I'm back with a build that comes from a request! I'm not terribly familiar with this character, being from a game I've never played, but I did my research and consulted people more familiar with it that helped me make my choices. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let's get into the build for Raziel from Legacy of Kain!
RAZIEL
CHARACTER Raziel
SOURCE Legacy of Kain
BUILD GOALS
o Raziel was a human vampire hunter turned vampire and eventually turned wraith following his execution at the command of his sire – seemingly for evolving wings before him
o His preferred weapon is the Wraith Blade/Soul Reaver, a symbiotic weapon that contains his very soul due to time shenanigans. It resembles a long, wavy blade and lacks a physical form
o In his journeys, Raziel gathers enhancements for the Soul Reaver, altering its damage with typically elemental effects
o When human, he was a formidable warrior that lacked magic, a notable deficit considering that he fought evenly with vampires and their vast array of powers, at least until his end
o As a vampire, he was the strongest created by Kain and possessed their traditional powers, such as augmented speed, strength, and agility as well as fast regeneration of wounds
o After being transformed into a wraith, his thirst for blood became a hunger for souls and when killed, he would simply return to the lair of the Elder God that empowered him
o Even in his desiccated body, he is inhumanly strong, remains incredibly fast, and the remnants of his wings allow him to glide
o Killing and devouring the soul of his brothers granted him extra powers such as the ability to phase through gates, scale walls, swim through water (a weakness of vampires), and create constricting bands of energy
o Raziel wields considerable telekinetic powers that he enhanced with the souls of his former companions and regularly uses to launch projectiles of telekinetic force
o Additionally, Raziel wields glyphs to cast a wide array of spells
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Dhampir Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Eyes of the Night -or- Adhyabhau
Background: Scion of Slayers
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Intelligence
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Undead Lore (trained)
Class & Subclass: Laughing Shadow Magus
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Intimidation (trained), Religion (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Spellbook: Cantrips – telekinetic projectile
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 10)
Starting with his ancestry, Raziel was once human before being turned into a vampire by Kain. Some might suggest it would be better to simply take the Vampire Dedication down the line to represent this, but the vampirism is almost a minor thing by the time anybody gets to play Raziel. The build will use it here to save some room on other feats down the line. Eyes of the Night is a more generally useful feat for the build but some might consider the emotion-eating of the Adhyabhau to be similar to his soul devouring. For flavor reasons, it might win out as a better choice but provides minor benefit to the build. Before he became a vampire, however, Raziel was part of an order that hunted vampires, which is represented through his Scion of Slayers background. This background also gives him disrupt undead as a divine innate cantrip, which will play into a choice made later in the build.
Finally, with his ability to wield sword and sorcery in concert, magus seemed the best option. Unfortunately for the magus build variety, the best option for him, by process of elimination, is the laughing shadow hybrid study, which is a little over-represented. Raziel still wields immense strength even in his withered state, leading to the choice to have him wield Strength as his key ability score rather than Dexterity. The only spell that seems like it needs to be called out for this build is the inclusion of telekinetic projectile, in reference to the considerable telekinetic powers he wields.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Ghost Dedication
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: +1 longsword, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
o Spellbook: 2nd – telekinetic maneuver
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Ghostly Resistance
o Skill Feat: Underwater Marauder
o Gear: bracelet of dashing, +1 longsword, Jack’s tattered cape, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str 19, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10)
o Ancestry Feat: Necromantic Physiology
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert), Occultism (trained)
o Gear: +1 striking longsword, bracelet of dashing, bracers of missile deflection, Jack’s tattered cape, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
To represent Raziel’s state of being as a wraith, the Ghost Dedication felt like the best fit. Going deeper into the ghost archetype in part so that he can start looking at other dedications, he grabs Ghostly Resistance, which lowers his HP but might make him a bit tankier overall. Somewhat amusingly, Combat Climber and Underwater Marauder are taken for once not to fill in slots, but in reference to some of the abilities he gains from killing his former brothers-in-arms. Wall scaling comes from Zephon and is represented through Combat Climber for the time being whereas Rahab’s soul allows Raziel to swim through the water, linking it to Underwater Marauder. As a vampire, Raziel is also exceptionally fast. This is represented slightly by the increase to speed that he gains from laughing shadow, but Fleet helps give him a more consistent speed that is greater than normal.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Ghostly Grasp
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: +1 studded leather, +1 striking longsword, wand of crushing leaps, bracers of missile deflection, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: endless grimoire, +1 studded leather, lesser boots of free running, +1 striking longsword, bracelet of dashing, bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Runic Impression
o Skill Feat: Quick Climb
o Gear: spellstriker staff, endless grimoire, spiritsight ring, +1 armor, +1 striking longsword, wand of crushing leaps
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Undead Slayer
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient studded leather, gloves of storing, spellstriker staff, endless grimoire, lesser boots of free running, +1 striking longsword
o Spellbook: 5th – telekinetic haul
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str 20, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 10)
o Class Feat: Pass Through
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained)
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather, umbral wings, spellstriker staff, endless grimoire, +1 striking longsword
