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Brawler / Maneuver Master build help

CCrocodile

Jan 4, 2017, 12:43 pm

Hey everyone. I plan on starting a new character for Pathfinder Society because I want to introduce a friend of mine to it (we played 3.5 together a while back). He likes Oriental culture quite a bit and we settled upon him being a Kitsune Ninja.

As for me my character is going be a thug travelling with him, a sidekick if you will. I did play a couple of melee characters but never a monk and this is quite a specific kind of a control fighter. Digging so deep is more or less new to me and there are one or two things in the build that seem counter-synergetic so I would like some advice. Especially considering that I should always be ready to have my friend's back.

Tajima:

Human

starting scores:
Str 18
Dex 16
Con 13
Int 7
Wis 14
Cha 7

Level 1: Brawler 1. Improved Trip -human. Combat Expertise -level.
Level 2: Brawler 2. Weapon Proficiency (Kusarigama / Double-Chained Kama) -brawler.
Level 3: Monk (Maneuver Master) 1. Kitsune Style -level. Combat Reflexes -monk.
Level 4: Monk (Maneuver Master) 2. Improved Dirty Trick -monk.
Level 5: Brawler 3. Kitsune Tricks -level.
Level 6: Brawler 4.
Level 7: Brawler 5. Greater Dirty Trick -brawler. Kitsune Vengeance -brawler.

First off, you might have noticed I'm picking up Kusarigama/Double-Chained Kama proficiency at level 2. This is a reach, monk, trip weapon which allows me to combine Brawler's Flurry and Flurry of Maneuvers to cover a decent area and attack very often. Despite being a bit weaboo, that's also... quite a cool sight. Then as I gain levels I switch over to Dirty Trick since Trip becomes less and less reliable. As a Maneuver Master I can use a Dirty Trick in place of any attack in the Full Attack so this helps.

Brace yourselves, here are the questions I have:

Q One:

The Double-Chained Kama's entry says "The wielder can attack as if armed with a single kama in each hand or extend the chain to make a single reach attack." I assume it allows me to use the weapon in an adjacent square despite having the "Reach" property. It's not the case with Kusarigama RAW, is it?

Q Two:

I like the idea of using a weapon such as this but it is really warranted? I don't get Close Weapon Mastery OR Dirty Tricks with it. I assume I could leave it for the Trip with Reach, situational enchantments and switch over to a Spiked Gauntlet or something similar as a main weapon. But would it work or would it be too expensive to be effective? Especially considering the next question.

Q Three:

Isn't my AC too low? As I said, I never played a monk before. I planned to not wear any armour after level 3 to be able to use Flurry of Maneuvers but I'm hesitant. I am the frontline warrior after all. How do I work around that?

Q Four:

Should I take the Steel-Breaker Archetype for the Brawler? I can easily work any fluff into the character but would I be able to use Exploit Weakness effectively, seeing how my Wisdom isn't that high? And would I miss not having the Trip / Dirty Trick bonuses from Maneuver Training?

Q Five:

Should I take the Weapon Adept Archetype for the Monk? I doubt I'll get good mileage out of Stunning Fist and I could be using Perfect Strike to ensure some of those Trip attempts since I'm using a Kama already. But then there's the matter of exchanging Evasion for Weapon Focus. I will likely miss it BUT I could also eventually purchase the Ring or take the Winding Path Renegade Archetype for the Brawler.

Q Six:

Should I perhaps take the Winding Path Renegade Archetype? The fluff is pretty interesting, it combines well with the Weapon Adept, it can combine with Steel-Breaker and all of it's abilities seem cool, not just "Evasion/day". But I lose the AC bonus, and AC is a problem for me (right?). I also lose the 2nd lvl bonus feat which means either the Weapon Proficiency (and I'd like either of the weapons for the sake of character's identity), Combat Reflexes (which is likely pivotal for a character like mine, isn't it) or something from the Kitsune Style line.

Q Seven:

Should I really be spending so many feats on Dirty Trick? Is the Kitsune Style line worth it? I like to think that being able to blind or AND entangle monsters for over 1d4 rounds as AoO would allow me to remain a decent controller as levels progress. Am I missing out on something?

Well, that was everything I could think of. Thank you very much if you took the time to read and I'm looking forward to any input!

P.S. I wouldn't rule out that we find a party to play outside PFS so if any of your suggestions involve non-PFS material it would at least be educational to me. Yet still, please do point out if what you're suggesting is unusable in PFS.