
ThatF'ingguy |
Hey everybody, I am new to this pathfinder and D&D stuff and I finally got into it with a friend of mine. However I am new, and I am unsure of myself. I was wondering if you guys could help me build a character ( I want to impress my friend and his friends)
What I want-
Dhamphir
class- Inquisitor, or something of similar flavor
and there is another thing, I can't decide on a fighting style,
I am unsure if I want him to use swords, crossbows or guns. (I saw an option while looking through the books last night, I immediately thought "awesome".)
any suggestions?

SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Rangers are similar to Inquisitors (6 skill points, fight a lot, can be dedicated to a cause, they have spells, but don't rely on them).
Inquisitors are VERY complex to run. You have to keep track of Judgements, Spells, Bane, other things.
Rangers, on the other hand, are almost perfectly designed to introduce new players to the game.
I would suggest archery. It's very effective and relatively easy to do. You don't have to worry about a lot of melee rules.
Are you starting at level one?

SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Too late to edit, but I have played with an inexperienced player who tried to play an inquisitor, and she pretty much treated it like a fighter without the Base Attack Bonus, Bonus Feats, or Hit Points.
I've also played with new players who played rangers, and it worked out really really well.
Rangers are good at fighting and get lots of useful skills, like Perception, Stealth, Climb, Survival, Ride, Swim. They're really good at hiding, noticing things, and being mobile. You can also learn Handle Animal, Heal, a bunch of Knowledges, and some other stuff. You also get favored enemy, which is useful in certain circumstances.
At 2nd level, they get a Combat Style, which lets you choose what kind of fighting you're going to do (archery, two-handed fighting, etc.). It also gives you a nice list of bonus feats that you can select from. The lists are pretty tightly focused, so you won't be overwhelmed with choices. You can also ignore the prerequisites, which is REALLY nice.
At 3rd level, you get Endurance and a Favored Terrain, and you'll also be rich enough to afford a wand of cure light wounds by then, so you can help heal your friends (not yourself if you go dhampir).
At 4th level, you can begin to cast a few spells, and you can choose to have an animal companion (which can fight for you, scout for you, or carry you) or can learn how to help your allies fight against your favored enemy.

SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |

Summoners are complex to set up (design an eidolon, pre-write-up your favored summoned monsters, pick spells known), but inquisitors are complex to play (which judgment to use, when to use it, which spell to cast, when to cast it, when to use bane, which Teamwork feat to pick, when to change it, how best to use it, etc.). Inquisitors have lots of little circumstantial bonuses that can add up in the right circumstances, but it takes a not insignificant amount of game mastery to set up consistently.

SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

One of the good things about the inquisitor is that you can choose to know the inflict light wounds spell so you can heal yourself as a dhamphir.
Also, the Charisma bonus from the dhamphir race helps with a lot of the class skills inquisitors get, like Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, and (especially) Diplomacy. Dhamphir also get a Dexterity bonus, which is useful for archery (crossbows, longbows, thrown weapons) and fencing (like rapiers, shortswords, handaxes, daggers). Many weapon finesse weapons are not on the list of inquisitor weapons, but they might be the favored weapon of your deity, which inquisitors get.
You will want to look at the list of available deities (which can vary depending on if it is a Golarian game, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, or a homebrew campaign). Deities grant you a favored weapon, domain, and your basic morality, ethics, and ethos.
You get a limited number of spells known as an inquisitor. You want to select them with care. Work with your friend to see what would be useful in the types of games they play. Spells can be used to make you better at fighting, gathering information, utility, healing, hurting opponents, and many other things. Think about what you want to do with your magic.
Judgment is the main combat ability of the inquisitor. It can only for 1 fight per day at low levels, so you might want to save it for an important fight. Judgment can also grant a wide variety of effects, like healing yourself, making you harder to hit, making you hit harder, and making you resistant to different type of attacks, etc.
Inquisitors are really fun, but they require a lot of knowledge on how the rules work. Also, lots of gaming groups use houserules, so you will need to check to see how those houserules interact with all the rules that inquisitors use.

