Pathfinder 1E High-level Pathfinder Planar Game: The Lich-Queen's Beloved

[Shayuri]

Hm! At this stage, probably not a LOT. I can take a look at what might replace some of the self-buffs at their levels if you want to pursue that line of thought. It might also let you focus your feats a bit more, though really I hadn't planned on spending many feats on non-magic fighting.

Sorry I slowed down on your character building lately. Been obliged to focus on a few other things.

But I think I'm good to go with finishing you up here.

So your oracle's focus is totally up to you. You could be good at spells and fighting, or focus more on spellcasting...either way is equally valid. I would probably leave a few buffs in, just in case.

 

[Queenie]

Please don't apologize! You're helping me and I will take what I can get I've also been insanely busy / not feeling great myself so haven't been online as much and barely keeping up with my games.

If there isn't much trade out then keep what you have. I was thinking more along the lines of she's a lover not a fighter but perhaps when love doesn't work she'll need another strategy. So I will stick with what you have

 

[Shayuri]

Arr, the good news is that being a lover doesn't have much in the way of game rules, so you can pretty much just say, 'She's a lover' and boom, she is.

So then you can be a fighter as well as one of those. She may prefer not to to fight, but it's never a bad idea to have that as a fallback position should the wuvvin' stop.

Anyway, my thought for her was to emphasize spellcasting over wading in and getting her hands dirty...and note too that a lot of her buffs apply just as well to ranged attacks as to melee, so you might pick up a missile weapon and rely on that more. Her spells give her a fairly good amount of flexibility.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Does the group need another fighter type?

Another fighter, while welcome, is not a necessity. The characters created by Tailspinner and Shayuri will be able to hold their own in combat.

I agree with Shayuri that emphasizing spellcasting over fighting is probably a good thing. That said, I also agree with Shayuri that a little bit of fighting capability is also probably a good thing.

 

[Queenie]

Awesome. Shay, I think you've got it down then

 

[CanadienneBacon]

I intend to start checking characters this week. If you have an existing entry in the RG, please double check it and post here when your character is ready for DM review. If you don't have an existing entry in the RG, this week would be a stellar time to get one up, if possible. It's going to take some time for me to go through each character, so if you don't have a RG entry up quite yet, you probably have a few days to do so. Thanks!

 

[Shayuri]

And, right on schedule. Queenie, here's another look at your character. Did a bit more work on it. Very happy with how it's going. There's gonna be some text in this post, so I'll be doing some sblocking. The tactics of this character take some explaining, but once you see how the pieces fit together I think you'll see where I'm going with it.

You'll see I haven't completely used everything up. There's a feat left unused still, a little cash in her pocket, and in particular I think there's a few more spell selections that would work for her that you can get with the Human racial Favored Class option for Oracles. I can fill some of that in soon if you wish. Let me know if you want me to leave you anything mechanical to decide.

So Queenie here is an oracle focused on Control, via single-target and area enchantment powers that deny actions, party buffs, and self-buffs. She has a limited selection of direct-damage spells as well.

[sblock=Self-buffs]Key to her self-buffing power is a spell called Moment of Greatness. It doubles the effect of a morale bonus. This means, if she casts Dance of 100 Cuts on herself, and then Moment of Greatness, she gets +10 (!) to hit, damage, saves, and AC. She can do this in one turn, with two 5th level slots (quickening Moment of Greatness), and gain full benefit the following turn. If you have another turn to prep, you can throw out a Divine Favor (+3 to hit and damage that stacks with the previous), and maybe Greater Angelic Aspect for energy resists and flight and so on.[/sblock]

