I'm working on revamping the Medium a little, focusing on the spirit powers. By which I mean I am trying to make the not-Champion spirits more interesting and closer to the Champion power-wise (and maybe fix some minor issues I have with the Champion spirit, if I can find a way to do so without it getting too powerful).
Thing is, I'm kind of stuck and I was hoping this friendly forum might be willing and able to offer some suggestions?
The main goal is basically to make each spirit functional at its role. Something viable as daily spirit and able to fill the appropriate gap in a party during emergencies or as supplement to another chr, but obviously not on par with a dedicated build.
A side-goal, for extra points, is to have all Lesser powers be scaling (all but Champion + Guardian already are, even if the Marshall and Trickster don't get as much as Archmage/Hierophant) and also promote some kind of action (most do aside from Champion + Guardian... again. Trickster's a bit iffy, depending on player choices). One relevant to the spirit's "style", of course.
I'd like to change as few things as possible, and where possible I'd prefer to steal abilities from elsewhere rather than reinvent the wheel.
Looking at the spirits, I see the following issues:
For the Archmage,
Spoiler:
it feels like a combination of endurance and limited spell selection. Slower progression + fewer spells per day relative the wiz/sor it's supposed to emulate.
Something like switching out the Intermediate "free spell" ability for something like Kinetic Blast might alleviate both? It provides a scaling damage ability, thus freeing up spells known + per day for utility & defensive stuff.
The Supreme power has a bit of an issue in that it's a one-and-done. So there's room for some buffing here, too. Possibly like the Marshall, by having a lower power get a buff if you have the Supreme one. Or maybe grant bonus mm feat with cost reduction or something?
Champion's
Spoiler:
only real issue is the Lesser ability does effectively nothing. Who is going to run around with a weapon they can only use 1/6 days? I also feel like martial builds are pretty feat-dependent, and it only gets bonus feats at lvl 17... Tricky part is that overall it has about the right level of balance, at least as far as I can tell. So I don't know if there's really anything that can be done about this, while still leaving the 2 "core" powers (bonus atk + pounce) alone... Anyone have any thoughts?
When it comes to the Guardian
Spoiler:
I feel like re-doing the whole thing is just plain easiest. Lesser has the same problem as Champion's; who carries around a spare armor for some days? Shield I can imagine. Those are easy enough to get no penalty without proficiency. Intermadiate (DR) is about the only power that feels worthwhile, to be honest. Maybe Greater (Sudden Block) works okay if the others can be buffed enough? Supreme is... cute? But compared to "cast Miracle/Wish 1/day" ignoring a single attack feels lackluster.
Tentatively I'm thinking something like [some kind of active power] + "spirit bonus? vs enemies that have attacked allies since last turn" (like the Spire Totem Rage Power) for Lesser...
Keep Intermediate. Not sure what to do about Greater... Keep? Buff? Replace?
And maybe either Mind Blank or Ymeri's Pyre for the Supreme ability, possibly with some restrictions like "spend 1 Influence to halve duration of effect"
The Hierophant
Spoiler:
is pretty straightforward. It's too "heal-centric" (owing to the legacy of Clerics past), but otherwise the main issues are lack of usefulness and the Greater power being useless. So buffing the Greater by replacing it with something better would probably go a long way. Supreme power has the same issue as the Archmage's, with being one-and-done, though. I just have no idea what to replace the Greater with that feels cleric-y but is interesting/fun and balanced... This is one I really hope the forums can help me out with... Please?
Now, the Marshall
Spoiler:
looks pretty okay aside from the action economy of the Intermediate and the very limited uses/day for the Lesser (until you hit lvl 17 and get Supreme). Greater is a bit dull ("here, have my turn") but the ability to use it as a Swift action makes it not entirely boring. I feel like some kind of teamwork thing or perhaps "create & take advantage of difficult terrain/obstacles" would possibly be more interesting... The goal is tactical fighter with team buffs & face abilities (because Charisma based spirit bonus).
But I can't really think of where to fit any of that in, because nothing really strikes me as chaff that can be cut. Anyone else have any thoughts?
