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I would advise that you should not focus on AC with your TWF: focus on attack bonuses and damage. If you focus on AC, your attack (and therefore your overall damage) will be lower. Much like a fighter using a two-handed weapon, your offense is your best defense. The faster you take things out (by hitting frequently and hard), the less damage you will take.
Human Unchained Scaled Fist - all Scaled Fist Monk Levels S:18 D: 13 C: 12 I:10 W:10 C:14 (stat bumps go to STR)
Attack @ 11th w/ +3 Amulet of Mighty Fists,+4STR Belt, +1 Ioun Stone, Monk's Robe :
Damage: +7STR+3Magic+6PA = 2d6+16 (w/ Monk's Robe) With Medusa's Wrath, Dragon ferocity and Flurry of blows: +19/+19/+19/+19/+19/+14/+9 for 2d6+16 each attack (w/ an extra +3 on the first attack)
Kerney: This is Sean Clark. Good to see you on the advice boards - hope you are enjoying things since your move! I finally had some time to take a look at this again. Here's my suggestions, based on what it sounds like you are looking for: Race: Kitsune Str 10
+1 DEX at 4th, +1 CHA at 8th. Leveling - SF= Scaled Fist, UR= Unchained Rogue, DM=Devoted Muse PC Weapon of Choice: Cestus, a (19-20)x2 threat Monk weapon 1) SF1 - Weapon Finesse (retrained for free at level 2 to Weapon Focus; Dragon Style (Monk); Unarmed Strike; Stunning Fist; Flurry of Blows
7+ - Devoted Muse I am still not 100% sold on the Devoted Muse prestige class, but I think the above represents a very strong way to get there, if that is what you are looking for. Just for reference, this is the UnMonk build that I am currently playing (just hit level 4): Human Scaled Fist UnMonk Str 18
1) Weapon Focus: Sansetsukon; Power Attack (Human); Dragon Style (Monk)
I'm not sure I see the draw of Tiger Trance. The trance itself is solid, but having to completely waste an entire round to enter that trance ("Entering a trance is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity.") ruins the entire thing. How often will you be able to reap the benefits of a pouncing charge when you can never do it in the first round?
Snake Style would allow you to use your unarmed attack as piercing damage, but the crit range isn't high enough to mesh well with Swashbuckler. I was just looking for light (finessable) for piercing monk weapons with higher crit ranges, and the only thing I could find was the Cestus, with a (19-20)x2 crit range. That might be an option that would work well with both UnMonk and Swashbuckler.
I may be in the minority here, but I feel like UnMonk has such strong level-based class features that it makes it impractical for most multiclassing. Being able to flurry with a two-handed weapon is one of the class' greatest strengths, which you eliminate by choosing not to use a monk weapon. The Nine-ring broadsword (with a x3 crit) would be an option to use if you were STR-based (one handed weapon that you could use with two hands to maximize STR efficiency, but also use one-handed if needed). If you decide to tay DEX-based, the Fighting Fan offers a x3 crit (and its piercing!), which fits the move to your prestige class. I would also not worry so much about CHA at the expense of Will Saves and CON: starting with a 14 and working up to a +2 CHA item has proven to be sufficient for my UnMonk so far (but still in the early levels). The PreReqs for that prestige class make the cost of entry very expensive In either case, the focus on 3x and 4x crit weapons with that prestige class are counter-intuitive to the Swashbuckler's main way of rebuilding panache, which is critting (preferably with an 18-20 crit range AND keen or Improved Critical). It seems like you might get more by mixing UnMonk directly with Swashbuckler.
Taking away Judgements is a HUGE hit to any inquisitor: it is the ability that makes the Inquisitor viable for damage. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the use of Bane for level uses per day compares in any meaningful way to Judgements. IMO Judgements are to Inquisitors as Smite is to a Paladin: don't every take an archetype that gives up your best class features.
