Hello Everyone!
It's recently come to my attention that my current gaming group is unable to meet as often as I'd like and am looking to join the local PFS gaming circles in the Bay Area. Before I do so however, I need some advice on making the most supportive/helpful PFS character (I like to fill voids in parties or be able not just to stand in the spotlight, but rather to help the party as a whole and ensure that everyone gets their individual goals accomplished.
I am thinking the best way to do this might be to be a bard (buff everyone) or Cleric (buff/heal/diplomacy) ... I even have a pretty good cleric concept but I'm worried he won't have enough skill points. I am also aware that there are many people in the forums with very broad experience that I am not privy to and I hope they can help guide me on picking the right class/race/build to make a character that everyone would be happy to see at their table and would actually be able to help the party first and foremost, so I'd be sure to be welcome again.
So I ask...
Are clerics or bards the best choice to serve in this capacity? Any particular faiths, archetypes, builds, etc. That are the best for what I am after? if not... what classes, builds or abilities do you usually find lacking (or at least miss the most when they're absent) in your experience with PFS games?
I am particularly enamored with the role of "Skill-monkey" -- the kind of character that can always aid another character on a skill check or try myself to give others a "second chance" if I can succeed where they fail. I am also particularly fond of social skills and knowledges -- so if that can be a factor in any ideas y'all can present, I'd appreciate it.
As I said, my current build (which needs to be modified somewhat to conform with PFS rules) is a Luck/Travel Cleric of Desna... I really love giving people extra dice for skill checks and hope at higher levels to give them re-rolls to improve success and avoid calamity. My cleric is human, and has "Birthmark", Valashmai Vet (gives perception as class skill), and Helpful (via adopted) and reactionary as traits.
I have four traits because I picked "Extra traits" for my bonus feat for being human -- but I'm open perhaps to creating a new character with "breadth of experience" instead. Sounds like an awesome feat for skill points! My other feat is scribe scroll, so I can have situational cleric spells that will help without taking up slots to buff my party members and such.
I'm under the impression "Guided" weapons are banned in PFS... and my current cleric is built somewhat with eventually having a guided weapon to be viable in HTH down the line... also, the original build was a OVERGENEROUS 50 point buy so I am back to the drawing board on even having my present build re-drawn for a 20 point build. I wanted to have at +2 intelligence for skills but with 20 points I doubt I can have the Wisdom and CHA most important to clerics and still have decent intelligence without having Str/dex/con seriously weak. Advice here on stat selection is also very welcome.
My favorite thing about my present cleric build is that if I make my aid other check, Helpful gives me +4 instead of +2, add a guidance osiron and a use of my bit of luck power and the aided party member gets the better of 2d20 + their skill +5 (my helpful + guidance spell) -- not a bad contribution and certainly helps mitigate random misfortune!
So really -- concepts like this. I don't need to shine in combat, but I'd love to be able to contribute in dialogue/diplomacy, skill checks, and surely there must be other classes with powers that fellow party members are always happy to see besides the Luck domain?
Your thoughts and expert counsel are appreciated!!
I would look at the bard archetype Archaeologist from Ultimate Combat. This gives you the ability to cover the rogue skills and trap finding and some healing you lose your ability to buff others but you do get the ability to do combat. so you cover a lot of roles or fil in were need be.
Also, make him a catfolk and call him Eek, because it never hurts to help... You might need to give him toughness.
Feel free to ignore, I'm kinda tired and drifting off on to strange tangents.
Chip: I'm not sure I understand how making him catfolk helps?
Tifton: I'll certainly look into your suggestion, but losing the ability to buff seems like it's a step in the wrong direction for me -- are rogue skills generally lacking in your experience with PFS games? Healing sounds like it's nice to have but as stated service in combat is really secondary to helping the party be pumped up and/or serving in needed capacities as well as knocking out skill checks to assure everyone makes their faction goals.
Haha, sorry, the first thing I thought of was the cartoon Eek the cat.
I was hopping around the boards a long time ago and jotted down a note about an Oracle 1 / Bard X being a great build to help in the way I'd like.
Something like a mastery that allows knowledge checks to be made on CHA, plus breadth of knowledge and Dilettante. The single level dip in Oracle would also be used with extra revelation feat to get Lore Keeper and sidestep secret 1 at level one, then leave Oracle behind for full progression as a bard. This raises the question of what curse to take as an oracle, though I seem to remember people agreeing clouded was the way to go for what I want to do.
Would a Luck/Travel Cleric that I described above or The Oracle/Bard I mention now, in your opinion, be the better overall team-mate? Any other ideas better than these?
You can get a pretty large bonus by doing Honor Guard Cavalier w/ Order of the Dragon and Helpful trait and Bodyguard / In Harm's Way feats.
It's really not worth the investment, and you're still only protecting someone by buffing their AC a bit (as opposed to saves, SR, energy res, DR, miss chance, any other form of defensive buff at all) and only if they endanger themselves by following you to the frontlines... But it's something.
If you want to be helpful and a skill money, your best bet sounds like Bard, though. A Witch with buffing hexes can sort of do it, too. And with Scar hex, can buff allies from a mile away. Might be worth looking into. I call it the "Stay at Home Hexer." Not sure how well it'd do in PFS or if the DMs would be amused or...unamused with it. But it is an alternative. Int-based casting ensures lots of skill points.
