Hey all,
Looking for opinions on how to fill out this PFS party.
I mostly GM PFS stuff, but will be playing at Gencon. My character is 5th level (one scenario from 6th) and eligible for a rebuild as he has never been played at second level.
The PC must be PFS-legal. I'm not averse to buying Additional Resources.
The party is composed of:
LN Human Cleric of Asmodeus (Cheliax Faction)
Primarily a buffer and debuffer. Channels negative due to deity selection. Durable enough to enter melee, but not built to crank out melee damage. Uses Trickery domain's Copycat power often to make himself more durable in brawls.
CG Elf Bard (Taldor Faction)
Ranged-focused Bard with stock archetype, built around buffing and some light debuffing. No slouch at ranged damage since she has a decent STR score and utilizes a composite longbow. Used a trait to get Disable Device in-class, but obviously still can't disable magical traps.
LN Half-Elf Infernal Bloodline Sorcerer (Cheliax Faction)
Built mostly for blasting. Great initiative and perception scores.
As you can see, the party is very Charisma-heavy.
I figure we need a durable frontline/melee character who can crank out the damage and make life difficult for enemies, but I'm open to other suggestions.
Being able to fit thematically into Cheliax, Taldor, or any of their assorted holdings is a plus. I'm also a big fan of Golarion generally, so anything that has cool setting flavour while remaining effective is a plus.
There will also likely be at least one other person at the table with us at each of our sessions, but I haven't GM'd enough publicly to really get a feel for what kind of character I am likely to encounter.
Your time and opinions are appreciated.
Build an Oradin, to keep them all alive
Seems like a couple of votes for in-combat healing power so far.
Do you find it necessary to have it at the table? This group has been running (as I GM'd) without it for some time, and with the exception of one or two close calls, it hasn't been an issue.
Definitely Oradin, heavier on the pally side so you can also serve as the "tank". Keep high hp to be able to both take and soak damage while the sorcerer blasts away. Dual-curse can be nice and you can take the legalistic curse to fit in with the Cheliax crew.
The game changes at 6 to 8
The game gets lethal at 9 to 11
ymmv
@Renegadeshepherd: I had considered melee druid, I'll have to take another look.
@Drogos: I'll check out the Oracle build you suggested. I also had interest in the Cavalier since they have a couple archetypes and orders that give them bonus feats that help them maintain defensive posture.
I'd love to hear more ideas if they're out there.
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Barbarian would be awesome. Be Human and max out that superstition bonus. Take Power Attack and Improved Sunder and just use the way treasure works to your advantage, sunder all the things. Maybe a bardiche and combat reflexes if you have a decent dexterity to menace an area could work out. It has lots of potential, you have 3 casters so the ability to dish out and take punishment will help here, and fun things like spell sunder are right around the corner.
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Melee Druid sounds Nice, However I really like the idea of a Cheliax Summoner.
He can give CC to the battle field via Grease, Create Pit, Clouds, Black Tentacles, Glitter dust. All the while providing a useful body for the front lines. You will blend well with the Bard since he will make everything you drop into combat better.
Build an Oradin, to keep them all alive
That party is too ethically challenged for a paladin.
Dwarf Bbn. Dump CHA.
For thematic reasons (and for mechanical dangers of violating the Paladin's code) I'm not sure I can make an Oradin work in this party.
However, I noticed that the Shaman from the ACG has a similar version of the Life mystery. Obviously I wouldn't have Lay On Hands since I've got no Paladin levels, but I would have Channel and Life Link along with full spellcasting and medium armor.
I'm thinking maybe a Shoanti or something, so I could take the trait that gives Klar proficiency for the extra durability. Seems to work thematically too.
Any ideas on this front?
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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How 'bout a tanky barbarian with some dipping?
Level 1: Invulnerable Rager Barbarian (put 1 SP into Acrobatics)
Level 2: Unbreakable Fighter (gain Diehard and Endurance instead of normal fighter bonus feat as well as heavy armor and standard shield proficiency, put another SP into Acrobatics)
Level 3: Martial Artist Monk (get the monk +2 to all saves, Imp Unarmed Strike, use monk bonus feat to get Dodge, put another point into Acrobatics, choose your level 3 feat to be Crane Style)
Level 4+ Invulnerable Rager Barbarian. Make your level 5 feat Stalwart.
