SoIkindofspergedoutonthatideaItalkedtomyDMaboutregardingtheSpellslingerarchetype

forWizards.Herecomealotofwords.
Butfirst,apicture.

Here'sthearchetype,summedup:
YoustartwithaGunandtheGunsmithingfeat,justlikeaGunslinger.
Youcancastanyrangedtouchattack,cone,line,orrayspellsthroughthegun,gainingthe
gun'senhancementbonusontheattackrollorthesaveDCagainstthespell.Doingthisrisks
breakingthegun(ifyourolla1onahitoranenemyrollsa20onasave),muchlikehow
firearmsworknormally.
Youcanburnaspellandapplyitsleveltothegunasanenhancementbonus(whichcanbe
usedtoincreasesaves,asabove),andyoucangiveitabilitieslikeFlamingandWoundingfor
theirenhancementbonuses.Thislastsaminuteperlevelofthespellyouburn,soevenatlevel1
youget10roundsoutofit.
Youreceivenocantrips.YoucancastRead/DetectMagicas1stlevelspells.
YougainnoArcaneSchool,andyouhavetochoosefouroppositionschools.

Yougetallofthisatlevelone,andthereisnothingintheclassdescriptionthatspecifiesthat
spellsbeingcastthroughthegunorbeingsacrificedtoaddenhancementbonuseshavetobe
spellsfromtheSpellslingerclass.ItalkedaboutitwithmyDMandheagreed,andgreenlita
oneleveldipinSpellslingerwouldletanyothercasterusethegunjustlikeafullfledged
Spellslinger.AndsincenoneoftheseabilitiesscalewithSpellslingerlevel,andsinceyoulose
yourArcaneSchool,andsinceyouhavefouroppositionschools,there'sreallynoreasonto
continuetakingSpellslingerlevels,unlessyoureallyreallywantedtohavetheWizard'sspell
progression.Iwentoverthisearlier,butIjustwantedtorecap.

Sotheobviousanswerwasalreadygivenout:PlayaSpellslinger1/SageSorcererX.
INTbasedSorcererisinteresting,you'resuretohavecrazyDCs.

IpromisedmyfriendsI'dplayahealer,though.AndI'vealwaysreallylikeDivinecastersbetter,
forsomereason.AClericoranOraclecastingspellsthroughaguncouldbeprettyneat.
BestowCursefrom80'outwithaDistance,SpellstoringMusket.

LikeIsaidinmypreviouspost,IstartedthinkingabouttheMysticTheurge.SincetheSpellslinger
wasworthlessotherthanit'sspellprogression(andtheWizardbonusfeatsevery5levels),itfits
infinewiththeTheurge.I'dloseClericdomainsorOraclemysteries,butI'dgetbothspelllevels.
AndwithMageBulletsIcouldtheoreticallybeburningalotofspellsforenhancementstomygun,
whilealsotryingtocastrays/lines/conesthroughit,ordelivertouchspellsfromrangeusing
Spellstoring.Withlotsofslots,Ihavelotsofoptions.

Thespelllevelscomelater,whichisabitch,butit'snotallbad.

ASpellslinger1/HeavensOracle4couldhaveMagicWeapononhergunfromaprevious
round,burna2ndlevelspellasaswiftactionforatotalof+3onhergun,andthencastColor
Spraythroughitina15'coneinfrontofher.AnyoneinsideneedstomakeaWillsavewithaDC
of14+CHA,andfromtheHeavensrevelation,istreatedasiftheirHDwereCHAlevelslower.
That'saroughsavefora3rdlevelbaddie.

TheSpellslinger'sgunbasicallyletsyouheightenspellsasaswiftaction,withoutincreasingtheir
level,bysacrificinganotherspell.Andifyoucangetyourgun'sbonushigher,bysimplymakingit
magical,orcasting(Greater)MagicWeapon,yourspellsaregettingharderandhardertoresist
too.

SoIcancastapowerfulColorSpraythroughthegun,whatelse?Burninghandsearlyoniscool,
andahighersavemeansmorepeopletakingfulldamage.Lightningboltisaline,sothat'sinthe
sameboat.AdmonishingRayofftheCleric/Oraclelist.PrismaticSpraylateronisreally,really
awesomewiththeHeavenspower.

