[Build assistance] Sage type Sorcerer

[Thaneus]

Hallo again Playground,

I' like some advice on a Sorcerer who will soon assist a party in Rise of the Runelord.
Overall the party consists of Level 4 Druid (goes in melee and does spells..), Cleric (also attending in melee fight mainly), Ranger (crosbow), Barbarian (does was barbarians do) and a rogue 3/Ranger 1 for some sneak action.
Well that is basically all I know so far and that the other guys are fairly new to this as is the gm (as being gm in pathfinder)

Basically I saw this setup and concluded someone with knowledge and sozial skills would be nice and additional acrane magic. That's why I concluded Sorcerer/Sage Arcanebloodline was the way to go to cover most bases.

I did my rolles and got 12,14,15,15,15,17 slapped the 17 to Intelligence the 15's to Dex, Con and Cha 14 to Wis and 12 to Str.
I selected Race Human from Varisia because easier to role-play and integrate. the +2 goes to Int. Level 4 up goes to Int

Traits:
World Traveler -> selected Diplomacy
Pragmatic Activator -> change the Cha to Int on UMD

Feats I selected:
Fast Learner (Human)
L1: Empower Magic
L3: Spellfocus Evocation

Since I selected Sage Archetyp I dropped its 1st level blood-power for Blood Havoc.
If my calculation was right Level 1-3 I got 2+4+1+1 Skill-points; at 4: 2+5+1+1 which lead to overall 33 points

Skills Ranks: Appraise 1, Bluff 1, Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 1, Fly 1, UMD 4, Spellcraft 4, Knowledge all but Architecture at least 1, Arcana, Dungeneering and Nature 4

He is basically still very persuasive and knowledgeable but not very attentive to his surroundings (no sense motive and no perception)

HP is 30 which I guess ain't halve bad at this level.

I want the rest of the group to shine still in their main points and cover their weaknesses as best as possible.

Spells:
0: Prestidigitation, Message, Ghost Sound, Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Light
1: Magic Missile, Color Spray, Charm Person, protection from Evil (Human ACB), Identify (bloodline)
2: Flame Sphere

Yes GM ruled that Fast Learner allows to get AFCB + additional FCB


Does any of you has improving suggestions or progressions for the future?

[Kurald Galain]

Does any of you has improving suggestions or progressions for the future?
Let's see.

Pragmatic activator is not a very good trait for you. Your int is only slightly better than your cha, and as a sorcerer you have such a vast spell list that you rarely need UMD anyway. I suggest a defensive trait like Lessons of Chaldira or Blighted Physiology.
Empower Spell is great, but not until you get fourth level spells; and Fast learner is not that great, even with your GM's ruling. Some nice sorcerer feats are Varisian Tattoo or Toppling Spell or Burning Amplification.
Your first-level spells are solid, but flame sphere is not very good. I suggest Euphoric Cloud or Scorching Ray. And you probably want Mage Armor.
Don't forget to carry a bunch of scrolls for rarely-used spells, like Obscuring Mist.

HTH! :smallcool:

[Thaneus]

Let's see.

Pragmatic activator is not a very good trait for you. Your int is only slightly better than your cha, and as a sorcerer you have such a vast spell list that you rarely need UMD anyway. I suggest a defensive trait like Lessons of Chaldira or Blighted Physiology.
Empower Spell is great, but not until you get fourth level spells; and Fast learner is not that great, even with your GM's ruling. Some nice sorcerer feats are Varisian Tattoo or Toppling Spell or Burning Amplification.
Your first-level spells are solid, but flame sphere is not very good. I suggest Euphoric Cloud or Scorching Ray. And you probably want Mage Armor.
Don't forget to carry a bunch of scrolls for rarely-used spells, like Obscuring Mist.

HTH! :smallcool:

I wonder about the "slightly" I have 20 Int base right now and might be able to soon grab a +2 Headband but your suggestion is sure valid and I thank you for pointing out.
I played a character which basically was all about getting rerolls all the time but I utterly suck at rerolling i guess... felt like 80% of the time i failed harder and also got some critical fails too :smalleek:
Blighted Physiology does not come to match with my character; about a nice but a bit easy going man who uses charms and wits to get to his goal. (Now imagine there some blisting monstrosities below his skin which might bulge any moment... seems not pleasing to me).