[sblock=Party Buffs]Party buffs center around the stacking of Prayer (luck bonuses and debuff to enemies) and either Good Hope or Heartening Presence. Good Hope is a 3rd level spell, and has the advantage of buffing damage as well as attack rolls. Heartening Presence has the advantage of not using a spell slot, and is nonmagical. You also have a feat called Battle Cry which gives the same bonuses as Bless, but has two massive advantages: It is a Swift Action, and it ALSO gives a free reroll to a failed save for all affected parties, per use. THAT is far more valuable than a mere +1 to hit, and is the reason you have the feat. You can lead off with Battle Cry, then do Good Hope and/or Heartening Presence, and then maybe Quicken a Prayer if you feel like it. All party buffs then go out in a single round. We all get +3 to hit, saves, checks, and damage. Enemies get -1 to the same (which is effectively another +1 to us by comparison) AND we get a free reroll of a failed save. And if we use that reroll? No problem, just rip off another Battle Cry. It's a quick action and you can do it 10 times per day.[/sblock]

[sblock=Direct damage]So here we have it easy. You have Admonishing Ray, which is sort of like Scorching Ray except it does nonlethal 'force' damage. It's only 2nd level though, so if you double it up with Quicken, you can potentially do 24d6 damage if all the rays hit. A little self-buff prior to this will make it hard to miss. Nonlethal damage means overkill isn't an issue, but does mean it won't work against undead. So you have Flame Strike, which is straight up 15d6 damage, half-sacred, which will do the job admirably. You CAN quicken it, but doing so makes it 9th level, so a 30d6 FlameStrikeNova is an expensive proposition for you. I also counted Summon Monster IX as a direct damage spell, since usually you'll be summoning heavy hitters like elder elementals, trumpet archons or astral devas. Those last two are also powerful divine spellcasters by the way, so you can also use them for additional healing and support.[/sblock]

[sblock=Control]This is where she shines. Anything that isn't immune to mind-affecting effects is going to have a bad day with her. Anything that is will still have to watch out for Holy Word and Reverse Gravity, either of which can transform a battle in an instant. Tactics to consider; rather than starting off a hard fight with buffs, start off with Serenity or Overwhelming Presence for groups, or Euphoric Tranquility for a single target. Serenity inflicts considerable nonlethal damage anytime an affected enemy tries to take any kind of hostile action. Overwhelming Presence forces up to 18 enemies to prostrate themselves before you, rendering them helpless. Euphoric Tranquility causes the target to become so blissed out that it refuses to fight or do anything other than just try to get away if it's attacked. And noncombat, it's attitude becomes Helpful, regardless of what it was before.[/sblock]

There's also a few fun things I threw in. For example, she has two gloves of storing, and her armor is Glamered. This means she can go from a slinky evening gown to fully armed and armored as a free action. The gloves of storing are actually crucial for her melee combat, by the way. She has a feat called Dervish Dance, that allows her to use her Dex bonus for damage as well as to hit, with a scimitar (which just struck me as a very 'Sune' weapon). But it requires that she not be using a shield. However, she really needs that shield to get her AC at a decent level (note - with the Dance and Moment of Greatness, her AC is a mind-boggling 48!). The glove of storing lets her switch her shield off, do her attacks, and switch it back on, all within the space of her turn...getting full advantage of her feat, and full advantage of her shield.

Crunching a little numbers, with the self-buffs in place, she has +35 to hit, does 1d6+22 damage, and threatens crits on 15 or better. If her target is evil, that's 3d6+22.

We can do better.

There's a spell called Eagle Soul, which I want to get with one of her Favored Class picks. Having that active means she can get another +2 AC (Hello 50!) and automatically confirm crits against evil foes. And she threatens crits on 25% of her hits.

6d6+44 damage sound pretty good? You can do that.

Her big expenditure, itemwise, is a thing called Eyes of the Dragon, which gives low light and darkvision and blindsense and long-distance vision and they're pretty nice. That said, there are cheaper items if you want more money to play with.

And remember, if you're concerned about taking the time to buff, you can open up with one of your mind-crushing control spells, then take a round or two while they reel from that to get ready. You have a lot of options in any given fight to decide what threat level a given encounter is, and decide on what response is warranted. For your final feat, I'd probably get either Silent Spell or Heighten Spell, or maaaaaaaaaybe Spell Focus: Abjuration.

