I am currently building a Wild Rager/ Internal Vivesectionist Alchemist focusing on two handed fighting and the Shattered defense feat tree to ensure sneak attack. I will be starting at level 8 with the average WBL of 33000gp.
Human (Heart of the fields)
Rolled stats: 17,15,12,12,11,9
Str 17(19 Human bonus +4th)+2 Belt
Con 15 (+1 8th)+2 Belt
Wis 12
Dex 11
Int 12
Cha 9
Traits: Carefully hidden
Blade of Mercy
Wild Rager Barbarian 1:Power attack
HB(1): Enforcer
Wild Rager Barbarian 2:- Rage Power : Auspicious mark
Alchemist ( Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)3:Weapon Focus( Falchion)
Alchemist ( Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)4: Discovery (iron Will)
Alchemist ( Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)5:Dazzling Display
Fighter (gladiator)6: Intimidating prowess
Alchemist (Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)7:Discovery (Lingering Spirit),Shatter defenses
Alchemist ( Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)8: Discovery (Infusions)
Alchemist ( Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)9:Raging Vitality
Equipment:
+1 merciful Falchion 8000
Belt of Physical Might +2 (Con,str)10000
Cloak of Resistance +2 4000
Headband of Vast intelligence +2 4000
Mwk Falchion 375
Chain shirt 100
Chakram x5 5
Boots of Springing and Striding 5500
First off, to address the Wild Rager uncontrollable rage issue. The DC is DC 10+2+-1 =11 and while raging I will have a will save of +9 meaning I only fail on a nat one or two and the auspicious mark rage power to ensure I only fail on a natural one. I do plan on voluntarily failing the save when necessary to extend my limited rounds of rage per day.
I have built this guy with the groups approval and as they are a Ninja/ Zen archer and a God wizard they feel that they will not be in any danger from me.
Is there anything that I have missed that will benefit the build? Does this seem viable? My AC is abysmal (10 when using my uncontrollable rage) but I figured it will never be that great and I decided to focus on mobility to make this a game of rocket tag.
In regards to the low AC, is the increased mobility worth the low armor bonus or should I sacrifice my increased move speed for heavy armor?
I would not take Heart of the Fields. The skill points are better. If fatigue scares you, get some potions of the Invigorate spell.
I also don't think the fighter level and 2nd level of Barb are worth it. Up to you, though. I realize w/o 3 levels in a full BAB class, Shatter Defenses isn't available till level 9 (well, 8, but no feat at 8). But I'd rather be advancing alchemist faster.
Your stats are...bad. It looks like...24 point buy? Was it supposed to be 25? Assuming 25...I would do this.
Str 16 (18 w/ Human; 20 w/ level 4 & 8)
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 12
Cha 8
I don't think Auspicious Mark is worth it when you have so few rage rounds. On the other hand, you won't have access to rage powers for most of your rages anyway, so I suppose choice matters little.
I also don't like Infusion...I really hate feat taxes for things classes should get inherent. Speaking of which...oh hey, there's Raging Vitality! :)
You have Blade of Mercy. Have you considered dropping Intimidating Prowess for Enforcer? Or hell...Cornugon Smash. That reminds me...you're a 2H build? Any round you can't sneak attack, you probably will want Power Attack.
Just some thoughts. Another idea, if doing Shatter Defenses, is the Sap Adept / Sap Master feat line. Would require a bludgeoning weapon and either Merciful property or the Bludgeoner feat, though.
The stats were rolled. The alternative is a 15 point buy.
The second level of Barbarian is for Wild fighting and its extra attack at full BAB -2 with all full attacks.
As for the rage rounds whenever I drop someone I have to make the mentioned will save or become confused, and any round that I am confused I remain in rage and it does not count against my daily allotment of rage rounds.If the situation looks safe I plan on voluntarily failing it. Is there another rage power you think I get better use of?
I have Enforcer, however my intimidate modifier is rather low without intimidating prowess so I would not be reliably successful on the intimidate check.
I looked into the Sap Adept/Master line and plan to pick it up at 11 and 13. I would get it earlier but I figured I needed a reliable method to get sneak attack before I could maximize it.
Ah, rolled... And sadly, there is no race that combines +str with +int or +dex... I'd go with Dex 15, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 11, then. Pretty rough break there, though. At least nuking your int w/ the mutagen won't have any effect on your extracts/day, since it's temporary and you can just prepare them at the start of the day regardless.
Yes, I know what Wild Rager 2 is for. It also imposes a huge AC penalty. IMO, it's only worth using when you're not in danger of being attacked back. Like, you strongly suspect your attacks will drop the foe, or the foe is stunned for 1 round, etc... That extra level is also delaying alchemist goodies and upping the will DC for confusion by +1. If you only dipped 1 level, you could probably get away w/ not having Iron Will and save a feat.
