PFS Halfling Tactician, Take 2 - Aid Another


Advice


So, I've decided I want to prepare a character for when I inevitably start playing PFS again. I loved my previous Aid Another build and wanted to do something similar, but... better.

Please note: Links posted on these forums tend to break. Erase the erroneous space in the links to fix them when pasting them into your browser.

Character build in question: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IH-KD95cRS3StdbLwXXwQR8-KCVISz3XUhR w6hTDaUk/edit?usp=sharing

So, the questions I'm asking are:

1) Is this build solid?
2) Is this build PFS legal?
3) Do you foresee problems / complications in PFS play?
And 4) Would you enjoy playing alongside a character like this?

It should be obvious with a cursory glance that this build does NOT deal damage. It helps others deal damage. I theoretically will almost never be attacking someone with the intent of harming them.

My plan is to be the "fifth man" with this character, preferably working alongside martial characters, hybrids, and any spellcaster that likes to make touch attacks (especially shocking grasp magi). I also hope to be able to boost my allies' attack bonuses to respectable levels.

I'm tempted to start down the Golden Legionnaire path starting at level 13 rather than finishing with Tactician, but that requires Heavy Armor Proficiency. I can always Retrain my Weapon Finesse feat to Heavy Armor Proficiency once I hit level 11 (I'll have enough BAB that I only fail Aid Another checks on a 1 by then). Still, Battle Insight (from Tactician) with my high INT could be gorgeous as it provides the benefit for the whole turn rather than for a single attack (assuming a +4 INT item, that's a +6 bonus to all attacks for that turn). Not shabby.

I choose a whip as a weapon because it has 15 foot reach. With that and Unarmed Strike as per a monk, I threaten all squares - adjacent or otherwise - within 15 feet of me, vastly opening up the area in which I can flank (and consequently get more use out of the Outflank feat).

The Animal Ally feat is taken solely to get another meatwall that can Aid Another buddies as much as necessary.

Relevant and important links:
Tactician Archetype - http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo---fig hter-archetypes/tactician
Master of Many Styles Archetype - http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/monk/archetypes/paizo---monk-a rchetypes/master-of-many-styles
Golden Legionnaire PRC - http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/e-h/golden-leg ionnaire
Blundering Defense - http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/racial-feats/blundering-defense-combat-halfli ng
Bodyguard Feat - http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/bodyguard-combat
Animal Ally Feat - http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/animal-ally


One last thought comes to mind: it's not that hard to swap the feats gained at level 3 with those gained at level 5. Would Bodyguard + Combat Reflexes be more desirable as a set of level 3 feats?

Sczarni

link not working :(


Character Spreadsheet

Arr, that should do it. I wish you could edit old posts, but this should do.


The build seems legit, but I would suggest going the Cavalier route. 2nd level Cavalier of the Order of the Dragon gets Aid Allies, a +3 bonus to stack onto your allies when you use an Aid Another. Expect some table variation on it, but many agree that it stacks with Aid Another (a few dissent, though).

Another place to look is Paladin's Sacred Shield archetype. By being adjacent, you offer your shield bonus to your allies. That's an easy +2 if you have a heavy shield or +7 when it's fully enchanted. A nice bump.

I dunno that I'd mess around with Cautious Fighter and Blundering Defense. They, unfortunately, require you to use your standard to attack. I run a similar build and my most common standard action is to ready an action to position myself to use Bodyguard when an ally is attacked. You can get an extra interrupt that way!

The Exchange

Take a look at my build.
DR/- is some of the best stuff in the game.

The Exchange

Character Build in Question
Tactician
Master of Many Styles
Golden Legionnaire
Blundering Defense
Bodyguard
Animal Ally

Make real links. It's not much more work on your end.


I'd definitely love to go back and edit those in, but I can't now. I found the "how to format" button waaaay too late. It really isn't obvious.

To explain why I originally wanted to use Tactician instead of a Cavalier (because the Cavalier is DARNED good at its job) or Sacred Shield: Tactician's 11th level ability gives that Aid Another boost to a number of allies equal to 1 + your INT modifier, not just 1. So, for EVERY Aid Another action you perform - Bodyguard, Swift Aid, Standard Action Aid - you apply that buff to your whole team, essentially. This would be good for melee-heavy parties as suddenly everyone near a certain enemy has Aid Another bonuses that, between items and traits and such, can reach +10 or more.

The downside to the above is that it's only REALLY good for melee parties. Read: only a portion of the parties you'll meet in PFS. So, looking at your suggestions...

Quote:
The build seems legit, but I would suggest going the Cavalier route. 2nd level Cavalier of the Order of the Dragon gets Aid Allies, a +3 bonus to stack onto your allies when you use an Aid Another. Expect some table variation on it, but many agree that it stacks with Aid Another (a few dissent, though).

I definitely did consider that before and am still considering it now. The benefit would be visible SO much earlier on, and I'd be throwing +8 attack bonuses / +7 AC bonuses at allies by level 2 (or 3 if I still take monk). Not a bad call.

