Bialaska's page

Is it possible to make deals with intelligent magic items?

For instance a character freely relinquishes control during some downtime, allowing his magical item to use the character's body to visit brothels and do other physical stuff that the item is denied in the item form. And in return the Item would promise to not challenge the character's will in some other actions?

So, I drool as I discover the new archetype for the Gunslinger in Advanced Class Guide. Ever since Gunslinger came out, I needed one version using crossbows.

I just don't understand why the class specialized in crossbows get Gunsmithing (and a free firearm) and proficiency with firearms. Shouldn't exotic weapons Firearms perhaps be replaced with proficiency with the exotic weapon crossbows? And Gunsmithing should probably have been replaced with something else, such as Rapid Reload?

The level 20 ability of the Arcane Bloodline, Arcane Apothesis allows you to spend 3 spell levels in order to fuel one charge, for instance in a staff.

Now Staff of the Master allows you to use Metamagic feats you possess by spending charges equal to the level of the feat you are trying to use.

So would this allow a high level Sorcerer with the Arcane Bloodline to fuel their metamagic feats by burning low level spell slots? So for instance the sorcerer would be able to Quicken a level 9 spell by burning 12 spell levels in any combination (such as using 3 level 4 spells)?

I love the guide and many of the suggestions. However there are a few things I would rate higher or lower.

Generally all archetypes that gives up Inspire Courage should be taken into the forest and shot. The only time I could imagine giving up Inspire Courage, one of the greatest buffs in the entire game, would be if I was playing solo (or if the group has two bards), which is something that should rarely happen. Personally I see the bard as being the best offensive support character, easily increasing the party's fighting ability.

Also I love the Bard as a spell-caster and supporter first, and on these characters I think the Word Striker is absolutely amazing, as it gives this supporter an incredible damaging ability. On 10th level you should probably have around 22-24 charisma (16 start, +2 race, +2 level, +2-4 item/spell). This in itself is 1d8+7 damage for each sound, with save for half. That is a lot of damage.

It becomes even more crazy if you subscribe to the idea that a ranged touch attack is a weapon. The rules are a but blurry on that one. Many GMs will say yes, a few may say no. If it is a ranged touch attack, you then add Point Blank Shot (+1 damage), Good Hope (+2 damage), Virtuoso Performance to keep up Inspire Courage (+2 damage) (when not killing stuff you will be Dirge of Doom or Inspire Greatness) and use Arcane Strike as a Swift Action (+3 damage) - This brings the damage to 1d8+15 for each Weird Word! Or an average damage of around 200. Even with saves for half, that is a lot. And since you have Clustered Shot any damage reduction means little.

My best one was probably the Greedy but Lazy Dragon.

Basically a Red Dragon had gotten quite fat and lazy in my campaign. Fighting against adventurers was a bother, yet he enjoyed getting gold.

So he came up with this amazing plan (at least he thought so). He would find rich adventuring parties, disguise self as a rust dragon and then drop down within breathing range.

So suddenly the PCs are facing this reddish dragon and the groups wizard can recognize it as a Rust Dragon. He goes all "OH CRAP!" and warns the others about the breath being able to destroy their metal items.

"Give me 5000 gold coins and I shall let you pass. Otherwise I will breathe on you!"

Considering that the party had metal items worth a tens of thousands, they chose had a short discussion, ending up with them paying, rather than risk losing their metal items... So it was one happy dragon leaving them behind. :)

Generally Disguise Self is an amazing spell. Attacking the Green Dragon, having loaded up on Acid Resistances and Immunities, only to find that it is actually a disguised self Dragon of another colour, is a classic. :D

If he is tracking the players, then be smart. They are not always together and he should strike when they least expect it.

One campaign I heard of, the assassin killed one player character literally with his pants down, when he had a toilet break. Strike during the night, when they have only one on guard duty. Coup De Grace one of the sleepers and instead of engaging the guard, run away and lead the players into traps.

I wasn't aware that you were able to apply two seperate metamagics to a spell. I'm also not taking any metamagic feats, I'm only using rods.

Also, bestow curse is a great idea since I can have my familiar cast the touch of idiocy and then I myself can cast bestow curse. If bestow curse will work then I can have one of my followers cast it as well.

