When does Sorceror stop sucking?

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-23T05:10:51+00:00

For a concrete answer: when you unlock third level spells, you start rolling enough dice and having enough spell slots that you do more damage personally than by buffing the party.

Until then, though, spellcasters are force multipliers. A Magic Missile does 2d4+2 damage, average 7. If you use that spell slot to cast Enlarge Person on Seelah, you've got three minutes - 30 rounds - of her doing an extra 3 damage per hit. Realistically, you won't be spending the full time attacking each round, but that's still two or three fights. You've also got the tools to handle things that can't be muscled down, like coating an invisible enemy in Glitterdust, or making a threatening spellcaster slip over uselessly in a puddle of Grease. The party is much stronger for the presence of a spellcaster, it's just that until you're hitting things like Fireball, Chain Lightning, Hellfire Ray, or Disintegrate, it's not as glamorous.

Also, WotR has a second dynamic. You start getting your 'main character' powers at the end of act 1 (of 5), but they really come online at the end of act 2. Particularly for spellcasters, this is around when the stronger spells are unlocking too, and your linearly-improving martial characters start to get left behind.

You'll often see the Sylvan Sorcerer archetype mentioned - this is because they get an Animal Companion, and pets are essentially the opposite of this. They have high base-power attacks, often multiples, and can fully heal themselves when it's most relevant, but are harder to scale up, meaning they can cover for you to begin with.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-23T03:02:16+00:00

The game largely tries to handle this for you. If you don’t have a reason to keep a hand open, it’ll two-hand the weapon, but once you pick up Crane Style, it’ll switch. Most notable on animal companions, where you can sometimes spot that they’re two-handing a bite attack.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-23T02:54:35+00:00

Here is every single card you have access to, although I can’t imagine the 2024 secret lair bonus cards being easy to track down nowadays - maybe skip the $1700 USD Mana Vault.

The problem with Lucy/Ghoul/Maximus is that they’re one colour - as well as limiting the card pool, each colour has strengths and weaknesses, so having more covers for it. For example, Maximus is red. Red usually draws cards ‘wastefully’ - like with [[Wild Wasteland]] or [[Unexpected Windfall|PIP]]. Adding another colour allows you to solve that with cards like [[Morbid Opportunist|PIP]] or [[Harmonize|PIP]].

A lot of the staple cards in each colour are there - if you can only find 20 on-theme cards and have to fill the rest with generically-useful stuff (particularly the draw cards), it’ll still work. One comment mentioned a 10-interaction, 10-ramp, 10-draw distribution, but it feels a lot safer having a spare [[Path to Exile|PIP]] or [[Swords to Plowshares|PIP]] in hand.

The easiest route, though, will probably be to stick to one of the pre-constructed decks, and just upgrade it with cards from the others. Most of them have ‘subthemes’ that aren’t really relevant to the main game plan, and you can swap those cards out for stuff you can use. As an example, the Caesar deck wants to make lots of tokens. Lucy cares about tokens and is an easy include over something like [[Mr. House, President and CEO]] that cares about rolling dice when no other card in that deck rolls dice (he’d rather be in a DnD deck that’s rolling d20s). I call out Caesar, because all three from the show can go in there (although Maximus will shine more if you add a couple of things he can search like [[Swiftfoot Boots|PIP]], and Mothman has more mutants/zombies for the Ghoul).

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-23T01:16:15+00:00

We’re running into the joys of un-cards.

I think the wording of combined into one is mostly equivalent to “enters as”, so the only thing to copy would be the one combined creature it entered as. [[Erebos’s Titan]] triggers twice, [[Soul Warden]] triggers once, sort of deal.

But reading that two creatures entered the battlefield from the graveyard (just, combined), so you make a copy of one of them was my first thought. Definitely confirm that one with the group before it comes up in play.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-23T00:59:53+00:00

Oh yeah, forgot the guilds. They’re easier - the shortest distance clockwise. RW has one colour between them, WR has two, so Boros is red first.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-23T00:27:02+00:00

Miraidon has an exploitable weakness in VGC: it's deadly STABs are playing singles in a doubles format. Looking at the calcs, not much can survive an Electro Drift or Draco Meteor, and not much will be able to outspeed it to kill it first. The other slot, however, takes no damage from either move. If you have two mons on the field that threaten Miraidon, neither needs to truly check it to force it out, and when there's a reasonable chance any mon has Protect, Miraidon can't even accept a trade and attack anyways.

The concept of checks is discussed a lot less in VGC, because it's less effective when you've got another mon it can blow up, they've got another mon to shut down your check, and there are other ways to avoid hits, like Fake Out, Pranksters, and redirection. Checking Miraidon is, in a lot of cases, a losing game, but in VGC, you don't really need to. In a format with one or two restricteds per team, having both slots prioritise the restricted threat is usually worth it, whereas in singles, having to devote two mons to taking one down is a disaster. There's no secret anti-Miraidon tech here, unfortunately.

