I've been trying for close to two years to convert my old 3.5 Warblade to Pathfinder, only using Paizo Pathfinder products. Thing is, not only is the Warblade hard to convert, but my character, Tallet, used two bastard swords. I don't think there's a Pathfinder equivalent to Oversized TWF, nor should there necessarily be. So I've been trying to figure out a way to address the need for high Str and Dex, while retaining lots of skill points, and keep my beloved character just as kickass as he was in both 3.5 and 4th edition.
I fooled around with barbarian / TWFer Fighter archetype, some sort of samurai / fighter, a barbarian / fighter / samurai, etc. I gave up on ranger because of the spells and the animal companion, but I started looking into the problem again this morning. I never considered ranger archetypes for some reason, despite being a fan of the Skirmisher for a while. And I only realized a few months ago that you can combine two archetypes as long as their abilities don't overlap. Hence, thread title. I think I've got a good start for my concept, but the community here has always given excellent advice on prior builds, so...
Tallet, level 1 human Ranger (Guide)
Str 15+2 = 17
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 7
Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Intimidate, Perception, Stealth, Survival, Swim
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Wakazashi), Weapon Focus (Wakazashi)
The original 3.5 concept used bastard swords due to their equivalency to katanas. This character has a very Eastern samurai-y code of honor, despite being a very blunt problem solver. I figure I can use wakazashi instead of katanas, as I don't want to use two feats for proficiency with them both.
Tallet was never stupid, so I don't want to drop his Int any further. I realize that acrobatics isn't a class skill for rangers, which is a bleeding shame, but the original character has ranks in balance, jump, and tumble, so how can I not take ranks in acrobatics? I'm hoping I can take some sort of campaign trait that will give me acrobatics as a class skill, or else work with the GM to allow me to create a new trait that does that.
At 2nd, 6th, and 10th levels I figure I'll take those TWF I wouldn't otherwise qualify for. I also think Quickdraw and Power Attack are important to take early, though I'm having second thoughts about Quickdraw. Obviously Improved Crit, and 2W Rend, but beyond those, I'm stumped for where I should take feats, and what feats compliment this character.
This isn't really a build at the moment, just a rough concept, but any sort of advice would be appreciated on how the community would roll up a character like this and advance it, not necessarily to optimize him, but to keep him valid through one of Paizo's published adventure paths.
You've seem to got everything well in hand to be honest. I can't myself see any problems as per my view of just this Pathfinder write up. I know that is not really advice but I'm not sure what else I can say.
Though, since Wakazashi(s) are light weapons you could always alternatively make you DEX the higher, take Weapon Finese in place of Weapon Focus. That way you could up you AC, your 'to hit', and your Acrobatics skill, which I'm assuming you will take skill focus in during the next spare feat that comes along?
If you look on the pfsrd20.com there are mutiple traits that give acrobatics as a class skill.. Captian's Blade, Jenivere Crew, Rescued, and Rice Runner are a few i found..
Though, since Wakazashi(s) are light weapons you could always alternatively make you DEX the higher, take Weapon Finese in place of Weapon Focus. That way you could up you AC, your 'to hit', and your Acrobatics skill, which I'm assuming you will take skill focus in during the next spare feat that comes along?
I think I'd prefer to have the high Str for the damage. I know AC will take a hit, but the entire reason I'm going ranger and not the TWF fighter archetype is so I can do high Str without needing to keep an almost equally high Dex as a prereq. I do plan on investing in a Belt of Physical Might for Str and Dex if the wealth is there, but I'll probably end up with just a Belt of Str. Dodge and TW Defense are options. I like TW Defense because I can attack defensively with only one weapon and still get an extra +1 out of the feat. At level 3 and 3 ranks in Acrobatics, that's a -4 to attacks and a +4 to AC. I can definitely see this as an option, especially if I'm going to use Ranger's Focus to offset the attack penalty and still swing a big boost to AC.
If you look on the pfsrd20.com there are mutiple traits that give acrobatics as a class skill.. Captian's Blade, Jenivere Crew, Rescued, and Rice Runner are a few i found..
Yeah, I figured there were going to be a few. I'm sure if whatever we decide to run doesn't have a trait that works, I can work something out with my GM.
I'm playing a Ranger Guide and to be honest I'm lamenting the fact I can't use Instant Enemy spell and I don't have an Animal Companion.
As I mentioned, spellcasting and the animal companion just didn't go with the character concept. Instant Enemy is a great spell, and an ideal choice, but since it's not available until Ranger level 11 for most rangers, I'm not going to be that hung up on not having it.
Plus, at 11th level, you have Ranger's Focus 4x's a day, with the +6 bonus to attack and damage. Technically you'd have more uses of that than Instant Enemy.
Plus, combining with the Skirmisher ranger, I've got 6 uses a day of things like Second Chance Strike, which allows me to reroll a miss at a -5 penalty, or Vengeance Strike, which is more or less an opportunity attack against adjacent creatures that don't attack me. I think these abilities capture a lot of the flavor of what made Tallet so much fun in 4th edition, despite everything else in 4th edition being awful.
Terrain Bond is a poor substitute for the Hunter's Bond, but, again, animal companion just doesn't fit the concept of the character. Ranger's Luck and Inspired Moment take some of the sting off, and again, capture some of the glory that was the 4th edition Ranger with it's ability to "go nova".
Also, Kukri's would save you a feat.
Agree that kukri's are the most solid TWF choice, but it loses the Eastern / samurai-y feel to my character's combat. Dropping down to a light weapon like the wakizashi is about as much of a compromise here that I'd be willing to go.