Been rolling this character idea around in my head for a few weeks. Will be running him in a sandbox campaign. We've decided to run a party with no traditional tank/beat-stick classes. We've got a Bard, a Wizard, an Oracle and a Slayer.
To that end, I thought I could make a tanky (ish) Magus. I like to try to mitigate the MAD problem some Magi builds can have, hence the Unchained Rogue dip. This idea cropped up because of the Bladed Brush and Redirect Attack feats. I just thought it would be awesome to play a character that lets enemies TRY to hit him and then uses it against them.
On a side note, I cleared it with my DM to use a Fauchard rather than the Glaive in conjunction with Bladed Brush. He figured since I had to to get EWP somehow, it wouldn't be abusive/OP.
A couple specific questions:
1). I considered going Hexcrafter rather than Kensai so I could stack on more debuffs. Problem is, I'd have to give up some Magus Arcana and I'd need to find a different way to get EWP. Is this a worthwhile alternative, or should I just stick with the kensai chassis?
2). I've enjoyed the Step Up feat chain in the past, but here it feels a bit tacked on. I'm sure it will still be situationally useful, but are there any other frat choices I've missed that are clearly superior?
3). The Master Poisoner bit was sort of an impulsive choice. Not an aspect of the game I'm very familiar with. Is it a totally sub-par choice? Seemed like slathering some poison on his weapon could give him some further debuffing options. If it could work, what are some good poison choices?
Really looking forward to your comments and critiques. Build below:
Just finished the first book in the Powder Mage Trilogy and I got the bright idea to try a character that fights with sword and pistol as a nod to the titular characters from the series. Well, to be fair the powder mages in the book have a lot of cool tricks that this guy can't pull off, but I like the idea of a guy that fights with a blade and a gun. I tried to work in the whole "Mage" piece, but multi-classing Gunslinger with pretty much anything other than Fighter just seems to make for a whole lot of suck.
TWFing is obviously not optimal, I'm just going for viable. The plan would be to just stick to the gun for the first 5 levels, which would be all Gunslinger. From there, I'd slowly work on making him not terrible at using both through the Fighter levels. So what do you think? Appreciate whatever insights and/or creative criticisms you guys might have.
Stat Block:
Red Kavinsky
Human fighter (weapon master) 7/gunslinger (pistolero) 5 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 109, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat 9, 51)
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +8; Senses Perception +17
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 10 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 101 (12d10+25)
Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +5; +2 bonus vs. effects targetting a Pepperbox held by you
Defensive Abilities nimble +1
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 keen gold plated cutlass +9/+4/-1 (1d6+13/15-20)
Ranged +2 pepperbox +12/+12/+7/+2 (1d8+17/19-20/×4) or
+2 pepperbox +16/+16/+11/+6 (1d8+17/19-20/×4) or
+2 pepperbox +16/+16/+11/+6 (1d8+17/19-20/×4)
Special Attacks deeds (gunslinger initiative, gunslinger's dodge, pistol-whip, quick clear, up close and deadly +1d6, up close and deadly +2d6, utility shot), grit (3), reliable strike, weapon training
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 14, Cha 7
Base Atk +12; CMB +12; CMD 31 (33 vs. disarm, 33 vs. sunder)
Feats Deadly Aim, Greater Two-weapon Fighting, Gunsmithing[UC], Improved Critical (pepperbox), Improved Two-weapon Fighting, Point-Blank Shot, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Snap Shot[UC], Sword And Pistol[UC], Two-weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (pepperbox)
Traits adopted, dirty fighter, reactionary
Skills Acrobatics +17, Bluff -2 (+1 when feinting in combat), Climb +8, Perception +17, Sleight of Hand +9, Survival +8, Swim +8
Languages Common
SQ gunsmith, pistol training, weapon guard
Other Gear +1 keen gold plated cutlass, +2 pepperbox[UC], +2 pepperbox[UC], +2 pepperbox[UC]
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Special Abilities
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Deadly Aim -4/+8 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Deeds Use Grit to perform special abilities with your firearms.
Grit (Ex) Gain a pool of points that are spent to fuel deeds, regained on firearm crit/killing blow.
Gunsmith At 1st level, a gunslinger gains one of the following firearms of her choice: blunderbuss, musket, or pistol. Her starting weapon is battered, and only she knows how to use it properly. All other creatures treat her gun as if it had the broken condit
Gunsmithing You can use a gunsmithing kit to craft/repair firearms and ammo.
Nimble +1 +1 (Ex) +1 AC while wearing light or no armor.
