I'm looking for a PC Class for the Aristocrat. Something that is largely non-combat / influence based and would serve as a more challenging ally / enemy for the PC's should they ever be at odds with a strong ruler.
I know that Star Wars D20 had something like this, but am wondering if anyone else has something similar?
The Rogue Phantom Thief archetype might be what you're looking for.
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Some flavor of vigilante might do the trick, or one of the other archetypes from Ultimate Intrigue.
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So let's break down what an aristocrat has:
Hit die: d8
Class skills: Lots
Skill ranks: 4+int
BAB: 3/4
Saves: Good will only
Proficiency: All simple and martial weapons, all armor, all shields.
It has no class features.
Honestly you need to come up with more specifics about what you want a particular aristocrat to be, because there are plenty of classes that come close to covering all those bases and have more class features to back it up.
Heck, a level of fighter with levels of unchained rogue could do quite well.
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So let's break down what an aristocrat has:
Hit die: d8
Class skills: Lots
Skill ranks: 4+int
BAB: 3/4
Saves: Good will only
Proficiency: All simple and martial weapons, all armor, all shields.It has no class features.
Honestly you need to come up with more specifics about what you want a particular aristocrat to be, because there are plenty of classes that come close to covering all those bases and have more class features to back it up.
Heck, a level of fighter with levels of unchained rogue could do quite well.
Since it has no class features, it's a prime candidate for Variant Multi-Classing.
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No, I wouldn't agree with that.
Since it has no class features you're better choosing anything with class features. VMC replaces some of your feats, to give you some (usually) weak class powers. These powers will have nothing to synergize with.
The Major Domo archetype is the only thing that even comes close in Pathfinder. There have been a few 3pp classes built around the idea, but I don't recall any that did it particularly well, and certainly nothing with Ultimate Intrigue in mind.
Unfortunately, Pathfinder seems to be firmly in the position that only action heroes get to be awesome.
Cercei and Tyrion Lannister, Margerie Tyrell, Little Finger, and Sansa Stark are all completely unsupported as both playable characters and as viable antagonists in Pathfinder.
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Mesemerist.
It is perfect for manipulating people (you can even cast right in front of them without them knowing it at level 1 if you grab the cunning caster feat - psychic magic basically stilled and silenced in return for its own problem mechanics)
It has similar stats to the listed aristocrat (3/4 BAB, good will, some skill points, etc), and a LOT of its class features are built around doing things that people can never notice (unnerving gaze, painful gaze, etc).
I've toyed with a build for a half orc mesmerist that tries to disguise himself as a human noble/knight. He has a half dozen backstories varying between being a mere slave to being the illegitimate son of a fallen noble house... and he will use every one of those backstories as needed, depending on what gets sympathies.
Anyway... making the nobles of the setting into mesmerists seems like it could be interesting backstory. I mean... how did they come into power? Psychic manipulation. Why are they so strict about bloodlines? Cause they need strong bloodlines if they want to keep this power up. You could make this whole series of etiquette and social rules into a long running, well maintained type of manipulation. Does the party try to uncover and reveal this long standing manipulation by leading an uprising?
Or do they quietly accept it because the current nobles are somehow able to orc tyrants, elf nobility, dwarven kings, vengeful angels, and mad demon lords to all sit at a table, enjoy a nice dinner, and calmly discuss their problems... In a world with this many threats, is it unjustified to manipulate minds on such a scale for peace?
bard, inquisitor, vigilante, cavalier... urban ranger to some extent...
bards don't get all martial weapons but other than that I think they check every box, plus they have spells that can buff their skills as well as combat. racial weapons can help cover the missing weapons, or a 1 level dip. A daring champion cavalier 1/bard x-1 would prabably have every skill an aristocrat gets (with more skill points every level but first), plus all the proficiencies, and a lot of solid class features. That's probably the best way to go IMO.
You are looking for a PC class, but is this for a PC or NPC?
dandy ranger
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I'm looking for a PC Class for the Aristocrat. Something that is largely non-combat / influence based and would serve as a more challenging ally / enemy for the PC's should they ever be at odds with a strong ruler.
I know that Star Wars D20 had something like this, but am wondering if anyone else has something similar?
LSJ has the Noble Class. Paizo sells the Legends of the Shining Jewel rulebook on this site.
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Into the Breach: The Forgotten Classes contains archetypes for the NPC classes, including Aristocrat.
The Noble Wastrel and the Tax Assessor might be worth looking into, though neither fits the »strong ruler« description perfectly.
A Magical medieval Society: Western Europe has a template for kings. They get some defences (Spell resistance, DR etc.), a Smite-like ability and an ability which makes them undetectable by magic means and some other stuff. It's a nice way to make a ruler function in a high-magic setting without being a high-level spellcaster.
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... Bard?
Forget about music. Perform Oratory is where it's at. Battlefield speeches that inspire all who hear them. Inspire Competence to exhort your councilors to do their job well when discussing kingdom business. The spell list is fine too; it covers dramatic entrances, saying no with a straight face, making orders stick, checking the bona fides of your councilors, being known as "the just", putting your face on the coinage, making it through dinner, going incognito to see how people really talk about you, detecting manipulation, not getting held up, getting in and out unseen, escaping to rule another day, researching your family history, rule a far-flung realm, check up on your subjects, and The Charge of the Dark Brigade
I'm looking for a PC Class for the Aristocrat. Something that is largely non-combat / influence based and would serve as a more challenging ally / enemy for the PC's should they ever be at odds with a strong ruler.
