Ze'Rehan's page

Cant find this specific one on sell anywhere. :-(
Hoping the PDF copy would print out as useable 1" grids, but want to confirm before ordering. We have a glass top to lay over it to use wet erase markers.

For the PDF, if you print it, is the grid in 1" blocks, printed, and you just need to trim the edges off?

I just ordered the whole AP (yay, on sale!) and have been wondering what to expect. Looks like things will be very interesting.

I'm glad to see that you guys got a new place and are getting set up. And that's awesome to see that your furthered endeavors in resolving the load issue were ultimately successful. :)

Much appreciative of your continued work in maintaining and updating the reference material!!

Creative Director established how it should be:

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2spht?Why-edit-the-age-of-Aasimar-Dhampir-and#3 8

We just have to wait for another printing of the books for them to release an updated errata.

After all this time... Still not an updated errata on it. :-(

Ze'Rehan wrote:

At night, I should be able to have him take off the pants portion of the chainmail to turn them into a chain shirt to rest at night.

There is an item that lets you do that officially: the Armored Kilt can be worn with other armor. It adds like +1 to your AC and it makes your whole suite of armor 1 category heavier. So a Chain Shirt + an Armored Kilt is Medium Armor with improved AC over just a chain shirt.

The thing about being a Dwarf, though, is that your Movement rate is completely unaffected by Encumbrance. That means that it behooves your Dwarf Character to travel heavy and wear heavy armor. Dwarves can't particularly sleep well in heavy armor, and it take minutes to don heavy armor, so if you can find a way to don your heavy armor quickly, you should go for it, imho.

I like the Swift Girding Spell, which lets you suit up as a Standard Action. If you dip a level in Paladin, Magus, Wizard, or something, you can learn Swift Girding or use a Wand of Swift Girding. If your campaign is one in which minor magic items such as level 1 wands are readily available, you should consider a dip into something that will give you Swift Girding and let you pile on the Living Steel, Spiked, Deflecting, Jarring, Vital Guard Full Plate as a Standard Action.

I think you misunderstood me. During the day (AKA - traveling), the pants part would be worn so I would be wearing full chainmail. It's just when my character is resting that he would lighten it down to a chain shirt. Until I can get that restful magic enhancement on a suit of armor, he'll have to rest in light armor to not be fatigued.

You'd have to make multiple dips into Paladin; they don't get casting at 1st level.

Sadly, we don't own Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction Guide (for the armor enhancements you mentioned), Pathfinder Companion: Adventurer’s Armory (for the kilt), or Pathfinder Player Companion: Knights of the Inner Sea (for the spell). Once my credit card is paid off, I'm going to have to start investing in these Player Companions... They look like they have some really awesome items in them!

Quote:

How is the longhammer any better? Damage and crit range / multiplier. It grants reach, but with reach you cannot attack anyone adjacent.

To get adjacent to you, the enemy has to grant you an AoO while moving in. That's a FREE ATTACK, one of the best freebies in the game, particularly if it enables you to unload chain-reaction whoopass. Grab a Fortuitous weapon, and any dumb schmuck who triggers you gets double-tapped (well, once per round anyway, unless you buy two Fortuitous weapons).

Polearm barbarians are the most destructive martials out-of-the-gate, bar none. They are so much fun.

Adjacent? Feh. Say hello to my 5' step. <whoosh> *BWAAM!*

(Maybe 10-20% of the time a 5' won't address the situation, and that's part of the reason Quick Draw was in the build I submitted. It's even more likely that no one will be near you at all from time to time, and you'll need an archery mechanic to avoid being useless in those rounds.)

Out in the open, it can be useful. I don't know if it is just my groups or what, but we tend to deal with a lot of narrow quarters. I'd say at *least* a quarter of the time we have combat in areas that doesn't have a whole lot of maneuverability. 5' step may work a few times, but then backed against a wall or have an ally behind blocking me. Fighters are supposed to be the meat shield, especially in a smaller group. But, out in the open, I could see the appeal. Especially in a formation.

And yeah, I'm going to be hurting without a missile weapon. Unfortunately, at 1st level, there isn't a whole lot of funds available. When I get the opportunity, I will acquire a bow.