Pistol Training (+4, misfire value -2) (Ex) Starting at 5th level, a pistolero increases her skill with one-handed firearms. She gains a bonus on damage rolls equal to her Dexterity modifier, and when she misfires with a one-handed firearm, the misfire value increases by 2 instead of 4. Every
Point-Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Power Attack -4/+8 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Quick Draw Draw weapon as a free action (or move if hidden weapon). Throw at full rate of attacks.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Reliable Strike: Pepperbox (1/day) (Ex) Reroll attack roll, critical confirmation, miss chance or damage roll for your chosen weapon
Snap Shot Threaten squares within 5 feet of you when wielding a ranged weapon
Sword and Pistol Firearm/crossbow attacks don't provoke AoO from foes you threaten with a melee weapon.
Weapon Guard +2: Pepperbox (Ex) +2 CMD vs. Disarm and Sunder or other effects targeting your chosen weapon.
Weapon Training +2: Pepperbox (Ex) +2 to hit and damage with your chosen weapon.
Keep in mind this is a build out to 12th without any magic items other than his weapons. I figure Quick Draw and 3x Pepperboxes (18 shots, or 4.5 rds of combat) should be enough shooting for most encounters. Not sure how much cash he'll have after buying his pieces, but I'd like to work in a belt of +STR & +DEX at least. Anything else to consider?
I'm looking at how I want to build this character past level one. The idea is to really go for broke on the grappling aspect. The idea is to be really good at grappling and then use the Blood Conduit archetype's ability to deliver touch spells through a grapple once spells come online.
Later I'll have to worry about things like spell resistance, but early levels I just want to get as awesome as possible at grappling. In order to do this, I think I'll have to dip 1 level (don't want to do more than 1) in a class that offers IUAS as a bonus feat. brawler is an obvious choice for the bigger hit die and full +BAB progression but I'm also considering Monk.
The only reason I'd go Monk is if the other goodies a particular archetype offered were superior to the reasons I gave for why I'm leaning Brawler.
I plan on taking the Snapping Turtle Style feats eventually, so if there were a Monk archetype that gave style feats in a one-level dip, that would be great. Otherwise, any reason I shouldn't just go brawler?
After my last adventure, it became clear that Torin should devise the means to cure his mount of the fatigued condition when it crops up. The character is built on the ability to dole out maximum damage with a lance from atop his trusty steed, so no charging = bad times.
This led me to start looking for ways to deal with the condition when it crops up. I've always subscribed to the "ounce of prevention > than pound of cure" school of thought, so I intend to take Indomitable Mount when it comes online. I've already given my mount Great Fortitude as well.
However, I still have 4 levels before I can get Indomitable mount. In the meantime, I have to be able to fix this issue when it comes up. This led me Rager's Aid.
Is there any reason I can't have my mount chew on this stuff before we begin combat if/when he's fatigued?
I realize it's an imperfect solution, but it would hopefully mitigate the risk of my mount becoming fatigued for the rest of the adventure. Can't always count on having a divine caster in the group, let alone one who has prepared lesser restoration and is willing to spend it on my mount.
I have a character concept in mind that starts with two levels of Fighter (Lore Warden) to set up a reach build focused on tripping.
After that the plan is to go into another class that can help with battlefield control and stacking debuffs on bad guys.
Right now, I'm trying to decide between Alchemist (lots of tasty discoveries to put on the bombs I chuck the round before I wade into melee) and Witch (Hexes in addition to the normal arcane debuffs).
I know full-progression casters are the gods of everything, but I'd like to think outside of that box on this one. That being said if you can recommend a particular archetype, or bloodline, or whatever that would fit nicely with a tripping build thematically, I'm willing to listen.
I know the Hexcrafter Magus is good at this as well, but I already have a Magus going in another game and I'd like to try something different.
Right now I'm leaning Alchemist because of the better BAB-progression and - honestly - better mastery of the class. But I'm definitely not 100% sold.
I have been rolling around this character concept for a few weeks and trying to find the most functional way to put it together. I've pored over these boards and looked at various guides. Without further ado:
PC Build:
Halfling Cavalier (Beast Rider/Emissary)/X
STR - 16
DEX - 16
CON - 10
INT - 12
WIS - 10
CHA - 9
FEATS -
Lvl One - Power Attack,
Lvl Two (Emissary Bonus) - Mounted Combat
Lvl Three - Ride By Attack, (Ord. of Cockatrice Bonus) - Dazzling Display
1). First and foremost, is everything above board rules-wise? I'm most concerned that the AC levels from Wild Child and Cavalier stack. I can't see any language that says they don't, but I want to be sure. Also, am I forced to take the Beast Rider archetype if I gain an exotic mount from a different class?
1a). I'm also considering Mad Dog Barb instead of Wild Child as my 1st level dip. Does this seem better, or worse for this build? It might be worth it just for the Martial Weapon Proficiency (otherwise, spear instead of lance at level one...boo).
