Hi InEffect!


Is there a way to make a competent arcane/divine backline support that is semi-competent with a bow, but is there to dazzle, do some summons and some cc spells and when those run out attacks?

So if it shoots stuff with a weapon and not just touch attacks I figure I should go eldritch knight, cause mystic theurge or arcane trickster won't hit anything?

Then I would like to get arcane spells to level 9 - be able to cast highest wiz level ideally by endgame, though a compromise of 8th level is possible I guess.
As for divine spells, the big ones are freedom of movement and deathward but those are level 4 - anything beyong level 4 divine spellcasting is a bonus as I do not intend to pump wis, just int+dex. and maybe a little bit of str if I go elf and use a lcomposite longbow.

See I don't think pumping both Int and Wis is ideal not to mention Dex, that's totally mad. So better maybe in the build to do the cc through the wiz side and do some buffing on the cleric/ divine side.


I contemplated going crusader on the divine side just for the extra martial or weapon focus feat at the start for the EK prerequisite but wondering if such a weirs wiz/crusader/mt/ek build will amount to something or be a total trainwreck.

Thanks a lot!

if you want both arcane and divine in one package there are no two ways about it. You have to go either conjuration wizard with opposing enchantment/evo or enchantment/necro or sloth tassilonian. Wiz7/Ecclesi3/Theurge10. Asmodeus fire/trickery. Feats you would need point-blank/precise and ray focus/dazzling/shatter. Conjuration foci and heighten. The rest is mostly whatever.
With true strike and shatter the ab would be good enough for rays
Otherwise making something serviceable with both arcane and divine is impossible. And theurge is not something I would do either as that's awful before level10 at the very least.

Hey InEffect, im a fan of your guides, keep doing the good work.

If you can i want to do a playthrough with a Scroll Savant, probably using the eldrich arcana anf crafting items mods

Can you please build an optimal Scroll Savant? (Not solo, any level of min/max, any race, using the mod features or not)

Thx a lot in advance

Scroll Savant for revanroi

Race: Human

Alignment: Any(although LE is always the best for spoiler reasons)

Stats:
Str: 7
Dex: 16
Con: 14
Int: 19 > 24
Wis: 7
Cha: 14

Final Build: Wizard(Scroll Savant)10/Alchemist(Vivisectionist) 1/Arcane Trickster 8/Rogue(Thug) 1

Main skills: Persuasion (Max), Trickery(Max), Mobility 4, Knowledge: Arcana (Max), UMD (Max)
Suggested secondary skills: Stealth, Knowledge: World, Mobility(Spare)

School: Conjuration
Opposing: Abjuration, Enchantment

Detailed leveling breakdown:
Lvl 1: Wizard - Point-Blank Shot // Precise Shot
Lvl 2: Wizard
Lvl 3: Alchemist - Accomplished Sneak Attacker
Lvl 4: Wizard
Lvl 5: Wizard - Spell Focus: Conjuration
Lvl 6: Wizard
Lvl 7: Wizard - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration
Lvl 8: Wizard
Lvl 9: Wizard - Heighten Spell
Lvl 10: Wizard
Lvl 11: Wizard - Weapon Focus: Ray
Lvl 12: Arcane Trickster
Lvl 13: Arcane Trickster - Dazzling Display
Lvl 14: Arcane Trickster
Lvl 15: Arcane Trickster - Shatter Defenses
Lvl 16: Arcane Trickster
Lvl 17: Arcane Trickster - Spell Focus Evocation
Lvl 18: Arcane Trickster
Lvl 19: Arcane Trickster - Spell Specialization
Lvl 20: Rogue*
*Or Alchemist - Cognatogen for extra 2 DC.

Important Spells:
Lvl 1: True Strike, Grease, Hurricane Bow*, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Reduce Person, Vanish
Lvl 2: Glitterdust, Create Pit, Mirror Image, Sense Vitals, Scorching Ray, +Stat spells
Lvl 3: Stinking Cloud, Haste, Fireball, Displacement
Lvl 4: Animate Dead, Acid Pit, Dimension Door, Enervation
Lvl 5: Cloudkill, Acidic Spray, Hungry Pit, Echolocation
Lvl 6: Chains of Light, Chain Lightning, Heroism(Greater)**
Lvl 7: Legendary Proportions, Waves of Exhaustion, Firebrand, Ki Shout
Lvl 8: Stormbolts, Rift of Ruin, Seamantle
Lvl 9: Clashing Rocks, Tsunami, Foresight, Energy Drain
*Decent for early levels to scale the damage a bit.
**If you have nobody for those or not enough slots for everyone.

