I'm thinking about playing a kitsune archaeologist for pfs. I found a trait that would give me 3 extra bardic performances. As for feats I'm really thinking about taking lingering performance and, the magical tail feat over and over. I'd equip longsword and shield. In the end, I want a fun to play skill monkey. My fear is that this character will not be able to contribute to combats.
My fear is that this character will not be able to contribute to combats.
You're no front-line fighter. You're a scout. You'll never contribute in a fight the way some other classes do, but you'll have done your part already.
Also: That Magical Tail feat is very powerful, but you have a lot of those spells on your list anyway. If you worry about your combat readiness, why not take feats that bolster your martial prowess instead? Arcane Strike comes to mind.
The problem you will encounter with this character and their ability to contribute will be the same as you would encounter with any archaeologist bard -- you're losing your Inspire Courage bardic performance, and your Archaeologist's Luck is only going to work on you, giving only you a luck bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls. That is a buff for someone who is attacking in combat, and you can only give it to yourself.
What is the purpose of gaining this ability if you aren't creating a character who can make use of it? As an Archaeologist bard, you are something of a synthesis of a Bard and a Rogue, gaining Rogue Talents, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge. Even if you are taking the Magical Tail feat over and over with your standard feats, you still get a Rogue Talent at 4, and then again at 8, which could be spent on Finesse Rogue and Combat Rogue, allowing you access to combat-related feats without interfering with your plan.
What is it about the Archaeologist bard that makes you want to play this archetype?
Basically, in my opinion, you are concerned about your characters ability to contribute in combat because you know you are making feat choices that are not augmenting your characters ability to contribute in combat, and I don't think it is a good idea to do that when you are taking an archetype that replaces your party buff with a self-only buff.
I'm doing a lot of guessing, here, so please feel free to disregard this advice if I'm totally off base, but I kind of think the Sandman bard in APG might be a better fit for this character ... ? You don't seem like you're planning this bard to be a melee fighter, so I can't see the self buff as being relevant, nor do I get the impression that you're ravenously after the rogue talents. The Sandman gets the other two abilities, Trap Sense and the equivalent of Trapfinding, in addition to adding some sneak attack, bonuses on their DCs against flat footed enemies, and not losing the Bard Performance ability. They do lose Inspire Courage, but at least they lose it for an ability you might get some use out of, instead of ... something you'll never use because you're not building a melee combatant.
I am playing a kitsune marital artist (2)/fire wizard (4) in the Jade Regent. I have two of the tail feats and they are really good.
Thanks for the advice. I've not played a bard since 2nd edition D&D, and the archaeologist just looked really fun. It hadn't even dawned on me that magical tail would get me the same spells as a bard. I saw the feats as an option just because I was playing the race.
OK, so that idea is out.
I would still like to play a skill monkey kitsune, with or without the tails. I'm looking for survivability over damage output. Maybe a straight-up rogue, or a ninja.
The Archaeologist, like the Dervish Dancer archetype, is sweet if you're creating your character as a combatant and taking feats appropriate for that.
Even though you have that 3/4 BAB, you have a lot of sources for improving your ability to hit enemies. Your Archaeologist's Luck ability will give you +1 to hit and to damage to start with, improving to +2 as early as level 5.
You can choose feats that will help you in combat, as well. Going out on a limb, I'm going to guess you're going to take Weapon Finesse on account of the whole race with +2 dex and -2 str thing, so you could start with that at level one, then pick up Lingering Performance at 3rd level. 4th level is your first rogue talent and, while you could take combat rogue to pick up another feat, I'd actually recommend Assault Leader. Once per day, missing just means your Fighter gets an extra hit :).
At fifth level, you'd probably just want to pick up whatever you've been feeling like you're lacking... Weapon Focus if you have a hard time hitting, Combat Casting if you're having a hard time getting spells off in melee, or Extra Rogue Talent if there's another one of those you'd love to pick up, but at seventh level you'll meet the BAB requirement for Outflank which, paired with the spell Coordinated Effort, is just <3.
Spells, however, are where you are really going to rock the house as a bard.
Level 1: Saving Finale (this spell is the reason to take Lingering Performance!) , Expeditious Retreat
Level 2: Heroism, Mirror Image (your #1 defensive buff!), Gallant Inspiration
Level 3: Haste, Coordinated Effort, Jester's Jaunt
When you're 5th level, if you can get Heroism cast on yourself before you wade into combat, and have an 18 DEX and a +1 weapon, you'll be rocking +12 to hit, with the option to cast Gallant Inspiration as an immediate action when you miss to add an extra 2d4 competence bonus on top (only advisable if you think you just barely missed, ofc).
At level 7, if you can toss up Heroism, Haste, and Coordinated Effort, you'll improve this to a +15, or +19 when you're flanking (and if you score a critical hit, your flank buddy gets an AoO -- aw yiss, MORE extra attacks for your fighter!)
Not bad for a bard, is it?
Plus, because the Archaeologist's Luck is a luck bonus, not only does this all stack, but if there's a regular bard with Inspire Courage in the group, Archaeologist's Luck will stack with that, too.