2). I'm not sure what traits could help this build as I've never played a mounted PC or a halfling.
3). Is it worth changing the stat array a bit (namely sacrificing STR or DEX to bump CHA) in order to get more mileage out of intimidate?
4). Any other thoughts in general on how the build could be improved? I know about wheeling charge, but I don't have that splatbook. If it's totally worth it (i.e., I'm not just buying the book for that feat alone) let me know.
I am very excited to play a Kensai Magus as I think the flavor is cool and the abilities are pretty strong as well. I dig the idea of a wandering swordsman, devoted to perfecting the use of his blade. Basically, the conept rolling around my head is sort of a riff on Kenshi (the blind swordsman from Mortal Kombat for those who aren't familiar).
I envision him surrounded by enemies, parrying/counterstriking at will. It's pretty safe to assume this isn't the way it will work out in actual gameplay, but it's a neat thought.
I plan on running this character as the party scout, using spells like vanish early on and possibly invisibility later on to get close, scope things out, and hopefully set up some ambushes. He should usually get to act first with a decent perception and a crazy initiative, especially once he gets to add his Int to INIT checks.
He'll be a solid striker, but with a d6 weapon and only 3/4 BAB progression he won't be able to go toe to toe with some of the tougher enemies. Spellstriking will mitigate some of this, but not all.
I like the idea of giving him combat reflexes and then taking the step up -> following step -> step up and strike chain. He will end up with a pretty solid number of AoO's, so I think that makes sense.
What do you guys think? Does this sound like it will work? I know Magi aren't typically front-liners, but I think this could do well with the right build.
What are some ways to boost his AC at early levels? The dodge bonus from Canny Defense is nice, but that's only getting me to AC 17 at 4th level. I could dump STR to 7 and get that up to 18 with a boosted INT score...but I'm not sure if that's worth it. I know he'll always be a little squishy, but how can I mitigate this?
Also, is there any utility in dipping a level of Swashbuckler? I don't think it takes away from the flavor too much and I could retrain or altogether dump weapon finesse in favor of something else and go with a katana instead of the wakazashi.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. Looking forward to all of your stellar advice.
Hey all. I've been away from the game for a long time but am about to start up what will hopefully be a lengthy campaign with a new group.
It will be my first PFS character and I'm a sucker for prestige classes. In particular the Arcane Archer has always been a really cool concept to me, so that's the route I plan to go.
I have dug around here and elsewhere looking at different builds and recommendations and I'm torn on which "base" to build my Arcane Archer upon.
It seems there are three major options:
1). 6 lvls of a martial class + 1 lvl of an arcane casting class into AA.
2). 5 or 6 lvls of arcane casting class + 1 lvl martial + 3 levels of Eldritch Knight into AA.
3). Some combination of Zen Archer Monk + Empyreal Sorcerer into AA.
I know there are other builds that use bard, but I'm not a fan of that class.
The first option is nice because it gains you entry into the actual prestige class the quickest, but at the expense of diminished spellcasting. It seems like this option would potentially hit the hardest/most often as well.
To me, the most attractive of these options is #2. You get the best balance of BAB progression and spellcasting. Later entry into the PrC, but it seems like a fair trade-off for what you end up with.
The final option seems the least optimal to me due to the slow BAB progression of both feeder classes and the even later entry into AA. The ZAM does have some cool abilities, flurrying with the bow sort of compensates for lower BAB and the sorcerer bloodlines could open up some interesting character options. Bbut all in all, I feel this "base" falls short of the first two.
As I said previously, I've never run a PFS character. So, longevity is an aspect where I'm not sure what to expect. If one of these builds makes more sense in PFS play, let me know. Thanks in advance for all of your help.
Hey all, just looking for some quick community insight on the fourth and final member of our group for an upcoming Kingmaker campaign arc we're running. So far, our group consists of:
- A Paladin who plans to tank and focus (as well as a Pally can) on group healing via Channel Energy
- A Ranger who will attempt to serve as the group's scout/skill monkey/glass cannon.
- An Inquisitor who will serve as party face and supplement the group's healing and damage dealing capacities, albeit less effectively.
And that leaves me. I am really open to any suggestion on what class best fills the remaining gaps in our group. Obviously, there's a glaring need for Arcane Casting. I was considering playing either a Vivisectionist Alchemist, mainly because I think they're cool, or a Magus to give our Paladin a flanking buddy and add that 3/4 Arcane caster power. Now I'm starting to think that maybe a Wizard is the best bet...but I've always thought they were so boring to play.
At any rate, I'm really interested in hearing what you all have to say! Tell me how dumb my ideas are and that a wizard is the obvious choice.
