The group I'm in will be switching GM's, and the person taking over has never GM'd before. To help them out, we are sticking to the Core rule book only for feats/builds. The only exception is traits, which we can grab from elsewhere (this is for the Jade Regent campaign).
This defeats some of the more complicated characters I was hoping to play, so I figured I'd make a dwarven Barbarian who focuses on sustainability. I want this character to be the GM's whipping boy. My goal is to ensure that the GM can always throw attacks against my character, and I'll trudge along.
With that said, the GM will also allow max hp for the first 3 levels, which will help my character out.
I normally heavily min/max my characters, but I don't want to be too OP for this particular campaign, so instead I thought I'd focus on making a really solid tank. I want my defense to be high so that I can reliably take the punishment that the GM dishes out.
One of the first character concepts that I ever wanted to put together on these boards was a halfling duelist. I figured I'd go dervish of dawn 5/lore warden 5/duelist 10.
After having looked over the swashbuckler advanced class, I'm not seeing any reason to enter the pretige class, rather then go full swashbuckler (this isn't a bad thing). My question is, "Is there something I'm overlooking, or is the swashbuckler a superior option to the duelist class"?
I want to build a druid character for this adventure path who's focused in training animals that he catches in the wild. Does this AP lend itself to this, or is there not much down time for this to be feasible?
Another question I've had about playing a druid came up recently. A few guides and advice threads on druids talk about the call animal spell to find an animal and then train it up using handle animal.
How does this actually work though?
under rearing a wild animal:
Quote:
A successfully domesticated animal can be taught tricks at the same time it’s being raised, or it can be taught as a domesticated animal later.
This seems to indicate that handle animal to teach them tricks is supposed to be used on domesticated animals, not wild animals.
Am I missing something, because I really want to be the doctor dolittle of my group, which means recruiting local animals to help my party on their quests.
For the next campaign I'm in I'll be playing a Druid. My plan is to go a little crazy (high str, charisma, medium wisdom). We are only going to be using the core rule book and some splash material (mainly feats from APG and UC/UM).
I'm inspired to play my character like Dar from beastmaster. To accomplish this, I plan on riding a mount that I upgrade via handle animal (horse at lvl1, moose at level 3, so on and so forth)
This way my animal companion can be a big cat.
My question is thus. Can I use handle animal as a free action on my turn for my animal companion, combat trained for another free action for my mount, and a third handle animal as a move action for another beasty?
Essentially at level 3 if all goes well I'll have my animal companion and two CR 2 creatures under my command. Mixed with a few summon animals, and hopefully my character shines as a commander of beasts.
or, is there a fatal flaw in this plan?
(feat wise I'll pick up trick ride so that I can ride bareback)
If you select the same spell with both of these traits will their effects stack?
In other words, if I'm a human Druid who picks gifted adept and missionary, and I select SNA 1 as my trait selection, can I have a 3 round summons out the gate?
This isn't particularly a good way to spend traits, but it does seem to make summoning viable from level 1 onward.
I'll be starting Jade Regent in a couple of months, and I'm looking to play a human druid. The GM is new so it'll be core rule book only.
The druid will be timid, and only really feel comfortable around his animals. His best friend of course is his bear who he feels is his only true equal.
Now the problem I'm running into is that I'll be low on spells early on without picking up a domain, but I really don't want to lose my animal companion. I'm thinking I'll pick up scribe scroll early on to augment my lack of spells. Hopefully as I level the need for scrolls will lessen. I'm also hoping that this will make it worth it for me to scribe a bunch of circumstantial scrolls that I wouldn't otherwise prepare.
I also want to pick up augment summoning by level 3 so that I'll be the animal summoner.
So far I'm thinking that the point buy will look like:
1. Spell focus Conjuration
H. scribe scroll
3. augment summons
5. natural spell
7. ? not sure from here onward...
For traits:
- Friend of the family (+1 perception)
- Survivor (+1 initiative, +1 sense motive and class skill)
Skills I'll max:
- Perception
- Sense Motive
- knowledge nature
- handle animal (at least until hitting 25 is easier)
Skills I'll need to dip into:
- fly
- survival
Is there anyway to improve this? Should I drop strength? I'm really hoping she goes 20 point buy, but right now I'm trying to make due with 15. Is there anything obvious I'm missing?
Has anyone ever tried, or have any suggestions on altering the point buy of a character based on class?
I'm about to start a campaign, and I wanted to give differing point buys based on class.
MAD classes such as a monk would get a 20 point buy
SAD classes such as a wizard would get a 10 point buy
classes in-between would get a 15 point buy
The reason I'm thinking is that many classes need a higher point buy to be viable at all, but SAD classes get to take advantage of this by shoring up their weak points.
I was thinking a smaller point buy for SAD classes would keep them in line with the other classes?
thoughts? comments? suggestions (especially on which class might fit where)
So I'll be taking a trip this fall, to the store Target to meet up with an AOO (air operations officer). It's all on the condition that I hit it off with him.
What should I pack?
;-) You didn't honestly think this would be another greater trip feat thread did you?
So if I'm standing on a cliff's edge and I successfully trip the person in front of me, can I use ki throw to place them in the adjacent square that's off the cliff?
Benefit: On a successful unarmed trip attack against a target your size or smaller, you may throw the target prone in any square you threaten rather than its own square. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and you cannot throw the creature into a space occupied by other creatures.
Special: A monk may gain Ki Throw as a bonus feat at 10th level. A monk with this feat can affect creatures larger than his own size by spending 1 ki point per size category difference.
