I threw this build concept together after a recent message board topic on a couple tripping feats... anyway, since I was doing lots of looking up all things tripping, I noticed you could do something kind of cool if you pulled a bunch together in a single character.
So, how's it look?
This build is an area lockdown build. Designed to control a large swath of the battlefield. At lower levels it is primarily just ranged attacker. But this builds up into unparalleled area dominance by max level.
A list of (optimal) stats for this build at lvl 1 with 20 point buy, all advancement goes to dex. Much can be changed to taste. Primary stat is Dex. Lots of it.
Str 14
Dex 19 (17+2)
Con 14
Int 13
Wis 8
Cha 7
Be a Human. Humans are awesome. They start with two feats. You need lots of those.
Level 1 Divine Hunter Paladin (of Erastil). (Be a good guy for a little while, then fall from grace… but hey, you get to keep the feat at least)
Level 2-4 Zen Archer Monk (Still dedicated to the way of the bow with religious fervor)
Level 5+ Archer Fighter (Screw it, papa needs a paycheck, be whatever alignment you wanna be… congratulations, you are now Erastil’s Fallen)
(A truly optimized version has 2 levels of ZA followed by all Archer… but this version is cooler, imo, thematically)
Feats:
1) Divine Hunter will give you Precise Shot
2) Zen Archer gives you Improved Unarmed Strike, A bonus feat (point blank shot), and perfect strike
3) Zen Archer gives ya Weapon Focus, A bonus feat (rapid shot)
4) Zen Archer gives ya Point Blank Master
5) Archer gives a ton of bonus feats (9 total by lvl 20)
Between those feats, an extra for human, the bonus feats from archer, and your normal feats for advancement… we get 19 to choose. It is a good thing we have a lot to pick up… or we might get lost with all the options!
Mandatory for build (in no particular order):
1) Dodge
2) Mobility
3) Combat Patrol
4) Combat Reflexes
5) Combat Expertise
6) Improved Trip
7) Greater Trip
8) Ki Throw
9) Vicious Stomp
10) Snap Shot
11) Improved Snap Shot
12) Pin Down
13) Fury's Fall
Extra that help (in no particular order):
1) Clustered Shots
2) Deadly Aim
3) Weapon Specialization
4) Greater Snap Shot
5) Greater Weapon Focus
6) Disruptive
7) Spellbreaker
8) Teleport Tactician
9) Disruptive Shot
10) Improved Disarm
11) Greater Disarm
12) Improved Precise Shot
13) Other Archery Stuff etc.
How does this all play out? Well, my friend… Whatcha do is you run out into the battlefield and find yourself a nice spot. By the time ya get Imp Snapshot you’ll have 15’ threatened area, and can already lay the smack down. After you get it, as a full round action you declare yourself one of them there Combat Patrols. So, now you threaten 25 or 30’. Yeah that’s right. That is how far out you ‘threaten’ with your bow.
From Archer Archetype, you’ve been picking up these handy Ranged Tricks, they let you perform certain combat maneuvers from 30’ and with your bow. Good thing too, because now you threaten that far out with your bow. Coincidences are fun. As soon as possible, pick up that Ranged Trip Trick.
And then… you guessed it, OWN the map. If someone within 30’ of you moves, trip em. And fire off a followup free shot. And now here comes the ‘real’ fun part.
If you want to, you can instead move up to the enemy, combat patrol allows you to move up to your speed while making your AoOs as part of your AoOs. Then make an unarmed strike trip attempt, and if successful, you get to place the hapless fool into ‘any other square you threaten’. YUP. Launch him across the map to the opposite side of your threatened are, put him off a cliff, toss him in between a pair of waiting allies, you name it. Plus, with Greater Trip and Vicious Stomp, you get to shoot him and kick im when he’s on the ground. Yep, 1 trip = two AoOs for you.
Oh, but they can make 5’ steps or withdrawal without triggering an AoO you say? Not since you took that handy Pin Down feat… they do, and you can keep them from going, well, anywhere.
Spellcasters causing you issues? Pick up those Disruptive, Spellbreaker, Teleport Tactician, and Disruptive shot feats to totally wreak havoc on enemy caster’s game. Disruptive makes it harder for them to cast defensively, which they'll be trying to do since you threaten from such a distance... and with Spellbreaker, if/when they fail, you get another free shot on em.
Feel your damage isn’t up to speed? Pick up the standard archery feats instead. Like to trip ‘and’ disarm? Go with those feats too. You got a couple (7) to spare for that extras list.