Hi!
Going to start playing WotR before too long, and I have my character's personality and such pretty much in mind - but the mechanics are as of yet pretty fuzzy. Given that I'm brand new to the Mythic rules, and given that the campaign traits seem to have some kind of future effect basec on what mythic path you take, I'd like a bit of advice. Please avoid AP spoilers if at all possible.
Basic character concept:
Boy born to a Kelishite fishing family, goes to school at the local temple to Sarenrae to learn his letters and numbers. Feels inspired by the peaceful grace of the priests and priestesses and decides to follow a similar path. Reality of the world means he's learned to defend himself and not to be a fool in the face of other people's wiles, but he's essentially a young man who walks with a clear vision in mind and heart that anyone, no matter how far they have fallen, can be redeemed.
Basic character role:
Skill monkey and spell/combat support. I know I'll most likely be the only skill-focused character in the party, and that there's a fair chance we'll have a combat-oriented divine caster of some kind. It's unclear whether I'll be the party face, but I'd like to be at least competent in that department.
Current idea:
Inquisitor with the Redemption inquisition. Combat will be mainly melee with a scimitar, although focus will be group support. I want a minimum of 6 skill points per level. No interest in bard for this character.
Questions:
Should I dip Life Oracle for Channel Smite > Guided Hand > Mythic Guided Hand? Or would it be better to skip using a shield and aim for Weapon Finesse > Dervish Dance?
How about Butterfly's Sting? I like the idea of it, but that plus the prerequisite Combat Expertise may be costly on a frame without much in the way of bonus feats.
Would it be better to aim for the Hierophant or the Trickster path? Trickster allows me to pick up one or two Hierophant abilities, but I can't go as in-depth. If I end up being the main divine support caster, I may need quite a bit of extra spells. Hierophant would allow me to cover the "cleric" role a lot better as an inquisitor. Trickster has a lot of nice options for skill-focused characters, from the looks of it - but the character background I have in mind seems to suit Touched by Divinity a lot more.
I'm not sure how well it would work out to do a more even split between Oracle (or cleric I guess, although I strongly prefer spontaneous casters) and Inquisitor. Normally, I'd be very leery of multiclassing casters beyond a small dip. I did consider an Oradin, but that would involve sacrificing the Redemption inquisition (I don't think Divine Servants can take inquisitions), the loss of a lot of skill points, and an alignment that isn't NG or CG, which I would prefer in this case. It would sync well with Guided Hand, though.
Suggestions are very welcome, but please try to avoid spoilers: I enjoy the story more when I don't know it ahead of time. :)
Some awesome advice there Victor - much appreciated!
The fire domain's fire resistance very much came to mind, yes, but I like the idea of combining a "face/skill monkey" aspect with the redemption theme and inquisition. The player's guide seems to hint that it's important, and it very much fits my own outlook, which should lead to rewarding RP.
I'm a little worried that, on a 20-point build, a strength-based inquisitor with above-average charisma (I was thinking 12, since more is probably plain unaffordable) is stretching things very tight, especially since I was considering a human. Then again, the following doesn't look too bad (before racial modifiers):
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 12.
With human or aasimar that should work out just fine. Human's bonus feat, +1 skill point per level and +2 to one stat versus Aasimar's stats depending on bloodline (but twice +2), some flat skill bonuses, a relatively minor spell-like ability and a better favourite class bonus. Hmm.
Going the strength route does free up feats, which is very nice. Mythic Spell Lore looks very good, Favored Judgment was on the shortlist, (Mythic) Persuasive actually might work, and (Mythic) Shield Focus is very nice, too. I do love me some versatility.
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Your Inquisitor could be a little less wise, and still get the job done. Unless you intend to cast offensively you don't need a 14 Wisdom until you make 10th level Inquisitor, which is nearly to retirement. An Inquisitor can manage with a 12 Wisdom until 7th level. Or not. It depends on your concept.
Perhaps you can work redemption and inquisition themes into your role playing. Your PC can gain wisdom via tough experiences.
Hmmm. Wisdom counts into many things, not least some important skills, initiative, will saves... Even so, it's probably fair to say that I don't need to pump it above all else.
Sadly, I don't really imagine the character to be a muscle-bound warrior - rather an inspired and self-buffing type. I'm thinking it would fit better to improve strength and combat ability through experience, and to make sure I have the right mental make-up in place from the start.
Well, it's probably good to get a better inkling of what the rest of the prospective party will want to do. I'll keep musing, mind, if only to work on the backstory.
Can ur char get mythic holy smite? If not don't bother. Paladins are just op.
Can ur char get mythic holy smite? If not don't bother. Paladins are just op.
OP by what measure? Any character that is optimised to use the methods best that the GM favours could be considered optimised. I've known GMs in whose games the skill Sense Motive was probably the most important ability you could have - and ones where your Constitution score was undoubtedly of greatest importance (yes, even for the casters).
The main reason I'm not eager to go the paladin route, though, is that I'm inclined towards the "walk a mile in another man's shoes" philosophy, and that seems a bit too liberal for a paladin of Sarenrae.
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The paladin code is rather Liberal in interpretation. That being said as someone who has played Wrath of the Righteous.
Skill monkey characters really are not needed. The main skills needed are Diplomacy, Sense motive, Perception, Spell craft, Know Planes, Religion, and Arcane. Most traps are magical in nature so you can get magic eyes going and find them before they are a problem. Combat should be a heavy focus of most characters as there is a lot of combat. If you end the combat quickly enough you don't even need to scout out too much.
