Hey,
I was thinking of introducing in my game a NPC who is/was basically the best fighter 'ever'. I want to keep it relatively simple, and stick to PF core and make him lv20, templates like vampire or whatever can be added on top of it if they have a fluff reason to exist, with the wealth of a PC to represent his extraordinary background.
Have you guys ever used such a concept? Feel like puting the stats for one?
P.S: Would be better to have slightly original fightning styles as opposed to Falchion Fred or Kukri Ken.
A good fighter should be able to adapt to any combat situation so making him adept at using ranged weapons is a must at well. Give him quick draw and a composite longbow and invest a few feats into ranged combat will make him a powerhouse from any range.
When building a fighter I usually go for one with a reach weapon and a decent dexterity. Combat reflexes can grant you a whole lot more attacks per round, and since the fighter has a lot of damage on each one, that's bringing a lot of hurt. You can also use the attacks of opportunity to trip opponents as they enter your reach, which means they can't attack you. Stopping enemies from attacking you at all is a much better defense than just stacking HP (as we've learned from playing battlefield control classes).
Being wary of your surroundings is good as well, try to set yourself up so you get the max amounts of attacks of opportunity, are in cover from ranged attacks etc. etc.
In my opinion the 'best fighter ever' is the one who plays it smart.
Best fighter ever: Danny Hodge.
But being serious, what are you asking for a build for the best fighter at level 20. How do you define best? Highest DPR, Highest AC, Maxed out Perform(PR) skill?
What is the point buy? If he is a non-combat NPC, just hand wave any stats, because he might never feel right. Best if he is not meant to be a combatant to teleport away, IMO.
And the is a reason for Falchion Fred, the falchion gives the best DPR due to crits.
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If he's just the best fighter ever, no need to build him. Just talk of his prowess etc; no need to overthink / overwork your NPCs. If somehow he's asked to prove it, just have him humiliate the asker with a combat manuever. Things are hard enough on us GMs without having to define out our legends :).
I would do that, except that....
one of my players (barbarian character) is supposed to face him in a lv or 2 when he reaches 20.
From that point of view, what could make sense fluff-wise would be more like a suave arrogant duelist type to oppose the gruffy, dirty two-hand axe character.
Then some monk/duelist human can reach an AC close to 60+ by core rules with PC wealth, some use magic device a couple craft skills and the master craftsman feat. Would be less of a powerhouse and more of an annoying untouchable character with high saving throws and AC.
Sort of the total opposite of this player with 250something HP and an AC of 20, and able to hit for more than 150hp in a lucky roll.
An enchantment Wizard with Hold Person ready ? ;)
Sort of the total opposite of this player with 250something HP and an AC of 20, and able to hit for more than 150hp in a lucky roll.
Yeah, except that he has iron will, outsider (native) template, a cloak of resistance +5, a decent wisdom and spell resistance. At lv16 I think it's like +15 will and SR 26.
P.S: Correction, 250
I would totally cheat.
The player has a sheet for his character, right? So, duplicate his character. Note that the player shouldn't know the NPCs traits/feats/templates. Just describe an average looking guy who's great with a sword. Don't describe the character using the words the player uses to describe his barbarian. He'll never know the difference.
His barbarian fights a rapier-wielding duelist. Describe the actions of the duelist in those terms, but use the barbarian class abilities.
But, don't allow the player to get all the magical goodies that a level 20 character has.
I would set up a duel, where seconds are allowed to carry off the dead/wounded and their weapons/equipment. That way, there is an "arena-style" combat that keeps everything equal, and a level 20 character doesn't suddenly get bonus magical items.
Unless, of course, that's part of the quest.
As an alternative, after talking up the prowess of the "greatest warrior ever," I might make the NPC a polymorphed dragon. Why a dragon? Well, their vanity could be satisfied by being the "greatest warrior ever," their fights are gonna be one-on-one (not an entire party of adventurers), and it'd be a great way to keep an eye on powerful adventurers who might want to take out a dragon.
As an aside, any style can be beaten by the right "other" style.
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Ah, level 20 campaign; off-hand i'd say just make rando-high level fighter "sword and board) rapier and shield. Crit line to make it good. Careful though, fighter capstone wrecks all fights; a barbarian may have no chance against that.
I'd give him some levels in Aristocrat... Just because he claims he's the best fighter in the world doesn't mean it's true :).
