Hey guys,
I'm going to run a table in april and one of my players is having difficulty motivating herself to make a character. Player is limited in experience in Pathfinder, and feels like the rules are too binding (our other GM is a rules Lawyer).
Aside from that, her last character was a half elf Summoner/Arcane Archer and did almost no damage against creatures with damage reduction. She wants to wreck house and doesn't want to play a fighter.
I was thinking magus kensai, but I'm not sure. I've never been a power gamer, in fact as a player I prefer playing roll three six times and keep the stats in the order they land.
Assistance?
Wrecking House = Barbarian, right?
If she want to do damage, a regular magi (with the usual shocking grasp/spellstrike combo) can do it, in limited quantities. When you say she doesnt want a fighter, do you mean she doesnt want a "martial"? Because barbarians can wreck house, so can paladins (smite evil goes through DR). I'm also fond of samurai, and while they dont fit in every setting they can always be re-fluffed. You can also consider the playtest "bloodrager" class, that weaves magic & rage. I'm also a growing fan of the inquistor, an exceedingly flexible class with fun abilities.
However, roll 3 six times & keep stats where they lay is exceedingly punishing for anyone who want to make a character. Your idea (of a character) can be completely destroyed by the fact that you roll wrong (or worse, roll under 10, which is expected). That's why I stick to point buy, because it allows me to make my character, that is built as I want it. Maybe more input on why she finds it restrictive? I find pathfinder extremely flexible, so maybe some rules (like 3d6 for stats) may be what she finds binding.
As an example build: The dancing paladin (paladin of sarenrae)
Race: whaterver you want, but boost dex & cha (halfling fits)
Stats (15 pts)
Str: 12 Dex: 15 Con: 14 Int: 8 Wis: 10 Cha :14
Feats:
1 Weapon Finesse
2
3 Dervish dance
After, whatever you want... This allows you to have a paladin that does damage by shaking it's butt around. Combined with smite evil, you wont do as much damage as a str-paladin, but you'll do a lot, go through DR and have a creative character (this is how I make halfling paladins).
|
She wants to wreck houses? Divine Hunter Paladin, archer paladin ftw but well she might consider paladin to be a little too much like fighters.
If that's the case...just let her have fun with a crossblooded Sorcerer, it's simple and efficient if you just want to blast all day without worrying about a thing.
A magus has good flexibility, and the arcana are good enough to customize the character. Anyway, if she's still interested in ranged pc, I suggest the myrmidarch archetype. Talk with her, and ask her to explain with free words what type of character she'd like to play. And for the sake of God, let your players roll an array and put the rolls wherever they want.
There are lots of ways to 'wreck house' a barbarian with a big 2handed weapon is an easy way. If she doesnt want to play a pure martial character, you can bring her back to summoner, and just haver her make a synthesist that doesnt for some odd reason focus on archery. Eidolons wreck house rather well.
Druids are also a good choice, particularly with the right animal companion (hint it should have pounce). Then her friend can wreck house, and she can wild shape and also wreck house, very satisfying. There wont be a housed person in 100 miles.
Hey guys,
I'm going to run a table in april and one of my players is having difficulty motivating herself to make a character. Player is limited in experience in Pathfinder, and feels like the rules are too binding (our other GM is a rules Lawyer).
Aside from that, her last character was a half elf Summoner/Arcane Archer and did almost no damage against creatures with damage reduction. She wants to wreck house and doesn't want to play a fighter.
I was thinking magus kensai, but I'm not sure. I've never been a power gamer, in fact as a player I prefer playing roll three six times and keep the stats in the order they land.Assistance?
Druid with 16 strength and 16 wisdom and an animal companion. (Example: Human/Half-X, 16str 10dex 14con 10int 16wis 10cha)
Wildshape + animal companion + summons + blasting spells.
She'll be able to do damage and she'll be able to choose which way she wants to do damage.
Druid is a great class for learning the game.