You can only use one metamagic rod on a spell, but if you had the other metamagic feats already, you could apply those. So if you had an Empowered Touch of Idiocy in memory, you could apply the Maximized rod to it for an Empowered Maximized Touch of Idiocy.

I have found poisons to be very mixed at high levels. Lots of immunities, easy access to 'semi-immunity' using Delay Poison (where you will not be affected and the poison can be neutralized after battle/adventure) and the poison DCs are generally quite low, compared to the high fortitude saves.

Of course when you then hit the unprepared wizard, it is very great, but generally poison is not really worth the investment, IMO.

Remember that the specialty school does not need to define your character completely, it simply defines your extra spell each level must be. As long as you do not take the other 'good' schools as opposition, you have a lot of freedom.

IMHO I look more at the special abilities of my chosen school than at the spells the school contains. Of course some schools got great synergies and encourage that you stuff your spell list with such spells, but for instance Divination's or Necromancy's school bonuses are completely unrelated to the school of your spells.

In one game I ran our wizard was Diviner (foresight), but he rarely did anything with divination spells, though he had them in reserve when needed. Instead he simply enjoyed being the first to react each turn (he was focused on initiative, had somewhere around +18 at level 8).

Empowered Maximized Touch of Idiocy, one of them from a rod is a -9 penalty. :)

Summoner is a super-powerful class.

Our Summoner forced himself to tone down a bit, simply because his Eidolon could tear through enemies like butter and only really unleashed fully if the rest of the group was going down.

I remember one encounter. The group was quite unprepared at the time, they think they are chasing a common criminal, kicks in the door and is facing a wizard. The wizard reacts first, dominates the summoner, tells him to kill his friends and then teleports away...

The next day the Summoner breaks free of the domination (the wizard just wanted to escape and doesn't concentrate). He then picks up the pieces of his friends, loads them onto his eidolon and then makes a visit to the nearest temple, spending a lot of the groups gold on resurrections.

Control, control, control

With a bit of buffing of course, just to make protect your team against energy drains and charms.

A well placed Wall of <something> may isolate one of the vampires from the others, allowing you all to focus on one at a time.

A sleet storm blocks all sight (even darkvision) and makes all terrain difficult

A well-placed resilient sphere takes one enemy out for much of the combat and you will not have to fight it after the rest of the combat.

Black Tentacles is wonderful to take out any casters (since they typically got a low CMD)

If the enemies have not demonstrated the ability to fly yet, the Create Pit spells are quite good.

If you control the battlefield, you decide who lives and who dies!

Charisma is all about convincing folks to worship your god, and convincing your god to give you spells. It is the perview of the Charlatan to pry your gold from your coinpurse with a whisper. It is the Tool of leaders.

Wisdom on the other hand is the perview of Wise men (Monks). It is Judgement and the understanding vital to know how to use knowledge to its most advantageous.

I agree that Charisma is important for a Cleric (and it already is due to channel energy being based on it), but they are also the spiritual advisors, who must provide advice and answers to the common people. This is why they need Wisdom.

Also their spells is based more on an understanding of their god and his purpose (unlike Oracles, who simply cast spells without truly understanding).

In my eyes, the motive is the most important.

A Paladin must protect the innocent, aid those in need, be honourable and respect the just and fair authority.

Under exceptional circumstances the Paladin may be able to bend his code without losing his powers as long as it is for the greater good. The paladin who protects the innocent shopkeeper by telling a lie to the corrupt city guards should not be punished. The Paladin who aids in overthrowing a tyrant, even if he is the legitimate authority, should not be punished, because in taking this action he could protect many innocents.

Also just because you're a champion doesn't mean that you are stupid and suicidal. At times (though hopefully rarely) you need to take the more cunning route to achieve the goals.

In our current campaign the party is located near a metropolis run by a bunch of corrupt officials, all supported by the chaotic evil temple (who has run out most other temples). The paladin of the party is taking small steps, providing food to the poor and oppressed from some of his rewards for adventuring. He also looks for other opportunities to aid, has helped several families escape the evil. But he doesn't stand up in the market place and shouts out a challenge to all evildoers though, because that's just suicidal and doesn't serve any purpose.

Synthesist Summoner - pour everything into Charisma. Then any rmeaining points go into wis and int. Then create the meanest eidolon the world has ever seen and go on a roaring rampage of death and destruction!