Suggested Hexes:
Hexes: Scar, Cackle, Fortune, Ward, Water Lung (if useful), Healing, Tongues (to translate for the party when necessary)
Major Hexes: Beast Eye, Major Healing, Waxen Image (use it to give an ally an extra move action as needed), Hag's Eye (if Scar allows you to make a party member the casting point of origin), Hidden Home, Vision
Grand Hexes: Life Giver, and if that runs out...Forced Reincarnation
Suggested Feats: Extra Hex, Split Hex, Split Major Hex, Improved Familiar, Extend Spell, Silent Spell, Enlarge Spell, item creation feats (since you're basically support at this point)
Suggested/Synergistic Spells:
Greater Scrying (regular scrying's cast time and duration is usually insufficient)
Message (if scrying) or Telepathic Bond
Share Senses
Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
Witness
Magic Jar
Marionette Possession
Possess Object
Swarm Skin
Arcane Eye
(Greater) Prying Eyes
Teleport / Greater Teleport
Create Demiplane spells & Plane Shift (to retreat to afterwards)
[Any long duration buff spells]
Additional Comments: May extend the Witch's lifespan, as laughter is good for the heart. Check with your DM.
Bard seems the best fit. Maybe Alchemist if their allowed.
@StreamOfTheSky: What sort if build is that in the spoiler...
It's a witch. You use Scar hex to scar your allies, then buff them w/ hexes from far away. Using divination spells for the most part to keep track of them. Share Senses isn't too high level, just need to send your familiar w/ the party. After that, you just need a good safe/hidden spot to hang out.
Just giving rerolls alone w/ Fortune hex all day is nice. Then you add in the other ones and it's pretty cool. I especially like Waxen Image at 10+ to voodoo allies around the battlefield for extra move actions.
TL;DR: It's a joke Witch build. That could probably actually be playable.
I don't think SotS was serious on the Witch for PFS.
Quite simply, at level 1, you can't really do the concept fully. That's not damning, though. Rangers don't even get a style feat at level 1. You can still use the message cantrip and stealth skill (as class skill via trait, possibly) to hang back and hiding but still near the party. You'd need to be human to start w/ Cackle, Fortune, and Scar, so maybe you only start w/ cackle and fortune, pick up scar at level 2.
And I really have no idea how it'd work in PFS. I imagine some characters will not want to be scarred nor trust you enough to allow it. I was just trying to offer an alternative option that has high skills and can buff pretty well. You could just drop the whole distance/hiding thing and take the buffing hexes anyway. But...what's the fun in that? :)
Thanks for your candor, Stream. And especially thanks to Azaelas for recognizing that this was actually not truly a very viable build before I spent reams of time trying to negotiate how it must be. I don't know PF system well enough yet to identify something that is a thinly veiled joke or something to that effect. The gimmick supposed here, if it were achievable, is interesting -- but does not accomplish what I'm setting out to do... if I had to creep around in the background that would likely get me captured or killed isolated from the group, as well. But thanks for sharing the concept... it's fascinating in it's own way.
There is a racial trait called, um, Helpful. It lets you grant a +4 bonus when you use the Aid Another action. I'm not sure if it's halfling only, but I think it's from Halflings of Golarian. It's on the OGL website.
Halflings are the only ones who can take Helpful.
That said a Halfling Bard(or Witch) would be awesome from what I have seen of PFS.
Vicon... my party member in the campaign I am actually playing in is going to use a Witch like that for our upcoming final Adventure. Though hers is more of a Mobility over a Hide away style.
I'd say a Bard with a high Int would be your best choice. The ability to try for untrained knowledge checks is worth a fortune in PFS (especially with a high int), and an Archery bard would have a high enough dex to be awesome at acrobatics, stealth, disable device, etc.
Also IIRC there is a PFS legal Archetype that allows a Bard to cast using INT.
Have you considered the Varisian Pilgrim cleric? The ability to share your domain abilities at range is rather interesting especially if the travel domain means all party members in 30 foot get to add 10 to their speed.
Of course i have no idea if it's pfs legal.
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I play quite frequently in the bay area and the one thing that is desperately need on most tables is a heal monkey. The more you heal the better, and don't worry too much about skill because those only come up during Faction missions for the most part so they are not a huge part of the game. The best race for a Cleric is probably your vanilla Aasimar, with the bonus to Cha and Wis with no penalties. Best part is that they are legal choices now.
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Halflings are the only ones who can take Helpful.
That said a Halfling Bard(or Witch) would be awesome from what I have seen of PFS.
Vicon... my party member in the campaign I am actually playing in is going to use a Witch like that for our upcoming final Adventure. Though hers is more of a Mobility over a Hide away style.
Can you not take the trait Adopted in PFS? I can never remember. Because if you Adopted is a Social Trait so I think you'd be able to take Helpful (it being a Racial Trait).
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You can get a pretty large bonus by doing Honor Guard Cavalier w/ Order of the Dragon and Helpful trait and Bodyguard / In Harm's Way feats.
It's really not worth the investment, and you're still only protecting someone by buffing their AC a bit (as opposed to saves, SR, energy res, DR, miss chance, any other form of defensive buff at all) and only if they endanger themselves by following you to the frontlines... But it's something.
If you want to be helpful and a skill money, your best bet sounds like Bard, though. A Witch with buffing hexes can sort of do it, too. And with Scar hex, can buff allies from a mile away. Might be worth looking into. I call it the "Stay at Home Hexer." Not sure how well it'd do in PFS or if the DMs would be amused or...unamused with it. But it is an alternative. Int-based casting ensures lots of skill points.
** spoiler omitted **...
Once you have Split Hex available, you could actually use this to Misfortune enemies also, just have the party carry around an animal in a cage that you've used Scar on, then you can use Misfortune on that animal, and as long as an enemy is within 30 feet, Misfortune them too.
Edit: Slumber would also be an excellent use of this.