Magic of the Sea

[Morrison]

These are some very broad questions, I realize. I'm just starting out at Pathfinder, though, and I don't know what's really good.

I've been kicking around ideas for a spellcaster character in a largely-nautical campaign. I've looked at optimization guides but they tend to write off aquatic archetypes, since most campaigns spend very little time in or around the water. Leaning towards the wereshark-kin race, because I like the semi-Lovecraftian, Innsmouth-y flavour it offers, but what would be a good class and archetype for it?
Druid seems like an obvious pick, since wereshark-kin get a wisdom bonus, but which archetype is best? Shark shaman? The aquatic or river terrain archetype? Or would a less environment-focused druid work just as well?
Alternately, should I go sorcerer and get my Innsmouth flavour from my bloodline pick? If so, what are the best bloodlines for the sea?
Witch, oracle, and shaman also have aquatic versions. Are they any good?

[Elricaltovilla]

There are many different options for character builds that focus on nautical or water themed abilities. Generally speaking, if you're in a nautical campaign all those abilities given low ratings "because nobody goes in the water" suddenly jump up at least two points. For the most part, nautical friendly abilities are pretty self apparent.

As for class suggestions, it largely depends on what you want to do and what materials you have available. So do you have a particular character concept in mind beyond "wereshark-kin?"

[Morrison]

I'm still very early in the character concept, so I'm going to say a mix of utility and blasting, in terms of character role. Being able to, at higher levels, knock enemy ships out of the water from a safe distance is obviously a lot of fun, but I also want to be of some use outside of battle. Maybe a bit of wind control to help sail, or some scouting, which is a big part of why the druid was my first pick, since I could turn into something and swim or fly around, or else get an animal companion to do that for me. Then again, I'm mostly used to 3.5, where druids were just absurdly good, to the point where there was no reason to every play anything other than druids and wizards. I guess versatility is pretty important, but really, the most important thing is a character who is very good at their role, whatever it may be, since I'm still fairly flexible on what that role is.

I notice that Blood of the Moon gives a few unique wereshark-kin spells for the magus, and yet, it seems to me that a race with an Intelligence penalty wouldn't do that well as magi, since that class casts from Intelligence.

This isn't PFS or anything, so any Paizo-published material is fair game, and I might even be able to make a case for something 3rd party.

[Elricaltovilla]

Druid is one of the most versatile, flexible and powerful classes around, they're almost always a good choice. Blasting wise, their spell list is full of AoEs which are great for, if not necessarily damaging ships, at least damaging a lot of their crew members. Plus the ability to spontaneously cast summon nature's ally spells means that you can Aquaman it up at a moment's notice. Druid is still pretty much just as good as it was in 3.5, you just need to specialize slightly more than you did before.

When I say role I mean stuff like:

"I want to hit things with a sword"
"I want to summon all kinds of monsters"
"I want to be a master of magical power"
"I want to make the fighter jealous of all my cool maneuvers"

So more like a short summary of what you want to be good at.

[Morrison]

I guess I want to be kind of versatile, really. Make the fighters jealous while also blowing stuff up and summoning sea monsters.

As for animal companion, most of the basic animals look pretty meh to me. The spinosaur is neat because it can run around on land or swim about the sea with me, though I don't know if it could hang out in the open ocean or fit on the ship. The roc is also a tempting choice; it could build a roost up in the rigging, maybe, and fly around scouting for other ships, and it looks like a lot of use in a fight, but it probably wouldn't be a whole lot of use in deep underwater combat. Both of these fellas also look too big to be much use in a dungeon crawl, but that's kind of inevitable with animal companions and mounts.
Is there any cool animal companion, perhaps an actually aquatic one, I'm missing?

[Elricaltovilla]

Sounds like you're pretty settled on Druid then. There's all kinds of animal companions available depending on what you want. Flying animal companions are usually among the best because flying, although there's some pretty good aquatic ones to be had too. I'd just take a look through the list (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions) and pick something you really like. Most of them can be made to work for you, although ones that can swim or fly are probably easiest to work with.

[Geddy2112]

Druids are absolute powerhouses, and with your wild shape giving you swim speed and water breathing you will be effective anywhere. Just make sure you prepare some monkey fish, aboleths lung, marids mastery and the like to help your less awesome aquatically effective friends out.

That said, if you are going to focus mostly on spellcasting, I suggest getting rid of your animal campaign, and taking a domain. Air, water, or weather. If you are going to keep your animal companion you are going for more of a melee powerhouse that casts spells. Choose accordingly.