Do you roll your characters?
In our current Pathfinder game we did, using 28D6, spread out over the 6 stats before rolling. The character should have a minimum of a +7 modifier. As it is, the group started out with between a total modifier of +8 and +11 It was nice to see the players break out of their default boxes, as their rolls might not have fitted their original plans. For instance the usual rogue player rolled low dex and high strength, ending out as a barbarian. The usual fighter rolled 18 int, which made him go wizard.

Is your answer the default of your gaming group?
Depends a lot on the system. Some games we use point buy others we roll characters.

How long have you been gaming?
First dips in the late 80s, regularly since the early 90s.

What system did you first game in?
Drakar och Demoner (a Swedish RPG)

I think it is important that the bard can pull his own in combat, not only be a support bot. A good strength gives you that. So does Power Attack. However I think the most important feat at low levels might be Lingering Performance. If you activate Inspire Courage, you can stop maintaining it, but it runs for 2 extra rounds. Thus instead of having something like 11 or 12 rounds of bardic music (14 or 15 if you use the bard favored class option from APG), you can have the effect of inspire courage for 30+ rounds. Of course you'll need to spend a standard action to use it again every 3 rounds, but it's still better than running out of bardic performances in your second fight of the day.

This looks interesting. Personally I would get rid of Nature Bond completely and instead boost the spellcasting slightly, perhaps to the level of a Bard/Summoner/Inquisitor, giving level 6 spells.

Without spells below level 4, this class is just going to suffer badly, hence why I suggest one of the above caster progression.

At level 1 it is basically a druid without spells, without a companion or a domain, able to disguise self for 1 hour. Hence why it should get some spells from this level.

I would replace some of the nature things with Monster Lore (from the Inquisitor class). You get a bonus to your knowledge checks to understand the strengths and weaknesses of a creature as you need to know these in order to assume their shape.

I would get rid of the level 6 ability Magical Shape Change. Assuming the right form open for too much abuse. Troll can give you regeneration, Medusa can give you petrification. Instead allow the character to use half of his armor bonus for armor worn, as if it had limited wild quality.

As for the level 12 ability, it is kinda useless. As you go up through the various shapes you already get more and more of their extraordinary abilities. I'd personally give all armor worn the wild quality at this level.

I also think that the class should get Wild Speech and Natural Spell as bonus feats at some point, early in their career.

While I haven't played one myself, I have been in group with one and my experiences is that the Summoner is one of the most powerful classes. Well, so is Druid, though this is for different reasons.

First off Summoner has their Eidolon. This one becomes stupidly powerful at higher levels and through the evolutions you can customize it to be whatever you want it to be. With a single Mage Armor and all of the armor bonus being natural armor and then getting Improved Natural Armor, the Eidolon will have MUCH more AC than any Animal Companions. On top of that it can have reach, poison bite, trip on bite attacks, claws, wings to give it flight, pounce, rend, be a mount. With Skilled it can even become master of a skill. And let us not forget that it can end out with 7 attacks, attacks which can easily be primary attacks if you want them to be so. That is 7 attacks at full base attack, dealing full damage (and the Eidolon is probably the strongest in the group at this point. At level 20 the Large Biped Eidolon will have 32 strength. With items, spells, level increase, evolutions, this number can be even higher!)

So yes, the animal companion of a druid might have this and that, but they can't pick and choose, their abilities are all tied to their race.

As you get level 2 spells, you have so many awesome spells to pick between, that you'll not even know where to begin. Summon Eidolon is one of my favourites, especially combined with Augment Summoning (and yes, the Eidolon is a Summon spell so +4 str and con for the duration!). Your super power house of a pet appears and unleashes death and destruction. And yes, Eidolon is just that powerful. We even joked in the group that it was the Eidolon with his Summoner minion, not the Summoner with his Eidolon minion. The Evolution Surge line of spells gives you access to evolutions on the fly. Your Eidolon needs to climb up a mountain? Give it wings so it gets a fly speed. Your party can't find the clues? Give it Skilled in Perception. The sky is the limit.

While the Eidolon is your biggest power house (even if it have a few drawbacks), you also have summoning spell-like abilities, as already described in this thread, which are far superior to the summoning of druids. And of course a few spells chosen from possibly maybe the best spell list in the game. Haste as a level 2 spell? Black Tentacles as level 3? Crowd control and buffs. That's just great!

