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In my campaign I was planning on changing my character once the party hits level 9 since the story would give me an opportunity to. I have a type of character in mind, but I'm having incredible difficulty getting it to work properly. Does anyone know of any prestige classes etc I could use? Here is the idea
-The character uses a 2h weapon
-No magic, ninja and rogue tricks are fine
-The character wears at max light armor, preferred to go no armor
-The character does not rage, in that its personality is that of a more or less very emotionless individual, otherwise it'd be to easy just to pick barbarian
-Preferably has skills, after playing a sorcerer I hate feeling mostly useless out of combat (Party has a wizard and cleric so they covered all the support spells).
My GM has stated that I cannot use any style feats with a weapon equiped since I was planning on using a 2h double weapon & a 1h weapon for crane stance then go 1 level brawler, 1 level fighter, 7 levels ninja and go crane style when attacks and using sneak attacks if I'm not being focused. But with this idea shut down I'm not entire sure what I should do now.
What about the Urban Barbarian's Controlled Rage?
What is the point buy?
What races are allowed?
What does your DM mean about "weapons equipped"?
What skills are looking to be good at?
All content is available minus third party, some third party can be used if I can sweet talk the DM.
25 Point buy
All races, but planning to go human
No weapons. Maybe some monk weapons.
Sense Motive, Perception, Bluff
...also for some reason I can't respond to things. Made an entire new account just so I could get responding to work.
Sounds like a slayer to me. No magic or rage, light armor, uses a weapon, has skills. How much do you need in order for it to work 'properly'?
Play a Slayer, Good skills, Studied target, Sneak Attack, and rogue talents, and ranger combat style, use the 2 Handed combat style.
Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 12
Wis: 12
Cha: 11
Never really looked into that class, That does seem like fun to play. My only qualm is that it is light armor. Think there'd be a way to build it without armor at all? Going for a character thematically similar to Sara from samurai champloo.
So far though slayer looks like exactly what I was looking for since I can't use styles. if I could use styles (May try to convince DM again) would you still recommend slayer?
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Slayers don't get magic or an AC boost in class, so not really. From the first time Tolkien wrote them mithral shirts could be worn under clothing though; you might go with that or glamered armor of some sort.
& re styles; I'd suggest going with brawler in that instance.
In my campaign I was planning on changing my character once the party hits level 9 since the story would give me an opportunity to. I have a type of character in mind, but I'm having incredible difficulty getting it to work properly. Does anyone know of any prestige classes etc I could use? Here is the idea
-The character uses a 2h weapon
-No magic, ninja and rogue tricks are fine
-The character wears at max light armor, preferred to go no armor
-The character does not rage, in that its personality is that of a more or less very emotionless individual, otherwise it'd be to easy just to pick barbarian
-Preferably has skills, after playing a sorcerer I hate feeling mostly useless out of combat (Party has a wizard and cleric so they covered all the support spells).My GM has stated that I cannot use any style feats with a weapon equiped since I was planning on using a 2h double weapon & a 1h weapon for crane stance then go 1 level brawler, 1 level fighter, 7 levels ninja and go crane style when attacks and using sneak attacks if I'm not being focused. But with this idea shut down I'm not entire sure what I should do now.
The problem here is the characters that wield two weapons normally focus on strength, and ones that go with light armor normally go for dex. If you go with the strength it will have you with a lower AC in light armor, but dex wont give a lot of damage by comparison.
The brawler might work. Good idea AVR.
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Honestly, just go straight Ninja. Seems like you're trying to game the system with multiclassing a bunch. Ninjas are fine by themselves, don't use magic, wear light or no armor, and have lots of skills. I currently have a level 4 Half-Orc Ninja, (16str, 14dex) that focuses on 2handing a katana. Took "Wall Climber" and "Vanishing Trick" for my two Ninja Tricks and I've been having a lot of fun with my character. I've done upwards of 26-34dmg on a single attack with a crit and I'm able to vanish at will or climb practically anything (except glass or similarly smooth surface) to get where I want, when I want. This character is played in PFS and I've not felt lacking one bit so far, I know things do change a bit after lvl 8 for Rogues in general though.
Human is a solid choice, Ninjas have access to some monk'ish weapons or you can take a Ninja Trick for unarmed combat. You'd have a high bluff with a 14Cha, and most likely a 12Wis so your Sense Motive and Perception aren't horrible, plus they are both class skills.
EDIT: Getting Sneak Attack is pretty easy also. Ninja CAN LEGALLY be combined with the Scout archetype, anyone that says otherwise glances at the Ninja/Cavalier text and draws conclusions before actually understanding what it's really saying. So as a Ninja/Scout, you can Vanish and Sneak Attack, flank and Sneak Attack, Charge and Sneak Attack, move 10' and Sneak Attack (Combine with Spring Attack for hit/run tactics). Only issues you run into are Swarms, Constructs, and other other rare cases. The Charge Ki shuriken trick helps deal with swarms though.
