Okay, so character creation.
As I said, this is a heavily sea-based campaign, although it doesn't start at sea immediately. You will eventually gain your own ship. You should create characters who have a reason or desire to go to sea. The campaign will be based in Corentyn, but once you go to sea, you will spend a lot of time sailing along the west coast of Garund (or around the Eye of Abendego). Of course, even though much of the AP is spent at sea, you will also spend time on land (as you arrive at new locations to explore, for example).
Given the sea-based nature of the campaign, heavily armoured or mounted characters are probably not the best choices. There really won't be much opportunity to ride into battle, but there certainly will be opportunities to be swept overboard and drown in your plate armour. :)
Animal companions, on the other hand, will work quite well in the campaign, especially smaller ones. Birds will make particularly good choices for familiars and animal companions.
Pretty much any class can fit into the campaign well (but no summoners please--I just don't like the class). Given the lack of mounted options, cavaliers are probably the only exception, although the huntmaster archetype from Animal Archive could work as could other archetypes that remove the mount feature. All other classes shouldn't have a problem. Swashbuckling style characters will work very well.
Good god choices for clerics would be Desna, Cayden Cailena, and Gozreh, although lots of other gods could work too. No evil gods though please, even if your character is neutral. For favoured enemy choices for rangers, there are lots of humans and other humanoids. Aquatic humanoids might be a good choice. There are also a lot of demons later in the campaign.
Any race should work fine.
My usual rules for character creation will be in place. 20-point buy. Max hp at first level. Roll each level after that. If you get a roll you don't like, you may ask me for a reroll, but you must take the result of the reroll, even if it's lower. Roll for starting gold as per your class. Everyone gets two traits as usual, but as Savage Tide came out well before the creation of traits, there are no campaign traits.
Although the starting point and homebase for the campaign will be in Corentyn, which is in Cheliax, this isn't an "Oppose the House of Thrune" campaign. You won't really be getting involved in local politics or anything like that.
Anyway, that's a good spot to leave things for the moment and open the floor up to comments and discussion. Who here has access to Cities of Golarion for information on Corentyn?
Understood. Definitely going with the catfolk paladin with a vendetta against pirates. I assume that will work?
They made him walk the plank. For a catfolk, that's just unforgivable, even for a paladin.
A catfolk paladin sounds very interesting. Go for it.
And characters with vendettas against pirates will certainly fit into the campaign quite well.
I should have Cities of Golarion, as I'm subscribed to just about everything.
Tell me very clearly what my character needs to care about to make this campaign work.
Starting gold: x 10 = 160 gp Boo, below average, but not by much.
Any problems with this trait?
Seasoned Climber
Your time on the slopes has improved your ability to surmount great peaks.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Climb checks, and Climb becomes a class skill for you.
It's from the Dragon Empires Primer, regional to Tian Xia, I would guess, but couldn't it just as easily be reflavoured like this:
Seasoned Climber
Your time among the riggings has improved your ability to climb high above the swaying decks.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Climb checks, and Climb becomes a class skill for you.
Tell me very clearly what my character needs to care about to make this campaign work.
Certainly.
Characters should probably be interested in travel (or at least willing to travel), although this probably comes hand-in-hand with an interest in sailing. Also, it's good if at least some of the characters have a desire to run their own ship rather than just be crew. Beyond that, characters can have a wide variety of interests and still fit into the campaign. There is definitely a place for scholarly interests, particularly history and planes; however, it'll be a while before their usefulness becomes apparent. Swashbuckling characters work really well in this campaign.
Good alignments work best (or neutral tending to good), since you'll be opposing pirates and demons. The adventures do have little sidebars in them for suggestions on "What if the PCs join the pirates?" However, running the campaign that way requires some pretty substantial changes, so I'd prefer if it didn't go that route (though I'm adaptable if it does). The paladin probably wouldn't appreciate it either. :)
That said, there are some moral quandaries that come much later in the campaign, ones that non-lawful characters will probably deal with more easily. Thus, neutral good and chaotic good are probably the best alignment choices. Even though I mentioned it earlier, I momentarily forgot about it, so also forgot to remind Nazard. The choices could be tough for a paladin, although a paladin is certainly still playable. You should be aware going in though that your paladinhood will be tested. :)
Although Corentyn will be the homebase of the campaign, you don't necessarily have to care a great deal about the city itself. However, you should care about wanting to protect innocent lives and the world at large (as the ultimate threat in the campaign is pretty much to the whole world). The wider-reaching threat won't be initially apparent, however, so you should initially be interested in simple adventuring, either from a genuine desire for it or a need to make money. Initially, you are hired to retrieve a lost item, so you should definitely have a reason to accept payment from an NPC.
