A player in a group of mine needs to make a new character. He says he wants to be a swiss army knife in utility for in and out of combat. I know that the best thing for this would be a Wizard or some other full caster, but I know he doesn't really have the patience for something like that. I think a 3/4 caster (like a Bard) would suit his goal/preferences best, but other suggestions are welcome. I don't need any specific builds, just race/class combos, and maybe the cliffnotes for what he could accomplish. Below are the criteria for characters in this campaign:
-Allowed Races: Human, Half-elf, Halfling, Catfolk, Ratfolk, Tengu
-Allowed Books: CRB, APG, ARG, ACG, UC, UM, UE, Occult Adv, Unchained
-Power: Level 3, 2 Traits, Background Skills
-Other: SLA's CAN qualify for things as equivalent spells.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Slayer or Ranger has great utility both in and out of combat.
The former does better in melee, the latter as an archer. Actually the latter also does pretty good in melee.
Humans are ideal, half-elves get free skill focus if that's interesting.
Do you know if traps will be prevalent in the game?
I am a huge fan of Hunters, 6/9 casters, access to Druid AND Ranger spell lists... 3/4 BAB with free teamwork feats, a super awesome animal companion (think Druid, but with extra abilities).
If you go Human, you can tweak it to have an animal companion with one level MORE than your character (Huntmaster-Human), combined with Eye for Talent and your animal companion can have an INT of 4 to start...
You said you didn't want a full build, but I recommend INT 13 for feat access... avoid ranged (but have a backup ranged weapon)...
If he doesn't have patience for a full caster I doubt any caster will do, but you could let him be a ranger and make plentiful use of those background skills, maybe offer rolled stats and secretly boost his int roll (make some cards with "random" bonuses, rigged for skills and offer a draw for some negligible sacrifice). A well made ranger holds his own quite well in combat and with the right archetypes (urban?) he can replace a rogue in scouting and skills. Magic isn't his strong side, but that might not be a big drawback.
Other options to consider would be skald - the spell kenning feature giving some nice freedom in tue magc field, slayer and investigator if he doesn't mind the combatty bit being a bit lower
You might also consider allowing some more races as long as they dont stray far from your preset set..um..youre the GM right?
I am a huge fan of Hunters, 6/9 casters, access to Druid AND Ranger spell lists... 3/4 BAB with free teamwork feats, a super awesome animal companion (think Druid, but with extra abilities).
If you go Human, you can tweak it to have an animal companion with one level MORE than your character (Huntmaster-Human), combined with Eye for Talent and your animal companion can have an INT of 4 to start...
You said you didn't want a full build, but I recommend INT 13 for feat access... avoid ranged (but have a backup ranged weapon)...
I wonder if anyone did one of those for a Jon and His AMAZING Horse build.
I wonder if anyone did one of those for a Jon and His AMAZING Horse build.I am a huge fan of Hunters, 6/9 casters, access to Druid AND Ranger spell lists... 3/4 BAB with free teamwork feats, a super awesome animal companion (think Druid, but with extra abilities).
If you go Human, you can tweak it to have an animal companion with one level MORE than your character (Huntmaster-Human), combined with Eye for Talent and your animal companion can have an INT of 4 to start...
You said you didn't want a full build, but I recommend INT 13 for feat access... avoid ranged (but have a backup ranged weapon)...
Also, human favored class bonus for hunter: add skill points to animal companion. :D
Do you mind telling us what everybody else is playing. would help with party composition. and do you know what kind of characters he likes to play. I mean does he like casters or perhaps he's more martial.
also have you thought about magus? from what i understand magus are always good. in a game at the moment where I'm playing a ranger and someone else is playing a magus, and he can match me in combat plus always has some helpful spells in the back pocket.
also have you tried looking at some weird and wonderful archetypes?
also there are plenty of traits that grant class skills. so they're great for moulding a class to fit a character idea.
some archetypes I like that are...
Trench Fighter. A fighter at level 3 gets to add Dex to damage with there choice of firearm. and can select an additional firearm every other 4 levels.
Bolt Ace. a Gunslinger that uses crossbows instead. at level 5 you get to add Dex to damage, which is again. awesome. also this class is one of the only one that not only makes crossbows and awesome primary weapon come level 5. but your proficient in all crossbows. even the weird exotic ones, like the one that fires a grappling hooks :p
Now one I really like. Shield champion. its a Brawler archetype that essentially turns you into captain america. at level 5, you get the returning shield ability so that your shield returns to you at the end of your turn. shield for range and martial arts for up close. makes you pretty damn versatile. and not only that, at level 7 you can perform ranged combat manoeuvres. makes a great build for a controller.
thats all i got, hope you find it interesting.
Playing a Magus or Brawler or keeping track of an Animal Companion are both guaranteed to be more work than his patience could handle. The Ranger would probably suit him. Has anyone had any experience with the Mesmerist from Occult Adventures?
Playing a Magus or Brawler or keeping track of an Animal Companion are both guaranteed to be more work than his patience could handle. The Ranger would probably suit him. Has anyone had any experience with the Mesmerist from Occult Adventures?
brawlers are probably more simple than rangers. with rangers you have a lot of situational buffs to keep track off. I can't remember how many times i've forgotten to add my favoured enemy bonus or favoured terrain bonus haha.
Have you considered an inquisitor? They are quite good at skills and combat, while having a nice spell list.
Summoner can be a good all-rounder too, but may not be this player's kind of thing. You can build the eidolon as an out of combat skill monkey, and focus on buffing your Summon Monster SLAs for combat.