And I didn't even know about that Fortuitous ability. Nice!!

So if you're not worried about optimization what type of feedback are you looking for?

There's been several ideas above that I have found intriguing. The feedback I've gotten on here has given me plenty to think about. I appreciate it because it helps me see the possibilities I've either overlooked or hadn't considered. And, in some cases, reveals things I didn't even know about. Like the feat Barroom Brawler. It's one I would never have even considered... But the fact that it allows me to meet the thematic desire for this character and use less feats... It gives me pause to reconsider it.

I didn't even know about the Restful ability (I've always only looked at the abilities that have a + value). I'm definitely going to pursue it. And the other ability in that same entry... I now know I need to get that book so I can get it as it is very useful.

Basically... Short answer to your question... I'm just looking for insights. Everyone has their own take, and getting feedback helps me to better improve how I look at my own characters.

Not being optimized is fine, just think you’re spreading yourself thin and a little too focused on your backup plans. I’d work a little more on your primary focus. Do you want to swing a big weapon and kill stuff? I’d skip the two weapon fighting and non lethal stuff. if your main weapon is an earthbreaker power attack at 1 not 9, and just pick up Cornugon smash at 6. You could also take the bruising intellect trait, to get int to intimidate instead of cha and swap your charisma and wisdom starting scores for better will save and wis skills like perception ie stonecunning.

I agree with another poster’s recommendation for the dwarf only feat steel soul, which can really help a fighters big weakness. You can also add the glory of old racial trait for a total of +5 to saves against a lot of spells and spell like abilities.

We don't have the Chronicles. So, only what is on Paizo's PRD site is available, so I can't use Cornugon Smash. Does look appealing, though!

For the non-campaign trait, I took Seeker so that Perception would be a class skill. Perception is one of the single most important skills, in my opinion... And seems very important for a fighter.

Glory of Old is from a source we can't use. Again, restricted to the PRD sources. http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd That trait does seem really useful, though!

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/barroom-brawler-combat/

You can use this to avoid a dip. If you don't take Advance Weapon Training at level 5, you can take Abundant Tactics, giving you more uses when you need.

Don't think about the level 20 when you dip. Think of the level 5 vs level 6 with weapon training/advance training. Think of all the weapon/armor training that gets bumped back a level.

Hmm... I'm going to have to give that one some considerable thought. And yeah, the level 20 didn't concern me much. That weapon / armor training progression is exactly along my thoughts. And the extra feats being delayed another level if a dip occurs. But that barroom brawler does have a nice amount of appeal!

There's actually an archtype of fighter that gives you the brawler's martial flexibility. Here's a link to it. It's even better if your GM uses combat stamina from unchained.

It does do that... But at a heavy cost. Weapons Training is very useful. (I don't care about giving up Weapons Mastery.) Not sure if I'd want to give up weapons training (increasing bonus to both damage and attack is awesome). But, gaining those feats as swift (and eventually free) actions is very useful, too.

Definitely intriguing and something to think about, though.

At later levels, if you're worried about sleeping armored, you can sleep in full plate w/ Restful or mithril full plate w/ Comfort

Oooh, I like that Restful one! (At 1st level, we can't get it, but will definitely look into it later in the game!) The Comfort one is not from an open source document and we have not purchased it, so I can't use it. But, would definitely be nice to get that. It'd be highly useful.

Thanks!!

You should consider a dip in brawler. That way when you NEED to disarm someone or something like that you can just do it and spend the feat slot on something you'll use more. Same for TWF.

Pathfinder rewards specialization, but there is a way to maximize versatility with few resources.

This is actually a very good idea... I'm going to have to look more into it. And the bonus skill point from favored class isn't really lost since brawlers get 4+int instead of the fighter's 2+int. Losing the bonus feat and weapon mastery at level 20 aren't major since earth breakers only get crits on a nat 20 and the brawler's ability to use any combat feet for free (well, costing a single move action) 4 times a day definitely makes up for not needing those other feats. (Though, greater improved trip has a nice side effect of granting a AoO to all allies next to that opponent... But Improved Disarm and Greater Improved Disarm wouldn't really be needed. Most opponents at that level do tend to be larger or, if near our size, have natural attacks.