Really, to reiterate, the number one thing which is vital is the desire (or need) to go sailing. As long as that's there, just about anything else will work. Without it, the campaign really won't work. However, your characters should also have a reason why they're not sailing right at the moment--perhaps because they can't afford it yet, or they're between sailing jobs, or perhaps even because they haven't yet discovered their love of sailing (but will quickly discover that love once the sailing starts). You should also have a reason to stick together with the other PCs once you've met them and gotten to know them a little--assuming the other PCs aren't total jerks, which hopefully they won't be. :)
You don't need to care about any particular NPCs before the campaign starts. Hopefully, you might grow to care about some as the campaign progresses. There will be some regular, recurring ones, but the campaign doesn't centre around a particular group like Jade Regent does.
I think that about covers it. If you want any clarification about anything, though, feel free to ask!
Any problems with this trait?
Seasoned Climber
Your time on the slopes has improved your ability to surmount great peaks.Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Climb checks, and Climb becomes a class skill for you.
It's from the Dragon Empires Primer, regional to Tian Xia, I would guess, but couldn't it just as easily be reflavoured like this:
Seasoned Climber
Your time among the riggings has improved your ability to climb high above the swaying decks.Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Climb checks, and Climb becomes a class skill for you.
I'm fine with that.
I was considering asking if I could modify my Raftsman archetype to fit a seabased campaign and use it, but going over it again, I realized that it offers almost nothing once he's off a ship. With no boat, he's basically an aristocrat with an order and teamwork feats, plus I couldn't find an order that suited him.
So sticking with the paladin, paladinhood testing or no.
I should make mention now that I do not play paladins as self-righteous jerks that try to force everybody else to be as good as they are. I've played two paladins in recent years: one is an arrogant fellow far too impressed with his own martial ability to be condescending to others, except to suggest that the women in the party should stay behind him, or perhaps go home and raise a family (yeah, paladin of Erastil), and the other was a womanizing jousting junky paladin of Kurgess who spent all his time thinking of noble jousts and glorious charges.
Okay, so maybe they both are kind of jerks in different ways. Will have to work on that. I'm envisioning Felos as a swashbuckling paladin who gets a bit grim when the subject of piracy comes up. He enjoys a good drink and tale in a tavern, dancing, and some flirting, though romantic entanglements are obviously unlikely given his unique race and his personal mission to rid the world of pirates.
By the way, what are the laws on Golarion concerning piracy? In the real world, any sailor whether military or not who had proof that someone was a pirate was pretty much expected to string them up to hang with no repercussions to themselves. Pirates basically had a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" status by default.
And just to keep the monkness of the game going, if he can get access to a reliable source of mage armour spells, he'll probably take some levels in zen archer, too. No more than 3, since ki really isn't in keeping with his character.
Hmmm...one level of arial wildbooded sorcerer...access to shield spell, able to use mage armour wands, gravity bow...I really wish there were an Extra Smite Evil feat.
Just did a rough comparison for fun, and thought I'd post it for the character build analysts among us, if any.
Paladin 7
+7 BAB, +5/+2/+5 saves
7d10 average 43 HP
SE 3 per day (+Cha hit, +7 damage)
LoH 3 per day
Divine health
2 Mercies
Divine bond +1
Paladin Spells up to second level
21 skill points
4 feats + Precise Shot
Paladin 3/Zen Archer 3/Sorcerer 1
+5 BAB, +6 BAB flurry, +6/+3/+8 saves
3d10+3d8+1d6; average 37 HP
SE 1 per day (+Cha hit, +3 damage)
LoH 1 per day
Divine health
1 Mercy
Sorcerer spells first level; shield, gravity bow, wands
23 skill points
4 Feats + Precise Shot, Perfect Shot, Weapon Focus, Point Blank Master, Point Blank Shot, and Dodge
Basically, at the cost of divine bond and 2 Smite Evil uses (the latter being more significant), multi classing like this gains a pile of feats, huge saves, and negligible HP and BAB losses (the latter mostly offset by the free Weapon Focus feat). The Smite Evil is less potent, but the reduced damage is offset by access to gravity bow.
