Hey. I'm working on a backup character for my weekly game. My current character has been on deaths door too many times, not to mention were she almost said screw the party after last week (the sorcerer was trying to rip her off on magic items and the rogue sang everything we've done to the Mafia) and I want to have a back up ready just in case I need one.
So the party needs a tank (the dragon disciple bard is covering that ATM but he keeps on going down), and healing (My current character tries to cover that with infused extracts but it really isn't working.)
I was looking into an Armor Bonded as an option. Finally my choice boiled down to 4 Druid 3 Barbarian providing more skills and more HP or a 4 Cleric 3 Fighter providing more feats and more healing.
Any thoughts?
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1. Druid, Battle Cleric, or Oracle of Battle if you pick any of thes do not multiclass. It will hurt you more then help.
2. Barbarian, Fighter are good choices. If you want a class that can self heal and fight go with Ranger or Paladin. From what your describing Urban Ranger fits right in.
3. Multiclassing is not a bad idea if you know what to mix in. But never every mix casting classes for the most part. And if you do mix casting class never more then 2 levels.
Druid 6 Barbarian 1 (martal weapons, fast move, druid spells, animal companion.) I still like the full Druid better.
Cleric 5 Monk 2 (Evasion, Monk Feats, Wis Bonus to AC, Cleric spells, Domain Powers.) This is a hard one you get a lot for two levels of monk.
Cleric 6 Fighter 1 (Martal Weapons, Bonus Feat, Heavy Armor, Cleric Spells, Domain Powers.) I still like the full Cleric better.
Oracle of Battle 7 very nice with the right mysterys.
Ranger 4 Rogue 3 (ranger 6 rogue XX finle build.) Str base Two Weapon fighter with sneak attack damage.
Ranger 7
Cleric 7
Druid 7
Rogue 7
Just need the right build to go with the character.
First no monks in the campaign. (DM's ruling)
Next the reason for the 4/3 split was to maximize heals while taking the prestige class at minimum level and have lots of hit points. The Druid 6 Barbarian 1 and Cleric 6 Fighter 1 would require me to be level 8 before going down the AB route and I'd only get 1D10+6D8 for HD or 1D12+6D8 respectively.
Rogue is a problem for the same reason as the above and provides no healing.
Range is lacking in heals as before. 1-2 per day essentially.
Paladin looks good on paper till I realize if i walk in to the party with a LG character it's not going to end well.
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Oracle Battle 7(full)
Revelations
War Sight
Skill at Arms
Weapon Mastery
Feats:
Inproved Initiative
Power Attack
Furious Focus
Extra Revelation: Resiliency
Wealth by Level 23,500gp
+1 full plate 2,500gp
+1 two handed weapon 2,300gp +cost of weapon
(2)Wand of Cure Light Wounds (1D8+1)(Charges 50) 750GP EA. 1,500gp
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2 4,000gp
Belt of Giant Stringth +2 4,000gp
Total 14,300gp Left 9,200gp
The Armor Bond suffers from being a none casting Prc. If you expect to be healer of any kind. You need caster levels in a divine casting class. Then you want to be a main tank type fighter. This can be done with a divine caster with out any problems. Doing a split class divine caster/melee class is a wast of time. Oracle dose it well and dose not require alot of work to do so. The Holy Vindicator works if you want a prc and a divine caster. You need only one level of fighter to gain the prc.
Inquisitor of Gorum with Rage subdomain
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Not to be too pisy but I came here for advice on a build I wanted to make. Not on what was best for what role. Thanks very much for not addressing anything I asked about.
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You asked what we though of your character. And we responed with it will not work how you want it to. I have posted builds on the bords befor and got realy good fead back on how to make it better. Some I toke some I did not. However you need to post a full bild in order to get help with it. If you ask about a idea you will get ideas back. With out the crunchy bits there is no machanical advice we can give. Other then some other classes or combination of classes work better in the cruncy part of the game. With what your trying to do.
I asked for ideas on which build that I put forward would be a good tank with some healing. I set up a very specific choice. Skills and HP vs. Healing and feats. I still want to go down the Armor Bonded Prestige class for mechanical reasons and RP reasons. So basically Telling me that ABs won't work is like telling me that swim flippers are no good for running while I'm pulling on a wetsuit.
