Hi everyone,
I'm currently DM in Carrion Crown with 3 PCs (first PF game for them). They are all mechanically unoptimized but one stands out in particular:
He's a Fighter who wanted skill points and social skills. So his stat array (20 Point buy) is:
Str: 12
Dex: 16 (+2 Human)
Con: 12
Int: 14
Wis: 11
Cha: 14
He is playing a two weapon fighter (rapier+short sword) opting to become a duelist at level 6. Even though they are resourceful players who have quite some experience at role playing and the APs do not have the need for powergaming to beat them, I fear he might end up being too underpowered.
My first suggestion is to go wis 10, str 13 for power attack.
Second thought: Maybe going free hand fighter with feint (one party member is a rogue), disarm and later precise strike would work better in the long run? I have almost zero experience with the effectiveness of such builds so help would be appreciated.
We play with CRB+APG only.
Thanks in advance!
Tell him to play a Ranger with the TWF Combat Style instead? More skill points means he needs less Int, free TWF Feats means he can have more Str for damage instead of Dex, and he can shift his Int/Cha points into Con/Wis, while making sure he doesn't get penalties to them.
If he still wants to go Duelist, tell him to check out Lore Warden maybe, but still drop his Cha/Int for a bit more Str or Dex at the very least.
Also, remember that a party with only 3 members is considered to have an APL one lower than a 4 or 5 member party. Where the book says the characters need to be 3rd level, they need to be 4th.
Ranger might be more helpful but is this player having fun or are you trying to make him play what you would want?
While this might seem like horrible advice and not what you're looking for here is mine; it would be best, in my opinion, to let him play as he sees fit. Try not to fix his character before an actual problem arises.
If he ends up being under-powered and needs help, come to us then and we'll do what we can to help.
I generally agree with you but since we are not playing for too long it would be less immersion breaking for him to do changes now (he could even do so with retraining at level 4). Since he is new to the game I do not wish to let him stumble into a mechanically useless (in combat) character at mid levels.
I would never change his character but I would tell him he might run into problems and ask him if he could identify his character with some small changes.Also, remember that a party with only 3 members is considered to have an APL one lower than a 4 or 5 member party. Where the book says the characters need to be 3rd level, they need to be 4th.
Yes, I'm already a little generous with xp rewards. I did not do the math: Will 3 players end up a level higher because the xp is divided by a lower number? Or do I have to give constant xp boosts?
Tell him to play a Ranger with the TWF Combat Style instead? More skill points means he needs less Int, free TWF Feats means he can have more Str for damage instead of Dex, and he can shift his Int/Cha points into Con/Wis, while making sure he doesn't get penalties to them.
If he still wants to go Duelist, tell him to check out Lore Warden maybe, but still drop his Cha/Int for a bit more Str or Dex at the very least.
I already advertised the Ranger for what he wanted but he did not like the concept. He wanted a fighter/duelist. Being a smart/charismatic character is part of his concept. Lore Warden is not CRB/APG ;)
The Duelist already helps a little mechanically, I just thought that going TWF is a little too much. Do you think a Free Hand Fighter would work better (I know, it won't be powerful but good enough for Carrion Crown)?
Ranger might be more helpful but is this player having fun or are you trying to make him play what you would want?
He is having fun. But there already was a situation were he had to resort to help another due to low damage output. It was quite clear he was ok with it but not particularly thrilled either. I just want him to be aware that this might happen again and present an alternative. The Free Hand Fighter thing is not that much off in flavor, but I wanted to hear some opinions about the mechanics from people here first :)
So do you think it would work a little better?