What would happen? Does the opponent get a reflex saving throw to catch the ledge?
also if I use spinning throw (lets me make a bull rush maneuver) can I then really really throw them off the cliff?
As I create a replacement character for the one who died, I noticed that the wealth My old character had was really low (10k short of normal). After talking to the rest the group are average wealth was 6000 gold at sixth level. Is this accurate, are GM says that we've hit all the main points and we even spent extra time raiding ships.
Our GM is notorious for not giving our characters items. That is one reason we insisted on playing a published path. So I'm curious if we are missing gear that we would otherwise have gotten.
Our GM says that our wealth is low because we have a ship and the ship counts against our normal wealth by level.
Without giving any spoilers has anyone else found that this campaign is very low on wealth during the first two books?
I asked this question in the Skull and Shackles campaign setting, but it is also applicable here. Is having a +25 CMB for trip to high or low for 7th level?
I don't want to autosucceed, but I also don't want to have a low chance for my CMB's to go off.
Is there an appropriate rule of thumb for CMB at any given level in the same way there is for average monster AC?
I'm currently about to start playing the third book of the Skull & Shackles. My cleric died a glorious death, and for the next AP I'm rolling up a monk/fighter maneuver specialist.
My CMB for various maneuvers after items at level 7 looks to be around 20-25 after all items/abilities are taken into account.
Are these numbers where I should be expected to be at this point? or am I going to "break the game" with CMB numbers this high? I just want some advice without spoiling the AP.
I ask, because I don't want to frustrate my GM to much, but I don't want a character ineffective at what he does either.
CMB= 6(bab) + 6 (strength) + 2 (lore warden) +4 (trip feats) + 1 (bred for war trait) + 1 (amulet of mighty fist) + 2 (wayfinder with dusty rose) + 1 (weapon training) +2 (brawling enchant).
attack bonus= 16/14
damage= 1d6 + 10 (14 with power attack)
I've been looking through the Inner Sea guide, but I can't find a specific call out for a country that does the Roman Gladiator combat type battles.
I'm looking to make a freed slave who joins in during the 3rd book of the Skulls and Shackles (my cleric died heroically/infamously). He'll have the Bred for War trait, so he'd come from a region where humans are naturally bigger.
So this build was inspired from the fact that I wanted to make a Muay Thai build that ended up being really fun. The conversation drifted towards the manga Histories Strongest Disciple, and now I really wanted to make an Akisame character.
Point Buy: 25
Human
Stats:
Str-16 (18 after racial)
Dex-14
Con-12
Wis-14
Int-13
Char-10
I could dump wisdom to 12, and charisma to 8, to up my dex, but I don't feel like this would fit Akisame's character as well.
Traits
War Bred- +1 CMB (a vital feat on a maneuver oriented character)
Heavy hitter- +1 damage unarmed strikes (again, helps up my non-scaling damage)
This character excels at abusing the ability to stack multiple status effects on an enemy in a single turn. Like my previous build, he can trip, reposition, grapple, and make 2 AOO. On a full attack, he gets to make and 2 attacks, trip, re-position, grapple, make 2 AOO, and use dirty trick.
I'm using lore warden, because the CMB bonus is too good to not pass up. Maneuver master dip is also so good to get the flurry of maneuvers.
All things considered, I feel like this mimics Akisame's ability to use Jujitsu really well. He beats his opponents not through straight damage, but through tossing his opponents around like a rag doll.
I'm thinking after this I'll stat up characters to make up the entirety of Ryonzanpaku.
Is there anything I'm missing/could use to make this even better?
I wanted to build a Barbarian who can take his lumps with no problems. In this regard, I was hoping to maximize his chances of survival while keeping his AC low. The reason for this is that my GM modifies the enemies to-hit regardless of the AC. He makes sure that all monsters have a minimum of 33% chance of hitting the highest AC character and bosses have a 75% chance. With that being the case, I'm not going to play the AC game and want ways to survive despite low AC.
My group rolls for stats (3 sets of rolling 4d6 rerolling 1's, pick the highest) so my highest will go in Con followed by Strength.
I'm not worried at all about offensive abilities. I'll take Power attack wield an Earthbreaker and call it a day. Reckless abandon will offset power attack.
So far I've got:
- Toughness- more HP
- High Con- More HP
- Raging vitality- Extra Con
- Dragon Totem line- DR
- Invulnerable Archetype- High DR
- DR rage power- extra DR
- Superstitious- better saves
What else can I do to get either higher DR (get hit but not care) or have more HP?
I'll be starting up a character for Jade Regent in a few weeks. The basic concept is that I'm a mma style fighter. Is this a viable character in Jade Regent, or (without too many spoilers) am I going to be locked out of half my abilities in most encounters? Keeping in mind that I do realize that I won't get to perform my maneuvers every battle.
After much searching I think I've finally found a way to make a ranged rogue work. He ends up looking alot more like this rather then this
The build revolves around using performance feats, shatter defenses, and 3 levels of fighter.
The Dashing Archer:
The dashing archer is the popular man in the shadows. He stands up for the little guy, and does so with style. His confidence (some even say overconfidence) in his ability strikes fear in his foes, as his arrows always seem to hit where it hurts the most. In short he's robin hood. No, not the serious get it done Russel Crowe version, more the Robin Hood men in tights version. He's part performer, part archer, full time badmamajamba
How the build works
Heroic performance allows you to make an intimidate check as a swift action. With this you needn't rely on another to set up an intimidated foe for you to use shattered defenses against. Once shatter defenses goes off you get all the sneak attacks your heart could desire. This means that in the surprise round you'll intimidate and attack which should trigger shatter defenses. Congratulations on round 1 you'll now get to full attack with sneak attack damage.
