Starting on Sundays one of our main players is going to be running his own campaign, in his own setting. The only thing I've heard about it is "you're going to die." So I'm thinking I need to optimize for it a little bit. All races and variants (and I mean all variants) are open season; 25 point buy; start at lvl 5; 10,000gp towards anything. For the other games going with the same group I already have an Elf Wizard (blaster/buffer/utility/battlefield controller, I call him wizard) and a Human Ranger (switch-hitter/ scout/ utility and skills), so I would like to avoid characters with those roles. Here is the character I am considering:
Number 1 choice: Aasimar Paladin
STR 16
DEX 12
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 7
CHA 15
Racial +2 WIS/CHA (9/17 respectively)
Alt. SLA +2 STR (18)
lvl 4 +1 CHA (18)
The DM is lenient and will most likely allow me to take two alt. SLA's, considering either another stat bonus (INT or CON) or wings and a natural fly speed 20 with poor maneuverability. The +4 to Intimidate is also tempting.
Character traits are going to be Extremely Fashionable (choosing Intimidate as a class skill) and Eyes and Ears of the City.
Background story is something along the lines of being born into nobility, trained religiously and being a sworn protector of goodness, and spent time being trained to be a town guard, but took the path of the paladin instead. Not sure if I want to take an oath, if I did I would go with either Vengeance or Wyrm, I like wyrm the best for the spell selection and in case my fellow players trend toward chaotic means I can say something like: "look man, you're not a dragon, so I won't like, smite you or anything; but that sh*t ain't cool." If I take the feats to get wings, or if the DM lets me start with them then vengeance becomes a lot more appealing, but less workable in game role-playing wise.
Aasimar Paladin 5
LG medium outsider(native), humanoid(human)
Init +1; SENSES Darkvision 60 ft; Perception +10
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DEFENSE
AC 20; touch 11; flat-footed 19 (+1 DEX, +9 armor)
HP TBD
Fort +10, Refl +6, Will, +7
Defensive Abilities: Divine Grace, Divine Health, Celestial Resistance 5 (acid, cold, electricity)
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OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
melee +10 masterwork greatsword (2d6+6)
or
melee +10 masterwork falchion (2d4+6)
Special: Smite Evil 2/day (+4 attack/ +5 damage/ +4 deflection to AC); Divine Weapon +1
Spells Prepared: Shield of Faith; Divine Favor
SLAs: At Will Detect Evil (CL 5th; concentration +9)
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STATISTICS
STR 18, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 9, CHA 18
Base ATK +5; CMB +9; CMD 20
Feats: Power Attack; Antagonize; Unsanctioned Knowledge (Shield of Faith, Blur/Aid, Haste, Divine Power)
Skills: Diplomacy +15, Intimidate +13, Perception +10
leaving last 5 skill ranks open in case I need to put them into Fly, otherwise assume Knowledge(Religion), Heal, Sense Motive, and/or Spellcraft.
SQ: Scion of Humanity, Skilled (+2 Diplomacy, Perception), Channel Positive Energy 3d6 (DC 16), Lay on Hands 2d6 (Mercy: fatigued) 6/day
Languages: Common, Celestial, Elven
Traits: Extremely Fashionable, Eyes and Ears of the City
Combat Gear: masterwork greatsword/ masterwork falchion, masterwork full plate
Other Gear: Paladin's Kit (backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, cheap holy
text, flint and steel, iron pot, mess kit, rope, soap, torches
(10), trail rations (5 days), waterskin, wooden holy symbol); Handy Haversack, 6039 gp.
Not sure what all to spend the gp on, considering a belt of CON, headband of CHA, or magic armor. Saving up for mithral armor is also appealing to me.
Number 2 choice: Human?(muse touced aasimar?) Archaeologist Bard
Number 3 choice: NON dervish Magus (less tempted to play this because we have another guy who makes it his job to always be a magus, and I help him out with all his builds so I kinda feel like I have already played it)
Any criticisms or advice for me? Anyone got a really good archaeologist build or advice on one?
Play an anti- magus. A dawnflower dervish. Tell everyone that you are a magus and surprise them a bit.
Got a build, or a simple skeleton for it?
Phone... Dying... Can't... Post now...
*phone dies*
Got a build, or a simple skeleton for it?
First of all, THANK YOU for putting the parameters in the first post.
