Unbodied
2015-07-21, 11:43 AM
I'm having some trouble with the Cryptic class and could use some tips and pointers, I'm still really new to Pathfinder and tabletop games. I would really appreciate any help people could give me since I'm the only person in my group who plays Psionic characters and most of them are to busy to help at the moment.
The Cryptic class first caught my attention when I discovered that it has the potential to attain immortality and then I really fell in love with the trapmaking concept which seemed really fun even if it might not be practical. Unfortunately I'm still quite new and inexperienced at this game and there's only a single Cryptic guide to be found which only gives the barest of bare bone advice on the class. It wouldn't have been so bad if I just wanted to play a standard Cryptic but simply standing in the back and using the same glowy blast over and over again doesn't seem very interesting. The Brutal Disruptor archetype would be perfect except I lose both Trapfinding, Trapmaker and Swift Trapper which is not appealing when the mastery of traps was what attracted me to the class in the first place, (also I want to take the Viking Blood trait which becomes redundant with the BD's Intimidate focus). At first I considered using a psionic item that lets you use Disrupt Pattern with natural attacks but I couldn't think of any and didn't really have a interest in a natural attack build, plus unlike the Brutal Disruptor I would only be able to use Disrupt Pattern once per round. So I took a second look at the archetypes and considered the Grammaton some more.
After looking at it more closely the Grammaton seems very promising. I can switch between blasting at range with a firearm or get in close and smack people with my firearm while using Disrupt Pattern and then fire the gun to Disrupt Pattern again. Plus with Research I can get Marksman class Kinetic Reload power which should make playing as a gunslinger a lot easier. The thing that really sold me on the idea of the Grammaton was the Trick Shot power though. Best. Talent. Ever. Its to hilariously awesome to not have and it really sold me on the idea of using a gunslinger archetype. But I still have the problem that this archetype seems really complex and hard to use. Between the need to max out Int and Dex makes it a bit hard to get the Con score I'll probably need if I'm going to throw myself into melee combat in light armor. Not to mention that the archetype seems really complex with all the Gunslinger mechanics thrown in which I know next to nothing about.
Currently I'm thinking of playing as a Blue both because they seem fun and because the Dex and Int bonuses seems perfect for this type of build. Do I need strength? I'm thinking of dumping it completely along with Wisdom and Charisma in order to either max out Intelligence and Dexterity or to max out Intelligence while putting a little bit in Constitution and the rest in Dexterity. Also while this is something that probably depends mostly on whether or not I can convince the GM does anyone think Blue's can get Goblin Traits and Feats? The Goblin Gunslinger feat seems useful although I saw some discussion where people claimed it was mostly useless so I don't really know what to think.
I'm planning to take a Major Drawback to get as many Traits as possible and will take at least one Gunslinger related Trait (not sure if there are any outside Combat Traits) and either Fortified Drinker or Adopted-->Carefully Hidden to make up for my low Wisdom. I also plan to take Fate's Favored and get a Stone of Good Luck to further boost my saves and a Jingasa of the Fortune Soldier to better survive my Gun Kata shenanigans.
Skill wise I'm thinking of focusing mostly on trap related skills such as Perception (for finding them), Disable Device (for disarming and capturing them) and Craft (to make my own). Maybe put some points in Use Magic Device and pick up some Dorje's to become more versatile? Acrobatics is definetly getting maxed out so I can weave in and out of melee without getting hit by attacks of opportunity. Also putting points in all the Knowledge skills that seems relevant to the character. Sleigh of Hand might be useful for a gunslinger? I think I'm going to max out Escape Artist and Disguise might be needed since I'm a type of goblin (not sure how diverse our GM wants his city to be). Should probably max out Spellcraft to identity magical traps, not sure if I need it to disarm or make them though. I think I have class abilities that take care of that?
However when it comes to Feats and Gunslinger related choices I'm drawing a complete blank. I'm planning to take a closer look at it later but some tips and suggestions for what I should look out for or consider and for potential traps would be greatly appreciated. As would tips on how to create synergy between my Cryptic abilities like Insight, Altered Defese, Powers and gunslinger Grit and Deeds. Weapon suggestions as also welcome although I'm leaning towards either a single handgun or dual wielding. Not sure if I should carry a shotgun or musket as a backup weapon for different situations. If there are any luck based feats that aren't restricted to Humans I would like to take a look at them since I already have a bit of a lucky son of a gun theme with the Fate's Fortuned trait.