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IDK, at best, I think the cha would be used as a dump-stat and then upped back to a 9. Are you using a point buy?
if he goes archery he will be feat starved for quite a bit (basically all your feats go towards your fighting style up until around level 9)
crossbows are worse, though very flavorful.
if he goes melee he only has to worry about a few feats- intimidating prowess, power attack, and corugon smash. possibly weapon focus. It opens up a few feats for other things. Ofc, the 16 str isn't bad, but the -2 to con hurts.
20pt buy would look like this I'd wager-
16 str
16 dex (after mod)
10 con (after mod)
10 Int
15 Wis
09 Cha. (after mod)
Archery would most likely work best, but the biggest question is what do you want to do? and as far as guns go, they are out. It just won't work.
EDIT: nofertu born get +str/wis however, you have to have a character uglier than an ogre "/

Aemesh |

Do you know who else is in the party? Class/races?
Okay, barring any unusual class clashes/combos in your party, here's a basic rundown and some pretty basic build advice:
I'd like to really bring up a strong suit that goes overlooked with inquisitors, in the face of their spells and other abilities: Teamwork feats. The ability to use teamwork feats even if your other party members *don't* have them is, at times, really valuable, and to top it off, you can trade out whatever your newest teamwork feat is, withany other teamwork feat you qualify for. Anyway, lookit:
Consider: Precise Strike(teamwork)
"Prerequisites: Dex 13, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Whenever you and an ally who also has this feat are flanking the same the creature, you deal an additional 1d6 points of precision damage with each successful melee attack. This bonus damage stacks with other sources of precision damage, such as sneak attack. This bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit."
Very handy. But... melee only.
Another awesome example of the inquisitor teamwork power-
Tandem Trip:
"Benefit: Whenever you attempt a trip combat maneuver against an enemy threatened by an ally with this feat, you roll twice and take the better result."
So, If you're playing a melee caharacter, and took Improved trip, you could basically roll twice and take the higher result whenever you attempt a trip.... wow. So, you dual wield- take that precise strike teamwork feat too. You come up on any enemy that one of your allies is also attacking. Trip (offhand) main hand - or whichever weapon does more damage - you hit him while he's down. Being able to reroll your trips is a huge benefit, especially considering the attack bonus deficit of playing an inquisitor as compared to a barb/ranger/fighter.
Just keep in mind that if you're playing a dex-based fighter and trying to dual wield-it's a really demanding build, that takes a lot of feats. Sprinkling in some maneuvers will make it really hard to excel. You'd need two weapon fighting, weapon finesse, agile maneuvers, combat expertise, and improved trip, at the minimum - as it stands, it aint gonna happen with a dhampir. But hey, if you do nothing but build toward this, you *could* do it by level 10.
Ultimately you have two big problems with an inquisitor build: First, not so many feats. As a dhampir, you'll only have your level 1 bonus feat to start, which won't allow for much. You'll need to hit level 5 before you can get past all the usual prerequisite feats: weapon finesse, point blank shot, power attack, Combat expertise...
Second, if you plan on melee fighting, unless you invest in weapon finesse, you will have a MAD issue: (Multiple Attribute Dependency) Inquisitors require Wisdom for casting, And strength or dexterity (hand to hand build, or ranged build). If you're planning on going into hand to hand, they've got lower hitpoints, and no heavy armor proficiency, so you may need to increase your CON, or your Dex anyway for a higher defense. So now with your 20 pt buy rules:
Finesse Melee build: (dhampir stats included)
Str:10 Dex 18: con 10: Int 13 Wis:14 Cha:12
Feat: weapon finesse.
Pros: Good dex at the start, enough Wis for a bonus spell, a tiny cha bump to help with social skills. Using small, graceful weapons, decent chance to hit. Pretty dodgy, with a chain shirt on, you'll have an 18 AC. With a shield, 19 or 20 AC.
Cons: Weak damage! (mostly d4 and d6 at a pop, which is insignificant, considering the risks of putting yourself in close combat). Simple weapons/favored weapon of your deity only! (could still use all the ranged weapons, but don't try firing into combat, you'll probably just miss. Low Wis means you're stuck with defensive spells or spells that don't require saves, have to bump it up to be able to cast your level 5 and 6 spells later on.) Weak CMB. Don't try any maneuvers until you get agile manuevers.
Overall: This build might shine a little more later as a crowd controller, maybe an off-dps, once you have access to feats like agile maneuvers, slashing grace (non-light one handed slashing weapons only, like longswords, scimitars, or whatever your deity may allow), Precise strike (teamwork) and varied maneuvers. If you're planning on using a rapier, consider a 1 level dip into Inspired Blade (Swashbuckler) to get a free weapon finesse/weapon focus rapier, then change your level 1 feat to combat expertise... otherwise, it's going to take a few levels of being unimpressive before you start to have value.
