At the end of the month I'm starting in a new campaign that is far more limited as far as what I can and can't choose than my previous games, however I'm excited because it's a new group and I'm hoping that it works out well enough to keep going for some time.
The character I have in mind could be likened to Geralt of Rivia from the Witcher games and book series. For those of you who are not familiar with the series, I will explain the concept briefly. A Witcher is (usually) a man who was trained from a very young age and subjected to various alchemical treatments for the purpose of hunting down monsters, specifically, those who prey on humanity. They use a combination of skills including incredible martial prowess, a small amount of magic Signs (explained as being the simplest form of spellcasting), potions to boost their abilities and are incredibly long-lived and more resilient than the average human. To my knowledge, all Witcher's are human, though the alchemical treatments they are subjected to makes whether they are still human a subject of debate.
Now, naturally I know I can't do all of this without multiclassing a little bit, which I'm fine with. I need a point to start from, however.
The campaign restrictions are as follows:
Starting level: 1
Stats: Point Buy (15)
Starting Gold: Max for class
Allowed resources: Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic
Archetypes, traits and flaws are allowed.
Do you guys have any suggestions?
I would say take a good hard look at an inquisitor or oracle.
Alchemist with Vivisectionist archetype, maybe with levels of Ranger.
Second the nod for inquisitor
|
go half orc for a primary Bite attack
Max your strength
Ranger 2 / Alchemist the rest (alchemist archetypes vivasetionist/Beastmorph)
Ranger Weapon style Natural (gives you 2 primary natural claw attacks)
alchemist discoveries Vestigial arms twice, Ferral mutagen (gain three natural attacks) parasitic twin (extra head for second bite attack) (I also added wings and the pass for human feat)
at 12th level you gain Pounce from beast morph
Mutagen for strength
so at 12th that is 6 attacks all with your primary attack bonus on a pounce. with 5d6 Sneak attack on every attack in the surprise round or when flanking.
That is how i would build it...
shame this is not legal in PFS any more
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So to emulate a white haired human dude who is a super cool monster slayer you want him to build a claw wielding multi-armed winged monstrosity with two heads.
Inquisitor. Really we need a good Monster Hunter Archetype... I think there is a Ranger Archetype that works well for a Monster Hunter as well.
Inquisitor is what you are looking for flavor wise, but I can see magus working for you as we'll...
I forgot about the Magus...
Inquisitor seems to match a general monster-hunter, plus has some magic that helps meet your flavour. Ranger would also work, if you're willing to limit what you're most skilled at hunting for a few levels, and they also get spellcasting. Alchemist might work, but I don't think it matches your idea much, other than the potions. Magus, too, but that might be too spellcasting-focused.
Personally, based on what I've played of The Witcher (which, admittedly, isn't much), I think inquisitor, with a small dip in Alchemist for potions and mutagen (plus a discovery or two), MAYBE a dip in ranger for a small favoured enemy bonus to a particular foe
Also, look through the archetypes, that might help you get even closer
EDIT: By the alchemist giving potions, I meant the extracts
Inquisitor can get Brew Potion can't they?
But maybe take the... Guide(?) Archetype that lets you name a Single Target as your Favored Enemy. It makes you wonderful against a Boss or an enemy that must fall.
I just re-familiarized myself with the Inquisitor and I do believe that they are the best base class for the style I'm aiming for. I had considered a Magus initially, but as Katz suggested, they are a little too magic heavy and spell reliant. I think taking a couple of levels in Alchemist wouldn't be bad at all, maybe after I get a couple of levels of Inquisitor out of the way.
I considered Ranger as well, but I'm a little tired of the class as a whole and the Inquisitor's Monster Lore fits pretty well with the idea of a Witcher.
I'm trying to work out ability scores at the moment and with it being 15 point buy, I'm having some difficulty deciding what to put the most in. Wisdom is obviously a relatively high priority, because the Inqusitor's spells and most of their class features are based off of Wisdom to some degree, but at the same time to capture the essence of a Witcher I need him to be a heavy hitter in combat.
Suggestions?
Really liking the Ranger (guide archtype) dip followed by Inquisitor. I always liked taking the anger domain and using it like a "divine wrath" kind of concept. Retribution and rage from that domain are great abilities to stack on your "guide" bonus.