Hey guys,
I'm going to run a table in april and one of my players is having difficulty motivating herself to make a character. Player is limited in experience in Pathfinder, and feels like the rules are too binding (our other GM is a rules Lawyer).
Aside from that, her last character was a half elf Summoner/Arcane Archer and did almost no damage against creatures with damage reduction. She wants to wreck house and doesn't want to play a fighter.
I was thinking magus kensai, but I'm not sure. I've never been a power gamer, in fact as a player I prefer playing roll three six times and keep the stats in the order they land.Assistance?
Druid with 16 strength and 16 wisdom and an animal companion. (Example: Human/Half-X, 16str 10dex 14con 10int 16wis 10cha)
Wildshape + animal companion + summons + blasting spells.
She'll be able to do damage and she'll be able to choose which way she wants to do damage.
Druid is a great class for learning the game.
Dinosaur druid, a trex can't fit inside most houses so it would wreck it trying to get in... That and it would be cool to ride a trex around
Try something a little creative...
A gunslinger from the modern world (no gunsmithing but gets dex bonus to damage at 1st level) than have her multiclass to core-paladin.
Good damage from the get-go at range and when she starts smiting she will ignore DR.
The complete break from typical character creation (actually making a character from the here and now) and giving RP possibilities such as the party trying to communicate with her til she picks up common (or, like in many shows have everyone speak English anyways...) may make her feel less restricted by the rules.
Just a thought.
Note: I think magus might not be a good idea as the spell-strike and other concepts seem to be a lot of rules and things to keep track of which might not go over well with someone already not happy with the rules being too binding. Same with mixing spellcasters and animal companions, it might be too much for her to want to keep track of rules wise.
Question: how much and what type of RP experience does she have outside PF?
I should clarify, party wants to do roll four drop lowest put stats where you want which is what we are going to do. When I am a player I usually like to play underpowered.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I should clarify, party wants to do roll four drop lowest put stats where you want which is what we are going to do. When I am a player I usually like to play underpowered.
Rolling stats is a great way to assure that there is inter-party balance issues.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I should clarify, party wants to do roll four drop lowest put stats where you want which is what we are going to do. When I am a player I usually like to play underpowered.Rolling stats is a great way to assure that there is inter-party balance issues.
This only creates issues for players who make an issue of it.
You can balance out "rolled characters" using the Hero Point system and just have different thresholds for what "counts" for earning a point. Have them roll their stats, then calculate what equivalent point buy would get them those stats and that gives you a referential value to start. If someone ended up rolling the equivalent of a 31 point buy, it takes a lot to show off their heroics. "Oh... you killed only 5 of the 7 orcs solo... next time, give it your A game." Meanwhile, the poor putz who got the equivalent of a point buy of -2 earns a point for successfully surviving breakfast.
What if you survive second lunch and third lunch or fourth dinner
|
Rolling 4d6 drop lowest has, in my experience, produced more balanced characters as a whole.
me and my group always do roll 7 sets of 4d6, reroll all rolls of ones per roll and drop the lowest total.
avg. party scores are almost always 14-16 pre race traits. (every now and then someone gets trip 6s but eh.)
|
|
You can balance out "rolled characters" using the Hero Point system and just have different thresholds for what "counts" for earning a point. Have them roll their stats, then calculate what equivalent point buy would get them those stats and that gives you a referential value to start. If someone ended up rolling the equivalent of a 31 point buy, it takes a lot to show off their heroics. "Oh... you killed only 5 of the 7 orcs solo... next time, give it your A game." Meanwhile, the poor putz who got the equivalent of a point buy of -2 earns a point for successfully surviving breakfast.What if you survive second lunch and third lunch or fourth dinner
or what about second breakfast? tea time?
|
|
Rolling dice just seems so ancient nowadays...besides then Im relying on luck to give me a good concept. When instead I could just pointbuy the character the way i want to play it....
