"The Spymaster" - A Heavy Roleplay Spellblade (Streetfighter/Wizard) Build for PotD (Completed!)

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

So, after much deliberation and reworking, and quite a bit of help from folks on these forums, I'd like to present, for posterity, my Spellblade build for PotD. This character is intended to be a heavy RP character that can be played to support multiple factions. The build I'm including here is pro-Rauatai, but with some tweaks to Culture/Background, you can easily make a character that'd support Principi, Huana, or the Republics. Lore-wise, this character is intended to be played as an agent of whichever faction you choose throughout PoE1 as well, so consider picking options that support this. 

 

Note: Bounties are obviously going to be a tricky part of this build, or any build that encourages heavy roleplay. If you need a particular bounty for money or items that it drops, I consider it an acceptable break to attack a Faction ship. Otherwise, always fly your faction's colors and don't antagonize allied ships. But feel free to sink any of the bilge rats who do try to attack you, especially if they initiate. 

 

In combat, this character makes use of Wizard's defensive spells as well as high Constitution to maintain Flanked and Bloodied status, making use of Streetfighter's insane additive damage bonuses. The spell Citzal's Spirit Lance is also used in conjunction with Pull of Eora and the Upright Captain's Belt to group enemies together and affect multiple enemies with Afflictions. 

 

Blessings: Bonus Attributes/Bonus Skills/5000 Starting Gold (For Equipment/Hirelings in Port Maje as needed) - That's really all you need. 

 

The Race: I went with Human for the bonuses while Bloodied, but you can feel free to select any race. I'd recommend Island Aumaua if you're intending to play a Huana character, but the RDC, VTC, and Principi all seem a lot more open. 

 

The Class: Rogue (Streetfighter)/No Subclass Wizard - While the subclasses have been buffed, you need spells from three of the schools for this to work, and with a subclass you'll always be out at least one of them. 

 

The Culture/Background: I personally went with Rauatai/Aristocrat for the bonuses to three conversational skills. Based on how you want to play this Faction operative type character, you'll want to pick the appropriate Culture and then a background option that lends itself to how you want to play (I'm just a little miffed there's no 'soldier' background, only 'mercenary.' Mercenary doesn't imply much loyalty). For Principi that'd be Old Vallia, Huana would obviously be Deadfire, and VTC would "Technically" be Old Vallia, even though the Republics =/= Old Vallia, hence the rivalry with the Principi. 

 

The Skill Focus: Alchemy and Explosives as Active Skills/Intimidate and Insight as passive skills. Alchemy and Explosives are taken to provide bonuses to potions, drugs, and explosives - all of which are good consumables to have on hand. Intimidate and Insight are just my preference for how to deal with most conversations. All of the conversational skills make sense for a spy, but I like the idea of this character not being afraid to get his hands dirty. Insight is good for being able to read people as well, which is nice. It adds to the roleplaying experience, and sometimes it can help with calling someone out in a lie. 

 

The Party: Eder (Swashbuckler) MT - Athletics/Mechanics and Survival/Insight, Maia (Scout) - Stealth/Mechanics and Bluff/Streetwise, Xoti (Priest) Alchemy/Arcana and Religion/Metaphysics, [Redacted] ???/??? and ???/???*

 

I'm still not sure about who I want to take as my last party member, and what I want them to specialize in. I've run across some pretty high Metaphysics checks later in the game, and it seems prudent to have an extra character that'd be able to help with those. I've considered both Fassina and Ydwin, as two of the more well-developed sidekicks. So that'd be an Arcana/Explosives and Metaphysics/History character. 

 

The Stats:*

 

10 Might (5 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Gift of the Machine +1 Permanent Stat boost Potion) 

22 Constitution (18 Base + 2 Berath's Blessing +1 Rauatai +1 Effigy's Resentment (Durance)) 

18 Dexterity (15 Base +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) 

16 Perception (14 Base +2 Berath's Blessing) 

21 Intellect (18 Base +2 Berath's Blessing +1 Chameleon's Touch) (Close to 30 with Inspi)

8 Resolve (5 Base +1 Human +2 Berath's Blessing) (11 with Drug)

 

So! There's definitely a lot to unpack here. 

 

- Streetfighters don't really need super high Might. 