That is a good plan, I figured as much. Still, you'll need to burn a round to enter the rage and you may not always drop something right away. Auspicious burns 2 rounds per use and you'll have like... 8 rounds per day, at most? Once you're out of rage rounds, can't enter it anymore to go fishing for confusion, either. That said...there really aren't many good low level rage powers and you won't have access to them much. So maybe keep it. Only other things I could think of are Reckless Abandon, Lesser Fiend Totem for the gore attack, or Animal Fury for the bite attack. Maybe No Escape if your DM actually uses the Withdraw action much.
Intimidation DCs tend to not be too bad. Just keep ranks maxed and you should do alright. You get to try every time you hit for nonlethal, so it doesn't have to be close to 100%. But hey, if you're not hurting for feats, go for it.
Shatter Defenses would be your reliable method, so you could start on the chain right after that. Really...Sap Adept is pretty much on any nonlethal bludgeoning SA, you could pick that up earlier and just enjoy it when it comes up. Sap Master is the pain in the ass one that requires flatfooted. So you could wait on that till after Shatter Defenses. If you do stick to current multiclass setup, you could do like... Sap Adept at 7 (or sooner), Shatter D at level 8 through your Fighter dip, then Sap Master at level 9. You will need nonlethal bludgeoning damage for the sap feats, though. I like Blade of mercy a lot, but if you're going that route, may want to drop it for a trait that will remain useful for...more than 1 more character level (till 9 when you get Sap Master).
Also, a suggestion for helping AC: Take the Tentacle or Vestigial Arm discovery. Have it hold a +1 heavy shield or whatever. It's what my alchemist does. Course, he's straight class alchemist and doesn't have shield proficiency, so he needed a darkwood (mithral works too, just more $$) heavy shield to get the check penalty down to 0 to avoid any penalties.
And, the spell I mentioned: Invigorate.
Just get some potions of that as a fallback should leaving rage cause you fatigue mid-battle. Much better than blowing +1 skill point/level on heart of the fields.
To try and take advantage of Sap adept/Sap Master I rearranged my feats and levels to look like this:
1 Wild Rager Barbarian 1:Power attack
HB(1): Enforcer
2 Wild rager Barbarian 2:- Rage Power : Lesser fiend Totem
3 Alchemist ( Internal Alchemist vivisectionist)1:Weapon Focus( Earthbreaker)
4 Alchemist 2: Discovery (Iron Will)
5 Alchemist 3:Dazzling Display
6 Alchemist 4:Discovery (Lingering Spirit),
7 Alchemist 5:Sap Adept
8 Fighter 1:Shatter defenses
9 Alchemist 6: Discovery (Vestigial arm),Sap Master
10 Alchemist 7:
11 Alchemist 8:Raging Vitality, Discovery (?)
Since I am going to be doing bludgeoning damage now I dropped Blades of Mercy as my second trait and replaced it with Berserker of the Society for the additional three rounds of rage.
As for your suggested stat changes would the extra +2 to AC from Dex really be worth the loss of 2hp per level?
It could be, depends how high you can patch your AC back up, if it still isn't high enough for foes to miss you fairly often, it's not worth the investment. You're right, the hp and fort saves are probably more important, though... Your stats just aren't very helpful for a multiple ability dependent build. They're GREAT for a wizard or sorc... Do whichever you prefer. I would make Wis 11 and put the 12 you have there in Dex or Con (whichever doesn't get the 15), though. Those stats are definitely more useful to you than wis.
Is your weapon merciful? If not, you'll need Bludgeoner feat to do nonlethal with it at no penalty. I'd drop Raging Vitality. Feat taxes suck. I'd rather have my PC die to make a point about how the rules SHOULD be (like they were in 3E; falling unconscious doesn't end your rage if you don't want it to) than bow my head and pay the unfairly levied tax. :)
Maybe you feel differently, though.
What does the carefully hidden trait do? You might want to consider Accelerated Drinker, it lets you drink a potion as a move action if you start your turn with it in hand.
Also, if you can afford it, you will eventually want to be in Mithral Breastplate.
My main weapon is going to be a +1 Merciful Earthbreaker. I figured the cost of the weapon enchantment ( and the increase in damage) would be a better deal than spending a feat on Bludgeoner.
Carefully hidden gives a +1 to Will saves and an additional +2 on saves vs divination effects.
As for Raging Vitality I am going to wait and see how often I get dropped and see if it is an issue ( I am not as dedicated as you to protesting feat taxation with dead characters).
With the lingering spirit discovery I have a significantly increased chance to survive if I get dropped anyways. If I do find myself not needing it I probably will pick of Intimidating Prowess to ensure consistent intimidation.
Eh, Crippling Strike sounds nice, but in practice I've found that by the time you've done it a few times so that it makes a noticeable difference...you've stabbed the guy to death from the SA damage anyway. Your mileage may vary.