PFS: How to improve my Aasimar character?


Advice

Sovereign Court

Hello all,

I've been playing my aasimar character recently and due to some changes (they removed the FCB for increasing 1 bardic performance) I've decided to multiclass and take on more of a "Michael the Archangel" style. I'm not sure where to go with a few of my feats and some of my earlier feats could probably use retraining.

My main source of damage is "Thunder Call" bardic performance but outside of that I don't feel very capable of defending myself. I believe Paladin is capable of improving that, which is why I've decided to start taking my last 4 levels into Paladin and stopping at 7th level Bard.

Kysune Heyoku:

Class: Thundercaller Bard 7
Race: Aasimar (Azata Blooded)
Resists: 7 cold, 7 electric, 7 fire, 7 cold
Alignment: Lawful Good
Deity - Undecided

Traits -
* Reactionary (+2 initiative)
* Unscathed (increase existing energy resistances by 2)

Stats -
Str: 10
Dex: 16
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 22

Saves -
Fort: 8
Reflex: 10
Will: 9

1) Bard 1: Bab +0 | Imp Initiative (lvl 1)
2) Bard 2: Bab +1 |
3) Bard 3: Bab +2 | Lingering Performance (lvl 3)
4) Bard 4: Bab +3 |
5) Bard 5: Bab +3 | Angelic Blood (5)
6) Bard 6: Bab +4 |
7) Bard 7: Bab +5 | Angelic Flesh (lvl 7)
**I'm currently here and JUST leveled to 8th level
8) Paladin 1: Bab +6/+1 |
9) Paladin 2: Bab +7/+2 | Undecided (lvl 9)
10) Paladin 3: Bab +8/+3 |
11) Paladin 4: Bab +9/+4 | Undecided (lvl 11)

Masterpieces -
Triple Time – +10 move speed for 1hour, string

Gear:
+1 mithral chain shirt
+1 masterwork buckler
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2
+2 Cloak of Resistance
Shortbow
Dagger

Gold: 29,233

Wands:
Lesser Confusion
Magic Missle
Hideous Laughter
Infernal Healing
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A few things I have planned:

1) I'm thinking of retraining Lingering Performance as it's not been too useful as of lately and Improved Initiative if there's some feats that would serve me better.
2) I will be retraining one of my feats at 10th level to "Angel Wings" to gain permanent flying.
3) I'm thinking of retraining "Triple Time" to "Symphony of the Elysian Heart" and retraining my "Versitile Performance" ability from Performance String to Performance Wind.
------------------------

Here are a few pictures to show what I'm attempting to mold my character into: Picture 1 and Picture 2

I'm considering selling my +1 mithral chain shirt and picking up a +1 mithral agile breastplate, which still allows me to cast my bardic spells without penalty, isn't very heavy so I stay in light load category, and doesn't reduce my speed while boosting my AC more. In the past, I've not considered my character to do anything outside of Inspire and Thunder Call but now that I'm multiclassing and have access to Smite I'm wondering how to best build into a more offensive tank. Should I go with a finesse weapon, reach weapon, or a ranged weapon? Is vanilla Paladin typically the way to go or are there any archetypes worth my consideration?

Really looking forward to hearing your suggestions!

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First of all, multiclassing spellcasters is a bad idea unless you have a very specific and well-planned reason. The 3rd and 4th level spells you'll be picking up at high levels are going to be a lot more useful than picking up some mediocre combat ability through multiclassing.

If you really want to get into melee, consider instead retraining Lingering Performance and Angelic Flesh into Weapon Finesse and Piranha Strike, and grab a +1 agile dagger and belt of incredible dexterity +2. Then you can attack for something like +11 and 1d4+11. It's not amazing, but it's contributing, and it won't cost you your high-level abilities.

If you must multiclass, consider only a single level of Swashbuckler. You get Weapon Finesse for free, so you can retrain into Combat Reflexes instead. You'll have the same bonuses, but you can add answering to your dagger for an extra +4 attack and damage when you parry and riposte (which you can do all day with 5 AoOs and 6 panache).

