Finally got into a game! Need some build advice.

[tadkins]

Hey everyone. After some time searching I finally found a promising game with a spot open. :)

From what I understand, it will be a heavily magic-based game. We are adventurers working at the behest of a ruling council for a magical kingdom. An unknown force is manipulating the other nearby kingdoms into fearing and hating magic (and by extension our kingdom), and setting them to war against us. Ultimately it will be our job to find out what that force is and stop it.

So far this is what we have for a party.

Elf Magus (Staff Magus) - Our main frontliner. She'll basically be the closest thing we have to a "tank".
Human Cleric - Adjunct to the council. Follows a god of knowledge and magic. He'll handle the divine side of things.
Human Wizard (Conjurer) - She will focus primarily on summoning.
Gnome Sorcerer (Fire Bloodline) - A crazy pyromaniac. He exists to cackle maniacally and blow everything up.

That just leaves me. I was thinking of going with an Umbral Wildblooded Sorcerer and serving as our infiltration/recon specialist. A master of darkness, a gatherer of secrets, the unseen shadow...I like this idea and feel it fits a needed niche in this party. My goal will be to focus on scouting and gathering information, and not be seen while I do it. During combat I will focus on disorienting the enemy with darkness and illusion, and wait for the opportune moment to strike.

Just wondering how I should build this character.
-Was considering VMCing with Rogue on this character to further the theme. Good idea? If so, what would be the best way to take advantage of having sneak attack on a sorcerer?
-I plan on investing a bit into stealth (shadow bloodline gets it as a class skill) as well as bluff. As far as faces go, the cleric will be taking some diplomacy while the gnome will put some in intimidate (you read that correctly :D)
-I'm interested in some suggestions that would help synergize this character well with a party of magic-wielders.
-Any other general comments/suggestions would be welcome.

Since we are a party of T1/T2 magic wielders, the DM warned us that he will not be "pulling any punches". So I'm attempting to build something as effective as possible along those lines. Thanks in advance. :)

[Geddy2112]

The cleric should be able to tank damage as well. Since the gnome is focused more on blasting, pick utility support and debuff spells. Umbral and your build as a whole can do well debuffing, and it does not seem to be a role currently filled. Talk with the other sorcerer and wizard to make sure you are not overlapping on spells-being a spontaneous caster with limited spells known you simply cannot afford to have redundant spells. At higher levels with shadow conjuration and evocation you can mimic a LOT of spells for utility(like mount) so be ready to lose spells known and add some new ones.

I don't think going rogue, even VMC, is a good idea. For skills, with 10 INT you can max stealth and bluff, both very strong skills for a dex/cha based class. Leave the knowledges to the wizard and magus, pick up whatever else is needed, if anything. Maybe UMD?

You could always go illusion based, and take spell focus(illusion) and greater, which is very strong at higher levels in the shadow(umbral) bloodline. Consider a dip into the umbral agent prestige class for free tenebrous spell on steroids and blind fight. The veiled illusionist is also a good prestige class for illusionists.

[Castilonium]

VMC Rogue will be a waste of feats. You can get Aram Zey's Focus (http://www.archivesofnethys.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Aram%20Zey%27s%20Focus) , whether learned or on a wand. Heck, you don't even need Trapfinding to find traps, just a good perception check. And once you find one, trigger it harmlessly from afar with a summmoned creature. Mount (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/mount/) is a good spell for that. Level 1, summons a large horse that lasts 2 hours per level.

[Peat]

I see no mechanical benefit to VMC Rogue and would strongly urge you to do no such thing.

[Florian]

Instead of Sorcerer, consider a Fetchling Arcanist (Blood Arcanist - Shadow or Psychic) with a heavy focus on illusions and divinations.

[tadkins]

Thanks y'all! I wasn't entirely sure about the VMC rogue; it just seemed thematic. Thank you for the correction though.


Instead of Sorcerer, consider a Fetchling Arcanist (Blood Arcanist - Shadow or Psychic) with a heavy focus on illusions and divinations.

The more I think about this route, the more it appeals to me. Being a Fetchling would give the group a little more racial diversity. Also, this in particular caught my eye.


Shadow Blending (Su): Attacks against a fetchling in dim light have a 50% miss chance instead of the normal 20% miss chance. This ability does not grant total concealment; it just increases the miss chance.

And then, this Exploit...


Shadow Veil (Su)
By expending 1 point from her arcane reservoir, an arcanist can pull a veil of shadows around her, making her more difficult to spot and strike. The arcanist gains concealment (20% miss chance) and a +5 bonus on Stealth checks. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to 1 + the arcanist’s Charisma bonus.

Yeah, I think I can have a lot of fun with this one! Thanks for opening my eyes to that suggestion. :)

[Psyren]

Heck, you don't even need Trapfinding to find traps, just a good perception check. And once you find one, trigger it harmlessly from afar with a summmoned creature.

Just to note - this will work on some traps (e.g. ones that do damage and trigger based on proximity or pressure.) But other traps, like those that trigger alarms, or trigger based on creature type or alignment, will have a less positive effect. Just something to keep in mind.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

I'm at work and can't type out a full build on my phone, but Mesmerist (VMC Cleric w/ Loss subdomain) into Umbral Agent is pretty fun for a more espionage-themed caster. Lots of mind-affecting tricks, illusions, and oh? Who were we talking about? You can become so aggressively uninteresting when you want to that people literally forget you exist moments after interacting with you. Get multiple layers of Somebody-Else's-Problem Fields up and go to town, where they won't notice or care that a guy walked in and stole that letter from the evil vizier. Wait, the letter's gone?! Find out who stole it!

Umbral's a good archetype for this, since it gives you single-target invisibility at early levels before your amnesia auras kick in, but you lose the Will save penalty normal Mesmers can throw out.

[tadkins]

Umbral Agent looks like an awesome PrC. It's a bloody shame it requires Lawful Evil.

[Eldariel]

Umbral Agent looks like an awesome PrC. It's a bloody shame it requires Lawful Evil.

You could ask for refluffing. It's not inherently tied to evil in anything but fluff.

[stack]

If you really want the locks/traps part of rogue, the seeker sorcerer archetype might be of use.

[Geddy2112]

Umbral Agent looks like an awesome PrC. It's a bloody shame it requires Lawful Evil.

Your soul is a small price to pay for optimization!

Seriously though ask your DM about re fluffing. It is tied to a specific deity that is lawful evil, but your DM might allow you to take a godless version that allows any alignment.

[tadkins]

Thanks y'all. :)

Right now I'm looking at a Fetchling Umbral Sorcerer (Seeker)10/Umbral Agent 10. Assuming I can get the refluffing approved and be allowed to remain the True Neutral I had originally planned.

How does that look?