Helping a friend make a first PC based on some concepts they liked. Some of the concepts are builds I don't really play, figured best to get some outside advise.
Player desires...
+ An Inquisitor as the class (possib. Preacher archtype)
+ Desires a reach, more specifically polearm style, weapon as their theme weapon of choice (Given the class this was an initial hurdle, but the GM already said any [martial] polearm choice the player makes will be considered their deity weapon)
+ Built with the ability to either sunder, trip, or disarm (i.e. taking the 3 feats needed to get 'greater' feat version, if not more) (GM is considering giving the player Combat Expertise for free if they go trip or disarm, at least for this their first pc, eliminating the feat tax)
[Player is leaning Hooked Lance if Trip, Bill if Disarm, Bec De Corbin if Sunder, but open to other polearm options. Player originally wanted Naginata but GM nixed that and, given how cool he's being with combat expertise and deity weapon, best not to push it and just stick to Western polearms.]
+ Game will go from level 2 to 18-20. GM is experienced with PF but definitely more casual/less hardcore [his villians won't be terrible but he won't be combing the forums to over optimize them either]. Group is looking a bit melee heavy (only 1 9-spell-level caster of 4-5 players) but no others are taking combat maneuver feats (afaik). Others are mostly two hander or duel wield damage builds. Common foes/BBE expected are humanoids, (thankfully mostly corporeal) undead, demons. Those three will make up 2/3 the encounters from what we're being led to believe. A dragon or two will likely also make an appearance.
So with that in mind...
Which of the three combat maneuvers would fit best into these limitations?
Which polearm would fit that maneuver best? (Right now the player is leaning trip, because another player pointed out the AoO from Greater Trip in a group with 4 PCs that are melee in some way would be cool, but that's not in stone).
What can the Inquisitor offer to aid in the build? (IE will any judgements contribute?)
At level, say, 10-15, what kind of stats/feats will the player NEED to be looking at to make the maneuver effective?
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This approach can lead to an extremely effective combatant that should be easy for a new player to handle. Of the three combat maneuver approaches you mention, Trip is generally the most effective. However ...
Combat maneuvers work best for full-BaB characters with feats to burn.
Inqiusitors lack full BaB and get few feats.
The Inquisitor is great at inflicting massive amounts of damage, but not so great at combat maneuvers. The group would be more effective if someone else, especially a full-BaB martial character, uses combat maneuvers to trip the foe, then the Inquisitor takes the resultant AoOs to outright kill the foe with massive damage.
That said, an Inquisitor with a reach weapon can trip a foe with impunity. No feats required. Any AoO can be turned into a trip. The worst possible outcome, with a reach weapon, is a dropped weapon. Carry lots of weapons. Possibly spend a precious feat on Improved Trip for a +2 bonus. Cast self-buff spells Divine Favor, Wrath, Bull's Strength, and use Judgement of Justice for a +5 to +17 bonus that scales with level.
An Inquisitor is automatically proficient with the simple Longspear, which is a two-handed polearm-style reach weapon which can be used for tripping. No feats required. It's probably not worth a precious feat to get a slightly better martial weapon, unless the player wants it for stylistic reasons.
The starting feats this PC really wants are Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, and possibly Improved Trip. Also consider their Domain, and whether this would be enhanced with a feat. E.g. If they choose the Animal Domain they will want the Boon Companion feat by 5th level.
5th level is when the Inquisitor becomes Inquizilla. With just a 14 Strength, a +1 longspear, and a few buffs (e.g. Bull's Strength, Divine Favor, and Bane) the Inquisitor will have an excellent chance to hit for about 1d8+20 damage. Combat reflexes allows up to three AoOs. A readied action from the previous round can give one extra attack. That's a maximum of five possible attacks in one round, each hitting for about 25 HP.
This build works best if the other players, and their characters, have enough tactical savvy to support someone using reach tactics. For example, if they are canny enough to sometimes let the enemy approach, rather than always rushing the foe, everyone will be more effective and the reach weapon wielder doubly so.
