Brad McDowell's page

Harpy...tastes like chicken??

Here's a crazy idea. Half elf with the Arcane Training (race/racial...whatever) trait.

You lose your (dual) Favored Class Bonus, but gain the ability to cast wands from one class' spell list, like say...wizard.

Combine this with your Quinggong ideas for arcane awesomeness.

Have you tinkered with Butterfly Sting yet?
Is the secondary martial willing to build around it?

But he cant stay at 2 claw attacks for the rest of his lvls.

Feral Combat Training

FCT is your answer to having multiple attacks in a full round.

My build is Ninja 6, HW 3, then more ninja. Dimensional Savant happens at level 13. I went Half Orc (always darkvision, floating +2), and dual wield waki's.

Sadly, the limitations to armor and weapons means he'll be stuck using a sling or quarterstaff the first three levels...

If you're gonna worship Saranrae, and you're a Druid, why are you not considering a scimitar?

I have a 3rd level Oradin in Society play. My only regret is that I waited so long to play him.

My build is Paladin 4/Oracle 2/Holy Vindicator rest.

The Hunter becomes the hunted...but this time by 2 different groups (your PC's should have a boss that wants him alive). Have the BH separated from his gear. Maybe one group has the guy and the other group gets the gear. Maybe they get holed up in a keep/temple/tower and they have to defend it from waves of attacks.
Will your PC's trust him enough to hand him a blade? Will your PC's turn him in to their boss? Will your PC's help him get his vengeance?

Dervish Dancing Bard
Option 1...Solo TWF (using Kukri or Half Elf with Ancestral Arms Wakizashi)
Level 1 Arcane Strike
Level 3 OPEN (I threw in Deific Obedience Irori...+4 to all Knowledges)
Level 5 TWF
Level 7 Weapon Focus
Level 9 Imp TWF

At Level 9, your Battle Dancing Full Attack is +9/+9/+9/+4/+4. Your weapons crit on a 15-20.
I did not include your STR modifier and weapon enhancements. This build does have room for Weapon Finesse.

Option 2...Butterfly Sting (using Kukri or Half Elf with Ancestral Arms Wakizashi)
Level 1 Combat Expertise
Level 3 Butterfly Sting
Level 5 TWF
Level 7 Weapon Focus
Level 9 Imp TWF

At Level 9, your Battle Dancing Full Attack is +9/+9/+9/+4/+4. Your weapons crit on a 15-20. You pass your criticals off to your heavy hitting buddy.
I did not include your STR modifier and weapon enhancements.

Build around the feat Combat Patrol.

Is it too late to suggest Half Orc? You get darkvision, falchion and greataxe proficiency, Sacred Tattoo bonuses with Fate's Favored and some Intimidate.

But you'd want a STR build.

So true, London, but taking Shaping Focus at level 7 would let me take 4 levels of something Martial to really pump the damage. Hhmm...

There are some spells available too. My bard uses Chord of Shards and Blistering Invective.

The build is to wildshape into a Triceratops and to have a Triceratops animal companion. With everything that is out now, I felt a little overwhelmed with how to build this. Here's what I think I know...

6 levels Saurian Shaman Druid.
Levels in Hunter?
Levels in Cavalier?

I know the feat Shaping Focus should be in there.
How best do I increase my own damage?
How best do I increase Tubby's damage?
How do I work in Teamwork feats?

Thanks for your help!! (Assume this is for a PFS character!!)

Elemental, Air...

Universal Monster Rules...

The best rule I see is...
Some creatures can transform themselves into whirlwinds and remain in that form for up to 1 round for every 2 HD they have.

And your DC is based on the size of elemental you wildshape into.

Diplomacy is generally ineffective in combat and against creatures that intend to harm you or your allies in the immediate future.

Diplomacy isn't really tied to combat initiative.

Bran and Hodor?

I like the idea, and Ranger is the way to go. Wands at Level 1, just sayin...
How about:
STR 15
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 08
WIS 13
CHA 11

Umm I don't have any ki people...

"Let's eat, Grandma."

"Let's eat Grandma."

Punctuation is important, which Ravingdork understands and uses appropriately.