Allofthosepowersarebasicallyjustcastingaspellthroughagunandriskingablowupfora
seriousenhancementtothespell.I'mfinewithrollingthedicelikethat,andI'llhaveMendingto
repairthegunifandwhenitmisfires.

Idon'tneedtoreloadtheguntouseitlikethis,either.Ijustcastspellsthroughit,it'slikean
arcanefocus.ThishelpsgetaroundthefactthatasaGunslingeryouneedtotaketonsoffeats
andcraftspecialcartridgesjustsoyoucanmoveandshootatthesametime.IfaSpellslinger
hasanemptychamber,hecanjustcastaspellthroughitifhedoesn'twanttoorhavetimeto
reload.

Ontopofthat,youcanactuallyshootthegun.Iknow,right?Crazy.Icanmelta3rdlevelspell
andmakeita+3Pistol,ora+1Flaming,ShockingMusket.IcandothatasaSwiftAction,andit
lastsaminuteperlevelofthespell,soitwon'treallyinterruptcombat,andIcanswitchit
effortlesslyifIreallywantto(likeifIneedtomovefromthe+1Flaming/Shockingtothe+3
weapon,soIcanbeatDR/ColdIron.)

You'vegotaprettybadBABformixingWizardandOracle,butyoualsohavethingslikeMagic
Weapon,DivineFavor,andDivinePowerlateron.Andtheenhancementbonusonyourgun
appliestohit.Andyou'reresolvingagainsttouchACifyou'renottoofaraway.

AnotherfunthingyoucandothatI'vealludedtoisburnaspelltogivethegunanenhancement
bonusandthenchoosetheSpellstoringproperty.MidcombatSpellstoringisprettyterrible,you
havetocastthespellintotheweaponandthenhitwiththeweapononalaterturn.However,
beingabletogointocombatwithanIntensifiedShockingGrasponyourfirstshot,oranInflict
Seriouscanbeveryinteresting.

SlammingameleethugwithaBestowCurseforthe50/50confusioneffectissolid.Shootinga
mageinthefacewithabulletblessedwithTouchofIdiocywouldbeprettyfunny.

IfyouhadtheRapidReloadfeat,aQuickenrodinonehand,andaSpellstoring,ReliablePistolin
theotherone,someinterestingthingscouldhappen.Evenifyoudidn'tusepapercartridgesand
onlyreloadedasamoveaction,youcouldstillbeshootinga1d8bulletwitha10d8Intensified
ShockingGrasponitat10thlevel.Ifyougotitdowntoafreeactionbyusingfeatsand
alchemicalcartridges,whenyougetDivinePoweryou'remakingtwoattacksatfullBAB.Ifyou
hadsomethinginthespellstoringandthenusedtheswiftactionduringyourturntocast
somethingelseinsideforthesecondshot,you'deffectivelybedeliveringtwospellsandshooting
aguntwiceinoneround.APistolwithtwoIntensifiedShockingGraspswoulddeal22d8damage

Anddon'tforgetaboutthedamagediceofthegunitself:1d12withamusket,1d8withapistol,
andyou'veprobablyburnedaspelltogetmorethanSpellStoring.Maybeit'sdeliveringthat
TouchofIdiocywithaWoundingbullet,andnowthatrecentlystupefiedcasterhasableedeffect
tocontendwithwhilecasting.Ormaybeyou'refightingaFrostGiantandtheBestowCurse
bulletwasalsoFlamingBurst.

Allthewhileyou'reignoringarmor,shields,andnaturalarmorwithyourattacks,aslongas
you'rewithinthefirstrangeincrementofyourgun.Therangeincrementthatcanbedoubledwith
theDistanceweaponenchantment(+1),whichyouhappentobeabletoapplytothegunby
burningspells.

SonowIendupwithSpellslinger1/Oracle4,whichI'malreadyabletohavesomeseriousfun
with,andIhavetomakeadecision:DoIjustkeepgoingOracle,ordoIgoMysticTheurgeand
getbothspells,butnoneoftheotherclassabilities?TheSpellslingeralreadylostmostclass
abilities.DoIcareabouttheOracleRevelationsandMysteryspellsthatmuch?