Spell Specialization: Stormbolts

Gear: Any useful robe, +4int Staff from varnhold, Ring of circumstances, +Stat hat/belt, Metamagic rods. Bokken elixir.

Took Vivisectionist early for 2d6 damage to catrips and Acid darts. That way we won’t be completely useless when not casting grease and stuff.

Shatter is there so you don’t have to lean on true stikes too heavily. So long as you’ve hit dazzled target with a catrip you can safely fire your ray spells and shouldn’t worry all too much about them.

Didn’t have any spare feats to boost persuasion further, but would ok to use when you have nothing better to do with your life. At 20 can even scare stuff sometimes, although rogue is mostly there for an extra damage as there is nothing better to take.
Could’ve taken monk at 20, but I feel it’s too late for that. Feel free to if you want some touch AC more than you want extra damage. Generally, full buff would be enough to keep you alive.

Heightened stinking cloud is bread and butter of any viable arcane caster.

20d8 Stormbolts for the annoying ghosts.

12d6 sneak damage by level 20 with sense vitals.

Self-evidently can make use of all the scrolls you come across.
Nothing else comes to mind. Pretty solid control wizard with good enough damage and all that. Would’ve loved to take 2nd evo focus, but there is no space for it.

If you take splashes of viv/thug why not go just two levels of viv and grab cognatagon: intelligence for higher spell DCs?

You can if you want to. It's a good option as well. To me it boiled down to "you don't really need it and extra damage for you and the party is just as valuable at that point". It's a level 20 pick so either way will not matter much. I will add it in notes. Might be a better option for the scrolls, I guess

Thanks for all the work youre putting in, these threads of yours are incredibly useful

Im starting a playthrough as a Druid and hoping for your take on a caster variant. In your overview of classes you mention theyre like shitty Sylvan Sorcs, but could a minmaxed caster Druid still handle Hard?

he does have a pet and ground spells to abuse, so yeah. And creeping doom is very strong later on. Problem with druid is not their casting ability per se. It's mostly that most of good stuff are duration spells. And waiting those out is PITA. Especially dungeon crawling later on. Driuds are more capable when soloing unfair than going with a party on hard as a result. But all in all they are not bad. Some summoning, pet, decent spell selection, fast spell progression. Being a shitty sylvan sorc is very high on the power curve after all

Hi id like to make a kinteicist character with lots of ranged lightning/ice/wind spells
as a halfling

I do not really understand kineticsists at all and would really appreciate it if you in addition to my build explain why you chose/didnt choose one of the subclasses


I have all the DLCs, Not solo, Not gonna be my MC, using eldritch arcana mod, using crafting item mods, min max please

Thanks a lot im a fan

Let me bring some clarity. Kinticists do not have spells. They have a basic blast that gets modified by substance infusion to cause additional effects and form infusions to alter the blasts function. Every kineticist of equal level will have the same amount of infusions, apart from kinetic knight.
Also ice is the most common elemental immunity and resistance in the game. While Air is lacking chain infusion from PnP and is not overly spectacular.
So before I make you your ice kineticist I want to make sure you understand what you are asking for.

i suppose this looks less spectacular than i thought it would
Instead of the kineticist id prefer to have a "ninja" build
so a finesse melee build which uses invisibility and mirrored images
and basically singles mages/rangers out and kills them

min max if possible
using a halfling
if you can incoporate monk skills/weapons like the sai or kama that would be good

I have what I think is a unique request. I believe there are three items that allow any class to shapeshift, conqueror wurm belt (dragonkind III), dragon essence great axe (dragonkind III), and tiger stripes (smilodon w/ +5 enhancement). Is it possible to build a hard viable class the utilizes these forms or is it too much of a detriment and not viable?

It is possible. After all all shifter does is adding his transformation stats to his regular stats. So pretty much any Str monk 1 can do it. Then come the attacks and that they crit on 20... so sneak dice is the way. Str Motherless monk 2/Vivisectionist16/Archaeologist 2 should do it alright and would be capable of murdering stuff nicely with cloak of winter wolf and trips in his own right. The fact that all forms have bite helps that decision as well.

Couple questions. What does the 2 levels in archeologist get you? Also what would the stat distribution look like, seems like you would have to spread it but that should be offset but the shifting stats correct? Also, what would this characters role be before getting the shifting items? Does it attack with the natural weapons from feral mutagen?

I’m assuming once you can transform it would be buff up (mutagen, etc), shift, cast transformation? Also, I try not to abuse bugs too much, I’m assuming motherless is because bites stack? Aasimar next best choice?