Perhaps. Right now it is the little things, we fought a creature that did ability damage with each hit. The eidolon can't heal at all. The DM ruled that Augment Summoning doesn't work for the Summoner at all, because it doesn't specifically say spell like ability. The DM suggested that the Summoner learn to cast Summon monster spells so that augment summoning will work.

The party doesn't like to take the time to let the Summoner dismiss and resummon the Eidolon every 10 minutes, to take advantage of some feat.

Basically it is an extreme cluster, and I am trying to convince the DM to just let the Summoner scrap the character, the DM said no.

Right now the best feat that the Summoner has is improved initiative followed by toughness.

The guy playing the summoner tried to commit suicide via Life Link, since it only works on an eidolon about to die at its negative constitution score, usually while unconscious. The summoner hit 0 hp, the eidolon vanished and the cleric healed him.

Wow, talk about having a GM as a hater. If Augment Summoning does not work with your Summon Monster the Master Summoner archetype is about the biggest pile of donkey *beep* ever made.

This is from the Pahtfinder rulebook under the description of Spell-like abilities:
A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell.

Your group should really speak to the GM about this obvious hate of a class (or hopefully not, a player). But gunning so hard against a player for making a character, that's just wrong.

Bialaska wrote:

I really don't see the problem with giving up Flurry of Blows with the Master of Many Styles. Panther+Snake+Crane is amazing for getting extra attacks. Even at a low level you can easily have up to 8 or 10 attacks each round provided there are multiple enemies. Dragon and Vital Strike gives you the ability to deal with single targets.

As a GM I used a Master of Many Styles solo against my players last session. One level higher than the group, so he should have been quite easy. Except that he wasn't. He went directly for the poor wizard. Sure it provoked attacks of opportunity from everyone else, but against the high AC due to fighting defensively as crane, having mobility and using the swift ki action to increase AC, they missed on 90% of their rolls. And when they finally did hit, it was deflected by Crane and a counter was delivered. It wasn't until the two handed fighter hit, which was deflected and the Ranger followed up with a critical hit with his battle axe, all in the same round. In the end the party ended up using a LOT of resources against the dervish of destruction that the Master of Many Styles can become, unlike the normal monk, who might have been able to deliver a few attacks (since the wizard always fled out of combat), but wouldn't have the insane mobility and defenses of the MoMS has.

That's awesome! I bet the players were surprised that it was so difficult to take down a monk. I'm definitely liking the style feats; now monks can actually do monk stuff, rather than repetitive punches.

Still, even with the bonus feats, how many styles can a master of Many Forms reasonabley master?

At level 8 he had mastered two styles and just dipped into the third, but this didn't leave much room for other feats.

I know that our cleric is happy that we keep wands around for the between fight healing.

He'll once in a while fire off a Channel Energy for some needed healing or as an alternative cast a healing spell on the most injured allies, but most of the time he can actually have some fun, not 'waste' all of his time as a healing-bot. He now has a few offensive, various buffs and other fun things to do with his resources, as he doesn't have to waste all of his healing in the time between combats.

In my group we carry around some Wands of CLW too. Though this is solely between combat healing. During a fight there's just a need for much more healing than a cheap wand can provide.

One combat I remember clearly was the most challenging for the group and it was only pure luck they survived. The group encounters a Vampire and his mind-controlled puppet, a Half-Dragon barbarian. Because of a previous combat and the fact they didn't know about the vampire being a vampire, the party entered the combat mostly unprepared.

So the group enters, sees the vampire and his minion. The cleric buffs the two handed fighter with bull's strength, only for the Vampire to dominate the fighter. In one critical hit the cleric drops unconscious to the ground on -12 hp.

The fight then continue. The Witch/Rogue tries to heal the Cleric with the Wand of CLW, until she gets hit too, leaving the cleric still unconscious.

As he watches his team drop, the morale of the shield and board fighter drops. The two weapon fighter gets chopped up by the critical from the barbarian. So he makes a decision, that they need the cleric. He provokes an attack of opportunity to go to the downed cleric, standing at 2 hp or so, and then pours the healing potion into the cleric's mouth...

