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I came up with a plot/personality idea for a Pathfinder Society character, but I have no idea what I want to do with it mechanically.
The idea's pretty simple: A priest of Norgberger, neutral evil god of secrets (among other things), who joins the Pathfinder Society to try and accumulate secrets. He'll help the Society uncover the secrets of the past, but also spy on the Society from the inside.
Evil characters aren't allowed in PFS, but neutral worshipers of evil deities are, so I could do this with a true neutral alignment. I wouldn't focus as much on the murder and poison aspects of Norgberger, though I haven't ruled out the thieving part. But, it's his role as the god of secrets that makes the whole idea work.
As I said, I have this personality concept, but no idea what I want to do mechanically.
I'd probably want him to be a divine caster. Playing a priest who has to hide what deity he really worships could be fun. Looking at Norgberger's domains, Trickery has an awesome first level power, and the warpriest blessing version does the same thing. But I've actually already done that one on another PC, so it's a little redundant. The Knowledge (Memory) subdomain is pretty obscure, but could be very useful, and thematic, given this guy's emphasis on finding things out.
Other than divine caster, I was thinking maybe unchained rogue. Back before Unchained and Advanced Class Guide were published, I tried doing a totally dex based rogue-ish melee build, and it was a weird multi-class jumble that didn't work out so well. So I've thought about trying an unchained rogue, but haven't done it yet. This could be my opportunity.
I might consider multiclassing the rogue with a divine caster class - probably going primarily one way and just having a one level dip in the other. I was thinking that Calistria offers both of those domains I was considering, so my guy could pretend to be one of her priests, and walk around with a whip, which works with Weapon Finesse. Maybe a level of cleric for the domains, and rogue the rest of the way. Or maybe rogue/inquisitor for lots of skills, mixing the classes more evenly?
But I'm not completely married to any of those mechanical ideas. Any other suggestions?
Norgober actually got his own Inquisitor archetype recently (reaper of secrets i believe was the name) gimme a sec and ill get u a link
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Infiltrator Inquisitor is a solid fit, though a lot of archetypes seem like they'd work, depending on what exactly you want to get. Heroes of the Streets has a new Espionage subdomain for Knowledge and Trickery that also sounds like a great fit as well.
Slayer could also be an option for multiclassing. Snakebite Striker or Strangler Brawler would also be decent full BAB options.
Depending on your particular goals, I'd assume that Inquisitor will make a better dip than Cleric.
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Lots of people mentioning archetypes and stuff that I've never even heard of. What books are these things in?
Norgorber's combat style (ranger) is in Inner Sea Combat.
Infiltrator and sanctified slayer (inquisitor) are in Ultimate Magic and the Advanced Class Guide, respectively.
Snakebite striker and strangler (brawler) are from the Advanced Class Guide as well.
Hope that helps. ^_^
Not entirely on topic since it isnt PFS legal but i had a though, what about a Reaper of Secrets Monster Tactician Inquisitor? I saw that norgober has wererat rogues on his summon list, i kind of like the idea of stacking up summoning feats and throwing waves of teamwork feat using rogues as assassins
Also, how good is the Espionage Subdomain for an Inquisitor?
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Not entirely on topic since it isnt PFS legal but i had a though, what about a Reaper of Secrets Monster Tactician Inquisitor? I saw that norgober has wererat rogues on his summon list, i kind of like the idea of stacking up summoning feats and throwing waves of teamwork feat using rogues as assassins
Also, how good is the Espionage Subdomain for an Inquisitor?
The subdomain would probably be just fine.
Since Asmodeus grants hell hounds at summon monster II, I was going to play a character called "The Mistress of Hounds" in Hell's Vengeance.
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So I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing with this. I want to do a guy with the skills to be a spy, so bluff, perception, sense motive, and knowledge skills are important. But beyond that, I haven't decided what else I'm doing. I haven't really decided what I'm doing with him in combat, which I think is the main thing I need to decide.
As has been pointed out, there are some good inquisitor options. The Trickery Domain, Knowledge (Memory) subdomain, Conversion inquisition, and Heresy inquisition all look like pretty good options offered by Norgberger. An inquisitor can only pick one of those four, so it's actually a tough choice. Trickery's probably the winner if I go melee for combat, though not nearly as good if I go with a ranged combat style instead.
The Infiltrator archetype looks VERY appropriate for this type of spy character. The wisdom bonus to bluff and diplomacy is nice, and it would let me to cast Protection from Evil, even though my god normally wouldn't grant me the ability to cast spells with the good descriptor. I was about to say that it would also let me hide my evil aura from paladins, but in looking at the inquisitor description, it looks like they don't get their god's alignment aura like clerics and paladins, which surprises me.
The Sanctified Slayer archetype gives up judgments for more roguish combat stuff, which could be decent, but that's not the stuff I was considering multi-classing to unchained rogue for. I really want to do an unchained rogue at some point to get free Weapon Finesse and dex added to damage, to make a pure dex melee build. So the question is whether I want to go unchained rogue with a dip in a divine class (probably inquisitor), or just do this guy as a straight inquisitor and do the rogue as a different character some other day. Or do I want to go with another class for combat stuff (like the brawler stuff recommended above) with a dip in inquisitor?
I think I'm leaning towards straight inquisitor, definitely with the Infiltrator archetype, and maybe the Sancified Slayer archetype. I'll have to read up on the class some, since I really don't know that much about it.
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"I have no problem with exploration. I have been happy to cooperate, up until this point." SSSHINK "But, I fear, I will not be reporting anything except your tragic deaths."
Heh. If he was a follow of Father Skinsaw, that might happen. But as a follower of the Reaper of Reputation, he's more interested in finding out secrets than murdering people. That's how I get away with being neutral worshiping this evil god. And it also gives him a good reason to play along with the Society over the long term, possibly never betraying them and revealing his true motivations.
I don't know where I heard it, but somebody mentioned a theory that Norgorber might actually be an entire evil adventuring party, not just one person that ascended using the Starstone. That would explain why he has 4 very different aspects, and his cults can worship him in 4 distinct ways, depending on the individual cult group.
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Another possibility is the Separatist cleric archetype: you get to pick a domain that your deity doesn't usually grant, so it would be really easy to pretend to be a cleric of a different deity. (Heck, I could see Norgorber actually granting "off" domains to his spies, just to help their cover...)
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So I've decided to go with the infiltrator inquisitor, primarily focused on being a skill monkey. For combat, I figure trying to melee will spread my stats too thin, so I'll stick to archery. That way, I can just focus on dex and don't need str or con as badly, though I still can't dump either of them. After all, everyone needs hit points and carrying capacity.
And I probably won't go with the sanctified slayer archetype. It's tempting, but I've never played an inquisitor before, and I already have another slayer-esque PC (druid with the nature's fang archetype), so I figure I'll stick to the typical judgments on this one.
So question #1: Is the birthmark trait absolutely mandatory for this guy? I can't imagine a divine caster pretending to worship a different deity being able to hide his unholy symbol while using it to cast spells. Maybe with an insane bluff skill (which I will have), but for PFS, the table variation on how a GM treats that could be huge. Anyone know of another way to handle this?
It looks like you've already which way to go with the character, but had you considered a Mesmerist? It has all the skills you want (and 6+ per level) and the stares and tricks can be easily translated into either pulling secrets from others, or locking or unlocking "secrets" within the minds of others.
the Umbral Mesmerist archetype would also be pretty good for this