It's not like his Fighter11's current Weapon Training (Bows) is pulling its weight at present with a measly +1 bonus.
It's actually a AAT feat for RPing a bit, our DM highly encouraged doing characters with a little versatility. I did this one and felt okay with it. Now I have a 7 INT Orc fighter with maxed Bluff, Perception and Intimidate- plus Natural Born Leader trait. On my very rare bowshots, it also helps a teensy bit.
Cavall wrote:
Look. He wants to play a sword and board fighter.
Let's help him do that rather than "moar damage!" two hander builds.
I am 2Hing my scimitar mostly. I do bring my shield just in case. Often hold it until battle is joined. 2HF with a 1 hander is a lot more versatile than going Falchion for only slightly less damage.
AWT makes Fighters more interesting. Focus Weapon, Defensive Weapon and not to forget that Spirit Weapon thingy.
I guess I wasn't looking correctly at your to hit: It's +22 with PA included, right?
(BAB 11 Str 8 weapon 2, weapon training 2, WF/GWF 2 = +25 -3 PA = +22
+25 to hit is not mediocre, it's good. Especially when your bard's haste (+1 haste) + inspire courage (+3 comptence) come into play. +29/+29/+24/+19 or with PA +26/+26/+21/+16 is really good.
It's with PA activated, yeah. Sorry about that. With only a +2 enhancement to STR and a +2 weapon it has quite some way to go. Bard often opens up with Haste, Inspire Courage and good hope, which gives +6 to hit. I love that guy. If enemies are not immune to Fear, Hurtful gives me a swift action attack at Full AB.
ElterAgo wrote:
I would say you are a bit too focused on offense at the expense of defense.
Not your AC. That is more than sufficient for a melee guy. As others have said, your saves. It is boring but many PC's get a lot more mileage out of Iron Will than they do just some more damage.
I know you said gear is low in your campaign. Is that all gear or just high level gear? Does anyone in the group craft anything, like a wizard with Scribe Scroll? Any NPC's that you can bargain for gear rather than gold?
Usually when I play a fighter or barbarian, I end up buying a bunch of little stuff for the casters to use on me.
Wand protection from evil (for that second save vs mind control).
Scrolls of remove fear, remove paralysis, resist energy, etc...
I have only bothered with the Will Save. Indomitable Faith, Iron Will and Armed Bravery gives me +6 added up, the last one even scales. Not much more to do. Good hope also helps, and Protection from Evil is usually up. Hells Rebels can also grant bonus feats and Great Fort is among them.
For other defenses I have Secured armour, Armor Spec. I really need better gear.
Soon we'll get an opportunity to buy a little gear hopefully, but my share will only be around 35k. Dueling gloves cost 15, and I need mayb better weapon and Cloak of resist.
Increasing your scimitar to 2d6 damage with advanced weapon training would be a solid move. However, making your scimitar oversized will probably reduce your damage, not increase it. Going from 2d6 to 3d6 damage is only going to average an extra 3.5 points of damage, but you will take an attack penalty for doing this. Missing even a single attack you would have otherwise hit will completely negate the damage bonus.
Got blinded by the extra damage and the fact I'm usually hitting. With the third attack, however....
Dasrak wrote:
Vital Strike feat chain isn't really worth it. More intimidation feats would be a very solid pick, though.
Noted, thanks.
Dasrak wrote:
Equipment-wise, the fact that you're still stuck with only a +1 cloak of resistance is a huge problem. You should have a +5 cloak by this point in your career, and your saving throws are much lower than they should be as a result. While I can understand that this may be out of your control, anything you can do to get a better cloak would be huge. Your AC is largely going to waste because of the massive defensive shortfall you have in that department.
Not much I can do so far.
Meirril wrote:
Pick up Advanced Weapon Training: Warrior Spirit (heavy blades).
Too bad you can only do this (Weapon Training Bonus) times per day.
I had forgotten this feat, it's good! I am gonna buy dueling gloves. So +2 extra makes it 4 times, which mostly covers it. Good!
Turgan wrote:
OP: your AC is (not bad but still) too low to really matter. Against low-level enemies you don't need it, because you kill them too fast, against higher CR enemies it's not enough to be of importance. I also think you should go two-handed.
Two important things already mentioned in the thread: up your saves and get Gloves of Duelling, ASAP. Your accuracy is slightly above mediocre, same is true for your saves.
