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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!!)

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.

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.

For PFS...
Is this one trick pony good enough to contribute in PFS play, or should I tack something else on?

Like...
2 levels of Urban Barb and then Rage Prophet.

The build begins with Gnome Flame Oracle, after that...any advice is welcome.

So this is a BBEG I've been working on. FCT allows him to use his primary bite attack in a Flurry. 1 level of a full BAB is necessary for Weapon Focus as level 1. Barbarian fits nicely with Martial Artist Monk. At level 13, he has 5 attacks, plus 2 more if he can land a Stunning Fist, which Mantis Style helps with. Although he doesn't fly on his own, he does have 80 feet of movement with Dodge, Mobility, Improved Trip and Combat Reflexes.

Chompers
CN Half Orc Medium, with the Toothy Trait
Barbarian 1, Martial Artist Monk rest (built out to level 13).

Build advice please? I enjoy a balance of thematically appropriate and optimized characters. I build with PFS rules in mind, but sometimes my characters become NPC's. I understand stat arrays, that's not something I need help with.

That being said...here is a Divine Scion of Fumeiyoshi. I'm going with a True Neutral approach. I know that Fumeiyoshi allows for the reverence of undead, but this particular Scion values balance. His favored enemies will be humans and undead. Infiltrator allows an extra +2 Armor.

TN Half Orc Ranger (Infiltrator) 6, Divine Scion x
Toothy trait for a bite attack
Favored Weapon Naginata, Wolf Animal Companion

1 Weapon Focus Naginata
2B Power Attack
3 Dazzling Display
5 Boon Companion
6B Furious Focus
7 Gr Weapon Focus
9 Weapon Spec Naginata
11 Gr Weapon Spec

Is this guy an "iconic" DS of Fumeiyoshi? Could he be used as an NPC herald?

This isn't a conversion per se, but I am drawing inspiration from the Furious Five of Kung Fu Panda fame. I have a good outline, but I would like some advice on making thematically appropriate, mildy optimized builds for the Five as a council of evil monks.

For advice, I mean race, class levels and archtypes, and feats. No need for ability scores. Please use Pathfinder only material...the "normal" stuff nothing "crazy." All builds should be at 8th level.

Crane
Half Elf, Sensei Monk
Full Crane Style using 9 section whip. He's pretty much done. No worries here.

Mantis
Halfling, Monk (archtype?)
Full Mantis Style, other supporting ideas welcome.

Tiger, would fight wild-shaped
Druid, Monk
2 build choices here...4 druid, 4 monk with Shaping Focus feat or 6 druid, 2 monk and no feat
MoMS maybe with Tiger and Dragon Styles?

Monkey, would fight wild-shaped
Druid, Monk
2 build choices here...4 druid, 4 monk with Shaping Focus feat or 6 druid, 2 monk and no feat
MoMS maybe with Monkey and Dragon Styles?

Snake
Sorcerer, Monk
Serpent bloodline and Snake Style, all i got. Go crazy.

Thanks in advance!!

Maybe its best to start a new thread because I'm taking a different approach. He still needs to be able to hit in order to do (crit) damage. So...

2 levels of Theologian Cleric of Yamatsumi, Tetsubo, Strength Domain, and that oh so nice Enlarge Person spell.

Why 2 levels, you ask? Strength domain's Strength Surge power. Add Theologian's Focused Domain, and this gives a +2 enhancement to attack. Standard action (sucky) 3+WIS times per day. So...helpful.

Rest in Sensei Ki Mystic Monk. Heavy hitter doesn't need flurry, oh look...bardic advice. That's a competence bonus to attack rolls, nice. Ki Mystic at level 5 (so character level 7) allows us to reroll attack roll misses.

So BAB stinks, but I'd like to think the abilities make up for it. Thoughts?

That was cheesy. Hopefully though prototype00 will weigh in...
Druid 7 (Wolf Shaman) Travel
Monk 3
Horizon Walker 3, Astral

HW requires the Endurance feat. Druid 7 has to come first to qualify for 4th level spells. Then the rest of the levels can be intermixed for optimizing. Feats at levels 7, 9, 11, and 13 are the 4 in the Dimensional Agility line, so that level 13 is Dimensional Savant. Please help with levels 8-13 and onward!!

Looking to control the battlefield with a monk using Double Chained Kama. This build got feat intensive pretty quickly, but Flowing Monk loses its second level bonus feat (and it also loses Fast Movement).