I guess I want to be kind of versatile, really. Make the fighters jealous while also blowing stuff up and summoning sea monsters.

As for animal companion, most of the basic animals look pretty meh to me. The roc is also a tempting choice; it could build a roost up in the rigging, maybe, and fly around scouting for other ships, and it looks like a lot of use in a fight, but it probably wouldn't be a whole lot of use in deep underwater combat.
Is there any cool animal companion, perhaps an actually aquatic one, I'm missing?

You ideally want something that can move on land/air in addition to water, even if it is derpy while not in the water. A shark swimming alongisde the boat is easy picking, particularly if your DM is the kind of person to do that. Then lugging them around is a pain....I really like the Archelon. It can hold breath for a long time, so unless your planning on deep sea diving you should be fine. It is tough and does decent damage. The Elasmosaurus is also a decent choice. A giant crab has water dependency, but you have create water so that won't be an issue. It also has grab and constrict, great for melee oomph. If you want to go with a bird, you could reskin a roc into a giant albatross, and a trumpter swan into a puffin or pelican or comerant. All of which are decently functional in the water, but not really below it(the comerant being an exception). There is also the walrus, which has decent speeds on both land and water, and fatal gore at 7th level(improving their crit range)


semi-Lovecraftian, Innsmouth-y flavour it offers

If it has any Lovecraft in it, and is aquatic, a giant penguin is the only correct answer(at the mountains of madness). Use the walrus stats and size, but skin that bad boy as one of the megapenguins.

[atemu1234]

If it has any Lovecraft in it, and is aquatic, a giant penguin is the only correct answer(at the mountains of madness). Use the walrus stats and size, but skin that bad boy as one of the megapenguins.

*Opens Mouth*
*Realizes 3e content is probably not allowed*
*Closes mouth without recommending Alienist levels*
*Sadly departs thread*

[Mithril Leaf]

*Opens Mouth*
*Realizes 3e content is probably not allowed*
*Closes mouth without recommending Alienist levels*
*Sadly departs thread*

Speaking of which, didn't Frostfall have a Dire Penguin or something?

[Morrison]

Wow, I didn't realize how many companions were available. A few that caught my eye:

Roc - can fly around and eventually becomes a viable mount, which would make me a threat on land, sea, and air before even using wild shapes
Shark - not much use above-water but has neat flavour and looks pretty tough underwater
Tylosaurus - as above
Giant crab - versatility of being able to swim and walk
Squid or octopus - any good at all?
Crocodile - I'll just say it's a saltwater croc rather than the basic river-dwelling kind. like the crab, it can swim but isn't completely useless on land


Also, still not sure which archetype is best. Regular old aquatic terrain druid? Shark shaman? Or should I drop my companion altogether and go tempest druid? Are they worth it?

The giant albino penguins were cool, but I'm going for more Innsmouth, less Mountains of Madness.

[Geddy2112]

If you are considering any of the fully aquatic things like a shark or octapus, know that you get access to air breathing and fins to feet by level 5. Although they only last 2hr/level and 1hr/level, respectively. At higher levels they will be all day buffs, and if you really want them online you can get extend spell at 7th level.

[Elricaltovilla]

Wow, I didn't realize how many companions were available. A few that caught my eye:

Roc - can fly around and eventually becomes a viable mount, which would make me a threat on land, sea, and air before even using wild shapes
Shark - not much use above-water but has neat flavour and looks pretty tough underwater
Tylosaurus - as above
Giant crab - versatility of being able to swim and walk
Squid or octopus - any good at all?
Crocodile - I'll just say it's a saltwater croc rather than the basic river-dwelling kind. like the crab, it can swim but isn't completely useless on land


Also, still not sure which archetype is best. Regular old aquatic terrain druid? Shark shaman? Or should I drop my companion altogether and go tempest druid? Are they worth it?

The giant albino penguins were cool, but I'm going for more Innsmouth, less Mountains of Madness.

Druid archetypes are generally unnecessary, although the Saurian Shaman is apparently very good. You can also choose to take a domain instead of an animal companion if you want, which would give you some nice domain powers and possibly add a few extra spells to your list that could come in handy.

[Morrison]

In that case, if I take a domain, there are three obvious picks: Water, Weather, and the Aquatic terrain. And maybe Air. Would you say any option is head-and-shoulders above the others, or are they all pretty solid options?

[(Un)Inspired]

War is a pretty rad domain for a Druid and a few archetypes offer it. Divine Power is awesome to cast on top of a strong wild shape.