But really, seriously, most parties, especially at high level, don't need more damage dealers; they need magical support. Use your skills to avoid dangerous combats, use your performances to bolster your allies, and use your spells to solve problems.

Don't invest all your resources into turning yourself from a crappy fighter to a mediocre fighter. Focus on supporting the good fighters in your party to turn them into amazing fighters.


Two levels in divine hunter paladin would get you Precise shot, longbow proficiency, smite 1/day, Lay on Hands, and charisma to saves. That's a worthwhile dip. After that, go back to bard.

Sovereign Court

RainyDayNinja wrote:

First of all, multiclassing spellcasters is a bad idea unless you have a very specific and well-planned reason. The 3rd and 4th level spells you'll be picking up at high levels are going to be a lot more useful than picking up some mediocre combat ability through multiclassing.

If you really want to get into melee, consider instead retraining Lingering Performance and Angelic Flesh into Weapon Finesse and Piranha Strike, and grab a +1 agile dagger and belt of incredible dexterity +2. Then you can attack for something like +11 and 1d4+11. It's not amazing, but it's contributing, and it won't cost you your high-level abilities.

If you must multiclass, consider only a single level of Swashbuckler. You get Weapon Finesse for free, so you can retrain into Combat Reflexes instead. You'll have the same bonuses, but you can add answering to your dagger for an extra +4 attack and damage when you parry and riposte (which you can do all day with 5 AoOs and 6 panache).

But really, seriously, most parties, especially at high level, don't need more damage dealers; they need magical support. Use your skills to avoid dangerous combats, use your performances to bolster your allies, and use your spells to solve problems.

Don't invest all your resources into turning yourself from a crappy fighter to a mediocre fighter. Focus on supporting the good fighters in your party to turn them into amazing fighters.

In general, I agree with you. But, I have access to a few 3rd level spells and multiclassing I'm only going to miss 4th level spells since PFS only generally goes to 12th level. I'm trading that away, another versatile performance, and being able to start a performance as a swift action for Medium & Heavy Armor Proficiency, Martial Weapon Proficiency, Detect Evil, 9/day Lay on Hands, +9fort +5reflex +8will to my saves (compared to what I'd get if I kept leveling as Bard), 2 Smite Evils (more if Oath of Vengeance) which synergize with my Charisma, immunity to all diseases, and at 12th level Divine Bond. This seems like a favorable trade. I can still Inspire and I have 21 uses of 3d8 DC19 fort save Sound Bursts a day in performances.

I can't retrain Angelic Flesh, it essentially provides my 7 fire resistance and it's a prereq to Angel Wings which is something I'm taking once I hit 10th level (retraining a feat). I may actually want to keep Lingering Performance to keep my Inspire going while doing other things and it looks like it would be useful with Symphony of the Elysian Heart. Maybe I just have Improved Initiative to retrain? Or maybe Lingering Performance isn't that needed? I still have 9th and 11th level feats to consider.

I was also considering the Divine Hunter archetype, which I lose Heavy Armor Proficiency (was thinking of using Mithral Agile Breastplate anyways) and Aura of Courage...but I gain Precise Shot for free and at 3rd level everyone gains Precise Shot in 10ft, for 1 round, against the target I shot. Was thinking Archery may not be a bad choice when I'm able to always fly at 10th level+.

I believe Paladin is the better trade as it doubles all 3 of my Saves and offers some extra nice benefits. I have no idea what type of weapon to pick, paladin gear, or what kind of feats I should try to squeeze in though.

Sovereign Court

Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:
Two levels in divine hunter paladin would get you Precise shot, longbow proficiency, smite 1/day, Lay on Hands, and charisma to saves. That's a worthwhile dip. After that, go back to bard.

I know this is a big IF, but if I chose to take this PFS character into PFS sanctioned scenarios/modules above 11th level wouldn't the Divine Bond be pretty good? I know some of the Paladin spells can be pretty strong also. 2 levels of Bard wouldn't really get me anything, but if going past 11th level and picking up more Bard levels I could see a benefit. Swift action performance and higher level spells. I'm having a hard time weighing the benefits though.