STR melee build. Dhamp stats included: Not optimal for STR style.
Str: 16 Dex: 16 con:8 Int:10 Wis:14 Cha:12
Bonus feat: Power attack or Combat Expertise
Pros: With the right favored diety weapon, you could be a decent damage dealer/frontliner. If your diety's weapon is sucky, you may be stuck taking a longspear or some other less ideal weapon. At least longspears have reach though... With a high dex because of racial bonuses, you'll have a good AC, particularly if you take a breastplate, but medium armor comes with its own issues. (with bp, it's 19 ac, before a shield)
Cons: horrible CON! unless you sacrifice a point or two somewhere, you're suffering, or you're not taking advantage of your racial boosts. Consider dropping your str by 1 to have at least a 10 Con. Also, 10 int may limit some feat choices- without combat expertise, it may be difficult to tank. Requires 13 int. Otherwise, many of the same problems as the finesse build: low wis, still lacking the feats to be truly valued.
Overall: You might slap on a shield, drop your str to 14, and take a 10 con and 13 int. Take Combat Expertise at level 1. Now, you're a somewhat decent level 1 tank, though you're going to suffer with low HP (9hp, if you throw in the favored class bonus. Avoid Raging two handed weapon users, or get any kind of DR you can.) If you go two handed, nevermind power attack anyway, and do the same: Combat expertise. Take a reach weapon. Then, at level 3, take that Tandem trip teamwork, and Improved Trip. This way, you're knocking enemies down from a safe distance, and relying on Attacks of Opportunity to deal damage. Still, worth it. Take Combat reflexes at 5, so that you can avoid getting rushed by multiple opponents, or take it at level 3: you might not need improved trip yet, if your enemy can't reach you to take an attack of opportunity on you. If the trips don't interest you, take combat reflexes and precise strike(team) at 3. Another great teamwork pick is Paired Opportunists (basically, +4 to attacks of opportunity, excellent if combined with tandem trips - you trip, they get up, +4 attack of opportunity.)
Ranged: a lot easier to work with.
Str:10 Dex:18 Con:8 Int:10 Wis:16 Cha:12
Feat: point blank shot.
Pros: good dex, higher wis means you're more likely to land aggressive spells, and more bonus spells. If you don't care about it, you've got some free points - take a 14 wis and a 14 int, so you can start making use of more skills. Access to bows and crossbows of all sorts with your class proficiency - particularly, the Repeating Crossbow. <--- pick that, methinks. Better crit ranges. Good damage, but they can get expensive...
Cons: low con. Stay the hell away from combat and keep enemies on the other side of your teammates. You will get one-shot easily.
Overall: At level three, take Precise Shot, and your teamwork feat (*see below). Do what ever you can to stay on the fringes of combat, keeping just out of that 30' range where most enemies can get at you. Either stay behind your allies, or if you plan on flanking, try to stay in cover or have obstacles between you and the enemy. You'll be doing decent damage. Light armor! Stay mobile. Use any item or spell you can get your hands on to increase your move speed or debuff enemies' moves/actions. Being away from the fights also makes it less likely that enemies will interrupt spellcasting as well. Using a repeating crossbow makes the rapid reload feat a waste unless you use it as a prereq for something else like crossbow mastery. But either way, by level 5 you could take rapid shot or deadly aim to increase your damage potential.
* As your level 3 teamwork feat you have limited options with ranged attacks. Volley fire is a possibility if you have an ally who also uses ranged weapons:
"Volley fire:Prerequisite(s): Point-Blank Shot.
Benefit(s): You gain a +1 bonus on ranged attack rolls for each ally with this feat who made a ranged attack since the end of your last turn against a target within 15 feet of your target, to a maximum of +4. These allies don't provide cover against your attacks."
The more allies using ranged attacks, the higher your bonus. But if it's only one ally, and you're firing at a different area, it's wasted.
Otherwise: "Covering Fire: Prerequisite(s): Point-Blank Shot.
Benefit(s): You can use the aid another action with a ranged attack against an opponent, regardless of whether the opponent threatens an ally. Range penalties apply to this attack roll. Choose one ally when making the attack.
If the attack is successful, that ally gains a +2 bonus to AC against that opponent's next attack, as long as the attack comes before the beginning of your next turn. All allies with this feat also gain this bonus against that opponent."
So basically, you shoot an enemy that's fighting one or more of your allies in melee- all your allies get +2 AC vs that target. Very handy.
Ultimately, either one of those feats opens the door to Enfilading Fire or Target of Opportunity later on, as teamwork feats. Other feats to consider: Coordinated shot (teamwork), Ranged Trip, Weapon focus->snap shot-improved snapshot (those last three only if you took combat reflexes earlier), Extra Bane, Extended Bane, Spell Bane
As for spells - take your pick, it'll all depend on your build, and frankly this post is already CRAZY VERBOSE, my apologies.
Good luck!