Theanswerwasno,notreally.Bytaking4levelsofOracle,Iget2Revelations,andtheMystery
Spellsfor1stand2ndlevelspells.Alotofthemysterieshaveabunchofreallycrappy
revelations,andahandfulofgoodones.IcanalwaystakeExtraRevelationsasafeatifIreally,
reallywantathirdone.

Writingoffanythingbeyond4thlevel,thelistofRevelationsisreallyhotorcold.Therearen'ttoo
manythat"jive"withthewholearcanegunslingerthingIhavegoingon,butsomefitwell.

TheFiremysterycausespeoplewhotakefiredamagefrommyspellstocatchfire,andthesave
DCmatchestheDCofthespell,whichcanandwillbepumpedupbymygun.That'sneat,
basicallyI'dhaveaflamethrower.BurningHandsthroughthegun,thentheycatchfire.Therest
ofthesub4RevelationsIcouldtakeorleave,Iguessthe+10'movespeediswhatI'dtake.

TheHeavensmysteryisprobablymyfavorite,becauseIliketheideaofhavingagunthatshoots
arainbowandknockscreatures,evengiants,out.IalsoreallyliketheGuidingStarpowertoo,
reallyflavorful.We'replayingLegacyofFire,andIcouldplayacooldesertthemedstargazer.

BattleisneatbecauseyoucangetWeaponFocus,buttheoneIreallylikeisSurprisingCharge,
whichletsyoumoveyourspeedasanimmediateaction.Immediate.IfIdon'tlikehowthe
enemyismoving,Ijustmoveaway.Wizardliningupforalightningbolt?Nope,I'moutofhere.
Ogremoveintoattackme?I'mleaving.Imighthavetowaitforhimtofinishmoving,which
meansI'ddrawanAoO,butI'dbeoutoftheareaonmyturn,whichisimportant.Thematically,I
figuredIcouldbeasoldierfromNexwhoservedintheManaWastes,andtheOracle"faith"
wouldbeplayeddowntoavenerationofhonorablecombat.

Lifehasnorealsynergywiththeidea,butIcouldfocusonhealingabitmore.UseLifelinkonup
to4people,whichismywholeparty,whichessentiallygivesthemFastHealing5andletsme
focusonhealingmyself,whoispresumablybehindthefrontlinesshootingthingsanyway.I
couldalsograbtheabilitytoChannelPositive,anditwouldgetto2d6beforeIstoppedtaking
Oraclelevels,whichisn'tterrible.SafeCuringmeansnoAoOsonspellsthathealpeople,which
isreallyawesometheonetimeyouneedit,butyoureallyshouldn'tbeprovokingAoOs.

Spellscarwasreally,reallyinterestingtomeuntilIreadthattogetthesignatureability(Eldritch
Scar)youneedtobe7thlevel.Iwascomingupwithreallycoolstoriesaboutaguywhofoughtin
theManaWastesandwasexposedtoa"primalmagicevent"butitallfellapartwhenIrealizedI
wouldn'tgetthecoreoftheMystery.

TimeIlike.I'vealwayslikedTime.TheSpellssuck,I'dprobablygoDualCursed.The
Revelations,though,theyhavesomeprettysolidones.AtthirdlevelIgetBlurforOraclelevels
(4)minutesperday.TimeHopisreallycool,butoutofreach.GoingDualCursedyou'dalsotake
MisfortuneandprobablyFortuneaswell,andyou'dbeforcingrerollsallovertheplace,including
rollsthatwouldcausemisfiresforyourgun.

Natureisneatbecauseyougetamount,butthat'saboutit.Evena4thlevelAnimalCompanion
camelwouldbeaprettysturdymountformostofthegame,andthere'sBoonCompanionif
you'dlikeittoscaleto8th.BeingaOracleWizardGunslingeronamountisevenmorehilarious,
andwouldletyoumakefullattackswhilemoving.Youwon'tgetfullattacksforawhile,butstill.
Theimageisamazinginmymind.

ImadeaspreadsheetthatshowsBAB,save,casterlevel,andspellprogressionfortheOracle,
Spellslinger,andMysticTheurgelevels.After17thlevel,thechartsallassumeOraclelevels,
excepttheSpellslingerspellsperday,whichshowwhatI'dgetifIchosetotakethoselevels
instead(whichIcertainlywouldn't.)

Thischartisthenumberofspellspurelyfromclasslevels,anddoesnottakeintoaccountany
bonusspellsfromabilityscores,orfromothermeans,likebuyingscrollsorcopyingaspellbook
asaWizard.