Just to see what that pretty basic, straight Scaled Fist build looks like at level 10, with some pretty basic equipment: Sansetsukon Attack w/ PA @ 10th level (w/ +2 Amulet, +2 Sansetsukon, +4 STR belt):
Unarmed Strikes w/ PA @ 10th level (w/ +2 Amulet, +2 Sansetsukon, +4 STR belt)
With Medusa's Wrath - which should always work when you have a ful attack, that is: 2 Attacks at +17 for 1d10+20 (Sansetsukon - w/ PA) PLUS 3 unarmed Attacks: +16/+16/+11 for 1d10+15 The attack bonus isn't huge, but Shatter Defenses means you are almost always fighting a flat footed opponent - and you have 5 pretty solid attacks per round - 6 if you want to spend a Ki point.
You guys are missing the beauty of unchained monk (2-handed weapons like the and the Sansetsukon, with full power attack bonuses)and feats that are allowed as bonuses for Scaled Fist: IMO your goal should be Cornugon Smash, Shattered Defenses and Medusa's Wrath. You will see some nice, big 2-handed weapon strikes, plus the ability to hit with a bunch of smaller unarmed strikes. 1) Weapon Focus: Sansetsukon; Power Attack (Human); Dragon Style (Monk)
Unchained Rogue combines very well with Weapon Master Fighter. Unchained Rogue / Weapon Master 1) R1 - Finesse Training; TWF; +1d8 Sneak
> My GM is trying to make my Paladin a Serial Killer I would say your DM is giving your paladin the opportunity to prove that he is dedicated to his faith and he will NOT become a serial killer. Find the source of the corruption. Refuse to turn to the dark side. Having said that, if you actually do die from NOT succumbing to the dark side and NOT committing murder - and you aren't reborn in some sort of angelic form - I would seriously consider leaving that gaming group. Playing a paladin being challenged by corruption and the forces of evil is fun. Playing a paladin that is forced by the DM to succumb to evil or die is NOT fun.
Create a new spell? Greater Create Water School conjuration (creation) [water]; Level cleric 2, druid 2, paladin 3 Casting Time 1 standard action Components V, S Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) Effect up to 4 gallons of water/level Duration instantaneous Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no This spell generates wholesome, drinkable water, just like clean rain water. Water can be created in an area as small as will actually contain the liquid, or in an area three times as large—possibly creating a downpour or filling many small receptacles.
Simpler and cleaner IMO w/o the Tiger Style Chain: 1) Weapon Focus: Sansetsukon; Power Attack (Human); Dragon Style (Monk)
You are right: I would have to retrain Steadfast personality at 11, instead of Iron Will. Scaled Fist Will saves suck. I'm not sure if it is worth it to trade +5 Will saves (Iron Will and Stedfast Personality w/ a +2 CHA item) for a +3 bonus to hit (Tiger Style transfers the penalty from attack to AC when you use Power Attack).
Human Scaled Fist Unchained Monk 1) Weapon Focus: Sansetsukon; Power Attack (Human); Dragon Style (Monk)
Unarmed Strikes @ 11th, w/ +1 Amulet, +4 STR belt, +1 Ioun Stone & Tiger PA
Medusa's Wrath Routine - against a Cornugon Smash's opponent @ 11th level: +21+21/+21/+16 for 1d10+20
Using two standard actions to setup teamwork feats certainly isn't abuse since you aren't doing anything offensive with those turns. Having said that, I like the build: making your party members more effective is always fun. I have an 8th level PFS bard (a very simple build) that hands out +6 to hit and +5 damage with one round of buffing (Haste + Inspire Courage + Flagbearer + Banner of the Ancient Kings). He makes any melee or archer build an absolute monster - especially flurrying monks and TWFers - and that is a ton of fun!
