I'm planning out a halfling who specializes in sling combat, especially the halfling slingstaff which I'm re-fluffling into a lacrosse stick. I'm just curious of what you guys think the build should look like.
-Definitely need to go fighter, maybe barbarian. I'm a bit torn here.
-Stats would favor Str and Dex
-Starting feats would probably be Ammo Drop and Point Blank Shot.
-Feats from there would include the following (not sure on order): Point Blank Shot chain, Weapon Focus chain, Halfling Slinger, Juggle Load, and Large Target.
-Weapon choice would be primarily the halfling slingstaff. Probably keep a double sling as backup, just in case.
Thoughts? Advice? Critique? Suggestions?
Anyone? Any ideas? Any love for the halfling slingers?
You need to take the Halfling Trait from the Advanced Player's Guide that allows you to load your Sling as a free action. In terms of power, it's basically a feat, as it would allow you to load your sling fast enough to make full attacks with. Which is a feat in Halflings of Golarion, I think.
Anyway, the basic idea is that if anyone else BUT a halfling wants that power, they have to spend a feat on it.
You need to take the Halfling Trait from the Advanced Player's Guide that allows you to load your Sling as a free action. In terms of power, it's basically a feat, as it would allow you to load your sling fast enough to make full attacks with. Which is a feat in Halflings of Golarion, I think.
Anyway, the basic idea is that if anyone else BUT a halfling wants that power, they have to spend a feat on it.
Just made the halfling slingstaffer for Jade Regent! I did pick up the Warslinger alternative racial trait which allows you to reload as a free action with two hands that provokes attacks of opportunity. The thing is, there's the feat in Halflings of Golarion called Ammo Drop that allows you to do it as a swift action one-handed without provoking. Not sure which is better. Ammo Drop does lead into Juggle Load which allows you do reload one handed as a free action without provoking. I'm a fighter, so I've got the feats to spare, but I'm a bit torn. If I stick with Warslinger it will be fine as long as I can stay out of threatened areas when reloading, but since I'm a fighter that might not always be the case. If I go for Ammo Drop and Juggle Load I will be able to reload in melee very easily, but at the cost of two feats. Thoughts?
My build right now is this:
Halfling fighter (weapon master)
Str 16 (-2) Dex 12 (+2) Con 13 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 8 (+2)
HP 12 AC 17 (Small, Dex, buckler, and studded leather armor) Fort 4 Ref 3 Will 2
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Halfling Slinger (+1 on attack rolls with slings)
Racial Trait: Warslinger
I plan on getting Power Attack, Weapon Focus (slingstaff), the Point Blank Shot chain, Arc Slinger, Prone Slinger, possibly Fleet, and maybe the Dodge>Spring Attack chain. Thoughts?
The problem with Ammo Drop is that it's a swift action, meaning you can only do it once per round, so a max of 2 attacks. Not a problem until level 11, but you always have to think of the future
I was worried about that. On the other hand, I've still got 10 chances to get it. Even if I get every feat on my list, I should still be able to get Ammo Drop and Juggle Load in.
The other problem is that I've still got 114 gp left to spend. I'm not sure what to get, outside of a backpack, rope, a spare slingstaff, and ammo. I can always save it up for better armor I suppose, but I feel like I should have more.
Keep in mind magic ammo cost is low if you buy per bullet. Not that you can buy some now but keep it in mind. I wouldn't worry about reloading in threatened squares. One idea you might like is to take a level or two of urban brabarian for controlled rage. +2 to atk or damage or hp/lvl and a rage power. Also maybe the snapshot+combat patrol feats if it works with slings. I don't have the books in front of me ane i'm on a ipod ritht now so i can't check if it works.
Keep in mind magic ammo cost is low if you buy per bullet. Not that you can buy some now but keep it in mind. I wouldn't worry about reloading in threatened squares. One idea you might like is to take a level or two of urban brabarian for controlled rage. +2 to atk or damage or hp/lvl and a rage power. Also maybe the snapshot+combat patrol feats if it works with slings. I don't have the books in front of me ane i'm on a ipod ritht now so i can't check if it works.
Snapshot, eh? Doesn't seem to be really worth it, especially since the slingstaff can be used in attacks of opportunity.
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I wouldn't be worrying about reloading while threatened because you're holding a club at any time. You're bound to have a moderate strength, and you're a fighter with feats to spare. If they stay away, full attack them with your slingstaff. If they come in close, make them pay with a melee full attack.
Urban Barbarian is a good dip, because you can apply it to dexterity if you're having trouble hitting, or strength if you're not, or if you're in melee. You have the advantage over a longbowman, in that you don't have to worry about the strength rating of your weapon.
One cool fest from UC is Sling Flail. It allows you to use a loaded sling as a flail. So is you are using the your sling and get threatened by something you can whack away on the joker and then fire after the threat has been dealt with.