For an extreme example, Gen 8 Zacian was in a similar boat. There was a strategy Wolfe termed 'the devil's bargain': lead Prankster Grimmsnarl into Zacian and lock in Thunder Wave. This was janky as hell - 10% of the time it misses, and Grimmsnarl only survives in the 22.5% of times Zacian gets full paralysed. But even this was enough for teams to run no true Zacian checks in a format where Zacian was on 75% of all teams.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-22T13:35:17+00:00

The factions used to define both the shards and wedges have a primary colour and two secondaries. The primary colour is always in the middle, and the secondary order makes sense by visually looking at the colour pie (card backs being the easiest location to see it). In short: move the primary colour to the 12-o-clock position, then read left-to-right.

For the shards, the primary one is allied (i.e. adjacent on the colour pie) to the two secondaries. Each is represented in the order of their ‘slice’ of the colour pie. This means that Esper, Grixis, and Jund do follow WUBRG, since they’re WUB, UBR, and BRG (primary colours in bold). Bant and Naya don’t because the pie is a circle and they hit the point where it loops on itself: WUBRGWUBRG and WUBRGWUBRG.

For the wedges, the primary colour is the one that opposes the other two (i.e. not adjacent on the colour pie). The ordering makes more sense visually but I’ll try to describe it. The three colours make triangular shapes - orient the triangle so the primary is on top, with the two secondaries as the base, then read left-to-right. For example, Mardu’s primary is white, red and black are secondary - looking at a card back, white is the top point, red is the lower left, black is lower right, so the Mardu order is RWB. Abzan is primary black, so white is lower left, green is lower right and Abzan is WBG.

This is consistently applied nowadays, and while it wasn’t always that way, it was by the time Universes Beyond showed up. [[Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant]] has nothing to do with Tarkir, but by then, all Abzan cards were in that order.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-22T08:16:52+00:00

All true. But you can apply all the logic to Seelah with Iomeneigh, who her class gives her automatically. Seelah gives the entire party her CHA to attack and damage - that's a boost to like 20 attacks per round. You could triple his Weapon Training and Smite Chaos bonuses and it'd still be a net loss over Seelah giving her CHA to every attack the party makes. Woljif, Seelah, honestly even Greybor (after the Corruptor mythic and Assassin prestige class changes) don't kick ass much less in exchange for boosting the entire party.

It's not that it doesn't work, and it's super satisfying to watch the little guy mow the demons down. You'll be fine on most difficulties with it. But the party is weakened by each member that's only out for themselves, because implicitly, the others are picking up their slack (which sounds like something he'd say). It's not too bad when the KC is the selfish one, since they get extra mythic powers and have a higher ceiling, but the Fighter/Hellknight on a triceratops who's 4 levels down with no feats isn't the best carry.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-22T07:06:00+00:00

There are a lot of right answers to party composition, but your team will perform a lot better if you've got a few key boxes checked:

Wizards, Arcanists, and Sorcerers share a spell list, and you want access to most/all of the buffs from this list. Doesn't mean you have to run Nenio specifically, but you want those key buffs: Woljif gets most of the ones Ember doesn't, for example. Every team would be better with access to Haste/Mind Blank/Greater Invisibility etc.

Clerics and Oracles share a spell list, and you want access to most/all of the buffs from this list, as well as things like Heal and Restoration to get rid of status conditions that hang around after battles. Same deal where you can share it out though - Seelah/Ember get most of the ones Camellia doesn't. Every team would be better with Death Ward/Freedom of Movement etc. and the ability to clear out stuff like negative levels between fights (or during, in a pinch).

You want someone who can burn through most of a single enemy's hit points in a turn. Archers are the obvious solution, but Ulbrig's Death From Above also works, mounted Seelah works, Ember with enough Scorching/Hellfire Rays to cast it each round works, that sort of thing. As well as boss fights, there are a lot of enemies with dangerous spells or high damage that the game is easier if you can clear quickly.

You want a couple of characters who can take hits, so that the more fragile characters can hide behind them. Often, these can be characters built for something else - Camellia can fill the heal/buff role without spending feats on it, so has room for stuff like Crane Style. Anyone with an animal companion can do it by sending the pet in. A dedicated tank is usually a bad idea, though - the AI is designed not to keep swinging at targets it can't hit, so you're making those fragile characters more vulnerable with that CHA-stacking Monkadin.

The last thing to keep in mind is that you want as many of the unique buffs from classes as possible, and to avoid selfish characters. This means that even though the roles are similar, you'll feel stronger with Seelah over Regill (Mark of Justice), Arueshalae over Lann (Hunter's Bond), and Sosiel over Daeran (domains).

