Going to be starting in a new campaign and can't quite seem to decide how I'd like to build my next character, so thought I'd ask for the wisdom of the internet to see what inspiration I can garner.
Basic Character Idea: He's an "assassin". To be more precise, he goes out to "assassinate" evil beings (demons, devils, dragons, fey, etc...). I Imagine him as being stealthy, agile, but also a fighter and can hold his own in a fight, melee-wise (so not rogue class tho clearly has some roguish qualities). Has some magic to support him, but still not sure how much he should have (this is one of my biggest issues atm).
Rules: Going to be starting at 1 lvl (so will have time to properly build him as I get a feel for the character and the setting). Setting, I believe, is home-brew. Stats are point buy, epic fantasy (so 25 points) and all pathfinder books are available.
My thoughts: One of my first ideas was a TWF Paladin who uses kukris. I think this idea is awesome, and fits in with the theme of what I'm trying to go for perfectly. The two big issues I have is that I won't have feats to spare (i'll have just enough if I go human, tho I'd like to try a different race than the core races) and I'm feeling like paladin won't have enough magic. However, anything I think of to help on the magic side makes the melee side feel to weak (and oddly enough, feels like it is to much magic. Like, going with cleric, to much healing magic for the character.) Have also considered Bard, but while Bard is closer to having the right mix of magic, its severely lacking in the melee dept. that I feel is integral to the character concept. Ranger also occurred to me, but I neither like the Hunter's Bond Feature, nor does it go with the concept I have in mind.
The TWF aspect I could drop, but its the ratio of melee to magic I'm trying to get just right. I know I'm probably asking for to much, but I feel that if I can make an intelligence based sorcerer to have a sorcerer thief character (used the "Sage" wildblooded archetype in UM, then took some feats and traits to give me the necessary class skills), then there's probably a way to get this character idea to work too. Just need more information :-D
Magus?
-Can hold his own in a melee fighter
-Has magic so he can tailor his spells to 'assassinate' specific monsters
-Has magic so he can be flexible on the battlefield (Fly, See Invisibility, Displacement)
-Has magic so he can turn himself invisible and be as stealthy as you want
-Can be dexterity-based making him the agile character you likely want
-Has synergy between his magic and his melee, IE the latter uses the former.
Main issue- he lacks the story-based powers of a wizard or sorcerer. He can't scry an enemy and ask for divine advice on his enemy's abilities. Otherwise though, he seems a damn fine assassin. Note that if you want your character to be a 'social' assassin, you can take the Student of Philosophy trait and use your intelligence for lying and making friends.
I second the Magus. You can dump Strength for higher Dexterity and get either a Scimitar for Dervish Dance (Dexterity to Attack and Damage rolls for, by RAW all attacks you can make, though requires a free hand [so does casting your spells] and an appropriately-sized Scimitar), or take Weapon Finesse and use an Agile Rapier.
Unfortunately, this build doesn't really get online until 3rd level at the minimum (and even longer for Agile Rapier), but your spells should be able to get you by when you get that point.
Being a sort of Anti-Assassin (that is, he kills bad people, not just any people for money), Good alignment is still in the question. Elf is probably going to be your best Core choice, as it gives +2 Dexterity and +2 Intelligence, though the -2 Constitution may be a kicker in the jewels. If you can pick from the ARG, Sylphs are another great choice, Ratfolk take a -2 Strength instead, and Tieflings get a -2 Charisma. I find Tieflings to be the better combat aficionado, since they get resists to the 3 biggest energy types (which can expand into the Primary 4 with a feat), as well as a +2 Natural Armor Racial Feat they can pick.
With a 25 point buy, you can dump Strength to 7 (it only really gives you carrying capacity, which you don't really need anyway), getting you 29 points to work with. In any case, you can have an 18 base to one of your 2 primary stats (Dexterity or Intelligence), then a 16 in the other; that takes up 27 of your 29 points, but you don't really have anything else to spend points on. From there, you can increase either your Constitution, Charisma, or your Wisdom to 12, your choice. Personally, Will Saves > Hit Points > Ability to talk to people.
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I think an Inquisitor would fit the needs you stated pretty well.
Between Judgement and Bane and Solo Tactics it is pretty easy to get good at melee.
6+ skill points every level and all the sneaky and magic skills as class skills
Bard spellcasting progression with stealth magic on the spell list.
You can dump charisma for more points because you use wisdom to cast.
It splits the difference between Cleric, Paladin, Ranger and Bard without the things that made you reject those other classes.