I also only went with a single level into Living Monolith, as I wanted the feats from Lore Warden. Here's the build: Half Elf Lore Warden 8 / Master of Many Styles 2 / Living Monolith 1
Do you really need extra reach plus the enlarge person from LM? An enlarged LM wiht a reach weapon threatens out to 20 feet: I haven't found too many circumstances where that wasn't sufficient. I went with a combo of Lore Warden and Master of Many Styles. Plenty of feats from the Fighter Archetype (helps with prereqs as well as all of the trip-related feats), and gives you Improved Unarmed Strike to deal with creatures adjacent to you. Dragon Style and Tiger Pounce are very useful to a build like this: Dragon Style gets you positioned quickly and efficiently, Tiger Pounce removes the penalty to attack for Power Attack (transferring it to an AC penalty).
This seems kind of all over the place, to be honest: it isn't very focused. Sohei only allows flurry with light armor, from what I can see. Monk Evasion only works with no armor. You are looking to wear Stoneplate, which is the heaviest armor possible (and doesn't have any advantage that I can find over normal plate?). Why Sohie? Why Stoneplate? I like Living Monolith a lot, but I think you should focus on things that work well with Enlarge Person (trip?), rather than the Sohei bits. I have a very strong PFS tripping/damage build that takes one level of Living Monolith - and it works great. Can you tell us what it is that you are trying to accomplish? What will this character excel at? What makes them tick?
Improved Critcal is pretty much always preferred to Keen for a fighter (with their abundant feats). On the other hand, adding +1 to a weapon (+1 to hit and damage) compares well to Greater Weapon Focus (+1 to hit only). Critical Focus works well at 10, and then you can start looking at crit feats at 11, or Critical Versatility if your fighter is Human.
The big reasons to get a +5 Weapon ASAP is to bypass as much DR as you can (meaning you're doing RAW damage and don't have to waste Smites just to deal with enemies that have a ton of DR), and to boost your to-hit as much as you can (which translates to more hits, which means more on-hit effects, like Smite, activate). This, but with a couple of things to add. In my experience +4 is essential to bypass all types of weapon material DR. Varying types of arrows may be an optin, but at some point you are shooting way too many arrows a round to have to worry about how many adamantine arrows you have on hand. In most cases Seeking is the other enhancement that you are going to want. In the case of any campaign where a majority of your battles are against evil targets, Holy is the next big add: Holy not only gives you extra damage versus those targets, but it also helps by pass DR/Good. Maybe less of an issue as a Paladin, but worth considering if you find yourself running out of Smites - and/or you don't already have the Paladin ability to grant Holy to your bow. As others have said, adding an extra +1 to the enhancement of the bow isn't particularly sexy, but you will hit more often with that extra +1 to attack - especially on your lower-bonus iterative attacks. Things like Cyclonic and Ghost Touch are great to have on your backup bow(s), if you feel like you really need them. Seeking may fit into this category too, depending on the campaign. For instance ou may eventually have 3 or 4 bows: +4 Holy for general use
What you guys are talking about isn't PC flirting - it is about the monk forcing himself on a character that doesn't seem to be interested. Aside from how screwed up that is from an RPG point of view, there is the issue of these unwanted advances, as well as the issue of sexual objectification of women. Why are you treating this situation any different because the PC is female? I would call that a double standard. Bottom line? If you are OK with the way that your character can "make the Which fall in love with me", I would suggest that the player playing the Witch might want to consider rolling up an a high-Intimidate oversexed gay Half-Orc Barbarian instead. Half-Orcs need love, too.
Warpriest Quickened Blessing can't happen until you take 10 levels. That's not going to help when you are looking to dip a couple of levels. Most of these suggestions really aren't going to help unless you are looking to rebuild: fighter archers do what they do very well, but they don't do much else. There are some options to looks at that will give you trick shots and such that might be fun, in the Weapon Master's Handbook. Things like the ability to open/close, move items, and also some focused around improved trips and such. One thing that I've done with my Fighter Archer in PFS that helps with the monotony is to spend some time moving around the battlefield and setting up flanks for people using Snap Shot. Its technically not as efficient as standing in one place and using full round attacks, but it allows you to help the other players shine (taking the damage spotlight off the archer), which improves my enjoyment of the games as much as it does theirs.