Hey all, a couple of friends and I are about to spin up a new adventure and have decided to "play it straight" using an actual DM to put together an adventure and dictate the action. Traditionally we've just rolled up characters and waded into a cave full of baddies to clean house, collecting XP and gold along the way...without a DM. No real cohesive 'plot' to speak of and a complete focus on combat which inevitably led to skill use being nonexistent and a host of other problems.
So, now that we've all decided to attempt to play with a DM I volunteered to take the first crack at running a game. NONE of us has any experience playing in this fashion and I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed. I have so many questions, but I don't haveany idea where to start. Is there some sort of resource available on line that can break the responsibilities of a DM down for me, Barney style? Or does some brave soul(s) feel like being a sounding board for my expansive array of quesions.?
Myself and three of my friends (one of whom is assuming the role of DM) are about to kick off a new campaign. In past campaigns, we've each had free reign to create as many characters as we needed since we have such a small group. In this way, we've been able to shore up any inadequacies in our party by one or more of us taking multiple characters on each adventure (i.e. - one of my buddies takes in his rogue and ranger, the other takes in his cleric and big dumb fighter and I take in my spellcaster). In this way we make sure we have all our bases covered.
This time, we're doing it a little bit differently. Our DM wants each of us to create only one character and stick with him for the entirety of the campaign. I'm totally on board with the idea but I immediately saw the flaw in this plan. If there are only three of us, how will we meet all the requirements of the "standard adventuring party"?
Now, in my estimation, that should typically consist of, at a minimum: tank, skill monkey, spellcaster and healer. Our main limitation is that we really only have two of the three party slots to play around with. One of my friends is dead set on playing a fighter and has no interest in functional multi-classing. Also, nobody really wants to be a dedicated spellcaster.
So, here are my questions:
Questions:
Are there any roles I've neglected above?
What are some ways to fill multiple roles with a single character?
Has anyone else been a part of a similar situation in one of their campaigns? How did you get around the obvious problems?
preliminary ideas:
Some of the possible builds I've been toying with are:
a Vivisectionist/Rogue (Sniper) mash up focused on poisoning and stealth. The extracts could possibly alleviate a marginal amount of our spellcasting deficiency and easily cover our 'skill monkey' requirement.
A gish build geared toward either Eldritch Knight or Dragon Disciple. Slightly less attractive than the above build due to the aforementioned party member's choice.
Oh, and forgot to mention sooner, we are able to use anything from the CRB, APG, UM or UC.
Relatively new to Pathfinder and my normal group is on somewhat of a hiatus. Are there any groups meeting up in the Columbus, Ohio area that are looking for (or willing to accept) new members?
It seems like the extra damage from smite could really make an AA shine and the synergy with CHA for Sorcerer is kind of a 'duh'. Then again, I am a a little slow. I guess my primary question is, 'Will it work well?' Also, what is a solid choice of bloodline for a character of this type?
I have been kicking around the idea for this character for awhile. It is all based around the idea of synergy between the Focused Shot feat and the Myrmidarch archetype for the magus. Heres what I'm thinking.
My group rolls for stats and this guy lucked out: STR-14, DEX-18, CON-12, INT-16(+2 racial, so 18), WIS-13, CHA-8.
Level one - (Fighter 1) point blank shot, precise shot, focused shot. Traits magical knack/reactionary.
Level two- (Fighter 2) rapid shot
Level three- (Magus [Myrmidarch] 1) Arcane Strike
Level four (Magus [Myrmidarch] 2) - pump ability boost into either INT or DEX
So thats as far as ive gotten with the build. I'd like to give him Manyshot but unfortunately he wont qualify until level 8. Is deadly aim worth considering? Is this a viable build at all? I know this isnt an optimal build per se, but I like the feel of it. Can you guys offer any critiques, suggestions or possible improvements to this concept? I dont want to overhaul the whole build but what can i tweak to get some more out of it? We use CRB, APG, UM and UC. Thanks for looking!
I want to preface this post by saying that it is my first on this site. I am the very definition of a 'newb'. I admit that I am ignorant to a lot of mechanics and 'optimization' is completely foreign to me. That said, I have sifted through more posts here than I can even begin to count and I can safely say that I have learned a great deal already from the knowledge that you sage gamers have imparted unto others. Now I call on you all again to help me make a kickass character.
I'm sold on the Dragon Disciple PrC and want to know how to make it strong. I'd like the character to be able to hang in on melee, and I want him to be able to cast some blasty spells for consistent damage as well. I'm leaning toward this guy taking advantage of natural attacks, but I'm certainly not 100% on that. I also plan on taking advantage of the Magical Knack trait for CL but aside from that, I'm open to suggestion.
Oh, and I know that a lot of people thump the Bard bible pretty hard when it comes to accessing DD, but that's not for me I'm afraid. Any help you guys can provide whatsoever would be incredibly beneficial. Thanks for looking.