Finally, the Trickster
Spoiler:
mostly lacks damage, I feel. Lesser is pretty decent, if a bit uninspired (and requires either knowing what the day will hold, choosing generically useful skills, or lucky picks). Intermediate... I assume they didn't give regular sneak atk because Supreme would then give you lots of natural atk to go with it, but it feels outright insufficient. The free flat-footed is nice, though. Greater is very situational - can be great, can be "yay, I got Haste, which I already cast on myself so..." (I can see interpreting it to extending your own duration, at least). Supreme... Yeah, picking d20 1/day is nice, but at will Greater Polymorph is pretty darn useful.
So really, I'm thinking replace the Intermediate with something like a sensible Vital Strike that adds +2d8 dmg instead of being based off weapon dmg. Maybe scaling with additional powers, for +4d8/+6d8 with Grt/Sup, or just with level. And add spirit bonus to atk roll, for much needed accuracy with that kind of atk. Or is that too little damage? The build isn't really about damage, but it really needs something it can do in combat until it gets Supreme at lvl 17...
One thing I've pondered for both the Archmage and Hierophant is restricting their Lessers to picking a Domain/Bloodline and getting their spells. This is a serious nerf, but would greatly reduce bookkeeping... So I'm torn. They need more power, but also the whole class needs less bookkeeping :/
So, yeah, those are my thoughts. I'm mostly looking for ideas for the Guardian and Hierophant, but I welcome any and all suggestions to help me fix at least this corner of the class. There's plenty people here with better ideas about balance, so feel free to offer insights into things I got wrong :p
I'm trying to keep things as compatible as possible with existing stuff, which is why I'm just swapping out spirit powers instead of like re-making the spirits to have 5 spirit powers or something.
Spoiler:
(I feel the class should have either been built around picking one spirit, or offered better support for chrs switching between spirits. Like the Legendary Influence feats are pretty necessary because you don't get any flex feats or anything... Not to mention the near complete lack of flexibility during a given day until the very highest levels... But that stuff is a whole other mess for another day :p )
Regarding the AWT/AAT issue... It seems to me they could've just added a "a Fighter who has an archetype that trades away Weapon Training can use this as a prereq for all feats requiring Weapon Training" to Martial Focus. It already counts as WT for Weapon Mastery feats, after all. I'm guessing there's something similar for armor to cover AAT?
Sure, it's not a great solution - or even a good one - but I think it's better than invalidating all the archetypes.
(But personally, I think the Fighter should've been given talents incorporating combat feats (with a feat using bab-prereqs for other classes to access those that aren't supposed to be Ftr-exclusive). Mostly because I see it as a way to cut a lot of feat taxes. Which seems to be the main reason Fighters get so many feats - to pay taxes for feats that are class abilities in disguise (like how Teamwork feats are for Inquisitor/Cavalier)...)
While I obviously can't speak to how this place was a few years ago, I do want to say that the current vibe of the place had a lot to do with why I felt comfortable joining to seek advice instead of like patching something together on my own.
All this talk of a halfling riding a goat, and nobody even gives an off-hand mention of Peewit? Such a smurf! Even if he is a disbarred bard rather than a knight.
Jason Wedel wrote:
However, I assure you Chicken Boo jokes would be made...
Chicken Boo? As in the Animaniacs' version of Sir Bearington? What a fun idea to sneak a mount indoors!
(Edit: Uhh... Where'd that profile pic of mine come from all of a sudden?)
Large ×2, Huge ×4, Gargantuan ×8, Colossal ×16. A smaller creature can carry less weight depending on its size category, as follows: Small ×3/4, Tiny ×1/2, Diminutive ×1/4, Fine ×1/8.
You do this:
Fine ×1/4, Diminutive ×1/2, Tiny ×3/4, Small ×1, Medium ×1-1/2, Large ×3, Huge ×6, Gargantuan ×12, Colossal ×24.
Meaning a tiny quadruped would have 1/2 carry capacity instead of 1/4. Does anybody support this assertion?