Positive energy erupts from the cleric as his first action and this wakes up all the unconscious character. A few rounds later the Vampire and the Barbarian are both dead and the team are unharmed again (except for the Witch/Rogue who had died).

What I'm saying is that CLW is great on the lowest levels, but from level 3 or 4 it becomes less useful in combat and is just something you use to heal up between combats. You need buffers/healers in the group, who can heal greater amounts of damage.

Had a gnome wizard once who had dumped his strength to 6 and felt like he was the king of the world. When he got hit by the Ray of Enfeeblement he dropped to the ground, unable to carry his gear. Now that was a fun scene. :)

Half-elf Bard with Sound Striker archetype

Half-Elf because it adds +1 to your rounds of Bardic Performance each level

Bard because it provides buffs and actually can also be quite a damager.

Sound Striker gives up Inspire Competence and Suggestion but instead gains some damaging bardic music. At level 3 they can spend a standard action to deal 1d4 damage per level to objects (half that to living creatures). And at level 6 you get Weird Words, which can be quite damaging if you're charisma specced. At level 6 you fire off 6 ranged touch attacks against enemies within 30 ft (and if there is one enemy, he takes them all). And each deals 1d8+charisma modifier damage, though with a save for half. Should be great against enemies where area effects are needed.

And of course you still got your Inspire Courage and your spells in cases where you can't simply blast them. :)

I'd personally love to see the Shifter/Master of Many Forms druid.

It would give up the Animal Companion/Domain and some of the tree hugging abilities and in return get Shapeshift, which would start out as Alter Self, but eventually become like Polymorph, then later Greater Polymorph and lastly Shapechange.

I think I'd go for the Weapon Adept/Maneuver Master monk. You get the weapon specialization, which means you can get the Tripping Staff and Tripping Twirl at higher levels. Being able to make a whirlwind trip really is great.

And one thing to remember with the manuever specialists is that while it is fine that you do a bit of damage, the important part is your maneuvers. I did play a Reposition/Trip specialist who died recently. His damage wasn't high, but the enemies cried when I repositioned them near the two-handed fighter and the Barbarian. Because the reposition provoked attack of opportunity and getting smashed in the head by a greatsword hurts. A LOT! Getting hit by both of them, well, only the most sturdy enemies survived that and they would definitely not be happy.

If your team has combat reflexes (and tell them to get that), then the Reposition/Trip maneuver master monk is not unlike a living incarnation of awesome. Reposition enemy so he is in contact with most. Watch them hit. Follow up with a Trip, which also provokes. And when the poor guy wants to get up, he provokes yet another one! KASPLAT! I could also see such a monk with Improved and Greater Drag, walking up to the enemy wizard and dragging the poor guy back to the big bad melee monsters. Talk about being dragged to hell!

I really don't see the problem with giving up Flurry of Blows with the Master of Many Styles. Panther+Snake+Crane is amazing for getting extra attacks. Even at a low level you can easily have up to 8 or 10 attacks each round provided there are multiple enemies. Dragon and Vital Strike gives you the ability to deal with single targets.

As a GM I used a Master of Many Styles solo against my players last session. One level higher than the group, so he should have been quite easy. Except that he wasn't. He went directly for the poor wizard. Sure it provoked attacks of opportunity from everyone else, but against the high AC due to fighting defensively as crane, having mobility and using the swift ki action to increase AC, they missed on 90% of their rolls. And when they finally did hit, it was deflected by Crane and a counter was delivered. It wasn't until the two handed fighter hit, which was deflected and the Ranger followed up with a critical hit with his battle axe, all in the same round. In the end the party ended up using a LOT of resources against the dervish of destruction that the Master of Many Styles can become, unlike the normal monk, who might have been able to deliver a few attacks (since the wizard always fled out of combat), but wouldn't have the insane mobility and defenses of the MoMS has.

Personally I think the Lore Oracle is a better class for this character. Sure, in the hands of an experienced player I'd say Bard or Wizard, but as a new player it is important to keep it quite simple.

I know that my time playing a bard, I forgot about some class features because they were so rarely used. Yes, it is awesome being able to overcome pattern spells, but just how often are your party the target of one? So when we encountered one in session 22 or so, all of us had forgotten that ability and we made everything harder for ourselves.