I am going to buck the trend here. If you are going Core Rulebook only, you are going to have a really hard time with damage on a DEX-based fighter, since the DEX-to-damage stuff (equipment like Agile enhancement or various class features or feats) aren't going to be available to you. If you GM will allow you to move your stats around, I would suggest you move that 17 from CON gto STR (becoming a 15) - and then put all of your stat bumps (levels 4, 8 and 12) into STR. You will have decent to hit (because of your size bonus) and moderate damage (especially after you bump STR to 16 - and then 18 - as you level). It also saves you two feets (Weapon Finesse and XWP: Elven Curve Blade). Str 15, Con 15, Dex 18, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 15 F1) Weapon Focus: Falchion (or a reach weapon?); Toughness
As mentioned by several people, if you are going to function as the primary tank, you are going to need some tactical help. Having a dedicated healer (typically cleric or life oracle) would help a lot, and they can also work to buff/de-buff. An arcane caster that focuses on battle field control and buff/de-buffs would be a very welcome addition. Multi-classing as a Brawler is typically not a good idea: all of your class skills improve as you level - and the things that you would get from dipping into another class for a level or two are not going to have a significant affect on your ability to survive. I can appreciate why you took Combat Expertise, as it is a gateway feat that allows you take feats like Improved Trip and Improved Grapple, but those combat maneuver feats are ones that you shouldn't take, as you can fill those feats easily with Martial Flexibility. By the time that you qualify for Greater Trip, you can use a move action to grant your self Improved and Greater Trip through Martial Flexibility, so no need to take those feats as level or bonus feats. I am not usually a fan of Dodge, but it sounds like you are in pretty desperate need of improving your AC and your hitpoints. Dodge can also be considered a gateway feat for Martial Flexibility, allowing you to pickup Spring Attack with just two uses of Martial Flexibility (or Whirlwind later, at 10th level with 3 uses of Flexibility). You might want to consider Toughness, too, especially without a dedicated healer. Also, look to see if you can find fairly cheap magic items to help sure up your deficiencies: Amulet of Natural Armor, Ring of Deflection, Brawler armor, etc.
Responding aggressively will not always: a) make you correct or b) make you very popular. My opinion: feats aren't "spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons". They are feats. I also disagree with the idea that this is a guide. It isn't a guide, it is a build, and a build that most people will (based on all of the feedback so far!) find find to be questionable. If YOUR GM in YOUR home game finds your arguments valid - and rules in your favor - more power to ya.
BlingerBunny the Weapon Master's Handbook has some great options for tripping, disarming and various other "utility" kinds of ranged trick shots that might meet your needs. You can find online resources by searching for the feat. Marksman’s Utility Finesse Shot Liberating Shot If your GM is open to using the optional Called SHot rules, you may want to look at Ace Disarm and Ace Trip, too.
You are reading a lot into the OP's request that isn't there. They aren't asking if they should multiclass, or how to make the character more versatile out of compbat. They are asking whether there are good archetype options, or if they should stay core fighter - and how to make the character a better combatant. Even so, let's take a look at the last 2 levels of the build so far, levels 12 and 13. How does fighter stack up versus a multiclass dip? Those two levels of (vanilla) fighter yield: +2 BAB
You are going to compare that to what? A 2 level dip into a casting class that will net a gain of 1 BAB, probably a +3 to WILL, and access to first level spells? The ability to use wands? Go monk for a boost to all saves, and the ability to do mediocre unarmed damage (when you could instead use your bow instead, w/o provoking)? Alchemist? +3 to your two best saves: Ref and Fort. The ability to cast 1st level spells on yourself, access to bombs that do much less damage than your arrows, and a mutagen that boosts your attack by 2, while penalizing your worst save (Will by an equal amount). Not really sure why you would think that would be helpful.