I am 2Handing. Most times at least.
How can accuracy be mediocre?
I got WT, GWF and a starting STR of 21, practically 22. With our gear lvls I can't possibly think of any way to improve it?
Barbarian has rage powers from the hive totem that can easily negate the effects of swarms, for that barbarian. This barbarian should have a swarmbane clasp for 3000gp that allows him to use his primary weapon to mop up the swarm. The rest of the party needs swarm suits, read up on them, they are standard issue for our group players. Then blast with area affect damaging spells. Done! Tell ur GM see ya next Saturday!
Who knows, seven years ago he might've been helped by your reply. :-D
Brawn
Male orc fighter 11
CG Medium humanoid (orc)
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Defense
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AC 28, touch 13, flat-footed 26 (+13 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 118 (11d10+33)
Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +10 (+3 vs. fear)
Defensive Abilities ferocity, fortification 25%
Weaknesses light sensitivity
--------------------
Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +2 scimitar +22/+17/+12 (1d6+25/15-20)
Ranged composite longbow +14/+9/+4 (1d8+7/×3)
Special Attacks weapon trainings (heavy blades +2, bows +1)
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 26
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 7
Wis 10
Cha 5
Feats - Cornugon Smash, Hurtful, Advanced Armor Training, Advanced Weapon Training, Advanced Weapon Training, Alertness(bonus), Greater Weapon Focus (scimitar), Improved Critical (scimitar), Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Lunge, Power Attack, Secured Armor, Weapon Focus (scimitar)
Traits indomitable faith, natural born leader
Skills Bluff +11, Intimidate +24, Perception +18,
Languages Common, Orc
SQ armor training 1
Other Gear +2 full plate, +1 heavy steel shield, +2 scimitar, composite longbow (+6 Str), amulet of natural armor +2, belt of giant strength +2, cloak of resistance +1, ring of protection +1
--------------------
Special Abilities
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Benefit:
Armed Bravery (+3/+6) (Ex) Add bravery bonus to will save, Intim. DC to demoralize you increases by amount shown.
Armor Specialization +2 (Full plate) (Ex) Increase armor bonus of chosen armor.
Armor Training 1 (Ex) Worn armor -1 check penalty, +1 max DEX.
Armored Confidence +2 (Ex) Increase DC to demoralize you by listed amount.
Armored Master (Ex) Gain an armor mastery or shield mastery feat.
Fortification 25% You have a chance to negate critical hits on attacks.
Lunge Can increase reach by 5 ft, but take -2 to AC for 1 rd.
Power Attack -3/+6 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Secured Armor 25% chance to negate crit or sneak attack (stacks with fortification).
Versatile Training (Weapon Training [Bows] +1) (Ex) The fighter can use his base attack bonus in place of his ranks in two skills of his choice that are associated with the fighter weapon group he has chosen with this option (see below). The fighter need not be wielding an associated weapon to use thi
Weapon Training (Blades, Heavy) +2 (Ex) +2 Attack, Damage, CMB, CMD with Heavy Blades
Weapon Training (Bows) +1 (Ex) +1 Attack, Damage, CMB, CMD with Bows
Wondering about evolving his intimidate skills further, for Dazzling Display, Dazzling intimidation and Shatter defenses. That makes it a move action to intimidate everyone within 30' radius. I am hitting regularly tho, so not sure it's necessary.
I also have an idea now, to take Focus Weapon (scimitar) on lvl 13 (Advanced Wep Train) to get 2d6 dmg on it, then upgrade my scimitar to Large(oversized) for a 3d6 damage. It works, right?
I am undergeared although I used the Manual for +1 STR, we haven't been able to shop yet. I'm hoping to buy dueling gloves and a wand of Enlarge for the Wizards familiar to use. Thus I am at 4d6 with the scimmy, so maybe think of Vital Strike. I also think about Defensive Weapon Training at 15.
Aside from that just do, Specializationx2, Toughness or something?
We are playing Hells Rebels, gonna end around lvl 18.
We have a Bard that is playing most times, that does his Haste, Good Hope, Inspire Courage thing.
Take Magical Lineage with an instance of Additional Traits rather than as your two "locked in" freebies at character creation. --Why? ...because feats, but not traits, can be retrained. So pay some small coin every now and then to upgrade your Magical Linneage to a better associated spell.
If I take the additional traits feat, then retrain that feat to Additional Traits, I can change the traits?