Youcanseeittakesawhiletogetofftheground,andthatthespellslevelsaredelayed
significantly,buttheideaisthattheother"uses"forspellshelpmakeupforit.Beingabletoburn
a2ndlevelspellfora+2tohitanddamagefor20roundsisprettypowerful,andhavingmore
secondlevelspellsfromtheMTmeansyou'renotasreluctanttoburnthem,andburnthem
often.

Ihavelotsofotherlittlenotesandideas(likeMagicalKnacktokeeptheWizarddamagedice
higher),butthat'sthegeneralcharacterconcept.Ididn'trunanynumbersbeyondwhatI've
writtenhere,Idon'tknowwhatafullattacklookslikeat15thlevel,oranythinglikethat,butIreally
thinkthesheerversatilityinthischaracterisinsane.

Icancastspells,anduseaguntomaketheirDCshigher.

Icanshootagun,andusespellstomakeithitmoreoftenandharder.

Icandelivertouchspellsthroughthegun,ontopofit'snormaldamage.

IcancastArcanespellsandDivinespells,startingat2ndlevel.Gimmieallthewandsyou'vegot.

Ihaven'tevenfullythoughtaboutalltheArcanespellsIcouldmakeuseof,beyondtheblasters.
ReducePersonfora+2tohitwithrangedattacksand+1AC.MirrorImagetobeaswarmof
holyarcanegunmenoncamels.Invisibility.Fly.Cat'sGrace(whichClericsdon'tget.)

I'mobviouslyveryexcitedaboutthischaracter.Wewon'tbestartingthegameuntilJanuaryand
I'malreadyprettysurethisiswhatI'mgoingtoendupplaying.

SoI'mpresentingithere.Pointoutmyfalseassumptions.Showmewhatasimilarlyleveled
charactershouldbeabletodo.ShowmeplaceswhereI'mmisunderstandingarule.Digdeep,
tearthisapart,asifaplayerbroughtittoatableyouwereDMing.

IwanttomakesuretherulesworklikeIbelievetheydo.

Ontheothersideofthecoin,letmeknowwhatfeatswouldcomplimentthisidea.Letmeknowif
there'sanOraclemysteryI'veoverlooked,orifyouthinkthiscouldbedonebetterwithaClericor
anInquisitororsomething.

UsingaClericmeansIget2ndlevelspellalevelquicker,butIalsogetalowfewerspells,anda
lotofthelowlevelClericdomainpowersareeitherbad,orscalewithlevel(whichisbadfora
MT.)

Inanyevent,haveatit.

I'mtalkingtomyDMandIthinkIjustclearedthiswithhimasviable.

TheSpellslingerisaWizardArchetypethatgetsagun(Iknow,Iknow,staywithme),andcan
"castspellsthroughit."

Aspellslingercancastanyrangedtouchattack,cone,line,orrayspellsthroughhisarcanegun.
Whenhecaststhroughthearcanegun,thegunsenhancementbonus(ifany)isabonustothe
spellsattackrollsortothespellssavingthrowDCs.Yettherearedangersinherenttothis
method.Ifanyofthespellsattackrollsresultinanatural1(amisfire),oranatural20isrolledon
anysavingthrowmadeagainstthespellbyatarget(anoverload),thearcanegungainsthe
brokencondition.Ifthearcanegunalreadyhasthebrokencondition,thegunexplodes.Whena
gunexplodes,itletslooseablastofforce,orifthespellhastheacid,cold,electricity,orsonic
descriptor,itdealsthattypeofenergydamageinstead.Inthecaseofspellswithmultiple
descriptors,rollrandomlyamongthedescriptorstodeterminethetypeofdamagedealtbythe
blast.Theblastiscenteredonasingleintersectionwithinthespellslingersspace(spellslingers
choice)anddeals1d6pointsoftheappropriateenergydamageorforcedamageperlevelofthe
spellcast.AnycreaturewithintheblastotherthanthespellslingercanmakeaReflexsaving
throwtohalvethedamage.TheReflexsaveDCiscalculatedusingthespelllevelofthespell
beingsacrificed.

I'mfinewiththeexplodey/misfirestuff,thatcanbefun.It'salsoreallyneatthattheenhancement
bonusofmyweapongetsaddedtosavescastthroughthegun.

