Halfling Administrator for PFS

[Jiggy]

The concept is a halfling from Absalom who manages the administrative side of a (human-owned) business. He's decided to also take up adventuring as a Pathfinder (this is in organized play). He knows better than to be unprepared for danger, but is not a very militant person.

Implementations of Concept:

• He's not the sort to march about dripping with weapons. Therefore, if he needs to defend himself, he simply swings his walking stick at his assailants. Fights with a quarterstaff, using TWF.
• Knowing better than to not be prepared, he carries a dagger and a bow, just in case. A dagger is useful in many situations (even some nonviolent ones), and he's rather comfortable with a bow due to having trained in archery as a hobby. Takes 2 levels in ranger, gaining Precise Shot sans prereqs.
• Having lived and worked in human society all his life, he's gotten quite good at dealing with humans. Favored Enemy (human) gives him bonuses to Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against humans. Bonuses to attacks and damage are incidental.
• Having an interest in marketing his master's business, he learns to be exceptional at feeling out contacts and canvassing for information. A dip into Investigator Rogue lets him roll twice on Diplomacy checks made to gather information.

Stats:

Halfling
STR 15 (17-2) (bump at 4th)
DEX 16 (14+2)
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 12 (10+2)

Traits: Undecided
01:Ranger1[Urban]:[Favored Enemy (human) +2][Track][Wild Empathy], Two-Weapon Fighting
02:Ranger2[Urban]:[Combat Style Feat:Precise Shot]
03:Rogue1[Investigator]:[Follow-Up][Sneak Attack +1d6], FEAT
04:Ranger3[Urban]:[Favored Community (Absalom) +2][Trapfinding]
05:?????

Questions:

1. What should I pick for my traits?
2. What should I pick for my feats at 3rd and 5th? I'm seriously considering Toughness and Iron Will (in that order), but I'm interested in other ideas.
3. Starting at 5th level, I'm not sure on my classes. I want to keep my BAB up, so I'm not interested in starting a third class unless it's full-BAB. I could grab a fighter level or two for some feats, I could continue my rogue progression for one of the few decent talents and a little more Sneak Attack, or I could just stick with ranger to advance my Favored Enemy/Community bonuses.
4. I know I want my ranger levels to have the Urban archetype. What other not-too-weird archetypes would be worth stacking onto it, if any?

Feedback appreciated. Thanks!

[Mergy]

I would lower charisma for wisdom if you ever plan to take a fourth level of ranger. Going wisdom 12 gives you a spell at ranger 4, and two at ranger 5.

I know the strength penalty hurts, but you'll be better served focussing more on ranged combat and keeping TWF as your backup: start with strength 14 (16-2) and you'll have three points left over to raise constitution to 14, or raise dexterity to 17 and wisdom to 13 (assuming you take charisma down to 10).

I would suggest:

Ran1 TWF
Ran2 Precise Shot
Rog3 Point-Blank Shot
Ran4
Ran5 Rapid Shot
Ran6
Ran7 Improved TWF, Manyshot

At level 7, you're versatile, and you have switched your walking stick for a longbow (which, with the help of bowstaff, still packs a severe wallop in melee). You get four attacks at melee and at ranged, and your favoured enemy (human) +4 means even with the middling strength you can still be taken quite seriously.

EDIT:

As for traits, Helpful in the hands of a supporting halfling is borderline broken.

[Jiggy]

Thanks for the feedback, Mergy. I'm interested in CHA for social skills and possibly UMD later on, so I want at least 12. I could see dropping a point of STR for 3 more build points, though. Heck, that alone could take me to 12 WIS and 13 CHA, putting my 4th level bump in CHA.

I could always take Rapid Shot at Ranger6 without bothering with PBS, and I'm not really interested in playing an "archer" anyway. The only reason I'm even grabbing Precise is because I wanted Ranger anyway and it's an easy freebie with a lot of value.

