Hello all, I've been trolling these boards asking questions about builds for a number of days now. I finally found one I want to play and just need help finalizing the numbers.
I would like to play an Inquisitor who specializes in using a gun. This will be for the paizo upcoming Skull and Shackles adventure path. His gun choice will be pistols if it matters.
The fluff of the character is - An inquisitor of Asmodeus who considers himself a paladin of Asmodeus. His goal is to track down spellcasters in particular binders and conjurers who are summoning and or controlling devils. His alignment will be Lawful Evil, and this will fit in fine with the group. However, he tends to lean more toward Lawful Neutral than evil, but him trying to free bound devils is pretty inherently evil.
Feel free to use both traits and any and all feats up to level 12. Please don't build a character that becomes good at the end of the AP, I need something constantly decent. He will be stylized after the gunslinger from Stephens king's The Gunslinger of the dark tower series. Leather trenchcoat and Cowboy hat included.
Thanks for any and all help.
I never understood what was so great about the inquisitor, maybe you can help me with that while I help you with this build. I can say you're going to be feat starved with this one and just like any other gun wielder to be effective you'll have to spend those feats getting point blank, rapid reload, rapid shot, precise shot, and deadly aim, so i would play human. I would suggest multiclassing into gunslinger, and the archetype of the pistelero, until those feats are acheaved or else you're going to have to pick up exotic weapon prof. And the gunslinger feats ontop of all that. It also seems like you're wanting to duel wield these things which throws a whole number of problems into the mix, you're looking at picking up two weapon fighting somewhere in there and weapons that aren't light so a -4 to your shots, honestly with guns only having to hit touch ac that's not horrible but a -4 is a -4. Taking all that into account you're going to have to figure out if you can have revolvers in the game which would help some but you'll also have to figure out how you're going to reload your guns with both hands holding weapons, you can dip into the witch class for I think two levels and pick up the prehensile hair, which would let you reload guns with your hair, or you could dip into alchemist and get the concoction that gives you a third arm. Both of these options probably wouldn't fit into the look of the gunslinger you're striving for which means either spending a whole lot and getting alot of different guns and just dropping each after you run out of ammo or running and hiding behind cover while you reload. You will need to go heavy dex. And wis. As your second highest stat.
Now that I've given you a few different options on how to use the pistols in combat can you explain to me the benefits of choosing to play an inquisitor over say a cleric or paladin?
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Well, will Advanced Firearms eventually be available to you? That might make some difference to the later levels of the build.
Also...that seems like a very limited scope for an Inquisitor, may I reccomend increasing your remit to something more general and laudable? Oathbreakers spring immediately to mind. A LN or LE Inquisitor of Asmodeus who punishes any and all who break their word seems more...flexible in his goals, and more likely to get along with the other PCs. As well as more likely to actually have reason to stick with the party and do stuff. I mean, this is the AP where you become a pirate, why would someone so narrowly focused not just wander off?
Anyway, on to build stuff:
Ability wise, you need Dex, Wisdom...and basically nothing else, so feel free to focus on those two, plus a bit in Con, and maybe Int or Chr if you feel like being smart or charming.
Take the Black Powder Inquisition instead of a Domain (for obvious reasons). Start out Human with Rapid Reload and Point Blank Shot. Make sure to take a rank or two of Craft (Alchemy) so as to be able to make Alchemical Cartridges. Grab Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, and Deadly Aim in that order. Grab Two Weapon Fighting later on if you feel like it. Remember that with Rapid Reload and alchemical cartridges, reloading a handgun is a free action. If dual-wielding, remember weapon cords.
You might want Craft Magic Arms and Armor, depending on how accomadating the GM is gonna be to guns in the AP, just so you can enchant your own weapon (I'd do so at Level 9 if it's needed).
Spell-wise, it depends on what you're aiming to accomplish with the character aside from shooting people. What's his role in the group going to consist of?
Backing up, here's what gun-using characters need in relatively short order in order to function pretty normally, assuming the default firearms level. (If advanced firearms are available, then some of these will be much easier to get.)
1) A gun. Guns are too expensive to afford with starting wealth, and even a regular pistol would consume 100% of a level 2 character's starting wealth.
2) Some reasonable way to repair a broken firearm without taking forever, such as the gunslinger deed Quick Clear or the "Mending" spell. Gunsmithing lets you repair out of combat, but you're still in trouble if you misfire your first shot in combat and don't have a good backup plan (such as another gun, but that's not cheap early on.)
3) For a basic pistol, some way to reduce the reload time ASAP. Ideally some way to reduce it by two stages by the time you want to make iterative attacks with it.
4) Ideally some way to cut the cost of ammunition/alchemical cartridges/etc. Gunsmithing works for this. If you can't get this early, it stops mattering as much, because the cost starts being a smaller and smaller portion of your wealth.
5) Ideally some way to add extra damage to your shots. 1d8 on its own doesn't cut it very well.
6) Firearm proficiency.
By default, an inquisitor has #5 covered reasonably well, with Judgment and Bane. If you can get additional damage to your shots, then you need to, though.