This would go well with the Honor Guard archetype for the Cavalier, too. Taking a third level would grant the Bodyguard feat for free. Not bad either.

Quote:
Another place to look is Paladin's Sacred Shield archetype. By being adjacent, you offer your shield bonus to your allies. That's an easy +2 if you have a heavy shield or +7 when it's fully enchanted. A nice bump.

That is... highly noteworthy. That is extremely noteworthy, actually. Bookmarking. Bastion of Good doesn't hurt either if you're fighting evil monsters. So, that would be another four levels that would go well with the Cavalier levels...

Quote:
I dunno that I'd mess around with Cautious Fighter and Blundering Defense. They, unfortunately, require you to use your standard to attack.

Well... Sort of.

Fighting Defensively wrote:
You can choose to fight defensively when attacking.
Aid Another wrote:
In melee combat, you can help a friend attack or defend by distracting or interfering with an opponent. If you're in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat, you can attempt to aid your friend as a standard action. You make an attack roll against AC 10.

I've used this argument in a PFS game to let it work with the Aid Another action. You're attacking AC 10 as a standard action to provide a +whatever bonus to your allies. I'm not sure if that's how the designers would rule this, so that may be worth asking in an FAQ, but people have seemed to accept that you can Fight Defensively while using Aid Another. This makes Blundering Defense that much more valuable.

If you're right, though, then yeah: there's no reason to use Blundering Defense.

Quote:

Take a look at my build.

DR/- is some of the best stuff in the game.

While I like the Stalwart Defender class, it doesn't translate well into what I'm doing from what I can tell. Stalwart Defender makes YOU, the Defender, very tough. This build is supposed to make allies tough. Still nice, but I'd want to grab that later, I think. Also, Blundering Defense specifically gives half the Dodge AC bonus you gain from fighting defensively to your adjacent allies, so even if I were able to use Blundering Defense with that setup, I couldn't give my allies that insane Damage Reduction you have.

Basically, I like your build, but it's not doing what I want to do. It's making the Stalwart Defender very durable, but it's doing nothing (as far as I can tell) to make your allies any more durable. Correct me if I'm wrong, though, because I may well be missing something vital.

I'm going to toy with designing a somewhat different character build, I think. Namely: Honor Guard 3 with Order of the Dragon, Master of Many Styles 1, Sacred Shield 5+. Sadly, the mount would become irrelevant and Animal Ally would no longer be a feat applicable to my PC, so I can't get a super useful Animal Companion bodyguard to add more Aid Another checks (which was the advantage of Animal Ally + Boon Companion before).

Alternatively, I could try a Standard Bearer 2 (Order of the Dragon), Master of Many Styles 1, Sacred Shield 4, Tactician 11. Since level 18 IS feasibly possible to achieve in PFS (although difficult, I think?), this would be a firm enough build that would still include Animal Ally + Boon Companion (and all the benefits attached to that, including a scaling ally that can CLIMB WALLS and thus not take up your space - thanks Dire Rat) and a banner that could either be worn as a cape or depicted on the PC's shield. I wouldn't have as great a spell selection as I would with the first build, nor would I have a strong Lay on Hands, both of which are some of the paladin's best qualities.

Opinions? I'm leaning toward the build without Tactician. I'd have to change the build to have more CHA to make the paladin levels worth it, but spell utility and lay on hands are tempting. Then again, more feats never hurt anyone...


Honor Guard / MoMS / Tactician

I like INT heavy characters more than CHA heavy characters, so I whipped up this version. The good news is this version gets a better companion than a Sacred Shield would, gets to use Dirty Tricks to their full potential once they're at level 15, and still provides solid AC bonuses to allies via Aid Another and Blundering Defense (which, at the very least, should be usable with a Full Attack filled with Dirty Tricks). The downside is... No spells, no lay on hands, no Sacred Shield.

I toyed with using Standard Bearer 2 instead of Honor Guard 3 so I could grab Nature Soul and Animal Ally, but losing Bodyguard as a bonus feat is painful, especially since Tactician loses its first level Fighter feat. (Yeah, pretty weak.) That would slow my character advancement considerably, and I'd rather have Weapon Finesse early on so I can actually hit AC 10 dependably. I can retrain it later, but... still.

I'll make a Sacred Shield focused build next. Honestly, Standard Bearer / Bard / Sacred Shield with a Banner of Ancient Kings would be solid. Crane Style / Blundering Defense stuff could be ignored because it's unnecessary at that point, allowing the character to focus on Bodyguard, Swift Aid and getting Animal Ally (which would scale with the character).


Silly thought: for the next 3 levels for the newest build posted here, I could take 3 Investigator levels and thus be able to Aid Another as a move action. I could, therefore, Aid as a move, then as a swift (affecting AC and damage), use my standard action to dirty trick, and still have Bodyguard left for any attacks following the first few on my allies.

But that just sounds like overkill. My last 5 levels would be better saved for something else (assuming I ever even get them).

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