So there's 3 options I can see, and of course Qinggong is tacked on to each...
A. Vanilla monk
B. Ki Mystic
C. Flowing Monk, lose one feat

1-Vicious Stomp, Combat Reflexes(monk bonus), Stand Still (human bonus)
2-Dodge (monk bonus)
3-Exotic WP-Kama, Double Chained
5-Mobility
6-Improved Trip (monk bonus)
7-Combat Patrol

Which option is most viable?

The "Flurry with a Reach Weapon" idea has been kicking around in my head for some time now.
Some guidelines...
PFS ruleset...20 point buy and Paizo only, etc...
Shelyn for the deity. I know there's others out there.
Optimize the use of Flurry of Blows and also Combat Reflexes with a glaive.

I can see this going 3 ways...
Sohei Monk. No magic and waiting til level 6 kinda stinks.

Crusader Cleric 1/ Monk for the rest.

Multiclass Frenzy. A mix of Cleric and Monk, maybe Fighter, Divine Scion, or something from the Inner Sea Gods book. Go crazy!!

Discuss. Theorycraft. Post builds. Enjoy. And thanks!!

Starting a new character...
Human (from Nex) Wizard 7, then Loremaster
Divination School, opposed Evocation and Necromancy
Traits: Clever Wordplay, Observant

1.Toughness, Skill Focus (Arcana), Spell Focus (??)
3. ??
5. Meta feat and Bonus Meta feat
7. Meta feat

Backstory: He's a book-snob, speaks tons of languages, got forced into joining Society (don't worry, I will actually be helpful in scenarios). I would prefer not to summon things. I've been a druid, and I've seen game time bogged down by summoning. Not my style.

2 Questions:
What should my Spell Focus be?
What should my 3rd level feat be?

I own Core, APG, UC, UM, ISWG, Inner Sea Gods, Inner Sea Magic.

So, after a monk uses Stunning Fist, what other nastiness can come on their next attack?

Any options would be appreciated...thematic or optimized, also, could you mention what book its found in? Thanks!! Have a stunning good day!!

First off, any Pathfinder book minus the ARG, please.
This is an NPC build, one half of a BBEG duo. The following is set in stone, no changes for this part, please...

Human Bard (Geisha) 1 (9 section whip as proficient), Monk (MoMS) 2
Level 1 for Monk for Dodge, Crane Style and bonus Crane Wing
Level 2 for Bard
Level 3 for Monk for Weapon Focus 9section whip and bonus Crane Riposte

She is the master and (haha...) bodyguard of a Level ?? Half Orc Magician Bard.

Advice question 1: What level/CR would be a good "sweet spot" for these 2 to appear in a campaign (lets keep them evenly leveled and under level 13, please)?

Advice question 2: Finish off her build to make her an optimized melee defender/damage dealer type. Nothing wrong with pure fighter levels, really, but anything else would be considered.

Happy building!!

List your examples of awesome combinations that 2 (or more) NPC's/BBEG's/creatures can throw at a party.

A quick example is using the feat Butterfly Sting to set up a x4 crit for an ally.

I'd like this to be an encounter building thread, so please approach it as such.

If you gave the Monk the ability to Flurry of Blows in conjunction with a charge, what would you take away?

My first thought would be to add it as a 4th or 6th level Qinggong power.

Thoughts?

Let's just assume I have a 2nd level Half Orc Ranger with Toothy. He's taken Power Attack at level 1 and at level 2 Aspect of the Beast for claws.
Now...what feats should/would I take, and in what order? Don't worry about class, or build type...just what the title says...which feat dealing with natural attacks are most important, and when. Thanks!!

I deal mostly with the Core, APG, UC and UM. And the Inner Sea Stuff. No ARG, please.

As the title says, I'm looking for a Paladin archtype for an HV build. I need 4 levels of Paladin, and remember that channeling and spellcasting are requirements of HV, so they can not be switched out. Is there an archtype out there (let's say PFS legal) that would be appropriate, either from a theme viewpoint or from an optimized one? The build also has 2 levels of monk.

Wanna help with a memorable NPC? I say memorable because I don't need optimized. I see this NPC who uses chants as his performance and fire magic. Anywho...

Requirements:
Level 9-ish (his mooks will create the rest of the CR), Evil, Half Orc, Sorcerer 1 (elemental fire), Bard rest. Fire music feat at level 7.
Recommend:
Heavy use of Intimidate.
Books: Core, APG, Inner Sea, UM, UC. No Advanced Race!!

I don't need full builds, just good ideas. Also, if 1 level of Flame Oracle fits your idea instead of Sorcerer, go right ahead.