The Cryptic class first caught my attention when I discovered that it has the potential to attain immortality and then I really fell in love with the trapmaking concept which seemed really fun even if it might not be practical. Unfortunately I'm still quite new and inexperienced at this game and there's only a single Cryptic guide to be found which only gives the barest of bare bone advice on the class. It wouldn't have been so bad if I just wanted to play a standard Cryptic but simply standing in the back and using the same glowy blast over and over again doesn't seem very interesting. The Brutal Disruptor archetype would be perfect except I lose both Trapfinding, Trapmaker and Swift Trapper which is not appealing when the mastery of traps was what attracted me to the class in the first place, (also I want to take the Viking Blood trait which becomes redundant with the BD's Intimidate focus). At first I considered using a psionic item that lets you use Disrupt Pattern with natural attacks but I couldn't think of any and didn't really have a interest in a natural attack build, plus unlike the Brutal Disruptor I would only be able to use Disrupt Pattern once per round. So I took a second look at the archetypes and considered the Grammaton some more.
After looking at it more closely the Grammaton seems very promising. I can switch between blasting at range with a firearm or get in close and smack people with my firearm while using Disrupt Pattern and then fire the gun to Disrupt Pattern again. Plus with Research I can get Marksman class Kinetic Reload power which should make playing as a gunslinger a lot easier. The thing that really sold me on the idea of the Grammaton was the Trick Shot power though. Best. Talent. Ever. Its to hilariously awesome to not have and it really sold me on the idea of using a gunslinger archetype. But I still have the problem that this archetype seems really complex and hard to use. Between the need to max out Int and Dex makes it a bit hard to get the Con score I'll probably need if I'm going to throw myself into melee combat in light armor. Not to mention that the archetype seems really complex with all the Gunslinger mechanics thrown in which I know next to nothing about.
Currently I'm thinking of playing as a Blue both because they seem fun and because the Dex and Int bonuses seems perfect for this type of build. Do I need strength? I'm thinking of dumping it completely along with Wisdom and Charisma in order to either max out Intelligence and Dexterity or to max out Intelligence while putting a little bit in Constitution and the rest in Dexterity. Also while this is something that probably depends mostly on whether or not I can convince the GM does anyone think Blue's can get Goblin Traits and Feats? The Goblin Gunslinger feat seems useful although I saw some discussion where people claimed it was mostly useless so I don't really know what to think.
I'm planning to take a Major Drawback to get as many Traits as possible and will take at least one Gunslinger related Trait (not sure if there are any outside Combat Traits) and either Fortified Drinker or Adopted-->Carefully Hidden to make up for my low Wisdom. I also plan to take Fate's Favored and get a Stone of Good Luck to further boost my saves and a Jingasa of the Fortune Soldier to better survive my Gun Kata shenanigans.
Skill wise I'm thinking of focusing mostly on trap related skills such as Perception (for finding them), Disable Device (for disarming and capturing them) and Craft (to make my own). Maybe put some points in Use Magic Device and pick up some Dorje's to become more versatile? Acrobatics is definetly getting maxed out so I can weave in and out of melee without getting hit by attacks of opportunity. Also putting points in all the Knowledge skills that seems relevant to the character. Sleigh of Hand might be useful for a gunslinger? I think I'm going to max out Escape Artist and Disguise might be needed since I'm a type of goblin (not sure how diverse our GM wants his city to be). Should probably max out Spellcraft to identity magical traps, not sure if I need it to disarm or make them though. I think I have class abilities that take care of that?
However when it comes to Feats and Gunslinger related choices I'm drawing a complete blank. I'm planning to take a closer look at it later but some tips and suggestions for what I should look out for or consider and for potential traps would be greatly appreciated. As would tips on how to create synergy between my Cryptic abilities like Insight, Altered Defese, Powers and gunslinger Grit and Deeds. Weapon suggestions as also welcome although I'm leaning towards either a single handgun or dual wielding. Not sure if I should carry a shotgun or musket as a backup weapon for different situations. If there are any luck based feats that aren't restricted to Humans I would like to take a look at them since I already have a bit of a lucky son of a gun theme with the Fate's Fortuned trait.