Thoughts?
Changes the focus of the character from martial-plus-party-support to solo-Captain-Awesome, imo. Multi-classing makes him more of a self-sufficient superhero but doesn't leave much for picking up any of the healing/condition-removal slack. You'd definitely be counting on someone volunteering to be a dedicated healer to take care of the rest of the party, if not you. Might want to see what other people are going to play before committing yourself.
Multi-class paladins are interesting beasts. What you have here could be fun to play. Joana makes a good point, though, that you might want to see what other people are playing before committing yourself. Of course, since your first level is paladin anyway, you don't really need to commit yourself until level four. :)
Of course, since your first level is paladin anyway, you don't really need to commit yourself until level four. :)
Yeah, but once you've invested yourself in a vision of how your character is going to work out, it's hard to deviate from it. :)
Is this one of those Kingmaker/Skull & Shackles-type games where one of the PCs gets to be captain and everyone else is supposed to be the loyal crew? I don't have a problem with the party being co-owners of a ship and hiring a crew to run it for them, but I don't want to serve under a PC captain (or an NPC captain unless I get to end up killing him for having the effrontery to tell me what to do.) Nor do I want to be captain and issue orders to other PCs. To me, the whole point of being a PC is autonomy. Following orders is for NPCs and cohorts.
Of course, since your first level is paladin anyway, you don't really need to commit yourself until level four. :)Yeah, but once you've invested yourself in a vision of how your character is going to work out, it's hard to deviate from it. :)
Fair point. :)
Is this one of those Kingmaker/Skull & Shackles-type games where one of the PCs gets to be captain and everyone else is supposed to be the loyal crew? I don't have a problem with the party being co-owners of a ship and hiring a crew to run it for them, but I don't want to serve under a PC captain (or an NPC captain unless I get to end up killing him for having the effrontery to tell me what to do.) Nor do I want to be captain and issue orders to other PCs. To me, the whole point of being a PC is autonomy. Following orders is for NPCs and cohorts.
You get your own ship, but it's entirely up to the party how you wish to run it. There's absolutely no requirement or need to have a single captain. And you also won't be serving under an NPC captain. The ship is a means of transport and an opportunity for sea-born encounters. The AP is not about the politics of command.
I've thought of paladins as fulfilling many roles, but healer and condition remover has never been one of them. Granted, the level 6 mercy to remove disease is nice, but the limited spellcasting isn't really something I'd waste on neutralize poison and the like. If the party is depending of Felos for healing and condition removal, we are in serious trouble.
The multi-classing would definitely make him more self-sufficient, and a little cooler to play tactically, but I don't see how that choice adversely affects his ability to support the party. I posted the build options to see if people thought losing two smite evils in exchange for better saves and four or five extra feats.
We could run the ship as if we were a merchant consortium. We can even have an NPC captain who commands the crew of the ship, but goes where we point and does what we agree upon as a group.
Well, it's the lay on hands and channel abilities that make a paladin a decent back-up healer. I don't think Joana was saying that the paladin should be the primary healer, but depending on the composition of the rest of the group, a back-up healer could be useful. No one's going to force you along that route though. By all means, play the character you want to play!
I don't think Joana was saying that the paladin should be the primary healer, but depending on the composition of the rest of the group, a back-up healer could be useful.
This. Just going from what people were speculating in the other thread, if you end up with a group of a paladin, 2 monks, and a magus, those LoHs and mercies might look more valuable than the smite evils and feats put together.
Also, Felos is an archer with poor social skills, so he's never going to be a tank or face, to quote the new terminology.
It does occur to me that going multi-class means that his flurry won't advance, and since flurry doesn't stack with the Rapid Shot line, he won't be able to feather his foes with as many arrows as could just going paladin and taking the Rapid line.
Heal sticks are better for healing than lay on hands out of combat. The perk of lay on hands in combat is that it's a swift action when used on oneself. He would counteract the reduced number of LoH with the Extra LoH feat, which he can do because he gets so many of his desired feats for free. They aren't as strong, individually, of course.
Are there really going to be two monks, or was that just joking around about the all-monk party?
*shrug* Have to wait to hear from Jatori about that. I know he's a big monk fan.
Any thoughts what you want to play this time?
Nope. No ideas. I know I'm playing a or *the* healer in 7 of my 8 games, so I'm not enthused about going that route again.
