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...if you aren't using skill focus and Inquisitor's Monocle, and possibly getting alertness through the ioun stone too.... Thanks for those mentions. I just hit lvl 10 and I'm at a +29 now with Skill Focus: Sense Motive. I'll have to pickup the monocle and the ioun stone sometime soon which should add another +9. So I'm in agreement with you guys on what has been said. I was just curious if it would even work as a pseudo melee with the additional spells that Irori granted. Is it possible for me to beef up my AC to be pretty defensive? Part of the reasoning I was thinking for the full Snake chain was to punish enemies that targeted me, which Clerics sometimes can get focused on as they're the backbone to the party. I think with the monocle and the ioun stone my Sense Motive should reach a decent number, but I'll want to retrain Snake Sidewind to something else. I'm probably good to focus as a caster and keep the spell penetration and greater spell penetration. I just picked up a +6 wisdom headband so I'm sitting at 26 wisdom score now. Exalted:
Domains:
Stats at level 10
HP: 88
SAVES: Fort[14], Reflex[8], Will[18] 1) Cleric 1: Bab +0, Spell Penetration (lvl 1), Focused Study: Knowledge Religion (human)
Upcoming levels
*Snake Sidewind needs retrained to something else. Gear/Items:
Upcoming levels:
I just got 1/day SLA's of all domain spells from the Healing domain. So that's 1/day - CLW, CMD, CSW, CCW, & Breath of Life for now. At 11th level, due to the 2nd Irori Boon, I'll have 3/day uses to turn a Breath of Life or etc into a "Close" (50ft or so) range spell, which I felt that + the "Healer's Blessing" ability from the Healing domain was a stronger option that if I had went the Pharasma route and got 1/day Raise Dead or even Ressurection at 13th. The empowered heals and ability to reach people with Breath of Life or heals when I couldn't otherwise should keep the need for Raise Dead or etc from having to be used. At Exalted 7th I'll get perma Protection from Chaos and Exalted 8th at-will Detect Chaos. Exalted 9th seems pretty meh to have perma Levitate, but maybe I'm missing the glory of this ability as my initial thoughts are it's a pretty weak boon. Exalted 10th (Lvl 15) I'll have 1/day Perform Miracle, which should be a great capstone. I'll later be picking up 1/day SLA's of Heal, Regenerate (meh?), Mass CCW, and Mass Heal. So with all the healing SLA's, Empowered Healing, and the ability to spontaneously convert spells to healing I should be more than capable to keep people on their toes. Spells I often prepare: Haste, Plane Shift, Dismissal, Breath of Life, Spiritual Weapon, Holy Smite, Flame Strike, Communal Resist Energy, Daylight, Invisibility Purge, Shield Other, Silence, Grace, Freedom of Movement, and leaving some slots open also for flexibility. I could really use some suggestions on increasing my defenses and expand my role as an offensive divine caster over the upcoming levels. So now that we have ruled the melee route out completely, what can we do to improve the divine spell casting role that I have?
This might just be because I'm new to melee or because I'm unused to your class, but doesn't power attack require 13 in strength? And I'm also curious about how you plan on two handing your sword and still use a shield. I'd have to swap to a +2str/+2con belt and sell my shield and buy a buckler, I'd lose ac bonus and take a -1 to attacks but I'd be able to 2hand when I need to. Both aren't too hard of fixes.
Bump, also just recently remembered that I can still wear my armor and shield as sensei since I don't gain fast movement and flurry. So, I could continue in the account boosts and enchantments of my armor. Any suggestions for good armor and shield enchantments? Probably using magic vestment to bump the +modifier for both.
Once again, take the Clandestine Inquisition instead of a domain. With Wisdom being your primary focus you're looking at roughly 5 casts of "Vanish" and 2 uses a day of roll twice and take the highest for stealth checks (along with using those for Bluff, Disguise, or Sleight of Hand if you wish. All Rogue'ish things.) Get a +4wis headband and you'll have 7 Vanishes and 4 rerolls, which should be enough to get you through PFS scenarios. Take the Highlander trait for Stealth as a class skill. Stats:
Traits: Fate's Favored (faith), Highlander (region)
Take feats: Weapon Proficiency: Falcata, Divine Fighting Technique: Norgorber, Power Attack, Furious Focus, Vital Strike, Additional Traits, Quicken Spell Metamagic Gear: Assuming +4 belt of strength, +4 headband of wisdom, +1 Keen Falcata (use Greater Magic Weapon to boost to +2), +2 mithral kikko armor. 11th level: rnd1 you quicken Fate's Favored and standard action "Disappear". rnd2 you swift action Enlarge via Growth subdomain (Separatist archetype) and attack. Atk: 8bab + 7str + 2weap + 4dfavor + 2invis = +23 vs flat-footed
---------------
Clandestine Inquisition:
Disappear (Sp): You can become invisible as per the spell as a standard action. The invisibility lasts for 1 round per inquisitor level or until you attack. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Blessed Secrecy (Su): At 4th level, when you attempt a Bluff, Disguise, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth skill check, you can roll twice and take the more favorable result. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom bonus. The more I stat this out the more I think I'm actually going to play this myself lol. ***My top weapon suggestions would be either a Falcata, Great terbutje, or Bastard Sword. (Seems Estoc could be considered a Two-Handed weapon and disqualify itself from the Norgorber DFT feat.)