I will be honest this Campaign screams for a classic paladin. The gear drops are outrageously generous towards them. The extra smites they get allow them to smite every fight and end them quickly.
I played through with a Archer Paladin when I went through it and will be honest that they rape this campaign....He could end fights in the first round before they could even react to him. Only 3 fights lasted longer then 1 round....the ones that did make it past round 1 was swiftly curb stomped the next round. By level 10 the archer paladin was easily breaking 150+ damage a round and god help them if one was a critical. Combined with our Mythic Vital strike Scythe fighter @ level 10 they could put out enough damage to kill the Demon Lords they where showing in the books. Got kinda stupid beyond 10th level as the God Wizard could stop time for weeks on end for the entire group on a initiative of 46. Nothing could beat the wizard to the draw.
All in all I think this campaign makes it hard to fail if you have any idea how to play the game with minor intelligence.
If your group doesn't have a paladin of any type you might want to roll with one just for the perks of this campaign being tailored to you.
The paladin code is rather Liberal in interpretation. That being said as someone who has played Wrath of the Righteous.
Skill monkey characters really are not needed. The main skills needed are Diplomacy, Sense motive, Perception, Spell craft, Know Planes, Religion, and Arcane. Most traps are magical in nature so you can get magic eyes going and find them before they are a problem. Combat should be a heavy focus of most characters as there is a lot of combat. If you end the combat quickly enough you don't even need to scout out too much.
I will be honest this Campaign screams for a classic paladin. The gear drops are outrageously generous towards them. The extra smites they get allow them to smite every fight and end them quickly.
I played through with a Archer Paladin when I went through it and will be honest that they rape this campaign....He could end fights in the first round before they could even react to him. Only 3 fights lasted longer then 1 round....the ones that did make it past round 1 was swiftly curb stomped the next round. By level 10 the archer paladin was easily breaking 150+ damage a round and god help them if one was a critical. Combined with our Mythic Vital strike Scythe fighter @ level 10 they could put out enough damage to kill the Demon Lords they where showing in the books. Got kinda stupid beyond 10th level as the God Wizard could stop time for weeks on end for the entire group on a initiative of 46. Nothing could beat the wizard to the draw.All in all I think this campaign makes it hard to fail if you have any idea how to play the game with minor intelligence.
If your group doesn't have a paladin of any type you might want to roll with one just for the perks of this campaign being tailored to you.
This is exactly why I will NOT play a paladin, and will probably argue with my group not to do so, either. Playing on easy mode is no fun at all, and it gets worse when it unbalances a party due to things being geared too heavily towards one character type. In all honesty, fulfillment comes from persevering and earning the results, not from holding up your silver platter.
I think I'll go for a strength build after all. The heavy armour is a single feat, whereas dervish dance requires two, and a scimitar can be used twohanded in a pinch (although I plan to use a shield) which makes strength the superior choice. Admittedly, dervish dance is actually thematic for such a character, but feats are scarce enough. Oh, and Strength 10 is actually quite close to encumbrance level problems. Even a breastplate would probably push him over, assuming a weapon, backup weapon, shield and minimal sundries.
I'll admit that Conversion has a lot of advantages, but I can't imagine roleplaying a character that dedicates his life towards redeeming others, while possessed of the manners a pig would be ashamed of. It's just too much of an incongruity to me, so Charisma will be a minimum of 10 - and that makes Conversion a lot less interesting. Aside from that, Redemption has Merciful as a free weapon enchantment at low levels. Even a min-maxer will have to admit that a free +1d6 damage each attack is good, no matter how you cut it. And you can kill them afterwards if you must!
As far as knowledge skills goes: Breadth of Experience is so much better than Dilettante! Granted, it has restrictions (racial, and it's level 1 only), but it's very nice nonetheless. I suspect I'll pass on it for this character - but it's a great feat.
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I'll admit that Conversion has a lot of advantages, but I can't imagine roleplaying a character that dedicates his life towards redeeming others, while possessed of the manners a pig would be ashamed of. It's just too much of an incongruity to me, so Charisma will be a minimum of 10 - and that makes Conversion a lot less interesting. Aside from that, Redemption has Merciful as a free weapon enchantment at low levels. Even a min-maxer will have to admit that a free +1d6 damage each attack is good, no matter how you cut it. And you can kill them afterwards if you must!
That's far from the only way to define low Charisma. And, indeed given the Conversion Inquisition's description*, perhaps the worst way to define it for people who have Conversion. You can read this character's backstory for how I did it, but that's just one example.
*To quote: "You are a powerful persuader. A honeyed tongue empowered by divine argumentation sways the indifferent and adversarial to your side."
I'll admit that Conversion has a lot of advantages, but I can't imagine roleplaying a character that dedicates his life towards redeeming others, while possessed of the manners a pig would be ashamed of. It's just too much of an incongruity to me, so Charisma will be a minimum of 10 - and that makes Conversion a lot less interesting. Aside from that, Redemption has Merciful as a free weapon enchantment at low levels. Even a min-maxer will have to admit that a free +1d6 damage each attack is good, no matter how you cut it. And you can kill them afterwards if you must!That's far from the only way to define low Charisma. And, indeed given the Conversion Inquisition's description*, perhaps the worst way to define it for people who have Conversion. You can read this character's backstory for how I did it, but that's just one example.
*To quote: "You are a powerful persuader. A honeyed tongue empowered by divine argumentation sways the indifferent and adversarial to your side."
What you describe is charisma, frankly. Glad it works for you, but I'll min-max less and be happier for it.