A lot of DMs like the roll of teh dice trick to minimize min/maxing. whether you normally do that or not its one of those things. I am guitly of it every now and then myself :P. in PFS I see at least 1 character with 7s in 2 stats and 17+ in another two XD.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Just have everyone start off with straight 18s
Reading this thread makes me hungry, lol.
The simplest and most effective martial is a barbarian wielding an earthbreaker or falchion in both hands. Power attack is a must-have level 1 feat. High chances of hitting, high static damage modifiers, and okay weapon rolls.
Paladin is another good choice. She'll be okay to good against most things and fantastic against evil creatures. Smite Evil negates DR. It's also very easy to build a high AC character with a paladin, though this reduces damage potential. My major concern with the Paladin option is the alignment restriction. The player may feel restricted in terms of role play depending on the group's view of the Paladin code. Since you're the GM of this game, you'd have the most control of it, but other players may (or may not) chime in with "helpful advice" on how to play a Lawful Good character. The player could wind up feeling the exact same frustration from a different angle.
Magus can do fantastic damage in any one encounter, but has to use up most of his resources to do it. This is the key option if she wants to own whatever encounter she wants but doesn't mind conserving herself otherwise. Note that a magus has debuffer option that doesn't sacrifice much specialization in damage. There's a level 1 frozen touch spell that I can't remember the name of.
Synthesist summoner is a very easy class to play (possibly too easy- pounce, bash, repeat) but a very complex class to build. So long as you as the GM are willing to help her build a character as she levels up, it's a valid option.
Marthkus's druid suggestion would be the most versatile, powerful character at all levels. It's by far the best generalist option. It would be my first recommendation except for the system mastery involved. She will finish the campaign with an excellent understanding of the system rules. My only caution is that you're essentially throwing her into the deep end in order to accomplish that. If her personality is one that enjoys complexity and thrives under adversity, it's the perfect option.
If she wants to deal a bunch of damage but doesn't want to be a martial, I'd go Alchemist. Good DPR, okay support casting, and (while not the simplest class ever) not so complex as to be overwhelming.
Blaster sorcerer is a good alternative as well, though she'll need help to minmax. That puts you as the GM in an odd situation. Usually the GM's role is to be a moderating influence, not to show the players how to break the game. ;)
Rolling 4d6 drop lowest has, in my experience, produced more balanced characters as a whole.
me and my group always do roll 7 sets of 4d6, reroll all rolls of ones per roll and drop the lowest total.
avg. party scores are almost always 14-16 pre race traits. (every now and then someone gets trip 6s but eh.)
4d6. reroll 1s, drop lowest gives an average stat of 13.4336
Not sure what the stat changes to when you get an extra stat number to choose from./cevah
Have her play a char that carries a basket round with turkey legs and hot gravy and rolls throw anything feat and best them to death with a turkey leg... Plus it's food so can say it afterward
Have her play a char that carries a basket round with turkey legs and hot gravy and rolls throw anything feat and best them to death with a turkey leg... Plus it's food so can say it afterward
Female fey bloodlined enchantment sorcerer. Who better to wreck house than a home-wrecker?
Have her play a char that carries a basket round with turkey legs and hot gravy and rolls throw anything feat and best them to death with a turkey leg... Plus it's food so can say it afterward
That would an awesome concept for a Cad fighter or a Monk of the Empty Hand!
To the OP:
If your players have trouble with damage reduction, tell them to get weapon blanch, oil of bless weapon, oil of align weapon, etc. There are a ton of over-the-counter options for dealing with damage reduction: it shouldn't have anything to do with the character's classes.
Have her play a char that carries a basket round with turkey legs and hot gravy and rolls throw anything feat and best them to death with a turkey leg... Plus it's food so can say it afterward
Female fey bloodlined enchantment sorcerer. Who better to wreck house than a home-wrecker?
I just wanna see a character based off a drunken dwarf that beats people to death with his turkey leg and other food after realizing he is good at it he makes a living off it
Edit: and who better you ask? I answer with the dinosaur druid that rip house to shreds when the trex wants in the house