As a Cleric, pick a deity that has access to Clandestine Inquisition which gives the following. Clandestine Inquisition:
Deities Achaekek, Desna, Iomedae, Milani, Nethys, Norgorber, Sarenrae, Shelyn, Sivanah. Granted Powers: Secrecy is required of the faithful in lands where your deity’s worshipers are hunted. Sleight of Hand is a class skill for you. Disappear (Sp): You can become invisible as per the spell as a standard action. The invisibility lasts for 1 round per inquisitor level or until you attack. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Blessed Secrecy (Su): At 4th level, when you attempt a Bluff, Disguise, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth skill check, you can roll twice and take the more favorable result. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom bonus. Delayed Spells (Su): At 8th level, you can delay the effects of a spell you cast by up to 1 round per inquisitor level. You choose the duration of the delay when you cast the spell and can cause the spell to take effect immediately during the period of delay by concentrating as a standard action. You can use this ability once per day plus an additional time per day for every 4 inquisitor levels you have beyond 8th. Pick Norgorber as your deity, take Divine Fighting Technique, and maybe going Separatist to pickup the Growth subdomain. Use Heirloom weapon or spend a weapon proficiency feat or dip into a melee class to have proficiency with Scizore, Gandasa, Bastard Sword, Dwarven waraxe, Dwarven double waraxe (enlarged and hitting from stealth your first attack will be 3d8, 3d6 if using the Estoc). You'd have a bunch of swift action enlarge person uses, a bunch of standard action vanishes, and a good weapon.....I might end up making a character like this just for fun lol. Add Impact enchantment to your weapon and take Vital Strike and you'll be doing 8d8dmg with 1 strike.
Weapon: +1 Adamantine Impact Sansetsukon Not sure why I didn't think of it but I'd be way better off just going with the Temple Sword since I get free proficiency with it and making it Keen for a 17-20/x2 crit chance and 2handing it with power attack. So feel free to give me your thoughts, replacing Sansetsukon with Temple Sword.
It adds flavor to worshiping a monk-like deity and to the concept of this character training her physical body along with her mind. So, how about this? It seems Snake Style doesn't require a free hand to use and it says that enemies that miss me while I'm in Snake Style provoke "Unarmed Strikes" and according to the entry for Unarmed Strike under Monk it says I can use head,knees,feet etc to use an Unarmed Strike while my hands are full....So it seems like I could use a 2handed Monk weapon, which I previously thought would stop my from making Unarmed Strikes when enemies provoked. Or I could drop Snake Sidewind and Snake Fang and pickup "Weapon Proficiency Sansetsukon" and Power Attack. Transformation + PA will net me a decent amount of damage. I really liked the idea of Snake Fang allowing me to get free attacks on enemies that miss me, but it seems Unarmed Strikes just aren't the way to go on this character. Rnd1: Quicken Divine Favor, Righteous Might
Atk: 24/19/14 (with power attack: 20/15/10)
Would Impact, Holy, or just straight +enhancement bonuses be the way to go?
Well, 13th Level numbers:
BAB: +10/+5 STR: +1atk/+1dmg Divine Power: +5atk/+5dmg Transformation: +3 BAB, +2atk/+2dmg from STR bonus Greater Magic Weapon: +3atk/+3dmg Weapon: "Keen Frost AoMF" (Snake Style = Piercing Unarmed Strikes) Gloves: Deliquescent Gloves Keen Frost AoMF Unarmed Strike: 24/24/19/14 for 21.5dmg per hit, 19-20/x2 crit range
AC: 10base + 8wis + 4dex + 4natural + 3mvestment +4shieldofFaith = 33ac 18dex so 5 AoO's - Any attack that misses me while in Snake Style provokes an attack. So that's a possibility of 9 total attacks a round. Divine Power on turn 1, Transformation on turn 2.
Spells
*covered by domain spells
Resources used: 16k gold AoMF, 8k gold gloves, 2 feats: Snake Sidewind & Snake Fang
Just throwing the stats/info out so I can also see how decent it is. @13th level, after 2 rounds of casting: Approximately 33-37ac, possible 9 max attacks a round. atk: 24/24/24(aoo)/24(aoo)/24(aoo)/24(aoo)/24(aoo)/19/14, 21.5dmg, 19-20/x2 +31 to confirm crits, d20+31ac to deflect 1 attack a round. rarely would I ever get 5 extra attacks from enemies missing me, but I'd assume at least 2 attacks on average. *Note I could pickup the "Inevitable Fist" boon at 14th level from Evangelist list via Diverse Obedience for: free action, rnds/HD axiomatic + fists deal dmg 1 size larger. Extra dmg vs Chaotic creatures. I was planning on getting Diverse Obedience later anyways to get Runic Form boon at 18th level for all the free SLA's. The perma levitate boon seemed pretty crappy. That up there is about the best I could do, with maybe 14rnds of "Inevitable Fists" @14th and 11rnds of "Wooden Fists" domain ability for +3 damage @14th lvl. Thoughts on whether the numbers are decent enough to make it work?