I like this idea. Thanks!

I don't think this is in PRD as it's from Weapon Masters handbook but...

If you took Improved Unarmed strike for fluff reasons (bar fights) why not swap it for Cayden Cailean's Blade and Tankard ? Very thematic and you get more use of your Two weapon fighting. If you don't ever plan to use a shield, you can swap your shield profiency for it and use your 2nd level feat for something else since you are CG.

That does look fun, but none of us have that book and it isn't an open license item. Might be useful for a future campaign (I'll need to purchase it). Especially if I combine it with the barbarian idea (see above).

Thanks! It is very thematically appropriate. :-)

Quote:

I've already planned out my feat progression from 1st through 20th:

Are you playing this character from 1st-level, or parachuting in at high-level? If from 1st, you can essentially chuck everything in your build from 10th onward because of the minuscule chance that your home-game will run that far.

Quote:

Toughness, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, Power Attack...

Or you could dip a level of barbarian at 1st level and get all of those for free while raging and save on a massive pile of feats, taking instead very useful things like Extra Rage, Combat Reflexes, and Steel Soul.

Quote:

Earthbreaker

The better version of this weapon is the Dwarven Longhammer, which your guy automatically knows how to use.

Quote:

Skill Focus (Intimidate)

You're a dwarf with no charisma bonus to the skill in question, no apparent ability to intimidate as other than a standard action, and no shown exploit to capitalize on a demoralized opponent.

Better idea: Just kill the target by hitting it.

- - -

trait: accelerated drinker, berserker of the society
1 barbarian1, Extra Rage
2 cleric1 [community, travel domains]
3 fighter1 [Quick Draw], Steel Soul
4 fighter2 [Combat Reflexes], DEX>16
5 fighter3 [armor training], Raging Vitality
6 fighter4 [Power Attack]

equipment: longhammer, composite longbow, kukri, tatami-do armor, quickdraw shield, 30-packs of Enlarge Person potions in a haversack, spring-sheaths.

...with this build, you have a broadly flexible martial with a polearm bludgeoner, a ranged piercer, and a light slasher, as well as the ability to deploy any of them immediately. Generate mass piles of AoOs while enlarged. Your saving throws while raging are F+7/R+1/W+5 higher at 3rd than as a straight fighter without that feat selection.

I'm playing him from 1st level. We're going to be using an adventure path from Paizo. I don't know the name, but it is the one that takes place in Hold of Keldzen. As for miniscule... Last time I ran an adventure path, we made it further than that. That was a different group, but the adventure paths make it easier to keep the story going.

In all the times I've taken Combat Reflexes (there have been many), I could count the number of times I've actually been able to use it on one hand with fingers left over. With the intent to eventually be using heavy armor, that offsets some of the benefits of being a barbarian (faster speed) and can only rage for 8 rounds a day. Combat could easily last longer (I've seen that happen many times) which leaves me fatigued during combat, which would hurt. Don't get me wrong, I was pretty tempted to go straight barbarian and use rage with this same concept. That may very well be my next pursuit. Take the feat to add my Str to my intimidate, rage and hit... It does have its appeals.

How is the longhammer any better? Damage and crit range / multiplier. It grants reach, but with reach you cannot attack anyone adjacent. Sure, you can get an AoO if someone moves up to you to fight, but after that... You have to keep repositioning yourself so you aren't adjacent.

Enforcer allows me to make a free intimidate check against anyone I just dealt non-lethal damage. With Bludgeoner, I can do non-lethal damage with blunt weapons without penalty. The intimidate I do with Enforcer lasts for rounds, causing that person to have the shaken condition. With the damage the earth breaker does (2d6 + (1.5 x str mod)), that'll last through a good amount of combat. With the added bonus that the opponent can be taken alive / interrogated. And skill focus improves my chances, which are already not that bad. The DC to demoralize the opponent is: 10 + the target's Hit Dice + the target's Wisdom modifier. And, to spread the effect, I'll be able to hit a different creature each round (if within range) to make multiple creatures shaken, helping everyone. And since non-lethal counts up and lethal counts down, the chances of knocking out the opponent are pretty decent.

Which sources are the traits from?

