Before 4th level? Not a whole lot, honestly. They make good Finesse fighters with a Rapier. If, at 5th level, you grab Fencing Grace you'll be really solid.
After Studied Combat comes online though they're pretty beastly. Getting a bonus to-hit equal to your level at-will is something many classes would trade their left arm for.
For perspective, by dropping a Talent on it, by level 20 you have an at-will Quickened True Strike.
Studied Combat makes them pretty good at maneuvers as well.
Level 4 onwards, their attack and damage is almost as anyone else's thanks to studied combat. Throw in buffs from extracts and maybe a mutagen, can sometimes be better than others.
Before 4th level? Not a whole lot, honestly. They make good Finesse fighters with a Rapier. If, at 5th level, you grab Fencing Grace you'll be really solid.
After Studied Combat comes online though they're pretty beastly. Getting a bonus to-hit equal to your level at-will is something many classes would trade their left arm for.
For perspective, by dropping a Talent on it, by level 20 you have an at-will Quickened True Strike.
Studied Combat makes them pretty good at maneuvers as well.
Just an FYI... Studied Combat bonus is only equal to 1/2 your character level, not full character level. It's still an awesome bonus to a 3/4 BAB class.
Hm, you're right. But it also adds to damage.
I think I may have been operating under the original Playtest version, which as I recall was full level to-hit, but no damage.
Hm, you're right. But it also adds to damage.
I think I may have been operating under the original Playtest version, which as I recall was full level to-hit, but no damage.
Yeah, the playtest was straight level to hit, but no damage. The final version is so much better! It actually allows an Investigator to be decent in combat... In fact, a half-elf investigator can be an extremely potent damage dealer w/ their racial FCB for investigator, Combat Inspiration, Amazing Inspiration, and an Inspired weapon.
Very nice combination!
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Yeah, a Str build or a Dex build dipping Inspired Blade is very solid even for the first few levels.
I mean, the difference between an Investigator and a Fighter at those levels is maybe +1 or +2 to hit...or, if they're using Power Attack, +2 or +3 damage. And you can make up the second with an Extract of Enlarge Person at need (if going Str), or the first with an Extract of Reduce Person (if going Dex).
Your AC will lag a bit as a Str build, but that's what Shield is for.
And then you can, at least once a day, in an emergency, burn Inspiration to make an attack that almost hit, actually hit. In short, for the first few levels, you're marginally behind a Fighter, but able to equal them in bursts via Extracts (and maybe some Inspiration).
Now, the difference between full BAB classes and the Investigator's baseline rises by around 4th or 5th level...not coincidentally the time when Studied Combat (and Quick Study) come online, boosting them back into the running. Plus Mutagen, if they want it.
In short, Investigators are adequate melee combatants from level 1-2 or 3, and very good melee combatants from level 4 onward.
Now, it should be noted that this assumes, y'know, an actual combative build (Str or Dex 16, basically). A somewhat lower physical stat build can do very well at high levels, but has much more trouble in the early game, and even then, starting with your main attack stat at less than 14 is a really bad idea.
Basically, an Investigator isn't a Wizard, and if you build them with a similar physical layout to a Wizard, you're gonna be in trouble. I note this because it's surprising how many Investigator builds I've seen with mediocre physical stats at best who were then wondering why they were bad at combat...
The favored bonus is good but it's not as great as it sounds. It's limited by your uses of inspiration. It doesn't kick in until level 4. You can't get combat inspiration till level 9. You are giving up +4 hit points or skill points for every +1 you get to inspiration. And the damage isn't multiplied on a crit. It's still a good choice and if you want to play a half elf you should take it, but it's not as if it makes the race that much stronger than the other investigators.
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The favored bonus is good but it's not as great as it sounds. It's limited by your uses of inspiration. It doesn't kick in until level 4. You can't get combat inspiration till level 9. You are giving up +4 hit points or skill points for every +1 you get to inspiration. And the damage isn't multiplied on a crit. It's still a good choice and if you want to play a half elf you should take it, but it's not as if it makes the race that much stronger than the other investigators.
This is true to some degree, though I'll note that with a couple of Talents, +1 to Inspiration is basically +1 to almost all skills on every roll forever.
It's certainly not enough to make all Investigators need to be Half Elves, though, I agree.
The favored bonus is good but it's not as great as it sounds. It's limited by your uses of inspiration. It doesn't kick in until level 4. You can't get combat inspiration till level 9. You are giving up +4 hit points or skill points for every +1 you get to inspiration. And the damage isn't multiplied on a crit. It's still a good choice and if you want to play a half elf you should take it, but it's not as if it makes the race that much stronger than the other investigators.
1d6+X to all skills is pretty rad though.
1d6+X to all skills is pretty rad though.
It is, but all investigators get the 1d6 to 2d8 depending. It's the "+X" that's unique to half-elves. And it's good. But it's not as if it sets half-elf as the de facto investigator. A human, half-orc or wayang can all be very good too.
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Male Lashunta also make excellent Empiricist Investigators (+2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Wis), and are thematically well-suited to the role of alien warrior-scientist that the class allows. I really want to play this in an Iron Gods game if I can just get somebody to run one...
Ratfolk and Androids also work quite well.