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View Full Version : Touch Spell Optimization (PF with some 3.5)



Endless Query
2011-02-14, 12:56 PM
Pretty much what the title says, I have a flavor idea for a caster who heavily uses touch spells for a PF game I'm in, level 6, limited starting gear, but basically most variables are open. My stats are: 18, 16, 16, 14, 14 13, and normally I'd just slap some stuff together, take some touch spells I thought was good, pick up, I dunno, the armor casting feats and just see how things went, but the party has proven to be pretty well optimized and quite strong, so, well, I guess I need to be optimized too. So the what I'm looking for is:

1) Can it be done?

2) Class/PRCs (Both that can be had now and plans for the future)

3) Good spells that are a little obscure so I'd overlook (I might not be able to get GM permission for them, but then again I might be able to too)

4) Races/Feats...

Pretty much *everything* to be honest. If the end result is a solid character it's all I could possibly ask for.

Darwin
2011-02-14, 01:22 PM
Duskblade is a fairly balanced option that does melee touch pretty well. There's also the Arcane Swordsage variant that lets you use arcane spells as maneuvers, that way you can cherry pick the touch spells you want more easily.

Endless Query
2011-02-14, 03:45 PM
Hrmm, Duskblades seem kind of decent though with the way power, in general, has stepped up in PF I think they might be a touch underpowered in it (though I could be much mistaken), also they have really tight spell list. As for the Arcane Swordsage, I don't even know that my GM would allow it, especially since there doesn't seem to be any real hard and fast concrete rules for it.

subject42
2011-02-14, 04:34 PM
Be careful with the armored casting feat in PF: by the wording, you can't use it with quickened spells.

One thing you can look at is the Aberrant bloodline sorcerer. They get an additional 5' of reach for touch attacks every five levels or so. I think it's 20' reach by the time they hit level 20. If you can combine that with the 3.5 feat Willing Deformity: Tall and the other touch range increase, you can get it up to ~30'.

Endless Query
2011-02-14, 11:25 PM
The sorcerer thing is a very good idea, though I don't know that I'm going to be able to get the Willing Deformity: Tall as the game is going. What other options are there?

subject42
2011-02-14, 11:40 PM
Make sure that you have access to Enlarge Person. Being large will increase your reach by 5', I think.

Spectral hand can help too, but it gets away from your theme.

fratar11
2011-02-15, 03:41 AM
You can try playtesting pathfinder's Magus class. It's somewhat similar to 3.5's duskblade, but it gets spells up to 6th level. It's quite a bit more fighterish than wizard. Overall it's an awesome class.

stainboy
2011-02-15, 06:56 AM
Sort of related, but if you wanted to make a duskblade or something in Pathfinder who auto-succeeded checks to cast defensively, could it be done? Assume you need to break defensive casting at about 6th-7th level, and you aren't a magus.

Endless Query
2011-02-16, 02:14 AM
Hrmm, Fratar has an interesting suggestions and one that may actually fly, I do appreciate that, to be sure. That being said, it's more a starting point than aught else, I was hoping to make this character *really* solid to keep up with (at least somewhat) the CoDzilla we have leading the charge most days, any other cool bits of optimizing floating around?

I honestly dunno about auto successes on casting defensively, though. I mean, there are a lot of ways to get around having to cast in melee (since there are ways to get reach, in one hand if nothing else without too much difficulty) but especially in PF they seem to have gone out of their way to make it so you, well, can't get 100% cast defensively checks.