Friend and I are considering starting some new PFS characters that we will only play when we are both at the same event. That way they can always work together and be at the same level. (We have other characters for when we are at an event separately.)
We wanted to try something completely new for both of us.
So since they will always be at the table together, it seemed like an excellent time to try out the teamwork feats. Further thought suggested that we would get the most mileage from the teamwork feats if we are running pet classes if we also give the teamwork feats to the pets. Se we were thinking maybe a druid and cavalier (or maybe ranger).
He also said he wants to run a ‘weird monster’ race. The weirdest race that I think you can run, without a special boon that we don’t have, is the tengu.
Once we were talking about the tengu, my immediate thought was:
So I’m looking for suggestions and ideas since this is a whole stack of ‘things we haven’t tried yet in PF.’ We haven’t run druids, cavaliers, teamwork feats, or tengu before this. Which archtypes, teamwork feats, other feats, things to be careful of, etc… do you recommend?
Tengu druid that will eventually have an Axe Beak animal companion. Something of a switch hitter. Be able to use spells both for buff and offensively. But not completely helpless in combat either. Not sure if just standard combat or if should be with shapechange.
Tengu cavalier (could probably be talked into a ranger) that will eventually have an Axe Beak mount. Can’t be too specialized in mounted combat since PFS isn’t all in areas conducive to riding a giant bird. So must also be able to fight without the mount.
i'm not overly familiar with whats PFS legal... are orcs an option? if not, are 1/2orcs monstrous enough for you? it could be pretty sick if you made a barb/druid and a barb/cavalier... at the cap you'd be looking at something like:
druid 8/barbarian 4- with shaping focus you have full wildshape, if you took beast totem you'd add claw attacks to your other natural attacks.
cavalier 8/barbarian 4- order of the sword, take the beast rider archetype for a mount that's better in combat.
take the augment rage teamwork feat. so here's the real magic here... nobody rides an animal companion, lol. let the animal companions fight on their own- the cav rides the druid wildshaped into a huge creature, they both rage (and get +8 str/con thanks to amplified rage)... the druid gets to pounce with absolutely monstrous Str and the cav gets to add the druid's str bonus to his own when charging. of course, if you gave up the cav levels the rider could go straight barb and instead rage/lance/pounce when the druid pounces (but that's abusive, and then the barb loses an animal companion).
|
Not sure as to the class, but I know that a dex build with dervish dance can get pretty effective with teamwork. Use Outflank+Combat Reflexes+Dervish Dance*+Keen to get a +4 when you and the ally with outflank flank[instead of +2], and then when your ally confirms a critical hit, you get an attack of opportunity. Assuming an 18dex and lucky dice, you can each get an extra 5 attacks/round.
*Works with agile rapier, but costs more and takes longer
As to the class, Cavalier works, but it is usually 'exclusive' to halflings or gnomes if you ever want to fight with your special mount inside. Same is with most mounted builds. Gnome is a pretty weird race however, so gnome cavaliers might fit the requirement.
I will check, but I doubt he will be willing to multiclass out of his primary casting class. Especially not for 4 levels.
We are aware the mount will often not be able to come inside with us. That is why they can't be too specialized in mounted combat. But the image of Tengu riding Axe Beaks just seems too delightful. We'd really like to try seeing if we can get those to work if possible.
One thing to consider is the classic "crit fisher" team pairing, where one player is dual-wielding weapons with 18-20/15-20 crit ranges and passing the crits to the other player via Butterfly Sting, with that other player playing the highest-damage two-hander x4 weapon build they can make.
|
Outflank is great if you have two characters going crit fishing with 15-20 crit ranges. Lookout is another good one that could let all four of you always get a turn in the surprise round. Tandem tripper could be good with a pair of wolves. There is also a feat for +1 to saves for each adjacent ally with the feat that would work out well with you + friend + 2 companions.