SoI'mlookingattheArchetype,andIrealizesomething:Allofthelistedpowersareavailableat
levelone.NoneofthemscaleinanywaybasedonyourWizardlevel.TheArchetyperemoves
yourArcaneschool,whichalsowouldhavescaledwithyourWizardlevel.Theonlythingthat
yougotfortakingSpellslingerlevelswerethebonusfeatseveryfivelevels,andthespells
themselves.YoualsohaveFOURprohibitedschools,soprogressingasaWizarddoesn'tseem
sogreat.

Thatseemsprettylame,butitwasinterestingbecausenothingscalingmeansthatIcantake
onelevelofit,andhavebasicallyallthattheclasshastooffer.

IranitbymyDM,andheagrees:NowhereintheArchetypedescriptiondotheyspecifythatthe
spellsyoucastthroughyourgunhavetocomefromyourWizardspellslots.

SoyoucouldbeaSpellslinger1/Sorcerer4andbecasting2ndlevelSorcererspellsthrough
thegun,whilehavingascalingBloodlineandnoprohibitedschools.Youcouldevendumpyour
INT,really.

Or,youcouldbeaSpellslinger1/Cleric3andbecastingdivinespellsthroughit,whilehaving
twodomainpowersandeverythingelseClericsoffer.

AndthenIthought,"thefactthattheSpellslingerclassdoesn'tscaleexceptfortheWizardsspell
progressionsucks"anditcametome.ThismaybetheonlytimeMysticTheurgemakesany
sense.

AMTlevelisbasicallythesameasaSpellslingerlevel,exceptforthosebonusfeatsevery5
levels,anditwouldalsoprogressadivinecaster.

Spellslinger3/Cleric3/MT1

I'llhavetonsofspellslots,whichisgoodforMageBullets:

Aspellslingerisadeptattransferringspellenergyintohisarcanegunattacks.Asaswiftaction,
hecansacrificeaspellandtransformthatenergyintoaweaponbonusequaltothelevelofthe
spellsacrificedonasinglebarrelofhisfirearm.Withthatweaponbonusthespellslingercan
applyanyofthefollowingtohisarcanebond:enhancementbonuses(upto+5)anddancing,
defending,distance,flaming,flamingburst,frost,ghosttouch,icyburst,merciful,seeking,
shock,shockingburst,spellstoring,thundering,vicious,andwounding.Anarcanegungainsno
benefitfromhavingtwoofthesameweaponspecialabilitiesonthesamebarrel.Theeffectofthe
magebulletsabilitylastsforanumberofminutesequaltothelevelofthespellsacrificed,oruntil
thisabilityisusedagaintoassignthebarreldifferentenhancements.

SoIcanburna3rdlevelClericspellandgivemyguna+3bonus,or+1bonuswithflamingand
shock.

IfIgetspellstoringonthegun(orusethatmagebulletpowertodoit),Icouldcastseveral
interestingspellsintoit,fromeitherlist.A+1fiery,shockingbulletthatdeliversaIntensified
ShockingGrasp.Ora+3bulletthatdeliversInflictSeriousWounds.Ora+1Mercifulbulletthat
deliversBestowCurse.ResolvingagainstTouchAC,fromrange,ontopoftheactualbullet's
damage.

YouloseoutontheClericDomainsbeyond3rdlevel(2ndlevelspells),andyourWizardschool,
buttheSpellslingerlosesitoutrightanyway.

Youwillalwaysbeaspelllevelbehindwhatyoucouldbe,asapureclass.

Butyouarecastingspellsthroughagun.

...
Iassumeso.

Eventhoughtheabilityiscalled"MageBullets",itsaysexplicitlythatitaffectshisbonded
weapon,anditgivesanenhancementbonus.

ItseemskindofcrazythatIcouldburna5thlevelspellandhave+5tohitanddamageonallmy
gunattacksfor5minutes,butalso+5tothesaveDC.

CombinedwiththeHeavensOracle'sabilitytoreducetheHDofaffectedenemiesbyyourCHA,
youcangetsomeverypowerfulshotsoffwithColorSpray,evenearlyon.

PumpinguptheDCofalightningboltbyshootingitthroughthegunisprettyawesome,too.