|
Refining this character before GenCon, just to make sure he lives up to flavor. :)
He's a paladin of Lymnieris from Osirion and looks pretty much like one would expect of a worshipper of that Empyreal Lord from that particular region: Not weighed down or covered up by heavy armor, favoring silks over armor, highly social-oriented character, prefers a nimble fighting style over sword-and-shield bashing, possibly does still have a light shield to fulfill the protective elements of his worship and the image of putting himself between innocents and harm's way, not tied too tightly to his patron's favored weapon(possibly favoring the khopesh of his homeland or something more Weapon Finesse-friendly).
Besides eyeing Ceremonial Silk Armor and dressing it up in Osirian aesthetics and possibly looking at how folks have approached making paladins of Shelyn, what would you recommend to make this guy keep up to par?
|
|
Starting fresh at 1!
I don't expect everything to be at 100% right off the bat, but if he can start off just strong enough, aces. :)
Forgot to mention, Skill Focus: Diplomacy is going to be a lock for him, but not necessarily at level 1.
He's not necessarily locked in as an aasimar, though if he is one he's definitely going to be angel-kith. Otherwise, he'd simply be an Osirian human. I'm leaning towards aasimar as that's how the concept started, but that flavor could also be fulfilled by a human with the right Eldritch Heritage choices.
Sounds like an enlightened paladin. TWF with a one handed weapon and an unarmed strike seems possible.
|
|
Yeah, it would run counter to him being a paladin of Lymnieris right out hte gate. It's worth keeping in mind for a reskin for home games though, thanks. :)
edit-Oooh, replacing good/anti-evil powers with law/anti-chaotic powers would be problematic for this guy too. He's far too much of a caring diplomat who reaches across ethical lines for Team Good for that.
In PFS, Dervish Dancers have to worship Sarenrae, I think.
There's a Human alternate race trait called "Silver Tongued" that dramatically improves Diplomacy: "Humans with this trait gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. In addition, when they use Diplomacy to shift a creature's attitude, they can shift up to three steps up rather than just two." If you want to crank the Diplomacy, that's one option.
The Holy Tactician archetype is pretty interesting. If you end up with a high crit threat weapon (and many of the finesse weapons are), you can look at the Outflank teamwork feat: If you crit an enemy, your allies with that feat get an AoO on that enemy.
Bonus: The Bless Weapon Paladin spell automatically confirms all critical threats against evil foes...just saying.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
In PFS, Dervish Dancers have to worship Sarenrae, I think.
There's a Human alternate race trait called "Silver Tongued" that dramatically improves Diplomacy: "Humans with this trait gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. In addition, when they use Diplomacy to shift a creature's attitude, they can shift up to three steps up rather than just two." If you want to crank the Diplomacy, that's one option.
The Holy Tactician archetype is pretty interesting. If you end up with a high crit threat weapon (and many of the finesse weapons are), you can look at the Outflank teamwork feat: If you crit an enemy, your allies with that feat get an AoO on that enemy.
Bonus: The Bless Weapon Paladin spell automatically confirms all critical threats against evil foes...just saying.
Due to the reusing of names and terms, this is a common misconception.
Dervish Dancer is a bard archetype.
Dervish of Dawn is another bard archetype that has to follow Sarenrae.
The Dervish Dance feat, however is just a feat. Anyone can take it regardless of deity, culture or region. The only prerequisites are Dex 13, Weapon Finesse, 2 ranks in Perform (Dance) and Proficiency with a Scimitar. You receive Dex to damage with Scimitars only.
Actually, "Dervish of Dawn" is the D20PFSRG rename of the bard archetype "Dawnflower Dervish", to avoid copyright violations. I'm familiar with the variations.
The author of the book that the Dervish Dancer feat first appeared in has stated that it was intended for worshippers of Sarenrae only. It's referenced in the new Inner Sea Gods under "thematically appropriate for Sarenrae", but again, the "worship Sarenrae" part is not explicitly stated. There will be table variation, but I would expect about 1/3 to 1/2 of the GMs in PFS will rule it that way (the original poster indicated it was for PFS).
For PFS purposes, I would just make sure that any character who uses anything with the term "dervish" in the name worships Sarenrae. It just avoids a lot of trouble in the long run.
|
A Chain Shirt is pretty easy to justify as worn under the clothing. They're very light, too. Wearing one seems valid for the aesthetic you're going for.
From there, just focus on Dex, use a finesse-able weapon (with Weapon Finesse) and get it made Agile at your earliest opportunity. You won't be quite optimal (especially before then), but hey, with a shield and Dex focus, AC will be great after a few levels (and not bad even early on...18 or 19 at 1st isn't bad at all) and damage won't be awful, especially if you stick to light weapons and get Piranha Strike (or go Str 13 and pick up Power Attack).
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
PFS does not, in any way, limit the Dervish Dance feat to followers of Sarenrae.
There is no table variation.
It requires houserules to change that, which are not allowed in PFS, unless it stated as a PFS exclusive houserule.
Example: Bonus Item Creation feats are replaced with other feats.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks for the suggestions all. I forgot to even consider the chain shirt, and that should be fairly easy to work into his aesthetics.
Right now I'm just looking for a finessable weapon to flavor up all Osirion-like. It's regrettable that so many fitting options depend on scimitars, which as noted upthread are a no-go for this guy.
After today's blog, I think I'm going to be digging into the Advanced Class Guide options as quickly as I can before the game, if there are options that don't require multi-classing right out of the gate.
|
|
May I recommend an ancient Egyptian axe?