What this build can do well:
- reliable iterative attacks that deal sneak attack at level 7+
- better to-hit then the typical rogue
- more reliable damage (+3 to attack and damage via weapon training)
- feels roguish (performance feats make for a dramatic acting rogue)
What this build needs help with/ weaknesses:
- creatures immune to sneak attack (like most rogues)
- creatures immune to demoralization (the primary means of getting sneak attack)
- pretty much requires that you have a circlet of persuasion (not a fan of having to have a particular item to make a build work)
- 3 levels of fighter take away from the rogue a bit (but it is really worth it for the +3 attack/damage, fort save, bonus feats)
- until you have a +10 bonus on performance roll the bonuses are unreliable
- only 7 skill points per level due to intelligence being dumped. (you can fix this if you lower strength/or bump it at level 4/8/or 12
why rogue instead of (insert other class here):
Fighters will pull this off with their use of deadly aim, but rogues can't withstand such a penalty (and hit reliable anyway), so instead the rogue focuses on full attacking and using his sneak attack to get the damage in. Since you went rogue you also get other fun goodies like higher skill points, and you know rogue stuff.
The other classes that get sneak attack already have ways to reliably get sneak attack damage through, and they don't have the feats to pull the build off as easily as the rogue.
The one that comes closest is the ninja, but they can only take combat trick once (rogue can take it twice, due to wording when they take the ninja trick rogue talent). Is this kinda an exploit. yes. Does the rogue deserve it. heck yes.
NOTE:If your GM lets the bandit archetype make full attacks in the suprise round, take this instead of thug. It fits better flavor wise, and getting 2 potential full attacks against flat-footed foes rocks. The ability to do this is debatable though so if your GM says otherwise the thug archetype works just fine, and heck, who doesn't like to potentially lay down frighten on a foe.
the build:
Human thug rogue 10/weapon master fighter 3 (fighter taken for levels 1,4,7)
stats:
str-14
dex-18 (after racial)
con- 12
wis- 12
int- 7
char- 14
feats:
1. precise shot, point blank shot, rapid shot
2. -
3. weapon training(longbow), dazzling display
4. dramatic display
5. performing combatant
6. heroic display
7. shatter defenses
8. -
9. performance mastery, clustered shot (can switch with improved precise shot if you need this earlier)
10.
11. snipers eye, improved precise shot
12.
13. manyshot, crippling strike
Tactics:
The tactics of this build evolve over the course of the archers life. At level 1 he's a fighter archer. By level 3 he begins to feel more roguish with a splash of showmen-ship via dazzling display. By level 6 he's a show-men for sure, but lacks the ability to reliable get off sneak attack (but with dramatic display and free intimidate he can still contribute and deal damage effectively). Finally at level 7 he's the real deal. He'll hit you where it hurts and strike fear in your heart.
levels 1-3:
your basically a bow wielder who during the surprise round will get sneak attack. I took dramatic display first since, the swift action demoralize isn't relevant until shatter defenses is online at level 7, and a sporadic +2 attack is always welcome.
levels 4-6:
things are starting to feel more roguish. The moment you grab the circlet of persuasion you auto get the performance feats off, and with performance mastery you get a swift action intimidate followed by a +2 attack (later you can grab the +1d6 damage to use when needed). Sneak attacks aren't super reliable, but with rapid shot you can still contribute in a meaningful way.
level 7:
this is when the build comes online fully. First, you get weapon training, which when paired with gloves of dueling gives you a +3 attack/damage bonus. Second, shatter defenses works now.
This means in a surprise round you can make a performance check to demoralize a foe (swift action) followed by an attack that will deal sneak attack damage. Essentially this is the dashing archer part of the build, using your charisma to denounce how your foe is about to succumb to an untimely demise, followed by SNEAK ATTACK. Since the intimidate will last a minimum of 2 rounds you can use dramatic display the following round to negate the rapid shot penalty.
7+:
Everything from here is gravy. Manyshot is still a good feat, and improved precise shot is important. Snipers eye will help ensure you always get sneak attack against concealment. Crippling shot combined with ranged attacks seem thematically appropriate as the rogue whittles away at an opponents strength.
Of course all of this is based on the premise that you can take 10 on the performance check. If not, the build is not nearly as reliable, and you'd need to lose a feat to grab performance weapon mastery, and dump strength to pull up charisma. All of this really hurts the build in a sad sad way.
helpful equipment:
- high enchant bow- don't worry about adding damage, maybe seeking enchant early on
- headband of ninjitsu- I forgot about this and isn't included in stats, but definitely a great item to have
- circlet of persuasion- until the combat perform his +10 you can't reliable get off performance checks. This gets us there earlier. Can sell it at level 10+ if you want the slot for something else
- gloves of dueling- this is why we went weapon master and took 3 levels of fighter instead of 2. +2 attack/damage is huge for the rogue
- bracers of the falcon- +1 attack and higher crit range is nice
- bracers of archery- +2 attack/+1 damage is worth it
- boots of speed- extra attacks= extra sneak attack
- cloak of resistance- you need better saves, this will help
- sniper goggles- +2 damage per sneak attack die is amazing, and now you can sneak attack from distance
- belt of physical might- strength/dex are both important (dex is more so though)
- mithril breastplate/celestial armor- mithril breastplate works well since your proficient with it and it doesn't slow you down.