[KestlerGunner]

I'm so sick of all rangers taking favoured enemy human all the bleeding time. Nobody justifies the concept, they just want the highest damage throughout the entire game. Back in my day, Rangers hunted undead or abberrations or even demons. Now they're serial killers.

[/gripe]

[Jiggy]

KestlerGunner wrote:

I'm so sick of all rangers taking favoured enemy human all the bleeding time. Nobody justifies the concept, they just want the highest damage throughout the entire game. Back in my day, Rangers hunted undead or abberrations or even demons. Now they're serial killers.

[/gripe]

Did you not read the first spoiler? I'm actually taking it for the skill bonuses (I just wish it included Diplomacy). Seems very appropriate for a halfling working in Absalom, especially if you read the ISWG entry on halflings.

[KestlerGunner]

It seems very appropriate for EVERYONE on Golarion, seeing as the human population is around 90% for just about all the nations aside from Kyonin and Orcish territories.Everyone grows up/works/interacts around humans.

I just read ranger favoured enemy human and I had to gripe. It's a good character concept and my whinging with ranger's favoured enemy has less to do with your character than it does with how everyone handles a ranger character nowadays.

If I was you, I'd have stuck with straight rogue and then dipped into Master Spy as the halfling's curiosity in the paperwork of the Society and 'following the money' takes a peculiar and obsessive angle.

[Jiggy]

...Bump?

[Mojorat]

I like his master spy suggestion, if you can do it with your mukticlass concept setup you should look at it

[Ciaran Barnes]

Lower strength. Its eating up too much.

[Jiggy]

Mojorat wrote:

I like his master spy suggestion, if you can do it with your mukticlass concept setup you should look at it

I'm sorry, I'm not understanding how anything from Master Spy fits this concept. Could you elaborate?

Ciaran Barnes wrote:

Lower strength. Its eating up too much.

Yeah, I think you and Mergy are right. I'll probably tweak the stats thusly:

STR 14 (16-2)
DEX 16 (14+2)
CON 13
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 12 (10+2)

[Mergy]

I have to say one more time regarding the charisma: it's not doing that much for you, and those two points would serve you better bumping constitution up to 14.

Once again, if you can't think of anything better for later on, keeping your ranged up with your TWF is a good way to go; bowstaff is a swift action to cast and means you only need to focus on one weapon.

[Jiggy]

Mergy wrote:

I have to say one more time regarding the charisma: it's not doing that much for you, and those two points would serve you better bumping constitution up to 14.

You're right that it's not doing much combat-wise, but I am planning on doing some "face" stuff, so I need the CHA for that.

Quote:

Once again, if you can't think of anything better for later on, keeping your ranged up with your TWF is a good way to go; bowstaff is a swift action to cast and means you only need to focus on one weapon.

Interesting. I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

[Mergy]

The charisma bonus provides +1 to your face skills; that will very quickly be overshadowed by pure skill investment combined with class skills. Meanwhile, an extra hit point per level is worth a feat in and of itself.

[Jiggy]

Fair point. Hrm... Or maybe I could forget that WIS boost that I added?

STR 14 (16-2)
DEX 16 (14+2)
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 10 (8+2)

STR 14 (16-2)
DEX 16 (14+2)
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 12 (10+2)

Hm...

[Mergy]

At that point, just keep in mind you want a 12 by ranger 4.

[Jiggy]

Mergy wrote:

At that point, just keep in mind you want a 12 by ranger 4.

To be honest, I'm not even sure he'll *hit* Ranger4. He might end up as an epic multiclass mish-mash. ;)

[Mergy]

Well sure, if you don't want him to have a faithful hound always by his side, through thick and thin. ;)

Boon Companion when he hits ranger level 4 means your multiclass mish-mash keeps a pretty strong riding dog the whole time.

[Jiggy]

I've pondered the AniComp a bit, and I'm having trouble thinking of a form that I can get to fit into my vision for the concept. Are there any archetypes that trade it out?