The real problem is your stats. You need to find some way to get DEX to Damage (CHA to damage would be ideal, but I don't think that exists). My advice would be to be a Paladin of Sarenrae and get the Dervish Dance feat.

Since improved init was your first level feat, you could retrain it to Noble Scion: Scion of War. That would give you your CHA to Init.

I have an Aasimar paladin, and I was really excited about the wings, but what I've found out, is that two feats just isn't worth it. The number of times I've found it really helpful I could have just used a Fly potion and been better off, because the potion is double the movement of your wings. Add to that a Paladin only gets 2 skill points so your Fly skill is likely to be pretty low.

Something else you may want to consider is a level of Oracle to get CHA to AC.

Sovereign Court

Jodokai wrote:
The real problem is your stats. You need to find some way to get DEX to Damage (CHA to damage would be ideal, but I don't think that exists). My advice would be to be a Paladin of Sarenrae and get the Dervish Dance feat.

Well, Paladin is kinda the way to get CHA to damage. As long as I went Oath of Vengeance, I can turn 2 uses of Lay on Hands into 1 Smite Evil, which I'll have 9 Lay on Hands uses a day. (EDIT: My bad, Smite Evil adds CHA bonus to Attack. Well at least I'd have a REALLY hard time missing? lol. Yeah I'd be at the mercy of a feat or "agile" enchantment to use my Dex to Dmg.)

Jodokai wrote:


Since improved init was your first level feat, you could retrain it to Noble Scion: Scion of War. That would give you your CHA to Init.

Great suggestion, I didn't know that. I can exchange that and gain a +3 bonus on top of it (Once I buy a Headband of Charisma +4 I'll have 24 Charisma so that'd be a +7 initiative.)

Jodokai wrote:


I have an Aasimar paladin, and I was really excited about the wings, but what I've found out, is that two feats just isn't worth it. The number of times I've found it really helpful I could have just used a Fly potion and been better off, because the potion is double the movement of your wings. Add to that a Paladin only gets 2 skill points so your Fly skill is likely to be pretty low.

Something else you may want to consider is a level of Oracle to get CHA to AC.

I agree that it's not very appealing after you realize that it's 3 feats just to be able to fly, but it's unlimited and since I took Unscathed it becomes a good deal better than most Aasimars as I get 5+2 fire resistance, whereas most people are spending 2 feats for 5 fire resistance. Which fire is the most common energy type. The +2 vs Evil effects and +2 to stabilize really aren't that great but eh. The big thing though is I want my character to embody the look of an "Angel" or "Azata" found in the Bestiary.

Also, my Fly skill is affected by Versatile Performance so I actually use my Perform: Dance skill in place of it. I've only got 5 ranks in at the moment and no "masterwork tool" to boost it yet but my Perform: Dance is at a total of 17 already. With a "masterwork tool" for dancing I should be able to auto succeed every check except collision (which I'll have enough ranks in it by 10th level to auto succeed that also.)

Charisma to AC is decent, but it just replaces my Dex mod which means I only get a +4 bonus. I'm better off getting a +7 bonus to Fort, Reflex, and Will instead as a Paladin.

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Would Divine Hunter with a Longbow work well? Or should I keep the Buckler and pickup a 1 handed weapon that can go off of Dex dmg? Or should I go with a standard reach weapon or a Sarissa for a 15ft reach while flying above enemies? Dervish Dance is a good suggestion, looks like Slashing Grace would require too many feats.


Scion of war will not help you, it replaces the dexterity modifier to initiative, so you only get benefits if your charisma will have a modifier of at least +8. Until then improved initiative will be better or as good.

A circlet of persuasion would help your initiative checks, as well as your concentration checks and all your performance checks with the feat though. Which makes it a bargain at 2,250 gp. Unfortunately it does take the head slot.

