[PF] Mysterious Sorcerer

[Arutema]

With the Spellslinger banned by Pathfinder Society Campaign rules, I'm looking at building the next-best thing: a mysterious Stranger/Sorcerer. The plan is to 1 level in Mysterious Stranger Gunslinger and the rest in Sorcerer (and maybe Eldritch Knight).

My questions are twofold:
What bloodlines synergize nicely with using firearms?
Is Eldritch Knight worth taking? It seems to give up an awful lot.

[JediMimeTricks]

I was looking at doing the same thing. I was thinking about the Stormborn Bloodline, only because it fits thematically with the Sorcerer I wanted to make. I am still undecided about Eldritch Knight, maybe someone has some suggestions?

[grarrrg]

There really aren't any good Bloodline/Firearm synergies.
The closest would have to be the Empyreal (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/sorcerer/archetypes/paizo---sorcerer-archetypes/wildblooded/empyreal) Wildbloodline if you didn't want to go Mysterious Stranger. But then again, you probably don't want to take 5 levels of Gunslinger for Stat-to-damage, so this point is fairly moot.

As for Eldritch Knight, it really doesn't have much in the way of features, and the Full Bab, while nice, is not strictly necessary for a Firearm-user as they only need to hit Touch-AC anyway.

Hellknight Signifier might be worth a look (not sure how PFSociety compatible it is, Paths of Prestige). It has Full casting and 3/4 Bab. The main draw is the reduced Failure Chance for casting in Armor.
You are Required to have Arcane Armor Training feat for entry, but it gives you Arcane Armor Mastery (www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/arcane-armor-mastery-combat) as a bonus feat. And don't worry about the Swift Action fight between Mysterious Stranger and Failure Reduction, as you are unlikely to be able to do both in the same round anyway.
And at 3rd and 8th level you get a straight up 5% Failure reduction when wearing armor. Combined with Light or Mithril Armor, you may not even have to use the Arcane Armor feat.

[jmelesky]

Hellknight Signifer is legal for PFS (as of a very recent update), but I don't see it having any real synergy with a gunslinger/sorcerer. The fluff seems incompatible, though that's not a huge deal.

Is it better than Eldritch Knight? Possibly -- the EK's capstone will never be reached (PFS caps at 12th level), which is half the reason to grab it. On the flip side, though, the entry requirements are much lower, leaving a bunch of skill points and two feats (not just Arcane Armor, but Armor Proficiency (medium), which Gunslingers don't get). On the flip-flip side, you lose a casting level. On the triple-flip, Arcane Armor can't work with Quickened spells.

Yeah, I can't really endorse Hellknight Signifer. Probably not EK, either, all things considered.

Gunslinger/Sorcerer isn't, in the end, a great combo, mechanically, though I think you could make it work well enough with some effort. Getting them both on the same attribute page is the right first step (though I might also be inclined towards the Empyreal bloodline instead of Mysterious Stranger, if only because of Will Saves. If you want to be diplomatic, though, Charisma's the right way forward). Then focus on self-buffs for your spells, and shoot people a bunch.

[grarrrg]

Hellknight Signifer...Armor Proficiency (medium), which Gunslingers don't get

...
*checks*
Huh.
Could have swore they had Medium.
Oh well, support withdrawn for Signifier. Maybe in a higher level game it would be more worth it but, whatever.

Either Gunslinger 1/Sorc 11 or Gunslinger 1/Sorc 6/EK 5 seem to be the best options. Depends if you want the Sorc 9 bloodline power or not.


On a side note, the Swift action/Quickened spells wouldn't be much of an issue anyway, since with only 12 levels (at least 1 of which is non-casting) you don't have a lot of slots to be spending on +4 Metamagics.

[jmelesky]

Either Gunslinger 1/Sorc 11 or Gunslinger 1/Sorc 6/EK 5 seem to be the best options. Depends if you want the Sorc 9 bloodline power or not.

And whether that lost casting level is worth it.


On a side note, the Swift action/Quickened spells wouldn't be much of an issue anyway, since with only 12 levels (at least 1 of which is non-casting) you don't have a lot of slots to be spending on +4 Metamagics.

True. I was thinking of rods, myself, though.