Keep in mind magic ammo cost is low if you buy per bullet. Not that you can buy some now but keep it in mind. I wouldn't worry about reloading in threatened squares. One idea you might like is to take a level or two of urban brabarian for controlled rage. +2 to atk or damage or hp/lvl and a rage power. Also maybe the snapshot+combat patrol feats if it works with slings. I don't have the books in front of me ane i'm on a ipod ritht now so i can't check if it works.Snapshot, eh? Doesn't seem to be really worth it, especially since the slingstaff can be used in attacks of opportunity.
Yes, but with combat patrol you can use the d6 instead of the wimpy d4 and hurl magical ammo at them as well.
Eacaraxe: My DM probably would nix the idea, but I'll ask him about it. I'm probably just gonna stick with Warslinger though.
Bilbo Bang-bang: My character has a regular sling as back-up, but the slingstaff can already be used in melee just fine. Its not a bad idea if I lose both of my slingstaves and I think it gives the sling trip and disarm, but I'm not in a rush to get it.
Matt Stich: Your idea technically works, but I don't think its worth pursuing. Snap Shot is a feat that gives me something I can already do with the slingstaff, and Combat Patrol is nice but not part of the build I'm going for.
Eacaraxe: My DM probably would nix the idea, but I'll ask him about it. I'm probably just gonna stick with Warslinger though.Maybe. I'd work up a DPR comparison for a similarly-leveled bow-using ranger and crossbow-using inquisitor to illustrate the concept isn't going to be totally overboard on damage. You're going to end up with the typical TWF drawbacks (struggling with to-hit, feat-intensiveness, slow damage curve, MAD), without the long-term gains of TWF (rend, monster damage at high levels) in exchange for ranged combat. From a mechanical standpoint I actually wouldn't recommend trying to make a TWF slinger (you're better off with a more traditional bow/xbow user that can take full advantage of custom-made feats, a S/B slinger, or sling staffer), but otherwise I think it's just Really Cool.
Who said anything about two weapon fighting? I'm using a slingstaff, that doesn't require TWF in any way.
I've made a build that is mainly a sling-halfling.
Ninja-Scout
Sap master is your friend.
You need no multiple attacks, you run 20 feet, you shoot, you kill.
you'll do around Xd6+2X damage (X=your lvl) with a single blow. At later levels it might be more effective to do unarmed damage with a bunch of other feats, but sling will always stay viable.
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I've made a build that is mainly a sling-halfling.
Ninja-Scout
Sap master is your friend.
You need no multiple attacks, you run 20 feet, you shoot, you kill.you'll do around Xd6+2X damage (X=your lvl) with a single blow. At later levels it might be more effective to do unarmed damage with a bunch of other feats, but sling will always stay viable.
Can you lay out the Ninja - scout interaction your talking about? I understand the damage formula I think, just not the Ninja part, I guess :D
well it's not about perfect synergies between ninja and scout, you could do fine with scout alone.
Btw. perhaps you misunderstood, scout and ninja are like two archetypes of the rogue that can be combined, it's no multiclassing.
I don't like the ninja being better than the vanilla rogue but I believe it to be the case, there were plenty of discussions about it. Pro's for ninja are invisibility mainly, and a few cool tricks.
Pro's for rogue is cartwheel dodge (awesome) and skill mastery that can be taken more than once. The ninja has access to those two, but they are hard to get.
while raw does not support this exactly I would look into alchemical ammunition for the sling staff, it would probably be helpful if you had some nice round jugs of alchemists fire and other mixtures that you could launch with your slingstaff.
BTW I have been thinking about a sling monkey halfling for a while, I imagine its like a switch hitter ranger who does not have to drop his weapon. I'd love to see your build ideas.
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BTW I have been thinking about a sling monkey halfling for a while, I imagine its like a switch hitter ranger who does not have to drop his weapon. I'd love to see your build ideas.
This is still early in build, but in comparing feat cost for effect, Richard Leonhart's' sap master/sap adept stack. So using them together with softstone sling bullets is great when you find/make the enemy flatfooted, but it doesn't really open up until level 8 when you can fire off a sneak attack after every 10 foot move, especially considering at lvl 8 this combo generates 8d6+16 nonlethal.
At level 4, though, pick up charging hurler and use its charge to fling bolas that do double sneak attack damage without entering melee.
BTW I have been thinking about a sling monkey halfling for a while, I imagine its like a switch hitter ranger who does not have to drop his weapon. I'd love to see your build ideas.
It is a lot like the switch-hitter ranger, which I like a lot. The feats I chose at first level were Point Blank Shot and Halfling Slinger. At level one I attack in melee at a +4 for 1d6+2 damage and at 30 ft. at +5 for 1d6+3 without having to change weapons. I can also do bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing at range thanks to sharpstones (special ammo from Halflings of Golarion).
As for the rest of the build, I haven't plotted it out yet but I would definitely get all the sling-related feats I could, the Weapon Focus line, Power Attack, some of the Point Blank Shot line, and the Dodge-Mobility line.
Seriously, I wish I had made this guy sooner. I was originally gonna use him for Jade Regent, but I came to the realization that he's kind of a gimmick character, so I'll probably just use him for a module someday.