Honestly, just go straight Ninja. Seems like you're trying to game the system with multiclassing a bunch. Ninjas are fine by themselves, don't use magic, wear light or no armor, and have lots of skills. I currently have a level 4 Half-Orc Ninja, (16str, 14dex) that focuses on 2handing a katana. Took "Wall Climber" and "Vanishing Trick" for my two Ninja Tricks are I've been having a lot of fun with my character. I've done upwards of 26-34dmg on a single attack with a crit and I'm able to vanish at will or climb practically anything (except glass or similarly smooth surface) to get where I want, when I want. This character is played in PFS and I've not felt lacking one bit so far, I know things do change a bit after lvl 8 for Rogues in general though.
Human is a solid choice, Ninjas have access to some monk'ish weapons or you can take a Ninja Trick for unarmed combat. You'd have a high bluff with a 14Cha, and most likely a 12Wis so your Sense Motive and Perception aren't horrible, plus they are both class skills.
EDIT: Getting Sneak Attack is pretty easy also. Ninja CAN LEGALLY be combined with the Scout archetype, anyone that says otherwise glances at the Ninja/Cavalier text and draws conclusions before actually trying to understand what it's really saying. So as a Ninja/Scout, you can Vanish and Sneak Attack, flank and Sneak Attack, Charge and Sneak Attack, move 10' and Sneak Attack (Combine with Spring Attack for hit/run tactics). Only issues you run into are Swarms, Constructs, and other other rare cases. The Charge Ki shuriken trick helps deal with swarms though.
That does sound like a lot of fun! There are a good number of constructs this campaign (One boss we fought was a construct with near 400 health) but I think I could try something like that. Our rogue just got kicked from the group for constant afking so it'd also fill the niche we need.
Do you think it'd be possible to use a reach weapon as a ninja? I'm still new to DnD (but not new to gaming in general) so I'm unsure of the specifics on sneak attacking.
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Oh yeah, Ninjas are proficient with the kusarigama, which is a 5' and 10' weapon (meaning melee and reach option). I believe at the beginning of the turn you declare which end you're using, melee or reach, and then it depends for THAT round which range (5ft or 10ft) that creatures provoke if they move outside of your threatened area and etc.
I think there may be a wand that helps detect traps, but Ninjas do lose the trapfinding ability, albeit they still can get a high disable device for the traps they do locate.
To combat Constructs, get a Golembane Scarab. It won't let you have Sneak Attack on them but it will let you ignore their Damage Reduction. A Headband of Ninjitsu will let you Sneak Attack creatures with concealment or total concealment. Swarms dealt with Ki Charge or a Swarmbane Clasp.
EDIT: Once you hit lvl 10 you can pickup the advanced trick for Greater Invisibility, which is just awesome. Also, to help your Armor Class as an Strength Ninja pickup Offensive Defense as your 6th or 8th lvl Ninja Trick. If you Sneak Attack, you get +1AC (dodge bonus) per Sneak Attack dice rolled for 1 round. At 9th level that's 5 extra AC.
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Slayers can get Ninja Tricks.
Stygian Slayer can go full invisibility(not Vanish).
I highly suggest Slayer over Ninja, for better hit points, saves, and versatility.
Still, above that, I suggest Urban Barbarian.
BBT, you're right. They can get Ninja Tricks but you completely forgot that Slayers don't get a Ki Pool. Unless you count getting a Ki Pool via a Rogue Talent which will give a # of Ki = to your Wis mod, which is probably a 12-14 (So 1-2 Ki points). Have fun trying to use any of the good Ninja Tricks with that......
Slayer will pull ahead with BAB, HP, and Saves...but Ninja gets a few more skill points each level, has party face class skills (Diplomacy, Linguistics, etc) and UMD & Sleight of Hand class skills. Concerning class skills it's not much but Ninjas don't dump Charisma either so they are more likely to win the social encounters and investigation missions than a Slayer.
Slayers get Sneak Attack but at a slower progression. I know 2d6 extra precision damage isn't much and Sneak Attack can be mitigated in some ways, I've provided means for combating some of those instances above in my earlier post.
The lower BAB is rough but as a 2hand Strength Ninja with Scout you're going to be catching your enemy flat footed or able to flank/charge to get the advantage, or just loom in the shadows till they are asleep or vulnerable (since this is a home game). Rogues/Ninjas have a lot of problems when it comes to dual-wielding, and I don't feel that the 2handed user suffers as much in comparison.
If anything, the Ninja is more versatile. While the Slayer class has killed the Rogue, the Ninja still keeps its niche.
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Edit: Just to show the difference in Ki Pool between a Ninja and Slayer.