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Remco Sommeling wrote:

Scion of war will not help you, it replaces the dexterity modifier to initiative, so you only get benefits if your charisma will have a modifier of at least +8. Until then improved initiative will be better or as good.

A circlet of persuasion would help your initiative checks, as well as your concentration checks and all your performance checks with the feat though. Which makes it a bargain at 2,250 gp. Unfortunately it does take the head slot.

Ah yeah, good catch. +3 from DEX and +4 from Imp. Initiative. take away the Imp Initiative and exchange the DEX for CHA and I'm back where I started.

Don't you mean "Fortunately" it takes the head slot? I currently am not using anything in the head slot, my Headband of Alluring Charisma is using the headband slot so I should be ok. How does it help my initiative checks though? Does Scion of War turn (and qualify) Initiative into a "Charisma check"? If so then that would make the feat worth taking. I didn't realize that the Circlet would help my concentration checks either but I guess it would.


Kysune Heyoku wrote:
Remco Sommeling wrote:

Scion of war will not help you, it replaces the dexterity modifier to initiative, so you only get benefits if your charisma will have a modifier of at least +8. Until then improved initiative will be better or as good.

A circlet of persuasion would help your initiative checks, as well as your concentration checks and all your performance checks with the feat though. Which makes it a bargain at 2,250 gp. Unfortunately it does take the head slot.

Ah yeah, good catch. +3 from DEX and +4 from Imp. Initiative. take away the Imp Initiative and exchange the DEX for CHA and I'm back where I started.

Don't you mean "Fortunately" it takes the head slot? I currently am not using anything in the head slot, my Headband of Alluring Charisma is using the headband slot so I should be ok. How does it help my initiative checks though? Does Scion of War turn (and qualify) Initiative into a "Charisma check"? If so then that would make the feat worth taking. I didn't realize that the Circlet would help my concentration checks either but I guess it would.

Well since it replaces your dexterity modifier it seems like it would be a charisma check now, though I guess you could argue the point from the character's perspective or in general.

With versatile performance it will help quite a bunch of skills, the unfortunate part being that it would replace a charisma enhancing item in that slot.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Nope, circlet and headbands are two different slots. You can wear both items!

Also you cannot retrain to get Noble Scion of War or other first level feats like Fey Foundling. Such feats can only be taken at first level. Retraining does not get around that requirement, alas.

Hmm

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Hmm wrote:

Nope, circlet and headbands are two different slots. You can wear both items!

Also you cannot retrain to get Noble Scion of War or other first level feats like Fey Foundling. Such feats can only be taken at first level. Retraining does not get around that requirement, alas.

Hmm

That's what I thought, thanks for confirming.

I plan on taking Oath of Vengeance, but it looks like Oath of Undeath may be a good Oath to take also.

Undeath -
*Detect Undead instead of Detect Evil
*Armor gains Ghost Touch property, lose 3rd level Mercy

I'm still open for suggestions on Weapon choice and 9th & 11th level feats.


Hmm wrote:

Nope, circlet and headbands are two different slots. You can wear both items!

Also you cannot retrain to get Noble Scion of War or other first level feats like Fey Foundling. Such feats can only be taken at first level. Retraining does not get around that requirement, alas.

Hmm

oh you are right, that's what you get when you usually play in magic light campaigns. All good then :-).. except for the not retraining part.. lol

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Angel Wings requires Angelic Blood, not Flesh.

If you're set on going into Paladin, you have the cash for Silver Smite Bracelet to boost your Smite Evil bu 4 levels.

Consider also picking up Additional Traits for Fate's Favored, and use a wand of Divine Favor for a cheap +2 to attack and damage in the first round.

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Well, should I go with a Longbow and the Divine Hunter archetype or should I go vanilla Paladin and work towards a +2 Courageous Longspear with the Banner of the Ancient Kings attached and the Flagbearer feat?

