Hello, this is my first post and pathfinder campaign. I am able to use all Paizo printed material, and have created a race with 15 RP. We are allowed 2 traits and if a back story is written a bonus feat.
No stats have currently been rolled.
For traits: Charming & Magical Knack
Lurra (15 RP build)
In the Fierani forest a new race has emerged. Birthed from the magical collaboration of Elven spell casters with neighboring Andoran, treant and dryad in response to the demonic threat of Tanglebriar.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, –2 Strength: Lurra are nimble and possess unearthly beauty but are somewhat weak.
Humanoid (fey/elf subtype): Lurra count as both elves and fey for any effect related to race. 2
Medium: Lurra are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Lurra have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Lurra can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Spell-Like Ability: Lurra can use entangle once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the Lurra's class level).
Stalker: Perception and Stealth are always class skills for Lurra.
Elven Immunities: Lurra are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects.
Bond to the Land : Lurra gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC when in a specific terrain type selected from the ranger's list of favored terrains. This choice is made at character creation, and cannot be changed.
Hatred: Lurra gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against outsiders of the evil and chaotic subtype because of their special training against these hated foes.
Object of Desire: Add +1 to their caster level when casting charm person and charm monster.
Seducer: Lurra add +1 to the saving throw DCs for their spells and spell-like abilities of the enchantment school. In addition, members of this race with a Wisdom score of 15 or higher may use charm person once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level is equal to character level).
Weapon Familiarity: Lurra are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Nimble Attacks: Lurra receive Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat.
Languages: Lurra begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Lurra with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Celestial, Draconic, Elven and Treant.
We are running rappan athuk and starting at level two which I would like in paladin with the divine hunter archtype. Next the six levels of sorcerer and maybe a flavor level of ranger before branching into Eldritch Knight (no experience multiclassing)
I will be mostly a caster archer, and for the moment fey bloodline speaks to me ;) feats and skill choices anything i could and prolly am forgetting?
Kinda overwhelming!
Are you allowed advanced race traits? If you shell out for a third level spell-like ability, you can qualify for Eldritch Knight much sooner, if your DM will allow the FAQ that says spell like abilities count as casting spells.
Yeah, if you intend to use a custom race that is fluffed as a fey race, then loosing some of the racial bonuses to acquire a third level illusion spell like ability would make sense.
It would allow your character to head into eldritch knight without having as many sorcerer levels up front, and make your character concept come alive a little earlier on.
Just an fyi, as you stated that your new to the game system, eldritch knight characters tend to work out better if you build them as casters first and melee second. This may simply have to do with the inherent advantages of being a near full caster though.
i agree with revaar and trogdar... if you want to be a melee character with some magic EK isn't a great option (you give up a lot of BAB/hp to get enough casting), and if you want balance you're probably better off with a magus- the EK comes into its own when you keep your caster level as high as possible.
as is your race would probably do well as a magus. if you're planning to have at least one level in a class with all martial weapons (and focus largely on ranged combat) there's probably no real benefit to weapon familiarity (the only thing it lets you do is use the curve blade... though maybe that's your plan for switch hitting with free finesse). if you do want to make an EK you would (as they said) be better off trading something out for a 3rd level SLA (pugwampi's grace, suggestion, or displacement would all be decent options) so you can start EK at 3rd (1 level of martial class for proficiencies, 1 level of spellcaster you want to advance, and then EK using SLA to qualify- you only ever lose 2 caster levels or 1 spell level).
if you really want to focus on archery and magic I'd suggest dropping weapon familiarity and object of desire to upgrade SLA[entangle] to SLA[displacement] and switch out nimble attacks for static bonus feat[point blank shot]. then you could go fighter 1 (for the feat) or trapper ranger 1 (for the skills and trapfinding), sorc 1 (since that seems to be the casting you want), right into EK; after 7th (rng 1/sorc 1/EK 5) you could dip 4 levels of Arcane Archer too... that will cost you one more caster level (which will hurt) but it gets you a couple of cool/useful things for your arrows and gives you more options for full BAB caster levels.
I have been considering dropping bond to the land to up the spell like ability to suggestion. I didn't actually ask the gm but since we are in the 15 point range it technically opens up advanced traits where i got the weapon finesse feat.
I have looked into the 'edlritch archer' build and thought maybe i could swap wizard for sorcerer and take 2 paladin levels for divine grace in place of the 1 fighter level but then with the EK vs AA i get lost completely.
If the SLA counts as a early opener to EK that would be fantastic!
The main reason i took weapon familiarity is because i wanted the dryad fluff since they only get daggers and longbows. nothing is set in stone as the campaign doesn't start until end of August when we roll our stats. I just don't have anyone to bounce my ideas off of for anything until then.