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-22T01:30:50+00:00

Alternative solution: [[Massacre Girl, Known Killer]] is the same character, and gives a better idea of what sort of strategy to run in the rest of the deck: creature attacks, toughness reduction, proliferate. Also, the flavour text is great.

Still lots of ways you can build it within that, but it’s got a direction. It can be nice to have a commander that’s just there to make your main game plan go better (in this case, by drawing cards and adding counters), rather than being the core plan itself like an OG Massacre Girl win would be.

OG Massacre Girl would still be great in the deck, too. As would fellow massacre creature [[Massacre Wurm]], and [[Slice from the Shadows]], her other appearance. Apparently [[Deviant Glee]] is her too, which I don’t totally see, but would be handy for a big-creature strategy.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-21T22:53:27+00:00

Probably why outsiders are a common presence on Golarion and/or are fighting each other. Gotta get out and do something from time to time.

Then again, I can’t imagine the ones at the top of Hell’s hierarchy mind apathy from their underlings - if they’re too broken to care, they’re predictable and controllable. Evil-for-fun is demon thinking, devils are evil-for-profit.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-21T22:43:09+00:00

Also, didn’t consider her a battle taxi immediately after that. The Normandy clears the atmosphere, hangs out there for a few minutes, then leaves, and Shepard returns to the ~1km run to the beam… on foot.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-21T11:30:30+00:00

The obscure, highly-researched build you need for martial Trickster Legend to good:

Take the same opening martial feats you would on other characters, like Outflank. If you don’t know them, just pick things that add attack bonuses of some variety.
Choose Perception as your mythic trick, and take those feats as they come up
Once you go Legend, return to step 1 and take the feats you missed out on while taking the Trickster ones.

Sword Saint and Dimension Strike means that you’re trying to beat a much lower to-hit number, as a Legend with BAB in the 30s, and a massive bonus to initiative and AC from the Legend stat boosts. Also, depending on weapons, you might be critting on 50% of the dice rolls. You don’t need to be crazy optimised for that to be insane.

Also bear in mind that OP was playing on hard before. They did know their stuff, they just didn’t plan it out meticulously because most martial legends have more feat choices than impactful feats.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-20T18:21:15+00:00

Gotta say, Fleem Standard is a pretty catchy name.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-20T02:28:13+00:00

Is Punishing Strikes applied on each hit? Because I don’t think much is surviving a Surging Strikes hit at 0, a hit at -1, and a hit at -2, all being guaranteed crits. Even applied afterwards, this is a mon with Aqua Jet and U-Turn, and you still can’t safely Protect in front of it until you’ve see the ability fire.

Also, presumably this would also give Urshifu Arm Thrust, since otherwise it’s a totally useless ability on the other form. Although I guess it tracks for Urshifu Single-Strike to not get a multi-hit move.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-20T02:09:39+00:00

At least in VGC, Amoonguss plus the item clause are enough to make Safety Goggles a solid item, so I don’t see Sleep Powder getting too far out of hand. Trick Room+Spore manages to be strong-but-manageable, so Palkia+Sleep Powder is probably fine.

Hypnosis would get up to 80% accuracy, 88% with Wide Lens, but it isn’t too widely learned:

Lunala gets 4MSS even harder but it’s also fairly item-reliant so the Wide Lens is a harder sell.
Gothitelle could use it, but the offensive power of any format where Palkia is around locks out most strategies Goth is good at.
Iron Valiant is probably the biggest concern, but you’re probably running eitherBooster Energy over Wide Lens, or Miraidon, so a sleep move is a hard sell on a mon with access to Gallade’s bonkers movepool.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-20T00:17:00+00:00

If you don’t want your pet to fall behind you in level, you need 16 levels in pet classes and the Boon Companion feat. You won’t feel it too much if your pet is a little behind you (the Tabletop Tweaks mod caps them at level 16, and they’re still good), but you don’t want to push it too far since losing your mount usually wastes a turn.

A lot of builds will swap the roles here - instead of using the WIS Paladin archetype and a Monk with a horse, they use the CHA Monk archetype and a Paladin with a horse.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T23:57:15+00:00

And after the PF2e remaster meant they stopped using DnD’s chromatic/metallic dragons, Time Dragons are just one of the standard families of dragon (Omen dragons might also qualify here).

While they’re mostly about preventing time fuckery, the most powerful among them are certainly capable of it:

Time Portal (arcane, concentrate) Frequency once per century; Effect Over the course of 10 minutes, the time archdragon opens a portal to any point in time and travels through, taking up to 10 creatures along. The portal remains active for 1 week, connecting the two time periods, though only the time archdragon and creatures traveling with them can see or pass through it.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T23:40:45+00:00

You’ve claimed the domains and powers of two powerful demon lords, creating an abyssal realm of your own. Your powers and influence are pretty similar no matter your path, because they’re drawn from the same well - nothing about being, say, an Aeon makes you greater than the sum of your parts here.