ThatF'ingguy |
ok, we are actually using the 20pt buy, here are two different things I cooked up.
1- a very van helsing (movie) type guy.
stats- post modifiers
str: 08
Dex: 18
Con: 10
Wis: 16
Int: 10
Cha: 12
1- PBS
3- Precise shot
5- Rapid Reload
7- Rapid shot
9- crossbow mastery (heavy crossbow) (recommend by a friend)
11- deadly aim
13- many shot
or an archer build
str: 12
Dex: 18
Con: 10
Wis: 16
Int: 12
Cha: 08
feats-
1- PBS
3- Precise shot
5- Rapid shot
7- deadly aim
9- many shot

Aemesh |

ok, we are actually using the 20pt buy, here are two different things I cooked up.
1- a very van helsing (movie) type guy.
stats- post modifiers
str: 08
Dex: 18
Con: 10
Wis: 16
Int: 10
Cha: 121- PBS
3- Precise shot
5- Rapid Reload
7- Rapid shot
9- crossbow mastery (heavy crossbow) (recommend by a friend)
11- deadly aim
13- many shotor an archer build
str: 12
Dex: 18
Con: 10
Wis: 16
Int: 12
Cha: 08feats-
1- PBS
3- Precise shot
5- Rapid shot
7- deadly aim
9- many shot
Your friend is right about heavy crossbow-but why stop there? Repeating heavy crossbow. Swap your rapid shot and rapid reload feats at 5/7 - better to have the extra attack earlier on, and you won't really need rapid reload with a repeating crossbow, except as a prerequisite for crossbow mastery. At level 8 your BAB reaches 6/1, so at 9 you take crossbow mastery - that way, your 5 round clip gets insta-reloaded, and you never have to worry about reloads interrupting your full attack actions again.
Still, weighed against the big fat +2 to +6 damage a shot of deadly aim, I'd almost take deadly aim at level 7 instead, and just wait till 11 to worry about reloads in your off round. With a heavy repeater, you've got a 5-bolt clip. It's a full round action to reload without rapid reloads, So it's up to you to decide if you'd rather be doing d10+4 (at BAB 4-7) damage a shot for 5 shots, then stopping for a round, as compared to doing d10 damage, without downtime for reloads. Unless you're using some really good ammo enchants, taking deadly aim early on seems a better bet. I'd take rapid shots at 5 then deadly aim at 7, personally. Use your judgments to increase accuracy, rather than damage, - if you're using rapid shot and deadly aim together, you'll need it, and with your limited spell choices, take at least one spell that will increase your odds of hitting.
Edit: oh yeah - and I don't think Manyshot works with crossbows- but who cares? unless you're planning on hitting level 20 really soon, that one extra arrow vs the crossbow's better critical range seems like it's not too impressive. Manyshot only gets really nutty once you have ridiculous magic ammo, and you're playing an arcane archer with arcane strikes - at least in my opinion.