The Longspear setup would be a 36,000 gold weapon but I'd be giving some good benefits:

1) +2 enhancement: +2 attack and weapon damage rolls
2) Inspire Courage: +4 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +3 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls
3) Flagbearer: +3 morale bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls

I would get: +8atk, +8dmg, +4 vs fear and charm
Allies would get: +6atk, +6dmg, +4 vs fear and charm

That's assuming I'm performing "Inspire Courage" and wielding the Longspear with two hands. Is it worth the 36k price tag though?

EDIT: It would be pretty expensive but I guess it's something I could throw my gold at and eventually work towards? I probably wouldn't be able to afford much else except maybe 10-15k worth at the max.

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Anymore suggestions?

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Bump


I'd second the 2 level Paladin dip. No offense, but outside of 2nd level Paladins, you're not getting much help otherwise; Lay on Hands and Mercies, although nice, require further Paladin levels to maintain their usefulness. Divine Bond could help, but again, it's problematic. Smite is in a similar situation as Mercies, in that you need further Paladin levels to capitalize from it. There are items that can help you with keeping them relevant, such as this for Smiting, or this for Lay On Hands. Whichever you feel would help you the most is good; I'd normally suggest trying to combine them, but as this is PFS, that's not on the table of options to take.

The biggest reason you'd take Paladin Levels is Divine Grace. It's an extremely powerful feature for those who are Charisma-based. If you went further than 2 levels, you would be losing Caster Levels. With that said, If you are gonna dip Paladin, one feat I'd suggest is Additional Traits, so you can select Magical Knack (+2 Caster Level, as long as this bonus doesn't cause you to exceed your Hit Dice, meaning no CL is actually lost from this dip), and one more of your choice; I'd personally suggest Indomitable Faith because Will Save bonuses are always nice, but anything else works too, since you'll be having a base Will Save of +8 or so, not to mention your Wisdom and Charisma modifiers will be applying to it (meaning you're looking at mid to upper teens).

I'm surprised you didn't decide to go Arcane Duelist Bard (or some other archetype that's more melee savvy), as they do get an ability similar to Divine Bond, but they can apply it to other characters as well, if that is your concern. They also get some bonus feats (Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Disruptive/Spellbreaker, Penetrating Strike and its Greater counterpart), an Arcane Bond Weapon they can enhance as if they possess crafting feats (which means you upgrade it at cost, making your weapon solid), and the ability to wear Medium and (eventually) Heavy Armor without issue. They still maintain Inspire Courage, but the big loss is the Skills.

The Paladin levels get you proficiency in all Martial Weapons, some Save improvements, and free Armor and Shield proficiencies too, and shore up your Base Attack Bonus a little bit (by 20th level, you should get 4 attacks), so you are already a bit more melee savvy by simply taking a single Paladin level.

As a quick question, how are you getting Resist Cold/7 twice? Is it a typo, and you have Resist Acid/7? I also question how getting that would have been possible.

For a Paladin decision, it depends on your fighting style you want to implement. Divine Hunter is a great choice if you plan to use ranged weapons. Getting those free feats are a must-have, and you still maintain Divine Grace. You lose Heavy Armor proficiency, but you'll be ranged anyway, meaning anything that can sneak up on you (i.e. Rogues) aren't going to be too threatening. I'd also consider an Oath of Charity, which allows you to increase the effects of your Lay on Hands abilities by 50% when used on others (and reduced by 50% when used on yourself), and is doubly recommended if you wear Bracers of the Merciful Knight.

If you do plan to go with a Paladin, you would have to ditch the Infernal Healing wand, as that is a Spell with the Evil descriptor, and if a Paladin is seen casting that, you can bet your patron would not be happy with it. On the plus side, you should have good enough UMD to consider just taking some Wands of CLW, since you have multiple wands at your ready.

Lastly, what are your skills? What weapon style (if any) are you implementing? Some more information regarding that would be appreciated.


Sadly, Courageous was nerfed to only affect saves vs. fear, so it's fairly useless now.

Note that the Banner of the Ancient Kings doesn't require you to do anything but "carry" it to gain the bonuses listed in the second paragraph. The only things you need to two-hand the banner for are the things in the first paragraph that specifically say so. So if you mount the BotAK on a pole and just carry that around in your offhand, you should still get the Flagbearer and Inspire Courage bonus just fine. You could even wear a light shield and still use that hand to hold it.

