Find_a_Hones's page

Thank you for the clarification! I already had the feeling that it wouldn't work, but I wasn't sure about all the interactions with wielding or not wielding, free action, hand economy, etc. in this case.

Another question has come up for me. A player told us that he will be able to have us all "raise the shield" with his commander, which will take our reaction. If I want to do that (depends on the situation, since it would mean I couldn't use my Reactive Strike, for example), how does this work in the case for this specific character?

If, at the end of my round, I have both hands on my bastard sword and his turn comes up, he uses said action and I want to raise a shield, can I use a free action, outside of my turn, to let go of the bastard sword with the buckler hand and then use my reaction to raise my shield?

Free Action states: "Free actions don't require you to spend any of your three single actions or your reaction. A free action might have a trigger like a reaction does. If so, you can use it just like a reaction—even if it's not your turn. However, you can use only one free action per trigger, so if you have multiple free actions with the same trigger, you have to decide which to use. If a free action doesn't have a trigger, you use it like a single action, just without spending any of your actions for the turn."

See the bold part.

Or do I not "qualify" for his raise a shield command, since in the moment when he commands us, I don't have a free hand and thus I am not able to take his command to raise my shield?

In short:
Can I, when commanded like that, use a free action to let go with one hand from my bastard sword, to then use my reaction to raise my shield?

Alright, thanks for the clarifications! So the Combat Grab attack would need to be made with the bastard sword, to satisfy the "free hand" requirement. Got it.

A katana is a neat idea, but I think I prefer the bastard sword. I kind of want my character to have the corny catchphrase "I'm just a bastard with a sword!". :D

The composition of the party will most likely have me on the frontline, only supported by a Commander. The rest will probably keep their distance (most likely the "backline" will be composed of a Kineticist, a Druid and a Ranger, but not all are 100% decided, yet).

I don't have a lot to say mechanically, but I just want to say I adore your character concept! A "bully fighter" that uses dirty tricks, intimidation, tripping, and good old fashioned violence together makes for such a fun and dynamic version of a Human Fighter.

Thank you very much! I mainly wanted to explore the flexibility of the fighter in this new system, so a "free form fighter" who uses anything at his disposal seemed to fit the bill pretty well, instead of a "warrior who mastered a single weapon" kind of thing.

As long as you have the hand for it, you can attack with any weapon available to you. So you can change your grip as a free action and then use your gauntlet. Your gauntlet has the Free-Hand trait, so it counts as a free hand despite also being a weapon.

Free-Hand

See the bold part. In this case, I am using that hand for attacking. Combat Grab says "Make a melee strike while keeping one hand free". So it kind of sounds to me like I am using the gauntlet hand for "keeping one hand free", so I can not use the gauntlet hand for attacking. Or am I misreading something here? I am pretty sure this would come up in play, so I want to understand the interaction between these two specific aspects correctly.

Thanks for the info concerning retraining!

I have a question about how the feats interact with MAP.
If I am level 2 and took Combat Grab:
I use my first 2 actions for a Sudden Charge and hit with my Bastard Sword (two-handed). Then I want to use Combat Grab (since it has the Press trait I need to have attacked beforehand) as my third action. Do I have to use my Bastard Sword (using a free action to let go with one hand from the sword) for that second attack, since I need to have a hand free? Or could I do the Combat Grab attack using my Gauntlet, so I could profit from the Agile trait and thus have a lessened MAP? Or would that conflict with the "having a hand free" part?

I have a Fighter built with Snagging Strike, Combat Grab & Dual-Handed Assault, just as you describe. The problem is that if you start with Snagging Strike, you will follow up with Combat Grab _or_ Dual-Handed Assault. As either attack would be your 2nd attack and would have MAP applied.

As you say you are new to the game, MAP=Multiple Action Penalty. Which means your first attack is normal, your second attack is -5 to the die roll, and the third is -10. Sorry if you already know this.

The result of MAP is that you wouldn't normally attack three times, you'd try to find something more effective to do. Inimidating Glare is a fine choice for this.

So... Snagging Strike, then Combat Grab (which is a PRESS action. Can't be your first attack). Or Dual-Handed Assault, then Combat Grab.

Some people retrain Combat Grab to Lunge when the get Dual-Handed Assault. Others just go to Slam Down (also 4th level) and retrain to Lunge. The theory is that if you only have one action to attack, you use Combat Grab. If you have two, then Slam Down.

Edit: Remember that Dual-Handed Assault is a FLOURISH action, which means it can only be used once per turn.

