Ok, weird idea number 537 brought on by sleep deprivation. I was watching one of the old Conan movies and laughing at the cowardly thief sidekick. So for some reason it got me thinking about playing a cowardly PC. {{ Note: The only way I will probably get to play this character anytime in the near future would be at PFS. Wouldn’t fit real well in the home group and they are still early in the current campaign. }}
But I don’t want to be a jerk player that is always leaving the party in the lurch or not contributing. So rather than run away or just hiding, I was thinking about turning invisible at the first sign of trouble. Also what could a ‘coward’ still provide to the party. What comes to mind is skills, eidolon/summoned creature for fighting, eidolon/familiar for scouting, party buff spells. Using a familiar to scout means the caster would have to have ranks in stealth, perception, and probably disable device. Not perfect, but doable. Eidolon for fighting or scouting has its own skill ranks. Can an eidolon be built to do a could job as both combatant and scout?
That starts to sound like a summoner since they have the eidolon and some decent buff spells. But they have crap skills and not too many spells a day for buffing. Especially if I burn very many turning invisible all the time (though I suppose I could buy a Wand of Vanish pretty cheap).
A druid has a few more skill points. Some of the domains will give you a familiar. Can spontaneously convert to summon spells for fighting. Full caster with some decent buff spell choices. But would have to UMD to disappear for the cowardly aspect.
A Sage sorcerer would have decent skills, full caster with powerful buff spells, could learn a few summon spells for fighting. I heard the new familiar book has a feat that will let anyone get a familiar, but I haven’t read it yet.
Do you have other ideas? What do you think would work best?
An alchemist that has to drink his "courage juice" (mutagen) to fight willingly.
Otherwise he's a mess.
- Bard who uses bardic music but tries to stay away from the actual fighting. Later he can cast vanish to be saver.
- Hunter/Druid who lets his AC do the fighting and stands back himself.
- Any caster than throws some buffs at the start of the fight and then goes over to ready actions to cast spells should someone attack them.
Whatever you go with. Be sure to try and get a cowardly crouching cape as soon as possible. (Sadly more of a fluff item as the DC is too low.)
Edit: Is the flagbearer feat legal for PFS? If so it would be an option of helping the party without doing anything.
An alchemist that has to drink his "courage juice" (mutagen) to fight willingly.
Otherwise he's a mess.
Ha! I didn't think of that. I'm not a big fan of alchemist, but that does kinda fit the concept.
I played a conjurer (teleportation) it was great, he had 3 kinds of invisibility, 2 kinds of fligth, 4 kinds of teleportation and to ways to run faster at level 9 and he still manager to be a great team player in and out of figths. He was only in the group because he had nowhere else to go. And he was afraid of the cleric, the rogue and the barbarian. In the end he succeded in convinced everybody that he is more valuable sitting at home crafting so no i play a zen-archer in that group:)
Another idea is a bloodrager, a cursed former wizards apprentice or petty thief, that really dont like figths and just want the good easy life but when the figths break out what ever shares his body with him breaks out and goes berserk.
Barbarians have such tasteful Rage Powers as "Liquid Courage" and "Good for what ails you." Y'know, you drink booze as a class feature. A friend and I talked about making a dwarven barbarian who was a complete coward until he drank his beer and got angry.
Oh: any sort of well-built sniper that specializes in not being seen. Pack a heavy crossbow, get yourself on a hill some hundreds of feet away from the fight, pump that Stealth and AB. Let the murderhobos go in with weapons out while you shoot things safely from a distance.
If you're threatened with melee conflict you chug a potion of invisibility followed by a potion of expeditious retreat.
Oh: any sort of well-built sniper that specializes in not being seen. Pack a heavy crossbow, get yourself on a hill some hundreds of feet away from the fight, pump that Stealth and AB. Let the murderhobos go in with weapons out while you shoot things safely from a distance.
If you're threatened with melee conflict you chug a potion of invisibility followed by a potion of expeditious retreat.
Few home groups and almost never in PFS does a real hidden distance sniper work out. At least not that I've seen.
Few home groups and almost never in PFS does a real hidden distance sniper work out. At least not that I've seen.Oh: any sort of well-built sniper that specializes in not being seen. Pack a heavy crossbow, get yourself on a hill some hundreds of feet away from the fight, pump that Stealth and AB. Let the murderhobos go in with weapons out while you shoot things safely from a distance.
If you're threatened with melee conflict you chug a potion of invisibility followed by a potion of expeditious retreat.
Oh, this is for PFS? Yeah, that changes things.
In home games it works so long as the campaign isn't a "let's charge into a dungeon" style game. Adventuring through the wilderness, fighting an army, defending a fortress, etc. are all scenes where it works just fine. I've definitely seen it work in urban crime campaigns. It's just that the kick-the-door-in style game isn't conducive to the traditional sniper role.
For a PFS game... I'll advocate a cleric with the Trickery domain. You get Sanctuary, you get Invisibility, you get Stealth, Bluff, and Disguise as class skills... You can use non-harmful abilities while invisible and under the effects of sanctuary to assist your allies.
Play a sensei/quinggong with perform oratory(snarks) hiding behind a rock and shouting advices without even watching the scene.
POW
"Go on, you'r doing great"
OUCH
"Carefull now!!"
BADABOM
"Aim lower next time!"
Seiusly, you can give all your team Inspire courage, Barskin, and extra attacks/extra dodge AC. They are going to be quite pleased with you.
Witch with the misfortune and cackle hexes. You debuff the enemies with your nervous laughter...