Hey there, first post, sorry in advance for it.....So after 10 years of not gaming, Im in my first Pathfinder campaign. We've progressed to 5th lvl (started @ 1) and for a while I was only using Core and APG. I didnt find the SRD or these forums until well after we'd started.
So the party is:
- Sorcerer
- Elven Archer (5 levels, I dont think she's ever drawn a melee weapon)
- dwarven cleric (spends most of his time between heal and buff)
- Rogue that he's playing like an "info broker" type (although he isnt shy about flanking in melee with his rapier)
- Monk (2-style master w Snake and Panther, with all the AOOs and retaliatory strikes he's pretty impressive in melee)
And they asked me to be the tank. I decided to try something different and play an Inquisitor undercover as a tank. Plan was to multiclass with primary focus on Fighter, but the more I learned about the Inquisitor the more I liked it. Heres where I am now:
Ftr 2 (Two Handed arch)/ Inq 3 (Heresy), Human LN
STR 18, DEX 12, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 14, CHA 12
Feats (in order)- Toughness, Alertness, Power Attack, Cleave, Cleaving Finish, Judgement Surge, Precision Strike
I know, lots of you are cringing reading that. GM hates high stats, only one other party member has an 18. And yes, I got greedy and tried to have it all instead of focusing my points into 1 or 2 abilities besides STR. I was rusty (it had been 10 years)! Obviously my first feats were all to sustain my "cover" and make sure I could actually be the primary melee character in this crew. Then they had figured out my secret, so no longer hiding it and starting to really like the Inqusitor my plans shifted.
We're almost at level so I need to figure out where to go next. So heres the calculator problem:
OPTION 1 - beeline straight for Bane so 2 more Inq levels. ONce I hit Inq5 Ive got the potential to do some nice damage....Falchion two-handed is 2d4+6, my destruction is +3 with Judgement Surge, my power attack is another +6, Bane is 2d6, and if that Rogue hooks me up with a flank I get another 1d6. Sounds pretty sweet to me......except thats only for 5 rounds per day. Currently we're dungeon crawling so we're seen so much combat 5 rounds would go by like nothing (or Id be saving Bane waiting for a big baddie so my bonuses would be a lot less). But man, what a sweet 5 rounds they will be!
OPTION 2 - take another Ftr level first. At Ftr3 with the Two Handed arch, I get 2x STR bonus instead of 1.5 when I use the Falchion. so thats 2d4+8, plus another 8 if I power attack, plus the judgement and the flanking.....but that pushes Bane off until I reach character level 8. But all those added STR bonuses are every melee every time so would last long after I run out of Bane rounds.
Lots of typing, thanks for staying with me........so what are the thoughts from the experts? Is the 2 points in added STR bonus enough to delay getting the Bane ability? Or should I go straight for Bane without delay, and take that Ftr level afterwards? Thanks in advance!
I would drop CHA to 8, put some of those points into DEX/CON.
Secondly, go for Inquisitor, leave the Fighter alone. not only are you closer to more Bane rounds, but you are also closer to double judgements, it gets you more spells, and gives better saves.
a level of Inquisitor is no doubt better from an optimization standpoint.
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Of course, it is patently rules-illegal to re-attribute ability scores in midstream. So, there's that.
You're playing what sounds like a fun character! I don't disagree that from an optimization perspective, taking an inquisitor level is the way to go. But, I'd take the fighter level, for exactly the reason you mentioned. You'll get that extra damage on every hit, and over the lifetime of your character you'll do a good bit more damage that way.
My opinion.
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Because it also raises the weapon's Enhancement Bonus, Bane actually adds +2 to hit ant 2d6+2 to damage. I'd go for that ASAP (especially since it increases your Judgments and gives you 2nd level spells along the way).
After you have Bane, maybe grab another level or two of Fighter, then switch back to Inquisitor and stick with it.
As Mergy says, Heavy armor is also a must for this character.