If you stay Lawful Good, you can use Believer's Boon and Believer's Hands from the ACG. Combine with Fey Foundling, and you can single class an Oradin.

Edit.
Another route for an animal friend are the feats...Nature Soul, Animal Ally and Boon Companion.

I concur wholeheartedly with ELS.

Human right?
STR 16
DEX 10
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 08
CHA 17 (15+2)

Or go Half Elf so that you can get the extra Hit Point every level from both Paladin and Oracle levels.

If this build is "focused" on melee...how many Life Links do you really plan on needing? Even in a party of 6, you plus 2 more party members are gonna front line. You could really get away with 2 levels of Oracle, and really hit the Paladin levels.

There's no way you'll survive as a melee Oradin with 12 Con. No way. 14 if you're crazy, 16 is where my Oradin is at.

Not kidding. 12 Con will kill you. And then your party will die.

Because as an Oradin, I assume you'll be Life Linking at least 2 others, maybe 3. 3 Life Links is 15 points per round, assuming a GM is spreading around the damage. And if you're a melee, you're a viable target too.

Is the Hospitaler Archtype in APG? I can't remember. If it is, that helps some with heals but lowers your smites.

I certainly agree with the Tongues Curse.

Actually, why 5 levels of Oracle? More oracle means less Paladin. Less Paladin means less melee. I'd suggest 3 levels at most, mine runs 2.

My Oradin is also going Holy Vindicator. So my build is 4 Pal, 2 Oracle, rest HV. Look into it. It's melee goodness.

Moment of Clarity? But of course if combat is spent...well...combatting things, I won't be casting. I like your thinking.

Rage and a power, fast movement, greatsword proficiency

This is what I want..
CG Half Elf, melee focused

A. 1 level of Cleric (Desna, Luck and Travel), rest in Barbarian
or
B. 2 levels of Barbarian, rest in Cleric (Desna, Luck and Travel)

Building (A) is my wheelhouse for style of play. My question is...I could go option (B) and still be effective in melee, AND have a lot more spell casting ability. I would probably dump CHA either way and not worry so much about channeling.

1) What is most likely to kill me? Low hit points, low AC, or low saving throws? (If the latter, which one(s)?)

Saving throws...What's that saying? Failed Fort saves somethings you, failed Dex saves kill you, failed Wis saves kills your friends.

2) How often will I actually encounter traps or other situations that a rogue should specialize in? I seem to make Perception checks all the time. Should I thus get the "trap-spotting" talent that checks automatically?

If you're set on Rogue, max your trap stuff. If you don't, they'll laugh at you.

3) Should I focus on melee, archery, or skills? (TWF looks handy for the former, but it carries a -2 attack penalty, and I haven't had that many full-round attacks yet.) Getting close to do sneak attacks does more damage, but it also puts me at greater risk than if I stayed at a distance and fired into fights with Precise Shot if/when I get it.

TWF for a rogue is a trap. You're already behind on BAB, and there's no way for you to self buff. sneak attack on ranged is impossible. i suggest a weapon that your race gives you access to and go to town with that. speaking of race...does dwarf or half orc offend you? dwarf rogue is pretty super for traps and such, darkvision, and a big ol hammer to sneak attack with. just sayin

4) Rather than a longsword/rapier, is getting an elven curved blade worth spending two feats (Martial Proficiency and Weapons Finesse) for?

No. not worth it. not even close.

5) What is more important for a low-level rogue (melee or ranged): +1 to attack, or +1 to damage?

I'll concur with +1 to attack.

The druid that focuses on spellcasting...

Don't make it obvious, but there's always a reason that the bad guys need these 2 alive. So if something goes wrong, they go to jail, or they go to the dungeon, or they get sold into slavery, or they get tortured for information.

What exactly are you going for here thematically?

It is so awesome there's someone out there that still cares about theme. I thought I was the only one. That being said, for this dude I don't have one yet. Something will come up. Mostly...swift heal, then full attack...have lots of feats.

Have you considered just skipping Believer's Hands and going two weapon fighting Paladin?

Yes, I've considered it. Hell, I've even played it.

TWF needs 15 dex to start...

So you're suggesting Ranger or Slayer? I was leaning that way too...

