Suggestions for "Incapacitator"?


Advice

Shadow Lodge

I'm trying to build a character who focuses on taking enemies out of combat rather than dealing them damage, even if it is just for a few turns. I'm thinking wizard or sorcerer who uses pits, walls, and fog, and perhaps summoned creatures. What are some other ways of incapacitating enemies?


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps Subscriber

Blindness/Deafness spell. Pretty hard to fight what you can't see, right?

Also, Touch of Idiocy can help deal with some spellcasters by reducing stats below what they need to be able to cast.

Sovereign Court

fumble is a really nice spell too. or maybe its called bungle? its basically the opposite of true strike.

daze, doom, hold person, command...all good stuff.


I'd recommend Witch instead. You've got almost all of the useful spells for what you want (although they are lacking most of the physical pit and wall type spells), plus several useful hexes. Agony, Slumber, and Ice Tomb all directly incapacitate opponents, and Evil Eye, Misfortune, and Cackle make your other effects much more likely to succeed.

As to spells, a few other good ones are:
peacebond, qualm, web, bestow curse, deep slumber, loathsome veil, black tentacles, feeblemind, hold monster, cloak of dreams, flesh to stone, ice crystal teleport, irresistible dance, maze, and power word stun

Liberty's Edge

I had great success with a fighter/rogue. No, wait, hear me out!

He was a rogue with the thug and scout archetypes, allowing him to stack all kinds of nasty modifiers on a foe, and deal sneak attack damage with a charge. He focused on Two-Weapon Fighting with saps (and later, clubs with the Bludgonner feat). With the Sap Mastery and Improved Sap Mastery feats, he was able to deal out a ton of nonlethal damage - and since it stacks alongside normal damage, enemies would always drop unconscious before dying.

(The fighter levels were with the unbreakable archetype - not necessary for the build, but tons of fun to play an indestructible dude running around and knocking people out.)

If you're a spellcaster, there's also a little-known spell called Admonishing Ray, which is like Scorching Ray, but nonlethal.

Shadow Lodge

Brreitz - Huh. Now that sounds like an interesting build! Not exactly what I'm going for, but I'd love to see it none-the-less. Do you have a more complete build somewhere (maybe feat by level or something)? I'm very curious.


My preferred option is a Wizard diviner bump yuou initiative and start with 18 or 20 int. Get spell focus and greater spell focus conjuration. Grease web and glitterdust at low levels. Get heighten spell and prefered spell as you level. You can then sack higher level spells for your preffered spell as needed, I tend to run with glitterdust. Load the pit spells maybe a black tentacles or two. My character is now level 11 in PFS and tends to kill combats by the combination of going first, in the suprise round and dropping them in a pit or blinding with glitterdust that is heightened. Save dc in the mid 20's is hard for anything. If you really want to get nasty drop in persistent spell on the heightend glitterdust, make them save twice.


I really liked the Serpentine bloodline sorcerer for expanding the utility of charm person, daze, hideous laughter at low levels, Deep slumber hold person as well...

I figure you could do okay just jumping on spell focus enchantment and using your winning personality to neuter your enemies.

Liberty's Edge

Broken Zenith wrote:
Not exactly what I'm going for, but I'd love to see it none-the-less. Do you have a more complete build somewhere (maybe feat by level or something)?

I never worked him out level-by-level - It was a slow homebrew campaign where we started at 5th level. Just before he achieved 8th, he accumulated several curses and was turned to stone by a gorgon's breath. The party left him on a wall with statues of dwarven heroes, for safekeeping.

Character Stats:

Male human fighter (unbreakable) 3/rogue (thug, scout) 4
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +10
AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18
(+6 armor, +2 deflection, +3 Dex)
hp 67 (6 HD; 3d10+4d8+21)
Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +3; +1 vs. mind-affecting effects
Defensive Abilities evasion, unflinching +1
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 mithral short sword +11/+6 (1d6+5/19-20),
or +2 dagger +12/+7 (1d4+6/19-20),
or dagger of venom +11/+6 (1d4+5/19-20),
or mwk sap +11/+6 (1d6+5)
Ranged mwk composite longbow +10/+5 (1d8+4/x3)
Special Attacks brutal beating, scout’s charge,
sneak attack +2d6
Str 19, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +6/+1; CMB +10; CMD 25
Feats Dazzling Display, Diehard, Double Slice, Endurance, Enforcer, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Intimidating Prowers, Power Attack (-2/+4), Sap Adapt, Two-Weapon Fighting
Skills Acrobatics +11 (7r+3t+3a-2e) (+12 jump),
Bluff +3 (1r+3t-1a), Climb +7 (1r+3t+4a-1e), Disable Device +11 (5r+3t+3a) (+13 with thieves tools), Intimidate +12 (6r+3t-1a+4f), Linguistics +4 (1r+3t), Perception +10 (6r+3t+1a), Sense Motive +10 (6r+3t+1a), Sleight of Hand +8 (5r+3t+3a), Stealth +11 (7r+3t+3a-2e)
Languages Common, Battle Tongue
SQ armor training 1, frightening, rogue talents (combat trick, strong impression)
Traits Canter, Reactionary
Favored Class rogue (+4 hp)
Combat Gear 48 arrows, 10 silver arrows, 10 cold iron arrows, potions of cure light wounds (3), cure moderate wounds (2), enlarge person, invisibility (2), remove disease; Other Gear +1 mithiral short swords (2, “Wyvernsnap” and “Cutty”), dagger of venom (“Wyvernsnap II”, +1 dagger, may use poison [DC 14, 1/rd for 6 rds, 1d3 Con] 1/day as a free action, may be invoked after the attack has hit), +2 dagger (“Cutty Jr.”), 2 mwk saps, mwk composite (+4 Str) longbow, brass knuckles (2), mwk cold iron dagger, mwk gusarme, mwk agile breastplate, heavy wooden shield, belt of physical might +2 (Str and Con), boots of speed (haste, 10 rds/day), everburning torch, periapt of health (immunity to disease), ring of protection +2, spring-loaded wrist sheaths (2, +2 Sleight of Hand to hide an object, release object as a swift, resetting is a full-round), courtier’s outfit, mwk backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flask (1 pt.), mwk thieves tools, silk rope (50 ft.), trail rations (7), amulet, owlbear feathers, 605 gp

Later, he would have taken Sap Master, and been doing attacking with two saps doing 1d6+15+6d6 nonlethal. If you try something similar, I'd recommend less fighter (and maybe a different archetype) and more rogue.

Another thing - if you want to take targets alive, you only need to do a little nonlethal. They'll fall unconscious before they start to bleed out (as long as the party's final hit isn't a massive critical hit or anything).

I'm playing an elven witch in that campaign now, and it also is very useful for the reasons people described above. Slumber hexes, enchantment spells, lots of tools to work with there.

Liberty's Edge

Also, I ended up not taking Bludgeoner, because there's not that many good bludgeoning weapons! Saps were fine for the time.

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