Combine with Teamwork Feats and readied actions for the win.
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Since you can cast True Strike, you'll be fine performing combat maneuvers. I suggest you look into 2-3 levels of Fighter as either a Lore Warden or a Polearm Master. Warden nets you 3 bonus feats and a bonus to CMB, Polearm Master lets you use your reach weapon at close targets. That gives you the feats you need for EWP: Naginata and Improved Maneuver. Further, if you take 3 Levels, it boosts your BAB enough to give you +6 BAB by level 7 which allows you to take Quick Maneuver or Greater Maneuver earlier.
Next, I want to point out the amazing synergy amongst:
Solo Tactics + Broken Wing Gambit + Paired Opportunists + Outflank = Never miss an opportunity again.
The advantage of a build like this is that is very friendly with your team mates, and the bulk of your attacks happen at your highest attack bonus during the enemy's turn. You would do well to look into Lunge, items that enhance reach as well as Enlarge.
Travel, Liberation, and Luck are my favorite domains for martials. This build in particular could benefit form Luck because of the volume of attacks you'll be making. Rolling twice and take the highest every time for every roll will be significant. However, each one is quite good and of course, any specific build may benefit from other Domains more.
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Trip is the best maneuver listed for that assortment of enemies, creatures without weapons are hard to disarm and sunder is not going to do much against an opponent without any gear. I think it would be a good idea to talk to your DM and the player about the dirty trick maneuver from the APG - maybe they can agree on a signature "dirty trick" that fits the character concept, or it can be used as written. Note that the trip weapon property really doesn't help much- it is a move action which provokes to stand up after being tripped and it is a move action which provokes to pick up the weapon after using the trip property.
I also agree with this advice. Dirty Trick is a much better maneuver, scales straight to 20 and is useful in almost every situation. The best part is that you can have a lot of fun making it thematic.
Let's take a look at the list of conditions you can apply:
If your attack is successful, the target takes a penalty. The penalty is limited to one of the following conditions:
blinded, dazzled, deafened, entangled, shaken, or sickened.
- You present your Holy Symbol and the light reflects off to blind/dazzle your foe. Or perhaps you flicked holy water, or showed them pictures of Sister Tessa.
- You recite the litany of judgement and your foe is shaken.
- Cut the buttons to a coat or trousers and entangle them as one must bare all before the deity, or you could make it a class argument if it's somebody rich or powerful. "remove the trappings of sin"
- Deafen them with the words of heaven. Bonus points if you do it speaking Celestial.
- anoint them with oils to drive out the sin, only the wicked are sickened.
In the end, the justification behind the status effect is up to you and the GM. They could be little curses divinely granted or anything else you prefer.
Just wanted to say thanks everyone for the great feedback.
While the Samurai and melee Paladin do have the higher BAB's neither player is interested in maneuvers. The Inquisitor is still looking into Trip, factoring in some of the advise given above. I hadn't known the Archeologist Bard was planning on taking the Disarm tree until after I posted this but he's now thinking Dirty Tricks instead after reading this too. There was a discussion on who should be trip or dirty trick, the Inquisitor or Bard, but the GM pointed out that the Trip is useable less often and so the class that hits harder when not using maneuvers should consider it (that would be the Inquisitor).
I think the only question left is what Domain the Inquisitor takes, I think he's thinking Liberation, one of the Animal ones, or ... I want to say Metal was the third.
Again, thanks for the answer everyone.
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I think the only question left is what Domain the Inquisitor takes, I think he's thinking Liberation, one of the Animal ones, or ... I want to say Metal was the third.Again, thanks for the answer everyone.
Liberation is the strongest choice I can see on that list. Animal has some interesting subdomain powers and Metal could be useful if you want to use a reach weapon and threaten adjacent, too. You could achieve that with a Spiked Gauntlet though, so it seems a worse choice to me than the Travel Domain, +10 Base Speed and ignore Difficult Terrain will come up at all levels. The same is true with Liberation and Freedom of Movement is even more valuable at higher levels.