- High Con means you reach the Bloodied threshold MUCH faster, so you can stay Bloodied longer without having to worry about healing. Depending on Inspirations and gear, you might be looking at around 30 Con with Inspirations. 

- High Intellect is important for +Affliction Duration

- You don't really need Resolve, because Wizard buffs handle Deflection in a big way. Plus, it's only -2 Deflection for 8 Resolve. 

 

This doesn't factor in the Per Rest bonuses from the various God Shrines and other things. 

 

Abilities by level

 

Primary Grimoire: Llengrath's Martial Masteries (Purchase from Dark Cupboard)

 

Level 1 - Crippling Strike/Chill Fog

Level 2 - Escape

Level 3 - Monastic Unarmed Training

Level 4 - Blinding Strike/Arcane Veil

Level 5 - Dirty Fighting

Level 6 - Two-Handed Style

Level 7 - Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage/Riposte

Level 8 - Confounding Blind

Level 9 - Finishing Blow 

Level 10 - Pull of Eora/Persistent Distraction

Level 11 - Withering Strike

Level 12 - Adept Evasion

Level 13 - Deep Wounds/Rapid Casting

Level 14 - Tough

Level 15 - Eliminating Blow or Devastating Blow

Level 16 - Martial Caster/Toxic Strike

Level 17 - Sap 

Level 18 - Slippery Mind

Level 19 - Merciless Gaze/Deathblows

Level 20 - Bear's Fortitude or Bull's Will

 

Level I Spells: Chill Fog/Spirit Shield/Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff

Level II Spells: Merciless Gaze/Arcane Veil/Infuse With Vital Essence/Grimoire Slam

Level III Spells: Ryngrim's Repulsive Visage/Deleterious Alacrity of Motion/Llengrath's Displaced Image

Level IV Spells: Pull of Eora/Ironskin/Flame Shield

Level V Spells: Citzal's Spirit Lance/Llengrath's Safeguard

Level VI Spells: Arcane Reflection/Minoletta's Precisely Piercing Burst

Level VII Spells: Citzal's Martial Power/Llengrath's Warding Staff

 

Gear: 

 

Pet: Cutthroat Cosmo or Abraham (Same bonus, provided he hasn't been nerfed, and you get him fairly early on)

 

Weapon: Use Citzal's Spirit Lance once you get it to AoE enemies to death that are caught in Pull of Eora. Otherwise, use your fists. PUNCH POISON INTO YOUR ENEMIES. 

 

Armor: Gipon Prudensco with No Fool I and Fight Another Day. If Cutthroat Cosmo's reduction boost goes by armor class, it should be at 7% Recovery, which is negligible compared to what Streetfighter gets. Principi players might want to use Miscreant's Leathers or the Devil of Caroc Breastplate. 

 

Helm: Thaos's Headdress for the Intellect boost as well as the Conspirator Accuracy/Damage boost versus Flanked enemies. 

 

Gloves: Bracers of Greater Deflection - Just to shore up the poor Deflection from low Resolve. Grab Bracers of Accuracy early on for the low Perception until your accuracy catches up. 

 

Cloak: Cloak of Greater Protection. 

 

Neck: Strand of Favor (+1 Intellect/+10% Beneficial Effect duration -10% Hostile Effect Duration. Effectively +2 Resolve)

 

Rings: Chameleon's Touch (Sorry, the bonuses are too good for my current stat balancing) and Entonia's Signet Ring (+2 Diplomacy on top of the bonus to all defenses per engaged enemy... that you can freely disengage from at your leisure. 

 

Belt: Upright Captain's Belt for dealing with Pull of Eora. 

 

Boots: Boots of the Stone

 

Changelog: The last bit of the build was mostly some last minute napkin math to try to figure out another variant of the build that might give me some more Perception at the cost of less HP per level. Please disregard. The stats as listed are t he ones I'm content with. 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Cyrus_Blackfeather

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Edit: I'm really honestly inclined to go with the first build, even with the lower Perception. Might is a non-issue for a build like this and, conversation-wise, really isn't necessary for a spy/assassin type character. Traps also shouldn't be an issue because I'll have Maia with me, and can raise her Perception using gear. 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Cyrus_Blackfeather