Are there really going to be two monks, or was that just joking around about the all-monk party?
Heh, that remains to be seen, I suppose. I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility. I think it's a pretty safe bet that Lorekeeper will play a monk. As for Jatori...shrug, no idea.
We had two monks in Jade Regent to begin with, if you recall. But then Wander changed his character.
If the party ends up low on healing, I don't mind adding an NPC cleric into the group. I don't want to force anyone to play a healer if they don't want to.
Well, I offered to resurrect Venedictos, my cleric/song healer bard, though why he'd want to go sailing, I have no idea.
I have a hard time imagining Venedictos at sea. You'd have to change him considerably. He'd just be a different character with the same name. Felos looks a fine character. Don't feel pressured to change if you don't want to.
Oh no, definitely sticking with kitty.
Lorekeeper's monk looks like the type that puts out big damage in short bursts. Magus' are like that too. So is Felos.
We'll have lots of nova'ers, and are light on both dedicated divine and arcane magic.
Let's wait for the others to chime in and see what they want to play before we worry about too many nova-ers or whatever. As I said, I'll throw in an NPC if needed.
Hmmm...where are they?
People with lives on the week-end! The nerve!
So this initial quest is to retrieve some missing item? I assume they'll be getting paid for it, which is the motivation Felos needs, since he's broke and needs more money to get further south.
Hmmm...where are they?
Perhaps you shouldn't have made Jade Regent inactive until everyone found their way over here, Navior? If they're working from their campaigns tab, they won't see the new posts in the discussion thread.
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Yes. You probably made it inactive too soon. I only now saw the link to this thread after investigating why there was no activity on the other one.
My experience with the AP agrees very much with this
Characters should probably be interested in travel (or at least willing to travel), although this probably comes hand-in-hand with an interest in sailing. Also, it's good if at least some of the characters have a desire to run their own ship rather than just be crew. Beyond that, characters can have a wide variety of interests and still fit into the campaign. There is definitely a place for scholarly interests, particularly history and planes; however, it'll be a while before their usefulness becomes apparent. Swashbuckling characters work really well in this campaign.
Right now, I'm thinking an Inqusitor maybe.
Lorekeeper's monk looks like the type that puts out big damage in short bursts. Magus' are like that too. So is Felos
hmmm... that remains to be seen - personally I don't think so - except maybe once we hit level 12+. The archetype can do above-average damage for a monk from level 4 by spending ki; but at levels 4 to 8 that would be 4 to 7 rounds a day - and would also remove other ki options that would often be more important (+4 dodge AC, I'm looking at you). The Vital Strike feat chain is not a big game-changer on the build-threads after all.
Additionally, I imagine that often using ki to make a Vital Strike as a Move Action makes best sense in combination with using the Standard Action in some comborific way. The Chaos Domain touch of "bad luck" level 1 power comes to mind (target must roll 2 d20s and take the worst for 1 round, no save) - this in combination with Stunning Fist would be potent. Likewise some form of spell-casting (wands and UMD) would work - or of course investing feats to get Standard Action maneuvers (grapple, dirty trick, etc).
As it stands, I'm currently playing with a super-MAD build:
Str 14 + 2
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 13
Wis 14
Cha 10
The purpose is to get Combat Expertise and Improved Feint - so that the character has a useful move-action to go with his Vital Strike.
...
@Navior: should we prepare for *tough* combat? (i.e. leaning towards more damage or more utility in the build). If combat isn't thaaat dangerous, I might build around dropping Str and increasing Dex to be a little less than 5-stat MAD.
...
@Nazard: what about having kitty have no sorcerer levels. A paladin can easily invest into UMD due to his Charisma and access to "dangerous curiosity" trait. That leaves you with paladin 4/zen archer 3 at level 7. The main draw for the zen archer multi-class, I think, is the big stack of front-loaded juicy feats. They make a big difference to a feat-starved paladin. If you additionally assume starting with the monk you could focus on Wisdom as main attack stat from level 2 onward, using a stat-spread of about:
(Assuming aasimar instead of catfolk)
Str 14
Dex 12
Con 12
Int 7
Wis 16 (+2 = 18)
Cha 14 (+2 = 16)
By level 7, assuming no increase to Charisma, you'd have 7 ranks + 3 cha + 3 class skill + 1 trait = 14 UMD (more if you get a circlet of persuasion for example). Fairly reliable for mage armor. You could then also consider what I'm planning for my character: cloak of the hedgewizard (abjuration) (2500gp, Ultimate Equipment); which grants shield and endure elements 1/day (as well as prestidigitation and resistance at will).
