Wow that is an awesome build, thanks for the inspiration. I had a talk last night with the GM and he decided that with the exception of Spell Sunder rage power I can only use the Core rule book and the Advanced Player Guide, so Unbreakable fighter + stalwart is off the table unfortunately.
If it wasn't I would defintely go the route of stalwart. A dip into vanilla fighter doesn't really seem as glorious as I would exchange 2 HP (on average) and 2 rounds of rage for an extra feat and heavy armor proficiency. The Cleric dip however is still in the back of my mind. I would lose 1 BAB, 4 hp and 2 rounds of rage and gain +2 will save, a number of spells to buff, free healing a couple of times a day, more item use, 10 movement speed increase permanent (travel domain) and the option to roll (or another player) for initiative twice and take the best result five times a day(luck domain). Given the fact that our party lacks a cleric and we nearly died the last encounter, a cleric would be most useful. That does seem like a nice trade-off and would be more interesting flavour wise.
Thanks for the response Booksy. Yeah I had to revise my character a bit. You are 100% correct in respect to getting CAGM a level later. At level 3 Barbarian I can take the feat extra rage power though. I do have serious doubts our game will exceed level 10.
The extra feats I would gain from level dipping in fighter would enable me to spend my feats as a barbarian on extra rage powers without being depleted on feats. My revised plan would look something like this:
Level 1 Barb feats: Power Attack and Combat Reflexes (human bonus)
level 2 Barb Rage Power: Lesser Beast Totem
Level 1 Unbreakable Fighter: Endurance, Die Hard and Improved Sunder
Level 3 Barb feat: Extra rage power: Superstition
Level 4 Barb Rage Power: Witch hunter
Level 5 Barb feat: Extra rage power Reckless Abandon
Level 6 Barb Rage Power: Beast Totem
Level 7 Barb feat: Extra Rage power Spell Sunder
Level 8 Barb Rage power: Increased Damage Reduction
Level 9 Barb feat: extra Rage power Good for what ails you
Level 10 Barb: Beast Totem Greater
Level 11 Barb feat: Extra rage power Ground Breaker
Level 12 Barb: CAGM
I am still considering to switch in Dodge + Mobility as feats as CalethosVB suggested.
@Calethos: thanks for the build advice, I will definately use it as an inspiration.
@ClaxoN: I love the flexibility the Urban Barbarian poses, giving me the option to go for a normal rage or a controlled rage. Plus so far we have fought against a lot of groups so the +1 Att and +1 AC are quite handy. If my campaign goes to twelve (or 13) I will most definately go for CAGM.
@Siuol: I still think I'm going to multiclass, the game probably won't go to 20 and the capstone in my opinion is Come and Get Me at level 12.
Can someone please enlighten me how the alternate class (human) bonus +1/3 to Superstition works? We just leveled to level 2 and I'm not sure if it gives me a bonus right now or just every three levels. I plan on taking the Superstition rage power at level 3.
Hmmm.. (unfortunately) you are quite right, so I would to have revise my character a bit. But I could still take extra rage powers on my barbarian feats and expand with the bonus feats from the fighter dip.
@ SiuoL: yeah barbarian is a great class for a 1 level dip for rage. Don't you think that fighter would be worth it for just one level? This way I can spend my feats on extra rage power and get Spell Sunder quicker than normal and not lag behind much on feats.
@ I3igAL: Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into the UF Archetype (I do have to consult with the GM since in principle we are limited to CRB and APG)
@ strayshift: Yeah the cleric dip is still in my mind, especially in combination with the Urban Barbarian which enables spellcasting during rage (if I interpret it correctly) and the domain powers are awesome.