Example Attack/damage at various levels:
level 9
Attack: +3 (weapon training, assuming gloves of dueling)+ 8 (bab) + 6 (dex, assuming level 4,8 go to dex, +2 belt) + 1 (point blank) + 1 (weapon focus)+ 2 (dramatic display) -2 (rapid shot) + 1 (bracers of the falcon) + 2 (enchant bonus)= 22/22/17
average AC of CR equivalent to level= 23 (95% hit chance on primary attacks)
average AC of CR+3 equivalent= 27 (80% hit chance on primary attacks
damage: 1d8 (base) +2 (strength) + 1 (point blank shot) + 3 (weapon training) + 3 (enchant) + 3d6 (sneak attack)= 24 average per hit
average hit dice of equivalent CR= 115 (5 hit needed, 2-3 rounds)
average hit dice of equivalent CR+3=160 (7 hits needed, 4-5 rounds)
Attack at level 12 (max pfs level, i think)
Attack: +3 (weapon training, assuming gloves of dueling)+ 9 (bab) + 7 (dex, assuming level 4,8 go to dex, and +4 belt) + 1 (point blank) + 1 (weapon focus)+ 2 (dramatic display) -2 (rapid shot) + 2 (bracers of archery) + 4 (enchant bonus)= 27/27/22
average AC of CR equivalent to level= 27 (95% chance on primary attacks)
average AC of CR +3 equivalent = 30 (90% chance of primary attacks)
damage: 1d8 (base) +2 (strength) + 1 (point blank shot) + 3 (weapon training) + 3 (enchant) + 5d6 (sneak attack)+ 10 (snipers goggles)= 41 average per hit
average hit dice of equivalent CR= 160 (4 hit needed, 1-3 rounds)
average hit dice of equivalent CR+3=220 (6 hits needed, 2-4 rounds)
the goal of this post
1. If I missed something important or someone has an improvement I'd like to optimize the heck out of this build
2. Hopefully someone who wanted to make a ranged rogue work will find use for this
Another player is playing a cleric, and they're casting the spell prayer, and they're stating that it gives a +5 bonus. When I asked them how they got the spell to be this powerful they said it was a feat.
I'm pretty confident that there's no feat that makes prayer a +5, so what feat did they see that might have lead them to think this? (or maybe I'm wrong, in which case where is this feat located)?
In a recent campaign that I'm playing, the other divine caster (cleric) is making all touch spells, ranged touch spells. I asked how they were able to do this, and they said it was a feat, but I can't find it for the life of me. What (if any) feat or ability allows this?
As I finish building my Muay Thai (Or probably better named MMA fighter) build, I ran into a possible snag.
The goal is on a charge to move in and trip someone (using greater trip), and then blind them (quick dirty trick replacing the AOO), followed by repositioning them (ki throw), and then smack them again causing them to be shaken (unarmed strike with enforcer via vicious stomp) and finally grapple them (binding throw).
First off, I feel like this is an awesome use of a non-full attack action (albeit at the cost of many many MANY feats), but I'm unsure of the order of operations here. First let me quote the relevant rules.
Ki Throw:
Benefit: On a successful unarmed trip attack against a target your size or smaller, you may throw the target prone in any square you threaten rather than its own square. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and you cannot throw the creature into a space occupied by other creatures.
Binding Throw:
Benefit: After you successfully use the Ki Throw feat on an opponent, you can use a swift action to attempt a grapple combat maneuver against that opponent.
Vicious Stomp:
Benefit: Whenever an opponent falls prone adjacent to you, that opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you. This attack must be an unarmed strike.
My Thoughts
So the conflict that I'm seeing is with when binding throw takes place and when vicious stomp takes place. If the AOO from falling prone is generated before I make the grapple check (or if I get to choose what order to complete these steps) then I can make my vicious stomp attack and then use a swift action to grapple.
However, if I'm forced to make the grapple check prior to the target falling prone, then we gain the grappled condition and i'm no longer able to make an AOO.
So.... I'm stuck, I'm not sure which if any order to apply these rules.
This build seeks to make a Muay Thai fighter that is dangerous and controls whoever their fighting using grapples and trips (clinch and take-downs).
I originally wanted it to be unarmed fighter or brawler, but neither offer the same level of benefits as the lore warden. Brawler loses weapon training, which means that the gloves of dueling make up for the bonus unarmed damage. Unarmed fighter is nice with more tricks, but the raw power of extra cmb from lore warden and free combat expertise is more worth it.
25 point buy Human
24 Str (+2 racial, +1 8th, +1 12th, +4 strength belt)
18 Dex (4th level bonus, +2 belt)
14 Con
12 Wis
13 int
7 chr
equipment:
Monk robes: up unarmed strike damage
Brawler enchant: +2 attack/ +2 damage unarmed
dueling gloves: +2 attack/ +2 damage to weapon training
Haste Boots: +1 attack, extra attack
amulet of mighty fists: +3 attack/damage
+4 strength/+2 dex belt:
The basics of this build are simple. I run up to an opponent and trip them the first round. Later on you can run up trip them and make 2 attacks (greater trip and vicious stomp). After the first round I make a full attack and then attempt a grapple. The best part is that I can now pretty much lockdown an opponent, and on my turn drop the grapple as a free action, full attack and grapple again (maneuver master monk)
CMB bonus trip/grapple = 12 (fighter) + 1 (monk) + 6 (lore warden)+ 2 (weapon focus trip only) + 2 (improved) + 2 (greater) + 1 (bred for war) + 5 (strength)+ 2 (dusty rose prism in wayfinder)= 31 CMB grapple/ 33 CMB trip (-2 if used during full attack)
This build would also benefit greatly from enlarge. It grants an effective +2 to any CMB. My to hit is a little low, but the opponent should be mostly tripped/grappled by then.
