ZX6Rob
2014-04-13, 02:41 PM
Hello, all. I'm starting a new character in an upcoming Pathfinder campaign, and I'd like to mine the Playground's mountain of knowledge for tips on fine-tuning my build.
The build is basically lifted from here (http://unithralith.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/fire-sorcerer-of-ultimate-destruction/), so I'm mostly looking to see how that can be improved on. The gist of it is an evocation-focused sorcerer making use of two archetypes to gain bonus damage to spells with the [Fire] descriptor. By using the Crossblooded archetype to get access to two bloodlines, you can double up your bonus damage for fun times and profit. The standard Draconic and the Primal Wildblooded alternate bloodlines both offer +1 damage per die rolled on elemental spells matching your chosen element. If that element is fire, you can add a pinch more bonus damage by using a half-orc and selecting the half-orc sorcerer favored class bonus.
I think the core of the build is pretty solid. I'm not worried too much about utility, as the party selection also includes a witch, a cleric, a magus, and a druid, so I think we have buffing/de-buffing and BFC handled. I'm just looking to be the glass cannon that melts faces after said faces have been suitably contained and demoralized. I will probably also be doubling as the party face.
Here's what I have for level 5, the level we're starting at.
Vincenzo Fulminazione, a.k.a. Vincent Explosion
Race: Half-Orc
Class / Level: Sorcerer 5
Archetype: Crossblooded
Bloodlines: Draconic, Primal (Wildblooded Elemental)
Ability Scores:
Base
Pt. Cost
Racial
Level
TOTAL
MOD
STR
8
-2
-
-
8
-1
DEX
16
10
-
-
16
+3
CON
12
2
-
-
12
+1
INT
8
-2
-
-
8
-1
WIS
12
2
-
-
12
+1
CHA
16
10
2
1
19
+4
Racial Traits:
+2 to any one ability score (+2 CHA)
Medium size, 30 ft. movement speed
Skilled (+1 skill point per level) [Replaces darkvision]
Sacred Tattoo (+1 luck bonus to all saving throws) [Replaces orc ferocity]
Intimidating (+2 racial bonus to Intimidate)
Weapon Familiarity (Greataxe, Falchion, any weapon with 'Orc' in the name)
Languages - Common, Orc
Favored Class Bonus - Half-orc Sorcerer (Add +1/2 level damage to spells with the [Fire] descriptor)
Skills:
Ranks - 2 + INT (-1) + Skilled (+1) = 2/lv
Total ranks: 10
Name
Ranks
Mod
Bonus
Class
Total
Intimidate
5
4
2
3
+14
Bluff
5
4
-
3
+12
Feats:
Lv
Name
Description
1
Spell Focus (Evocation)
+1 to DCs of Evocation Spells
Sor 1
Eschew Materials
Do not need material components < 1 GP
3
Greater Spell Focus (Evocation)
Add'l +1 to DCs of Evocation Spells
5
Spell Penetration
+2 to caster lv. check to overcome SR
Spells Known (incl. level acquired):
Level 0 - 5 spells
[1] - Detect Magic
[1] - Spark
[1] - Prestidigitation
[2] - Dancing Lights
[4] - Ghost Sound
Level 1 - 3 spells +1 bloodline spell
[1] - Mage Armor
[2] - Magic Missile
[5] - Shield
[Bloodline 3] - Burning Hands
Level 2 - 1 spell +1 bloodline spell
[5] - Flaming Sphere
[Bloodline 5] - Scorching Ray
Bloodline Arcana:
Draconic: Add +1 damage per die to spells with your elemental descriptor ([Fire])
Primal: Add +1 damage per die to spells with your elemental descriptor ([Fire])
Selected Bloodline Powers:
Lv
Name
Bloodline
Description
1
Elemental Ray
Elemental
30-ft Ranged Touch, [Fire], 1d6 + 1/2 Lv. Dmg, 3+CHA mod per day
3
Dragon Resistances
Draconic
Resist Fire 5, +1 Natural Armor
Equipment - Assuming WBL (10,500 GP @ 5th)
General Items (10,145 GP):
Handy Haversack - 2,000 GP
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2 - 4,000 GP
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 - 2,000 GP
Cloak of Resistance +1 - 1,000 GP
Mithral Buckler - 1,155 GP
Weapons (37 GP):
Dagger - 2 GP
Light Crossbow - 35 GP
Bolts x30 - 3 GP
Mundane Items (25 GP):
Adventuring Gear (25 GP):
Winter blanket; Candles x10; Map Case; Chalk x5; Fishhook and Line; Iron Pot; Rations x10; Silk Rope; Sack x5; Sewing Needle & Thread; Signal Whistle; Soap; Torch x5; Waterskin x2; Whetstone
Consumables (200 GP)
Scroll of Grease (200 GP)
Remaining Funds - 80 GP
What I'm looking for the most help with is spell selection, feat selection, and gear selection.