I utterly thank you for Burning Amplification suggestion! That is something I was looking for, together with dazing spell that will be a nice setup.

Mage Armor just never seemed a good option to me so far... why get defensive if you can prevent damage entirely (color spray, char person) but I see the point... might as well grab it drop it until some later time.

I know sorcerer is about having a lot of scrolls for the "nice to have" moments (and that is why false priest is just ridicules strong option) but for now I am basically penniless. Rule of plot I suppose but I can live with it since the other guys already have +1 weapon and armor as level 4 i think I will be blessed with good stuff soon.

But again thanks

[Geddy2112]

I am on the fence about tossing pragmatic activator. It does net a +4 to UMD when you have the headband, and it will grow old over time, but your skill ranks will keep pace. Even keying off charisma, you have a +9 in it right now. It is a great skill, and you want to be able to hit a 20 or 30 fairly consistently. That said, are you using a lot of non sorc/wizard scrolls or wands? Unless you are planning to really milk it, I think you could find a stronger trait. It is not terrible though as is, and once you have a +20 or something ridiculous, you could throw skill ranks elsewhere, but that probably wont be an issue for your build. You could consider brusing intellect or student of philosophy- intimidate and diplomacy DC's are higher than UMD(if not totally fiat), and if you are the face that is arguably more important. Demoralize DC's do scale, but you will likely never use intimidate in combat. That said, you can max these out really easily with any amount of effort or they might be fiat so maybe not the best trait.

Mage armor is a good spell,although at higher levels, you might be able to score an armor bonus better than +4. The nice thing about mage armor is that it is a force effect, so it helps against ghosts and stuff, and that it is an hour/level duration, meaning you can fire and forget it anytime you think you need it. Even at this level, it could be an all day buff and that alone is a pretty big deal. You can wear a haramaki/silken ceremonial as a backup or when you are sleeping.

I second scorching ray or euphoric cloud. Keep in mind that euphoric cloud requires 5gp worth of magic mushrooms per casting. The pro is that your character has an excuse to carry around a lot of psychedelic mushrooms. False life is a good 2nd level buff, as is defending bone. You are the only person in the party that has access to invisibility, and it would be a great buff for your rogue friend(in addition to the utility it provides).

For your bloodline, I would grab improved initiative as your 7th level bonus feat. I am unsure how far RotRL goes but probably spell focus at 14th, and then at 19th it won't matter because you are a god sorcerer. You could start juicing ranks in knowledge engineering to qualify for sacred geometry, but I doubt your GM would allow it or that you want to subject your table to it. There are auto calculators online to make it user friendly if you wish, and with enough ranks you can always pass.

[Kurald Galain]

It is a great skill, and you want to be able to hit a 20 or 30 fairly consistently.
The question is, why?

Are you using a lot of non sorc/wizard scrolls or wands? If so, why is the party giving those items to you instead of to the party cleric or druid?

UMD is arguably the best skill in the game for non-casters. That doesn't mean that all casters need to invest in it.


The pro is that your character has an excuse to carry around a lot of psychedelic mushrooms.
I approve :smallbiggrin:

[Epic Legand]

I would suggest Burning Arc for your 2ed lv spell. It scales all the way to 10th level, right off the bat you can target a second target for an additional arc( 1/2 damage) and you get more along the way. Unlike Fireball, you can avoid your melee teammates as well.
Empower is great, but unless you pair it with a trait to reduce metamagic level costs, you cannot use it yet. So pick a different one now, or trade a trait ( I second skipping the UMD one) Maybe Student of Philosophy
for your "face" role? I would also suggest mage armor over pro from evil at this level. Damage prevention is great, but when 15 goblins rush you, that extra 4 points of AC is going to matter. You honestly just do not have that many spells per day at this level, duration or multiple target matter a lot. Your clearly going for blaster, with both the bloodline and feats, maybe an additional targeting spell...Snowball for example ( retrain later) Does great damage, plus a rider effect. Also, if you switch from Chr to Int, then use Chr as your dump stat.

[grarrrg]

Since I selected Sage Archetyp I dropped its 1st level blood-power for Blood Havoc.
If my calculation was right Level 1-3 I got 2+4+1+1 Skill-points; at 4: 2+5+1+1 which lead to overall 33 points

(Permanent) INT increases give you retroactive Skill Points.

[The Random NPC]

May I recommend pages of spell knowledge for more sage-like flavor?