Hi all. I'm looking for a build that includes both Believer's Hands (ACG, allows one to use Paladin's Lay on Hands) and some version of Two Weapon Fighting (the feat itself, Monk's FoB, Brawler, hell...even Dervish Dance Bard's inherent haste class ability...i forgot what its called...Rain of Blows maybe).

My front runners so far are Ranger, Slayer, Monk, Brawler and aforementioned Dervish Dancing Bard. If you'd like to drop some suggestions, thanks!! I prefer to build using PFS rules, but whatever floats your boat.

You're good!! Welcome to the club!! Have you been working on creating your first character?

If we're starting a petition or something here, sign me up. I'd love a SC shirt.

Half Orc, use Orc Double Axe, also grab Toothy for a Bite attack
STR 19
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 08
WIS 13
CHA 07

Feats:
1. Weapon Focus: Orc Double Axe
2. TWF Feat: Two-weapon fighting
3. Power Attack
5. Two Weapon Defense
6. TWF Feat: Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
7. Feat undecided
9. Feat undecided
10. TWF Feat: Greater Two-Weapon Fighting
11. Two-Weapon Rend

Oradin?
Paladin 4, Life Oracle 2 (some people will say 3), then Holy Vindicator.
That's the chassis, there's a lot of ways to fancy it up.

6 levels of Half Orc Bard Dervish Dancer.

Dwarf Zen Archer
Dwarf Casty Druid
Dwarf Sensei Ki Mystic Monk

Have these players ever said out loud...."Dang, how did they (other PC, NPC, BBEG, etc) do that? That was pretty cool."

That's your cue.

you don't do that, john, the GM/event coordinator does it (on the website). you just follow your chronicle sheets.

I assume you have a PFS number and all that?

If Quinggong isn't enough spellcasting...consider Half Elf with the Arcane Training trait.

My Sensei (played to 12th level) was

Sensei, Ki Mystic, 4 Winds, Quinggong.

I did TWF and the Marid Style Feats. Combine this with Scorching Ray from Quinggong (and Barkskin and another of your choosing).

I was only able to give Slow Time to the group twice before the adventure finished.

I will Second Combat Patrol. It's a completely different way to build/play.

That's another topic, TL. I'm talking about time spent together. Sure, multiple alignments can co-exist...but for how long?

IMHO: Star Wars is never a bad example. Just by you saying its a bad example proves to me that you've seen the movies and we have a common knowledge. I could have used Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday as examples. Have you seen Tombstone?

Han, Chewie, Luke and Leia are all GOOD aligned characters. They spent A LOT of time together adventuring. They are all fighting for the same, common goal.

Lando is a NEUTRAL character. He joins the party when its convenient...he leaves whenever he wants.

Darth Vader is an EVIL aligned character. How often does he go adventuring with the aforementioned party?

If i said Geisha Bard, would you do it?

Fits your description, and also ties into the campaign.

NPC's can have an evil, neutral, or good alignment. It's up to the PC's to figure out which.

"Your weary party stumbles into a graveyard. It's after dusk, but you can make out 2 shadows about 80 feet away. One appears to have a shovel. What do you do?"

"Roll initiative. And I'll make a stealth check."

"Ok."

Dice roll, dice roll, dice roll.

"Good work, sneaky dude. You just killed a cleric of Iomedae and a gravedigger. You didn't need any healing, did you?"

Human CG Ranger 6/Divine Scion x

1 Endurance HB Weapon Focus Starknife
2 RB TWF
3 Power Attack
4
5 Boon Companion (Wolf)
6 RB Imp TWF
7 Weapon Spec or Greater Weapon Focus

and so on...

TWF Ranger into Divine Scion?

Ki Power: A qinggong monk can select a ki power (see below) for which she qualifies in place of the following monk class abilities: slow fall (4th), high jump (5th), wholeness of body (7th), diamond body (11th), abundant step (12th), diamond soul (13th), quivering palm (15th), timeless body (17th), tongue of the sun and moon (17th), empty body (19th), and perfect self (20th). This replaces the monk class ability the qinggong monk gives up for this ki power.

4th is slow fall, 5th is high jump, and 7th is wholeness of body