The character is a cleric/exalted of Irori so adding monk levels seems appropriate. It's not the best option but it allows me to get into melee if I run into stuff that's immune to magic. The inspire courage is pretty much there if/when I don't have anything better to do honestly. I have spells options such as: fate's favored, transformation, & righteous might among others. My Sense Motive atm to block 1 attack per round is +22. What things can I do to help bridge the melee gap?
Hello all, I have a PFS character that's about to hit 10th level and I plan on this character being the first one that I take into Seeker levels. I'm highly considering dipping into Monk and could use some suggestions. Separatist Cleric 5 / Exalted of Irori 6 / Sensai Monk 2:
Race – Human
Alignment – Lawful Neutral Deity – Irori (Lawful Neutral) Traits:
Domains:
Exalted Domain:
1st lvl stats -
current stats at 9th lvl -
1) Cleric 1: Bab +0, Spell Penetration (lvl 1), Focused Study: Knowledge Religion (human)
future levels -
Why I want to go Monk?:
Going two levels of Sensei adds:
* Stunning Fist (decent DC with high Wis) * 10 rounds of Inspire Courage * Insightful Strike (use Wis for attack/CMB on unarmed and ALL Monk weapons, that's a +7atk/cmb boost for me.) * All knowledge skills are class skills (Allows me to retrain Memory sub-domain to something else. Would lose Recall knowledge reroll ability, but I'd at least not lose the class skill bonuses) * Gives Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Perception, Stealth, and Swim as class skills, somewhat useful. * +3 to fort/reflex/wis saves * bonus feat & increase to unarmed strike damage (1d3 to 1d6) * my soon to be +8wis modifier will add +8 to AC and CMD. Increases touch AC defense and vs grapple/etc. current gear:
Spellguard Bracer
+3 cloak of resistance +1 amulet of natural armor +1 ring of protection +2con belt +4wis headband boots of the cat lesser rod of extend +1 mithral kikko armor (will need to sell once going monk) +1 mithral heavy shield (will need to sell once going monk) Maybe Greater Spell Penetration is overkill and should be retrained? I could grab Additional traits for Wisdom in the Flesh and something else. WitF I could use on Acrobatics or Escape Artist for a +7 boost (not sure which would be a better choice here). I could buy a +1 Keen Spell Storing Temple Sword for a 1d8 17-20/x2 crit range Monk weapon that'd go off my Wis modifier. Or I could save the money and get Deliquescent Gloves, and a Shocking/Cold AoMF? With Snake Fang later, I can get free attacks pretty regularly and I use my Sense Motive checks to confirm crits instead. Maybe I should forget buying a +1 Keen Spell Storing Temple Sword and just focus on increasing my unarmed strike damage? Any thoughts or suggestions?
Race: Human
20pt buy builds:
STR 7 DEX 16 (+2) CON 14 INT 12 WIS 12 CHA 18 (+2) -4,5,5,2,2,10 or STR 16 (+2)
Dex Route
or STR Route
Advice:
Oracular Spellstrike is actually really powerful, especially combined with Misfortune. Take your favorite save or suck spell, such as Blindness/Deafness and deliver one strong punch and force the enemy to reroll their save if they roll high. It's essentially Persistent metamagic on any of your save or suck spells without cost, for each enemy, once a day.
Curses are whatever you want, I took a few curses from the newer Occult book as the Vampiric curse seemed more fitting for my character. There's another curse that subtracts 5 movespeed but you gain a swim speed equal to your movespeed, it's super good and hardly even a drawback. Add the Fleet revelation and you've removed the penalty from the one curse and gained a huge advantage if you ever find yourself having to swim. Spells, pick one or two offensive/save or suck spells per spell level and grab some buffing, status removal, or crowd control spells that you see fitting. I think the human race has the favored class bonus to take an extra spell one level lower than what your highest casting spell level is, that's a huge boon and worth trading the +1hp per lvl for. Wisdom in the Flesh is worthless, because it makes you use your wisdom stat instead which won't be that great. There's a trait that gives +1 and makes Acrobatics a class skill which is great for the Dex build. I believe it's Reckless? Even if you're str based it'll probably be a better pick than WitF....But, you should dip 1 level of Scaled Monk which will grant you Acrobatics anyways so use your traits on something else. The difference between the STR and the DEX build:
So, the Str version is going to hit a ton harder with their 1 attack, somewhere in the 2d6+21'ish + 1d6acid. That's including Monk's Robes, Delisquint Gloves, and Greater Magic Weapon. Adding a Flaming, Shocking, Cold Amulet of Mighty Fists would net you and extra 1d6fire, 1d6electric, 1d6cold damage. So you can see how the damage stacks up, that's not including using ocular strike later on to apply an Inflict Wounds spell or something like Slay Living or Harm and misfortuning them to reroll if they roll well.