Front line melee build for PFS, dipping monk. All other things being even, do I...
go Half Orc for Darkvision, Rock Climber and Sacred Tattoo...or...
stay human which allows me the monk's Evasion?

The concept for this BBEG is using the 9 section whip with the crane style feat chain. Combine with some cleric levels to get to Holy Vindicator. He enjoys torture, and fights defensively for some staying power. Then combine with some minions for an encounter.

Unarmed Fighter 2, Cleric of Zon-Kuthon 4, HV Rest
Imp Unarmed Strike, Dodge, Weap Focus 9 section whip, Alignment Channel and the 3 Crane feats.

He has room for the 5th level feat, and any suggestions about cleric archtypes and domains would be appreciated. I looked at Crusader, and I don't think its good enough.

Let's assume he'll be somewhere between level 9 and 13. And Pathfinder material only.

I'm guessing no.

I'll be joining a group starting at 8th level. I don't want to steal the spotlight, so Sensei Monk it is. And all the archtypes that go with it...
Sensei, Ki Mystic, Monk of the 4 Winds, Qinggong.

He's the know-it-all hermit you find on the side of the road. Plays around with fire and ice.
My swapped out powers will be for Barkskin, Scorching Ray and Gaseous Form. I'll take Dodge and then Extra Ki once. And I'll be taking the Marid style feats at levels 7, 9 and 11. None of that will change.

I have 2 low level feats that need filled, help please.
I have Core, APG, UC, and UM.

Improved initiative and martial proficiency sansetsukon are my quick answers. I'd love a reach weapon, but didn't see any winners. The lack of weapon choices is a concern for me; I don't want to waste ki points on scorching ray if I don't have to. Marid elemental fists help, but only 8 per day.

I'm trying to flesh out (get it...flesh) an HV of ZK BBEG. I have a bunch of idea starters, but nothing solid.

Half elf or half orc? I see storylines for both.

7 levels of cleric sounds pretty boring, but if thematically appropriate, then ok, however, is there another class to multi with?

Melee focused around the dire flail. STR all the way? Take advantage of weapon finesse? Crusader's Flurry if you're multiclassing with monk?

Dump spellcasting or dump channeling? Try to keep both and still go melee?

Any ideas welcome.

I have the cleric-y stuff ready for a PFS Holy Vindicator. I need 2 (or 3) levels of a martial class. Keep in mind:

Half elf with Ancestral Arms Falcata (unless you can convince me otherwise)
Always equipped with shield.
Melee focused, with full spellcasting.
CHA and channeling can be dumped if necessary.

Here's my 3 choices so far:
2 levels of Barbarian. Combine with Travel domain for fast movement.
2 levels of Ranger. Easy TWF and a favored enemy (human, duh).
3 levels of Phalanx Fighter. One hand a Nodachi (No falcata here, I guess).

Help!!

The question stems from my idea of using Crane Style without being pigeon-holed into a Master of Many Styles Monk build. Its one of the few styles isn't centered around unarmed strikes.

A few guidelines:
Let's assume that for 1-handed builds that the race is half-elf with Ancestral Arms training with the 9 section whip (blocking, monk properties, but its Exotic).

For 2-handed builds, use the Sansetsukon. It only needs Martial to use, but still has the blocking and monk properties. Use previous half elf with Ancestral Arms if you build with a class that doesn't have Martial proficiency, like say monk.

The regular penalty is -4 to attack with a +2 AC bonus. Now, the blocking property will add 1 AC and 3 ranks of acrobatics will add another. Without using any feats, we can get to -4 for a +4.

The dodge feat (a prereq for Crane Style) adds 1 to AC. Crane wing reduces the hit penalty by 2; Crane Riposte reduces 1 more.

For 2 feats, we now have a -2 to hit, for a +6 AC.
For 4 feats, we now have a -1 to hit, for a +6 AC.
Also remember, Crane Wing comes in at level 5, Riposte at 7 or 8.

So, the question...is using 2 or 3 feats worth it to fight defensively?

Requirements:
Human, 12th level Holy Vindicator
2 levels each of ranger, fighter, and monk. 1 level of Crusader Cleric.
Rest HV.

Enjoy the insane amount of feats and build a crazy HV!!
Remember: HV requires either Alignment Channel or Elemental Channel.)

Is level 15 the fastest level to get the feat Dimensional Savant?

My build is 8 levels of Sorcerer for 4th level spells, and 7 levels of fighter (unarmed archtype for monk weapons and Crane Style).