Yeah, that sounds like what I'd take your original quote to mean. "Quadrupeds use these values instead of the normal size multipliers for carry capacity"
I'm no rules lawyer, but that's my take on it at least :p
Medium is possibly worth a mention since it can get a pretty high boost to Perform, while also getting a smaller boost to all the other stuff.
At lvl 20 a catfolk medium with the Spirit Focus (marshal) feat and Spirit Bonded armor can add 14+1d6 to any of the rolls, provided the roll failed before the boost (with limited uses per day to increase the 1d6 to 1d10). But the 14 is also a passive for Cha stuff, so that becomes 28+1d6 for Perform.
(This is all before things like skill ranks, base saves, ability mods, Skill Focus, etc - just Spirit Bonus + Spirit Focus + Spirit Bonded + Spirit Surge + Favored Class)
Otherwise, medium's probably not that useful here. A 2-lvl dip, a feat, and a 6k armor enchant can net a passive +3 untyped Spirit Bonus to any* of the rolls (well, all of them, just not at once). And +1 extra for a single skill when using Trickster. With +1d6 Spirit Surge on failed rolls a few times per day, provided the roll got Spirit Bonus (or you've got the Marshal spirit).
Not great for the investment, but possibly worthwhile if there's room left.
*what gets Spirit Bonus depends on what spirit you pick for the day:
Spoiler:
Archmage:
Spellcraft
Knowledge: Arcana
Craft
Int checks
Concentration checks
For the sake of completeness, I want to mention the Occultist archetype Extemporaneous Channeler for its ability to temporarily enchant improvised weapons (basically the Fighter Adv. Weapon Training "Warrior Spirit" but for improvised weapons). And all it takes is a 1 level dip, if you're not looking for more than +1 properties.
If going multiple levels, you could couple it with the Trappings of the Warrior panoply (not PFS legal, if that matters) to get full BAB. I'm not sure how worth it that is when you lose 1 focus every 10 min if they're invested in an implement, though...
I'm not good with feats, but I used the combo Opening Volley and Flinging Charge on a shield champion brawler. Flinging Charge lets you throw a weapon during a charge, but you take a penalty to the melee attack after. Opening Volley gives a bonus to melee someone you've hit with a ranged attack same round.
Distance Thrower can help reduce ranged penalties, and it's something you can flex into as needed since it only requires Str.
I usually go shuriken or wushu darts (both are Monk weapons, so you can Flurry with them, and wushu darts are Close weapons too). But the scenarios you're describing for the harpoon sound really cool! So I'm going to try that sometime.
They're bit hard to make happen, but *Khan*'s suggestion of Hamatula Strike looks like it'd help!
First of all, I want to thank everyone for weighing in on this!
Also, props to bbangerter for finding the FAQ!
So, the consensus regarding the Charge scenario seems to be:
If the already-completed movement from the Charge + remainder can be completed under the rules for a "standard action" charge (i.e. a charge legal while staggered), the charge can carry on. Otherwise, the charge ends.
With GM's call whether to allow a switch of target to the "stagger-er" in the event the charge cannot be completed, provided that results in a charge that would be legal under the Staggered condition.
It's max zero at levels 1-4, max one at levels 5-9, max two at levels 10-14 etc. There's no 'minimum 1' usage listed which is why actually using the one 'free' feat which weapon master allows blocks you from flexing into it until level 5.
Okay, that's roughly what I figured. Fighter lvl/5, round down.
I wrote a whole thing (spoilered below, just in case), then I realized... It's kind of a moot point - brawler 1 + weapon master 4 counts as fighter 5 for the purpose of feats. So by the time I can flex into AWT, I already meet the prereqs to have max 1 non-bonus feat version of it. Unless the restrictions don't count as "effects"?
Spoiler:
That just leaves one bit of confusion... I was looking at it as "weapon masters ignore bonus feats when checking if they've reached the limit" (and, conversely, "ignore the limit when checking if they're eligible for selecting AWT as a bonus feat").
In which case, having a static bonus feat AWT doesn't affect whether or not a new AWT can be acquired - the limitation just basically pretends that bonus feat has been spent on something other than AWT.
