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View Full Version : [Pathfinder] Master Spies, so full of flavor~



Aero
2010-11-20, 02:56 AM
Hello everyone~

I've been getting ready for my first pathfinder campaign and when browsing through the books I saw and kinda fell in love with the Master Spy prestige class. Given it's abilities, I wasn't too thrilled when it came to the idea of throwing one into combat, but I absolutely loved the flavor of it. So my question to all of you fine people is: can you think of a Master Spy build that wouldn't be totally crippled if you took all 10 levels of it?

Thanks : )
~Aero~

JonRG
2010-11-20, 12:48 PM
In my opinion?

This seems like a good PrC for a really sneaky bard/beguiler (if you dabble in 3.5). With so many of the class abilities as social ones, ideally your Master Spy would never need to fight - just lie with gusto. If the PCs do come after them, the MS would probably have a bunch of mooks allies in front and always have a contingency plan to get away. Would probably make a nice recurring villain. (More 3.5 goodies, grabbing a level of Mindbender will mean the MS doesn't need to open their mouth to give orders. With the Mindsight feat from Lords of Madness, they can sense sentient creatures within telepathy range [100ft].) This might be a little more than you want to throw at your players, but it's done wonders for my psion. :smallwink:

I don't know about a physical combat build, so I'll just leave that to somebody else.

Aero
2010-11-21, 05:47 PM
Thanks for the ideas : ) Does anyone else out there have any thoughts or suggestions?

grarrrg
2010-11-21, 06:20 PM
So my question to all of you fine people is: can you think of a Master Spy build that wouldn't be totally crippled if you took all 10 levels of it?

10 level Master Spy that WON'T be crippled in combat? Probably not going to happen that easily.
Most of it's abilities are either Non-combat, or "can not quite be affected by mind-affecting abilities". What it's left with is (slower) Sneak Attack progression, d8hd, and 3/4 Bab, but with none of the other standard Rogue abilities.
So you're mostly left with the other 10 class levels you've taken to make up for it in combat, the only catch are the skill Ranks required for entry, meaning you either need a class with Skills to spare, or high Int (if you're doing point-buy you're pretty much stuck with the first option).
You're best entry in Pathfinder-Only would probably be Ranger, d10hd, 6sp, and full-Bab, maybe dipping a little into another class.

Rixx
2010-11-21, 06:22 PM
If you take 10 levels in Rogue first, you gain access to Advanced Talents - and even if you take Master Spy afterward, you can select the Extra Rogue Talent feat every other level to pick new advanced talents. Just don't pick any that scale with Rogue levels.

Akal Saris
2010-11-22, 02:29 AM
As long as you sink 1 point into Use Magic Device each level and spend a good chunk of your wealth on appropriate scrolls/wands, the Master Spy will be about as effective as a rogue using the same tactic (actually better, given the Cha focus). That's probably the easiest way to compensate for the lack of combat class features.

Sillycomic
2010-11-22, 02:56 AM
If your character is Charisma friendly, I would suggest max ranks for Bluff and Intimidate.

Intimidate can demoralize opponents, like a bane spell for one enemy.

And you can feint as a move action with improved feint feat, meaning your attacks will always deal your sneak attack, even if it's not as good as the rogue. (you need combat expertise, but since Pathfinder is so generous with feats, it shouldn't be a problem)

Use magic device to buff up friends.

Then I would say just be a helper in combat. Aid Another is a DC 10 to give an ally a temporary boost. Make sure you are where you need to be for flanking purposes. (and these bonuses stack, so you could in one round essentially give one character a +4 bonus for their next attacks)

You can be superbly helpful in combat this way. The people optimized for fighting will benefit and you won't feel useless at all.