Mounted Combat: if your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance (see Charge).
scout charge: At 4th level, whenever a scout makes a charge, her attack deals sneak attack damage as if the target were flat-footed. Foes with uncanny dodge are immune to this ability.
Is receiving the bonus good enough to get the sneak attack from the scouts charge. On the one hand the mounts charging not you, however, you're the one directing the mount.
I was inspired by Lord_Malkov's Meteor punch rogue. So I decided to make myself a punching Ninja, since they get in my opinion better tools to deal massive damage. (such as ki for extra attack, and greater invisibility later on)
First, let me say that you need a 20-25 point buy to make this build work at all, but trust me the end result is totally worth it.
Human Level 10 Scout Ninja/1 master of many styles monk (monk taken first)
25 point buy:
22 strength(16 prior to racial + level 4/8 + belt)
18 dex (16 prior to +2 belt)
14 con
8 int
12 wis
10 chr
20 point buy:
18 strength(16 prior to racial)
15 dex
14 con
8 intelligence
10 wis
10 chr
Feats we absolutely need
Sap adept/sap master: this ups are sneak attack so much it helps makes even single hits worth it
Improved Initiative: Going first will help ensure you can hit the flat footed opponent
Dazzling display/shatter defenses: You need the enemy to be flat footed as often as possible
Dragon style/ Dragon Ferocity: upping unarmed damage is always a good sold choice (and why not take advantage of the fact that the monk gives you a free style
Two weapon fighting/improved two weapon fighting: More attacks= more sneak attack
unarmed combat master: This combined with monk robes will make your unarmed strike worthwhile
enforcer: A free intimidate, yes please
knockout artist: not worth it right away, but later adds a significant amount of damage. Especially after sap master
weapon focus: A bonus to hit is vital (especially since my bab is starting to suffer)
Things I want but have to wait until later levels:
Elemental fists: free bonus damage, sure, why not
intimidating prowess rogue trick: only needed if I find that I'm having a hard time reaching the intimidate check
Traits:
armor expert: combined with mithril breastplate, I now have no armor check penalty at all. Considering i want to avoid getting hit, this seems good
adopted/eleven reflexes- really, with how important going first is, this seems to be a must.
The equipment in this build really helps pile on the damage.
Monk Robes: ups unarmed damage, yes please.
Brawler +2 mithril plate: +2 attack and damage, and a decent armor bonus. I'll take this every day
+2 ring of protection: basic necessity
+3 cloak of resistance: Upping my saves seems really important so yes please.
+2 amulet of mighty fists: yet another way to add in some damage. With a low attack bonus, I'm thinking this is more important then adding elemental damage.
boots of speed: an extra attack, bonus to hit, bonus AC and movement increase. Again seems to be a no-brainer
belt of physical might (strength/dex): bonus damage, bonus to hit, and necessary for improved two weapon fighting.
I charge in on the first round with an attack bonus of 18 (19 if boots activated) and swing for the fences dealing:
5d6 (sneak) + 5d6 (sap master) + 20 (sap adept) + 10 (knockout artist) + 2 (brawler armor) + 2 (amulet) + 6 (strength) + 3 (dragon ferocity) + 3 (dragon style)+ 2d6 (unarmed strike)= 88 damage on the charge + a free intimidate + 10 AC against that target
From there forward I use shatter defenses to continue pile on the damage.
In a party that hands out some combat buffs (bless, bard song, etc. the damage output increases dramatically as well).
Thoughts? ways to improve this build?
Edit: Later if people seem interested I'll look at how this build would perform at lower levels, but I feel confident it holds up ok. there's definitely areas that have significant damage spikes.
I'm a little curious as to the interaction between a few different items.
First, the body slot and armor slot are different so it should be entirely possible to have some light armor on, and the monks robes.
Second, unarmed combat mastery states:
"Unarmed Combat Mastery: A ninja who selects this trick deals damage with her unarmed strikes as if she were a monk of her ninja level –4. If the ninja has levels in monk, this ability stacks with monk levels to determine how much damage she can do with her unarmed strikes. A ninja must have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat before taking this trick."
third the monk robes states:
"When worn, this simple brown robe confers great ability in unarmed combat. If the wearer has levels in monk, her AC and unarmed damage is treated as a monk of five levels higher. If donned by a character with the Stunning Fist feat, the robe lets her make one additional stunning attack per day. If the character is not a monk, she gains the AC and unarmed damage of a 5th-Level monk (although she does not add her Wisdom bonus to her AC). This AC bonus functions just like the monk's AC bonus."
So if I have 10 levels of ninja, 1 level of monk I should have an effective level of unarmed strike damage of: 6 (from ninja) 1 (monk) 5 (robes)= 11?
I was curious if it is possible at all to have a character overrun a person and then strike that person. Having looked through a ton of feats, I'm not seeing a way to do this, but I'm holding on to a small sliver of hope that I might have missed something.
Basically, I'm trying to make a barbarian who sets up the flank for the rogue by running over the top of the baddies, and then smacking them on the head.
After reading this class I can't help but think that it has some of the best flavor for a prestige class. With that in mind I'm really trying to come up with a way to maximize the potential of this character, and the levels from previous classes that would be used.
Right off the bat I'm thinking 1-2 levels of rogue would be good, and then switching to the lore warden for the rest.
Being small means that my strength will never be top notch, so twf to maximize sneak attack seems like a no brainer. that said, I find going a dex build to be too feat intensive for to little gain. In a 25 point buy I'm thinking that I would have:
15 str (17 prior to racial)
16 dex (14 prior to racial)
16 con
10 wis
9 int
10 charisma (8 prior to racial)
From there all further bonuses would go into strength.