So, with a max of 0 non-bonus feats at lvl 4, that means whether or not there's a bonus feat spent on AWT it can't be flexed into, right? (because the bonus feats referred to are "fighter bonus feats", not just any old thing that grants bonus feats?)
The way you are describing, it sounds more like the weapon master instead adds +1 to the normal maximums (so max 1 at lvl 1-4, max 2 at 5-9, etc)... So if I pick it up at lvl 4, I've hit the max. Is that what you mean?
A weapon master can select this feat as a bonus feat; if he does so, it doesn’t count for the purpose of the requirement that it can be taken at most once per 5 fighter levels.
So I do get one Adv. Wpn Training from the lvl4 Fighter Bonus feat without messing up the Iron Caster.
Yeah, but if you get that fixed one then you can't flex into another until you have a full 5 levels of weapon master. And flexing into AWT is how you get item mastery feats, most of them aren't combat feats.
I don't understand... Why does the bonus feat block flexing?
At lvl 4 Weapon Master, I get 1 Bonus Feat. If I spend that on Advanced Weapon Training, it doesn't count toward the "1 per 5 lvls of Fighter" restriction (per above). So how does it block me from flexing into a 2nd one? Have I missed another limitation somewhere?
Also, a related question. How is the once per 5 fighter lvls limitation calculated? Is it max 1 feat at fighter <9, max 2 at fighter 10-14? Or max 2 at fighter 6+? Or max 1 whenever, max 2 at ftr5+? Or... some other formula?
Avenger vigilante is full BAB. Psychometrists still get to pick avenger if they want.
Ooh, that makes Psychometrist a lot more appealing...
avr wrote:
BTW, trappings of the warrior takes 6 levels of occultist - you need 3 implements for transmutation, abjuration and the trappings panoply.
They don't? But the Occultist table says "Implements 3" at lvl2. Is that referring to something else? (I admit, I am somewhat confused by the Occultist in general, but I thought it was mostly spell stuff...)
avr wrote:
You don't get a feat at Fighter 3 / Brawler 1. I guess you could retrain the L3 general feat to barroom brawler then. Though BB seems unnecessary with martial flexibility. Maybe get extra martial flexibility instead, no retraining required?{/quote]
Right you are! No feat at lvl 4. I wonder why my notes had one that. Must be from the straight Weapon Master progression I tried...
The point of BB is, if I've understood the guide correctly, to allow Martial Flexibility as a Swift action without 6 levels of Brawler (by way of Combat Stamina shenanigans).
avr wrote:
And important, don't get advanced weapon training as a fixed feat as that prevents you using martial flexibility to pick it up on the fly which is the core of the iron caster.
For ordinary fighters, this is very true. But the Weapon Master pulls a sneaky one on us by hiding the following in the Adv. Weapon Training feat's Special section:
Advanced Weapon Training (feat) wrote:
A weapon master can select this feat as a bonus feat; if he does so, it doesn’t count for the purpose of the requirement that it can be taken at most once per 5 fighter levels.
So I do get one Adv. Wpn Training from the lvl4 Fighter Bonus feat without messing up the Iron Caster.
Finally, thank you again for your continuing quality input! It is appreciated ^^
Okay, so, I think I've got my first few levels mostly sorted.
For stats, I'm thinking of going with:
Spoiler:
Str 14
Dex 13
Con 16
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 10
I could lower Wis+Cha to 9 and raise Dex to 14, but I'm not sure how much that would really help. The Dex would still be low enough that I'll pretty much need to aim for heavy armor anyway, and I could always use the lv4 boost to even it out as is...
I have no idea what feat to pick at lvl 3, unfortunately. Barroom Brawler requires bab4, as does Spring Attack. I might go with Charging Stag Style, though I feel it's so situational that I might as well just flex into it if I need it (though I'd need to do so 1 round before using it, which could be an issue).