On the other hand, the Dex build requires an Agile Amulet of Mighty fists before you're capable of doing any decent melee damage, but it won't come close to the Str's version. You just play as a Support and defensive tank if necessary until then. The Dex build can easily get into the AC 40's and buffed up / using Osyluth Guile you can get into the AC 50's. Ocular Strike is once again being used to deliver the majority of your strike damage with Slay Living, Harm, or Inflict Spells. Sometimes it's better to lay a Blindness/Deafness down on them or something else though. So there you have it, you can swap a few feats in or out and adjust the stats a tad if they are a little too min/maxed but the rest is all just preference. If you go Dex build you can take the trait that boosts fighting defensively and use a Tonfa to also boost the AC bonus granted. It's a really fun, and a bit overpowered build, but you probably won't see it really come "online" till about 4th or 6th level (The STR build a little earlier, but the reduced AC makes the character quite a bit more fragile being up front.) Hope this helps! :)
The Exalted Prestige Class is pretty amazing for clerics. Well I'll disagree with your disagreement hehe. I have a level 9 (5 Separatist, 4 Exalted of Irori) character that's quite amazing. I plan on taking this character into Seeker levels after hitting lvl 12 in PFS. I took the Memory subdomain and the Tactics subdomain so I reroll knowledge checks 10 times a day with a +7wis bonus and I reroll initiative checks 9 times a day. Thought domain grants all Knowledges as class skills and Deific Obedience grants +4 to all knowledge skills. * 10th lvl - All Healing domain spells as 1/day SLA's.
Runic Form:
Body Tattoos: Two contain cure serious wounds, which you can use as a spell-like ability. One contains restoration, which you can use as a spell-like ability.
Mind Tattoos: Two can each be discharged as a swift action to allow you to reroll a saving throw against an enchantment spell or effect. You must use this ability before you learn the result of your save, and you must take the second result, even if it is lower. The third can be discharged to grant you a +4 sacred bonus to Wisdom for 1 minute. Spirit Tattoos: Two allow you to assume an ethereal state for 1 minute as though using the spell etherealness. The third allows you to gain spell resistance equal to 10 + 1 for every Hit Dice you possess for 1 minute. * 15th lvl - 1/day Miracle I'm considering dipping 1 level in Monk sometime for the free flurry of blows, proficiency with all monk weapons, monk base saves boost, free feat, unarmed strike dmg boost, and to add my +7wis bonus to AC and CMD. I'll probably dip 1 lvl after I get Runic Form. I'm sure there's other deities out there that have some great obediences and boons, or give access to some great spells (Pharasma for one). But Exalted can definitely be a strong Prestige option.
Well, the character concept more of a psycho killer. It's just that she uses stealth, lies, and deception to fool victims. Chaotic Neutral in nature and enjoys to watch her victims suffer, like my old ex-girlfriend. So maybe a different deity than Calistria? I'm thinking of going Evangelist at 6th lvl onwards, I'll still be advancing Inquisitor but gaining more skill points, some boons, and a few extra toys. With the skill points, bane, and sneak attack dice I'm thinking of going dex based and picking up an agile weapon asap? It would free up some stat points, is it worth it? Other option is str based but I feel a 16 with racial stat bonus isn't very high though, idk...
The Clandestine Inquisition was catching my attention since it gives Vanish 3+wis mod times per a day, Sleight of Hand class skill, roll twice on Bluff, Disguise, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth skill checks and the ability to delay spells to either blast something with 2 spells at once or combo certain spells at later levels. Heresy or Conversion Inquisitions seem pretty powerful to become a competent party face though. I'll probably keep my Charisma around a 10 or 12. I'm mainly doing it to reflect the character's persuasion and attractiveness and usually I dump Charisma on other characters so it'll be nice to not do so this time. Any suggestions on Stats, powerful Inquisitor feats I should take, or specific tactics feats that are really good?
I'm trying to come up with a sneaky, lying, deceptive character for PFS play and it seems like the Inquisitor might be a good choice. Here are the requirements I have down so far for the character: Inquisitor:
Race: Human, Half-Elf, or Elf Stats: 20pt buy, no idea. Archetype: Sanctified Slayer Inquisition: Not sure. Maybe Clandstine, Heresay, Conversion, or Tactics? I have no clue on what my stats should be (20pt buy), but I don't want to dump Charisma (RP reasons, even though inquisitions/traits can swap charisma to int or wisdom for some skills. Minimum of 10 charisma required, this is not an ugly or awkward character. She's more-so a seductress and honeyed tongue backstabber.) I was thinking with Human, 12int, and the Skilled feat would give me 7 skill points a level. I'd like to focus on Bluff, Intimidate, Disguise, and Sleight of Hand. What stats, inquisition, feats, race, etc would you pick to flesh out this character?
