The idea here is to create a fighter that stacks a ton of debuffs on the enemy with each swing.
Between Shatter Defenses, Befuddling Strike, Cornugon Smash and being a Thug, this character gives a -4 to hit malus (vs himself) on every enemy he hits and makes them flatfooted.
He also ends up with a +23 (due to skill focus, 12 ranks invested and intimidating prowess) to Intimidate at level 12 and gets +1 to duration of shaken effects.
By level 12 he is already building towards the critical feat tree.
Finally, with a few levels of Rogue, he should be able to sneak attack for +2d6 on every attack (is this accurate? Meaning: with the below feats can I walk up to a dude, hit him with cornugon smash and shattering strike AND get a sneak attack all in the first round of combat?)
Seems like a fun fighter build that would be pretty effective. I could probaly min-max by dumping intelligence a bit.
What do you guys think? Rogue levels worth it? Would I be better off with Barbarian levels?
Off the bat, I'd drop Enforcer in there at some point, and pair it off with the trait "Blade of Mercy" from LoF. Of course, you have to worship Sarenrae to pull that off, but if you can make it fit the flavor.
Off the bat, I'd drop Enforcer in there at some point, and pair it off with the trait "Blade of Mercy" from LoF. Of course, you have to worship Sarenrae to pull that off, but if you can make it fit the flavor.
AH! I see what these do. Nice combo. But isn't it redundant with what I already do? How often do I want to do nonlethal damage?
It's an awesome character concept, but remember that every time you try to re-intimidate the same foe, you get a -5 cumulative penalty on your intimidate check.
I would throw in 2 levels of Anti-Paladin for the Aura of Fear and Misery (fear) class features. :)
I have 2 intimidate characters going atm, both don't solely focus on intimidate as I don't usually run one-trick ponies. Besides if you focus too much a DM will eventually smack you down, I find it good to have other options when your 'one-trick' won't work.
For what it's worth, here's their general concepts, maybe you'll see something you like. :)
•Dwarven Fighter 3(Phalanx Fighter)/ Paladin 7
concept:
- Rise of the Rune Lords AP, tank build (AC/HP/DMG) using Dazzling Display as a form of aggro generation. Recently came across a weapon that can cause the sickened condition in a 30' radius(allies too) 1xday when an enemy is struck as well. The overall goal/theme was superhero meatshield, so most of his feats reflect it and I have approx. 8-10 more points of AC then everyone else in the party.
Trait: Lone Wolf
Weapon Focus
Dazzling Display
Endurance
Die Hard
Dodge
Mobility
Ironhide
(Looking at Shield Focus, Intimidating Prowess or Toughness next. I had contemplated Toughness earlier, but decided to skip dipping into Stalwart Defender for the moment. Intimidating Prowess would give me +5, but I'm already succeeding by approx. 10 against mooks (Giants), not really necessary.)
[ - Kingmaker AP, charging striker build. The Thug & Scout variants have a large amount of synergy with a Cockatrice Cavalier. Thug with the Enforcer feat gives you non-lethal intimidating attacks that can be made into frightened or sickened, then Cavalier gives you Braggart, which is dazzling display without a weapon and not a full round action. (forget if it's a standard or a move) Scout gives you the ability to make foes flat-footed when charging, then Cavalier gives you bonuses while charging.
(Unsure where to go with feats on this guy, focusing too much on the mount is a concern even if the AP is a bit more outdoorsy than most. Also looking into Intimidating Prowess, but it would only be a +2 vs. Skill Focus' +3 atm. I may attempt to buy a weapon like the dwarven paladin has above, but the mount would likely be vulnerable to the dc16 will save involved.)
It's an awesome character concept, but remember that every time you try to re-intimidate the same foe, you get a -5 cumulative penalty on your intimidate check.
I would throw in 2 levels of Anti-Paladin for the Aura of Fear and Misery (fear) class features. :)
Tricky! Anti-paladin more useful than the rouge sneak attack, Thug bonus to intimidate duration and ROgue Talent: befuddling strike?
Hmm. I have a fighter/rogue/duelist I'm playing, focussing on Combat Expertise and associated feats until I get to Improved Critical. Currently Improved Feint combined with sneak attack is working very effectively ...
Hmm. I have a fighter/rogue/duelist I'm playing, focussing on Combat Expertise and associated feats until I get to Improved Critical. Currently Improved Feint combined with sneak attack is working very effectively ...
fun. what is the build?
One advantage to the above is I *think* I get sneak attacks on every single attack as long as I make the intimidate roll from Cornugon smash while the feint plan requires pauses to feint.
The character is here and I don't have access to the Cornugon Smash feat so that tactic is out, plus I'm currently 5th level (no duelist levels yet). At this level, feinting is more effective by far. At higher level the critical feats will start to come in more. For this level having an effective AC of 21 and dishing a likely 3d6+2 damage per round isn't too bad for a dex build fighter in what amounts to a low-wealth game.
Progression is likely to be:
6th level: Fighter - bonus feat = Weapon Specialisation (rapier)
7th level: Rogue - feat = Vital Strike (probably)(damage on a feint is up to 5d6+4)
8th level: Duelist
9th level: Duelist, feat = Improved Critical
10th level: Duelist
11th level: Fighter, feat = Critical Focus
12th+ Duelist
At 11th level I'll have to decide whether to go for more Vital Strike chain feats, or go for number of attacks and critical hits (probably). The other option is to go for Improved Disarm at 7th which I think might be useful, it depends how the campaign goes.
The character is here and I don't have access to the Cornugon Smash feat so that tactic is out, plus I'm currently 5th level (no duelist levels yet). At this level, feinting is more effective by far. At higher level the critical feats will start to come in more. For this level having an effective AC of 21 and dishing a likely 3d6+2 damage per round isn't too bad for a dex build fighter in what amounts to a low-wealth game.
Progression is likely to be:
6th level: Fighter - bonus feat = Weapon Specialisation (rapier)
7th level: Rogue - feat = Vital Strike (probably)(damage on a feint is up to 5d6+4)
8th level: Duelist
9th level: Duelist, feat = Improved Critical
10th level: Duelist
11th level: Fighter, feat = Critical Focus
12th+ Duelist
At 11th level I'll have to decide whether to go for more Vital Strike chain feats, or go for number of attacks and critical hits (probably). The other option is to go for Improved Disarm at 7th which I think might be useful, it depends how the campaign goes.
I will be stealing part of this for my fighter/rogue dude specializing in feint + sneak attack with vital strike with a greatsword.