Oh, and the official PRD sources. I didn't care for the helmet feats for dwarves... lol

TWF was just because of using two spiked gauntlets or using the hand axe and battle axe. Some hefty penalties, but I don't want to focus on 2 weapons. It's a backup. But, I don't plan to use a shield at all.

And yeah... The combat feats at the end (trip, disarm) were a bit of an after thought.

As for enforcer, that may be a fluff that they wrote into it, but it doesn't require that the person was a criminal. I don't see him as a criminal, but he does get into bar fights. Hence the desire for improved unarmed strike, although it would almost never be needed as spiked gauntlets can't be disarmed in combat.

Class traits (weapon and armor increases) are here. I probably should have included it originally. Sticking with the base template:

Class Features:
Level 1 Bonus Feat
Level 2 Bonus Feat, Bravery +1
Level 3 Armor Training 1
Level 4 Bonus Feat
Level 5 Weapon Training 1 (Hammers)
Level 6 Bonus Feat, Bravery +2
Level 7 Armor Training 2
Level 8 Bonus Feat
Level 9 Weapon Training 2 (Hammers, Axes)
Level 10 Bonus Feat, Bravery +3
Level 11 Armor Training 3
Level 12 Bonus Feat
Level 13 Weapon Training 3 (Hammers, Axes, Close)
Level 14 Bonus Feat, Bravery +4
Level 15 Armor Training 4
Level 16 Bonus Feat
Level 17 Weapon Training 4 (Hammers, Axes, Close, Light Blades)
Level 18 Bonus Feat, Bravery +5
Level 19 Armor Mastery
Level 20 Bonus Feat, Weapon Mastery (Earth Breaker)

So, new campaign will be starting. I'm sure that this isn't an "optimized" build, but that's A-OK. I picture this character being a bit of a "sword for hire" (disregard that he doesn't use a sword) to pay for his bar tab.

We rolled for stats, so I rolled this:

Str 16
Dex 15
Con 16
Int 14
Wis 11
Char 12

After racial mods, it is now:

Str: 16
Dex: 15
Con: 18
Int: 14
Wis: 13
Char: 10

I've already planned out my feat progression from 1st through 20th:
Level 01 Enforcer; Bludgeoner
Level 02 Unarmed Strike
Level 03 Toughness
Level 04 Weapon Focus (Earth Breaker)
Level 05 Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 06 Weapon Specialization (Earth Breaker)
Level 07 Skill Focus (Intimidate)
Level 08 Greater Weapon Focus (Earth Breaker)
Level 09 Power Attack
Level 10 Improved Sunder
Level 11 Combat Expertise
Level 12 Greater Weapon Specialization (Earth Breaker)
Level 13 Penetrating Strike
Level 14 Vital Strike
Level 15 Improved Vital Strike
Level 16 Greater Vital Strike
Level 17 Improved Disarm
Level 18 Greater Disarm
Level 19 Improved Trip
Level 20 Greater Trip

Equipment:
Earth Breaker
Chainmail
Gauntlet, Spiked (x2)
Battleaxe
Handaxe
Belt pouch
Backpack
Bedroll
Whetstone
Waterskin
Pot
Flint & Steel
Mess kit
Rope
Grappling hook

At night, I should be able to have him take off the pants portion of the chainmail to turn them into a chain shirt to rest at night. The idea is that he'll use the earth breaker most of the time. First strike will be non-lethal which will grant him a free intimidate check against that person that will last for founds. Non-lethal will not give him an attack penalty due to the bludgeoner feat. If disarmed, he has the spiked gauntlets and can draw the handaxe / battleaxe as needed. Also, he has all three damage types covered for overcoming damage reduction.

Using the preferred class bonus for skill points instead of hit points (preference on my part). And took a trait to turn perception into a class skill... Here's the skill point allotment for first level:

Skills: 5
Climb 1
Craft (weapon smithing) 1
Intimidate 1
Perception 1
Survival 1

I've also planned out to third level on the skills. Survival, Intimidate, and Perception will be taken at every level. Thinking craft, too.

Still have one trait slot available for the campaign trait. (Hold at Belkzen or something like that.)

So... Yes... Not "optimized", but I *think* it should do nicely for what is planned. Alignment of CG and follows Cayden Calean. Seemed perfect for a dwarf who likes to drink his ale more than most.