If it's PFS then it has to be one of the following. Doesn't matter if something is treated like a quarterstaff. Only the following literal weapons. You must use one of the following weapons to make the attack: kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, and siangham. If it's not PFS, then you need to ask your GM.
Bandit doesn't say anything about full attacks during surprise rounds, if I'm understanding the class abilities correctly. Bandit - Ambush (Ex): At 4th level, a bandit becomes fully practiced in the art of ambushing. When she acts in the surprise round, she can take a move action, standard action, and swift action during the surprise round, not just a move or standard action. This ability replaces uncanny dodge.For the Thug archetype, I thought the ability to change someone from shaken to frightened would be a good option if using Cornugon Smash (only requires Intimidate 6 and Power Attack, not Furious Focus). Would require 14 STR though just to meet the Power Attack requirement. Warpriest isn't a bad idea, but not sure if I want to throw spellcasting in on this character (mainly because concept wise). What are some good feats or styles that would be most effective?
Well, I've decided to scrap my Stealth Rogue idea and go more with a violent/menacing Rogue flavor for the character I'm building. Here's what I got so far. (Bandit+Thug) Unchained Rogue 4 / (Mutagen Warrior) Fighter 6 / (Sohei) Monk 1:
1) Fighter 1: Bab +1 | FREE (lvl 1), FREE (Human), WFocus: Daggers (Fighter) 2) uRogue 1: Bab +1 | Weapon Finesse (Rogue) 3) uRogue 2: Bab +2 | Deific Obedience: Pharasma (lvl 3), FREE (Talent) 4) uRogue 3: Bab +3 | +1 Dex 5) uRogue 4: Bab +4 | FREE (lvl 5), FREE (Talent) 6) Sohei 1: Bab +4 | Deflect Arrows (Monk) 7) Fighter 2: Bab +5 | Accomplished Sneak Attacker (lvl 7) 8) Fighter 3: Bab +6/+1 | +1 Dex 9) Fighter 4: Bab +7/+2 | (lvl 9), FREE (Fighter) 10) Fighter 5: Bab +8/+3 | Improved Critical: Daggers (Fighter) 11) Fighter 6: Bab +9/+4 | Critical Focus: Daggers (lvl 11), FREE (Fighter) --Benefits--
I've got a lot of feats/talents free and could use some suggestions on Styles that would work best. I've looked at Spring-Heeled Style, Wyvern, and Outslug. Some options I'm considering are Spring Attack route, TWF Outslug lunge route, and Cornugon Smash route to frighten enemies. I'm also considering a Rapid Shot + Manyshot build to full-attack during a surprise round to start combat with 12d6 sneak attack with 4 shots to someone within 30ft? I'm not sure if it's a viable build though. Your thoughts? Give me some suggestions on what would work best for a thug'ish bandit character. What Style or feats would you pick? I need some ideas! :)
Well I've updated the character build from the replies received and focused a little more on other things while still maintaining decent stealth. Unchained Rogue (Bandit & Thug) 8 / Shadowdancer 3:
1) uRogue 1: Bab +0 | Improved Initiative (lvl 1), Focused Study: Knowledge Arcane (Human), Weapon Finesse (Rogue), FCB: 1/6 talent
Shadowdancer gets rid of the disadvantage of the Bandit archetype. The Thug archetype seems to mesh well with Intimidate skill unlock also. Not sure if there's any feats or talents that could get trimmed off for something better. Maybe Power Attack -> Cornugon Smash to free action Intimidate whoever I backstab? Or grabbing Dazzling Display?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!
Any easy way to get a familiar if going 9 levels rogue and 2 levels shadowdancer? Considering dropping the fighter levels if I can get the familiar in easily.... Easiest way is eldritch heritage and human's skill focus at lvl 1 and push skill focus stealth to lvl 8? Or should I squeeze one level of Eldritch Guardian in for the familiar pet? I'm considering taking Thug and Bandit archetypes. Full rounds during surprise would be really good with a +13-17 initiative....and thug's demoralizing seems good..unless picking up the rogue's edge intimidate is just as good or better. Thoughts?
Eerie Disappearance is not legal in PFS. (Scroll down to Heroes of the Streets) :< I totally missed that, just furthers my belief that you can't have nice things in PFS. :( Maybe Dazzling Display + Shatter Defenses with Rogue Edge: Intimidate? Or maybe it's not worth it? @ohako - I already have a 2handed str scout ninja that's built on spring attack and is lvl 8. I'm really wanting a character this time that's just maxed stealth, party is talking to someone I can just search the desk and grab the info while they distract or other fun things. The extra combat trick was by accident. There was a lot of stuff and I moved some of the fighter and rogue levels around. Any interesting fun feats or changes I could make? Also, are rogue archetypes allowed for the unchained rogue?