@Grimniir, I've used a similar build before and it's really powerful. Get Pearls of Power asap. Caveat though... your GM is going to hate you and seriously consider nuking you from orbit every session.
Moral of the story: be nice to your GM if you're going to make a character that deals 300 dmg of any damage type to everything in the room.
I always read that it is a weaker wizard?
I'll follow your advice and talk to my GM, of course.
Preferred spell is a good tip, and comes into play earlier, I think, than Greater Spell Spec.
Thansk for all the good feedback! This will be blast to play. :-D
Level 1: Take Sorceror: Crossblooded Orc/Draconic, Human, take Varisian Tattoo, take Trait: magical Lineage (pick spell), Reactionary (+2 Init)
Then take Wizard/Evoker -Admixture Specialist for your remaining levels. Why Admixture? Because you can change the element of any of your blasting spells on the fly to get around elemental resistances/immunities.
If you want to superspecialize outside of Evoker, take Sin Magic, lose two schools (Conjuration/Abjuration), gain yet another spell slot per level of raw power.
End result: Crossblooded sorc orc/dragon bloodline 1, Wiz/19, Admixture Evocation specialist. Note: Can use Sin Magic for more slots. Sorcerer level allows use of spell devices from denied schools (Conj/Abjuration). Magical Lineage Trait allows Intensify for free on chosen spell. Spell Perfection allows free Quicken at higher levels.
Play Hints:
Take Burning Hands or Magic Missile as a Specialized Spell early. Burning Hands will deal more damage, Magic Missile has better long-term utility and keeps you out of danger. Every other level, you can change your specialized spell.
Add Greater Spell Specialization at level 7 or 9. Why? You can then memorize utility spells, and trash them for your blaster spell.
Change your specialized spell up to Scorching Ray or Fireball when you can, depending on campaign, typically at 5 or 7.
At level 12 or higher, change it to Fire Snake. Use Admixture specializing to change the element on the fly.
Use Fire Snake until higher levels. Why? High damage base and level 5 spell still leaves room for metamagic, esp Quicken.
Mechanics behind Choices: Orc blooded, Draconic: +1 to all damage spells, +1 to element of choice, retasked by Admixture = +2 dmg/die on blasting spells.
Feats
Intensify Spell: Increases caster level damage cap +5 to apply to a specific spell. Burning hands goes up to 10d4+20. Magic Missile goes to 7d4+14. Fireball to 15d6+30, Fire Snake to 20d6+40.
Empower Spell: Increase dmg by 50%.
Quicken Spell: Hit enemy with two spells/rd.
Spell Specialization: +2 to caster level with a specific spell. Helps bring the damage earlier and faster.
Varisian Tattoo: +1 to Caster level with a specific school (Evo). This buys off your sorc level.
Greater Spell Specialization: Sacrifice spells to power your chosen blaster spell. Means you can memorize utility spells freely.
Spell Perfection: Doubles fixed feat bonuses, apply one metamagic for free. An Empowered/Intensified spell with Magical Lineage is still its original spell slot. SPell Penetration doubles to +4. Varisian Tattoo to +2. Spell Specialization to +4. Effectively, you've got +10 on Spell Resistance rolls, and are casting 'Your spell' at 5 levels higher then your own.
Top End Damage: 30d6 +60 from Fire Snake, empowered, Intensified, average 165 dmg, save 1/2, level 5 slot. Quicken for another hit, 5th level slot, 20d6 + 40dmg, avg 165. = 330 blasting dmg in one round, save for 1/2. If you've a Rod of Maximize, you can lift this to 215 base damage.
Base level 5 spell slot is 20d6+40 dmg, 165 dmg.
By Level
At level 1, your Burning Hands should be 2d4+4 (avg 9)
At level 2, its unchanged.
At level 3, Spell Specialization kicks in. 5d4+10 (22.5). This tops it unless you Intensify it.
At 4th, 6d4+12 (27), Intensified BH.
At 5th, Intensified BH, 7d4+14 (31.5).
At 6th, you can shift Spec to Scorching Ray. 2x 4d6+8 (44). Your Fireball is 5d6+10 as well, or 7d6+14 if specced.
At 7th, 6d6+12 fireball, or 8d6+18 if spec. An Empowered, Intensified Burning Hands, if still the spec spell, is 13.5d4+27 (about 60).