With feats, I've deviated slightly from the original build. The one I based this on, which I linked above, takes Empower Spell at 5th, but with a two-spell-level penalty to use, I don't have anything in my arsenal yet that can make use of it, so I switched that for Spell Penetration. I figure I can pick up Empower Spell at 7th, which is right when I can start using it with Scorching Ray. So, past that, I'm not 100% sure where to go with feats, although the suggested path for this build is to continue with Greater Spell Penetration and then pick up the Elemental Focus feats as well, which seems pretty solid to me.
As for gear, I know that I want my next purchase to be the 3,000 GP Rod of Elemental Metamagic (ether Acid or Cold), so that if I start encountering things with outright fire immunity, I can still contribute. Beyond that, I think I should focus most on shoring up my terrible saving throws and continuing to boost Charisma as much as possible.
With consumables like wands, I have one specific question that will determine how useful those will be to me. If you have, say, a wand of Scorching Ray, for example, do you get to add the bonus damage from the Draconic and Primal bloodlines to it? You are casting it from a wand, but you're still the one casting it. Is there a ruling on this somewhere? If you do get to, then even at minimum caster level, a wand of Scorching Ray becomes much more viable, especially for conserving actual spells and clearing out mooks and henchmen.
Thanks for your time, guys, I know it's a lot to read through. If anyone has any specific suggestions on how I can improve this character, they would be most appreciated.
The build is basically lifted from here (http://unithralith.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/fire-sorcerer-of-ultimate-destruction/), so I'm mostly looking to see how that can be improved on. The gist of it is an evocation-focused sorcerer making use of two archetypes to gain bonus damage to spells with the [Fire] descriptor. By using the Crossblooded archetype to get access to two bloodlines, you can double up your bonus damage for fun times and profit. The standard Draconic and the Primal Wildblooded alternate bloodlines both offer +1 damage per die rolled on elemental spells matching your chosen element. If that element is fire, you can add a pinch more bonus damage by using a half-orc and selecting the half-orc sorcerer favored class bonus.
I think the core of the build is pretty solid. I'm not worried too much about utility, as the party selection also includes a witch, a cleric, a magus, and a druid, so I think we have buffing/de-buffing and BFC handled. I'm just looking to be the glass cannon that melts faces after said faces have been suitably contained and demoralized. I will probably also be doubling as the party face.
Here's what I have for level 5, the level we're starting at.