You can retrain an earlier feat after getting the 20th, no epic levels.or house rules needed.

Actually, can't do that. You can't swap out a feat for another that you wouldn't have qualified for at that level. So, at 20th level, you sure you qualify. But the feat you swap out for (such as one you picked at 19th level) has to be available at that level you were when you took the first feat. So, in that case, you would have had to qualify for it at 19th level.

silverhair2008 wrote:

When Pathfinder was created there were some significant changes. One of the Skill changes was the combining of Search, Spot and Listen into one skill called Perception. Now instead of having to spend skill points in each of three skills and making three different skill rolls you now make one roll and have one place to put skill points.

So there are basically two schools of thought on this:

1) Active checks: When a player declares he's looking, searching, trying to spot something, he rolls d20 + his perception skill bonus vs a DC set by the DM. Some DM's require the roll be made secretly (either by the DM himself, or by the player tossing his die onto the mat, and the DM covering it with a handy cup or similar obstacle that he alone can peek under, but which preserves the notion of player agency in die rolling).

2) Passive checks: When the DM deciedes that players have the opportunity to notice something, they either call for perception checks from all PCs who can potentially spot something, or else he compares his fixed DC with a value equal to (10 + each player's perception bonus). This is called taking ten.

I like the "take ten" approach for passive checks, since it streamlines things. But players do like to roll dice, and it's a shame to deprive them of this.

I, personally, favor taking 10 if in a situation where they have no reason to suspect anything. If they designate a lookout or if someone is scouting ahead or they know they are in hostile terrain, roll. But if casually strolling or just in town on downtime, etc. Take 10 in those cases.

Ze'Rehan wrote:

The feat is written as:

Extra Evolution
Your eidolon has more evolutions.

Prerequisite: Eidolon class feature.
Benefit: Your eidolon's evolution pool increases by 1.
Special: This evolution can be taken once at 1st level, and again at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th.

Problem is, there is no 10th or 20th level feats (ignoring that they had a typo and called it an evolution instead of a feat under Special). Has there ever been an official ruling by Paizo on this? It isn't covered by the errata.

I have had DMs rule before that you can take it at the following levels (since it specifies when you can take it vs qualify for it): 1, 5, 9, 13, and 17th. (Basically, every 4 levels which nets the same number but is achievable.)

Someone who is 11th level is also 10th level. It is inclusive.

FAQ wrote:

"Prestige Class Requirements: If a prestige class requires 5 ranks in a skill and I have 6 ranks in that skill, do I still meet the requirements?

Yes, because skill ranks are inclusive: if you have 6 ranks in a skill, then you have 5 ranks in that skill, and therefore meet the "have 5 ranks in [this] skill" requirement.

In the same way, if you have a BAB of +6, then you have a BAB of +5, and therefore meet the "have BAB +5" requirement.

In the same way, if you have Str 15, then you have Str 13, and therefore meet the "Str 13" feat prerequisite for Power Attack.

Feat prerequisites are not inclusive, as it is possible for a creature to have a feat without meeting that feat's prerequisites. For example, a ranger can select Precise Shot as a ranger bonus feat without having the Point Blank Shot feat; he does not meet the prerequisites for Far Shot (which has Point Blank Shot as a prerequisite) because he doesn't actually have the Point Blank Shot feat, even though he has a feat that lists Point Blank Shot as a prerequisite."

This is good. Unfortunately, if the DM doesn't intend to do epic levels, then the last one is forever out of reach. Will need to shoot that to the DM and see what his final judgment is.

The feat is written as:

Extra Evolution
Your eidolon has more evolutions.

Prerequisite: Eidolon class feature.
Benefit: Your eidolon's evolution pool increases by 1.
Special: This evolution can be taken once at 1st level, and again at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th.

Problem is, there is no 10th or 20th level feats (ignoring that they had a typo and called it an evolution instead of a feat under Special). Has there ever been an official ruling by Paizo on this? It isn't covered by the errata.

I have had DMs rule before that you can take it at the following levels (since it specifies when you can take it vs qualify for it): 1, 5, 9, 13, and 17th. (Basically, every 4 levels which nets the same number but is achievable.)

