) (Ex) Swap out a prepared spell with a Mastered Spell.
Superior Spell Mastery (Ex) Spend 24 hours over 3 days studying to change mastered spells.
Notes: Now at the end of the journey to Seeker levels, we have our Arcanist standing around with the ability to swap out a spell 1/day with any other spell you got in mastery or simply to do it as a spontaneous action without even using a spell level. That is where these spells in mastery come into play. Essential ‘on the spur of the moments’ of spells like that one moment when a dismissal could come into play and turn the big bad’s summoned minion into a ‘but-bye’ moment, particularly adding in a +2 to DC with your improved DC from spending a point from your reservoir. I went with a few extra exploits rather than going to the huge list of spells my Transmuter/Arcanist has (48!!) since I wanted a bit more flexibility in other areas. Dimensional slide means getting out of a fix, Sacred Summons means you can call up all sorts of good aligned critters via summon monster as a standard action to leave in your place. Cause leaving a Celestial Rhino charging into the guy who just tried to bushwhack you is so much fun. (For you.. the bushwacker’s experience most likely will be very pointed..and chargey and smitey.. )
Final assessment: Halycon Spell Lore and Halycon Magic are slightly different. So, be aware.. the first requires reservoir points the second doesn’t (at least till we here otherwise). A good bet, depending on your experiences, might be to double up on your spells to let you slip in either or as needed.
The character can fill in a HUGE number of roles: Buffer, cause.. damn.. got a buddy you play with who has a companion.. Fido got nasty quick. Want to be the master of the wooden battle field, definitely can do that with the nastiness of entangle (normal, burning or sickening) with or without the addition of things like the reservoir point to bump up effect caster level or DC a point or two.
There all slots of tricks to be had with this and the build is wide open. Speaking from personal high level experience on my own 11th level transmuter/MA, the ability to go ‘I trade this out for that’ or ‘Suddenly! DISMISSAL’ can literally save the party’s lives. I have a mix of transmutations, situational utility spells, combat and healing spells in her pool of 48 spells that have been a bag of tricks that can turn the battle. Pit spells are a focus of hers, along with aqueous orb (for the ones who made their save vs my just cast pit spell. The access to healing spells (and eventual addition of the entire Good domain spells in later levels) is helpful when the healer just caught a behir on the chin. (Again.. actual circumstance) or Wind Wall when you’re surrounded by critters only Kyle Baird would pair together and half the party is confused and being eaten by a swarm.
Things to consider: Definitely want an intelligence boosting headband, the higher the better. Maybe add in wisdom and/or charisma, wisdom due to the fact you do NOT want a flexible caster like this killing the party (however your innate protection from evil is useful for this, I have sneaked at summoned swarms because of this) and charisma due to the fact that SOME exploits work off your charisma bonus. If you can afford it at higher levels a +2 to Int via a book could be useful (I got casters in the 11-13 range with more than enough gold for that)
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