I'm working on a Mysterious Stranger / Dawnflower Dervish for my daughter. Obviously, such a character is built more for versatility than optimization. Do you guys have any suggestions for keeping her from lagging too far behind the power curve?
So far, it looks like she'll depend on her Gunslinger [Mysterious Stranger] levels to give her some offensive punch, falling into a support role when fighting in tight quarters.
Frankly, I can't see an easy way to make her consistently effective.
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So far, it looks like she'll depend on her Gunslinger [Mysterious Stranger] levels to give her some offensive punch, falling into a support role when fighting in tight quarters.
Frankly, I can't see an easy way to make her consistently effective.
Thats probably because the Mysterious Stranger is a bad archtype IMO. I see why you are using it, but Grit is only a nice thing to have not a necessity.
If you have to go Pistol then make a Pistolero...if you have to go musket then take the Musket Master.
As a Bard your Dex should be decent anyways (second highest stat), so just put Wis at like 14 and move on.
I like using a blunderbuss (then switching to a dragon pistol when affordable) with mysterious strangers. Their focused aim ability applies to everything hit in the cone of a scatter attack, and the reduced misfire chance of scatter attacks makes up for the archetype losing quick clear deed.
I'd focus on bard levels and just dip into gunslinger, for the increase in spell power and skills. The bonus to casting defensively and the need to be in close combat with your gun actually synergize somewhat. Dropping out Blistering Invective in close combat to demoralize/burn enemies would work okay together, and seems appropriate for a Sarenrae-worshipping dervish.
If you're going to do more than just a one-level dip into gunslinger, go at least five levels to pick up stranger's fortune.
I love the Mysterious Stranger fluff, but it is pretty bad... Giving up Gun Training for Focused Aim is a terrible trade, even if Arcane Strike can help a little with that.
If you are willing to warp the rules a little, make it so Focused Aim can be used at will as long as she has at least 1 grit point. This way she can be effective with her guns.
If you prefer sticking to RAW. Then make her a Mysterious Stranger/Pistolero combo. Pistolero will give her Pistol Training, which is just Gun Training, but limited to pistols.
People said that archetype combination is just a misprint. But the Devs haven't errata'd it yet and, honestly, I hope they never do. It's a great way to represent a "Clint Eastwood" kind of character and it's not broken at all. Powerful, sure, but not broken.
Maybe a homebrew Bard archetype? 3/4 BAB is not too much of a problem when you're mostly making touch attacks.
BTW... I love the idea of a Dervish Dancer Gunslinger. But be aware thatboth Bards and Gunslinger are pretty feat starved (at least during the first few levels).
But after you get those 4 or 5 must-have feats, you can do whatever you want. Luckely, Gunslinger get a few bonus feats too.