I'm trying to build a character that is in stealth most of the time (similar to Sora from .hack//sign or Clementine from Overlord) that stabs enemies/monsters in the back when they least expect it. I took Eerie Disappearance + Rogue's Edge: Intimidate as it looks like a decent aoe debuff to inflict shaken or frightened. I'm limiting this build to either Human or Half-Elf as I'm trying to "re-create" a character theme/concept, just an fyi. Class – Unchained Rogue 6 / Shadowdancer 3 / (Eldritch Guardian & Mutagen Warrior) Fighter 3:
Race – Human
Stats -
TWF Dagger
--Fighter Benefits--
I feel that this build is a bit messy at the moment. The feats needed to go Shadowdancer limit me a bit on my available feats. What can I do to improve Stealth, Damage output, or other effectiveness? Could really use some help. :)
Shield Brace for PFS looks like you only gain 1.0x STR bonus when using a 2handed weapon from spear/polearm weapon group instead of 1.5x. I guess it would allow me to use a Naginata with reach while still using a shield? Is it still worth the 2 feats even though it's not 1.5x STR? Where does it say that Armor Training bypasses the Shield Focus prereq due to Armor Training ability? If it's true, then that's great.
Good catch, Power Attack and WF: Wakazashi will need swapped around. --------------Check my last post to see my objective. The TWF build looks "fun" but I'm probably wanting to lean more towards a "hard to kill Warrior" with a Samurai feel. I think I'd feel less anxious going into scenarios when I know I can hold my ground in the frontlines.
Why don't you draw up a "this is my level 1 to 9 plan" for feats and order and weapon and we go from there on what to drop or keep. Weapon(s): Wakazashi, Katana, Nodachi, or possibly Naginata. I want to keep that Samurai feel and outside those weapons I think it starts to get away from the concept. ----------------Order:
Order of Vengeance and Warrior both look great for either goal (twf or 2hand)....free feat with Vengeance and encountering a creature of same kind within 24 hours is more more often than someone would think.
I guess my concern is ensuring that I'm not paying for a Rez and 2 Restorations by the end of each scenario when I'm putting myself in the frontlines. I'm so used to floating in the middle or the back of combat.... SUMMARY: Wanting that "Samurai" feel but tanky enough to be reliable and shrug off most dangers. The only full martial I've played in PFS was a Paladin and I enjoyed how hard it was for enemies to drop him. He retired with 33AC at 12th level.
Ok so I got a little different update/take on Samurai that could work well....What ya think? TWF Samurai:
Class – Yojimbo Samurai 8 / Weapon Master Fighter 3 Race – Human Alignment – CN Deity - Lamashtu Traits – Defender of the Society, FREE? Stats -
TWF WAKAZASHI
Details:
Added Lunge to ensure more full-attacks. Lvl 10 I regain normal speed with movement - Armor Training. Weapon Training allows +3atk/+3dmg boost for TWF via Gloves of Dueling. At the tail end, Destroy Identity auto staggers and deal 2charisma damage on every successful crit, which should happen a lot. If I don't outright kill them, I may end up reducing them to 0 charisma first. I figure PBS and Rapid Shot isn't going to be a HUGE difference so it's probably better to spend them towards either staying alive or making twf more effective. I'll probably still be just as effective at range if I'm forced into it for some reason. Just throwing this interesting TWF build out there first. I'll reply to your post next.
Shield Brace for PFS looks like you only gain 1.0x STR bonus when using a 2handed weapon from spear/polearm weapon group instead of 1.5x. I guess it would allow me to use a Naginata with reach while still using a shield? Is it still worth the 2 feats even though it's not 1.5x STR? Order of the Shield with Naginata? Otherwise, Order of the Warrior or Cockatrice seem good....but order of the Dragon is the one to take if I'm going to make the most out of Bodyguard. Oh, the choices! Unconquerable Resolve looks good, what should I remove to take it? Also, what are the bare minimums to be effective at switch hitting? I want to stay effective at range if needed.
I see what you mean with Helpful now. The 3 levels of Samurai equal to 1 extra Challenge and the extra +3 to damage. There's also the Resolve to negate a crit which is really nice. But some Weapon Mastery feats seem pretty good, feats are a bit tight on Samurai (especially if I'm going to try to be decent at switch-hitting), Gloves do cost about 15k but they keep working when Challenge runs out for the day and Chain Challenge is not PFS legal. (The bigger benefit is Challenge doesn't naturally give +hit, Gloves give +3 which is equiv to being worth +9dmg.) I like the thought of the Dwarf racial for Cavalier, but I'm not sure I want to trade a feat and fcb for it. I could spend the feat on Targetted Blow and auto prone or auto disarm someone, or Devastating Assault to possibly blind the enemy for 1d4 rounds. If I were going dwarf it probably wouldn't feel as rough since I wouldn't be spending a feat. I could take Iron Will, but what would I remove?