If there's a faster way to get it, lemme know.

I know the build will center around 4 levels of Paladin, and 2 levels of Master of Many Styles Monk, with the Dragon and Crane styles.

Would you delay entry into Holy Vindicator by 1 level to grab a level of Unarmed Fighter?

Let's assume...
5 BAB, 22 Strength, with a Bite 1d4, Claw 1d4, Claw 1d4 attack (all Primary).

Weapon Focus Bite, Weapon Focus Claw, Feral Combat Bite, Feral Combat Claw, Boar Style, Dragon Style, Dragon Ferocity.

The bite gets 1 1/2 times STR bonus due to Dragon Style and 1/2 STR bonus due to Ferocity. The claws get 1/2 STR bonus due to Ferocity.

So a full attack is...
Bite +12, 1d4+ 12
Claw +12, 1d4+ 9
Claw +12, 1d4+ 9

Correct?

Also, to clarify, Boar Style with Feral Combat Training makes a bite both bludgeoning and piercing, and claws would be bludgeoning, piercing and slashing?

The build is a 8th level Holy Vindicator.

Requirements: Lawful Evil, fight unarmed, able to wear a shield, and channel negative energy.

Point buy: 20. Books available: CRB, APG, UM, UC.

Optimized build, or thematic build; whatever suits your style!!
Thanks in advance.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice.

So if a Kensai Magus chooses a Katana or a Bastard Sword...
1.) they are allowed to choose either the martial proficiency or the exotic proficiency. And then...
2.) they are FORCED to use that weapon as either as a one handed weapon or a two handed weapon, based on their choice of proficiency.

Correct?
Becaue Kensai Magus are not proficient with martial weapons.

Requirements...
BBEG's that are:
LE or LN followers of Zon Kuthon.
8th level, using 4 levels of monk and 4 levels of whatever else.

I'd prefer thematically cool and rememberable, and only mildly optimized.

Example:
4th level monk, 4th level cleric, using the spiked chain to FoB because of Crusader's Flurry.

Thanks!!

Is it worth going this route with a two-bladed sword? Because of it's double weapon property, the sword helps in reducing the TWF penalties.

Sword, two-bladed 100 gp 1d6/1d6 1d8/1d8 19–20/×2 — 10 lbs. S double

Double Weapons: You can use a double weapon to make an extra attack with the off-hand end of the weapon as if you were fighting with two weapons. The penalties apply as if the off-hand end of the weapon was a light weapon.

Would this be an overpowered weapon?

Dam Crit Multiplier

1d4 18-20 x3

Not sure what this weapon would be, or the type. Just not good with the DPR style math for stuff like this. Help.

First off, this has NOTHING to do with Flurry of Blows...

If a monk has a natural attack, does that natural attack get its original damage die, or is it considered an unarmed strike and get the monk's scaling damage?

For example...
A level 1 "Toothy" Orc has a bite for 1d4.
A level 1 "Toothy" Orc Monk has a bite for ___.

Would the class abilities of Advice from Monk and Sermonic Performance from Cleric stack, or be seperate?

Advice (Ex): A sensei's advice is identical to bardic performance (using oratory), allowing him to inspire courage at 1st level, inspire competence at 3rd level, and inspire greatness at 9th level, as a bard of the sensei's level, usable a total number of rounds per day equal to his level + his Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). This ability replaces flurry of blows, fast movement, and improved evasion.

Sermonic Performance: An evangelist gains the ability to deliver a select number of supernatural and spell-like performances through the force and power of her divinely inspired preaching and exhortation. This ability is similar in all respects to bardic performance as used by a bard of the same level (including interactions with feats, spells, and prestige classes), using Perform (oratory) as the evangelist's performance skill. However, an evangelist gains only the following types of bardic performance: countersong, fascinate, and inspire courage at 1st level; inspire greatness at 9th level; and inspire heroics at 15th level. Sermonic performance replaces the 1st-, 9th-, and 15th-level channel energy abilities. This caps the cleric's channel energy damage at 7d6 points.

Here's a rough build I'd like some ideas on. Be really cool to dual wield greatswords!!

Human CN Barb (Titan Mauler) 2/ Cleric (Crusader) 1/ Monk (Martial Artist) 5

At 4th Level
Standard attack: Greatsword (no jotungrip): +7 to attack, 2d6+6 damage
Standard attack: Kick: +6 to attack, 1d6+4 damage
FoB (Greatsword, Greatsword with jotungrip): +2/+2 to attack, 2d6+4/ 2d6+4 damage
FoB (Greatsword, Kick without jotungrip): +4/+4 to attack, 2d6+4/1d6+4 damage
8 rounds of rage adds +4 to STR and CON.