Then there's the question of whether extra uses of Barroom Brawler through Abundant Tactics is more useful than Warrior Spirit for weapon enchants... Which kind of depends on where I take the chr after this :/
Also, I don't really know where to go after lv5. I'm considering dipping one level of Vigilante (Psychometrist) to pick up the Transmutation Implement school (in which case Warrior Spirit becomes somewhat redundant), but that would cost 1 bab. Alternatively, 2 levels of Occultist instead would allow the Trappings of the Warrior panoply, returning the lost bab...
Or I could just go the simple route and continue as either Brawler (particularly if I can find a suitable archetype) or Weapon Master :p
Of course, still left is figuring out traits and race. Leaning towards Adaptive Magic (for UMD as class skill) for one trait, but for the other one...?
And race... anything with a bonus to Con, I guess? Or at least without a penalty to it :p
So, I thought it a pretty straightforward question - What happens if you stagger someone in the middle of their turn?
Except I can't find anything that really gives an answer...
The specific situation I'm trying to answer is what happens if you use Intercept Charge to position yourself so you get an AoO when the enemy charges past, and then use that AoO for Diabolic Style to stagger the opponent (assuming they fail their save)?
But really, the basic mechanics for staggering someone in the middle of their turn is what I'm unclear about.
Basically:
1 - Let's start with what happens when it's just a regular move + attack? (the AoO happening during the move, before the standard action attack has begun)
2 - And in the full scenario, what happens to the charge? Is it broken? Or unaffected because the action is already started?
3 - What if you stagger someone in the middle of a full-attack, does the attack complete or is it aborted?
3.II - Does it matter if it's after the first attack or a later one? (since you can choose whether it's a standard attack or full-attack at that point, right?)
Bonus question, B: The non-lethal damage from Diabolic Style is instead of the regular unarmed strike damage, have I understood that right?
For reference:
Diabolic Style wrote:
Benefit: While using this style, you can make an attack of opportunity with an unarmed strike to deliver a humiliating swat to the target. If you hit the target, you inflict 1 point of nonlethal damage and the target must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC = 10 + half your level + your Charisma modifier) or become staggered for 1 round.
Intercept Charge wrote:
Benefit: When an opponent charges your ally with this feat, as an immediate action you can move up to your speed toward any square in the path of the charge. If you end your movement in the path of the charge, the opponent must stop when it becomes adjacent to you and then attack you instead of your ally. Your movement from using this feat counts toward your movement on your next turn.
Am I looking in the wrong place? The animal companion stat block for "small cat (cheetah, leopard)" seems to have Trip? (emphasis mine)
Animal Companion: Cat, Small (Cheetah, leopard) wrote:
Source PRPG Core Rulebook pg. 54
Companion Type Animal
Monster Entry Link
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 50 ft.; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4 plus trip), 2 claws (1d2); Ability Scores Str 12, Dex 21, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6 plus trip), 2 claws (1d3); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex -2, Con +2; Special Qualities sprint.
Since the companion gets Sprint at 4th level, which Bestiary leopards also don't have, might the companion stats be based entirely off the cheetah even though they're supposed to cover other similar felines (like leopards/panthers) too?
I thought Spear Dancing Style made Brace (and Reach, except during your turn when you Full Attack) go away?
Nothing 'goes away'. You can still use the spear/polearm with brace and/or reach, just not at the same time that you are using it as a double weapon. As noted, the Spear Dancing Reach feat then eventually allows you to use reach with both ends of the item as a double weapon.
Thanks for the explanation!
That bit about "not at the same time" is what I meant by "goes away" (as in "the qualities are unavailable while the style is in effect"). Poorly worded on my part, definitely.
So I was confused by the original comment. I mistook it as "the weapon has all these qualities at the same time" and that left me wondering if I had misunderstood the rules.
Just to double check, the halberd switches between:
- Style Active: a Piercing, Slashing, Bludgeoning, Tripping, Finesseable, Double weapon that can get Reach during full attacks
- Style Inactive: a Piercing, Slashing, & Tripping weapon with Brace
Is that right?
If you take Spear Dancing Style Feats, any pole arm can be Finesseable and have Reach in addition to being Double: the butt-end being treated as a Light Mace.
