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Every good rules system makes it hard to model an OP character. The challenge stands open if you can find a better build! I think Scout/Swordmaster is thematically best, but swordmaster is also the only way I can find to get two swords on a charge at level 9. With ninja you can get scout but not swordmaster, and poison use/no trace/light steps make less sense to me than finesse training/danger sense/debilitaing injury/rogues edge. Magus I disagree with thematically because she doesn't use magic, doesn't like to think and she clearly kills by precision damage. Flight speed has one other factor than action economy: charge rules state "allows you to move up to twice your speed". If she were at 60' flying speed the downward charge could add 12d6 instead of 6d6 for 30' fly speed (assuming a limit of double speed when falling charge). I'm not sure if this really is a requirement since you can presumably make a falling charge without a fly speed and I'm not certain falling would be considered a double move if you do have a fly speed. Full round action to swing by rope at least 20' from a higher elevation also counts as a charge. Climb speeds are definitely useful, but I'll probably get a climb speed with Rogue's Edge at level 10. Some more thoughts I've had:
The giant's AoO would be more appropriately avoided with amazing Acrobatics (e.g. frost giant's CMD 29) instead of by armor. Acrobatics is +19 so that's only 50% protection so far. Dropping celestial armor would be thematically approriate (though stupid for normal Pathfinder play style). Then I'd need another way to fly every day to qualify for putting ranks in Fly skill. So now I'm at:
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You're right about true strike, so I will just need a bandolier full of Rings of Serene Contortions and put a new one on each fight. I *should* only need it once per combat. Dusty rose prism + wayfinder is useful, but not 12% of wealth useful. Wands and UMD are insanely useful outside combat if you can use them, but it's un-thematic, TWF means no spare hands in combat, and my action economy already sucks two or three rounds of setting up the finale. I've also considered replacing flying with a second story harness, 2 crank light crossbows, 6 tiny animated object constructs, 200' of silk rope and 2 grappling bolts for 2219gp. I suspect table variation on how that works though... [X] 1k Boots of the Cat: would mean an unchecked 60' fall only does 6 damage instead of 6d6. Seems prudent. ![]()
Altitude is a defining element of the build damage, and flight speed is key to getting a high initial altitude. There's a ton of options for how to fly, none of them perfect so a mix of options seems ideal. Expense per encounter for something a character is built around is one element, and presumably she also practices regularly. With APL 9 party of 4, average treasure per encounter is 1,062gp, about 19 CR=APL encounters per level, expecting +16k WBL means only consuming 4k, or 200gp total expenses per encounter at this level. Here's a list of the ways to fly I've looked at: [X] 0? Party casting fly spells every fight: cheapest option, but Mikasa is a strong independent woman who don't need no wizard.
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avr: I like what you're seeing that I missed.
Baba: Griffon Mane outfit is definitely a cheap +2 competence bonus to Fly, so that's totally in. It also reminds me I should have a masterwork tool of flying, which would be what I make out of griffon mane. Since I technically have functioning wings already a good jacket that can accomodate wings while catching the wind dramatically seems fair.