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Yep that what im telling you. The only way to keap healing up as you level is to level divine caster or paladin. And the paladin is out. So if you want effective healing you need Paladin. If you want some healing and tank you only need one level to use wands. Or ranger and ranger dose not mix with AB. Over all the AB prc will weaken the character not help. Stright fighter gets more effective abilitys the AB. PRC for the most part are a trap and are not as good as base classes. There are a few exceptions. It's the cruncy bits where the prc fail most of the time. The Oracle of Battle can do it with out the prc. Thats what makes it my top pick. If you want a prc. I recomend Holy Vindicator prc they do the tank / healing role very well. Holy Vindicator VS. Armor Bonded the Holy Vindicator will fill the role you want better. I just don,t realy care for the pcr my self dose not mean it's not good. That dose not change the fact a divine caster only needs one level of a class that provides all martial weapons and heavy armor. After the first level you don't get nearly the return on investment.
What im saying if your going for melee character with healing there are better ways to do it.
Where's this "armor bonded" PrC from? What are the requirements and any noteworthy specifics? (Losing casting levels means you're going to need a haversack full of wands and healer's kits to do any good at your desired dual-role of meat shield + healer.)
With what you're poking at, I suggest Cleric 4/ Fighter 3. You cannot afford the rage prohibition on doing the spell casting, spell trigger and spell completion effects.
http://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/classes/3rd-party-prestige-class es/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/armor-bonded
"Requirements
To qualify to become an armor bonded, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Skills: Craft (Armorsmithing) 4 ranks.
Feats: Armor Proficiency (medium).
Special: The character must have worn the suit of masterwork medium or heavy armor they are bonding with for at least the last two levels of experience. The ritual to bond a character to her armor (which is performed at 1st level) takes 24 hours and costs 100 gp per armor bonus the suit provides."
This character is going to be a supplemental healer with the Dragon Disciple/bard and a wand of cure moderate which was made last session.
I would go with 6 levels of Fighter or Paladin. I would want to get heavy armor to bond with and a Cleric does not start with Heavy Armor Proficency and I wouldn't want to spend a feat getting it.
If I wanted to do more damage, I would go with a two-handed weapon fighter for the feats and weapon specialization. More STR then CON.
If I wanted to be more of a tank I would go Paladin that uses a longsword and a spiked shield. Then get two-weapon fighting and improved shield bash to make three attacks (two from lvl 6 + 1 for the shield bash) per full round action. If I wanted to go full tank I would pick up two different feats and use a buckler that way I could still swift-action heal myself with lay-on hands.
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I have to agree with Calagnar. The amount of healing you will be able to do in combat with out being a dedicated divine caster or paladin is going to make healing in combat less useful than attacking.
You don't need caster levels to use wands - one level of paladin or ranger will allow you to use wands to cure between combats. If I was set on AB without paladin levels, I would do F4/R2 or F5/R1. The former is slightly more rounded. The latter gets you weapon training 1.
R2 is a wast becous combat style only works in med or light armor. If you are going AB it will not help you.
http://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/classes/3rd-party-prestige-class es/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/armor-bonded
"Requirements
To qualify to become an armor bonded, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Skills: Craft (Armorsmithing) 4 ranks.
Feats: Armor Proficiency (medium).
Special: The character must have worn the suit of masterwork medium or heavy armor they are bonding with for at least the last two levels of experience. The ritual to bond a character to her armor (which is performed at 1st level) takes 24 hours and costs 100 gp per armor bonus the suit provides."
This character is going to be a supplemental healer with the Dragon Disciple/bard and a wand of cure moderate which was made last session.
Very cool, so you're ready to go for your first level of that PrC at your next level. Added bonus of the 2d6 channel energy for some free patching up. If you have healing domain and any one other domain you'll do ok with an emphasis on whacking first, healing second. Eventually you"ll want a phylactery of positive channeling to double how much your channel patches up for you and maybe a couple or three feats to bump this up a bit more in whatever fashion pleases you.
Your only soft spot will be down the road in terms of using a scroll of heal or the like. Either invest seriously in Use Magic Device, or an assortment of wands and wondrous items. A strand of prayer beads will be your best friend, especially for trying to use higher-end scrolls.
Sounds like you're ready to rock n roll!
As it turns out I didn't get much of a chance to try. I brought in my new character just before the DM did something that made me quit the group. So no report on how the build worked beyond a quick heal and buff.