You can have a Handaxe version, look cool, and have a solid, finesseable, weapon.
EDIT: Additional picture.
That's definitely a thought. Especially since khopeshes really functioned rather closely to axes...shouldn't take much adjustment to push that look even further.
Heavily leaning towards that or an Egyptianized kukri. Thanks!
|
|
@kyrt: It's a combination fo the Osirian taboo and honestly wanting Ancient Egyptian aesthetic on the weapon. I'm going with an Osirian'ed up kukri for the moment, though I'm not committed to it yet.
As is now, after the first pass: (human version)
Ashak-Kenoth
LG human(Osirian) Paladin 1
Init +2; Perception +1
Defense
AC 17(20 against smite target), touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +4 chain shirt, +1 buckler)
hp 11 (1d10+1)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3;
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee kukri +1 (1d4+1/18–20)
Ranged shortbow +2 (1d6)
Special Attacks smite evil 1/day : kukri +4 (1d4+2/18-20)
Statistics
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 13
Feats Skill Focus(Diplomacy), Weapon Finesse;
Skills Acrobatics +3, Diplomacy +12(shifts attitude one extra step), Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +1, Ride +2, Sense Motive +5;
Languages Common, Osirian
SQ aura of good, detect evil, Traits: (_______, _______)
Alternate Racial Traits:
Focused Study: Grants free Skill Focus at 1st, 8th, and 16th levels. Replaces Bonus Feat
Silver-Tongued: Grants +2 to Diplomacy and Bluff. Diplomacy can shift attitude upwards three steps instead of two. Replaces Skilled
Gear: kukri, chain shirt, buckler, shortbow, arrows(20), entertainer's outfit (total weight: 42 lbs) Max Light Load: 43 lbs
Some concepts hurt when it comes time to put mechanics to them...
I know a lot of folks always say "dump WIS" for paladins, but that has always been the exact opposite of what I've always expected and wanted out of my paladins. That and this guy needs to be perceptive about people in order to do his job.
Did not expect the encumbrance monster to get me this bad.
edit-Forgot the penalties to-hit from the buckler...
|
|
I'd drop Con and Wis to 12. That'll let you raise Dex to 15 (and 16 at 4th).
Actually...I'd probably switch those two stats (Dex 16, Cha 15)...but I can see not wanting to do that for thematic reasons (though mechanically, it doesn't effect the basic concept too much).
Also...how'd you get the Stealth that high? It looks seriously off given only 4 skill points.
|
|
Crap, forgot to clip that off. I had copy-pasted another PC over to get the template real quick, thanks for the catch. :)
And yeah, weighing those options now. I was really hoping to bump Wis up to 14 ASAP, but right now he is kind of hurting on the dance-battlery side of things.
(also having to wait a while before I can afford skill points in Perception and Profession(oldest)...)
Gonna shop for traits tomorrow.
|
|
Does it need to be Dex based?
A single Oracle dip, with Lore, Nature, or Lunar Mystery will allow you to be more strength focused.
That would pretty much take it the exact opposite direction I want him to go. He's intended to be a grace-over-brute-force style combatant. Someone whose motios in battle are flowing and dance-like and whose build is more lean and fit than heavily muscled and bulky.
And honestly, DEX-based combat is just more appealing to me flavor-wise, though it's hard to make work for some classes and concepts.
|
|
I still haven't been able to clear out enough time to really sit down with the ACG, but I was wondering if the final version would help this guy live up to his flavor a bit more with either a khopesh, kukri, or handaxe while keeping the armor as minimal as possible.
Well, a one level Swashbuckler dip would let you Dex-wield a Khopesh...but there's little in the way of other helpful options in there, and that'd probably not kick in until level 3, and take all your Feats until then (Slashing Grace + Exotic Weapon Proficiency is pricey, Feat-wise).
|
|
Yeah, and Focused Study ate up that human bonus feat. Still, it's something to consider. I'll be able to dig deeper this weekend hopefully.
Oooh, yeah, with that we're probably talking waiting all the way until level 5. And some retraining to swap out Weapon Finesse.
Thanks for the info!
You're quite welcome. I'm always happy to be of assistance. :)
Unsanctioned Knowledge (requires int 13) might be a useful feat once you can cast some spells, you could use that to add some defensive spells to your spell list. Defense wise, to make up for not having heavy armor, you could for example use things like mage armor, mirror image, displacement or haste.
I'm not sure how well it meshes with the rest of your concept, but for a 'finesse' Paladin type it's hard to beat a Dervish Dance Paladin/Sohei; with one level of Sohei and Crusader's Flurry you can flurry-of-blows your dex-based scimitar by level 5, though it eats all 4 feats.
With a dex-based build you can also potentially take 'oath against savages' to turn your scimitar into a reach weapon at the cost of a smite - combined with taking combat reflexes as your Sohei bonus feat you can potentially dish out an absurd number of dex-based attacks.
It's expensive in that you lose divine grace and dip a level of monk, but I can't think of a more thematic dex-based paladin ability than throwing out a half-dozen reach scimitar aoo's before using flurry-of-blows scimitar on your turn. Even against a single medium enemy you can advance, cue holy reach, and ready an attack, so that you deal out 2 scimitar attacks on their move, and then 2/3 more on yours.
As said, Unsanctioned Knowledge can provide great flavor for an un-stereotypical paladin - vanish as a level 1 spell is a funky way to 'assassinate' some boss-goon. You cast vanish, waltz past the minions, activate smite, and appear out of thin air with a full-attack on round 2.