Thanks for all the responses, I will continue reading now. :)
I took the Invulnerable Rager and Urban Barbarian archetype and the alternate human trait Heart of the Fields (ignore fatigue once a day)
The reason I want to multiclass or better put dip into another class is for flavor mostly although getting new powers is always interesting. My ideal build is the following with a level dip in Fighter:
Level 1 feats: Extra rage power x2: Superstition and Lesser Beast Totem
Level 2 RP: Witch Hunter and Invulnerability DR
Level 3 Fighter feats: Power Attack and Combat Reflexes
Level 3 Barbarian feat: extra rage power and Extreme Endurance
Level 4 RP: Reckless Abandon
Level 5 feats: Improved Sunder
Level 6: RP: Spell Sunder and Beast Totem
Level 7 feat: Combat Expertise
Level 8 RP: Strength Surge
Level 9 feat: not sure yet
Level 10 RP: Beast totem greater
Level 11 feat: not sure yet
Level 12: RP Come and get me
Our campaign will probably not go further than this but this is the general idea. My barbarian already has a Lucerne Hammer as reach weapon and claws as close range weapon. The fighter dip fits in nicely with my backstory:
I used to be a Captain in the army and had my own squad. One day we had to deal with a powerful wizard who managed to dominate me at will and forced me to kill my own squad members. I managed to escape after a while, abandoned my career and became a drifter. The pain that I experienced over time has grown into a powerful rage. Given that I've rolled a high intelligence score, a tactical fighting barbarian seems a viable option.
Another option would be, given the lack of a cleric (the party consists of a rogue, cavalier, Summoner and me the barbarian), to dip 2 levels into cleric for healing spells, selfbuffs and faster movement.
What do you think about this idea? I'm still relatively new to pathfinder, so maybe multiclassing isn't the best option but I like the variety and flavor. Is this a plausible build or perhaps too much power gaming?
Be advised I'm limited to the CRB and APG (I've managed to convince the GM that Spell sunder is awesome so I can take it).
Thanks for the suggestions! I will seriously look into the air elementalist.
I hate Nickelback (dig your nickname btw), an oracle might be useful for its healing spells and melee skills but it would too close to the character I've already played (Cleric) and I would definately like a new experience, thanks for the feedback though. :)
I'm still not sure whether to go for the bonded item (+1 unprepared spell a day) or a familiar for improved skills. Anyway back to reading!
Thanks man! I think I'll go for the Divination school (iniative is key) and focus more on battlefield control spells and summoning. Any advice for skills/feats? I will probably play a human since it will have the benefit of an extra spell.
A couple of friends and I recently started playing Pathfinder. We have played 3.5 briefly but we are pretty much new to this (minus one player who has years of experience).
I'm thinking about creating a wizard but I still have a couple of questions and things I'm not sure about. My stats are as follows, we used the D6 method and throw away the lowest (I got kind of lucky):
STR: 14
DEX: 15
CON: 17
INT: 19
WIS: 15
CHA: 9
I used to play a fighter/cleric in 3.5 but my role became pretty useless later in the game. I'm considering chosin the conjuration school with the teleportation subschool (pretty standard choice I gathered) for optimal battlefield control. But the divination school with Forewarned and Prescience looks awesome. The problem is that the spells from the school itself are kinda crap.
Would it be wise and possible to choose Divination and then use mostly spells from other schools (minus the two opposing schools which will probably be necromancy and abjurarion)? Or do you have to use spells from your own school, as far as I know only spells from opposing schools would take two spell slots.
Or would choosing conjuration be a better option since my focus would mainly be on battlefield control and summoning?
Does anybody have advice on playing an elemental wizard, how does it stack up against the regular arcane schools?
Any advice would be more welcome, I spent 10 hours yesterday reading through the rules hahaha.
The GM has decided that we characters know nothing of the world, so I'm not sure about terrain and foes. The rest of the party consists of a fighter, rogue and a ranger.
Where the living suffer physically from starvation, undead suffer mentally. After long enough without a “meal,” even the most arrogant vampire becomes a bestial creature of instinct. Withdrawal weakens the monster, and as its natural defenses fail, its behavior becomes irrational, particularly when it’s around sources of what it is denied or has denied itself.
A carnivorous or otherwise life-draining undead may safely go a number of days equal to its Hit Dice without a dose of its preferred meal before it starts to feel the effects of hunger. Each additional day after this grace period, the undead must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the undead creature’s Hit Dice, + 1 for each previous check).
If the undead creature fails its save, it enters withdrawal and begins to take penalties according to the Withdrawal Penalties table (see page 23). It must continue to save each day until it feeds again. Additional failed checks increase the penalties as shown on the table. Feats and abilities that affect mortal hunger (such as Endurance or a ring of sustenance) do not apply to vampire hunger.