I've been fooling around with making a Spear Dancing Style character that uses a Halberd, already a Piercing/Slashing weapon that is Tripping and Brace, so then it will be a Piercing, Slashing, Bludgeoning, Tripping, Brace, Finesseable, Double, Reach weapon!
I thought Spear Dancing Style made Brace (and Reach, except during your turn when you Full Attack) go away?
It does at first and then three feats deep it gives it back
Doesn't that only give you Reach back (so still no Brace?) and then only during your turn when you full attack, so no Reach between turns? (I'm missing something, aren't I?)
If you take Spear Dancing Style Feats, any pole arm can be Finesseable and have Reach in addition to being Double: the butt-end being treated as a Light Mace.
I've been fooling around with making a Spear Dancing Style character that uses a Halberd, already a Piercing/Slashing weapon that is Tripping and Brace, so then it will be a Piercing, Slashing, Bludgeoning, Tripping, Brace, Finesseable, Double, Reach weapon!
I thought Spear Dancing Style made Brace (and Reach, except during your turn when you Full Attack) go away?
The easiest way to think of the dual identity is that 95% of the time adventuring you stay in the vigilante identity, the social identity is one you use when you're gathering information incognito or when your character retires to run an inn. Most social talents work when you're in the vigilante identity, avoid the ones which don't.
Ah, okay. Yeah, that does make things significantly easier. Thanks ^^
Sandslice wrote:
The cavalier order most in line with your idea is order of the blossom, which is themed around being a fey / First World guardian.
Based on the ideas you have posted for your ethos otherwise, it looks pretty similar to the paladin code of Chaldira, the main halfling goddess - especially if you look at the edicts and anathemas described for her in Second Edition material.
Psychometrist vigilante gets focus powers without spellcasting. Poor fort save tho' which matters if you do the iron caster thing.
Thanks! At first glance, it does seem interesting. The "Dual Identity" thing confuses me, to be honest. But yeah, as you say the poor Fort save is really the main problem. Still, definitely worth a closer look!
avr wrote:
While using martial flexibility and the adv weapon training feat for item mastery is very flexible, just getting ~3 item mastery feats and an amazing base fort save may be enough flexibility with looser requirements.
That is true... I'll have to take a closer look at the feats and see how many are interesting and how many are more "situational tricks that would be fun to have".
avr wrote:
There's some quite diverse cavalier order codes, tho' I'm not especially familiar with them.
I've never played a Cavalier and only ever glanced through the order abilities for some of them. So I completely forgot they have "edicts" >.<
Hello, forum! Long-time reader, first time poster (as the cliché goes).
I'm making a low-lvl chr, and I'm sort of stuck for how to create the build (and some rp fluff). Basically, I have a concept, but lack the system mastery to implement it mechanically. Which is what I'm hoping to find some kind souls willing to help with ^^
While looking for ideas for my last chr, a hinyasi brawler, I discovered the Iron Caster concept. If anyone is unfamiliar, it's basically a fighter who uses Item Mastery feats for some magic (Thread). That chr was a pig herder out searching for a stolen griffin in a low-fantasy Viking-themed setting (it's a long story), so he was unfortunately completely wrong for making one.
The core idea for the chr is a young kid enamored with knights in shining armor but is little more than the "city outskirts" equivalent to a street urchin. Being a curious sort, the kid ends up meeting an old veteran while exploring. Except the "old veteran" is actually a fey, who has decided it would be funny to train the kid as a joke (not necessarily on the kid).
So basically... a naive youth who blends "romanticized ideal of knight" with "intentionally incorrect teachings of a trickster pretending to be a knight".
This will mostly be relevant to the rp fluff, but if there are ways to hint at it in the mechanics that would be neat.
Now, to the mechanics!
Spoiler:
I'm building the chr at lvl 2, and I expect the campaign to end no later than the low double-digits (quite possibly by lvl 9, even). So anything important should come online no later than lvl 5-ish (part of why I'm doing Iron Caster, as that is mostly online by 6).