[sblock=Queenie]
Female Human Oracle 18
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Age: ?
Languages: Common

Appearance:

Statistics
Str: 11 (+0) 1
Dex: 16/22 (+6) 10
Con: 14/20 (+5) 5
Int: 10 (+0) 0
Wis: 12 (+1) 2
Cha: 18/30 (+10) 10

Hit Points: 184
Armor Class: 38 (10 + 6 dex + 9 armor + 7 shield + 5 deflection +1 dodge)
Initiative: +6
BAB: +13/+8/+3
CMB: +13
CMD: 19
Speed: 30'

Saves
Fort: +16
Reflex: +17
Will: +17

Feats
b Dodge
1 Weapon Finesse
3 Martial Weapo Prof: Scimitar
5 Dervish Dance
7 Battle Cry (swft act; +1 morale atk, +4 vs fear, reroll save 1/use, use 10/day)
9 Spell Penetration
11 Greater Spell Penetration
13 Quicken Spell
15 Spell Focus: Enchantment
17

Racial Abilities
+2 Charisma
Medium, normal speed
Bonus Feat
Bonus Skills

Class Abilities
Mystery - Joy
Oracle's Curse - Haunted (retrieving gear is std action or longer, dropped items land 10' away)
Orisons
Mystery Spells
Revelations (DC 29)
- Heartening Presence (Allies within 100' gain +2 to attacks, skills, saves for Chamod rounds as std action, 3/day)
- Instant Friends (1 creature who can understand your speech makes will save or is charmed, up to 18 min/day)
- Perseverence (Gain Endurance, Diehard and Heroic Defiance as bonus feats)
- Shout of Ecstacy (9d6 sonic dmg and deafen 1d4 rnds, fort save for 1/2 dmg and no deafen, 15' cone, 3/day)
- Uplifting Joy (Fly 90/perfect, 18 min/day)

Skills 90
Diplomacy +31 (18rnks + 10 cha + 3 class)
Heal +14 (10rnks + 1 wis + 3 class)
Knowledge Planes +13 (10rnks + 3 class)
Knowledge Religion +13 (10rnks + 3 class)
Perform +31 (18rnks + 10 cha + 3 class)
Sense Motive +19 (15rnks + 1 wis + 3 class)
Spellcraft +12 (9rnks + 3 class)

Spellcasting
Oracle CL 18 (concentration +28, SR check +22), Base DC 20+lvl
Slots
1 - 6/6, 2 - 6/6, 3 - 6/6, 4 - 6/6, 5 - 6/6, 6 - 6/6, 7 - 6/6, 8 - 5/5, 9 - 3/3

0 - 9, Create Water, Purify Food, Detect Magic, Enhanced Diplomacy, Guidence, Light, Mending, Spark, Stabilize, Mage Hand, Ghost Sound
1 - 5, Bless, Tap Inner Beauty, Sanctuary, Command, Moment of Greatness, Divine Favor, Cure Light Wounds
2 - 5, Admonishing Ray, Align Weapon, Early Judgement, Lesser Restoration, Spiritual Weapon, Levitate, Minor Image, Hideous Laughter, Cure Moderate Wounds
3 - 4, Good Hope, Invisibility Purge, Magic Circle vs Evil, Prayer, Protection vs Energy, Cure Serious Wounds
4 - 4, Death Ward, Cure Critical Wounds, Divination, Blessing of Fervor, Freedom of Movement, Restoration
5 - 4, Telekinesis, Dance of 100 Cuts, Cleanse, Commune, Serenity, Flame Strike
6 - 3, Joyful Rapture, Greater Dispel Magic, Heal, Wind Walk
7 - 3, Reverse Gravity, Waves of Ecstacy, Greater Restoration, Holy Word, Resurrection
8 - 2, Euphoric Tranquility, Greater Angelic Aspect, Greater Spell Immunity
9 - 1, Overwhelming Presence, Summon Monster IX

Personal Buffs
- Tap Inner Beauty
- Divine Favor
- Dance of 100 Cuts (+5 morale to hit/dmg/ac, must move 10' and/or make melee attacks, 1rnd/lvl)
- Greater Angelic Aspect
- Greater Spell Immunity