An undead that is suffering from withdrawal grows increasingly drawn and gaunt (or diaphanous and tattered, for incorporeal undead). Any attempts by the creature to conceal its undead nature with the Disguise skill are penalized as noted on the table.
An undead that suffers withdrawal is acutely aware of its unfulfilled addiction; if presented with the chance to feed, it might be compelled to do so, regardless of the consequences. Anytime it comes within 10 feet of a helpless creature that can sate its desire, it must make another hunger save at the current DC. Failure means it falls upon the helpless creature—whether friend or foe— and attempts to consume or drain it. Until the undead has fed, it can take no action other than to feed from this helpless creature or to enable itself to feed (such as a moroi grappling a creature so it can use its blood drain). During this feeding frenzy, the undead creature takes a –2 penalty to its AC.
Withdrawal Effects
An undead that hasn’t fed recently suffers from withdrawal, depending on the number of hunger saves it has failed.
As shown on the Withdrawal Penalties table on the facing page, an undead creature suffering from withdrawal takes penalties to channel resistance, on Will saves, to Strength and Charisma scores, to damage reduction, to fast healing, and on Disguise checks. The withdrawal penalties apply only if the creature has the ability in question. For example, a hungry moroi’s damage reduction decreases, but a hungry ghoul ignores that column because it doesn’t have damage reduction. All penalties are removed when the creature completes a single feeding. This only ends the withdrawal penalties, and does not grant the creature any feeding bonuses beyond those granted by the creature’s ability associated with feeding.
If the undead’s Strength or Charisma penalties equal its Strength or Charisma, it becomes inert, helpless, and wracked by nightmares of hunger; it only revives if fed by another. An undead creature’s channel resistance, damage reduction, and fast healing cannot fall below 0.
Where the living suffer physically from starvation, undead suffer mentally. After long enough without a “meal,” even the most arrogant vampire becomes a bestial creature of instinct. Withdrawal weakens the monster, and as its natural defenses fail, its behavior becomes irrational, particularly when it’s around sources of what it is denied or has denied itself.
A carnivorous or otherwise life-draining undead may safely go a number of days equal to its Hit Dice without a dose of its preferred meal before it starts to feel the effects of hunger. Each additional day after this grace period, the undead must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the undead creature’s Hit Dice, + 1 for each previous check).
If the undead creature fails its save, it enters withdrawal and begins to take penalties according to the Withdrawal Penalties table (see page 23). It must continue to save each day until it feeds again. Additional failed checks increase the penalties as shown on the table. Feats and abilities that affect mortal hunger (such as Endurance or a ring of sustenance) do not apply to vampire hunger.
An undead that is suffering from withdrawal grows increasingly drawn and gaunt (or diaphanous and tattered, for incorporeal undead). Any attempts by the creature to conceal its undead nature with the Disguise skill are penalized as noted on the table.
An undead that suffers withdrawal is acutely aware of its unfulfilled addiction; if presented with the chance to feed, it might be compelled to do so, regardless of the consequences. Anytime it comes within 10 feet of a helpless creature that can sate its desire, it must make another hunger save at the current DC. Failure means it falls upon the helpless creature—whether friend or foe— and attempts to consume or drain it. Until the undead has fed, it can take no action other than to feed from this helpless creature or to enable itself to feed (such as a moroi grappling a creature so it can use its blood drain). During this feeding frenzy, the undead creature takes a –2 penalty to its AC.
Withdrawal Effects
An undead that hasn’t fed recently suffers from withdrawal, depending on the number of hunger saves it has failed.
As shown on the Withdrawal Penalties table on the facing page, an undead creature suffering from withdrawal takes penalties to channel resistance, on Will saves, to Strength and Charisma scores, to damage reduction, to fast healing, and on Disguise checks. The withdrawal penalties apply only if the creature has the ability in question. For example, a hungry moroi’s damage reduction decreases, but a hungry ghoul ignores that column because it doesn’t have damage reduction. All penalties are removed when the creature completes a single feeding. This only ends the withdrawal penalties, and does not grant the creature any feeding bonuses beyond those granted by the creature’s ability associated with feeding.
If the undead’s Strength or Charisma penalties equal its Strength or Charisma, it becomes inert, helpless, and wracked by nightmares of hunger; it only revives if fed by another. An undead creature’s channel resistance, damage reduction, and fast healing cannot fall below 0.