I don't think weapon master will stack for counting fighter levels for Armor Training because it never gets Armor Training. Armor Training:
Yeah, I'm not sure because Yojimbo's Armor Training says it counts their Samurai levels as Fighter levels. So you have 3 levels of Fighter, but no access to Armor Training, and then gain 8 levels of Fighter levels via Yojimbo and access to Armor Training. Armor Training bonus is determined by your Fighter level. I'd think it would count....but if not, I'll still have normal speed in Heavy Armor after 7 Samurai levels. :) The 3 levels of Fighter dip gives Weapon Training, which allows Gloves of Dueling to benefit me. That's a constant +3hit/+3dmg. I also should have access to Advanced Weapon Training feats, which I'm curious on whether Difficult Swings, Targetted Blow, Devastating Attack, or Cut from the Air are worth getting. It's also 2 free feats. Dwarves are not my thing, I'm willing to go Human or Half-Elf, +human allows the adopted trait to pickup Helpful to boost Bodyguard's usefulness. Helpful trait and Order of the Dragon don't stack...which allows me to pick another Order while Bodyguard gets a boost. Yeah I think my Will save is roughly a 6 or so at 11th level. It's not good but I'm not sure what feats to throw out. I forgot about the no-dachi, since Yojimbo doesn't give any benefit for Katana I may as well go no-dachi instead. Thanks. :) Do I have enough invested in range to make it a valid option as a last resort or am I missing an important feat?
So a Yojimbo 8 / Weapon Master 3 combo gives access to Weapon Training for Gloves of Dueling and the Fighter levels stack with Armor Training granted from Yojimbo we get the best of both world while maintaining the Samurai's specials? TWF Wakazashi:
Class – Yojimbo Samurai 8 / Weapon Master Fighter 3 Race – Human Alignment – CN Deity - Lamashtu (Access to Destroy Identity feat) Traits – Defender of the Society, Adopted: Helpful Stats -
1) Fighter 1: Bab +1 | TWF (lvl 1), Weapon Focus: Wakazashi (Fighter)
2Handed Katana:
Stats - Str: 18 (15+2) Dex: 17 (15+2) Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 12 Cha: 9 Class – Yojimbo Samurai 8 / Weapon Master Fighter 3
1) Fighter 1: Bab +1 | Combat Reflexes (lvl 1), PBS (human), Power Attack (Fighter)
Since I have Weapon Training via Weapon Master archetype I should qualify for Difficult Swings and Cut from the Air in the 2hand build right? Which seems more put together? I figured both should have PBS, Rapid Shot so I kind-of double as a switch hitter vs flying or ranged. Is PBS + Rapid Shot enough?
So, I'm not familiar with playing melee frontliners but I'm interested in making a Samurai themed frontliner/tank. Searching the forums for Samurai info I wasn't able to find much recent tank of the class. What's the best way to build a 2handed Katana wielder these days? I'm guessing either: 1) Full Vanilla Samurai build
Guidance please?
Dwarven Axe, Dogslicer, or Sword Cane/Rapier are the melee weapons that first come to mind when I think of Bloodborne. During all my twitch playthroughs I only ever used the pistol and most often used the Whip-Sword or the Blood Katana. For classes/archetypes I'd mainly say would be a Gunslinger. Pistolero, Gun Scavenger, or Mysterious Stranger archetypes could work well....but as already pointed out, Picarroon is probably the "best" fit with it combining pistols and Panache. Beyond that, it's pretty straight forward and you just sprinkle in whatever extras you'd want to get the feel of the character you played in Bloodborne. One of the hard parts of this is that Bloodborne and Dark Souls allowed for quite a bit of flexibility so one person's character was often drastically different than another person's.
Here's my Eldritch Knight build. He's currently at level 4 at the moment but he's been quite effective. This was a CORE only character and is limited to Core options so keep that in mind. Elven EKnight:
Class: Universalist Wizard 5 / Fighter 1 / Eldritch Knight 5 Race: Elf Traits -
Arcane Bond –
Stats -
1) Fighter 1: Bab +1 | Point Blank Shot (lvl 1), Precise Shot (Fighter)
You could adjust this to lean higher on Dex and 13str to grab power attack. Universalist's Guided Hand ability is extremely fun throwing an ECB 30ft. Later on upgrade the ECB to Spellstoring and have fun throwing it around. This build leans more towards lots of spell slots and high spell DC's to rely on at higher levels, using melee whenever or having as a solid backup.
@AVR, BadBird, Chess - Should I put my 4th and 8th level stat increase in Dex or Wis? Also, should I swap my 9th level Power Attack feat to Toughness since my to-hit isn't the greatest and just fish for crits? In build below I removed 3 from Str and moved it to Con due to removing Power Attack. Sacred Scimitar: Deity: Sarenrae Blessings: Glory and Healing STR 10
1) Sacred Fist 1: Bab +0, Weapon Finesse (lvl 1)
*Retrain 6th level feat to Weapon Focus: Scimitar at 7th level when I gain proficiency with Scimitars through Evangelist prestige class.
That's good, so the Scimitar build is still worthwhile then. Is the 12con, no FCB to hp, and no toughness going to be a major issue? I'm not sure how to work the Toughness feat into the scimitar build and getting a +2 to Con will have to wait till later since it's an 8k investment for an ioun stone.