I have never played a caster unless the last 4 months of PFS cleric of Erastil counts. I like the idea of summoning some critter meatshields as our party is going to have a elven ranger, dhampire slayer, human cleric, and changeling witch plus an unknown.
New plan: backup character in case of death! drawing up a Ranger/Magus, unfortunately at this point i don't know anything about the magus class.
The main stats for this would be: Dex/Int/Str? would be nice to not be skill starved.
Worried I'm going to ask something stupid but If i have humanoid elven subtype do i still need the weapon familiarity for elven to use the elven weapons? I thought maybe there were some nice elven weapons in the game so that was on a whim. Curve blade does look impressive!
swapping charming for hunters blood trait wise. object of desire can definitely go, thank you for that. for magical knack do i have to start with a caster class?
This build is by Sylvanite and seems to flow along the same lines from what you are saying. I really have no idea if i will make it to level 20 but i suppose having a plan can't be all bad. How would you tweak it with the two options above in mind?
1 - Fighter 1(Lore Warden): Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus
2 - Wizard 1(Transmuter): Scribe Scroll
3 - Wizard 2: Rapid Shot
4 - Wizard 3
5 - Wizard 4: Arcane Strike
6 - Wizard 5: Craft Wondrous Item/Craft Magical Arms and Armor
7 - Eldritch Knight 1: Deadly Aim, Improved Initiative (or the other craft feat not taken at 6 if you're the only crafter and your campaign allows crafting)
8 - Eldritch Knight 2
9 - Eldritch Knight 3: Manyshot
10 - Eldritch Knight 4
11 - Eldritch Knight 5: Weapon Focus, Point Blank Master or Clustered Shots
12 - Eldritch Knight 6
13 - Eldritch Knight 7: Greater Weapon Focus
14 - Eldritch Knight 8
15 - Eldritch Knight 9: Improved Precise Shot, XXXX
16 - Eldritch Knight 10
17 - Arcane Archer 1: XXXX
18 - Arcane Archer 2
19 - Arcane Archer 3: XXXX
20 - Arcane Archer 4
does the below make sense?
Paladin 2/ Sorc 1 / EK 4/ AA 4
Ranger 1/ Magus 1/ EK 5/ AA 4
I do like the Arcane archer dip for ranged area spells via arrow. let the shenanigans unfold ^_^
See if you can use the racial to drop into Eldritch knight at level three and then pick up arcane archer levels afterward. This route leads to fewer caster levels, but does seem to suit your character.
That will net you the most prestige class for your hd. Also, take the magical knack trait to boost your caster level.
If you do go the sorcerer route, you would certainly benefit from paladin levels, but keep in mind that it codifies your alignment, which can either be great or terrible depending on the player/gm dynamic.
EDIT: Sorry, just to clarify, drop into eldritch knight at level three and then and then pick arcane archer levels at your convenience after that point(depending on when you would like to see those archery tricks come online.).
For magical knack to work properly should i take Eldritch knight at level 4? It says my Caster level in my caster class can't go beyond my HD which to me suggests its all or nothing.
1/ martial
2/ caster 1 CL
3/ martial/caster 1 CL +2 (Magical Knack)
4/ Eldritch knight 2 CL +2 (Magical Knack)
Your caster level is improved by two points, up to your hit die. So when you take it, it does not have to have the full effect immediately,
Without SLA early entry, paladin 2/sorcerer 6/eldritch knight 1 or 2 (depending on if you want two levels in a row that don't advance spell progression)/arcane archer 2 or 3 (depending on if you want Enhance Arrows (Elemental) or just Imbue Arrow)/eldritch knight +X can work fairly well to achieve what you seem to want out of the character. It starts a bit slowly in the spellcasting department, but can do well as both an archer and a caster (especially when mixing area effect battle-field control and ranged damage with Imbue Arrow). Your spell progression ends up four levels behind (CL two levels behind with Magical Knack), but your BAB is +17 at 20th level; 7th- and 8th-level spells and nearly full BAB isn't too bad.
Note that Magical Knack only boosts CL, not spell progression (number of spell slots, spells known, level of spells that can be cast), so it doesn't help qualify for eldritch knight (cast 3rd-level arcane spells). However, it does let you qualify for certain feats like Arcane Armor Training (CL 3), which is probably worth taking at paladin 2/sorcerer 1 to cast in a mithral chain shirt, darkleaf cloth studded leather, or (once you can afford it) mithral kikko. Once you gain 5th-level spells (around 14th character level), you can retrain it for Quicken spell and switch to bracers of armor, a magical haramaki, or possibly a gunman's duster or (eventually) robe of the archmagi.
