Constitution!


Advice

Shadow Lodge

I commonly divide the abilities into two categories: offensive and defensive. The offensive abilities are Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma, and are used in attacks of different forms, dependent on class. It's also why they are usual first choices for dump stats; if you don't need it to attack, it hurts you less. The defensive scores are Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom--Dexterity gives you AC and Reflex saves, Constitution gives you hit points and Fortitude saves, Wisdom gives you Perception and Will saves.

Some builds use Dexterity and/or Wisdom as sources of attacks as well (archers, clerics, etc.). But what about Constitution? It's used for HP and Fortitude, and that's a lot, but where else does it get used?
Can a CON-monster be built?


AM BARBARIAN use Con for damage if he wants.

PRD wrote:

Raging Brutality

You expend some of your rage to strike your opponents with a more powerful weapon blow.

Prerequisites: Str 13, rage class feature, Power Attack, base attack bonus +12.

Benefit: While raging and using Power Attack, you can spend 3 additional rounds of your rage as a swift action to add your Constitution bonus on damage rolls for melee attacks or thrown weapon attacks you make on your turn. If you are using the weapon two-handed, instead add 1-1/2 times your Constitution bonus. This bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.

In a way, swallow whole monsters use Con for damage, as it gives their stomach more HP. Many ability DCs are Con based.


Constitution is also the one of the factors that decide how long you can rage. So depending on what type of rage your monster gets: "normal" +4 str and con, "greater" +6str and con, or "mighty" +8str and con. The monster might not need to start off with a high str and could constantly rage using thier high Con score.

That used in conjuntion with the feat Talynonyx mentioned could be what you are looking for.


Oracle of Sunder wrote:


Constitution is also the one of the factors that decide how long you can rage. So depending on what type of rage your monster gets: "normal" +4 str and con, "greater" +6str and con, or "mighty" +8str and con. The monster might not need to start off with a high str and could constantly rage using thier high Con score.

That used in conjuntion with the feat Talynonyx mentioned could be what you are looking for.

AFAIK Con only matters at first level for that. So having a +5 Con verses having a +2 Con gives 3 extra rage rounds per day, but every level of Barbarian gives another flat +2 with no difference based on Con. It'd be noticeable at first, but have diminishing returns as you level up. Also, your rage duration is static and based on your unbuffed Con (temporarily buffed Con through rage or Spells doesn't affect duration, but permanent increases do), so it's irrelevant what kind of Rage you have as for duration. I may have misread you, so I apologize if you knew that and I can't read. : )

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Constitution has several obscure niches. One was alluded to in that "swallow whole" monsters benefit from high Con. Con is also the modifying stat for Poison DCs. This is why Purple Worm or Wyvern poison are so devastating, both have exceptional CON scores.

CON also modifies the DC to avoid breath weapons, so bear's endurance on a dragon is quite scary.

In Ultimate Combat, a tree of feats for half-orcs and orcs (The Deathless tree) is designed for use between 0 hp and DEAD. Within that window, such a character becomes extremely dangerous, with extra attack and damage bonuses. Such a character would really strongly benefit from a CON above 20, since the wider the range between 0 and DEAD, the more often, and more safely they can enter their Deathless state.

Also, I have observed a strange phenomenon... CON is how I see one of my grapplers kill people. Bear with me here... a very high con character (barb) has taken all of the grappling feats she could. Now, she knows that she almost always has as many or more HP than most enemies she faces, and takes great pleasure in grappling specifically to throw herself and the enemy into horrible environmental hazards. Off cliffs, into smashing block traps, boiling lava... trusting her party members to save her while the evil enemies would never do the same for eachother. They are middling to high level, so she does have greater rage, and her base con was a 17 at lvl 1, so I believe these days she's at 26 while raging, and that means nearly 180 hp or so. I would argue this counts as an "offensive" use of CON.


And of course there's always the rage prophet too.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Advice / Constitution! All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.