Callie's Cornucopia of Characters (and other things): May 2014

Introducing the Jax Lodge's first 12th Level Character. She made 12th in November with the completion of 'The Waking Rune'. She and five others killed the Runelord of Sloth, Krune, in what can only can be called an epic 5 1/2 hour fight.

Tactics: She has some practices that she likes to do and few that she hasn't quite used but has in place. Some of them are 'common sense' elements any PFS player should consider, others are things I like to do with her.
-Buffing: She has a 'core set' of buffs for herself. Extended Mage Armor (24 hours), Extended Bullet Shield (240 minutes), Extended Greater False Life (24 Hours) and Extended Overland Flight (24 hours). Most of the rest of her buffs tend to be Communal spells to enable her to help out the rest of her party (like Resist/Protection from Energy, Darkvision, or Stoneskin or spells that spread the wealth to others like Haste, Life Bubble. Then the last mix are things like Liberating Command, See Invisibility and such.
-Multi-role spells. Most of the transmutation school have spells that give short term bonuses to multiple things. AC, Attributes, special abilities or such. Best example: Form of Dragon 1, you got attribute bonuses, flight (along with other possible movement methods), resistances, a potent breath weapon and multiple attack methods. Geniekind, Angelic Aspect, Monstrous Physique(s) and such. NOTE: come prepare with notes and entries for the forms you take. It, like bringing notes on your summons, helps the GM keep the game running smoothly.
-The Hammer. Cindrana is an evoker. She hits HARD and often. The record at this point is 124+ with an Empowered Intensified Reach Shocking Grasp. Critical hit, Assassin went from full health to smoking boots in one critical confirmation roll. That is 20d6 (x1.5)+ 6. LOTS of dice. Don't stick to one type of spell though. Shop for variety. Multiple elemental effects, force effects, and so on. Most wizards (and understandably Sorcerers) like to stick to one type of spell type. Magic Missile, Lightning, Acid, Fire, Force or whatever. Each spell has it's strengths and weaknesses. Reflex save = Evasion critters WILL laugh at you. Your 20+ DC won't matter for @#$@ with their +15 (or higher) reflex save. Range Touch requires you to hit their touch, be aware of melee/soft cover. I find flight of any sort helps with the cover issues. Touch attacks require you (or your familiar) to get in close.
-'Set up spells'. I've found a surprising amount of folks think Evoker means you're a glass cannon and nothing else. You can pick some evocations that really mess up the foes or set them up for the party. Battering Blast, Chain of Perdition, Force Punch and ANY of the Hand spells all do other things. Knocking enemies prone, entangle, direct trick, bull rush an so on.
-Crowd/Battlefield control: I put this in a separate category from 'set up' because these set the battlefield conditions/crowd maneuvers. Wall spells, Black Tentacles, and such. These could simply set up things to make it hard to move, do more like hammer in damage, separate mobs to make them more easily managed. You can slow, entangle, hurt, block and so on the enemy and make them either not come to the group or come in manageable groups. Casters working in coordination here are terrifying. You're talking about things like a wall spell and cloud kill on the now trapped crowd.
-Counter-Caster: some spells are really good for this. You have things like Obscuring Mist (hides the group), Hostile Levitation, Mad Monkeys, Enemy Hammer (cause throwing another enemy at a guy is just cool.) Don't forget counterspelling if you got a good mix of spells and a spellcraft skill. Even Dispel Magic can make your character very good at denying the OTHER guy his spells.
-Contingency: This is 'technically' another buffing spell but it is, to me, so important that it requires it's own category. Think very carefully for the set up on this one. Not just the spell you're putting in it but the CONDITIONS. Be very precise. Things like 'falling more the 20 ft, moving more than 20 ft in any direction against my will, when I say the word 'favror' or pull of the onxy ring on my left pinkie'. Be specific. Let the GM know. Be aware which of your actions are free actions, things others can do to trigger it and such. I typically use Emergency Force Sphere with the conditions of 'losing more than 20% of my HP, a command word (Free Action) and such. Another player uses Greater False Life with the conditions of losing his current GFL, taking more than 30% damage in one round, or a verbal command.
-Surprise Spells: While technically those spells fall into other categories: Buff, Hammer, assist and such. I haven't used them yet, or just got them. Getaway. A definite fun teleport spell. We used it to 'fall back and recover' during our fight with Krune. Sign of Wrath. Using long lost Runelord magic to 'blow up' anyone adjacent to you AND throw a bull's rush at them. With a 25+Int Bonus as my CMB, it can literally throw folks away from me.
-Metamagic: This is the wizard's strong point. They can put in spells 'tweaked' for a variety of purposes. It is a very very feat intensive option but with extras like Metamagic Rods and Metamagic Gems, you can spend for even more variety. Cindrana has four metamagic feats (Empower, Extend, Intensified and Maximize) and a few rods (Lesser Extend, Lesser Reach, and Lesser Selective). The mix lets her do some 'out of hand' smashes AND some on the fly. Casting (via rod) an Extended Communal Darkvision on a handful of non-darksight players makes it easier to move about in darkness. A Lesser Reach Rod can put a variety of low level 'close in spells' into something nasty at a range. Imagine.. Force Punch showing up from 85 ft away or a Battering Blast out to 230 feet out. The list goes on. I got a Reach Rod for my cleric to allow things like Slay Living from 85 ft and Breath of Life at the same range.
-Be Prepared. As a former Eagle Scout, this comes to mind a lot. I leave spells open to keep the option to toss out spells that I might not have prepared. No rogues/evasion beasts in the initial mix? Add in more hammering spells with REF saves. Undead of the incorporeal type? Add in a few more force effects. Bring Pathfinder Chronicles to boost your (or others) skill checks. Carry extra weapons of a type that others might needs (like Cold Iron or Alchemical Silver) which can become magical really quickly with a Greater Magic Weapon. Went in expecting demons but got devils? A simple silver weapon with a single spell can give the unprepared fighter a +3 weapon that will last for HOURS.
After all most of my wizards don't actually use much of the contents of their Efficient Quiver. A handful of arrows with Magic Weapon can help out when the archer has blown through 80+ arrows in a fight.

