[3.5/PF] Can it be done?

[nazgulnine]

Good evening! I've got a question regarding a character type I've been mulling over, so I'll push that first.

I'm thinking of a rogue-like assassin character that specializes in the use of "Spellstones" in his combat style. There's fluff reason regarding why a character'd do this, but I was more interested in the mechanics behind it.

Essentially, I was thinking it could be done by imbuing an ioun stone with spell storing, but that's not a very cost-effective solution, and there's always the prospect of enchanting shuriken/bolts. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on how to make these things work?

[tyckspoon]

If you want them as permanent items, it's a bit tricky. If you just want magic that comes from stones, that's relatively simple- do an Arcane Trickster/Unseen Seer/etc build, and refluff all your material components as stones. They get destroyed when you cast, releasing the desired magical effect. If that doesn't work for you.. well, 3.5 has a *lot* of stuff, so there probably is some way we can work it out, but some more detail would be nice. "Spellstones" doesn't necessarily mean anything to anybody but you, so if you tell us what sort of thing you're imagining it'll be a lot easier to help match it to mechanics.

[nazgulnine]

Sorry, I realize I kind of just threw a topic out there that can be worded better.

I've got ideas, but I'm looking for any other ideas for a way of faux, item-based spellcasting for melee characters (something along the lines of the elemental fang (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cXX94nnfnoM#t=104s) splash items from the older Final Fantasy games comes to mind), be it ammunition, magic items, magic armor/weapons, though of course I'd prefer if the idea involved ioun stones. Permanency/item waste on these doesn't really matter (like I said, its really more of a thought experiment I thought could be neat).

I'm more ashamed I didn't immediately think of refluffing material components or spell scrolls.

[tyckspoon]

I'm more ashamed I didn't immediately think of refluffing material components or spell scrolls.

heh. This is pretty much the easiest way to achieve almost any sort of image in D&D. It helps when the base idea is reasonably compatible, too.

That said.. if you don't want to just buy and burn a ton of scrolls/potions, that's actually a somewhat tricky request. There isn't a huge variety of magical effects that can be triggered by non-magic-using (or UMD using) characters, and most of what is there that I can think of is hugely inefficient or ineffective.

[Jack_Simth]

Good evening! I've got a question regarding a character type I've been mulling over, so I'll push that first.

I'm thinking of a rogue-like assassin character that specializes in the use of "Spellstones" in his combat style. There's fluff reason regarding why a character'd do this, but I was more interested in the mechanics behind it.

Essentially, I was thinking it could be done by imbuing an ioun stone with spell storing, but that's not a very cost-effective solution, and there's always the prospect of enchanting shuriken/bolts. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on how to make these things work?
Psion-1/Rogue-X... or maybe just the Psychic Rogue. Invest in Powerstones.

[navar100]

Pathfinder's Alchemist is a good place to start. You get to throw bombs that deal basic damage and can learn infusions to enhance them, such as acid bombs, stink bombs, etc.

There might be an archetype to help specialize that more, I don't know, but the base class itself is good. The class is a range attacker gish, but perhaps you can specialize your limited number of spells to fulfill your concept.