[Pathfinder] Character Concept: Toymaker

[Laniius]

I am coming up with ideas for an upcoming Pathfinder campaign. I've been thinking about crafting. I want to come up with a toymaker idea - a person, who through the virtue of his crafting skills, is able to make wondrous items. I was planning on using the Master Craftsman feat and being an Alchemist. But the Wizard is interesting as well. Can a wizard take the master craftsman feat? Would it be a total waste of a feat to take master craftsman as a wizard? The main point of it is to qualify you for feats that you otherwise cannot get as a caster, but it also essentially gets you +2 to your roll when you are crafting things. Also, how would you rate the alchemist? I know it's weaker than the sorcerer, but what role would the alchemist fill?

[The Gilded Duke]

Neither Wizard or Alchemist need the master craftsman feat as they are both casters. Wizard probably wins out in the end for power and versatility, but alchemists are no slouches, and can be fun to play themselves. Taking Master Craftsman for either of them would be a waste as it only gives you +2 on a single crafting skill. Skill Focus would be much better giving +3 to +5, and there are some feats that give you +2 in multiple crafting skills.

While wizards and sorcerers are traditionally stronger, alchemists get some extra power from some very potent discoveries, and a wide array of alternate class features.

One of the best discoveries is probably Infusion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/infusion) Infusion lets other people cast your spells for you. Have the fighter buff himself, have familiars drink up, eidalons, sirmaculums, alchemical zombies etc.

Now as far as being a toymaker, this just screams Clone Master (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/archetypes/paizo---alchemist-archetypes/clone-master) to me.

Clone Masters are the best simulacrum makers in the game. And without xp costs, simulacrum make some of the best minions around. It can be a lot of fun to go around making clones of boss monsters to use in further battles.

With the Alchemical Zombie (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/alchemical-zombie-su) discovery you can always go and reanimate the base corpse as well, giving you a clone and a zombie of each boss monster (gold permitting).

[IdleMuse]

If you're allowed Complete Arcane, Effigy Master is awesome for toymakers.

[Ravens_cry]

Summoner (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner) and their Eidolon could be a good way to play a Toymaker character, the evolutions been your upgrades and and additions to your "toys".

[sreservoir]

mind, simply actually fulfilling a prerequisite effectively is -5 to the DC.

that said, grab a +10 competence to spellcraft item. you will probably need it. (if PsU is allowed, either a mask of psionic craft or a synaptic mask with a +10 spellcraft shard will do it.)

[Novawurmson]

Summoner (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner) and their Eidolon could be a good way to play a Toymaker character, the evolutions been your upgrades and and additions to your "toys".

This would be awesome. Alternatively, if Pathfinder psionics is allowed, try a Shaper (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/psion).

[Stone Heart]

I had a similar idea (based off of the movie puppetmaster) to use the Broodmaster (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner/archetypes/paizo---summoner-archetypes/broodmaster) archetype, to create a group of puppets to use. I later changed it have each eidolon be a caricature of each member of the party, but I have yet to use it.

[Laniius]

Neither Wizard or Alchemist need the master craftsman feat as they are both casters. Wizard probably wins out in the end for power and versatility, but alchemists are no slouches, and can be fun to play themselves. Taking Master Craftsman for either of them would be a waste as it only gives you +2 on a single crafting skill. Skill Focus would be much better giving +3 to +5, and there are some feats that give you +2 in multiple crafting skills.




My DM goes with the idea that the Alchemist does not have "caster levels" per se. I don't recall the exact argument, but it made the boards a little while ago. Regardless, I'm going to be either a Summoner with the eidolon as my favourite toy that I ended up never selling; or a Binder (my DM is porting it over) where the toymaker stuff is purely RP, and not class abilities.

[stack]

I believe the alchemist only fakes a caster level for the purpose of brew potion, so needs the feat to take any other crafting feat.