I'm starting a campaign soon and my players are creating their characters. We've got a goblin vanilla druid (shapeshifter/animal companion build), an elven grenadier alchemist (bomber build), a human seer time oracle (diviner/ homebrew edited to be a child prodigy), a gnome bard (buffer, not yet created), and a half-orc barbarian (probably big bad weapon, not yet created).
We'll be starting at level 1, and the front-liners will be the barbarian and the druid. The grenadier will take on ranged, using his bombs, a longbow, and most probably dex mutagens. Support will include the bard and the oracle.
Now the players are asking questions. The oracle needs a battle-role. What should she do? Healing will mostly take part as the alchemist making wands and potions. Is this enough? The bard is mostly clueless on her build, but she wants to be a buffer. Any advice?
Bards make the best buffers, especially after level 7. I would direct her towards Treemonk's excellent guide on bards in the advice section of this forum.
Oracle : Combat mystery and combat healing revelation to complement the alchemist.
Bard : I would recommand an arcane duelist (strengh based) to complement the group, or a bard archer.
But, you got a very balanced group, so I think thay can just play waht they want and still be successfull.
the oracle specifically chose time mystery though
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Bard - Arcane Duelist. For sure.
Oracle - Time is a bit tricky. A lot of their combat rev's concentrate on touch, so dex/str will be needed. You could have her as the party generalist, with buffs, emergency heals, maybe going ranged for attacks, maybe grab some summon spells. Personally, I'd try to suggest to change the mystery to something more...strong? Like Combat or even Flame, but if she's wanting to keep it Time, then tell her that she'll be the "backup" character. Nothing wrong with that, though. Time has some really nifty rev's. She can go whichever way she wants with the party you have going, and it'll turn out fine.
cool. I sent her that. Yeah. Combat and Flame are my faves too. However, Time was chosen as part of her story, which I'm holding really important as my campaign will entail adventures specifically made for character development.
I disagree with those saying that the GNOME bard should go arcane duelist. Is it possible for a gnome to be a viable melee combatant? Absolutely. However, I think that its a better idea just to go straight bard and maybe take a look at some of the masterpieces. Just focus on performances, battlefield control and buffing.
I was actually thinking that. I was thinking what if she go Archy.
I play a combat gnome, and its really hard being slow in melee--and the small sized weapons don't help! I think a gnome bard arher might be better, if only because you can stand still and shoot, so you aren't going to "waste" rounds taking full movements to catch up with fast opponents.
Another option for the Time Oracle is to be a special item user. At 1st level, get a couple interestng alchemical items. Later on, find or design and purchase interesting items that can be used in combat, like ring of the ram, necklace of fireballs, bands of iron, etc. etc.
But doesn't being a special item user mean heavy on the pocket?
Bards are the best buffers alongside summoners. At this point I would suggest making the bard an archer and investing perhaps in the performance feats. The strengths of a bard is social encounters, knowledge skills, and buffing. On top of that they can be decent at being a glass cannon, a trap monkey, and/or battlefield controller.
But doesn't being a special item user mean heavy on the pocket?
No more than a typical wizard. Instead of buying weapons, you buy a selection of interesting magic items and alchemical items. You still need to invest in armor, stat boosters, save boosters, etc., but instead of putting money into weapons, you have some neat wands, rings, rods, and wondrous items, etc.
Use Magic Device is a class skill for Time Oracles, so she should invest heavily into that. She can also be the party face, so a Circlet of Persuasion + a Charisma booster can really help with both roles (face and UMD junkie). And since she's a spellcaster, she can even Craft her own stuff with the right feats, which saves a lot of moolah.
Oh. A regular full caster then? Lol. I got confused, thinking that you were saying her first line of offense would come from Ring of Ram, and when it charges out, just buy some more.
I'd argue on Bard's being the best buffers. Has anyone read the witch? Misfortune and fortune ftw.
I'd argue on Bard's being the best buffers. Has anyone read the witch? Misfortune and fortune ftw.
Well since misfortune is a debuff I don't know what you're saying. Also there has been controversy about how the hex fortune works.
I'd argue on Bard's being the best buffers. Has anyone read the witch? Misfortune and fortune ftw.
You can argue but I think you'll lose. Providing Inspire Courage at +3 Good Hope and Haste all in one round is really hard to beat. Fortune at its best only applies to one roll a round.
And then you get hammered with timely inspiration and gallant inspiration and brillant inspiration -- three of the best immediate action buffs in the game. For the finishing move there is also saving finale which again is very hard to best.
I am actually thinking that a crossbow* might be better due to the size and Str issue.
*Please try not to turn this into a bow>>>>>>>>>>>>>crossbow thread*
Oh. A regular full caster then? Lol. I got confused, thinking that you were saying her first line of offense would come from Ring of Ram, and when it charges out, just buy some more.
Actually, that IS what I meant. She should try to pick battlefield control spells, or spells that move or affect NPCs. Or maybe de-buffer spells. Maybe try to specialize in counterspelling? I find unusual tactics to be more fun than just dishing out damage or save or suck spells. I personally would rather bull rush the BBEG through a wall of fire or off a cliff than hitting him with an axe or sword or fireball, but that's just me. Usually. I also like mobile melee or ranged characters, like the 3.5 scout. I just think it's more fun to tumble by the ogre, jump on the table, and stab the orc from above--and behind.
The more I read this, the more it actually seems to be in tune with her playstyle.
If she is strong enough, APG has a feat called Pushing Assault. Its requirement is Power Attack, but it lets you give up the extra damage to move your opponent back 5 feet on a successful hit (10 feet on a crit!)
I can't wait to make a PC with that build.
Her build is 10/16/12/10/8/18
Update: the barbarian is going Urban/Pugilist and the druid is considering a spell caster build.
So now we've got the Barbarian and the druid's summons as front liners.
Have the druid player read treantmonk's druid guide. He/she will be glad to have switched to a caster build. Also, I strongly recommend that they ditch the animal companion in favor of a domain. Weather is the best, and the reasons why are covered in treantmonk's write-up.
A small race would be a bad choice for a melee druid.
In short, after the druid gets elemental wildshape, he/she will basically always be flying in air elemental form, summoning critters and using other druid goodness.
Yes. we are currently using the Guide to Guides list.
My players are currently working on flavor and fluff (to the point that the druid is now a Goblin and plans to use alter self on a later level to become a dwarf) which is the reason for a lot of the party's weird kinks.
Maybe have at least one of the spellcasters be a magic item crafter too? Seems like a great way to save money!