Considering that your strength modifier is a 0, I'm not sure how much sense strength-based combat makes. If you want to "weaponize" your character and go Paladin, a dex-belt and a dex-based fighting style (either Agile weapon or some kind of dex-to-damage) would play to your strengths, letting you wield a sword with reasonable effectiveness. If you retrained two feats and used your feat at 7 to go Weapon Finesse/ Weapon Focus: Rapier/ Fencing Grace, then you could wield a pretty effective sword-and-shield combo like the crusading angel in your second picture there.

You could also then take Flagbearer at 9 and hold the BotAK on a pole held in your shield hand, though that would make spellcasting impossible after you draw your sword unless you spend a move action to sheathe it (or have a Weapon Cord and drop it). Whether +3/+3 for the party is worth that hassle along with the cost...

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Darksol the Painbringer wrote:
As a quick question, how are you getting Resist Cold/7 twice? Is it a typo, and you have Resist Acid/7? I also question how getting that would have been possible.

Yeah, sorry. It should have read that my character has 7/fire, 7/cold, 7/electricity, and 7/acid resists. Aasimar is base 5 cold/electricity/acid but I chose the feat "Angelic Flesh" and picked the option that gives 5/fire. The Unscathed trait: "You are amazingly resistant to energy attacks because of either your upbringing or magical experimentation. Each type of energy resistance you have (if any) increases by 2 points."

I didn't go Arcane Duelist Bard simply because my original idea was just to go Thundercaller Bard and use my favored class bonuses to increase my Thunder Call ability, which boosts the damage significantly at certain levels. PFS nerfed the FCB and now I'm looking to branch out to match a concept "Archangel" instead of being a 1 trick pony (which isn't as effective now after the fcb nerf). Don't have a ton of prestige to respec out of Thundercaller, and I do enjoy the bonuses of Thundercaller so I'm fine with staying with that archetype.

Darksol the Painbringer wrote:
Lastly, what are your skills? What weapon style (if any) are you implementing? Some more information regarding that would be appreciated.

Skill ranks: All Knowledges 1 (except Nobility), Linguistics 7, Perception 2, Perform String 6, Perform Dance 8, Perform Wind 5, Spellcraft 1, Swim 1, UMD 5. Not the greatest selection but it's fine, I'm retraining Versatile Performance from String & Dance to Wind & Dance. Symphony of the Elysian Heart masterpiece requires Perform Wind and seems really worthwhile.

Main reason I was thinking of 4 levels of Paladin was for Oath of Vengeance to covert 2 LoH's into Smite Evils for additional uses of smite. Weapon Style previously was just Thunder Calling enemies 1 or 2 times a round (3d8 Sound Bursts). For weapons I had a plain dagger & shortbow. If I could get my damage up to something remotely close to respectable I'd go Archery. I mean, I'm gaining permanent Flight at 10th level and my Fly skill will be a 24 at 10th level so I should be able to easily stay in flight and use my distance to my advantage (which I'll probably have the flying distance advantage maybe half the time).

I could go the Fencing Grace route maybe but I'd be retraining Improved Initiative, Lingering Performance, and then taking Fencing Grace at 9th level. I'm not up for losing my 7/fire resistance or my prereq feats for gaining wings (flight).

Really appreciate both the responses from you guys. Feel free to add more suggestions as I look forward to your comments. :)


I would like to point you in the direction of 1 level of Elemental Annihilator Overwhelming Soul Earth Kineticist. You will be able to form a fairly strong weapon that you can either throw or use with weapon finesse and do 1d8+charisma mod in damage.

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Mellok wrote:
I would like to point you in the direction of 1 level of Elemental Annihilator Overwhelming Soul Earth Kineticist. You will be able to form a fairly strong weapon that you can either throw or use with weapon finesse and do 1d8+charisma mod in damage.