Now, when fighting defensively )at only a -2 penalty), you can choose to either get +4 dodge bonus to AC OR make your DR 6/- each round. Bunch of mooks? Raise that DR! BBEG trying to kill you? Stick with the +4 AC.
At the cost of your fast movement, you can also tack on the Urban Barbarian archetype to allow you to choose the flexible Controlled Rage instead of the normal one to boost your AC via the Dex increase or just increase your Con or Str without affecting your AC.
Play as a Taldan Bodyguard type. In fact, if you do go Taldan human, make your first level feats Combat Reflexes and Bodyguard and have at least a 14 Dex. That means up to 3 times a round, you can grant an ally a +2 AC bonus. Not too shabby.
If you go the Shaman route, I would go Fire, or maybe battle. I base this off my experience playing a life oracle, which I've found boring. It also doesn't helpfully add to your tactical options. It would be an especially bad option for a shaman, as you aren't a charisma caster.
Be a shoanti from the cinderlands and take the fire spirit, with war as your wandering spirit. I think that would give you a lot more punch.
I think the trait you want is this: Shoanti Tattoo
How 'bout a tanky barbarian with some dipping?
Level 1: Invulnerable Rager Barbarian (put 1 SP into Acrobatics)
Level 2: Unbreakable Fighter (gain Diehard and Endurance instead of normal fighter bonus feat as well as heavy armor and standard shield proficiency, put another SP into Acrobatics)
Level 3: Martial Artist Monk (get the monk +2 to all saves, Imp Unarmed Strike, use monk bonus feat to get Dodge, put another point into Acrobatics, choose your level 3 feat to be Crane Style)
Level 4+ Invulnerable Rager Barbarian. Make your level 5 feat Stalwart.Now, when fighting defensively )at only a -2 penalty), you can choose to either get +4 dodge bonus to AC OR make your DR 6/- each round. Bunch of mooks? Raise that DR! BBEG trying to kill you? Stick with the +4 AC.
Pretty sure since that ridiculous Crane Wing nerf, it doesn't work that way anymore.
If you go the Shaman route, I would go Fire, or maybe battle. I base this off my experience playing a life oracle, which I've found boring. It also doesn't helpfully add to your tactical options. It would be an especially bad option for a shaman, as you aren't a charisma caster.
Be a shoanti from the cinderlands and take the fire spirit, with war as your wandering spirit. I think that would give you a lot more punch.
I think the trait you want is this: Shoanti Tattoo
Thanks, found the trait earlier.
It seems like the majority of the Shaman Spirit abilities (including Fire) key off of Charisma, though. I'm not against investing in it, though it is true that the Life Oracle gets more mileage since they use it for casting.
The Shaman gets full casting and has those spontaneous Spirit Magic slots, though.
Flame is definitely in the running, as the party's Sorcerer could easily benefit from Flame Curse just as much as I would, should I choose it. I also dig the flavour and the spirit magic spells.
Other options I'm considering for the Wandering Spirit are Battle and Nature.
Battle would give me increased caster level on cures, which would combo well with the Life domain's Enhanced Cures. It might be healing overkill, though. The channel is already pretty potent as-is. Their Spirit Magic spells are also quite good.
The issue I see with Battle is I don't particularly love any of the hex options, which I will access at level 6 with the changes to the class in the final version of the ACG. I guess Hampering Hex is a nice debuff to throw out there since there's no save.
Nature basically gives you AC for having points in something you want anyways, and I like the idea of Life Leech for someone who will likely be taking a decent amount of damage per turn via Life Link. The bad part is that it seems like a ton of things are immune to Fort save effects. Also the Spirit Magic spells seem pretty meh, outside of Barkskin.
I guess the thing I love about the class is how versatile it is. You get to choose your baseline spirit, and then you can sit down at the PFS table, figure out what other people are doing, and then decide how best to complement that with your wandering spirit. Pretty cool stuff.
I welcome more advice on the concept!