Not sure about everyone else, but I like having a quick reference sheet for my magical gear. Making / updating a word document to list it out gets pretty tedious, though. I was wondering if anyone knew of a site (similar to this one for spells: http://www.thegm.org/perramsSpellbook.php) that already does this function?

Having a description of the items, their caster levels, abilities, etc comes in handy so I'm not having to look up my gear to find out exactly how it operates.

Much appreciated!!

Take a look at the new Pathfinder Reference Document. Now take a look using your phone, or your iPad. Notice anything different? That's right, it doesn't suck anymore.

In addition to now including all the open game content from Ultimate Combat and the errata for the third printing of the Bestiary, the PRD is now optimized for tablet and mobile display. Before you ask, yes, that means iPhone, iPad and Android. Probably others, too, but that's what we tested on.

I have been showing this thing off to anybody I can corral here at the office. Lissa and Chris Lambertz have put in a lot of hours tweaking this thing and they deserve all the credit. Ross deserves some too, but he gets all the credit for making the Pathfinder Battles subscriptions working. So there's plenty of credit to go around! Except for me. I take no credit for any of this. Except to say, "Make it not suck."

Since this is a major revision of several hundred pages of content and navigation, there are bound to be problems. Please use this thread to let us know anything you find that needs to be fixed, and we'll fix it as soon as we can.

And yeah, searching the PRD kind of sucks. We're working on that.

Since you asked us to do it...

I have found that not *all* the spells on the spell lists are in the proper levels (yeah, don't have it off the top of my head, can look it up if necessary).

Additionally, not all the feats are properly categorized. The one I just got done looking at (See? I have proofs!) is "Swap Places". Improved Swap Places is properly listed as a Teamwork Feat. However, on the index page, the feat "Swap Places" is not categorized as a Teamwork Feat (its detailed entry, however, has it on there).

Yeah, when it comes to combat, my guy won't be the cream of the crop. Kind of figured I'd be lacking when I even thought about trying to go for skills.

And, admittedly, he's already had a rough start. He's dropped into negatives 4 times already. But, with our group, no one was willing to go fight the goblins up close. Our group isn't very optimized at all... Already got plans that, if this one dies, I'll be making a big brute of a fighter next. One who is truly geared to "smash gud". (Backup WAS going to be a cleric, but we now have the oracle...)

Thanks!!

I'm hoping to have fun with him, but he won't be stealing the spotlight in combat. Though, he did do fairly well this past session when I was able to flank with the other rogue. I think it was the most damage he's done yet, thanks to the SA using d8's.

Ze'Rehan wrote:

15-point buy. Not the best stats available for us. And the paladin took higher Int and Wis. Think the Dex was the 3rd best stat on that paladin.

Why? Those are the 2 least important stats on a paladin!

Indeed... The first time, I believe, the player has played one. He has said that he wishes he had read all the abilities of a paladin before making it now, and he would have done the stats completely different.

10 Char.....

But, live and learn, right? :-)

As to loot - I always have a pack animal or 2 for such things when not playing Pathfinder Society.

It surprises me how often players DON'T do that!

15-point buy. Not the best stats available for us. And the paladin took higher Int and Wis. Think the Dex was the 3rd best stat on that paladin.

Correct, Robert. And lots of flanking to offset the TWF penalty.

Well, bah... I had added extra spaces to try to help separate sections, but it didn't help. :-( Sorry for the confused jumble that it now looks like.

(And occasionally a person goes with a ranged Fighter. Have seen it. Right now, we have a ranged paladin... Not the norm, though!)

As to encumbrance - I don't think I've ever played a character who would ever wear medium armor without at least a strength of 14.

With all the other gear (and loot!) being carried, I've seen weight carried all too often hover around the border between Med and Heavy loads. Only reason I mention that. It has happened a LOT in the campaigns I've played. One reason I always try to get a wagon ASAP now. ;-)

15 point buy on stats, so my character is definitely weak to start off with. I'll admit, I went with skill-based (12 skill points per level). At the time of creation, we had a paladin, magus, and alchemist. Found after a few sessions that the paladin was built for ranged and skills (d'oh!) and the alchemist is a sneaky person who doesn't mind stealing from the team, so my skills are helping me keep on him...