The Black Powder inquisition gives you Gunsmithing and Proficiency, covering #4 and #6.
That leaves #1, #2, and #3. We'll look at each in turn.
1) Under the default firearm rules, a character can't afford a pistol until around level 2. If you want your character to be a gun user from go, you need to either beg your DM to let you start with a gunslinger's battered firearm, take gunslinger as your first level, take rich parents as a trait (and buy one of the least expensive guns), play with the "commonplace guns" rules, or take Spellslinger, Musketeer or Holy Gun at first level.
Spellslinger sounds like a terrible idea, but it gets you Mending as a cantrip, which also solves your repair-in-combat issues, but it makes you an arcane caster, which might not fit your concept. Holy gun is obviously out, so that leaves Gunslinger or Musketeer as your "starts with a gun" options. Musketeer imposes a bunch of behavioral code stuff, so if you're hoping to get a gun from the word go and smooth-talking the DM doesn't work and you're starting at level 1, level 1 may need to be a gunslinger level. (Otherwise you can just RP yourself as a guy making do with a bow/crossbow after having lost his gun somehow until you can get a new one.) Taking gunslinger at level 1 also lets you fix a busted firearm as a standard action. (Or a move action if you have to.)
2) You want to be able to clear the broken condition from a firearm in combat. You don't need to be able to do this constantly, but it sure helps to be able to do it at least a little. Your options here are to be a gunslinger for at least one level (which lets you clear as a move action, even), get the Mending cantrip from Wizard/Sorc/Cleric/Oracle/Bard/Witch/Druid, or choose Amateur Gunslinger as a feat and choosing Quick Clear as your feat. Once again, a Gunslinger level is probably the easiest thing to do unless you really want to be a pure inquisitor.
3) Rapid Reload gets you to Move reload, and should almost certainly be your level 1 feat. After that, Alchemical cartridges get you to Free reload, but are obnoxiously expensive to make. (You get way less of a discount on them than on bullets and powder.)
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I see five main ways to do this build -
Inquisitor X
Archetype - Any. Consider Spellbreaker for theme, perhaps.
Domain - Black Powder Inquisition
Race - Any
Level 1 Feat - Rapid Reload (Pistols)
Spells Known - Any
So here's the deal. You're going to start out as a guy who's a gun-user, but whose weapon has been lost or destroyed. Because you can't afford a gun with your starting wealth. So you're going to actually use a bow for the first level or two, until you can get your hands on a gun. If you can beg your DM into letting you start with a Gunslinger's battered weapon, so much the better. You don't have an in-combat way of fixing your weapon, so keep the bow around as a backup. (You can grab Amateur Gunslinger if you want to fix the gun in combat.)
Gunslinger (Pistolero) 1/Inquisitor X
Inquisitor Archetype - Any. Consider Spellbreaker for theme, perhaps.
Domain - Any. You're getting firearm proficiency and gunsmithing from your Gunslinger level, so Black Powder becomes way less appealing. I suggest Travel for raw power or Spellkiller for theme.
Race - Any
Level 1 Feat - Rapid Reload (Pistols)
This build takes a gunslinger level for general gunly utility, a bit of bonus damage, and the ability to repair in combat.
Gunslinger (Pistolero) 5/Inquisitor X
Inquisitor Archetype - Any. Consider Spellbreaker for theme, perhaps.
Domain - Any. You're getting firearm proficiency and gunsmithing from your Gunslinger level, so Black Powder becomes way less appealing. I suggest Travel for raw power or Spellkiller for theme.
Race - Any
Level 1 Feat - Rapid Reload (Pistols)
Similar to the last build, but this one goes to level 5 in Gunslinger to get +Dex to damage. You also get extra BAB.
Gunslinger (Pistolero) 1/Inquisitor (Spellbreaker) 1/Gunslinger (Pistolero) X
Domain - Spellkiller Inquisition
Race - Any
Level 1 Feat - Rapid Reload (Pistols)
Okay, so you're not really an Inquisitor with this build. You're a gunslinger with an inquisitor dip. This build takes advantage of the fact that Spellbreaker and Spellkiller Inquisition are both nutty good as 1-level dips, and are thematic.
Spellslinger 1/Inquisitor X
This really offers very little that Gunslinger 1/Inquisitor X doesn't. You'd use Mending as your in-combat gun fixing, but you lose a BAB, grit, and it's less thematic.
2) You want to be able to clear the broken condition from a firearm in combat. You don't need to be able to do this constantly, but it sure helps to be able to do it at least a little. Your options here are to be a gunslinger for at least one level (which lets you clear as a move action, even), get the Mending cantrip from Wizard/Sorc/Cleric/Oracle/Bard/Witch/Druid, or choose Amateur Gunslinger as a feat and choosing Quick Clear as your feat. Once again, a Gunslinger level is probably the easiest thing to do unless you really want to be a pure inquisitor.Option 2 here does not work. Mending has a 10 minute casting time. So using the cantrip to fix your weapon is out.
Wow, I'm dumb. Good catch. (I was just wondering why I'd never thought to use Mending before.)