Party Buffs
- Bless
- Good Hope
- Prayer
- Blessing of Fervor
- Wind Walk

Control
- Command
- Hideous Laughter
- Early Judgement
- Telekinesis
- Serenity
- Joyful Rapture
- Reverse Gravity
- Waves of Ecstacy
- Holy Word
- Euphoric Tranquility
- Overwhelming Presence

Direct Attack
- Admonishing Ray
- Spiritual Weapon
- Flame Strike
- Summon Monster 9

Equipment
Cash: 17.2k/530k

Weapons
Holy Keen Scimitar +3, +22 atk, 1d6+9 dmg, 15-20x2 crit, 72k

Armor
Mithril Glamered Chain Mail Shirt +5, +9 AC, ACP 0, 10lbs, 28.8k
Mithril Large Shield +5, +7 AC, ACP 0, 5lbs, 25k

Gear
+2 Charisma Book, 54k
Eyes of the Dragon, 110k
Belt +6 Dex, Con, 90k
Headband +6 Cha, 36k
Ring of Protection +5, 50k
Cloak of Resistance +5, 25k
2x Gloves of Storing, 20k
Handy Haversack, 2k[/sblock]

 

[Queenie]

Holy... holy. lol Give me a day to look her over... she sounds amazing! I will never remember all that so it's good to have it written out. Thank you thank you thank you!!!! Will comment more tomorrow

 

[Shayuri]

Hoo. Okay, started doing favored class stuff. I can get you a lot more spells. So...I'll be doing another draft soon.

That said, it won't fundamentally change the character or tactics. Just add some more options. In particular, adding more direct spell attacks like Holy Smite, Destruction, and a gem of a spell called Stormbolts.

 

[Shayuri]

Okay, so here's Queenie the Oracle again. I've filled in a list of her spells subdivided by 'type' to help you sort of keep track of them in your head, and each one has a little capsule description of what it does. I left out the healing spells, of which she has a really big mess of, because those are easier to figure out. Someone gets hurt or a negative status effect; cast one.

My previous post still works for tactics, with only one big change. Moment of Greatness doubles morale bonus for just one action per casting, affecting all allies within 50' of the caster. So it really is just a moment of glory. So your Dance of 100 Cuts is still a great self buff; but no longer making me vaguely embarrassed for breaking the game. And of course, it still stacks with Divine Favor. +30 to hit, 3d6+17 damage, AC 43 and +5 to all saves is still nothing to sneeze at.

[sblock=Queenie 2: Electra Boogaloo]Female Human Oracle 18
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Age: ?
Languages: Common

Appearance:

Statistics
Str: 11 (+0) 1
Dex: 16/22 (+6) 10
Con: 14/20 (+5) 5
Int: 10 (+0) 0
Wis: 12 (+1) 2
Cha: 18/30 (+10) 10

Hit Points: 184
Armor Class: 38 (10 + 6 dex + 9 armor + 7 shield + 5 deflection +1 dodge)
Initiative: +6
BAB: +13/+8/+3
CMB: +13
CMD: 19
Speed: 30'

Saves
Fort: +16
Reflex: +17
Will: +17

Feats
b Dodge
1 Weapon Finesse
3 Martial Weapo Prof: Scimitar
5 Dervish Dance
7 Battle Cry (swft act; +1 morale atk, +4 vs fear, reroll save 1/use, use 10/day)
9 Spell Penetration
11 Greater Spell Penetration
13 Quicken Spell
15 Spell Focus: Enchantment
17 Heighten Spell

Racial Abilities
+2 Charisma
Medium, normal speed
Bonus Feat
Bonus Skills
Favored Class - Oracle
- +10 skill points (levels 1-10)
- +1 4th lvl spell, +2 5th lvl spells, +2 6th level spells, +2 7th lvl spells, +1 8th lvl (lvl 11-18)

Class Abilities
Mystery - Joy
Oracle's Curse - Haunted (retrieving gear is std action or longer, dropped items land 10' away)
Orisons
Mystery Spells
Revelations (DC 29)
- Heartening Presence (Allies within 100' gain +2 to attacks, skills, saves for Chamod rounds as std action, 3/day)
- Instant Friends (1 creature who can understand your speech makes will save or is charmed, up to 18 min/day)
- Perseverence (Gain Endurance, Diehard and Heroic Defiance as bonus feats)
- Shout of Ecstacy (9d6 sonic dmg and deafen 1d4 rnds, fort save for 1/2 dmg and no deafen, 15' cone, 3/day)
- Uplifting Joy (Fly 90/perfect, 18 min/day)