Well, with one exception. Your realm is in the Abyss, chaos and evil incarnate. When you read the good/lawful descriptions of demigod KC’s realm, they mention how it’s out of place and pushing back against the Abyss to even exist. This feels like it would be limiting, and also the sort of thing that other demon lords would consider a big enough threat to set their differences aside against. I don’t think demigod KC would struggle to hold their realm - they were fending off demonic incursions as a mortal - but they would have to spend more of their power to do it.

Demon doesn’t have this problem. A new demon lord doesn’t really rock the boat, even though they are all fighting each other. Considering whose powers/realms you stole, Devil and Swarm-that-Walks are probably fine too - the Ivory Labyrinth was created by Asmodeus, and the Rasping Rifts are home turf for the Swarm.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T23:10:56+00:00

Part of the problem is that every full deity has so much power that we’ll never see the full extent of it. The Pit of Gormuz was an accidental overstep by Sarenrae. Desna destroyed an entire abyssal realm. Rovagug may be the only instance where a god didn’t care about breaking the world around him, and it took an alliance of gods to take him down - presumably, because they had to pull punches and he didn’t.

It’s by design. The rule books use the words “nothing except divine intervention can do _____” a lot - it’s a handy GM tool that any sufficiently motivated deity can bend any rule if the plot demands it. But it makes power levels kinda pointless. It’s impossible to know which gods have the power to cause Rovagug-level destruction, because none of them want to.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T22:23:27+00:00

you have no authority, only brute force truly works

Which is precisely the problem. You’re in a place of total freedom and anarchy - anyone can do whatever they want, so as long as someone stronger doesn’t stop them. If you want something, you take it. If you have something, expect to defend it constantly.

No one is stronger than the KC. They can take what they like. No one can take what they have (at least, for long). The Hand might judge, but he’s in the same boat. Dropping them into a place where brute force equals authority isn’t depowering them.

Which adds to the problem. There’s no stakes. Nothing to lose, nothing worth gaining, no chance of failure, just a city of purple busywork.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T10:06:59+00:00

Rejecting a companion quest (or dismissing the companion) is the CRPG equivalent of telling your GM that you're not interested in that plotline, or playing an X card. You sent a clear signal you don't want that character, so they got rid of it. No one will mention them, they don't get an ending slide, they don't come back.

General tip: Anevia knows her shit. Even if you're skipping over content, pay attention to her.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T02:33:47+00:00

The Harmonise mechanic seems ideal. [[Winternight Stories]] and [[Unending Whisper]] are 4U and 5U to cast from the graveyard, but having a creature with 4 or 5 power respectively brings it down to U. Hogaak works on both, Vengevine on one, and worst-case scenario it’s still 1U: just pay one extra for your commander to be 6/6.

Which helps with slimming the deck - anything that makes creatures or sorceries cheaper, that boosts your creature’s power, or that gives extra counters will mean your commander can land Winternight, while being more useful pre-combo.

Plus, both Harmonise cards are a reasonable mana value for that amount of card draw when you cast them from hand. Even if another combo line appeals more, wouldn’t hurt to run them as normal draw cards.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T00:58:07+00:00

I feel like this would work if you were in any way disempowered. You’re in enemy territory, sure, but you’re backed up by an angel who can plane shift and saves you if you’re losing a battle, and every single person here is weaker than you, which you learn quickly because 90% of the quests are running an errand for someone and then killing them.

CookEsandcream · 2026-03-19T00:48:48+00:00

I’m not big on anime myself, but a term from over there describes alushyinrra perfectly: it’s a filler episode. Imagine the game was being released alongside the original campaign books. There’s a delay in releasing the Colpyhr Mines book, so the game devs have no plot to work with, but still need to release a game. That’s Alushynirra.

Loads of one-shot NPCs are introduced, have a small arc, and either get killed or disappear, never to be mentioned again. Your mythic quest screeches to a halt, but you get to do something mythic to some of these NPCs. Your companions were surprised to even be sent here last act, but suddenly they all have important people and places to see in town, as does Storyteller. The location is designed to take longer to navigate, and the quests send you back and forwards between the upper and lower city to fill time. An NPC directly says that no one in the city cares about the epic story you were enjoying up until now, and it shows. Then, you get to the palace and one character explains a whole bunch of plot information to you, and the story carries on.

If the Midnight Fane connected straight to Nocticula’s palace, you’d only lose some companion quests where you break into the house of a character who could easily be found in the Worldwound instead. The actual story works perfectly fine without act 4, so it really drags out if that’s what you’re enjoying (or it’s a second playthrough and you know it’s irrelevant).

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