You're right, Celestial Armor is pricy, but it's something I could use until level 20. I need some AC since giants will get an AoO as I swoop in. In the Celestial Armor example, AC is 24 = 10 + 7 Dex + 9 armor -2 charge, and frost giant's to hit is +18... so I need AC >28 to not get swatted first most of the time. +9 AC for 22k seems fair. More on flying in a moment. Charging stuff:
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My objective is to maximize damage done on the first round of contact to a giant with a flying two-sword charge. I love Mikasa in Attack on Titan, and wanted to see if I could replicate the flying, two swords simultaneous first strike giant killer in Pathfinder for a home game. Character gen rules: 25 point buy, 9th level, normal wealth by level, no 3rd party materials, no technological items. A CR 9 Frost Giant has 133 HP, so that's the damage I need for first strike kills for this level. Here's how this build works:
Here's I've got so far:
So we have four key rolls to make:
Best case scenario, you hit for 4d8+26d6+24, an average of 133 damage (max of 206!). If you miss the combat maneuver check, you can either climb more or still get one attack on a charge for 1d8+11d6+8 for an average of 51 damage (and a max of 82). Frost giant has flat-footed AC 21, so probability of 4 hits is over 50% if I succeed at the combat maneuver. Which is a big if since his CMD is 29 (25% chance of success), but you can elect not to use the charge that round if you fail your check. The result is she could be circling in the sky for several rounds looking for an opening before striking. Any advice on how to get a better generic CMB without losing the ability to average over 130 damage? Or how to improve the damage of the first damage? I'm not interested in anything that requires more than one round of attacks or attacks with something other than two swords. ![]()
It certainly is doable. I play a pacifist character, I've never dealt damage to any enemy. My character has been attacked many times by trying to befriend the obvious enemies, and used mind affecting magic to shut down a wide variety of conflict instigators, and has persuaded evil undead to accept an Atonement to give up their evil ways. The plot of the game has to do with the Four Horsemen, and the GM has implied that as a result of my character's extreme pacifism, she may be the only one immune to the powers of the Horseman of War. Your game is only as good as your imagination, your GM and your co-players. Don't let anyone dissuade you from playing a pacifist. It's far more satisfying to defy the murder-hobo trope. ![]()
You mention tax collection and tax evasion, but not taxes themselves. Historically that's one of the most contentious areas of law, and economically it's going to define what is and isn't possible in the kingdom as well as how powerful monied interests are. Second is property ownership. Land and magic items are most likely the most valuable items, so having a registered deed with a history of ownership would be typical. The owner of a piece of land would typically have rights to things like ruins and any loot therefrom. Creation of new magic items would also likely be regulated, or at least registered due to the enormous value, and inevitable thefts or court disputes over ownership. How do you treat the ownership of something so easily carried away? ![]()
AC Bonus: If you have a level 1 Brawler, level 2 will be a dip into Ranger (or Paladin/Armored Hulk barbarian/Crusader cleric, alignment depending). Heavy armor prof is a +5 AC compared to chain shirt, which is superior to AC Bonus at 18th level. Sure, you can put two feats of Martial Maneuvers into Medium Armor Proficiency and Heavy Armor Proficiency, but you want to free those up. Replace this with something like Canny Defense from Duelist that scales up higher than +4. Flurry: Why not just give the Two Weapon Fighting tree instead of the flurry? Just pure bonus feats would be simplest. Flurry limiting it to monk weapons locks players into Eastern Weapons flavor. If you're set on gimping the feat, why not just lock it to a player's choice of fighter weapon groups? That way I can create my own flavor. Brawler Strike: I don't like Brawler Strike, or any (Su) for a brawler. Who says the unarmed strike has to be able to hurt every monster? If everyone can always hurt every monster, DR is pointless. Like the Eastern weapons, it's an immersion breaker. If you really want to keep up with DR penetration, just call it something like "Penetrating Strike (Ex)" and give a non-magicky sounding mechanic like "The brawler's unarmed strike can bypass 5 points of DR". Martial Maneuvers: Sounds cool, and it would be if it weren't an accounting and research nightmare. So now I have to keep a whole sheet of numbers for attack reference. Four weapons (primary, secondary, unarmed, ranged) times three attack modes (one attack, defensively, full attack) squared (flurry) times a every possible combination of combat feats... It's going to piss off a lot of people at the table while someone is constantly looking up combat feats, then recalculating their stats every combat. Adding up conditional modifiers already take up half of combat. I'd recommend narrowing the scope to a list of a dozen feats. Maneuver Training: isn't as good as Lorewarden or Maneuver Master for CMB. Awesome Blow: Underwhelming. Weapon Mastery and Perfect Self are far superior capstones. I have a fighter-monk character in my Thursday game, and I'll test out a Brawler build. I expect to be disappointed. |