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So for a bit of fun I made a gnome cavalier for a new starting game of Pathfinder. The Role-Playing side of it was fantastic and had me in stitches... however mechanically it is a nightmare as Im not able to do much damage. I focused on giving him a high Con and Dex (17 and 16 respectively) but my str suffers at a 10 (was a 12 but -2 for race).
So went with Weapon Finesse short sword to give bonuses to hit but rolling that d 4 is brutal.
Please advise on how to up the dmg output and make a mechanically sound character to match the awesome RP potential.
Cheers
Well, for one thing, your Con really doesn't need to be that high. You have a d10 HD and can wear any armor you want without screwing up your ride checks.
More importantly, there's no reason a martial class should have a Str of only 10. Did you use point buy or did you roll your stats? That's crucial to reallocating those stats.
Weapon Finesse is virtually useless unless you're a switch hitter, and since the Cavalier has martial weapon proficiency, you have a lot of good weapons to choose from.
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You've put yourself in a rough spot. Cavalier is going to benefit from STR, as most of the time only the weapon+STR value goes to damage. Unlike fighter you don't get specialization or weapon training. Unlike rogue or ninja you lack sneak attack. Your damage will come from challenge. Your damage will be awful at all other times.
You've also denied yourself the great damage boon of power attack. Power attack can skyrocket the damage of a full-BAB character. There might be hope, though.
Sargava the Lost Colony contains a feat called "Piranha Strike." You need Weapon Finesse and BAB+1, which you have. It's power attack for a light weapon.
Switch to a rapier. The crit range increase makes it better than a short sword. Grab Improved Crit when you can.
When leveling, go with DEX. Your first stat item though, should be a Belt of STR +2. This way you can raise STR in a way that impacts you before 8. Trade up to STR+2/Dex+2 when you can (or upgrade if your GM lets you.
DPR at level 10 vs average AC (24) (+2STR/DEX Belt and +3 Weapon):
Short Sword: 9.35; /w Piranha: 14.44; /w Improved Crit+Piranha: 15.38
Rapier: 10.09; /w Piranha: 15.09; /w Improved Crit+Piranha: 17.09
Grab Weapon Focus, too. It'll get you up to 18.69. These numbers are roughly 1/3 to 1/4 of what a standard damage character does. That being said, let's see what happens when you've got challenge up:
Rapier DPR with Weapon Focus, Piranha Strike, and Improved Crit:
33.64.
This is still less than half the damage a heavy damage dealer should do at this point. You'll never be the damage guy, honestly; you may want to focus on other aspects. Teamwork feats, banner abilities, order abilities. There's more to this game than damage, and your build is going to have to focus on those things.
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Thnx for the advice. I knew going in I wouldnt be killing stuff on pace with the Dwarf barbarian but definitely need to be a viable PC to the party - figured a defensive tank-like character might serve the party well. The GM is cool about tweeking the characters at this early stage so I'll prolly do some swapping of my stats and feats a little bit.
I idea of working teamwork feats sounds really cool to me. I'll definitely have to explore that option.
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Thnx for the advice. I knew going in I wouldnt be killing stuff on pace with the Dwarf barbarian but definitely need to be a viable PC to the party - figured a defensive tank-like character might serve the party well. The GM is cool about tweeking the characters at this early stage so I'll prolly do some swapping of my stats and feats a little bit.
I idea of working teamwork feats sounds really cool to me. I'll definitely have to explore that option.
If you really want defense, shield focus and the like can help. You can go defensive and forgo offensive power if the rest of your party doesn't need another major source of damage. I have a Paladin based around similar things.
Combat Manuevers like disarm, ones that stem from the weapon you're using (as opposed to Bull Rush or Grapple), also use your Weapon Finesse Value. Expertise, Shield Focus, and Improved Disarm can make a decent tank that further lowers enemy damage via disarm.
You suffer a -1 penalty to maneuvers, but this is pretty easy to overcome. Since you can't win the damage battle, you might as well play to your strengths. Do you have 13 INT? Might be worth it. Expertise has saved my butt more than once.