Looks good, I'd have to buy the Occult book though. So I could go 2 levels Divine Hunter for Precise Shot and then 2 levels of that Kineticist combo and take either Power Attack or Deadly Aim?

It looks like the Kineticist only ever gets 1 blast or melee attack though, but it appears to be vs Touch AC. Looking at it briefly it looks like at 10th level (Kineticist 1) I'd be making a single attack vs AC at +8 (+8 BAB,+3 Dex, -3 Deadly Aim) for 1d8 + 7 (charisma mod) + 6 (Deadly Aim) ............. So +8atk vs Touch for 1d8+13 dmg. One attack only, but made at range while flying. Decent? or actually not that great for burning 2 levels into Kineticist instead of something else?

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Any other suggestions?

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Casts: Thread Resurrection

Been a long time and I've only played a few sessions since with this character (other characters have been taking up my time). But, I'm looking to getting back to playing my Aasimar character. I'm interested in figuring out how to deal some decent damage despite my horrible strength. Any suggestions?

Kysune Heyoku:

Class: Thundercaller Bard 7 / Divine Hunter Paladin 1
Race: Aasimar (Azata Blooded)
Resists: 7 acid, 7 electric, 7 fire, 7 cold
Alignment: Lawful Good

Traits -
* Reactionary (+2 initiative)
* Unscathed (increase existing energy resistances by 2)

Stats -
Str: 10
Dex: 16
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 24

Saves -
Fort: 10
Reflex: 10
Will: 11

1) Bard 1: Bab +0 | Imp Initiative (lvl 1)
2) Bard 2: Bab +1 |
3) Bard 3: Bab +2 | Lingering Performance (lvl 3)
4) Bard 4: Bab +3 |
5) Bard 5: Bab +3 | Angelic Blood (5)
6) Bard 6: Bab +4 |
7) Bard 7: Bab +5 | Angelic Flesh (lvl 7)
8) Paladin 1: Bab +6/+1 | Precise Shot (Divine Hunter)

Gear:
+1 mithral chain shirt
+1 masterwork buckler
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2
+2 Cloak of Resistance
Shortbow
Dagger

Gold: 18,233

I took Divine Hunter to grab Precise Shot, it seemed like the best idea at the time since I'm working towards Angel Wings at 10th level. I could retrain Lingering Performance out for a more combat focused feat.

I didn't bring my character sheet with me so I'm going off my previous post at the moment. I believe I spent 12k to upgrade my Headband to +4 Charisma, but I'm wondering how and what I should do with the remaining 18k gold to be more combat effective.


It's a real shame you took the Paladin level Desna's way of the shooting star gives you Charisma to hit and damage with star knives, a one level dip into oracle for Cha to AC and retrain imp init for the feat or just trade out versatile performance because you're a bard, no multiclass actually needed.

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Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:
It's a real shame you took the Paladin level Desna's way of the shooting star gives you Charisma to hit and damage with star knives, a one level dip into oracle for Cha to AC and retrain imp init for the feat or just trade out versatile performance because you're a bard, no multiclass actually needed.

I wish it was possible but

PFS Additional Resources: Divine Anthology wrote:
The divine fighting techniques, exploits, masterpieces, paladin codes and oaths, rogue talents, subdomains, and variant spellcasting in this book are legal for play except Desna's Shooting Star

It would have been a great choice though. The only thing that's coming to mind at the moment for me is to pickup a +3 Longbow, +4 Dex belt, and grab Deadly Aim at 9th level?


Kysune Heyoku wrote:

I'm interested in figuring out how to deal some decent damage despite my horrible strength. Any suggestions?

Trying to do physical damage as a multi-class with a 10 STR that isn't DEX based damage is hard. You definitely don't have the feats to pursue an archer bard if you are really intent on Aasimar wings especially. I'd recommend staying straight bard.