8th - Empowered Scorching Ray, 2 x 6d6+12. E/I BH is 15d6+30 (74, max)
9th - Intensified, Specialized Fireball is 11d6+22 (51).
10th - Firesnake. E/Spec Fireball is 15d6+30 (74). Emp Scorching Rays are 3 x 6d6+12, or 18d6+36 (99 dmg). You can now Quicken a Burning Hands or Magic Missile as kicker damage in a round, although you've few slots.
12th - E/I/Spec Fireball is 21d6+42 (115) damage. You can now Quicken a 12d6+24 Scorching Ray.
14th level - A Specialized Firesnake now exceeds/equals an intensified Fireball. Fireball caps at 22.5d6+ 45 (123~) damage. An Empowered Firesnake is 24d6+48 (132) damage. You can now Quicken a 10d6+20 Fireball. Intensified, Empowered Scorching Ray tops out at 24d6+48 (132 dmg)
15th level - Spell Perfection. You can now add a Meta for Free. This will be Quicken or Empower. Intensified might be free if Magical Lineage applies to it. Caster level buffs for spec spell exceed +5, so top out at 20d6 dmg at 15th level. You will miss Spell Resistance rolls against CR appropriate enemies on a 1. Assuming Firesnake, you can now cast a Quickened Intensified Firesnake for 20d6+40 (110) damage out of a 5th level slot, and an Empowered Firesnake out of the same slot for 30d6+60 (165) damage. Using a 7th level slot, you can Empower both.
16th+ - Damage remains the same, higher level spell slots are open for use of other Metas or control spells.
Conceivably you could use Disintegrate to get a higher damage total, but the delay isn't worth it, and you'd lose the Varisian tattoo bonus.
If your DM allows you Twin Spell from 3.5, you can very, very easily clock in at 495 raw dmg/round. IF he allows Arcane Thesis, god help your enemies.
Quote:
At level 1, your Burning Hands should be 2d4+4 (avg 9)
At level 2, its unchanged.
As lvl 1 with Spell Specialization, wouldn't damage be 3d4+6?
Also, Since at Character lvl 3 you will be Wiz2/Sorc1. What about the Magical Knack trait? Will that let you be caster level 6 with
your specialized Evocation spells, so your intensified BH will be 6d4+12?
I'm gonna build myself one, and either I am missing something, or the one calculating the build above misses out a little.
I think Pure Anti-Paladin Tyrant is the way to go, with 2H a single weapon. Touch of Corruption will help a lot after a few lvls.
For feats I'm thinking along:
1: Fey foundling (Great for staying power)
3: Power attack
5: Channel Smite(unsure here, seems a bit expensive?)
7: Extra Touch of corruption
9: Furious Focus
11: Dreadful Carnage
How does this look? WF is missing from the build, but not sure it's needed? Channel Smite might burn through Touch of Corruption too fast?
Not sure how to continue either, maybe take even more Extra ToC, so Channel Smite can be used more. Maybe put in Lunge somewhere, but I think I will wait and see how accessible Enlarge is.
ImpCrit seems unecessary considering Boon Weapon.
For traits, at least Magical Knack.
Spell list does have debuffers, so maybe Spell Storing weapon to deliver them?
*EDIT* Unsanctioned Knowledge should be availible to me, if so I am gonna take that. It says Paladin for prereq tho. I will ask.
We started this campaign some time ago, but only got through creation and maybe an hour or two into. We will restart completely, with the same chars. I have worked out my background and personality quite good, but need some build advice.
I first thought to play an Eldritch Knight melee, but not sure how good that is, or how to make it work.
Pure Anti Paladin? Some other advice?
Anyhow, this is Asmodeus:
Male Dhampir
STR 18
DEX 19
CON 9
INT 14
WIS 8
CHA 19
We rolled for scores. We rolled 3 sets. Despite the low CON I went with this one because of 3 high rolls.
The stats scream for archery, I just ran through Runelords with a Eldritch Knight Archer, so....
They(stats) also want dual wield, but it's feat heavy for a Paladin.
Is it doable to go Eldritch Knight melee, or perhaps just 2H a scimmy or something and use shield when needed?
I am not that familiar with the game, Pathfinder is huge!
No 3rd party stuff, please.
Alignment LE, Corrupting touch can be used as swift action on self, which can compensate somewhat for low CON.
For stats I think +1 CON at 4, then CHA. OR just go CHA all the way, or split to improve, CON, CHA and DEX in that order?