Regarding the Oracle, then it is actually a very simple class. Pick your Mystery, then read through the revelations and pick one. This is what you can do at level 1, in addition to the handful of spells that you know. As you increase in level you will get a few more known spells, but you'll always know your spells, since you have so few (though can cast them many times). At higher levels you get a few extra revelations and they become more powerful, but generally you'll have few class abilities, but having one ability you can use each session is better than having 5 abilities that you can use 3 out of 10 sessions.

And with Focused Trance you can easily compete with a bard or a wizard in what you actually do know (since you can give yourself +20 to your int rolls when you got preparation time!)

Gunslingers are UC's new barbarian; overwhelming at low levels, decent at mid, and pretty bad at high.

My impression is the complete opposite. Underwhelming at low levels, there's not that much difference between normal AC and touch AC and the Gunslinger spends time reloading.

At level 5 he gets his Gun Training, which increases damage considerably and the good stuff continue at level 7 when he gets Targeting. Hitting most people with 1 shot against touch AC is not a problem at all at this level and automatic disarm, automatic confusion or automatic knocking prone, that's just amazing. Especially if Targeting becomes a Signature deed at level 11.

At higher level he never misses, not even with his third attack. Others might have difficulty hitting the colossal Dragon even once, the wizards might find that they waste several spells on the spell resistance, but you always hit! The bigger the enemy the easier they are to hit. It is on these levels that I think the Gunslinger can really shine, because he now has room to take other feats than the necessary.

Bialaska wrote:

My own experience with the Gunslinger is that it is a very strong class. I had to quit it after 1 session, otherwise the Zen Archer monk would have left the group, as he was a complete nobody.

I don't think it would have been so bad if the guns shot for normal AC, but going directly for touch AC was just too much.

I have been thinking of adapting the gunslinger to use Crossbows though, change all firearms in the decriptions to crossbows instead. I think they would then be more balanced.

Were the shooting into melee, and softcover rules being enforced, and was the monk well made? The gunslinger was solid, but not overbearing in my game. Of course it was only a level 3 also.

Amongst the feats taken were Precise Shot, so no penalties for shooting into melee. As for the monk, then it might be possible to make it just a bit better by changing a feat or so, but generally I'd say it was well-made and usually he pulls his own weight. Next to the gunslinger he was found to be crap though.

Personally I think level 5 is the game changer for Gunslinger, though I can't be certain. Adding your dexterity to your damage rolls with the chosen firearm is a lot, since it is already your most important stat.

The character had +14 (+7 BAB, +5 Dex, +1 Weapon Focus, +1 Magic Musket) to hit for a standard shot. With Deadly Aim that became +12 and Rapid Shot +10 (rapid reload + the musket master feature + cartridges made it a free action to reload). Usually enemies were within 30 ft so +1 to hit, +1 damage for PBS. This gave me +11/+11/+6 attack, all against touch AC, dealing 1d12+11 (+5 dex, +1 PBS, +1 Magic, +4 Deadly Aim) damage.

In comparison the Monk with Flurry, PBS and Deadly Aim also had +11/+11/+6 attack, but against normal AC. The damage dealt was 1d8+9 (2 str, 2 specialization, 1 magic, 4 deadly aim).

Now the monk may reroll 7 times per day and get some additional attacks, but the Gunslinger does get his grit to play around with, which also allows him to do incredible things. And is recovered easier.

My own experience with the Gunslinger is that it is a very strong class. I had to quit it after 1 session, otherwise the Zen Archer monk would have left the group, as he was a complete nobody.

I don't think it would have been so bad if the guns shot for normal AC, but going directly for touch AC was just too much.

I have been thinking of adapting the gunslinger to use Crossbows though, change all firearms in the decriptions to crossbows instead. I think they would then be more balanced.

I've got a group a bit like the group you are talking about myself and it is a very nasty combination.

However here are my observations:

Battlefield Control spells like Web and Grease are incredible. Most of the 'vital' characters (cleric, witch) was amongst those hit by the level 7 wizard's Black Tentacles and for those 7 rounds they were torn to pieces (well, the Witch was, the Cleric survived, but was injured). Grease hits hard on those heavy armored fighter types in their full plates, since they lack Acrobatics.