But, with the high acrobatics I didn't see a need to worry about the problems of AoO by movement. And I *did* do one thing to offset my 3/4 BAB: Weapon Finesse. And 2 sets of claw blades! Why just go with one? This is the purpose of 2WF. Plan to also end up offsetting the penalties of things like Deadly Sneak by only adding the number enhancement when I enchant my claw blades. IE: +1, +2, +3 vs +1 Flaming.

At level 1:
Str: 11
Dex: 14
Con: 10
Int: 16
Wis: 10
Char: 12

Level 4: +1 to str (bump it to a 12).
Level 8, 12, 16, and 20: +1 dex each (15, 16, 17, and finally 18, assuming no magical enhancements).

And yes, I plan to flank. Since creating my character (no archtype), we have gained another rogue who went with a high dex vs int and is focused on combat (we're working pretty well on flanking each other), and just recently a Phalanx Soldier and an oracle.

As for City Born, it was a RPing thing, I'll admit. Fit with the trait I picked from the new player's companion for the adventure path (Family Ties - I'm adopted by a Varisian family when I was young; my parents were hired for an archeology team down in Chalix (catfolk commoners, they were expendable in the eyes of the wizard) and were lost at one of the ruins. Quite admittedly, probably not the best mechanics-wise.

Oh, I should have mentioned (sorry) that we're limited on sources. CRB, APG, Advanced Races, Ultimate Combat and Magic, Ultimate Equipment... And that new class book. Ultimate Classes or whatever it is called. (Bad Ze'Rehan, should have mentioned that in the beginning!)

Rogue Talent - Weapon Training - This probably would have been a good choice... I took Single-Minded Appraiser strictly for the RP aspect. (We've kinda stressed RPing and are kind of laid back. Have had fun emphasizing the feline aspect...) Definitely not an optimal choice on my part... Your suggestion of talent is quite better.

Nimble Striker would be good, but I replaced the Sprinter item with racial climb (has paid off multiple times!). Just to make sure I point out what I've taken so no one (beyond this point) yells at me...
Cat's Luck
Cat's Claws
Climber
Low-light Vision

Claw Pounce - Problem: Requires BAB of +10 (not until much later) and I can't due to Alternate Racial Feature (which I failed to mention in the original post).

Offensive Defense - Circumstantial, but I could definitely see where it would be used often enough to be quite worth it. Underhanded may or may not be applicable. Especially once I have the claw blades, DM might rule them as not being concealed.

Twist Away - This looks pretty spiffy, actually... Never knew about it.

Improved Crit - I originally took this back when I was under the mistaken idea that crits also meant SA (3.5 sneaking into my assumptions). Since they don't, I don't consider 19-20 to be enough an improvement to warrant this feat just to double my 1d8 to 2d8. Plus, you'd laugh if you saw my standard rolls in a night. Most nights, my rolls are pretty low on average. Doesn't make sense, but it's pro quo for me.

Critical Focus - If I had a higher threat range weapon where I would crit often enough, definitely!! With my low range, I will disagree on this part. No offense!

Destroy Identity - I worship a non-evil deity. Sorry... lol My character is the "Good" rogue. Donates to the orphanage quite a bit. The other rogue is the more "Evil" one. He deals with interrogations along with the alchemist. lol

Another Day - I figure that by the time I get this, I won't be reaching -1 - -10 very often... Enough damage will be flying around to straight up kill my rogue instead. (Which hopefully doesn't happen)

Thanks for your insights, though! And yeah, I definitely will be having weak saves for Fort and Will. :-/ And you definitely mentioned a few I never thought about and would be quite tantalizing. :-)

And to the comments about Vital Strike and 2WF, they compliment each other. If you move, you can only do one attack. If you only take a 5 foot step, you can 2WF. From my experience, there is a lot of movement going on in combat, so Vital Strike will get a lot of use. First round that I've moved close enough to fight, if the opponents are spread out, etc. I have had it occur way too many times for this one not to pay off.