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My advice would be to make his something like "the living son of Gorum", much like Achilles and Hercules, then give him some power that is absolutely ridiculous, but which obviously makes him "the best fighter in the world". Ability possibilities are things like, he gets double full attacks for x rounds a day, is impossible to damage x rounds a day, can move freely and still do full attacks, whatever it is, make it something which completely breaks the rules for PC fighters. Just make him famous for whatever it is without explaining too much, then let the characters find out for themselves :)
If you are looking for a super dangerous level 20 fighter statted out, have a look at Fighterman. He has full PC wealth and is Pathfinder core too, as per your prerequisites. That monster created by Zurai is death to anything he points that bow at. Pretty good template for a character, you could change him to a Vampire or Outsider pretty easily.
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Here is a character I had made that was previously the champion of his kingdom, until he was betrayed by the King. He is honorable and likely will not kill the Barbarian if it turns into a straight up duel, unless the Barbarian dishonors him. I wouldn't consider him evil, just more selfish... after giving up everything for his King only to meet betrayal, he no longer feels like he owes anyone anything... The problem is that if he is defeated, that's some mighty powerful magic items there... but if it is more cordial, respect-wise, maybe Donal would give an item to the Barbarian after the match.
Donal the Fallen CR 19
XP 204,800
Male human fighter 20
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception -1
DEFENSE
AC 40, touch 18, flat-footed 31 (+12 armor, +9 shield, +8 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 306 (20d10+160)
Fort +19, Ref +14, Will +5
Defensive Abilities bravery +5 v. fear effects; Armor Mastery – DR 5/- (if wearing armor or using shield); regeneration 1
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft
Melee +5 spear +37/+32/+27/+22 (1d8+17/x3) or +4 long sword +36/+31/+26/+21 (1d8+17/17-20/x3)
Ranged +5 spear +32 (1d8+17/x3)
Special Attacks Vital Strike +37 (4d8+17/x3) or +36 (4d8+17/17-20/x3); Cleave; Sunder; Overrun
STATISTICS
Str 28 Dex 26 Con 24 Int 14 Wis 9 Cha 14
Base Atk +20; CMB +29; CMD 47
Feats Power AttackH, Cleave1, DodgeB1, Shield FocusB2, Mobility3, Great CleaveB4, Improved Overrun5, Greater OverrunB6, Improved Sunder7, Vital StrikeB8, Toughness9, Critical FocusB10, Improved Vital Strike11, Blind-FightB12, Weapon Focus (spear)13, Penetrating StrikeB14, Greater Shield Focus15, Greater Vital StrikeB16, Spring Attack17, Improved Shield BashB18, Shield Slam19, Shield Mastery20
Skills Acrobatics +13, Climb +20, Handle Animal +18, Intimidate +25, Know (local) +18, Know (engineering) +25, Profession (carpentry) +8, Ride +21, Sense Motive +19, Swim +17
Languages Common
SQ Armor Training 5, Weapon Training 4 – Axes+1, Close+2, Spears+3, Heavy Blades+4, Armor Mastery, Weapon Mastery (long sword)
Combat Gear +5 breastplate moderate fortification, +5 heavy steel shield of bashing,+5 spear, +4 long sword, belt of physical perfection (+6), armored kilt, ring of regeneration, scabbard of keen edges, manual of gainful exercise +4 (used), manual of quickness of action +4 (used), manual of bodily health +4 (used), potion of heroism, potion of cure moderate wounds (x3)
EDIT: As for tactics, he has various tricks, Blind Fighting, Greater Overrun is generally used to finishing an opponent quickly. Knock him off his feet, then use the Attack of Opportunity as a "cover" action, holding the weapon at a vulnerable spot and calling for the opponent to yield. I wouldn't expect this to work against the Barb, but he would at least try once during the fight. He would use mobility and spring attack to limit the hits from the Barbarian, and occasionally use shield slam. If he found that he hit often, he might sprinkle in some Power Attack to up his damage. The Penetrating Strike is with his spear, and the Weapon Mastery is with his long sword. He is not adverse to throwing his spear if it will catch his opponent off guard, then move in with his sword. I allow use of a regular spear one handed (since it was often done so in ancient Greece) since a short spear is listed as 5 feet in length and a spear is significantly longer (6-7ft.)
Warduke :)
"Critical Threats: Warduke." Dungeon #105 (Paizo Publishing, 2003).
Thanks a lot for the feedback guys, give me a lot of material to look into. I cannot copy the character's sheet, I'd feel too 'cheap' using his ideas :p.
I particularly like the dragon idea for the 'aloof pri**" type, and the stats block for the 2 fighters.