Well, the Scimitar route actually doesn't work. Dervish Dance won't let you 2hand and use Dex for atk/dmg. The only way would be to alternate between scimtar and punch/kicks with FoB, meaning half the attacks would not be with a scimitar.What are you saying? FoB is able to use the same weapon for all of their attacks. So yes, you can't TH your weapon for more damage using dervish dance, but you're able to use it for all of your attacks. I thought you had to two-hand a weapon or you have to alternate between hands for attacks for Flurry of Blows, similar to TWF.
I think at level 9 you could pick up Pummeling Style as your regular level 9 feat and retrain your Sacred Fist bonus feat to Pummeling Charge. Would that actually work? Only reason I'm not sure is that it states a style feat for 6th level and at 12 level it states either another style feat or a feat that requires a style feat as a prerequisite. At 6th level, the sacred fist gains a style feat as a bonus feat. The sacred fist must meet the style feat’s prerequisites. He uses his warpriest levels as monk levels for the purposes of meeting the feat’s prerequisites. At 12th and 18th levels, a sacred fist gains either another style feat or a feat that requires a style feat as a prerequisite. This ability replaces the bonus feats gained at 6th, 12th, and 18th levels. If you can retrain your 6th level style feat at 9th level and gain Pummeling Charge that would be awesome though.
Well, the Scimitar route actually doesn't work. Dervish Dance won't let you 2hand and use Dex for atk/dmg. The only way would be to alternate between scimtar and punch/kicks with FoB, meaning half the attacks would not be with a scimitar.
Deity: Shelyn STR 10
1) Sacred Fist 1: Bab +0, Weapon Finesse (lvl 1)
Any ideas on optimizing this build further?
What deity/obedience does this character follow? It would either be Irori, Shelyn, or Sarenrae. Irori - Self Perfection / Monk aspects
Irori: +4 to all knowledge skills, Strength & Healing blessings.
What weapon do they use? Greatsword, 9-ring, quarterstaff, fist? Since I've been leaning Dex based, I think either Unarmed Strike or Scimitar (Weapon finesse & 2handed PA). Are they combat-focused, or is there strong magical ability there as well? Somewhat well rounded, more graceful than brute strength. Typical Eastern Monk martial artist with Divine spells for protection and offense. Here's the two builds I drafted based on the above. I think the Sacred Fist's many attacks is more of the picture I had. Let me know if I missed anything. Sacred Scimitar:
Deity: Sarenrae Blessings: Glory and Healing STR 13
1) Sacred Fist 1: Bab +0, Weapon Finesse (lvl 1)
6/6/1/1/-4 + 7dex + 3weap + 5dp + 1wfocus + 1ioun = 23/23/18/18/13 Defensive FoB + Haste & Ki Strike: 21/21/21/21/16/16/11
Dmg: 1d8 + 7dex + 9pa + 2ghope + 3weapon + 5dp = 1d8 + 28
10 + 6 dodge wisdom + 2 dodge protective grace + 2 SFist + 1 insight ioun + 7dex + 3mvest + 4 deflection shield of faith + 3bracers + 2AoNA
Sacred Palm:
STR 10 DEX 16+2 CON 12 INT 12 WIS 16+2 CHA 7 0,10,2,2,10,-4 1) Sacred Fist 1: Bab +0, Weapon Finesse (lvl 1)
Agile Bodywrap of Mighty Strikes – 12k gold
6/6/1/1/-4 + 7dex + 3gmw + 5dpower + 1ioun + 2ghope + 2boon +1wfocus = 27/27/22/22/17
1d10 + 7dex + 5dpower + 2ghope + 2boon + 3gmw + 1d6 electric + 1d6 cold + 1d6 acid =
6 dodge wisdom + 2 dodge protective grace + 2 SFist + 1 insight ioun + 7dex + 3mvest + 4 deflection shield of faith + 3bracers + 2AoNA
The unarmed route uses Agile Bodywraps + Shocking Frost AoMF + Deliquescent Gloves. While the Scimitar build, that same amount of money could almost buy a +3 Keen Scimitar. Scimitar build has the high crit range while the unarmed build get Pummeling Style and later goes into Pummeling Charge when I continue to character into some PFS sanctioned modules at 12 level+. The Sarenrae route takes a little while to get Dervish Dance and Crusader's Flurry but shouldn't be difficult to survive till then using Unarmed Strikes. Thoughts? Improvements? daydream of a monk on the battlefield: I did envision an epic fight on the battlefield where the monk plants their sword in the ground and charges towards an enemy. After a while of toying with the enemy, the monk "calls" their sword to them or acrobatics over to it and picks it up and then finishes the enemy off. Unfortunately I found out that the "Calling" enchant is a +1 cost which makes it not so attractive lol. Was just a daydream I had which seemed like it came out of an oldschool martial arts movie or dragon ball z. Mechanically a horrible idea but just seemed like a really cool fighting cutscene from a video game.
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