Muse-touched Aasimar Dawnflower Dervish Bard 5
Performances (move action, 12+cha rounds): Countersong, Distraction, Fascinate (2 creatures, DC), Inspire Courage +4 (self only), Inspire Competence +2, Well-versed, Versatile Performance (Sing to Bluff and Sense Motive)
Traits: Savant (+2 perform sing), Strength of the sun (+1 cha checks all day).
Str 8, Dex 18+2, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 16+2. Skills: Diplomacy +14, perform Dance +14, perform sing +16 (Bluff +16, Sense Motive +16), 15 skill point unspent.
Feats (face man): Persuasive (another +2 intimidate and diplomacy), Rhetorical Flourish, TBD
Feats (face beater): Arcane Strike, Harmonic Spell....WF:Scimitar?
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If you want/need a vicious amount of power, you could do worse than being a Master Summoner. You could also give the Gravewalker Witch a shot, especially since you're avoiding the whole "1st-level and no Hexes I have no choice but to take an Extra Hex feat" thing, and you can set right in and zap people from a distance with touch attack spells and Hexes through your Spell Poppet.
Another idea I have off the top of my head: Half-Elf Summoner (normal) 4/Gunslinger (Mysterious Stranger) 1. BE SURE to take mending as one of your Cantrips. Spend your feats on the normal Gunslinger stuff, take Toughness or Extra Evolution if/when you can spare it, perhaps replace the Adaptability racial ability (bonus Skill Focus) with Dual-Minded (+2 to Will saves). I'd suggest the following stats (racial bonus and 4th-level increase already included):
STR: 10
DEX: 16
CON: 10
INT: 14
WIS: 7
CHA: 20
Okay, I like this idea, I like it a lot.
Muse-touched Aasimar (because why not?) Dervish Bard of Dawn
STR 7
DEX 17
CON 14
INT 11
WIS 10
CHA 16
Racial Modifiers +2 DEX/CHA (19, 18, respectively)
Alt. SLA +2 DEX (21), If allowed, another +2 to DEX or CHA
lvl 4 +1 DEX (22)
Aasimar Bard 5
CG medium outsider (native)
Init +6; Senses: Darkvision 60ft.; Perception +8
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DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+6 DEX, +4 armor)
HP TBD
Fort +3, Refl +10, Will +4
Celestial Resistance 5(acid, cold, electricity)
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OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
melee +10 masterwork scimitar (d6+6/18-20)
ranged +10 masterwork crossbow (d10/19-20)
Special: Bardic Performance adds +4 attack/damage while in effect.
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SPELLS
Per Day: 1st level: 4+1; 2nd level: 2+1
Spells Known:
Cantrips(6): detect magic, ghost sound, open/close, message, prestidigitation, summon instrument
Level 1(4):cure light wounds, silent image, expeditious retreat, identify
Level 2(3):blur, cure moderate wounds, heroism
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STATISTICS
STR 7, DEX 22, CON 14, INT 11, WIS 10, CHA 18
Base Atk +3, CMB +1, CMD 17
Feats: Weapon Finesse; Dervish Dance; Pirhana Strike (house ruled to work with scimitar); Extra Performance
Skills: Knowledge (Local) +8,Perform(Dance) +16, Perform (Oratory) +14(+16 if used as Diplomacy), Perception +8, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device +12
Traits: maestro of the society, savant (dance)
SQ: Cantrips; Battle Dance 25 rounds/day(Inspire Courage +4, Inspire Competence +4); Spinning Spellcaster; Versatile Performance
Combat Gear: masterwork scimitar; mithral chain shirt
Other Gear: bard's kit (backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, common
musical instrument, flint and steel, ink, inkpen, iron pot, journal, mess kit, mirror, rope, soap, torches (10), trail
rations (5 days), waterskin); handy haversack; 6544gp.
The character is most likely a female, though, it seems like I could find something better than extra performance at lvl 5. It has some sick damage output though, and STR is a dump stat, which makes it even funnier.
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I love paladins and have been playing them since 2e. The only true problem with a paladin is the DM. Most DMs have the view that it is there job to make the paladin player fall, if ur DM is like this dont play a paladin because u will be forced into a the no win situation. So make sure b4 playign a paladin that ur DM is not a f-tard.
Concerning the paladin's stats posted above i strongly advise not dumping wis since that is ur will save and casting stat. A better set up would be Str: 16, Dex: 07, Con: 10, Int: 10, Wis: 12, Cha: 18. Normal Aasimar will bump ur Wis to 14 and ur Cha to 20. I also strongly advise with this build u get a single level of Oracle with the Nature mystery and Legalistic curse. The curse should fit with the paladin code of conduct just be choosey with ur words. The mystery is for Nature's Whispers ability to add your Charisma modifier, instead of your Dexterity modifier, to your Armor Class and CMD. Also 1st feat with this should also be Noble Scion: Scion of War to use your Charisma modifier, instead of your Dexterity modifier, for initiative.