[Mergy]

But think of Sherlock Holmes and Toby the bloodhound!

Well, you could go guide, but that would mean no favoured enemy. Spirit ranger would give some more spells, but you don't seem interested in the spells at all.

[Jiggy]

Mergy wrote:

But think of Sherlock Holmes

I'm getting kind of curious why people are making suggestions like this one; what in my concept is making people think detective/spy? At first I thought the Master Spy suggestion earlier was just kind of out of left field, but then you mention Sherlock. Did I make a poor choice of words somewhere?

[Mergy]

Sorry, you're right. I did get that impression from favoured enemy: human, gathering information, etc.

I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with having a faithful dog to help you out, especially as 'not a militant person'. No, you won't have Handle Animal as a skill anymore, but you get a +4 bonus with your pet, so you'll be able to half-ass it nicely with minimal investment, and you'll have someone helping you track down those contacts that don't want to be found.

[Jiggy]

Bump.

Apparently, asking for things other than DPR doesn't get much in the way of responses.

/jadedness

[Doram ob'Han]

Traits: Insider Knowledge (for the Diplomacy, to make up a little for the lack of Favored Enemy bonus) and Proper Training both seem to make sense for the character, though they would tie him tothe Grand Lodge.

I would definitely take two fighter levels for the feats, then stick with Rogue to 5, finishing with Ranger.

For Rogue Talents: Convincing Lie?

For feats: Lucky Hafling fits. What about Persuasive (which makess sense anyway), Quick Draw, Betrayer?

[Mergy]

My big suggestion is the Helpful trait. It's kind of amazing.

You could go Combat Reflexes and Bodyguard with that and aid another for +4 to your allies' AC when they get attacked.

[Jiggy]

Mergy wrote:

My big suggestion is the Helpful trait. It's kind of amazing.

Tell you what: you gift the PDF to my Paizo account, and I promise I'll use that trait. ;)

[Mergy]

The lesser version is the Shadow Lodge one which gives +3? :)

[Jiggy]

Cheapskate!

[Pirate Rob]

Jiggy wrote:

Mergy wrote:

But think of Sherlock Holmes

I'm getting kind of curious why people are making suggestions like this one; what in my concept is making people think detective/spy? At first I thought the Master Spy suggestion earlier was just kind of out of left field, but then you mention Sherlock. Did I make a poor choice of words somewhere?

Your initial post mentions "Investigator Rogue" as well as "feeling out contacts and canvassing for information"

"Favored Enemy (human) gives him bonuses to Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against humans"

Are also generally the kinds of things an investigator would want.

It sounds much more like the skill set of an investigator rather than an administrator, also administrators are stereotypically dull and introverted, a spy/investigator is much easier to come up with good ideas for imho.

All that said, here are here's how I might build an outgoing Halfling administrator by day, pathfinder by night. (Significant changes from your build, but you might find something of value)

Halfling LG ( Follower of Abadar )
5 STR 12 (14-2)
7 DEX 17 (15+2)
2 CON 12
2 INT 12
2 WIS 12
2 CHA 14 (12+2)

This array will likely make him good at his job and a reasonably competent adventurer as well.

Weapon: Halfling Staffsling gives him a weapon that can be used for both melee and range. It's not spectacular at either but is passable.

Level 1: Paladin of Abadar (Divine Hunter) This gives you precise shot at level 1 (+Divine Grace, Lay On Hands), so you never have to suffer. You lose heavy armor proficiency, but you didn't really want it anyway. Skills(3): Profession Administrator, Diplomacy, Sense Motive. Feat: Weapon Finesse.

Our skill points are a bit lacking, which we'll fix with ranger. We'll also want the second level of paladin pretty quickly as well.

Level 2: Ranger (Urban) Favored Enemy Human, Track, Wild Empathy. Skills(8): Profession Administrator, Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Knowledge Local, Perception, Survival, Disable Device, Knowledge: Geography

At this point the character has started focusing more and more on his adventuring as a pathfinder, while he still puts the hours in at work and levels up in Paladin he puts his skill points into adventuring skills and takes toughness.