Ghostly Grasp is handy for netting Raziel the whole array of advanced undead benefits and at that point, Raziel is good to move on to other archetypes. However, there is one other things he wants to really cement him as a ghost and to reference his ability to pass through gates, Raziel picks up Pass Through, so that he can periodically turn intangible. For his first class feat outside of his archetype, Raziel takes Runic Impression to gain the focus spell of the same name. Aside from giving him more focus points with which to recharge his Spellstrike, this is meant to represent the enhancements that Raziel can gain throughout the game with the way it can allow him to emblazon his blade with different elemental effects. There’s nothing terribly notable among his skill feats for this block, just some generally useful stuff, but he does pick up Undead Slayer, reflecting Raziel’s primary adversaries.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: +2 striking longsword, armbands of athleticism, helm of underwater action, +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, spellstriker staff
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Soulforger Dedication – Heroic Heart
o Skill Feat: Quick Swim
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking longsword, greater endless grimoire, armbands of athleticism, wand of dazzling rays (3rd-level), umbral wings
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Night Magic
o Skill Increase: Undead Lore (expert)
o Gear: +2 greater striking longsword, +2 resilient leather, greater spellstriker staff, greater endless grimoire, armbands of athleticism, helm of underwater action
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Rejuvenation
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap -or- Quick Climb
o Gear: greater helm of underwater action, +2 greater striking longsword, ring of climbing, +2 resilient leather, greater endless grimoire, wand of dazzling rays (4th-level)
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 12)
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, greater helm of underwater action, boots of speed, +2 greater striking longsword, greater spellstriker staff, master magus ring
Finally, to represent the Soul Reaver and its symbiotic relationship with Raziel (and a bit of it being made from him), Raziel picks up the Soulforger Dedication, selecting his weapon as his Soulforged Armament. He takes Heroic Heart for his essence power, reflecting how he views himself. Notably, the only reason that Raziel qualifies to take this archetype is because he gained the disrupt undead from his background as a divine innate spell. Dipping back into the ghost archetype, Raziel will pick up Rejuvenation, referencing his ability to return to unlife after being slain in the lair of the Elder God. Further referencing his ability to climb and swim, Raziel can take Quick Climb and Quick Swim but may want to work in Powerful Leap for some of his jumps and bounds. Toughness balances out the lost health from Ghostly Resistance and Diehard reflects his tenacity and refusal to lay down and die quietly. Night Magic mainly serves to bring him closer to his forebears given his status before he was cast down.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Rapid Manifestation
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: wand of refracting rays (6th-level), +2 greater resilient leather, major endless grimoire, greater helm of underwater action, +2 greater striking longsword, ring of swimming
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Symphony of Blood
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: +3 greater striking longsword, greater diver’s gloves, wand of refracting rays (6th-level), +2 greater resilient leather, greater helm of underwater action, boots of speed
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Soul Flare
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: belt of giant strength, +3 greater striking longsword, speed weapon rune, wand of refracting rays (6th-level), +2 greater resilient leather, major endless grimoire
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Undead Lore (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, belt of giant strength, greater boots of free running, +3 greater striking longsword, greater diver’s gloves, wand of refracting rays (6th-level)
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 22, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Supreme Spellstrike
o Skill Feat: Terrifying Resistance
o Gear: +3 major striking longsword, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, titan’s grasp, greater boots of free running, major spellstriker staff, bloodthirsty weapon rune
Rapid Manifestation saves on some actions economy, which is always great, particularly for the magus class. In Pathfinder Second Edition, a single bonus of +1 can mean a lot, and if you’ve narrowed down the numbers of an adversary, Soul Flare can prove highly useful when the time comes. Finally, at level 20, Raziel takes his second magus feat with Supreme Spellstrike because being permanently quickened is always great. He dips a bit into Intimidation feats towards the end there, having gotten most of what he wants already. He grabs Symphony of Blood mostly because vampiric exsanguination is too cool of a spell to pass up.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, Raziel wants to use his free archetype feats to pick up the Ghost Dedication and Soulforger Dedication. This will allow him to pick up Soulforger Dedication a bit sooner. The main thing this will do is actually open room for him to take more magus feats. Some options to consider are Expansive Spellstrike, Spirit Sheath, Attack of Opportunity, and Dimensional Disappearance. Beyond that, take what you want.
BUILD CONCLUSION
The scion of slayers of background represents Raziel’s ancient history of as a vampire hunter whereas dhampir serves to reflect his transformation into a vampire. Ghost Dedication further covers his transition into a wraith whereas Soulforger Dedication captures his relationship with his favored weapon, the Soul Reaver. I chose to represent it as a longsword for simplicity’s sake, but any 1-handed sword should likely work. Runic Impression allows him to apply enhancements to his Soul Reaver, altering its damage with elemental effects. While it isn’t nearly fast enough, Fast Recovery references his rapid regeneration of wounds as a vampire while the ghost’s Rejuvenation serves to represent his respawning ability to return to the lair of the Elder God. As a ghost, he has natural flight but is highly limited in how he does. It could maybe be said to represent his gliding power, but it might be better to try to squeeze in Ghost Flight and maybe Unlimited Ghost Flight to do that. Pass Through covers his ability to phase through gates, Combat Climber allows him to better scale walls, Underwater Marauder and Quick Swim helps him swim, but he likely needs to look towards spells for the constricting bands of energy. Raziel is described as wielding a variety of telekinetic powers, which he will use to help remove obstacles along with combat, leading to the inclusion of spells such as telekinetic projectile, maneuver, and haul. This builds Raziel as a magical warrior that taps into unlife energy while wielding a blade crafted from his very soul.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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