I have been kicking around a concept for a while to make feinting viable. What I came up with is a little unconventional as it does not really need any of your standard feinting feats. Not exactly sure how to bring it together though, so any help is appreciated.
Basic ingredients: valet familiar, feint partner
Now this is really all you need, but isn't not very effective. Most base familiars don't threaten--do you need to threaten to feint?. They also have horrible charisma scores. But I suppose a monkey on your shoulder with a tiny longspear would work.
But if we build on this with a raktavarna familiar, things get interesting. So this would need improved familiar to work.
Picture the rogue advancing with a rapier in one hand and a jeweled dagger in the other. "Wait! That dagger is a demonic snake! You fooled me, Mr. rogue. By all means, stab away."
Horrible humor aside, this will get you one sneak attack per round but will allow you to full attack since the familiar is spending the action to feint, not you. Add in improved feint partner and you can do it on an AoO.
I am assuming this is possible when the raktavarna changes shape into a 'living object' although I am not quite sure what that means. Feinting can mean just about anything, so it should be able to do this.
But one sneak attack per round isn't all that exciting. If you add in improved feint partner and paired opportunists, now you might have something. Your attack routine would be for the familiar to feint, you sneak attack on an AoO, you feint as a standard provoking for the familiar and then taking another AoO (via paired opportunists) for another sneak attack.
To be on the safe side, I guess you'd have to add in evolved familiar so the familiar actually threatened. I'd assume you holding it wouldn't be enough. But what would that be for? Evolved familiar: point end of dagger? Here is where I am looking for some input on whether you need this or how it would work.
From here, we can add on whatever we like, but more teamwork feats would be fun: pack attack, seize the moment, team pickpocketing--though you'd need a free hand, etc.
From what I have found, vivisectionist does this the easiest (vestigial arm for team pickpocketing!), but can be done with eldritch heritage on a rogue of your liking. Carnivalist rogue and/or a dip in beast bond witch would make the improved feint/greater feint feats worth it and allow full round action sneak attacks, but I think you'd also need some fighter (lore warden) to take all of those feats and I am not sure the payoff is that great.
Excellent RP potential here as well, I think. The raktavarna are cool familiars anyway. The detect thoughts and shared senses are just gravy. You could even flavor it so the character thought it was just an intelligent weapon or something.
Any thoughts or input appreciated.
I love it, but am still new, so I have little to contribute on the rule level of it, or usefulness. But I just came up with the idea to have my talking raven distract the opponent for me to sneak attack - so I'm glad someone else wanted to use a familiar for a feint.
|
As to the question do you need to threaten to feint, I believe the answer to that is yes since it does provoke an Attack of Opportunity, but I can not find it in the rules specifically so this would be something to address with your GM.
Feint's main weakness though is what it can be used on. Anything animal intelligence or lower is not able to be feinted, which could be a lot of encounters depending on the campaign.
This might be easier to pull off with a Cavalier, using the Tactician ability to give feint partner to all allies.