Vincenzo Fulminazione, a.k.a. Vincent Explosion
Race: Half-Orc
Class / Level: Sorcerer 5
Archetype: Crossblooded
Bloodlines: Draconic, Primal (Wildblooded Elemental)
Ability Scores:
Base
Pt. Cost
Racial
Level
TOTAL
MOD
STR
8
-2
-
-
8
-1
DEX
16
10
-
-
16
+3
CON
12
2
-
-
12
+1
INT
8
-2
-
-
8
-1
WIS
12
2
-
-
12
+1
CHA
16
10
2
1
19
+4
Racial Traits:
+2 to any one ability score (+2 CHA)
Medium size, 30 ft. movement speed
Skilled (+1 skill point per level) [Replaces darkvision]
Sacred Tattoo (+1 luck bonus to all saving throws) [Replaces orc ferocity]
Intimidating (+2 racial bonus to Intimidate)
Weapon Familiarity (Greataxe, Falchion, any weapon with 'Orc' in the name)
Languages - Common, Orc
Favored Class Bonus - Half-orc Sorcerer (Add +1/2 level damage to spells with the [Fire] descriptor)
Skills:
Ranks - 2 + INT (-1) + Skilled (+1) = 2/lv
Total ranks: 10
Name
Ranks
Mod
Bonus
Class
Total
Intimidate
5
4
2
3
+14
Bluff
5
4
-
3
+12
Feats:
Lv
Name
Description
1
Spell Focus (Evocation)
+1 to DCs of Evocation Spells
Sor 1
Eschew Materials
Do not need material components < 1 GP
3
Greater Spell Focus (Evocation)
Add'l +1 to DCs of Evocation Spells
5
Spell Penetration
+2 to caster lv. check to overcome SR
Spells Known (incl. level acquired):
Level 0 - 5 spells
[1] - Detect Magic
[1] - Spark
[1] - Prestidigitation
[2] - Dancing Lights
[4] - Ghost Sound
Level 1 - 3 spells +1 bloodline spell
[1] - Mage Armor
[2] - Magic Missile
[5] - Shield
[Bloodline 3] - Burning Hands
Level 2 - 1 spell +1 bloodline spell
[5] - Flaming Sphere
[Bloodline 5] - Scorching Ray
Bloodline Arcana:
Draconic: Add +1 damage per die to spells with your elemental descriptor ([Fire])
Primal: Add +1 damage per die to spells with your elemental descriptor ([Fire])
Selected Bloodline Powers:
Lv
Name
Bloodline
Description
1
Elemental Ray
Elemental
30-ft Ranged Touch, [Fire], 1d6 + 1/2 Lv. Dmg, 3+CHA mod per day
3
Dragon Resistances
Draconic
Resist Fire 5, +1 Natural Armor
Equipment - Assuming WBL (10,500 GP @ 5th)
General Items (10,145 GP):
Handy Haversack - 2,000 GP
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2 - 4,000 GP
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 - 2,000 GP
Cloak of Resistance +1 - 1,000 GP
Mithral Buckler - 1,155 GP
Weapons (37 GP):
Dagger - 2 GP
Light Crossbow - 35 GP
Bolts x30 - 3 GP
Mundane Items (25 GP):
Adventuring Gear (25 GP):
Winter blanket; Candles x10; Map Case; Chalk x5; Fishhook and Line; Iron Pot; Rations x10; Silk Rope; Sack x5; Sewing Needle & Thread; Signal Whistle; Soap; Torch x5; Waterskin x2; Whetstone
Consumables (200 GP)
Scroll of Grease (200 GP)
Remaining Funds - 80 GP
What I'm looking for the most help with is spell selection, feat selection, and gear selection.
With feats, I've deviated slightly from the original build. The one I based this on, which I linked above, takes Empower Spell at 5th, but with a two-spell-level penalty to use, I don't have anything in my arsenal yet that can make use of it, so I switched that for Spell Penetration. I figure I can pick up Empower Spell at 7th, which is right when I can start using it with Scorching Ray. So, past that, I'm not 100% sure where to go with feats, although the suggested path for this build is to continue with Greater Spell Penetration and then pick up the Elemental Focus feats as well, which seems pretty solid to me.
As for gear, I know that I want my next purchase to be the 3,000 GP Rod of Elemental Metamagic (ether Acid or Cold), so that if I start encountering things with outright fire immunity, I can still contribute. Beyond that, I think I should focus most on shoring up my terrible saving throws and continuing to boost Charisma as much as possible.
With consumables like wands, I have one specific question that will determine how useful those will be to me. If you have, say, a wand of Scorching Ray, for example, do you get to add the bonus damage from the Draconic and Primal bloodlines to it? You are casting it from a wand, but you're still the one casting it. Is there a ruling on this somewhere? If you do get to, then even at minimum caster level, a wand of Scorching Ray becomes much more viable, especially for conserving actual spells and clearing out mooks and henchmen.
Thanks for your time, guys, I know it's a lot to read through. If anyone has any specific suggestions on how I can improve this character, they would be most appreciated.