Level 3: Paladin (Divine Hunter) Divine Grace, Lay On Hands.
Skills(3): Perception, Disable Device, Survival. Feat: Toughness.

Level 4/5 Ranger etc.

[Jiggy]

Pirate Rob wrote:

Jiggy wrote:

Mergy wrote:

But think of Sherlock Holmes

I'm getting kind of curious why people are making suggestions like this one; what in my concept is making people think detective/spy? At first I thought the Master Spy suggestion earlier was just kind of out of left field, but then you mention Sherlock. Did I make a poor choice of words somewhere?

Your initial post mentions "Investigator Rogue" as well as "feeling out contacts and canvassing for information"

"Investigator" is merely the name of the archetype. I seriously thought about not mentioning it by name, and just referencing the ability. Apparently that would've helped. :P

"Feeling out contacts and canvassing for information" wasn't supposed to mean "spying and infiltrating and committing espionage". It was supposed to mean "talking to the locals and schmoozing with potential customers and finding out what folks are interested in".

Quote:

"Favored Enemy (human) gives him bonuses to Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against humans"

Are also generally the kinds of things an investigator would want.

Also what someone looking to expand a business into new markets would want.

Quote:

It sounds much more like the skill set of an investigator rather than an administrator, also administrators are stereotypically dull and introverted, a spy/investigator is much easier to come up with good ideas for imho.

Fantasy gaming has plenty of zany, unique, dark-and-edgy, and antiheroic PCs without my help. As long as I'm around there will be at least one reasonably-normal person in the universe.

*sigh*

[Shalafi2412]

Why not just let him take the sling feats from Halflings of Golarion. That would be easier to hide than even a quarterstaff or bow.

[Jiggy]

Don't have it.

[Pesh Master]

Well-informed trait from Taldor, Echoes of Glory gives you You gain a +1 trait bonus to Diplomacy checks and Knowledge (local) checks (when attempting to gather Information). One of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.

Perfect Servant trait from Halflings of Golarion gives you You gain a +3 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks made to influence anyone with at least one level of Aristocrat.

[Shalafi2412]

Jiggy wrote:

Don't have it.

The feats should be part of the SRD if I am correct.

[Silent Saturn]

I think you're on the right track-- I like how the Ranger/Rogue combo lends itself well to a savvy businessman. Take the option that lets you share FE bonuses, since you're used to supporting the company more so than raising an animal companion.

For feats, I'd suggest Low Profile or Go Unnoticed, since an administrator needs to know when to network and when to keep his head down. Make sure to put plenty of skill ranks in Knowledge (local) as well as Diplomacy and Bluff.

[Jiggy]

Shalafi2412 wrote:

Jiggy wrote:

Don't have it.

The feats should be part of the SRD if I am correct.

Yeah, but to use non-Core stuff for a PFS character, I need to own a copy (paper or digital).

[Jiggy]

Silent Saturn wrote:

I think you're on the right track-- I like how the Ranger/Rogue combo lends itself well to a savvy businessman. Take the option that lets you share FE bonuses, since you're used to supporting the company more so than raising an animal companion.

Yeah, that's probably what I'd do.

I'm actually kind of reconsidering whether I want to take that Rogue dip at all. I mean, it wouldn't be that hard to keep my Diplomacy bonus up, and when gathering information (the only time the Follow Up ability applies) I could almost certainly take 10, so do I really gain anything?

Unless I want sneak attack or (with a bigger dip) rogue talents, I'm not sure I see much point anymore. Maybe I should just stick with pure Ranger.

Thoughts?

[Mergy]

Use the Ease of Faith trait to get Diplomacy as a class skill and you won't miss it.

[Jiggy]

Mergy wrote:

Use the Ease of Faith trait to get Diplomacy as a class skill and you won't miss it.