The thing with Iron Caster is that it's not very "build intensive", so there's a lot of open stuff. Feats, especially.
Stats are 20-point buy.
Aside from going Iron Caster, I haven't really set anything in stone yet. So I'm pretty flexible with stuff like class, race (anything "likely to be found in/near a human-dominated city" goes, others need special approval), traits, feats... Anything I've missed? :p
Some general notes:
*Low-to-mid optimization level.
*It's a home game, so pretty much anything PF1 from the AoN should be fine.
*Iron Caster requires Adv. Weapon Training to function, so 4 levels of Weapon Master looks like it's going to be the quickest path. I'd appreciate alternatives, though; provided they don't delay things by more than 1-2 lvls ^^
*Medium or Heavy armor is a must, given the "knight" theme.
And, of course, a wishlist:
*Aiming for a mobile fighting style (I'm thinking one-handed sword with shield or possibly shielded gauntlet style for off-hand). I'm a bit torn between Spring Atk, Vital Strike, and Battle Dancer Brawler Rolling Fury builds.
*I'd love some kind of adaptable Teamwork thing, since I'm already flexing into combat feats and being a battlefield commander feels appropriate for the concept. Cavalier can't use Martial Flex feats with Tactician, so that's right out (unless I've missed an archetype?). But something like the Holy Tactician's Battlefield Presence, except which doesn't require Lawful alignment, would obviously be awesome. I'm assuming the reason I haven't found anything anywhere near as good is because it doesn't exist? :p
*If I can avoid Brawler, that'd be great (last chr was one). But a 1-2 lvl dip into Battle Dancer for Rolling Flurry & Martial Flex does seem pretty hard to beat >.<
I was thinking of using Occultist with the martial panoply to get pseudo-full-BAB and a bit of flexing (as a way around Brawler), but I'd much rather not have spellcasting (I do like its focus powers, though...)
Exemplar Brawler sadly doesn't mix with the Battle Dancer archetype, but might be an option for a Vital Strike build? The Teamwork stuff would come online really late, though :/
For stats, high Con for Iron Caster aside, I'm thinking "light focus" on Int and Dex? Bit of Cha, too, for that fey flavour? Just enough Str to get by, and Wis as dump stat (reflecting naiveté and curiosity-driven nature)?
The low Will shouldn't be too big an issue at the relevant levels, especially if I end up shoring it up with Occultist (or another good Will class).
Feat-wise, I really have no idea where to go. There's just too many possibilities :p
So... Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this build happen? For example, individual abilities that would be a good fit? In particular with the requirement of things being online at pretty low levels...
Moving on to the fluffy side, I'm looking for inspiration to create a facsimile of a "code of conduct" except... not paladin-like at all (at least if you look closely at it).
Spoiler:
Ideally something inspired by fey (in a broad sense, not restricted to only Paizo's interpretation). I'm aiming for something with hints of Chaotic from the fey mixed with (idealized) Good from the kid's own ideas; probably a bit of blue-and-orange morality that comes across as self-contradictory (e.g. "deceive all you want, but always honor your word").
While I have a clear idea of the general behaviour that should result from it, so far I've only been able to draft it into a couple of fairly vague concrete points in terms of the "code" itself.
My ideas thus far:
*Appreciate cleverness, even when it's used against you (especially if it's funny)
*Indulge curiosity/Always ask questions (this is mostly to aid in moving the game, tbh)
*Value freedom and liberty - your own and others'
*If you freely agreed to the terms, abide by them
That's about it so far... Something in opposition to taking orders feels fitting, but I'm not sure what that might be.
Anyway, that's what I've got so far. I realize it's not very much, but I'm really hoping it's enough of a foundation and general direction that I can some suggestions to help make something of it.
The goal roughly being a nimble warrior with a bit of magic, though not outright spellcasting, and driven by ideals that aren't what one would expect of a knight.
I'm finding the greatest challenge to be the low level nature of the circumstances, since there are so many options I'm not familiar with out there. So I'm hoping the Mastery of the Boards can help me find solutions that work at more relevant levels ^^