Awesome thank you for the help, i still need to wait on GMs approval for SLA but I've got a solid understanding of what i want out of this character now! Its still 5 weeks away for me to agonize over a response.
Happy gaming!
Resurrecting this thread as Rappan Athuk was postponed until this Sunday.
We start at 2nd level so I thought I'd start as 2nd level paladin divine hunter, and 3rd level Skald spell warrior. The plan is a paladin archer, Elven curve switch hitter. We do our stats this weekend and I need help with there priority.
Dex>Str>Con>Cha>Wis>Int?
Also I get 2 feats at first level, plus my racial point blank shot and DH Paladin with precise shot. My thoughts: Weapon finesse + rapid shot.
3rd level probably power attack.
I don't own the campaign Inner sea magic. just the APG, ACG, CRB, UC, ARG, Inner Sea Gods.
Mostly Skald stood out for casting in medium armor, being Charisma based, I like bardic knowledge ^_^, and I thought buffing the party with +1 magical weapon bonus was awesome! I know don't have gold to afford actual magical weapons.
Does my stat priority look okay? or feat choices?
Quick question, how does the Spell Warrior actually grant rage powers to allies (and himself)?
He loses Inspired rage and so none of his ragepowers work. So what up with that? He even keeps the rage powers and has recommended powers to boot.
If you value STR second to DEX, I think you are better off with grabbing a two handed weapon instead of weapon finesse (especially if you don't dip Dawnflover dervish, since then you'll need at least 2 feats to get a DEX fighting style going).
Far as i can tell I get bardic performance via the Weapon Song that replaces the Inspired rage. So i get to sing and leap across the battlefield to grant enhancement bonuses to weapons of allies within 60 ft.
Some of the guides mention needing a 13 for most feat prerequisites in archer and melee combat. I am mostly going to be an Archer with a Longbow, have a Elven curve blade for backup and be able to cast spells for buffs and Arcane Archer fun.
Pretty sure I need 3 stats with a min 13 score (Str/Dex/Cha. I do want to be a Dex based fighter.
I might not understand the Rage powers you are asking about. highly likely. I figured if i just took one level i wouldn't have to learn too much about the other class abilities.
I planned on just 2 level of Paladin, 1 Skald, then 1 Eldritch knight, 3 in Arcane Archer and then its up in the air. most likely back into Eldritch knight.
The raw for weapon song doesn't mention rage powers, so it probably shouldn't work with them. However, I think a good rule of thumb when looking at archetypes is that, if the class features don't work via raw reading, especially if the raw reading doesn't work due to omission, then the intent is that the ability should function as the original ability would in that instance.
In this case, its clear that weapon song should probably interact with rage powers as raging song, otherwise the archetype is unplayable.
That said, I don't know how far that will take you in pfs.
I was of the thought that the rage powers were unusable and replaced by the weapon song. I see your concern and will check with my GM.
Well i was taking the 2 levels of paladin for bonus to saves and the free feat divine hunter gives you at first level.
Skald just looked like fun, was charisma caster which i could still change my mind on like sorcerer.
I could just take 1 level paladin and 1 level arcane caster then EK till +6 BAB for Arcane Archer. I forgot that was a prereq.
EDIT: Looked into Cavaliers Daring Champion archtype and maybe 1 level of that with 1 level divine hunter paladin then an arcane caster level before taking EK.
This question about Spell Warriors and Rage Powers has recently been answered here.
Okay good to know! Thank you.
Yeah, if you intend to use a custom race that is fluffed as a fey race, then loosing some of the racial bonuses to acquire a third level illusion spell like ability would make sense.
It would allow your character to head into eldritch knight without having as many sorcerer levels up front, and make your character concept come alive a little earlier on.
Just an fyi, as you stated that your new to the game system, eldritch knight characters tend to work out better if you build them as casters first and melee second. This may simply have to do with the inherent advantages of being a near full caster though.
I have anxiety over decisions, that said with all the options which sounds like the easiest route of these examples of multiclassing:
Paladin 2/Skald 1
Paladin 1/ Skald 1
Cavalier 2/Skald 1
Cavalier 1/Paladin 1/Skald 1
Divine hunter paladin, Daring champion cavalier.
I like the saves bonus, lay on hands, smite from paladin but hope my GM wont make me have a diety. The Champion sounds more nature oriented with order of the Beast giving weapon finesse and animal empathy.
The correct answer would likely be none of the above given the way the skalds class features function.
