Praetorae's page

Hey all,

I was hoping to get some advice regarding the interaction between a couple of feats and Mythic path abilities I’m thinking of taking for my Aasimar Paladin character.

First, some background;

I’m currently playing in a Wrath of the Righteous Campaign and our characters have just reached level 11, tier 4. My paladin character is built as a heavy hitter, using a Longsword 2h (Paladin of Iomedae) and seeing as I’m an Aasimar and if ever it was fitting for a campaign this is the one, I decided to take the racial feats and get myself some wings, when possible I’ll be upgrading them to be natural attacks via the Metallic wings feat.

So, I have two main questions;

I’m going to pick up the Mythic path ability Precision from the Champion Hero path. I fear that I already know the answer to this question, but just wanted to check – Does this feat alter the ‘to hit’ rolls for my metallic wings? I’m guessing no, since Precision specifically mentions it alters iterative attacks gaining from having a high BAB. Almost seems like an oversight for any character that is a dedicated natural attacker though.

In my normal feat line-up I also have the Death from Above feat. I’m wondering about the interaction between this feat and the other champion path ability I’m thinking of picking up Fleet Warrior. Fleet warrior allows me to move up to my speed before or after a full attack. Does this mean I can charge and then full attack? Can I charge while flying (since my Angel wings give me a base fly movement speed) to gain the bonus from Death from above before making a full attack? My guess would again be no (since charge is described as a special full-round-action rather than as a full-attack option).

I’m hoping really that someone can make a good case for allowing either of these interactions to work. I must not have read the abilities closely enough when I was building the character as initially I thought they would mesh together well. It’s only with further reading that I’ve realised I might not get to swoop down on my enemies in a single turn and launch my full series of attacks at a +5 to hit bonus!

Many thanks in advance,

Praetorae

I’ve come to the forum for some advice and critique; I believe I have a mechanically sound and reasonably strong build for an ‘anti-magic Spellscar Oracle’ with the basis of a decent role-playing idea behind it. I’m hoping the learned fellows on this forum might be able to point out any glaring problems with the build or offer some ideas for feats/abilities that would synergise well and that I’ve missed out. Any tips on the Role-play aspect would also be gratefully received.

I’m building the character as my back-up for a ROTRL campaign I’m currently playing in. At the moment I play a Dwarf Cleric, who is a great character and I’m not looking to replace him, but if he does die, horribly, another Divine Caster would make the most sense for me and the group as a whole.

My idea is for an Ifrit Oracle of Nethys with the Blackened curse. Playing up the dual nature of Nethys the character would see magic very much as a double edged sword. Dabbling in it caused his curse (possibly immolating a best friend/mentor/family at the same time depending on how tortured I want his back-story to be) and so he has a deep distrust and hatred of magic. On the other side he also has well above average ability with magic and it is part of his very blood.

So, he see’s magic as inherently dangerous, hence the emphasis in his build on dispelling magic and protection from magic. Toying with the idea of making him Neutral Evil (the rest of the party is pure Neutral or Chaotic Good), not to cause tension and problems within the group, but so I can play up his fascination with/hatred of other spell-casters to a much greater extent than being Good aligned would allow me to. I also see him as quite happy to consider underhanded tactics if it advances his cause.

Anyway, without further a-due, here is the current build I’m thinking of:

Hi all,

As a very new player to Pathfinder (and tabletop RPG's in general) I was hoping to put a build idea I've been thinking about forward for some of the more experienced players to comment and improve/pick apart and trash as appropriate!

I really fancy playing a Cleric. Having read through the various guides that I could find and the Rulebooks I have access to, I quite like the sound of a support build, the 'Reach Cleric' seems well optimised, but I really fancy playing a 'Bad Touch' or Debuff Cleric with a LN alignment.

Searching through the details Paoizo have released for the various deities I came across Tsukiyo (from the Dragon Empires Gazetteer). His Domains look excellent for a debuff Cleric; Darkness, Good, Law, Madness, Repose (sub-domains; Ancestors, Archon, Insanity, Moon, Night, Souls), emphasis mine. He is a LG God which allows me to be LN and which I feel fits with the idea of using 'evil' spells from his Domains in the cause of the greater good.

I though about using one of the races introduced in the Dragon Empires Gazetteer. Samsaran's obviously fit well with the deity (and their alternate Racial trait, Mystic Past Life, looks really good). Tengu have good +stats for the Cleric (Wiz & Dex), but the -2 Con both races have I feel would really hurt for a Cleric that needs to get into Touch range a lot. For flavour, especially with the darkness Domain, using a Tengu provides plenty of RP though. However, in the end you just can't really go wrong with Human.

Stats would Prioritise WIS>DEX>CON>STR>CHA>INT

Skills would prioritise Acrobatics / Perception / Stealth / Sense Motive / Heal

Favoured Class would be Cleric with points going to hit points.

To Start the build I was thinking a 2 level dip into Monk (Sensei Arch type) provides a lot of benefits. This gets me Unarmed Strike & Stunning Fist. My high Wis would work well with the AC Bonus for these 2 levels (until I start wearing armour) and the bonus feat is always useful (Dodge or maybe Combat Reflexes seem good choices).
Sensei Arch type then provides the Bardic Performance: Inspire Courage to replace Flurry of Blows, a good trade for this build I think.

(Other options for a single level dip would be Monk of the Lotus for the Touch of Serenity or the Flowing Monk for Agile Manoeuvres bonus feat and the Redirection ability.)

With my 2 feats from Human I would take Mobility (having picked up Dodge earlier) and Improved Initiative.

Level 2 in Monk using the Sensei Arch type gets me Insightful Strike. Using Wis for various combat rolls seems like a really good option for this build.

Level 3 I cross over to Cleric, choosing Darkness (moon sub-Domain possibly for RP flavour given my deity) and Madness as my Domains. With my new feat I take Domain Strike (Vision of Madness). I also gain blind fighting as a bonus feat.

From here I only take levels in Cleric, picking up feats such as Scribe Scroll, Reach Spell, Spring Attack, Bouncing Spell, Domain Strike (Touch of Darkness) and some of the other good metamagic feats for my favourite spells. Depending how the campaign is going and as long as I survive that long.

Points I'm wondering about;

It annoys me that I haven't found a way to really make use of Tsukiyo's preferred weapon, the Longspear (Reach). I feel that there should be a way of making use of this and getting the benefits of a reach weapon - perhaps later when It can become conductive. But then a lot of the extras I get from the Monk dip aren't worthwhile.

Does delaying becoming a Cleric for 2 levels set me back too far in terms of Caster level?

Is the Sensei Arch type (specifically the Insightful strike ability) worth it? I notice quite a few builds picking up Touch of Serenity when they can, which a Monk of the Lotus could get with only a single level dip.

Can I take Mobility as my human feat at level 1 given that I took Dodge (the prerequisite) for my Monk bonus feat seconds earlier?

I've noticed that I could potentially combine the Sensei Arch type with either Flowing Monk, or Monk of the Lotus (but not with both). I suspect combining them this way would make the build more powerful but this tactic does seem a bit 'cheesy'.

And finally, do you think my build will work? Obviously it is not an amazingly optimised build and I don't really want to be over-powered, but I'd also quite like to feel that I am pulling my weight in a party. Any suggestions, criticisms or points for improvement would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers all,

Praetorae