How Feasible is a Mesmerist/Gunslinger

[Haiiro_okami]

I may have a while to work on this (this is only one of a few possibilities for after the current campaign is done and I don't think we're anywhere near done just yet...), I put forward the idea of a Steampunk campaign (the other option right now is Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path) using elements from the Pure Steam campaign setting and it seemed pretty popular. I've been wanting to run a Mesmerist ever since I first looked over the class in Occult Adventures and I plan to run a regular one should the alternative win out...but I've been struck with the idea of a Mesmerist with a 1 level dip into Gunslinger (Mysterious Stranger archetype) which I figured I could combine with a pistol and the Painful Stare/Focused Aim abilities to get pretty decent damage with some degree of reliability courtesy of ranged touch attacks...along with a charisma-based grit pool with a charisma-based main class. How feasible is this whole idea? I don't tend to do level dips and have only really multiclassed once (with limited success), but the temptation of picking up a repeating pistol somewhere down the line, insisting that it's a Mauser C96 (Han Solo left an impression on me...) and combining it with class abilities that I'd only get some limited use out of (Painful Stare is more effective if you cause the damage yourself, and the weapon proficiencies for Mesmerist suck).

[BladeofObliviom]

It's workable. Honestly, Gunslinger 1 is as much you need for a lot of builds. You're a level behind on Mesmerist casting, of course, and Mesmerist doesn't offer a ton to the Gunslinger build (painful stare aside), but unless your group is really high-optimization or something, the style points might well be worth a very mild loss of power. Mysterious Stranger is a good archetype and the Charisma synergy is there, so you're probably fine. Some of the Bold Stare abilities are quite good for a showdown scenario, too, so you've got that going for you.

You could very easily build this into a gruff Man with Less Name than Usual (since he enhances his mystery with magical trickery) or go the other way and play Reisen from Touhou, combining illusions and compulsions with your firearm attacks.


I don't know anything about the Pure Steam campaign setting, but Psychic Inception will be 100% necessary if it features a lot of Constructs.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

Gunslinger 5/Mesmerist X is workable if you don’t need to be the magical powerhouse of the party. If your group is using Spheres of Might you could even swap casting for a martial progression!

[Geddy2112]

It's workable. Honestly, Gunslinger 1 is as much you need for a lot of builds. You're a level behind on Mesmerist casting, of course, and Mesmerist doesn't offer a ton to the Gunslinger build (painful stare aside), but unless your group is really high-optimization or something, the style points might well be worth a very mild loss of power. Mysterious Stranger is a good archetype and the Charisma synergy is there, so you're probably fine. Some of the Bold Stare abilities are quite good for a showdown scenario, too, so you've got that going for you.

I second only a single dip in gunslinger for such a build. As a mesmerist, your weapon will quickly become a secondary anyways and you are doing more damage by getting the stare up and on most of the time(including debuffing against your own spells). Mysterious stranger is good for the CHA synergy, but won't get gun training(dex to damage) till level 9, which is somewhat mitigated by focused aim. The big problem is that getting your stare up is a swift action, same as focused aim. Your stare is at will and the gun is indeed reliable damage, leaving your focused aim for subsequent rounds. The loss of quick clear can really suck as well;if your gun misfires you don't have time to repair it in combat, and your misfire chance is decent at higher levels. Subsequent attacks require alchemical shot to dakka, and more rolls mean more misfire chances. At higher levels a greater reliable gun is feasible but expensive. If you really want dex to damage, I would go vanilla slinger. You always get a grit point even with negative wisdom, used only for quick clear in your build. Then 5 levels for dex to damage and bail, but I would rely on triggering painful stare and the gun for more novel application.

The other main concern is the feat intensive nature of ranged combat. Your first 4-6 feats are basically spoken for, and mesmerist lacks the bonus feats to power ranged. Going human would help, but you still need point blank/precise shot/rapid reload/rapid shot, then clustered shots and deadly aim at higher levels. You could skimp with just point blank and precise, and hold off on reload till you get a second attack.

If you are just using the gun to trigger painful stare and for the moxie factor, a single dip in mysterious stranger is good enough.