Continue the build with monk levels. At 8th level, he becomes immune to fatigue.

Any other design ideas welcome.

Human LN Silver Dragon
Fighter (Unarmed) 1, Monk (Master of Many Styles) 3, Sorcerer (Wildblooded, Crossblooded: Linnorm, Empyreal), Dragon Disciple 7,
For PFS play.

Scores (20 point buy)
STR 17 (+2 Racial)
DEX 15
CON 14
INT 7
WIS 15
CHA 7

Traits
NONE YET

Feats and class abilities
I left out ability score increases and Natural Armor increases.
1 level Weapon Focus Unarmed
1 human Deflect Arrows
1 Fighter 1 Improved Unarmed Strike
1 Fighter 1 Crane Style (bonus style)

2 Monk 1 Unarmed Strike
2 Monk 1 Improved Unarmed Strike
2 Monk 1 Fuse Style (archtype ability)
2 Monk 1 Stunning Fist
2 Monk 1 Crane Wing (bonus style from archtype)

3 Monk 2 Evasion
3 Monk 2 Dragon Ferocity (bonus style, pre-req is Dragon Style)
3 level Dragon Style (3 ranks of acrobatics)

4 Monk 3 Still Mind
4 Monk 3 Fast Movement
4 Monk 3 Manuever Training

5 level Elemental Fist (pre-req is Dragon Ferocity)
5 Sorc 1 Eschew Materials

6 DD 1 Blood of Dragons

7 level Monastic Legacy
7 DD 2 Bloodline Feat: Improved Initiative
7 DD 2 Dragon Bite

8 DD3 Breath Weapon

9 level Sorcerous Strike

10 DD 5 Bloodline Feat: NONE YET

11 level NONE YET

12 DD 7 Blindsense 60 ft
12 DD 7 Form of the Dragon

This is a very feat heavy build but light on skills. I'm short on traits and a few late level feats. Any critique for fleshing this out would be appreciated, and also a double-check of my 'feat math.' Thanks.

Fighter (Unarmed) 1, Monk (Master of Many Styles) 2...

A character can have a fully feated out style by level 3?. The restrictions go away for these bonus feats in these archtypes.

Other benefits:
Monk unarmed strike and all monk weapon proficiencies.
Stunning Fist
Fuse Style (2 styles active)
Evasion
1 or 2 (for human) feats at level 1 (remember BAB 1)

There are some drawbacks of course:
"Overlapping" of Improved Unarmed Strike at 1st and 2nd levels (wasted feat).
Loss of Flurry of Blows (is this REALLY a drawback?).
A Monk must be lawful.
Loses monk stuff if wearing armor.

So, after this 3 level "dip", where do we go from here? Max out a style, then fill in the next 7-17 levels.

The APG states "Bonus feats marked with asterisks (*) are found in the feat section of this book. The asterisk is also defined as "This is a combat feat and can be selected as a fighter bonus feat."

The UC and UM books only define the asterisk as combat feats.

Was there a reason why?

I apologize for not fully searching through existing threads. That said, how does/would/will Flurry of Blows work while wielding a 2 handed weapon? Such as...

A weapon adept/cleric with a spiked chain (favored weapon of Zon-Kuthon).

A sohei with a greatsword.

I assume...First flurry with the 2H, second flurry with a kick/headbutt, third flurry with 2H, and so on.

Half Orc Battle Oracle
Toothy
Wasting Curse
Revelation: Weapon Mastery: Bite (from Toothy)
Feat: Dazzling Display

At 1st level, Toothy here has about a +10 to Intimidate, and can Dazzling Display empty handed. 1st level spell Cause Fear stacks with Dazzling Display for shaken/frightened/etc.
He then levels as a caster.

Is this a flash in the pan build, or something solid to work off of?

Edit-
Society play, so 12th level max, and War Sight and Combat Healer for the 3rd and 7th level revelations.

I'm beyond happy. I ran the BB on Friday night, and my own follow up adventure Saturday night. And now my kids don't have their homework done. And they actually wanted to be in the same room with each other, and put their phones and iPods away.

I blame you, Paizo...

For the purposes of Dazzling Display, is a natural attack considered "wielded"?

"While wielding the weapon in which you have Weapon Focus, you can perform a bewildering show of prowess as a full-round action."

For a toothy half-orc, this would be a growl?