Am going for the mele vs melee fight, and will keep this archer guy for another fight vs the party with his wizard cohort casting dimensional door here and there. Hmm nasty...
I will definitely use Donal as well for some other RP, interesting character and interesting statistic block. For now, I made a cheese AC monk 10 duelist 10.
You could argue that some people would see him as the best fighter ever on grounds of, when dueling, being nearly untouchable. (All of this in a world where lv20 is comparable with and as rare as Greek mythological heroes or demi-gods). Some refined mannerisms, a big ego, a pretty, smooth face and noble looks are a must too. A vampire with a fetish for swords and weapons collected from powerful enemies vanquished over the eras. Being a vampire, those weapons should have that extra safety to prevent them being found by players via gaseous form. Also a contingency teleport at worst. They have little to no divinations.
I took freedom in:
*Giving this NPC the wealth of a lv20 PC .
*Considering he can use his trophy weapons and slam as monk weapons with which he is proficient. I spent a feat slots for that (weapon kata). It still is overpowered.
*Allowing him to be considered as having a free hand even when using flurry of blows to use his duelist class features .
*Having his dancing weapons attack as if flurried.
*Starting stats: Str 14, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 17, Cha 14, Wis 13.
The point of this ‘cheating’ was to make attack with a storm of swords around in a surprising, different way, without bending the rules much (hopefully). I adjudicated a +2CR for all of these goodies and for the stupid high AC (which is still about 40 below the maximum under RAW)
Name?, CR 23
XP 819,200
Male human Vampire Monk 10 Duelist 10, +2 (see notes above)
LE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +16; Senses Darkvision 60ft, Perception +48
DEFENSE
AC 65, touch 42, flat-footed 52 (+8 armor, +4 shield, +12 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 Int Canny defense, +6 Wis Monk, +11 Natural -6 racial and 5 enhancement-, +5 deflection). Bonus +4 under total defense and holding a +4 defender weapon.
HP 220 (10d8+10d10+120)
Saves Fort +14, Ref +24, Will +16
Defensive Abilities
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft
Melee I will calculate the different possibilities with all the dancing swords with different bonus, the flurries, the slam some other day. Going to be a long while.
Ranged Dimension door and melee.
Special Attacks Later.
STATISTICS
Str 20 Dex 34 Con - Int 26 Wis 22 Cha 18
Base Atk +17; CMB +32; CMD 39 CM seem to me like this guy's flagrant vulnerability.
Feats 10 +1 Human + 4 Monk + vampire feats
Weapon finesse
Mobility
Improved grapple (come on, it’s a vampire)
Improved trip (because it’s humiliating)
Improved weapon finesse (replace strength bonus to damage by half of dexterity bonus).
Imprroved critical (rapier, thin blade)
Critical focus
Blinding critical
Staggering critical
Stunning critical
Tiring critical
Exhausting critical
Quick draw
Weapon kata (cf notes)
Vampire feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, and Toughness.
Skills
Assuming a starting intelligence of 20, can’t be bothered to reverse engineer now.
Name Rank+Ability+Class+Racial+Misc
Acrobatics +35, 20+12+3
Bluff +35, 20+4+3+8
Climb +18, 1+5+3+9 (spider climb)
Diplomacy +24, 20+4
Intimidate +27, 20+4+3
Perception +48, 20+6+8+4+10 (alertness, eagle eyes)
Sense Motive +37, 20+6+3+8
Stealth +43, 20+12+3+8
Use magic device +24, 20+4
19 points left
Languages Common, Elven, Dacronic.
SQ Later.
Combat gear
*Bracers of armor +8, wand of shield, Headband of wisdom and intelligence +6, Gloves of dexterity +6, Amulet of natural armor +5, Ring of protection +5, Tome of quickness in action +1 (used), Tome of understanding +1 (used), eagle eyes +10.
326.000 GP
*Steel dragon: +4 Dancing, sonic elven thin blade. Can act as a Horn of blasting on its own volition 3 times a day (Treat as intelligent magical item). Roughly 232.000 GP.
*The King’s defender: +4 defending rapier. 50.000 GP
*Dancing rapier of puncturing. Roughly 87.000 GP.
*Slam attack. Describe it as an animated life drinker sword that attack along with the NPC and vanishes with his life force when he is defeated. Mechanically speaking it’s similar.
*Dancing, vorpal shortsword +1 200.000gp. Needs a name.
Total: 893 000ish.