Eldritch knight is not a good prestige to progress spellcasters with 2/3 spell progression because their spells are of incidental value. By that I mean that classes like the bard thrive through special abilities almost exclusively. In the above cases of multiclassing, you are trading away their special abilities (the steak in this metaphorical meal) for their spells( the parsley garnish). Does that make any sense? Trying to explain these things can be convoluted.
The correct answer would likely be none of the above given the way the skalds class features function.
Eldritch knight is not a good prestige to progress spellcasters with 2/3 spell progression because their spells are of incidental value. By that I mean that classes like the bard thrive through special abilities almost exclusively. In the above cases of multiclassing, you are trading away their special abilities (the steak in this metaphorical meal) for their spells( the parsley garnish). Does that make any sense? Trying to explain these things can be convoluted.
Okay I understand what you are saying. The problem is I am committed to a Charisma based spell caster, and I don't know much about the spell lists or progression and have a few options. I can't find any guides to making a good Arcane Archer, just optimized ones that say take wizard/melee or sorcerer /melee.
Should I just stick with sorcerer? I was trying to think what class had aoe spells for imbue arrow.Actually I call the build I'm trying to do Eldritch Archer.
Sorcerer is perfectly fine for an Eldritch Knight/Arcane Archer build.
The lack of armor is nowhere near as debilitating as you'd think at first glance, especially if you work around it a bit.
You could go with a build like ... Divine Hunter (Paladin) 2/Sorcerer 8, Arcane Archer 10.
With SLAs, you could grab EK 10 in there sooner (so Paladin 2/ Sorc 1/ EK10 /AA4 /finish with 3 levels of sorc) This puts you at 18 BAB, 16th level sorc casting (kinda bleh, but still servicable). You can mix the AA levels in somewhere with EK to get imbue arrow sooner, but it's not really that needed.
The second option will work best, but I would suggest taking the early entry into eldritch knight until you meet the arcane archer requirements and then going back into eldritch knight after level four in the AA prestige to preserve caster levels.
You ought to take magical knack as well.
With this set up you could do some pretty cool stuff, like confusion arrows and other aoe's like cloud spells. Pretty fun sounding to me :)
Our group has made it through 2 sessions, the first i had no armor and it didn't impact greatly mostly due to luck. With the 2nd sessions encounter however i fared much worse and now have studded leather.
I am playing a level of paladin and sorcerer with arcane bloodline. At next level I'll take one additional level of paladin and after that the EK journey starts leading to AA.
Stats are rolled as follows:
Str 13
Dex 18
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 9
Cha 16
I have the following feats: Weapon finesse, point blank shot, precise shot and rapid shot.
My bloodline arcana is arcane bond = a MW Longbow. I also carry an Elven cure blade.
Spells are: prestidigitation, dancing lights, haunted fey aspect, ghost sounds
colour spray, grease (later taking abundant ammo and gravity bow)
Our group doesn't really have a damage soaker, closest would be an half-orc barbarian. The rest of the members include a nature Oracle, archer paladin (aside from myself), alchemist, wizard, and sorcerer.
Is there specific armor or items that would be helpful? Can i use a wand of CLW at this time? advice on tactics, where to put ability points or items that give ability score bonuses etc.
Laurela is a young, warm smiling helpful fey with a mischievous streak. I roleplay her low int and wisdom as a childlike sense of right and wrong and expressing awe and wonder at the world. She commits a lot of social faux pas but largely its overlooked due to her innocence. Only in battle does she become serious when she puts her game face on.
Sorcerer is perfectly fine for an Eldritch Knight/Arcane Archer build.
The lack of armor is nowhere near as debilitating as you'd think at first glance, especially if you work around it a bit.
I would suggest taking the early entry into eldritch knight until you meet the arcane archer requirements and then going back into eldritch knight after level four in the AA prestige to preserve caster levels.
You ought to take magical knack as well.
With this set up you could do some pretty cool stuff, like confusion arrows and other aoe's like cloud spells. Pretty fun sounding to me :)
Exactly what I am going to try and accomplish.
I was 3 hp from death last session and didn't buy any armor because i thought arcane casting penalty was too big a risk. there was a large room with the barbarian running around and the rest of us bottled up in the hallway. I don't know how to be tactical.
I think there's a book coming out on tactics soon, should be interesting. I'm looking forward to it at least.
Arcane Armor Training and an enhanced Mithral Kikko is a solid, efficient bump in armor, though Mirror Image is the gold standard for not getting beat up too quickly. Put those together with a solid Dexterity score and it's not bad at all. Technically using Arcane Armor Training will eventually get in the way of the Eldritch Knight 10 special ability, but that's far, far away and barely relevant with archery anyways.