Lvl10 Slayer w/ 14Wis who spends 1 Rogue Talent on Ki Pool - 2 Ki points a day.
Lvl10 Ninja w/ 14Cha (Free Talent for something else) - 7 Ki points a day.
Add in Ring of Ki Mastery and Forgotten Trick and that Ninja just got even more Versatile being able to pull up a feat or trick to combat the current issue more efficiently.
Slayers can get Ninja Tricks.
Stygian Slayer can go full invisibility(not Vanish).
I highly suggest Slayer over Ninja, for better hit points, saves, and versatility.
Still, above that, I suggest Urban Barbarian.
Hrm, Slayer does seem more versatile. However if our campaign hits level 20 ninja final ability coupled with light step and walking through walls seems very excessive at making anything die. Seriously just reading it I don't know how anyone could combat that unless they already saw it coming.
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IMO, Assassinate is where it's at. If you were ever to reach 20th lvl that's a 10 + 10 (1/2 Ninja lvl) + 5 (assuming 20 Charisma) = DC 25 fortitude save or die. If the person saves, you have an insane stealth check, fast movement, wall climbing, walking thru walls, air walk, hidden master, clones, mirror image, and a few other tricks to escape and try again tomorrow. Albeit a little cheap, but that's what Ninjas do. They track their enemy down and strike when they are weak, and getting captured is not an option.
Also, if your Race has a favored class bonus that allows you to get 1/6th of a Rogue Talent. You can start taking it at 4th level and by 10th level you get a free Rogue Talent and at 10th level can choose from the list of Advanced Talents. I'm doing this with my Ninja and getting Invisible Blade and Evasion at 10th level.
IMO, Assassinate is where it's at. If you were ever to reach 20th lvl that's a 10 + 10 (1/2 Ninja lvl) + 5 (assuming 20 Charisma) = DC 25 fortitude save or die. If the person saves, you have an insane stealth check, fast movement, wall climbing, walking thru walls, air walk, hidden master, clones, mirror image, and a few other tricks to escape and try again tomorrow. Albeit a little cheap, but that's what Ninjas do. They track their enemy down and strike when they are weak, and getting captured is not an option.
Also, if your Race has a favored class bonus that allows you to get 1/6th of a Rogue Talent. You can start taking it at 4th level and by 10th level you get a free Rogue Talent and at 10th level can choose from the list of Advanced Talents. I'm doing this with my Ninja and getting Invisible Blade and Evasion at 10th level.
When you talk about dipping into scout what do you mean exactly? Is scout an archtype for another class?
I'm considering the build you mentions (scout/ninja) since it seems to perfectly fit what I'm looking for.
Scout is a rogue archetype.
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What Wraithstrike said. You can combine archetypes as long as they don't replace something that's already replaced. If you take Ninja, you can't take another archetype that replaces an ability from Rogue if you already lost it from Ninja. Which is where the rule found in Cavalier comes from that people often misread. Since Ninja and Scout don't replace anything of the same ability you can take both together.
So at 8th level you'd be a 8 Ninja and 8 Scout for purposes of abilities granted.
what about a sohei?
at 6th level you can flurry with a polearm, even in light armor (though you lose Wis to AC if you wear armor), and if you want to flurry with a greatsword/nodachi/whatever you could go sohei 6/weaponmaster 3 to get weapon training with any weapon you want...
-The character uses a 2h weapon
-No magic, ninja and rogue tricks are fine
-The character wears at max light armor, preferred to go no armor
-The character does not rage, in that its personality is that of a more or less very emotionless individual, otherwise it'd be to easy just to pick barbarian
-Preferably has skills, after playing a sorcerer I hate feeling mostly useless out of combat (Party has a wizard and cleric so they covered all the support spells).
Sohei seems a good way to me.
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what about a sohei?
at 6th level you can flurry with a polearm, even in light armor (though you lose Wis to AC if you wear armor), and if you want to flurry with a greatsword/nodachi/whatever you could go sohei 6/weaponmaster 3 to get weapon training with any weapon you want...
It's debateable whether the GM will let him get his +wis to AC and be able to use his Monk abilities in Light Armor. The author has expressed that the archetype was never meant to let a Monk use all his abilities in Light Armor but that it was an "option" instead, allowing a monk to dump their Wis.
Just wanted to point that out as you may encounter a GM that won't let Sohei fly like that, you'd have to talk with your GM beforehand. Unfortunately there's quite a few archetypes that are poorly worded, like the Sohei or like Tetori Monks that gain feats that aren't even real feats...
I will say though, that going straight Sohei or going lvl6 Sohei and then multiclass into something else for the rest of your career isn't a bad option though.
He loses wis to AC in armor but he can flurry in it.
I recall the Shadow Dancer PrC had a well-established 2hand and here it is. As long as you're OK with Spell-like abilities. And that Shadow Companion is pretty sweet too.