I'm at a loss on what to do for feats though. I'm thinking I'm better off avoiding weapon finesse, but what exactly to get I'm unsure.
I know that I'll need to boost my cmb as much as possible to get the most out of the halfling opportunist.
ideas? help? or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
(on a side note I've considered goinging dawnflower dervish bard 1/ lorewarden 4 to focus solely on dex, but the loss of attacks seems too painful).
Now that I've got my Sub_Zero character down, I want to build a scorpion character to compliment him. To make this guy the best weapon that I'm seeing is the double chained kama.
Unlike Sub-Zero who's all about the elemental damage, I wanted this character to focus on using his weapon to grab, pull, and trip characters while yelling "GET OVER HERE". With that in mind here's the character I've build out to 10th level so far.
Gear:
+2 flaming double chained kama
+2 belt of strength
+2 ring of protection
+1 amulet of natural armor
+2 cloak of resistance
+1 dusty rose ion stone
The basic idea of this character is to use reposition to pull a character close to me. From there I trip them and provoke 2 aoo. In addition, any character near me will also gets some decent aoo's. Finally, with dirty trick, I'll be able to give them some decent debuff's.
If I only use 1 maneuver my bonus is as high as 31 at 10th level (pre-spell buffs).
If I've calculated it correctly. I can reposition(using monk's maneuver flurry)for (10 bab + 6 (strength) + 4 (trip feats) + 2 (weapon) + 2 (greater/weapon focus)+ 3 (weapon training) + 1 (war bred)- 2 (flurry)- 2 (quick trip)+4 (lore warden)= 28
I can then Trip for 28. That immediately gets me 2 aoo (vicious stomp, falling prone) followed by another strike with my kama. If their CMD is particularly low I could use twf for 1 more strike as well.
How does this build look? Any idea for improvments? Especially ideas that improve my CMB bonus
I'm already think Qinggong monk to pick up some flame spells to flesh out the Scorpion character.
When I looked through the eastern weapons I saw this weapon and was really confused.
"The wielder can attack as if armed with a single kama in each hand or extend the chain to make a single reach attack. By swinging the rope, the wielder can whip the kama about to disarm or trip opponents."
Now, when I first read this I thought that it meant I could only make a one attack with it at reach per round, meaning that it wouldn't threaten, and if I had iterative attacks they would be wasted.
However, after looking over all of the threads that I could find on this issue I saw many people state that they thought it meant that it doesn't count as the double weapon when you use it as reach (meaning you could make iterative attacks, just no twf shenanigans).
Is there an official RAW ruling on this that I've missed? I'm building a scorpion character to go with my sub-zero character and I loved the idea of using a re-position action while yelling "GET OVER HERE".
My question is about if you get extra mileage out of Marid style when using an amulet of mighty fists with the front ability.
Marid Style relevant part: While using this style and Elemental Fist to deal cold damage, you gain a bonus on cold damage rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Frost: Upon command, a frost weapon is sheathed in icy cold that deals an extra 1d6 points of cold damage on a successful hit.
Would this mean that all my cold damage rolls would deal my wisdom modifier.
For example assuming 14 wisdom
1d6+2 (from elemental fist) + 1d6+ 2 (frost)?
It seems like this is perfectly valid via RAW, but I also feel like I might be reaching a bit.
So rather then reviving this thread (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2o1on?SubZero-monkninja-build-advice) that I made a year ago, I figured I start fresh.
So, where I'm at is trying to make MOMS work even with the loss of Flurry, and still be able to kick-ass with a Sub-Zero monk
Currently my build out to lvl 11 looks like:
20 point buy:
Str 17 (19 after bonus)
Dex 15
con 11
Wis 14
Int 8
Chr 7
My attacks will not hit as often as a flurry of blows, but they should connect for a ton of solid cold damage. Unlike some builds that I've thought of using, this one seems usable out the gate.
Lvl 1: TWF, Power attack, and Dragon style will have me hitting for 1d6+8 (4 base + 2 Dragon style + 2 Power attack)with my main hand, and 1d6+ 3 with my offhand
Not terrible for 1st level
Lvl 3:
By level 3 the build starts to come together:
My first strike will do: 1d6 + 12 (PA, DS, DF, Wisdom (marid style))+ 1d6 (elemental fist) and the offhand will do 1d6+ 5(PA, DF)
If both connect average damage would be= 24
On top of that I'll have a 10 foot reach whenever I'm using elemental fist.
Lvl 6:(assuming no power-ups from gear or party)
- My first strike will do: 1d8 + 15 + 2d6, and the offhand 1d8 + 6
average damage if both connect= 37
Finally Lvl 11
- My first strike will do 1d10 + 17 + 3d6 (and have a chance of entangling the opponent) and the offhand will do 1d10 + 10, followed by 2 more strikes dealing 1d10 + 13 and 1d10 + 10 respectively.
so if all 4 attacks hit the average damage output would look like: 82.5 (not that great, but again that's with no power-ups used at all)
However, this build really benefits from stat increase items (belt of giant strength), haste, and (adding an extra strike from Ki. I leave this in paranthesis since it's not allowed by RAW, but me and my GM agree that it seems unfair to deny that Ki ability).
I'll probably take the Quinggon monk and pick up dragons breath (to act as a cold damage of course :)
In further levels I'll pick up Boar style to add 2d6 bleed damage
Anyways, thoughts, comments, questions welcome.