Cindrana Longpath
Female Tiefling Wizard 12
CG Medium outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +21
Aura elemental manipulation

Defense

AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+4 armor, +3 shield, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +1 deflection)
hp 62 (12d6+12)
Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +11
Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5

Offense

Speed 30 ft., fly 5 ft. (good)
Melee +1 club +7/+2 (1d6+1)
Ranged masterwork light crossbow +9 (1d8/19-20)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +14)
3/day—dancing lights
Tiefling Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +14)
1/day—darkness
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 12th; concentration +22):
6th—empow inten lightning bolt [S] (DC 22), globe of invulnerability
5th—empow inten burning arc [S] (DC 21), overland flight, teleport
4th—extend haste, inten fireball [S] (DC 22)
3rd—battering blast (DC 22), extend bullet shield, fireball (DC 22), lightning bolt (DC 22)
2nd—see invisibility, spontaneous immolation [S] (DC 21), touch of idiocy
1st—hydraulic push [S], liberating command, protection from evil, snowball (DC 19), unseen servant
0 (at will)—detect magic, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic

Statistics

Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 26, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 19
Feats Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Improved Familiar, Intensified Spell, Maximize Spell, Opposition Research, Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Penetration, Varisian Tattoo
Traits focused mind, tomb raider
Skills Acrobatics +5, Appraise +14, Craft (tattoo) +21, Diplomacy +8, Fly +11, Knowledge (arcana) +23, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +17, Knowledge (history) +16, Knowledge (local) +23, Knowledge (nature) +16, Knowledge (planes) +20, Knowledge (religion) +16, Linguistics +23, Perception +21, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +23; Racial Modifiers +4 Fly
Languages Abyssal, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, Hallit, Infernal, Kelish, Orc, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient, Shoanti, Skald, Sylvan, Thassilonian, Tien, Undercommon, Varisian, Vudrani
SQ arcane bonds (arcane bond [familiar]), intense spells, opposition schools (illusion), prehensile tail, specialized schools (admixture), versatile evocation
Combat Gear extend metamagic rod (lesser), feather token (tree) (2), pearl of power (1st level), pearl of power (1st level), pearl of power (1st level), potion of cure light wounds (6), potion of cure moderate wounds (2), potion of protection from evil (4), reach metamagic rod (lesser), scroll of stoneskin, communal, selective metamagic rod (lesser), spell tattoo of Feather Fall, spell tattoo of Infernal Healing, wand of mage armor (50 charges), wand of magic missile, wand of shield (50 charges), wand of spectral hand (50 charges), wand of sure casting (50 charges), alchemist's fire (3), antiplague (3), antitoxin (3), tangleburn bag (2), tanglefoot bag (6), thunderstone (2); Other Gear +3 silken ceremonial armor, +2 mithral light steel shield, +1 club, crossbow bolts (7), masterwork light crossbow, amulet of natural armor +1, belt of mighty constitution +2, cloak of resistance +2, efficient quiver, first aid gloves, handy haversack, headband of vast intelligence +4, ring of protection +1, wayfinder, adventurer's sash, blanket, winter, cleats, climber's kit, earplugs, everburning torch, explorer's outfit, flint and steel, grappling hook, ink, black (4), inkpen (4), masterwork tool, noble's outfit, pocketed scarf, scroll box, signet ring, silk rope, spell component pouch, trail rations (10), travelling spellbook, whetstone,

Special Abilities

Admixture Associated School: Evocation
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Elemental Manipulation (12 rounds/day) (Su) 30' Aura changes a chosen energy type into another chosen energy type.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Empower Spell Numeric effects of a spell are increased 50%. +2 Levels.
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Energy Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks.
Extend metamagic rod (lesser) (3/day)
Extend Spell Spell duration lasts twice as normal. +1 Level.
Familiar Bonus: You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Focused Mind +2 to Concentration checks
Illusion You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Illusion school.
Intense Spells +6 (Su) Evocation spells deal listed extra damage.
Intensified Spell You can cast a spell that can exceed its normal damage die cap by 5 (if you have the caster level to reach beyond that cap).
Maximize Spell All variable effects of a spell are maximized. +3 Levels.
Prehensile Tail Your tail can retrieve small objects on your person as a swift action.
Reach metamagic rod (lesser) (3/day)
Selective metamagic rod (lesser) (3/day)
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
Speak With Familiar (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your familiar.
Spell Focus (Evocation) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Varisian Tattoo (Evocation) Spells from chosen school gain +1 caster level.
Versatile Evocation (13/day) (Su) Change the damage type and descriptor of a spell from acid, electricity, fire, or water to any other of those types.

Callie's Cornucopia of Characters (and other things)

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Cindrana @ 12th Level

Monday, May 12, 2014

Long time no squeak...

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