Halfling Warslinger Bard

[Nigrescence]

One character concept I had in mind was a Halfling Bard (Arcane Duelist) who specialized in slinging. His main performances for Bardic Performance would be either whistling (combined with a whistle strapped to his sling to act as a drone, like you'd have when playing bagpipes or the hurdy gurdy) or dancing (with the sling).

Level 10
Halfling - Alternate Racials: Warslinger
Stats (20 point buy, factoring in racials, level 4 and 8 stat points into DEX and CHA respectively):
STR 10 (12 -2 Racial)
DEX 18 (15 +2 Racial, +1 level 4 stat boost)
CON 12 (12)
INT 12 (12)
WIS 10 (10)
CHA 18 (15 +2 Racial, +1 level 8 stat boost)

Feats: 1- Point-Blank Shot, 3- Rapid Shot, 5- Weapon Focus (Sling), 7- Deadly Aim, 9- Improved Initiative

Just a +1 Sling for the weapon, probably with some special properties that he can't get through the Arcane Duelist's ability, or a higher enhancement bonus for increased hit chance and some damage.
At level 10, he'd use medium armor, probably a Mithral Breastplate +1 or more.
He'd use a Buckler +1 or a Light Shield +1.

Those are just the basics. Does anyone have suggestions on stat allocation or feats to make him better in combat? I didn't list the skills because he'd get a ton of them and they're not too important for what I'm asking. The favored class bonus would go into skills every level, and my guy will still be skill-starved.

Also, what do you think of this attempt to make slinging viable in combat? This Bard can get iterative attacks thanks to the Warslinger alternate racial, and can even use Rapid Shot to get an extra one. With his spells, he can easily buff himself up to offset the Rapid Shot, and can also sing to boost his weapon's enhancement bonus or special abilities.

[Deadmanwalking]

The big issue with slings is that their damage sucks. Like a lot. Improving that has gotta be your first priority if you're gonna be effective. I reccomend grabbing Deadly Aim before Weapon Focus for that very reason.

Tack on some of the damage adding alternate ammo types from Halflings of Golarion if you can, and definitely get your sling made corrosive or shocking (or both).

And you're still not gonna be as well off as using a shortbow with the same feats and enhancements. Well, maybe if you can get Str to 14+ semi-permanently.

[Nigrescence]

Deadmanwalking wrote:

The big issue with slings is that their damage sucks. Like a lot. Improving that has gotta be your first priority if you're gonna be effective. I reccomend grabbing Deadly Aim before Weapon Focus for that very reason.

Tack on some of the damage adding alternate ammo types from Halflings of Golarion if you can, and definitely get your sling made corrosive or shocking (or both).

And you're still not gonna be as well off as using a shortbow with the same feats and enhancements. Well, maybe if you can get Str to 14+ semi-permanently.

I'm less concerned about the damage rolls themselves than the flat bonuses or elemental additions. Yes, by the pure numbers a shortbow will give a better dice, but it's only a little bit better. I'm favoring flavor over pure mechanical advantage. I could always make it a Halfling Sling Staff instead and burn a feat if it's that much of a big deal (and in fact a Halfling Sling Staff would be better than a Shortbow, because as a small creature the Shortbow is 1d4, while the Sling is 1d3, but the Halfling Sling Staff is 1d6 for a small creature).

My goal is just to make the flavor mechanically optimal. If you think that boosted dice roll is so important, I should take a feat to be able to use the Halfling Sling Staff.

Additionally, slings have the benefit of being able to apply a bonus based on whatever my strength becomes. If I Enlarge Person and Bull's Strength, I now have a 16 STR, and can benefit from +3 to my damage with a sling. And I'll never have to switch out for a higher mighty composite bow if I wear a belt to give a STR bonus semi-permanently.

Also, don't forget that as an Arcane Duelist I get Arcane Strike, which lets me add magical damage that stacks with everything else as a swift action. It's minor, but it certainly adds up.

I can also buy magical bullets for extra other elemental damage dice on top of whatever element I might make my sling.

It shouldn't be a problem to move Deadly Aim ahead of Weapon Focus.

[TarkXT]

I would honestly spare the points out of wisdom to throw some into strength. If someoens sparing you an Enlarge Person and a Bulls Strength you don't need ot be wasting both by plinking people with rocks.

You're going to want to get a wand of Magic Stone to UMD or get a cleric to use with and an understanding from the wizard that Flame Arrows are an amazing buff for you. I always recommend Craft Magic Arms and Armor for spellcasting archers purely because you can make magical ammunition in small stacks in a very very short amount of time. I don't think you'll regret having bane stones for every concievable situation.

So, assuming you get magic stoned, flame arrowed, with a bane rock, you'll have rocks that slap faces for 1d6+1d6+2d6+2 before adding anything else that you can hurl on a full attack.

The trick of course is getting the cleric and wizard to spare time on you, but the first time your tiny little body devastates someone in a hail of bullets that shouldn't be an issue.