I know that Star Wars D20 had something like this, but am wondering if anyone else has something similar?
So I should have been more specific. I'm looking for an NPC class, non-combat / non-spell caster. Their only job is to be an NPC rulers with loads of class abilities dedicated towards influence and manipulation of resources.
PC classes I have seen so far (and I've looked at the suggestions posted already) all focus on those with PC abilities, which is not the point. This NPC is a guy that never leaves his throne room or council chamber, and yet is still powerful in doing so.
Any suggestion?
Other than adepts, NPC classes have skills and proficiencies and nothing else. That's part of why they're NPC classes.
My immediate impression of vigilante was that it was the aristocrat as a PC class.
A custom vigilante archetype where all the combat talents are traded out for more social talents (or for appropriate abilities lifted from other classes/archetypes) might do the trick for you.
During 3.0 I found myself dissatisfied with the NPC classes as a whole - XPs were a commodity to be spent, mostly on leveling, but as a resource to create items as well. I'd occasionally have a player that wanted to use NPC class levels because they were a more accurate representation of the characters background.
To support the basic math Reflexive Property - that: a = a
and thus 2000xp should (at least as best as possible) = 2000xp, I made a set of house rules to improve the NPC classes. As best as I can recall this is what I did, still weaker than the Base classes, but not completely gimping if someone wanted to play non-magical sage type or a noble...
Hit die: (all were bumped up 1 die type)
Skill ranks: all got +2 more per level, commoner got 4+int
BAB: Warrior got +1 per level all others stayed the same
Saves: stayed the same
Features:
All NPC classes got a bonus feat every 4 levels
Commoner:
2nd - Endurance
6th - Skill Focus
Adept:
2nd - Brew Potion
6th - Familiar or Animal Companion
Expert:
2nd - Skill Focus or an armor prof. or martial weapon prof.
6th - Skill Focus or Greater Skill Focus
Aristocrat:
2nd - Skill Focus
6th - Leadership
Warrior:
2nd - Endurance
6th - Toughness
So I should have been more specific. I'm looking for an NPC class, non-combat / non-spell caster. Their only job is to be an NPC rulers with loads of class abilities dedicated towards influence and manipulation of resources.
PC classes I have seen so far (and I've looked at the suggestions posted already) all focus on those with PC abilities, which is not the point. This NPC is a guy that never leaves his throne room or council chamber, and yet is still powerful in doing so.
Any suggestion?
There are only 4 NPC classes, one which is a spellcaster. There are some 3PP products which expand on these, I mentioned one above.
And really, even PC classes only have one tool to influence people without restoring to magic. That's skills.
Pick up a level of Expert for 10 class skills of your choice and Aristocrat for some more and martial weapon proficiency. Then just keep adding crazy many levels and putting lots of skill points in Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, Knowledge skills and Sense Motive. Find feats that raises skills, like Skill Focus.
If you want, you can give the NPC higher ability scores than just the non-heroic, 13 high one.
So I should have been more specific. I'm looking for an NPC class, non-combat / non-spell caster. Their only job is to be an NPC rulers with loads of class abilities dedicated towards influence and manipulation of resources.
"Influence and manipulation of resources" reminds me of the Major Domo archetype for Investigators.
NPC classes are designed not to have a great deal of abilities: they are made simple and easy to build.
As a PC class, I'd say you'd want a Stalker Vigilante, and if you go human, I'd recommend taking the option for multiple Skill Focus feats over the single 1st level bonus feat.
Guises:
Vigilante - King Fordarious the Stern (LN)
Social - King Fordarious, the friendly and easygoing man who wishes he had more time to divulge into his studies of alchemy (NG)
Example:
1 Persuasive
1 B Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
1 ST Social Grace (Diplomacy)
2 AT Rogue Talent: Esoteric Scholar
3 Antagonize
3 ST Renown
4 AT Rogue Talent: Guileful Polyglot
5 Recruits
5 ST Loyal Aid
6 AT Rogue Talent: Minor Magical Talent (Message)
7 Call Truce (When you need the entire Court to sit down and shut up.)
7 ST Great Renown
8 AT Rogue Talent: Major Magical Talent (Clarion Call)
8 B Skill Focus (Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive, or Kn. Nobility)
9 Cutting Humiliation
9 ST Gossip Collector
10 AT Inspired Vigilante (Gain Investigator's Inspiration)
The question ends up being 'what do you need for the role?'. How would this class -- let's call it 'Duchess' -- actually do what you want?
Skills are one major way of getting things done. Aristocrats get a good mess, experts do too and then there's PC classes like rogue and bard.
Feats? Which ones? And remember, NPC classes can get them. A level 1 commoner likely has Skill Focus in Profession (peasant) or something similar. And once that peasant gets to level 7 ... well, Leadership's a feat. And a ruler who's been pumping Charisma and has a keep (which isn't really a class feature, more like backstory or terrain) gets bonuses.
Aside from those, class features as we usually see don't really add much to administration. Channel Energy can make your peasants feel better, Animal Fury can make them need Channel Energy if they're nearby when you get angry, and Bardic Performance can help make your use of Animal Fury seem not quite as outrageous as it should be, but ... yeah.
Overall, NPC classes are probably those whose roles are more determined by plot importance than game mechanics. Unless you've got a barbarian-style chiefdom, BAB and armour proficiencies won't really matter in rulership. (Besides, you don't want to see Queen Elizabeth II unleash her rage powers. Trust me.)