Thank you for the explanation, but I already try to keep that MAP in mind - it is a new system for me though, so I still need to actively keep track of that when I think about tactics.

Is retraining an optional rule or do I need to spend any resources to do that? I severely dislike the feeling of being "stuck" with a lower level choice that was right at that time, but that has become useless after a while.

From a party composition perspective: If you have multiple folks who can lay out damage, then doing the maneuvers to get bad guys into a better position is worth it. If you are the primary damage dealer and others are going on the buff/debuff side, then I would let them spend the action to set the bad guy up and you focus on the damage.

The general build you laid out is good. Dual-handed assault is good for the action compression - it lets a 2-action (grip and strike) be done as 1-action and still allows you to do all the fun stuff that requires an open-hand. It does have the flourish trait which means you can only do it once each round. So, if you get into a spot where you plan to keep both hands on the sword and just wail on something, it is better for that fight to spend the action to put it on the sword, then you can keep swinging two-handed until you need to let go as a free action.

I am not yet sure how the party composition will work out. I. e. who will fill which "role". I do have a lot of experience with other systems and we did an introductory adventure for PF2e but i am by no means well-versed in it. That's why I want to keep it fluid and dynamic - I don't have a specific build from the get-go in mind, I want to adjust along the course of the campaign. My idea right now is this Athletics-Demoralize-HitThemWithAStick type character, but I am not against developing him in a more aggressive or a more defensive/supportive role.

Thank you for the answers already!

The Doubling Rings thing is interesting, I will keep that in mind!

Adding a buckler into the mix is also a great idea, since I want to focus on versatility and just throw a lot of spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks!
So, if I understand it correctly, nothing stops me from using the buckler (with the Raise Shield action), while still keeping open the possibility to use the gauntlet to smack someone in the face. Or do those two aspects conflict with each other somehow?

Looks like I'm gonna be a poor boy when I have to manage 2-3 weapons plus buckler plus armor and whatever else, rune-wise. :D

Hello there!

I am fairly new to Pathfinder 2e and I am looking for a little bit of advice for the first character I plan to play in a longer campaign. We're going to play Age of Ashes (no spoilers, please!) and I want to play a human fighter, because human fighter has been my go-to option to get into new games and systems since the 90s. And with this character, I want to see what the martial of all martials in PF2e is all about and test its flexibility, as well as effectiveness.
My current idea is a "Bastard with a sword" kind of character. Relatively high Charisma for intimidation (and other CHA-related skills) purposes, focus on hitting stuff and Athletics shenanigans.

I plan to start out with the following feats:
- Intimidating Glare (from my Dragon Scholar campaign background)
- Fleet (from being a Versatile Human)
- Sudden Charge (Class feat)
- Snagging Strike (from Natural Ambition ancestry feat)

On level 2 i was planning to take Combat Grab next and then continue along this general line. I want to fight dirty! Shoving people around, tripping them, insulting and intimidating enemies and being a general menace. My first thought was to use the Bastard Sword and switch hands as I see fit to make use of the "one hand free" feats and still use the sword as my main weapon, while two-handing it for the big bonkage. I planned to add a gauntlet and/or a spiked gauntlet into the mix, mainly for damage variety purposes, without having to constantly switch weapons... and the thought of just hitting someone in the face with a plate gauntlet fits perfectly with the character I have in mind!

So a few questions for the more experienced folk here:

The 1-2 hands for the bastard sword feels like a natural pick for the character I have in mind (using feats like Snagging Strike and Combat Grab as a core of my build), but is it actually like that in play or should I go for a different weapon? And would the mixture of "bastard sword + gauntlet + spiked gauntlet" work as I would hope? It is a bit confusing to me because "gauntlet" speaks of "a pair" while "spiked gauntlet" speaks of "a gauntlet" - how does that work with runes, for example? Would I have to add runes to the gauntlet and spiked gauntlet seperately or do they count as a pair for rune purposes?

The other main weapon I had in mind instead of a bastard sword was a flail for that Trip trait - would I have trouble using maneuvers like Trip without a weapon with said trait?

Also, what are some general pitfalls or "trap choices" (i. e. stuff that sounds awesome, but doesn't work out in actual play, stuff like that)? Or things to look out for, like skill feats or general feats that would underline and broaden the character's main foci in meaningful ways? I already have stuff in mind like Titan Wrestler, for example, but there are about a million feats in PF2e...

Looking forward to your inputs!