Attack stats at level 13 with a +4 DEX belt, Gloves of Dueling and a +3 bow - and the build suggested above (straight vanilla fighter): Attack: +13BAB+8DEX+3Magic+2WeaponFocus+5WeaponTraining-2RapidShot: +29/+29/+24/+19 for 1d8+13 (19-20)x3 Damage: +1STR+4WeaponSpecialization+5WeaponTraining+3Magic= +13 With Deadly Aim (-4 for +8 damage): +25/+25/+20/+15 for 1d8+21 (19-20)x3 Unbuffed. With Armor Training you could wear a +3 Mithral Breastplate using your full DEX, for a base AC (before rings, amulets, etc) of 27 - and no reduction in movement.
Multiclassing at this level takes away your strengths: your attack and your BAB. Please don't throw that away. Pickup magic items to shore up your weak Will save (Cap of the Free Thinker, maxing out your Cloak of Resistance, etc), and/or spend a feat or two on Improved/Iron Will - but don't dilute your attack by multiclassing. Ignore REF saves and focus on Will: you will have enough HP that low REF won't hurt you. Gloves of Dueling and a +3 bow are your friends: your attack bonus will be high enough (BAB, DEX, Weapon Focuses, Weapon Training) that you will be hitting with your tertiary attacks. You may want to consider re-arranging your starting stats to shore up your weakness (Will Saves) and keep your DEX high: STR: 12
This still gets you to 26 DEX at level 13 (w/ your +4 belt), giving up 13 HP (shouldn't hurt too bad since you are a ranged combatant) and dumps CHA (which you won't use anyway) to get you +2 to Will saves.
OK, Donogar: I do like the idea of a heavily armored, mobile Dwarven cleric, but I gotta ask: why do you always recommend stone plate, rather than full plate? There isn't any functional difference if you can wear metal armor, and the stone plate is heavier. What gives? Also, base (and armored)speed for Dwarven cleric with Travel and Liberation is 30', not 40. Not sure where you are getting the extra 10' from unless you are assuming that Longstrider is always on? If that is the case, there isn't any functional difference between your Dwarf and any normal Medium sized creature. I human with Longstrider plus Travel domain would have a 50 base speed, 40' in heavy armor.
Take a look at Weapon Master Fighter Archetype: you get Weapon Training bonuses earlier than other Fighter types, at the expense of Armor Training, which you really don't need with your high DEX. The bonuses to your CMD against sunder and disarm may come in handy of your DM wants to try to screw you up with AOO's (partially mitigated by Point Blank Master). Watch out for opponents who can trip you. Start with a 12 STR and put the extra 3 build points into DEX: DEX is that important to your build. This will give you a 26 DEX after the level 4, 8 and 12 bumps. The difference between a Fighter-based archer and any other Pathfinder archer is your attack bonus, which is based on your full BAB, your DEX, unique fighter-only feats (eg GWF) and Weapon Training: max your attack bonus and you will put Rangers and Zen Archer Monks to shame with your overall damage output. Improved Critical is more important at level 13 than Greater Snapshot. With Point Blank Master there is no reason to use other weapons: use your bow all the time. Check out the feats Disruptive and Spellbreaker if you want to be able to get up close and personal with spellcasters - and light them up.