So, purpose: I'm being enough of a skill monkey to meet my skill monkey desire without completely neglecting my need to aid out in combat. Originally, I was the only rogue. However, now there are 2 of us and we are flanking quite well in combat. :-) But, I'm not going to neglect my need to offer the skills, hence Skill Mastery.

Charon, that depends on the player's dex modifier. Or weight encumbrance. Four Mirror is 15 lbs heavier and has a max dex bonus of +2 while scale mail has a +3 max dex. That completely offsets the +1 armor bonus and has a better touch AC.

I understand some DMs are rather easy going with encumbrance, but I like the extra level of realism it adds when the players are having to consider what they are going to carry with them.

And GreyWolfLord, I like your answer! :-)

If the players need to attend a formal function, give them a bonus for wearing the "nicer" armors. Scale Mail would have been great for ceremonial armor.

Okay, so I so far think that this build seems pretty nice... Yes, it isn't the "best" for combat, especially in the beginning. But, we've made it through 3 levels so far and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Then again, I gave him a lot of character... But, what are your opinions on this build?

Note, the DM gave us a free feat from the original player companion for Rise of the Rune Lords, which we are currently playing.
Feats:
Level 01 City Born (Riddleport); Catfolk Exemplar (Claws)
Level 03 Aspect of the Beast: Night Senses
Level 05 Weapon Finesse
Level 07 Improved Natural Attack (Claws)
Level 09 Two-Weapon Fighting (will start using claw blades at this time)
Level 11 Vital Strike
Level 13 Defensive Combat Training
Level 15 Improved Vital Strike
Level 17 Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 19 Catfolk Exemplar (Enhanced Senses - Scent)

Rogue Talents:
Level 02 Rogue Talent - Vicious Claws
Level 04 Rogue Talent - Bleeding Attack
Level 06 Rogue Talent - Single-Minded Appraiser
Level 08 Rogue Talent - Powerful Sneak
Level 10 Rogue Talent - Deadly Sneak
Level 12 Rogue Talent - Opportunist
Level 14 Rogue Talent - Improved Evasion
Level 16 Rogue Talent - Skill Mastery (Stealth, Disable Device, Acrobatics; Perception; Sleight of Hand; Sense Motive)
Level 18 Rogue Talent - Crippling Strike
Level 20 Rogue Talent - Trap Spotter

That is not the only problem with this rogue talent. The Advanced Player's Guide has a different, non-racially exclusive rogue talent by the same name.

I never caught that!

Okay, so I'm not being an idiot and missing something. It actually is pointless.

And Avoron, I agree. If you're going with a catfolk rogue, the vicious claws is a necessity. Alternate racial trait to pick up claws at 1d4. Exemplar feat to bump it to 1d6. Another feat (Improved natural attack) to bump it to 1d8. Every claw hit does 1d8 and, if you are flanking, it is 1d8 + xd8 for however many normal d6's you get from sneak attack. :-)

Weapon Finesse and TWF only improve upon this.

Thanks all! Really glad I wasn't just banging my head against the wall uselessly trying to figure out what I must be missing as there was nothing to miss. :)

Bump! Anyone have inputs?

I always pictured it as a cheap home. Your bed, a place to store your equipment. Etc. I wouldn't try to run a food joint out of my bedroom!

I notice people include that bit from the rogue talent as a good reason to take it. I don't see how it helps given a catfolk with the racial climb already can do it.

Keep in mind that they should also have a storeroom to store cooking supplies / food for the kitchen.

I *think* the campaign setting book has product identity material...

What is the purpose of the catfolk racial rogue talent "Nimble Climber" stating "If she has the climber racial trait, she can take 10 on her Climb checks even when in immediate danger or distracted."
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedRaceGuide/featuredRaces/catfolk. html

By the rules, anyone with a climb speed can already always take 10: "A creature with a climb speed has a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks. The creature must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC higher than 0, but it can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing."
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/skills/climb.html#climb

As such, that extra blurb on that talent is irrelevant.

Given that the Charau-ka are not related to the Vanaras, I'm curious where the most appropriate local would be for a Vanaras to be from in Pathfinder. I was thinking the Mwangi Expanse, since the Vanaras have a natural climb ability and would be home in a jungle, but it does not sound like they would survive well there with these evil shrieking apes all over.

-Ze'Rehan