@Psion-Psycho: Pathfinder Paladins use Charisma as their casting stat, so your build could have a slightly lower Wis and slightly higher Dex, Con, or Int if desired.
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@Psion-Psycho: Pathfinder Paladins use Charisma as their casting stat, so your build could have a slightly lower Wis and slightly higher Dex, Con, or Int if desired.
Ur absolutely right for some odd reason i keep on thinking its wis. Dont really know why lol. O well i still advise though not to dump wis under 10 since its a major save stat.
Feats: Weapon Finesse; Dervish Dance; Pirhana Strike (house ruled to work with scimitar); Extra Performance
Weapon Finesse is a wasted feat. Dervish Dance: When wielding a scimitar with one hand, you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls.
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Feats: Weapon Finesse; Dervish Dance; Pirhana Strike (house ruled to work with scimitar); Extra PerformanceWeapon Finesse is a wasted feat. Dervish Dance: When wielding a scimitar with one hand, you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls.
Weapon Finesse is a prerequisite for Dervish Dance.
Weapon Finesse is a prerequisite for Dervish Dance.
Weapon Finesse is a wasted feat. Dervish Dance: When wielding a scimitar with one hand, you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls.
Your point being?
The suggestion on the table is Dawnflower Dervish, who gets Dervish Dance as a bonus feat at level 1.
Feats: Weapon Finesse; Dervish Dance; Pirhana Strike (house ruled to work with scimitar); Extra PerformanceWeapon Finesse is a wasted feat. Dervish Dance: When wielding a scimitar with one hand, you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls.
Good call, more free feats!!!! I still don't know what to do....
O well i still advise though not to dump wis under 10 since its a major save stat.
Will being a good save and Divine Grace mean I still have a better save than most characters, it equates to me having a +3 WIS mod, even though I actually have a -1. It's one of the reasons why paladins are so good is because they can dump WIS and still have Will saves that are just as good as anyone else.
If the dm said 'you are going to die' i probably wouldnt go paladin. They have way too much vulnerability in the form of plot and world to the dm. If I am expecting a confrontational game, leaving the entirety of my character's powers at the mercy of dm interpretation of the paladin code seems like a bad idea.
If you have extra feats, either improved init or put them into boosting your weak saves. Iron Will or Great Fortitude.
If the dm said 'you are going to die' i probably wouldnt go paladin. They have way too much vulnerability in the form of plot and world to the dm. If I am expecting a confrontational game, leaving the entirety of my character's powers at the mercy of dm interpretation of the paladin code seems like a bad idea.
Plot isn't really what I am worried about, knowing this DM, I can expect it to be almost all combat based.
Angel blooded Aasimar +2str/cha if a paladin. And keep the alter self SLA instead of the +2 to Str alt... you never know when several minutes of scent, water breathing, the ability to glide, etc. will be useful.
It was a toss-up for me honestly. I picked the regular kind simply because this particular group abuses perception to no end, and getting a bump on WIS to keep it from going too far negative and a racial bonus to it makes it a positive modifier, it's also why I chose eyes and ears of the city. Angelkin are a solid race tho, I had one in an online game I was playing in, it was great. And I just realized that I can nab Alter Self as a 2nd level Bard spell with Unsanctioned Knowledge.
Sounds like you got some good dervish bard advice. I always refer to them as anti-magus for fun.
Sounds like you got some good dervish bard advice. I always refer to them as anti-magus for fun.
Yeah it was a good call, even if I don't play it this time I'm saving the build. As a bard I can cast alter self, become small, and increase all of my combat stats by 2 and it will still stack with cats grace/belt of dex and hate. Gonna need me some celestial armor though.
Does anyone know the specific rules for carrying (not welding) a two handed weapon in one hand for lets say... half a standard action. I've been tossing around the idea of a medium to heavy armor magus who un grips a great sword for spell combat (free action) for spell combat, then re grips it to attack, takes power attack, and destroys all the things. If I can't do it with a great sword, I'm pretty sure it's 100% legal with a bastard sword, even though for the action where I'm casting I would technically be taking the regular penalties for non proficiency, but that gets mitigated as soon as I'm re gripping the sword as another free action. Only thing I could find on it was a section saying the DM should only let you un grip and re grip both once per round, but it makes a magus pretty close to broken. Another thing is this group, after having me ask how it would be ruled, is willing to let a magus cast 2 spells with spell combat under haste and still get one attack. Quicken Spell be damned!