Arachnofiend |

If the flavor is what you want you could look at the Deliverer Slayer. In terms of flavor it's basically an Inquisitor without spells. I'd recommend going melee over ranged with it though, since you lose your combat style talents.

Aemesh |

Hmm... almost forgot about Bane ability, so more attacks is better than higher base damage/crits... (Bane = +2 enchantment, 2d6 damage against X enemy type)
I'll back up a step--- go for crossbow mastery (think the van helsing thing's a better inquisitor feel anyway)
Just doin the math... level 9, damage/attack examples.
Both cases, BAB 6/1.
A) crossbow - took rapid shot(5) Rapid reload(7) Crossbow mastery(9)
Dex+1 at 4, dex +1 at 8.
+2 crossbow. +2 bolts. Judgments: destruction, justice (assuming you activated these)
Attack: +17/+12, +15/+15/+10 rapidshot.
Damage: d10+6 (19-20, x2), Bane (2d6) (assuming a hit and you used the right bane, that's an average of 18.5 damage per hit)
B) Bow (assuming all the feats you showed, and +2 equipment, and the same stat boosts, and the same judgements.)
Attack: +17/+12, +15/+15/+10 rapidshot, (+15/+15)/+15/+10 Manyshot/rapidshot
(the Manyshot's in parentheses, and will happen at the same instance, so they can't be targeted at different enemies)
Damage: d8+7 (x3), Bane. So, 18.5 per hit. But potentially 4 chances for a x3 crit - the bane effect (2d6) isn't multiplied, but the +2 from enchantment is)
Ultimately, it seems like the crossbow build is better for dealing with weaker, more numerous enemies, a 30% crit chance at most per round, and looks more like van helsing. The bow is superior in damage, particularly against a single foe, with a 20% chance at best per round of a really nasty crit.

snejjj |

Guns are really really expensive. Every shot you take can cost you 10gp upwards and the weapons themselves are nothing you could afford at lvl 1 (except if you're a gunslinger and get your first one free).
Guns are also more complicated than bows or crossbows, because there are additional rules covering misfires (jamming, exploding, etc.) among other things.
I'd stay away from them, at leat for the beginning.

Aemesh |

x4 crit ain't worth it, for the chance of misfires. If you did max out your reloads and rapid shotness, you'll basically have a 15-30% chance every round of jamming, then the same chance of a misfire if you don't fix it. All for the same damage - or even less - that a bow does. You gotta be a gunslinger, IMO, to really make the guns shine. Still... ranged touch attacks at close range. And yet, on the other hand, loud noises. not so good if you're trying to silently kill some people our not alert other enemies nearby.

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What I want-
Dhamphir
class- Inquisitor, or something of similar flavor
and there is another thing, I can't decide on a fighting style,
I am unsure if I want him to use swords, crossbows or guns. (I saw an option while looking through the books last night, I immediately thought "awesome".)
Wait I think I know this guy! Tall, brooding, wears a trench coat, has a katana? Blood thirsty and a literal thirst for blood?
Yep, sounds like my neighbor Steve. Hmmm... maybe I should call the police about Steve.