Introduction
This page is disappointing. Almost all of the options are bad. You can only have one Trick in place at a time, which means that you go into each combat by guessing what you’ll need ahead of time and hoping that you somehow guessed what the DM was going to put in front of you. Activating a trick during combat is almost never worth the effort.
Disclaimer
We support a limited subset of Pathfinder’s rules content. If you would like help with Pathfinder options not covered here, please email me and I may be able to provide additional assistance.
RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.
- Red: Bad, useless options, or options whichare extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
- Orange: OK options, or useful optionsthat only apply in rare circ*mstances. Useful sometimes.
- Green: Good options. Useful often.
- Blue: Fantastic options, often essentialto the function of your character. Useful very frequently.
Mesmerist Tricks
Tricks
Astounding Avoidance: Essentiallysingle-use Evasion, and it improves to Greater Evasion at 8th level. Nice ifyou anticipate an AOE, but unless you’re hunting a dragon that’s a hardprediction to make.
Compel Alacrity: Your allies really needto find their own way to get out of enemies’ reach. If you use this beforegoing into combat you’re locking out your class’s signature ability. If youuse this on your turn during combat, you’re wasting a turn just topossiblyprevent a single attack of opportunity.
False Flanker: Occasionally nice with arogue in the party.
Fearsome Guise: You can already Demoralizeas a standard action, so the only benefits here are the ability to spend thestandard action ahead of time, and to be affected by Disguise Self all day. Ifyou really want to be disguised that much, buy a Hat of Disguise.
Gift of Will: Very useful, especially onceyou get Towering Ego at 2nd level. Put this on front-line characters, whotypically have poor Will saves.
Levitation Buffer: If you want to reduce afoes CMD, consider entangling them with a net or a tanglefoot bag.
Linked Reaction: Surprise rounds can definethe course of an encounter.
Mask Misery: Too situational, too hard topredict, and not worth the action to activate this once the condition is inplace. Use Touch Treatment if you absolutely need to suppress the condition,but even that is rarely worth the action.
Meek Facade: One of very few mechanics inPathfinder which force an enemy to attack a specific enemy. Great if you havea nice durable tank to draw fire for you. Unfortunately it requires that anenemy is already attacking the target, in which case this is just an AC boostafter the enemy has already missed at least once.
Mesmeric Mirror: A miss chance that you cantrigger as a free action in response to an attack. Great, but you’ll lock downyour trick usage to use it.
Mesmeric Pantomime: A great way tocompensate for your own poor skills modifiers with physical skills.
Misdirection: Occasionally nice with a roguein the party, but False Flanker will be more useful.
Psychosomatic Surge: Temporary hit pointsare great, but Mesmeric Mirror is a better response to an attack. Instead, usethis before you go into a fight and slap your friend to trigger the temporaryhit points.
Reflection of Weakness: Very situational,and you need to know how your enemy is going to hurt you ahead of time. It’shelpful against enemies that have natural poison like snakes, or which dealability damage/drain like shadows, but otherwise you’re going to hang ontothis Trick for several levels until something suitable comes along to makethis useful.
Shadow Splinter: Technically situational,but it’s a situation that comes up reasonably often, especially if your GMlikes to use encounters with multiple foes. It combines defense and offense ina fun, useful way, but it also has a lot of potential failure points due toposition, saving throws, etc.
Spectral Smoke: Blocking line of sightmeans that ranged attacks are made with a 50% miss chance, which is a gooddefensive option. However, Mesmeric Mirror will be more reliable and won’tleave a cloud behind to block your party’s line of sight.
Vanish Arrow: Any of the other options forresponding to attacks will be more effective and more versatile, and won’trequire wasting skill ranks on Sleight of Hand.
Masterful Tricks
A significant improvement in the quality of available tricks.
Avian Escape: This will probably make thetarget easier to kill because such a small creature can be so easily grappled,swallowed, etc.
Cursed Sanction: The penalties are massive.Follow up with a save or suck and the enemy will go down easily.
Faked Death: A good option for you or alliedspellcasters.
Free in Body: Cast Dimension Door.
Greater Mask Misery: Use Touch Treatment.
Mental Fallback: Gift of Will shouldprevent you from needing this.
Spatial Switch: A great way to sneak yournoisy allies into place, or to escape an ambush.
Spell Anticipation: A great way to counterenemy spellcasters, especially if you can hit them with Hypnotic Stare firstto reduce their Will save.
Vision of Blood: Stunned is one of the beststatus conditions you can apply to a foe. Using this every round against atouch enemy is a totally justifiable use of your daily trick uses.