Skills 100
Diplomacy +31 (18rnks + 10 cha + 3 class)
Heal +14 (10rnks + 1 wis + 3 class)
Knowledge Planes +15 (12rnks + 3 class)
Knowledge Religion +15 (12rnks + 3 class)
Linguistics +8 (5 rnks + 3 class)
Perform +31 (18rnks + 10 cha + 3 class)
Sense Motive +20 (16rnks + 1 wis + 3 class)
Spellcraft +12 (9rnks + 3 class)

Languages: Common, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Spellcasting
Oracle CL 18 (concentration +28, SR check +22), Base DC 20+lvl
Slots
1 - 6/6, 2 - 6/6, 3 - 6/6, 4 - 6/6, 5 - 6/6, 6 - 6/6, 7 - 6/6, 8 - 5/5, 9 - 3/3

0 - 9, Create Water, Purify Food, Detect Magic, Enhanced Diplomacy, Guidence, Light, Mending, Spark, Stabilize, Mage Hand, Ghost Sound
1 - 5, Hide from Undead, Tap Inner Beauty, Sanctuary, Murderous Command, Moment of Greatness, Divine Favor, Cure Light Wounds
2 - 5, Admonishing Ray, Align Weapon, Early Judgement, Lesser Restoration, Spiritual Weapon, Levitate, Minor Image, Hideous Laughter, Cure Moderate Wounds
3 - 4, Good Hope, Invisibility Purge, Magic Circle vs Evil, Prayer, Protection vs Energy, Cure Serious Wounds
4 - 4, Death Ward, Cure Critical Wounds, Divination, Blessing of Fervor, Freedom of Movement, Restoration, Holy Smite
5 - 4, Telekinesis, Dance of 100 Cuts, Cleanse, Commune, Serenity, Flame Strike, Greater Command, Disrupting Weapon
6 - 3, Joyful Rapture, Greater Dispel Magic, Heal, Wind Walk, Eaglesoul, Mass Planar Adaptation
7 - 3, Reverse Gravity, Waves of Ecstacy, Greater Restoration, Holy Word, Resurrection, Greater Scrying, Destruction
8 - 2, Euphoric Tranquility, Greater Angelic Aspect, Greater Spell Immunity, Stormbolts
9 - 1, Overwhelming Presence, Summon Monster IX

Personal Buffs
- Tap Inner Beauty (+2 insight on all charisma attribute and skill checks)
- Divine Favor (+3 luck to hit/dmg)
- Disrupting Weapon (melee weapon can destroy undead on hit)
- Dance of 100 Cuts (+5 morale to hit/dmg/ac, must move 10' and/or make melee attacks, 1rnd/lvl)
- Eaglesoul (+2 morale perception vs evil, +2 initiative, constant detect evil; expend in combat for +2 sacred to AC, +4 sacred strength, resist acid/fire 5, +5 sacred Intimidate vs evil, fast healing 2, autoconfirm crits vs evil)
- Greater Angelic Aspect (DR10/evil, immune acid cold petr, resist fire/elec 10, +4 vs poison, tongues)
- Greater Spell Immunity (become immune to 4 spells up to 8th level)

Party Buffs
- Moment of Greatness (Double morale bonuses for allies for a single action)
- Good Hope (+2 morale to hit/save/check/dmg for allies)
- Prayer (+1 luck to hit/save/check for allies, -1 to same for foes)
- Blessing of Fervor (allies choose from a variety of bonuses, round by round)
- Wind Walk (become gaseous, move superfast)