Simplest Option (keeps wings):

Feats:
Lingering Performance (lvl 3) --> Retrain to Flagbearer
Arcane Strike (9th)

Items:
Banner of the Ancient Kings (18,000gp) --> Go from the +2/+2 buffer that you are now all the way to a +5/+5 buffing deva

On Round 1, you will be giving the party +5/+5 with a move action. If you then cast Haste with your standard action, the party will be nigh invincible without you doing anything else.

Your bard will also be +11 to hit for 1d8+5 damage with your long spear (two attacks with haste) prior to any addition of magical weapon enhancements. You'll gain +2 damage at 9th and another +1 at 10th.

You can casually summon additional attackers that also gain the +5/+5 benefit.

Full Summoning Option (loses wings):

Feats:
Imp Initiative (lvl 1) --> Retrain to Flagbearer
Lingering Performance (lvl 3) --> Retrain to Spell Focus: Conjuration
Angelic Blood (5) --> Retrain to Augment Summon
Angelic Flesh (lvl 7) --> Retrain to Superior Summons

Items:
Banner of the Ancient Kings (18,000gp)

On Round 1, same as above.

On Round 2, summon 1d4+2 Celestial Eagles that are hitting for 3d4+21 potentially... each. And they smite.

At level 10, ysummon 1d4+2 earth elementals, or 1d3+1 Lantern Archons. Lanterns Archons strike at touch AC for 1d6+5 damage (three attacks if you haste them too) and get to be quite deadly in swarms.


Can you do the Aasimaar "start at middle age" trick in PFS?

Sovereign Court

There are no age bonuses or penalties in PFS. At least in character gen.

Sovereign Court

Thanks Rory, I'm definitely set on Angel Wings as this is my only Aasimar character and I wanted to make this one like an "angel". I'm going the two level dip into Paladin due to the fact that it increases my fort/will saves by 10 and reflex by 7.

My only thoughts with the banner is that it it's a great buff increase but it requires the enemy to get really close for me to use it. With a +3 longbow, inspire, and deadly aim I think I'd be at 3 shots of 1d8+11 at 12th level with haste. Not the greatest but it allows me to full attack while in the sky. My AC isn't the greatest so using a banner in melee would be a bit risky.

PFS groups are pretty random and most of my spells are support. Should I just give up on trying to deal damage as a bard?

Sovereign Court

Any suggestions on my last comment? Are there any good bard or paladin items to consider or any special armor/shield/weapon qualities that I might want to get? AC probably isn't a big concern since I will by in the sky most of the time.


Kysune Heyoku wrote:
PFS groups are pretty random and most of my spells are support. Should I just give up on trying to deal damage as a bard?

First round giving +5/+5 and Haste to the party is your character dealing damage. You'll add the most damage in the combat typically even though you don't use a weapon.

That said, you dealing damage yourself on Rounds 2+, if you want to use a bow... and keep the wings...

Since you want to do physical damage with a weapon, the archetype Thundercaller isn't very useful anymore. Consider retraining to Arcane Duelist. This will grant you the Arcane Strike feat for additional weapon damage. Also, this will half the cost of enchanting your bow (or, net +1 higher enchantment on it). This also allows you to use a Rod of Meta-Magic while holding your bow if you had that desire.

(if you want to keep Thundercaller, note that you are losing out on +2d8 damage with it with the 2 level dip, and cannot be using Inspire Courage while sound bursting with it anyways)

Feats:
1st: Imp Initiative
Arcane Duelist 1: Arcane Strike
3rd: Lingering Performance --> Retrain to Deadly Aim
5th: Angelic Blood
7th: Angelic Flesh
Divine Hunter 1: Precise Shot
9th: Angelic Wings
11th: Discordant Voice

(you lose next to nothing by getting rid of Lingering Performance at higher levels)

At level 12, this will net you +1 to hit and +4+1d6 damage against most targets.

Instead of making your longbow +4 as an arcane bond, you could make it +3 spell storing instead. That will let you load a nifty debuff onto the first arrow. Even a simple Inflict Serious Wounds could do 3d8+10 damage (save for half), making a nice first hit.

You could also retrain Improved Initiative to be Point Blank Shot for +1/+1 more.

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