Teamwork feats work best when all parties have the same role in the battle. If your friend is keen to sit back and cast, and you want to be up in their faces, that doesn't work quite as well. If he wants to hang back, maybe look at so archery options. There are some handy feats like target if opportunity that stack up well with animal companions in the combat, and you shooting in.
a tengu ranger (with boon companion), with the 2WF style, focused of kukris...
and a tengu druid with exotic weapon training (including the tetsubo) with power attack, furious focus, arcane strike (using a trait or tengu wings/raven form feat).
both have full animal companion. use the Butterfly's Sting feat mentioned earlier (and flanking teamwork feat).
|
|
a tengu ranger (with boon companion), with the 2WF style, focused of kukris...
and a tengu druid with exotic weapon training (including the tetsubo) with power attack, furious focus, arcane strike (using a trait or tengu wings/raven form feat).
both have full animal companion. use the Butterfly's Sting feat mentioned earlier (and flanking teamwork feat).
For even more fun, have each animal companion use the first stat bump to get a 3INT and have them take outflank, and have the druid and ranger have the same initiative modifier so they go at the same time.
i ran out of time before really finishing the last post... the ranger gets lots of hits at lower damage but should threaten crits pretty often. the druid isn't that worried about BAB because he doesn't worry about iterative hits- if he's using nat attacks they all use full BAB, and (more often) he's only really concerned about hitting the first attack (to hopefully cash in on a free x4 crit). vital strike might even be a worthwhile feat for him. he can also wildshape into an earth elemental for the Str bonus and still use his tetsubo (though might need to invest in a large or even huge one eventually).
You may want the Hunter from the Advanced Class Guide Playtest. Starting at level 3 your Animal Companion gets all your Teamwork Feats. (And yes, it is PFS legal, just see Additional Resources for a couple updates to the PDF)
I haven't gotten the ACG yet. I may have to do that soon.
... There is also a feat for +1 to saves for each adjacent ally with the feat that would work out well with you + friend + 2 companions.
Oooo... I had forgotten about that one. It would be an excellent choice.
... Teamwork feats work best when all parties have the same role in the battle. If your friend is keen to sit back and cast, and you want to be up in their faces, that doesn't work quite as well. ...
I don't think he is wanting to just hang back and cast. But he wants to be able to cast offensively when necessary.
For even more fun, have each animal companion use the first stat bump to get a 3INT and have them take outflank, and have the druid and ranger have the same initiative modifier so they go at the same time.a tengu ranger (with boon companion), with the 2WF style, focused of kukris...
and a tengu druid with exotic weapon training (including the tetsubo) with power attack, furious focus, arcane strike (using a trait or tengu wings/raven form feat).
both have full animal companion. use the Butterfly's Sting feat mentioned earlier (and flanking teamwork feat).
May be difficult to get all those feats and some teamwork feats in a build at the same time, but I will give it a look see.
May be difficult to get all those feats and some teamwork feats in a build at the same time, but I will give it a look see.
you wouldn't need all those feats, they're just a list of feats that make the build more potent (butterfly sting and power attack are both fairly key though)
I always thought a summoner and cavalier would make a dream team. I tried to talk one of our other players into playing a cavalier, but no one did :(
The summoner could summon a small army of creatures and then have the cavalier use their tactician ability to give all of them his teamwork feat. Paired opportunist is particularly appealing. Surround the enemy with a pack of creatures that all get attacks of opportunity whenever one of them is attacked is pretty lethal, especially if you can find some summon creatures with combat reflexes. Precise Strike is also sweet and simple.
If the cavalier takes 1 level of any other full BAB class before his 9th cavalier level, he can take the ridiculously amazing Coordinated Charge with his greater tactician ability. Imagine the cavalier charging twice per round in addition to a pack of celestial dire lions pouncing twice per round :P
A master summoner would likely work best for this team.
Another sweet combo is to have the summoner design his Eidolon as a mount and have the cavalier ride it into battle. Not to mention the summoner can also summon various other creatures that he could potentially use as a substitute mount.