There are a TON of problems whit that reach/force build that was posted. Combat Advice feat? A move action to give somebody a +2 bonus to hit is not very cost effective: that's a wasted action - and a wasted feat. Take a look at the Quick Channel feat if you want to improve your action economy: the ability to channel twice in a round (once as a move action, once as a standard) in emergencies is PRICELESS. You may also want to look at Extra Channel if you go the Quick route: you will find that you burn a lot of extra channels using Quick when you want to cast a spell and Channel n the same round. Empowering an Instant Weapon spell has no additional effect, as there are no variable numeric effects. Instant Weapon does not have the Force descriptor, so Toppling does not work with that spell. The Bodyguard feat only works with allies who are adjacent to you - which means you can't use your reach weapon to make those AOO's. Magic item to check out:
The Swashbuckler advice is great, but missing the most important level 3 Swashbuckler feature: Menacing Swordplay (Ex): At 3rd level, while she has at least 1 panache point, when a swashbuckler hits an opponent with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon, she can choose to use Intimidate to demoralize that opponent as a swift action instead of a standard action. Combine with Shatter Defenses at BAB 6 and now you can sneak attack all day long on opponents that can be intimidated. Swashbuckler also multiclasses very well with Rogue or Ninja for Sneak damage. I would recommend eventually carrying Swashbuckler to level 5 for Weapon Training, but level 3 is the most critical piece for Intimidate as a swift action.
Pwn: if you don't have anything constructive to add to a resurrected thread, why post? For anybody considering Mithral Full Plate for PFS and reading RainyDayNinja's post, please disregard: Mithral full plate (@10,500 GP)is available to PFS characters with 27 fame, which isn't very high level.
What is it about the full plate that is bothering you? The only disadvantages of wearing full plate are the movement penalty (which for most purposes is the same as medium armor, unless you are running), and the armor check penalty (which isn't likely to cause you too many problems unless you are a roguish, skill-based character). If you are focusing on the armor check penalty, the difference between full plate (-6) and a breastplate (-4) is pretty minimal, and your armor class is almost certainly going to be better in the full plate. Mobility and ranged characters don't mix particularly well in Pathfinder: if you are maximizing your efficiency as an archer, you want to NOT move anymore than absolutely necessary, so that you can full attack nearly every round. What is it that you don't like about the plate?
Your description of your character makes it sounds like he is highly optimized full caster. The other characters that you are describing sound like they have niche abilities, but are not particularly game-breaking in their build/execution. And +18 to init is really high: don't kid yourself by saying "it could be higher". It does sound like the GM is trying to adjust things to make them more challenging for the party - and he may (as already mentioned) be trying to allow the other players in the party to have their own moments to shine. That's his job as a GM: to make it challenging enough to be fun for everybody. Yes, it sounds like he is clearly struggling with how to deal with your character (or maybe more accurately you, as a player) breaking all of the encounters - and he obviously isn't doing a great job with doing that in a logical way. I would definitely suggest that you talk to your friend and try to work this out with him, but I think you need to own some responsibility for this situation. By optimizing your sorcerer the way that you have, and by using your player knowledge and experience (would your sorcerer really risk his familiar to have him scout a dangerous location, or is that a player strategy? You seem to be playing your sorcerer like a high-INT strategist wizard - how smart is he?) you've put a crazy amount of pressure on a novice GM: you aren't leaving him a lot of options.
Barb simply can't handle all the feat requirements for Thunder and Fang. Viking Fighters make better use of it, as they have the spare feats, get bonuses for having a "shield", and can even rage. So if you don't mind your class not actually saying barbarian, but want to do thunder and fang, it's the better option. Not true. And especially not true if you are starting at 9th level. Human Thunder and Fang Barbarian: 1) Weapon Focus: Earth Breaker; Weapon Focus: Klar
Even from a pure optimization point of view there is quite a bit of misinformation in this thread that seems to stem from a lack of understanding of how crit ranges and multipliers affect damage output. The fauchard and falcata are both mathematically worthwhile for high-STR two-handed melee builds, as they both give significant bonuses to damage that stack with Power Attack and either Keen or Improved Critical. This is particularly true in PFS, where you can always pick the exact type of magical weapon that you arm your character with. Fauchard is hands down the best reach weapon in the game. Falcata makes an amazing two-handed weapon when you double that threat range to (17-20)x3, with the added (and rather important) benefit of being able to be wielded one-handed if you are grappled. It also makes for amazing builds with an animated shield, due to the 1H/2H flexibility.
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