Control
- Command (force a target to obey a 1 word command)
- Greater Command (like command, but up to 18 targets)
- Hideous Laughter (target loses action, laughing)
- Early Judgement (give target a vision of hellish afterlife, fear effect)
- Telekinesis (can grapple, disarm, etc)
- Serenity (18 targets suffer 3d6 nonlethal dmg if they take any hostile action)
- Reverse Gravity (create area where gravity is reversed, creatures/objects float up)
- Waves of Ecstacy (18 targets are staggered)
- Holy Word (banish evil extraplanar beings, deafen and stun evil beings)
- Euphoric Tranquility (one target becomes passive and utterly nonviolent)
- Overwhelming Presence (18 targets are overwhelmed by awe and fling themselves to the ground at your feet)

Direct Attack
- Admonishing Ray (3 rays, 4d6 nonlethal per ray)
- Spiritual Weapon (force weapon attacks independently of you)
- Flame Strike (15d6 fire and holy)
- Holy Smite (5d8 holy dmg that can also blind evil)
- Destruction (180 damage or 10d6 on successful save; death destroys body utterly)
- Stormbolts (18d8 lightning damage to anyone you want within 30' of you)
- Summon Monster 9

Equipment
Cash: 17.2k/530k

Weapons
"Sune's Smile" Holy Keen Scimitar +3, +22 atk, 1d6+9 dmg, 15-20x2 crit, 72k

Armor
"Glamor" Mithril Glamered Chain Mail Shirt +5, +9 AC, ACP 0, 10lbs, 28.8k
Mithril Large Shield +5, +7 AC, ACP 0, 5lbs, 25k

Gear
+2 Charisma Book, 54k
Eyes of the Dragon, 110k
Belt +6 Dex, Con, 90k
Headband +6 Cha, 36k
Ring of Protection +5, 50k
Cloak of Resistance +5, 25k
2x Gloves of Storing, 20k
Handy Haversack, 2k[/sblock]

So a few things to note then, above and beyond my previous notes. First, you have a lot more direct spell attacks now. Some are quite powerful for a cleric. Stormbolts is an area effect that centers on you, but omits any targets you wish...you can basically 'lightning fireball' at point blank range, totally safely. For 18d6 damage. Destruction I included cuz it really sums up the whole "fury of the divine" and represents one of the very few ways to mess someone up beyond the reach of Resurrection. And of course, 180 damage. 180 damage.

Note that Holy Word is still decent, but it can't banish extraplanar beings unless you're on your home plane...so you MIGHT want to get Banishment instead. But Holy Word can still inflict blindness and paralysis to hordes of lower-level foes so...it has its place.

Holy Smite is not big damage, but blindness is a great status effect to inflict.

I filled in Heighten Spell for her 17th level feat, because so many of her spells have no effect on a successful save. There's nothing quite as fun as a Heightened Murderous Command cast on a big old red dragon.

I gave her Protection from Energy instead of Resist Energy...Mei has Resist, but I think it's overall a better spell so if you want it too that would be fine. That said, for your personal resistances, you can cast Greater Angelic Aspect for two big immunities, and resistance to cold and fire. So. Up to you.

I took Linguistic skill with her lower-level Favored Class bonuses, because many of your spells are language-dependent. Right now you get 5 language picks above Common to learn. Note that under the influence of Greater Angelic Aspect, you have truespeech which is basically Tongues, so don't feel like you have to learn a ton. Even so, GAA is a high level slot, so having a decent selection is wise.

I didn't take Miracle! You could swap out Summon Monster for it, or just wait until next level. Swapping isn't a bad idea, honestly, even though summoning high level allies is very action-economy-friendly.

Oh oh, you have the Disrupting Weapon spell. This is because I decided you didn't have enough anti-undead effectiveness. In a weird inversion, Mei-Ying is CRAZY effective against undead, while our divine caster was mostly only good because of Heal (does 180 damage on melee touch vs undead). But now you have a new toy. Slap Disrupting Weapon on your melee weapon, and every time you hit, they have to save against being destroyed. For non-undead crusades against evil, there's Eaglesoul. It's an hour/level buff that gives a few minor bonuses that can be triggered in combat as a swift action to give GREAT bonuses for 1 round per level, and then it expires.

So yep. Anything you want to ask or talk about, just let me know.