UPDATE:
got the build done, playing the paladin, going oathbound agaisnt the wyrm, specifically for Bear's Endurance access, to allow for more HPs, Fly and Stoneskin are also nice.
DM wouldn't let me do angelkin, but he did let me to regular aasimar with +2 STR instead of daylight (yay! I don't know how that works out for him....). He also let us pick one trait, then he had us roll a random trait of his so our backgrounds would all be similar enough for the campaign, I got extremely fashionable and a trait called encyclopedic knowledge which gives me a +2 to identify properties of certain enemies (I picked dragons, naturally).
Constantine
Aasimar Paladin 5
LG medium outsider(native), humanoid(human)
Init +1;
SENSES Darkvision 60 ft; Perception +6
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DEFENSE
AC 20; touch 11; flat-footed 19 (+1 DEX, +9 armor)
HP 65
Fort +10, Refl +6, Will, +7
Defensive Abilities: Divine Grace, Divine Health, Celestial Resistance 5 (acid, cold, electricity)
Aura of Good 10 ft.
Aura of Courage 10 ft. (+4 to saves against fear)
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OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
melee +10 +1 masterwork greatsword (2d6+7)
Special: Smite Evil 2/day (+4 attack/ +5 damage/ +4 deflection to AC); Divine Weapon +1 (either keen or dragonbane)
Spells Prepared: Shield of Faith; Divine Favor; Enlarge Person
SLAs: At Will Detect Evil (CL 5th; concentration +9)
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STATISTICS
STR 18, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 9, CHA 20
Base ATK +5; CMB +9; CMD 20
Feats: Power Attack; Antagonize; Unsanctioned Knowledge (Shield of Faith, Blur, Haste, Divine Power)
Skills: Diplomacy +16, Intimidate +14, Perception +6, Knowledge(Religion) +6, Knowledge (Nobility) +6, Heal +3, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +6
SQ: Scion of Humanity, Skilled (+2 Diplomacy, Perception), Lay on Hands 2d6 (Mercy: fatigued) 7/day, Evasion (Breath Weapons)
Languages: Common, Celestial, Elven
Traits: Extremely Fashionable, Encyclopedic Knowledge (Dragons)
Combat Gear: +1 masterwork greatsword, masterwork full plate
Other Gear: Paladin's Kit (backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, cheap holy text, flint and steel, iron pot, mess kit, rope, soap, torches (10), trail rations (23 days), waterskin, wooden holy symbol); Handy Haversack, Wand of Cure Light Wounds (50 charges), Headband of Alluring Charisma (+2), 1400 gp.
He gave me 200 bonus XP and GP if I named my character Constantine. Is there any gear I am missing?
If the dm said 'you are going to die' i probably wouldnt go paladin. They have way too much vulnerability in the form of plot and world to the dm. If I am expecting a confrontational game, leaving the entirety of my character's powers at the mercy of dm interpretation of the paladin code seems like a bad idea.
Then you couldn't play a cleric either. Just because the paladin's code is spelled out doesn't mean that it is the only class with a code. If you break Desna's rules as a cleric, you can lose your abilities too. And clerics suck even more than pallies if they lose their abilities.
And if you're worried that your DM is really a stickler, you couldn't play Barbarian, Druid, Inquisitor, or Oracle either, as you could arguably break alignment restrictions or class restrictions by acting in a certain way.
@OP: glad to see you went Paladin. If you think the GM is going to be Gygaxian (lots of traps, etc.), then I would suggest spending the gold to get a Cloak of Resistance +1. In addition, a half-charged wand of lesser restoration could come in handy, assuming your DM lets you buy a less than fully charged wand. Good luck!
Considering a partial rebuild, just swapping Antagonize for Cosmopolitan, specifically so I can nab Perception as a class skill, for flavor I also grabbed Knowledge (Arcana) specifically because I can identify dragons and know things about them even more now, and with class bonuses on it. May grab antagonize later on, but I really wanna watch what I waste my standard actions on, especially in a combat heavy game where I have to be conscious of what's going on.
The DM is actually really excited to see me play a paladin, this group has actually never seen one played, and it's my favorite class.
Lesser Restoration is never a bad thing to have, good call. Cloak of Resistance is on my back burner of priorities mainly because higher CHA does the same thing for me, and boosts my other abilities.