Bards are insane leaders. No, seriously, bards are just that good! A level 7 bard foe uses his move action on starting the monologue about how come he is awesome (oratory bardic performance to Inspire Courage), while hiding his Good Hope spell using Spellsong (so it appears to be part of the bardic action). That's +4 to hit, +4 damage, +2 saves to the bards allies! Round 2 he makes a few twirls with his rapier for a Dazzling Display and enemies demoralized. (I know this works, because that's what the Bard does in my current group).

I'd personally say the Synthesist Summoner with a large Biped Eidolon could be a super-tank.

Large and Improved Natural Armor are the only necessary evolutions, for the rest of your evolutions you can add more attacks, higher damage, add reach, immunities, resistances, energy damage, flight and so on.

A top tier AC, equal to anything the fighter can dish out. HP from Summoner class AND an additional amount of temporary hit points from the Eidolon.

Reach on all attacks. If he takes Lunge on level 9 and puts reach on Natural Weapons for his eidolon, well, that is a zone of 20 ft that he threathens! Combat reflexes are just a must. And if your team stays within this zone, you can make full attacks each round, since you have no need to move, you can beat them from where you stand. Adding trip, grab, push on your eidolons natural attacks can help you hinder your enemies even more, provided that they are not larger than you.

Since you use the Eidolons physical attributes, you can spend most on your mental stats, just make sure to get the necessary physical attributes to get feats like Power Attack and Combat Reflexes, but no heavy investments.

And of course on top of the whole being an absolute combat monster, we must not forget that you're a spellcaster. And with Skilled evolution a possible skill-monkey (and the evolution spells can give you one evolution when you need it, so you can adapt to any conditions). And looking at your spells, we find that while you do have a bit of buffing (Shield, Mage Armor, Fire Shield, Haste, Bull's Strength) and eidolon specific spells, there's also battlefield control, such as Grease, Slow, Black Tentacles.

Qik wrote:

My question is this, then: let's say I have Panther Style and Snake Fang. I move through a threatened square, provoke an attack of opportunity, and the enemy misses their attack. Do I get two attacks, one of which is the retaliatory strike from Panther Style and one of which is rebuttal from Snake Fang?

You absolutely do. While an opponents action cannot provoke multiple attacks of opportunity, Panther Style specifically states the attack is retaliation, not opportunity.

The only real issue with the build is it makes the monk ever MADer. The whole deal only works a number of times equal to your dex or wis (whichever is lower), and you'll need plenty of strength to make the hits more than love taps.

I don't really see it as MAD. Though get Weapon Finesse, that will ensure that you hit. Other than that you don't really need strength, not compared to what you get from both dexterity and wisdom (which is extra attacks, more AC, more CMD). Not saying to completely neglect Strength, but it should in no way be a focus, more in the same category as constitution, making it nice to have a bit, but not the most important.

I'm personally a fan of the Drunken Master of Many Styles, using staggering around using the Panther Style + Snake Style. Add in a Dodge and a Mobility feat on top with sprinkles, just because....

First off you spend your swift action using a drunken ki pool to gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC.

Then you spend your movement action by moving around the enemies, weaving in and out between them in your drunken stupor, opening yourself for their opportunity attacks. It is for this reason you have Mobility, since this adds more AC against these attacks that you provoke (and with the +4 from ki pool, this is a +8 AC!).

Now wait, the enemies want to attack you? Well, due to the full Panther tree, you can retaliate before the enemies get their attack and you can deliver your wisdom modifier number of such attacks as free actions. Also note that these attacks are not attacks of opportunity. Now if you hit and deal damage, if only a little, the enemy takes a -2 penalty to both to hit and damage, making it even easier to miss you.

And now you add the Snake Style. Snake Style in itself is okay, dealing another type of damage is not bad and allows you more flexibility. Though Snake Fang is the real reason to get this style...

The enemies attack you, but fortunately you're hard to hit. And oh, if they miss? Well, you follow up with one of your attacks of opportunity. Don't use the imm. reaction attack though, you need that swift action next round to spend a ki pool.

After having done your drunken stagger, being too messed up to know what happens around you, but leaving a handful of enemies learning that a drunkard is a dangerous foe, you still have your standard action. Since you can feel the fog of alcohol is starting to leave you, you take another sip of your bottle, regain 1 drunken ki pool and return to your happy world of drunkeness.