...
Rolling starting wealth: 50gp.
Extra: what my build outline illustrates is that the character is not really a primary front-liner; which might be something we're missing then. If Navior says the campaign is very dangerous, I'll give up the feinting thing in favor of building something more tanky. Even then not very high damage, but at least something that can stand in the way of the pain and the rest of the party. (aka Melon)
I should comment, Lorekeeper, that I personally despise monks as a class, and any eastern-flavored classes. However, I really like the zen archer and maneuver master archetypes, but prefer to reflavour them as ascetic students of various non-eastern gods.
Felos doesn't have the skill points to spare to take UMD, and without taking a level of sorcerer, he can't get access to the shield spell, which he'll need to get his AC out of the toilet. I suppose he could be an armoured paladin/monk and take Rapid Shot with his free feats. It'll cost a point of BAB to do it that way, made up for by not losing it taking a level of sorcerer. He'd still get the good saves and shiny feats. Losing sorcerer means losing wand access, so no gravity bow, owl's wisdom, etc.
A decision for third level, though.
Yes. You probably made it inactive too soon. I only now saw the link to this thread after investigating why there was no activity on the other one.
Oops. My apologies. I didn't think about that. I do everything through the messageboard focus screen and always forget the tabs are even there.
@Navior: should we prepare for *tough* combat? (i.e. leaning towards more damage or more utility in the build). If combat isn't thaaat dangerous, I might build around dropping Str and increasing Dex to be a little less than 5-stat MAD.
In the first adventure, most of the encounters are pretty reasonable. However, there are a couple of situations where, if you're not careful, you could end up fighting multiple groups all at once, and that will make it tough.
The AP does have a reputation as deadly. I'm still reviewing it to remind myself exactly what you encounter, but when I ran it previously, I had a huge group, so I was actually beefing up encounters in order to challenge them. I didn't have to beef them up a great deal though as I recall. That said, the AP is deadly for a four-player group, which is what it's supposedly built for. With five (or six if I throw in an NPC) characters, it won't be quite as tough. And I always try to be mindful of the party's capabilities when I put you in combat and adjust things up or down accordingly.
Should you have a heavy-hitter in the group? It certainly wouldn't hurt to have one. In the first adventure, much of the challenge comes from facing large numbers, so the individual opponents actually go down pretty easily, making a heavy-hitter not all that necessary. However, there are a couple of encounters with tougher opponents who might need a heavy-hitter to whittle them down faster. But that's to be expected, really. There are some encounters where certain types of characters do better, and some where other types do better. It's the general D&D thing: A mix of character types tends to work best.
New plan:
I had thought there was a whole line of Rapid Shot Feats (Improved, Greater) that let you add more and more extra shots like Two-Weapon Fighting, but I was mistaken. Zen archer makes that happen, but this character is primarily a paladin. By wearing armour, he loses flurry of bows, but can afford the Rapid Shot feat, which is a pre-req anyway for Snap Shot, which is an awesome feat. Eventually, Felos will be looking for celestial armour.
Paladin 5/Monk 2
+6 BAB, +7, +4, +7 saves
5d10+2d8; average 41 HP
SE 2 per day (+ Cha attack and AC; +5 damage)
LoH 2 per day (3d6)
Divine health
Divine bond +1
Paladin spells level 1
23 skill points
Precise Shot, Perfect Shot, Rapid Shot, Point Blank Shot, weapon Focus, Deadly Aim, Extra LoH, Combat Reflexes, Snap Shot
Navior, are you familiar with this item:
Ammunition (Bow): Arrow(s), Thistle
These barbed arrows are crafted from the thistles of a poisonous plant, causing pain to persist beyond the initial injury.
Benefit: Thistle arrows deal damage as a bleed effect for 1d6 rounds.
Source Adventurer's Armory, Pathfinder Campaign Setting
Do they seriously let you use the damage you roll for the hit as bleed damage for 1d6 rounds, because I was running some simulations of the new build (with 1st level equipment only) for fun against some CR 6 baddies, and critting a girallon on the first arrow for 31 points of damage, which ended up being bleed damage, was pretty significant.
Apparently, in the Campaign Setting, they do 1 point bleed damage per round which is much less ridiculous.
