Critique my guy he must survive!

[Kyros Deun]

A place where your characters can be critiqued by those who have mastered similiar builds! We all want to survive. I'll start:

Half-Elven Cavalier 4

STR:16
DEX: 12
CON: 13
INT: 12
WIS: 12
CHA: 14

AC: 25 (+1 Dex, +10 for +1FP, +4 for +1HSS.)
Saving Throws:

Fortitude: +5
Reflex: +2
Will: +4

HP: 33

Attack bonuses: (melee) +7 (ranged) +5

12 Fame, 11 PP
Other gear:
Wand of CLW (32 charges)
Smoked Goggles
Earplugs
Potion of CMW
Rope
Sunrod (3)

Any ideas to make him survive till retirement?

[Finlanderboy]

get a pet axbeak for him

[Eric Brittain]

only applying GM credit to him will ensure he survives.

[Nuku]

Aw, but what's the fun in that?

[warfteiner]

Honestly, cavaliers are really tough to keep viable from what I've seen.

My biggest suggestion is to play with a pair of friends - one healer, one ranged damage. The tactics game is where cavaliers excel.

From a gear perspective, do your best to keep your will saves high and avoid damage types. A brooch of shielding will be quite handy!

Best thing I can ask here is this: are you going to stay with just cavalier, or will you be splashing other classes?

[kinevon]

How do you get +4 for a +1 Heavy Steel Shield? Isn't that only +3?

And, honestly, in order for a PC to guarantee survival, you need:

Str 14
Con 18
Dex 18
Int 10
Wis 18
Cha 10

20 point buy doesn't help the above, of course.

Grab two traits that benefit Will & Reflex saves

Go pure Fighter
Adamantine Full Plate
Tower Shield

Iron Will
Lightning Reflexes
Great Fortitude

Wayfinder with a Clear Spindle Ioun Stone in it

FCB for hit points
Toughness

Brooch of Shielding

Spell absorbing magic items, like Ioun Stones and such.

[Alexander_Damocles]

Items to deal with poison.

Wand of Protection from Evil, to be handed to the nearest caster every adventure.

Items to enhance your primary schtick.

Potions of bull strength. A belt of mighty gives you hit points all the time *and* raises your fort save. You only need the extra str on some occasions, therefore, hang on to some potions.

What does your character do in combat? What does he do out of combat?

[Darksider1969]

CON should be 14+, unless your GM is a nerfherder...
INT 12 might be overdoing it too, since those points could be better spent ensuring combat survivability.

Smart -or- wise, your choice but since you are a fighter-type, blowing points on both will hurt you in the long run in the same way that a Wizard with a 16 STR will affect all the other stats to that mage's detriment.

Antitoxin, Antiplague, Vermin Repellent, Troll Styptic and/or a CLW Potion (stops bleed effects, etc.) for equipment. Might want to invest in some alchemical fire, acid and holy water as well.

Also, keep in mind you add STR to thrown weapons, so even daggers become lethat with your current STR of 16.

[Mahtobedis]

I've never had trouble surviving with a con of 12 - 14. You just need to recognize when you need to withdraw.

[Severed Ronin]

Hosteling Armor's nice for those pesky areas you can't get your mount into. Helps him stay with you until a nice open area arrives.

[Nuku]

As a wizard with 16 con, I was knocked to 0, twice, in one mission. No, I was not advancing bravely to the front, and no, nothing lept out from behind. Stuff happens. I am very happy I squeaked in the HP I did though. (Level 1 by the way, ymmv)

[Erosthenes]

kinevon wrote:

How do you get +4 for a +1 Heavy Steel Shield? Isn't that only +3?

** spoiler omitted **

Kinevon: My first Mage character has a Con of 9, Int of 20, but that is after 20 levels of play and a BUNCH of scars. (Character retired now - old campaign finally stopped)

It is a falicy you need outlandish stats to do a decent job playing this game. It is a synergy of player character classes that makes the group survive. If you play every PFS module by yourself, then perhaps your sample character is correct. However, in the real world I play with at least 3 others - we live or die based upon our combined tactics, abilities and efforts.

