Obscuring Mist Spell (Optibuilds’ Notes)
One of the most beloved spells in Pathfinder. A first level spell with no save or spell resistance that affects all creatures from first level to 20th. Well, I should say all creatures that can’t see through fog. Those who can see in fog really love to cast this spell and gain a significant advantage in combat. With that said, here are the Optibuilds’ Notes on Obscuring Mist.
- Total Concealment – You can cast this spell to effectively end combat. It might give the Cleric time to heal everyone, give everyone a chance to run away and hide, or otherwise allow time for something else in a desperate situation. It also prevents a charging attack, which is great against those pouncer-types.
- Partial Concealment –Even if you remain in melee (5ft feet away from your opponent) partial concealment still prevent sneak attack and provides a 20% miss chance.
- One Level of Wave Oracle (Water Sight) – A one level dip into Oracle for Water Sight is a great option for many different build types. You give up +1BAB and 1 level of progression in your class, However, you pick up Water Sight, +2 to Will saves, some first level spells (assuming you have an 11 Chr), and the ability to cast Oracle spells through a wand without the Use Magic Device skill. Even the curses (which can actually be beneficial for the right builds) grow with you as you progress in a different class.
- Two Levels of Barbarian (Burn Rider) – You are going to want your PC to already have Darkvision. If they do, then Cinder Sight for the Burn Rider will allow you to always see through the mist. Yes its 2 levels, but you are now a barbarian, which has its benefits (rage, nice skill selection, hit points, +3 Fort, access to rage powers). How about a Barbarian Witch? Check out Quincy Horcawich. He is a bad man.
- Fogcutting Lenses and Goz Mask – For 8k you can buy fog sight. They both take up the face slot. However, I am confused as to why the Goz Mask is not listed on D20 PFSRD.com? It is listed in the Inner Sea World Guide.
That’s all I have for now. If you would like to share some knowledge on Obscuring Mist, leave a comment below.
Does Gaze of Flames from a Fire Oracle work too? I’ve not been able to find the difference between mist and fog according to Pathfinder to know if that would work or not.
The following option was not yet available at the time of your writing, but my favorite way to get the most out of Obscuring Mist is this:
Take the Spirit Talker feat from the ACG at level 7 (or even retrain another feat at level 6 if allowed) and proceed to “borrow” the Water Sight spirit hex from the Waves shaman spirit.
No dips or items needed, merely one of the best feats in the game for witches.
Ifrit racial feat called Firesight allows you to see through fire and smoke. Could trick for a rogue. I played one with a bow using smoke sticks and smoke arrows found on the SRD to deny the baddies their Dex on a routine basis. Super good for a Snapshot build.
Since the time of your writing, the “unchained” rogue came out, a class that can inflict sneak-attack damage even through a mist’s partial concealment (though the 20% miss chance still applies).