So, I'm about to start playing in an E6 campaign focused on exploration for a bit, then city building and possibly mass combat. I'll be one of 2 to 3 players in any given session, and who else is there will likely change from week to week.
The direction we were given for character creation is that our characters should be relatively self sufficient and have the ability to lead. We're limited to Core Rulebook material, and some mundane equipment from Ultimate Equipment with permission. 15 point buy for stats.
Any suggestions for tweaks are much appreciated!
Here's what I've come up with:
Half-Elf Ranger 1
Str 15 (+2) <-- Racial +2 is here
Dex 13 (+1)
Con 12 (+1)
Int 14 (+2)
Wis 12 (+1)
Cha 10 ( 0)
4th level boost goes to Strength.
Favored Enemy: Animals
Feat plan:
Half-Elf: Skill Focus (Heal)
1 Power Attack
2 (Combat Style) Rapid Shot
3 Quick Draw
5 Deadly Aim
6 (Combat Style) Improved Precise Shot*
After that, we have custom E6 feats for each ability score... The first gives me a +2 on ability checks with that stat, the second actually boosts the stat by +2 and stacks with everything. I'm thinking Strength first, then Dexterity later, likely with other feat in between.
* I'm torn here, because I think Manyshot is probably more useful up front, but with magic items, I could potentially eventually pick it up anyway. This is my only chance at Improved Precise Shot.
Skills:
Heal, Perception, Survival, Knowledge (Dungeoneering, Nature, Geography, Nobility), Craft (Weapons, Armor)
Kn. Nobility is mostly for background purposes, and should help a bit with leadership.
Craft skills let me start with better weapons and armor than I could normally afford with my starting 175gp, without sacrificing all of the generic survival gear I want.
After first level, I'll start putting points into Handle Animal, Stealth, and Craft (Bows), with 1 rank dips into Climb and Swim for the class skill bonus.
Gear:
With the joys of crafting, I'm starting out with a Spiked Breastplate, Greatsword, Shortbow (which I'll want to upgrade to a composite longbow when I can), Ranseur, and Club and Heavy Wooden Shield. That'll cover slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning, as well as ranged, two handed, club and board, and grapples. The rest of my starting money was sunk into things like rope, a tent, artisan's tools, etc.
If you are going with half elf, I would presume that you are trying to max perception, and so I would put my skill focus on that rather than Heal, it is way more useful, especially at lvl 1, having +5 on Perception is really good for a ranger.
Is there a reason you are buying in such a high INT? seems like a waste of resources given that it's 15 point buy, and that should really go towards WIS anyway since WIS affects your most important skills (Perception and Survival) and it determines your spellcasting. I would also try and get STR and DEX to 14.
Manyshot is a much better feat than Improved Precise Shot, especially for a switch hitter. Even Precise Shot is better for you than Improved.
Stealth is one of those skills that you should either max or leave it alone, I think you should max it.
When it comes to gear, I wouldn't worry too much on spending so many resources (and carrying capacity) on lugging around weapons of every damage type, since DR isn't going to show up until around lvl 5 or 6 anyway if it shows up at all.
Half-elf was mainly for low light vision and to play something other than a human for a change, to be honest. Focusing a bit more on Perception isn't a bad idea, though.
I'm buying high Int mostly because I'm a bit of a sucker for large amounts of skills... If I were going Human, I'd definitely drop it to 12, but that still wouldn't be enough to get both Strength and Dexterity to 14 without having to bump Charisma down a bit. As a nifty side effect, it lets me get my Craft Armor bonus high enough to actually make a Breastplate to start with.
Wisdom's also a bit odd... It's an E6 game, so I'll only ever have access to 1st level spells, so there's not much benefit there for having more than 12 Wisdom -- it'll let me cast them and give me the bonus spell slot. I'll have to think about this a bit more...
I think you're right about Manyshot... I'll most likely take that when it comes time.
Thanks for the suggestions!
lower your charisma to 7. boost your CON. LOwer your INT to 10 or 12, at most, and increase WIS to 13 or 14. Should be good to go.