[nate lange]

i'm having a little trouble with your math (or maybe mine)...
i believe you should be on a 20 point buy, i'm having trouble making that work though:
STR: 16- 14+2race= 5pt (or, 13+2race+lvl4= 3pt)
DEX: 12- 2pt
CON: 13- 3pt
INT: 12- 2pt
WIS: 12- 2pt
CHA: 14- 13+lvl4= 3pt (or, 14=5pt)
either way, that only adds up to a 17 point buy?

wait... did you do this:
STR: 16- 10pt
DEX: 12- 2pt
CON: 13- 12+lvl4= 2pt
INT: 12- 2pt
WIS: 12- 2pt
CHA: 14- 12+2race= 2pt
if so, the first thing you should do is switch to what i wrote above. even if you don't want to wait til 4th for 14 Cha- if you start with 2 14s and use your race bonus to up str to 16, you would get two 12s and two 13s (one of which could be raised to 14 at 4th.

so your stats should like this:
STR: 16 (5pt +2 race)
DEX: 12 (2pt)
CON: 14 (3pt +1 lvl4)
INT: 13 (3pt)
WIS: 12 (2pt)
CHA: 14 (5pt)
you could move that 13 from Int to Dex or Wis, but i put it in Int in case you want to pick up Combat Expertise (since you're worried about survival).

i'm having trouble with your HP, too. max @1st (10) plus 1/2, rounded up, afterwards (6x3) is 28, +4 from your original Con bonus equals 32... are you planning to only put 1 level of Favored Class bonus in HP? you never told us your skills or feats (i'm guessing your planning on Shield Focus to get your +1HSS up to a total +4). it looks like (without toughness, but using the new stats) you should have:
10 (@1st) + 18 (6/lvl x3 levels) + 8 (Con mod. x4 levels) + 4 (favored class x4 levels) = 40 hp (or 36 with your old Con mod)

so fix those things- that'll help your survival. beyond that spend your feats well (and have fun- there are worse things in the world than death)

[kinevon]

Erosthenes wrote:

kinevon wrote:

How do you get +4 for a +1 Heavy Steel Shield? Isn't that only +3?

** spoiler omitted **

Kinevon: My first Mage character has a Con of 9, Int of 20, but that is after 20 levels of play and a BUNCH of scars. (Character retired now - old campaign finally stopped)

It is a falicy you need outlandish stats to do a decent job playing this game. It is a synergy of player character classes that makes the group survive. If you play every PFS module by yourself, then perhaps your sample character is correct. However, in the real world I play with at least 3 others - we live or die based upon our combined tactics, abilities and efforts.

Oh, I was just putting it out there as the only way to guarantee your PC's survival. And, even then, it won't. A 1 on a Save or Die will still kill you, even if it would otherwise make the DC of the save.

And, sometimes, it can feel like you are playing an adventure by yourself. I am GMing Shattered Star as a home game, although I will be giving out PFS Chronicles when the sanctioned sections are completed; and I have one player who was thinking about having his PC commit suicide.

Never split the party, if you can avoid it. Sometimes you can't.

Explosive Runes!:

He runs a ninja, and was thinking about entering the shack where they are looking for someone through a chimney, while the rest of the party goes in through the front door. At the other end of the building.

There is a critter in the chimney, along with there being several rooms between the entrance and the room where the chimney opens out, with a variety of traps and critters in between.

So, a CR 1/2 PC versus a CR 2 critter, in an area where the PC has a 20% miss chance, and therefore cannot do sneak attack damage, against a critter that has darkvision, IIRC.

That is IF he sees the critter, it might just let him pass. Right into the boss encounter for this section of the book. On his own.

The lack of any way to handle magical traps has already given the party pause. Maybe his replacement PC would be a real Rogue, with Trapfinding.