EDIT: Found it in the old Campaign Setting book, p. 211:
Thistle Arrow: These arrows are a specialty of the Ekujae shamans, who craft the arrowheads out of the thistles of a toxic plant that most creatures find highly caustic. They deal normal damage but then become embedded in the wound and deal an additional 1 point of damage each round for 1d6 rounds from their irritating sap. Creatures immune to poison are immune to this extra damage. A creature can remove an embedded thistle arrow as a move action without provoking attacks of opportunity, but doing so deals an additional 1d3 points of damage as the thorny barbs are pulled free. A DC 12 Heal check (made as a standard action) can pull free a thistle arrow's head without dealing any additional damage. A single thistle arrow costs 1 gp.
@Nazard: for comparison, how would your pure zen archer look at level 7?
Agreed. Much less ridiculous. The d20pathfinder site obviously has some missing text.
I guess now there's not much point in having durable thistle arrows, as the flavour text implies that the effect is tied to the sap in the arrow, which isn't going to last forever just because the arrow shaft is stronger.
Thanks, Joana.
@Nazard: for comparison, how would your pure zen archer look at level 7?
I'll uplevel my human zen archer after I get the kids some supper.
I should comment, Lorekeeper, that I personally despise monks as a class, and any eastern-flavored classes.
If you're saying that because they are crappy weak, then I agree with you. I play monks because I like to play the game on "hard". ;)
In the mean time I'll think though how I'll build the character. I've come to the conclusion that it is really hard - as there are "hidden" costs in the Aspect of Milani giving up all bonus feats: the feats themselves are balanced enough against what you get - but the bypassing of prerequisites is a very important tool for normal monks; as it means things like bypassing Combat Expertise to get disarm and tripping for example.
I'll come to a finalized plan sooner or later :)
Another balance consideration that is giving me a bit of a build-headache is that all the magical items designed to make combat more lethal are not very friendly with an archetype that assumes 1 attack a round. This gets particularly noticeable for unarmed-builds where a +1 to attack and damage costs 4000gp for unarmed strikes.
Hey, it's your archetype. ;)
I should comment, Lorekeeper, that I personally despise monks as a class, and any eastern-flavored classes.If you're saying that because they are crappy weak, then I agree with you. I play monks because I like to play the game on "hard". ;)
Not because they're weak, but because they're too Kung fuish. I'm a racist, technophobe gamer: no Asians and no guns allowed.
At the moment, I'm playing a maneuver master trip specialist in an Age of Worms game. She's the most enjoyable character I've ever played from a tactical standpoint. There are two heavy hitters in the party that love the AoO she gives them by tripping baddies in front of them, or using Ki throw to toss baddies into the square they're flanking. On her own, she does pathetic damage, but she's awesome.
Once, we needed to lure a pile of skellies into the cleric's channel radius, so she dashed out into the middle of the room by herself and defensively held off 15 skeletons and three human cultists until the cleric could get into position to blast the undead. Then the party charged in.
The last battle, the group was pinned down by tanglefoot bags and optimized morlock archers hidden on a ledge. She leaps the twenty foot chasm to land on their ledge, takes 4 arrows, overruns all four archers, then proceeds to Ki throw them off the ledge down to her friends two at a time.
A blast to play. Have a look at her build. She's about to go a couple levels of fighter, then all maneuver master.
But she's a disciple of an Empyreal lord, and her judo/jujitsu style is flavored as a unique fighting style to that order of ascetics.
Granted, Korada is probably the most Asian of the Empyreal Lords, at least, of the ones that had been detailed when this character was made.
I just find that adding too much Asian flavor to fantasy creates the abomination that was Dragonheart 2. :)
I know what you mean. My "highest" PFS character is a maneuver master (level 7.666666). She's 4 levels maneuver master, 3 levels ninja - and focused on high dex and took Two-Weapon Fighting to have a 3-pronged assault from level 1 onward. Specializes in disarming and tripping; and having 3 disarm/trip attempts in 1 round tends to work really well.
She started with pitiful damage, but has an agile amulet now; and her typical modus operandi is to trip and disarm. Next round: dirty trick while they down (to blind) followed by 2 punches (from Two-Weapon Fighting) which include sneak attack (because they are blind and the character has ninja levels). She can do all this safely-ish because she has some handy mirror images to help her out.
She's loads of fun :)