Edit: point buy changed to reflect improved dex for twf
So I will be running the shadow clock tower later this week. So far my group has blown through everything I've thrown at them without breaking a sweat, but I now have a question regarding Xanesha. I've read that she's a TPK machine, and while I don't want to make it harder on the group I feel like they've set her up to be extra ready for them.
After killing everyone at the saw mill they found the ravens and are were ready to follow it back to Xanesha, but last minute they decided that they needed to go back to Sandpoint to sell some gear and rest up before continuing (keeping the raven to follow back later). So, my question becomes, how would you handle Xanesha's reaction to this?
I'm thinking that she'd try her best to track down the PC's or even try to manipulate Magnimar's authorities against the PC's since they've killed her pawns. On the other hand the encounter is going to be tough regardless of if she switches plans on them. Still I feel that treating the encounter the exact same wouldn't make sense as a week will have gone by with everyone in the Skinsaw cult dead.
I'm going to be starting a new pathfinder campaign with some friends in a few weeks. I'm thinking of playing a complete skill monkey rogue. My party is far from optimized, (in fact I tend to usually over-optimize my characters by comparison).
Now with that said, I don't want to be a complete non-factor in combat either, so I'm trying to balance the skill monkey (primary) with the minimum amount of feats necessary to be somewhat useful.
The only combat feats I'm thinking of taking will be weapon finesse, and two weapon fighting. I'll be playing a halfling who duel wields daggers.
My group generates stats very weirdly. We roll 3 sets of 4d6 re-rolling all 1's, so 12 is usually my lowest stat. WIth that in mind I'll probably have really high stats compared to a point buy system.
I'm curious what's the level of magic in Golarion typically set at? Our GM says that it's an extremely low-magic world. Were currently in Absalom, and besides a few 1-3rd level scrolls, and a couple +1 trinkets there is nothing that you can buy magic wise. He's GMing so if he wants to set the bar that low it's fine, but I thought that typically you could at least find some decent magical items for sale at the "worlds" capital.
So I'm building a "Hulk" character out of the alchemist class.
My base strength is 20 (18 plus 2 racial).
I'm currently level 3, with the rage chemist and Vivisectionist archetypes. I've taken the feral mutagen ability
I also have power attack feat, and the enlarge person extract.
Would this mean that I'm making 3 attacks at +9/+9/+9 that do 1d8+11/1d8+11/2d6+11 + 1d6 damage? (enlarge person increase the damage dice, and the extra d6 for when I flank?)
Granted this assumes that I spent time taking the mutagen, casting enlarge person on myself and that I'm in base contact with the enemy when I finally attack.
Ok, first off, I know that AC isn't the be all end all of defense. Especially at higher levels, it's spells not attacks that are hugely damaging. However, I have this fighter/duelist/monk build that get's me a insane AC for 20th level. Now I also have the best possible gear to max this out, so it isn't realistic, but I did think it was funny. Ok now that I've acknowledged that this isn't the most effective build, or even a realistic expectation by level 20, here it is.
25 pt buy (18 dex, 14 int, 14 wis) lvl3 monk (Master of many styles, Monk of the Sacred Mountain), lvl 7 fighter (free-hand fighter), lvl 10 duelist. Halfling.
Again, that's an 80 AC without any shield or piece of platemail. This also means my Touch AC is also pretty untouchable.
thoughts? mistakes on my part?
Edit: Alexander has pointed out that I could also permanently reduce myself, take the underfoot racial trait, and add +2 dex via wand of alter self, to an actual total of 83.
Ok, so I have a quick question on how Punishing kick works. I'm making a duelist that has punishing kick and a rapier in hand. Now do I just add the punishing kick to my normal attacks, or do I need to make an unarmed strike in order to use it? the rules don't appear to state that you need to make an unarmed attack to have it work, but I could be wrong.
Warning: this is much longer then I thought it would be upon starting it. If you find yourself prone to TL:DR go ahead and move on, I won't be offended. With that said I think I've come up with a strong build for a small halfling duelist. I'd really appreciate any advice the forum has to improve upon it.
Halfling duelist:
So it won’t be for quite some time before I can place this character, but all this talk of making a duelist has inspired me. My goal is to make a competent duelist who uses no armor, and instead relies on his cunning and wits to take his opponent down. My next GM will most likely start us off at level 11, with a 20 point buy and the equivalent amount of wealth of that level character. With that in mind I’m curious to see what people think of this build. This character is intended to replace the Big Stupid Fighter, so his protection is key, but his damage potential also needed to remain viable. I’ll be using a rapier and my offhand as my main weapons.
Lvl 3 Monk/ lvl 5 fighter/ lvl 3 duelist
Why Monk?
Now the monk will have the Master of Many styles (MoMS), Monk of the Sacred Mountain (MotSM), and Hungry Ghost (HG) archetype. The reasons these archetypes are for a few reasons. First, Flurry of Blows will be useless to this character, since I won’t be further leveling as a Monk. Punishing Kick is better than Stunning fist for this same reason. Finally the MotSM gives me toughness and a +1 Natural armor bonus. With this in mind the Monk will allow my off hand to remain a viable source of damage, give my wisdom bonus to AC, and allow me to better utilize the Monks robes I’ll pick up later. Staying in this class till level 3 will give me a 30ft movement speed, and allow me to have an effective Full BAB on my combat maneuver rolls.
Why Fighter?
Ok, so this one’s more obvious then the monk. The Full BAB, and ton of feats will help flesh out this build, while I wait to get to the duelist prestige class. The One handed fighter archetype will give me a small bonus’s to my damage, disarm and AC.
Why Duelist?
