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I am building a Bardbarian Dragon Disciple for use in organized play and I am unsure about some of my choices.
While this character will have high strength, he will never gain iterative attacks throughout his career. Though he will not specialize in natural weapons, he has those available when they would be more appropriate for the situation.
I could probably look at other builds that would do more damage, but I'm liking the idea of a versatile character that can cast minor spells, move fast, and hit hard at different rounds of an encounter.
By Level 5 he will have 15 rounds of Rage and 6 rounds of Dervish Dance. I don't see needing more resources in a PFS Module.
I'm not set on what feats I want to take at 3rd, 5th, and 7th level, nor have I looked at what gear to give him other than some sort of oversized greatsword dubbed "The Compensator". I have only briefly glanced at spells but I am likely to pick Cure Light, Ki Arrow, Vanish and Allegro to name a few.
Race: Toothy(?) Bestial Half-Orc
STR 19 (20 @ lvl 4, 22 @ lvl 7, 24 @ lvl 9)
DEX 12
CON 12 (14 @ lvl 11)
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 13 (14 @ lvl 8)
These are the options I plan to take at each level. Options I'm not sure of are marked with a question mark or left blank.
Traits: Magical Knack[Bard], Reactionary/Storyteller/Deft-Dodger
Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager, Totem Warior) Favored Class Option: Extra Rage Rounds X4
Lvl 1: CL 0: Bab 1: Barb 1: Power Attack
Lvl 2: CL 0: Bab 2: Barb 2: Lesser Beast Totem
Lvl 3: CL 0: Bab 3: Barb 3: Pushing Assault(?)
Lvl 4: CL 0: Bab 4: Barb 4: Moment of Clarity
Bard (Dervish Dancer)
Lvl 5: CL 3: Bab 4: Bard 1: Arcane Strike, 2 spells @ 1st
Dragon Disciple
Lvl 6: CL 3: Bab 4: DD 1: 2 spells @ 1st
Lvl 7: CL 4: Bab 5: DD 2: Bloodline Feat[Toughness], Cleave(?) 3 spells @ 1st
Lvl 8: CL 5: Bab 6: DD 3: 4 spells @ 1st
Lvl 9: CL 6: Bab 7: DD 4: Vital Strike, 4 spells @ 1st, 1 spells @ 2nd
Lvl 10: CL 6: Bab 7: DD 5: Bloodline Feat[Improved Initiative(?)], 4 spells @ 1st, 1 spells @ 2nd
Lvl 11: CL 7: Bab 8: DD 6: Lunge, 5 spells @ 1st, 2 spells @ 2nd
Thanks for reading
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I don't think you need to worry about taking cure light wounds as a spell.
Do you mean to say you won't be full attacking ever, or that you'll rely on your claws and bite when you do full attack?
Apparently I've been playing this game all wrong and I haven't been gaining iterative attacks for multiclassed characters properly. I've never read the actual rules for BAB in the couple of years I've been playing d20.
Side note: Magical Knack is not PFS-legal, fyi.
Thanks for the heads up.
I now have to re-think this character since he no longer needs Natural Weapons. I'm also looking at what I could do with this character if I took Bard 3/ Barbarian 2 or if I replaced Barbarian with Fighter.
Think of capping the DD levels at 4, as the middle's mediocre and you won't get to the higher goodness anyway.
Beast Totem overlaps w/ Sorcerer Bloodline for claws. (And you'll not get the big boon of pounce anyway)
Think about Lesser Fiendish Totem for the gore attack (with claws/bite from DD for 4 attacks).
You have hardly any levels of Barbarian so it seems there should be a better archetype fit than Invulnerable Rager which scales by level. Even Uncanny Dodge is better than DR 1/- or 2/- (in PFS you can expect invisible opponents and ambushers). Or that archetype that can drink potions as a move action. (Enlarge potions w/ readied action/Vital Strike)
You don't cast much while in melee/raging, (do you?) so Moment of Clarity, I think, is wasted.