Hm... I guess between that and Dangerously Curious for UMD, you're right, I wouldn't miss much. Losing Acrobatics as a class skill is mildly concerning, but on the other hand, halflings have a +2 there anyway... And I get Disable Device and Knowledge(local) from my ranger archetype...

Yeah, I might just do that.

Now should I drop my spellcasting for the Skirmisher archetype? Hm...

[Mergy]

Nope! :P

Lead blades, cure light wounds, instant enemy, bowstaff...

[Cheapy]

I'm not really sure where the ranger comes into play. Nothing about "administrates a business in the heart of a city" screams "ranger".

[Mergy]

He likes the favoured enemy bonus to humans to simulate knowing humanity.

[Jiggy]

Cheapy wrote:

I'm not really sure where the ranger comes into play. Nothing about "administrates a business in the heart of a city" screams "ranger".

Urban ranger. So, basically the opposite of the core ranger flavor. ;)

[Cheapy]

The word Urban had a +20 circumstance bonus to Stealth and cover in that first post!

[Doram ob'Han]

David Attenborough voice: "Here we see the Urban Ranger in his natural environment: the office park. Watch him now as he hunts for that missing file in the most dangerous environment known to man. We can see it hiding on top of that cabinet, camouflaged by its defensive brown coloring, but can the Ranger track it down? It's out of his line of sight, but perhaps if he jumps... If he can't bring the account in, he'll go hungry, tonight. This is a master hunter, and... oh, yes, he's brought the file down, and he's viciously tearing through it. Here we see the greatest hunter in the world scavenging for an afternoon cup of coffee, engaged in a battle of wits with his favoured enemy: the barrista. Can he convince her that he's just left his loyalty card at home?"

[Jiggy]

Now that that's cleared up, any suggestions/commentary?

[Thanael]

Jiggy wrote:

The concept is a halfling from Absalom who manages the administrative side of a (human-owned) business. He's decided to also take up adventuring as a Pathfinder (this is in organized play). He knows better than to be unprepared for danger, but is not a very militant person.

Random thoughts:

Too much warrior for a non militant halfling administrator imho. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding administrator here.

Also too little intelligence/skillfulness.

A quarterstaff is not a walking stick.

I like the Invetigator Rogue dip for the concept. Make it larger. You can stack scout on top, subverting the nature theme to urban theme again. Or consider a Bard dip.

I know you like FE but I just like the though of making an urban warden. A master of the city. Sort of like that urban prestige class from 3.5...

If you only want the skill bonuses from FE why not raise int and put more skill point into the skills ?

[jyster]

You should use a walking stick that has a rapier in it, class and style, baby.

[Mergy]

It would change the implementation of the concept greatly, but an inquisitor of Abadar?

[Silent Saturn]

I just realized that your backstory sounds a lot like that of Ezren, the iconic wizard. Apparently he joined the Pathfinders because he spent most of his adult life studying law only to get screwed by the system (details hazy) and he's a wizard because it's a good class for experienced paper-pushers.

Are you sure you wouldn't be better off as a wizard? Or maybe a ranger/wizard for the FE skill bonuses plus the bookkeeper mentality? Wizards carry quarterstaffs too so it's not like you lose out on TWf if you want it.

[Jiggy]

Silent Saturn wrote:

I just realized that your backstory sounds a lot like that of Ezren, the iconic wizard. Apparently he joined the Pathfinders because he spent most of his adult life studying law only to get screwed by the system (details hazy) and he's a wizard because it's a good class for experienced paper-pushers.

Are you sure you wouldn't be better off as a wizard? Or maybe a ranger/wizard for the FE skill bonuses plus the bookkeeper mentality? Wizards carry quarterstaffs too so it's not like you lose out on TWf if you want it.

I picture him being primarily nonmagical, as a nod to his mono-fighter boss. The most magic I would want is UMD plus maybe ranger spells. Maybe.