So I've been tweaking my Charisma melee character build for a three-man band that I've been playing in and I was looking for some feedback. The character's general role is a utility character / combat maneuver expect; one of our three players is a blade-bound magus and from previous experience I know better than to try and out DPR that!
The only REAL rule is that storyline wise I need to keep my levels in either cavalier or samurai, my order needs to be the Order of the Cockatrice, and I need to keep my race (kitsune).
Here's my build so far:
Samurai (Sword Saint) / Fighter (Lore Warden)
01 (S1): Antagonize, Challenge (1/Day), Iaijutsu Strike +1d6, Order of the Cockatrice, Resolve (1/Day)
02 (S2): Order Ability: Braggart
03 (F1): Combat Reflexes, Enforcer, Scholastic
04 (F2): Expertise, Improved Feint
05 (F3): Improved Trip, Maneuver Mastery +2
06 (F4): Greater Trip
07 (S3): Iaijutsu Strike +2d6, Leadership, Resolve 2/Day, Weapon Expertise (katana)
08 (S4): Challenge (2/Day), Weapon Expertise (katana)
09 (F5): Weapon Focus (katana), Weapon Training (heavy blades)
10 (F6): Shatter Defenses
11 (S5): Greater Weapon Focus (katana), Iaijutsu Strike +3d6, Resolve 3/Day, Terrifying Iaijutsu
12 (S6): Deadly Stroke
13 (F7): Dodge, Know Thy Enemy, Maneuver Mastery +4
14 (F8): Mobility
15 (F9): Spring Attack, Weapon Training (light blades)
16 (F10): Whirlwind Attack
17 (F11): Greater Feint, Hair's Breadth, Maneuver Mastery +6
18 (F12): Disengaging Feint
19 (F13): Disengaging Flourish, Weapon Training (whatever)
20 (F14): Disengaging Shot, Swift Lore
We're Kingdom Building; my GM told me I have to take Leadership at 7th level.
How it Plays
The basic idea is to hamper enemies using combat maneuvers and the demoralize action. The character is heavily invested in demoralizing; my character receives a +2 bonus to hit any demoralized foe thanks to Braggart, and Braggart also rewards Dazzling Display as a bonus feat (plus its only a Move Action!). By selecting Enforcer early on, I can take pot-shots for non-lethal damage in order to get a long duration of Demoralized on a foe without needing to use Dazzling Display if I want to (particularly useful for long boss fights or creatures that are difficult to Intimidate, like anything that is larger than I am).
More importantly, free Dazzling Display helps me qualify for Shatter Defenses and Deadly Stroke, which sync nicely with Braggart. In addition, because of Braggart, I can demoralize in an area without having to draw my weapon if I want, meaning that I could theoretically get the +2 braggart bonus to hit with my Iaijitsu Strike on the following turn if I wanted to.
Terrifying Iaijitsu rounds out my methods for demoralizing my foes (a whopping three choices), and its biggest draw / advantage is that it uses a Will save instead of a skill check, meaning it ignores my foe's size. Better still, it happens as a consequence of using another ability.
Things That Could Be Tweaked
I'm aware that Improved Feint is significantly less useful once I get Shatter Defenses; the only real advantage would be allowing my character to deny an enemy its Dex bonus against my allies' attacks via Greater Trip as well, but I didn't budget that feat into the build until much later level. I personally consider anything past Level 12 as "filler" and not as essential to my build; one thing I do know is that I'd like a feat chain that would let me take advantage of having a bunch of enemies demoralized against me by attacking many targets at once. I'm personally wondering if going Greater Cleave is a better route than Whirlwind Attack, if only because Power Attack and Cleave are more useful while leveling than Dodge and Mobility. Spring Attack is nice, but I'm also the party tank somewhat and Spring Attack doesn't seem like a trick that I will be making much use out of. I'm also not sold on the Disengaging Feint feat chain either.
As a final note, I'm not opposed to multiclassing outside of Fighter / Samurai once I have my levels, but anything not in the Core Rulebook Line I'd have to clear with my GM first. :D
What's your current level? What're your stats?
What's your current level? What're your stats?
Oh! Right. ^_^"
Currently, we're Level 6. My stats are:
Str 12 (14)
Dex 16 (14)
Con 12 (12)
Int 14 (13)
Wis 10 (10)
Cha 16 (14)
Our Point-Buy was 20. Kitsune racials are +2 Dex, +2 Cha, –2 Str, and my 4th Level Point went into Intelligence. My unmmoified stats are the parenthesis.