I'm trying to work out ability scores at the moment and with it being 15 point buy, I'm having some difficulty deciding what to put the most in. Wisdom is obviously a relatively high priority, because the Inqusitor's spells and most of their class features are based off of Wisdom to some degree, but at the same time to capture the essence of a Witcher I need him to be a heavy hitter in combat.
Suggestions?
Read some inquisitor guides?
Maybe look at Strength Domain. Or Guided Hand Feat... Though that would require a Dip in Cleric or some levels of Paladin and the Channel Smite Feat.
go half orc for a primary Bite attack
Max your strength
Ranger 2 / Alchemist the rest (alchemist archetypes vivasetionist/Beastmorph)
Ranger Weapon style Natural (gives you 2 primary natural claw attacks)
alchemist discoveries Vestigial arms twice, Ferral mutagen (gain three natural attacks) parasitic twin (extra head for second bite attack) (I also added wings and the pass for human feat)at 12th level you gain Pounce from beast morph
Mutagen for strength
so at 12th that is 6 attacks all with your primary attack bonus on a pounce. with 5d6 Sneak attack on every attack in the surprise round or when flanking.
Nicely done - what feats would you go with?
I just re-familiarized myself with the Inquisitor and I do believe that they are the best base class for the style I'm aiming for. I had considered a Magus initially, but as Katz suggested, they are a little too magic heavy and spell reliant. I think taking a couple of levels in Alchemist wouldn't be bad at all, maybe after I get a couple of levels of Inquisitor out of the way.
I considered Ranger as well, but I'm a little tired of the class as a whole and the Inquisitor's Monster Lore fits pretty well with the idea of a Witcher.
I'm trying to work out ability scores at the moment and with it being 15 point buy, I'm having some difficulty deciding what to put the most in. Wisdom is obviously a relatively high priority, because the Inqusitor's spells and most of their class features are based off of Wisdom to some degree, but at the same time to capture the essence of a Witcher I need him to be a heavy hitter in combat.
Suggestions?
Can't help with abilities, but maybe focus on wisdom and strength, with constitution and intelligence as secondary stats.
Also, maybe consider the Internal Alchemist archetype--it adds some potentially useful feats you can take in place of discoveries, and the bonuses against poison look useful, and would match the training of a Witcher a bit.
I can see Internal Alchemist being a decent choice. Most of the bonus feats wouldn't be helpful, but a couple aren't bad and I don't see my character making use of discoveries very much. Thanks for the suggestion!
The Signs are as follows:
Aard: Basically a blast of kinetic energy, think Force Push. It does small damage, has a moderate knock-back, and occasionally stuns. Can affect multiple opponents in game.
Yrden: A magical trap that temporarily immobilizes enemies who step on it. Up to three can be placed at a time at max level, and these three will act in unison to create an impassable barrier.
Igni: Igni is basically a small fireball. Later levels give it a small blast radius, but the range is pretty limited. It's the highest damage output a Witcher has magically.
Quen: Quen is a magical shield that absorbs damage for 30 seconds in game, it applies only to the person who cast it. At a later level it can absorb more damage and reflect a portion of it back as electricity damage to the attacker.
Axii: It's a charm spell, making enemies your ally for a short time. Higher levels allow it to affect more people. It can be used sort of as a Diplomacy buff as well, convincing people during dialogue to do what you want.
That's it for the Signs. Keep in mind, Witcher's don't cast Signs as their main method of combat. They're extremely limited in the amount they can cast before waiting for Vigor (a sort of mixture of a mana and stamina bar) to regenerate (which is slow, slow slow slow). A Witcher does not cast Signs with anywhere near the frequency a Wizard or Sorcerer would cast their usual spells. They're meant as tools to supplement them when appropriate, rather than as focal points for combat.
My guess for Signs converted into the nearest Pathfinder Spells are as follows:
- Aard: Force Punch or Magic Missile
- Yrden: Black Tentacles
- Igni: Fireball
- Quen: Shield or Mage Armor
- Axii: Charm Person Maybe...
Other possible ways to mimic them might exist.
I'm not really concerned with mimicking the spells to be perfectly exact. It's not going to be 100% unless I homebrew a class, which I hate doing. As long as the character has a similar sort of feel to him, I'm fine.
I might suggest an Inquisition (UM), especially Persistence. It has some physical enhancements.
Oooh. I hadn't looked at Inquisitions. Persistence is pretty awesome, and I was planning on getting the Step Up feat chain, this is a nice, free boost.