Barb 2/Bard 4/DD 4 is caster level 7 with BAB +8 which is pretty strong with 4 attacks (gore/2 claws/bite) at BAB+Str attack bonus (rage+song+PA) & Weapon+Str+11 damage (rage+song+arcane strike+PA) (nearly 80 damage) And you have lots of spells (including Haste) and skills for versatility.
Spells:
Your AC will be modest, so think Mirror Image. I'd avoid taking any offense, and focus on mobility, utility (esp. if you play with random groups), & buffs that overcome your weaknesses. Pro. Evil's always handy, even later. PFS is all about Wands of Cure Lt., so don't worry overmuch about that.
Think Eldritch Heritage since you have the Cha anyway, maybe even for another source of claws (for longer use), or earlier claws.
I've heard no PF Society PC with less than 14 Con survives. (I'd think a raging Barb would be the exception, but...I have heard it more than once.)
Because of its versatility, take the Bard level earlier. It opens up a lot of scrolls & wands to you. (Found wands qualify as both arcane and divine in PFS, so you can use any you find that are on your list.)
And having any weapon qualify as magic/+1 damage is nice at low levels.
Not sure why you have Lunge w/o Combat Reflexes, which is important IMO. Lots of medium creatures to poke as they approach in PFS. I'd go 14 Dex w/ CR. The extra attacks give you more damage than the extra Str does.
Trading 2 Str for 2 Dex & Con seems very much worth it, especially in light armor. You'll be doing enough damage raging.
Str 17 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 13
Anyway, good luck.
JMK
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Not sure why you have Lunge w/o Combat Reflexes, which is important IMO. Lots of medium creatures to...
Thanks for the reply.
Lunge is something I'm trying out with my current pfs barb. It's based on a defense scheme relying on superior reach (pushing assault, lunge, reach weapons)instead of AC against opponents in melee. Also, lunge does not give you extra reach during other creature's turns.
Will I be able to cast spells or use bardic performance while under the Urban Barbarian's controlled rage?
The following build is pretty ridiculous.
Half Elf
str 19 (20 @ lvl 4, 22 @ lvl 7, 24 @ lvl 9, 26 @ lvl 11)
dex 10
con 12
int 10
wis 10
cha 14 (15 @ lvl 8)
lvl 1: Bab 1: Bard: Arcane Strike, Skill Focus[Knowledge(Planes)]
lvl 2: Bab 2: Fighter: Power Attack
lvl 3: Bab 2: Bard: Eldricht Heritage[Abyssal]
lvl 4: Bab 3: Bard:
lvl 5: Bab 4: Bard: Extra Performance
lvl 6: Bab 4: DD
lvl 7: Bab 5: DD: Bloodline Feat[Toughness],Pushing Assault
lvl 8: Bab 6: DD
lvl 9: Bab 7: DD: Lunge
lvl 10: Bab 8: Fighter: Improved Critical[Falchion]
lvl 11: Bab 9: Bard: Improved Eldricht Bloodline[Strength of the Abbyss]
Am I likely to be able to pick up a keen +1 weapon before I am eligible for Improved Critical? Having a large investment into knowledge arcana would benefit me most with which faction?
You're welcome. :)
(oops on Lunge)
A defensive scheme based on reach begs for Combat Reflexes (because they will come to you, and you can only push so many). You're setting them up to take that extra hit each round, not just at the start.
That scheme will fall apart if a mook horde swamps you or you face creatures with single big attacks (not so worried about losing Full Attack), or...lots of other situations (mostly non-humanoids). But with CR, many will be cut up coming in. (Again, a big bias of mine toward CR.)
You'd be able to buy a +2 equivalent before BAB 8, but taking the feat could free up money for other boosts that outweigh the feat you're not getting. Most likely, you'll know by the time you get there.
Not sure about factions...it'd be desirable for many mission types. Look at what type of mission you'd like to do instead, and your alignment preference. (Rescue/steal/barter/etc.) You have enough skills (and Cha), you'd fit in with most any faction.
Of course they would provoke, and with the -2 AC too.