Well this one should also be obvious. The Full BAB, getting my intelligence to increase my AC, precise strike and the ability to negate an attack (or two when I combine it with the Crane style feats).
Ok so what would my buy look like (20 pt buy):
Ok, so I know many of you are looking at the strength and just cringing (especially since this is supposed to be a front line fighter). There are a few reasons why this will work ok. First, since I’m starting at level 11, I’ll already have both weapon finesse and agile maneuvers, meaning that strength will be mostly irrelevant, and muleback cords and the haversack will take care of my encumbrance issues. I’ll be putting everything level bonus I get into Dex to maximize my damage, reflex, and AC.
Feats:
Ok at level 11 I’ll have 6 feats normally, 3 fighter feats, 2 bonus style feats (MoMS)
So the feats I’ll have by then are.
- Weapon finesse
- Crane Style (1st level)
- Crane Wing (Monk bonus feat 1)
- Crane Riposte (Monk Bonus feat 2)
- Improved Disarm
- Agile Manuevers
- Piranha strike
- Dodge
- Mobility
- Improved Critical
- Combat Expertise
Skills: these I’ll use to maximize my Intimidate, Bluff, sense motive, perception, and of course acrobatics ton increase my AC on defensive stance. I’ll probably also flush out a few other skills here and there for RP reasons like stealth (why not I'll be great at it).
Gear:
I’ll have 82,000, here’s what I’d buy:
+3- bracers of armor- 9,000
+2 agile- rapier -18,000
+2 cloak of resistance - 4,000
Monk robes- 13,000
+2 headband of mental prowess (intelligence, wisdom)-10,000
+2 belt of dex- 4,000
+2 ring of protection- 8,000
+2 amulet of natural armor-8,000
Muleback Cords- 1,000
handy haversack- 2,000
Ok, so there you have it. So what does all this add up to you might ask. Well first lets look at my Defense. I’ll be fighting defensively almost always and using Combat expertise.
AC = 40 = 10+3 bracers of armor + 2 ring of protection + 2 Amulet of natural armor + 2 monk AC bonus +2 Wisdom + 3 Canny Defense + 7 Dex + 1 Free hand fighter (FHF) dodge bonus + 3 fighting defensively + 3 combat expertise + 1 size + 1 Dodge (against single foe only). Not bad for a small guy with no armor on.
CMD = 40: 10 - 3 strength - 1 size +10 BAB + 7 dex+ 1 FHF + 2 Wisdom + 2 Monk AC bonus + 3 Canny Defense + 2 ring of protection + 3 fighting defensively (I think it counts) + 3 combat expertise + dodge
again, not too shabby
Ok so I got a decent Ac, What about my saves.
Reflex: 16 = 6 base + 7 dex + 2 cloak + 1 racial
Fort: 12 = 8 base + 1 con + 2 cloak + 1 racial
Will: 10 = 5 base + 2 wis + 2 cloak + 1 racial (12 against fear effects)
Now I’ll also have toughness feat and a 12 constitution, so my HP should be fairly decent for when I do take a hit.
Ok, so I think I’ve shown that he’ll make a decent tank at this level. Don’t forget that I'll also gets to ignore the first attack that hits him, and makes a free AOO against that opponent. So maybe now your thinking, well sure no one can hit you but your DPR is gonna be absolutely terrible. Well, it definitely won’t match a pure DPR build that’s for sure, but it should put up some decent numbers. Lets look at it.
I also will have a 25% chance of threatening a critical on every swing which will also up the damage quite a bit. Damage being 2d4 + 26 (2d4 + 38 w/ piranha strike).
So while I won’t be out damaging the rogue, I will be putting out enough DPR that I’m a viable threat.
To wrap it up, this class won’t be the ultimate min-maxed possible, but it does bring to mind a what I feel a duelist should look like. He’ll be dodging anyone who swings at him, and bringing his small weapon to bear in just the right spot.
Ok, so this is my first big post with a ton of material and coordinating bits. Does this build look viable to you? If not what would you suggest I tweek?
Ok I've seen it posted a few times that enlarge person is a great buff for melee characters. What am I missing? I don't think it's terrible, but it doesn't strike me as great either. You get a +1 damage, size increase to the weapon, reach, but you take a hit on your AC.
I don't know, maybe those benefits alone are great, or maybe I'm just missing something.
Out of curiosity, if you summon a viper or other poison using critter, can you effectively "milk" them for the poison for any poison using buddies: ninja, assassin, ect. Or does the poison disappear when the summons ends?
I'm curious what peoples opinions are on a party that consists of no divine magic users. We're going to be running an undead heavy campaign starting at level 1-level 10. Our intial group composition was:
-fighter (net and trident user)aka BSF
-barbarian (damage dealer)aka glass cannon
-gunslinger (pistelero) aka glass cannon #2
-Bard (treamonks controller bard)
-God wizard <--- me (controller/summoning focus) aka God
Now we have a very old fashioned group, and the DM was unhappy that we didn't have a healer (cleric specifically) in our group. I argued that we'd be fine without a cleric, and that we'd eventually just pick up some wands for out of combat damage. however, after much pressure our barbarian player is now playing a general healbot cleric. They're enthusiasm has dropped greatly, and they don't seem to be having any fun with the class.
At this point I really want to convince my DM to let them switch back to their original class, but everyone else including the DM think that the cleric as a healer is absolutely necessary even if the person playing it isn't having as much fun.
How would any of you go about trying to reason with this group (They're all good friends of mine and we all know eachother well, also the DM say's it's not a plot reason for the cleric so that isn't the reason for the push to make them one).
