I'm thinking about a new PFS character and lately been getting intrigued by building a Skald / Dragon Disciple
Probably going 5 levels of Skald to get to Spell Keening then Dragon Disciple for at least 4 levels. Leaving me at least 2 levels to figure out for PFS (possibly going back to Skald to get the higher level Skald abilities.
I have a bunch of Race boons for GMing - so have to decide if an elemental race would work well for this concept or if not what race to start with.
Other factors to decide:
- initial feats
- eventual rage power(s)
- should I multiclass for greater BAB and other useful abilities at the expense of spell casting ability?
Going Skald does delay the draconic bloodline abilities and going Dragon Disciple does lose out on eventual Skald abilities. However I do like that the combination will make for a class that gets a lot of inherent STR bonuses (plus possibly CON and INT) on top of Rage Song bonuses. Taking a level of Bloodrager is a definite possibility (or a level of Barbarian - perhaps Urban Barbarian for the flexibility on the rage bonuses)
Any thoughts - is there an aspect of this build idea I have missed? Some traits/feats/spells/rage powers I should focus on?
For race Human for the extra feat and skills is a definite possibility (likely Ulfen because why not -and it opens up Ulfen Guard as a possibility as well). But I do have a bunch of race boons so I'll look at those closely - and I'm open to suggestions (of course Half-Orc for all of the orcish rage related features is a possibility). Nagaji get Draconic for free - but I already have a PFS Nagaji Dragon Disciple.
I don't know much about skalds but their bard cousins I never suggest they take DD just because their abilities are based on them staying pure bard. I dont c too much difference in the skald philosophy to change this. A 2/3 caster taking DD is just wishing away spells really.
Actually, I think it could be fun!
If you have the elemental races, Ifrit would pair nicely since it boosts a pair of useful stats. Plus you can drop the Fire Resistance for a +4 bonus to Initiative and drop the Burning Hands SLA for Efreeti Magic.
Perhaps an Ifrit stat array could be:
Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 8
Cha: 15
I would get Lingering Performance to keep up your Raging Song longer.
I see you suggested going Skald 5/DD4/ Skald some more; I would agree with that, although there is some benefit to going Skald 7/DD4 as you'll get your 3rd level spells (and some good ones, too) on top of being able to Raging Song as a move action which is pretty nice (Raging Song + Haste = very hurt bad guys).
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I have a PFS Bloodrager/skald. He's a half-orc bloodrager that took a bloodline familiar and has amplified rage. Then he went skald so when he raging songs he gets a +8 to str and con. He went totem skald so at lv3 skald he gets another +2 str while using raging song. Then going DD for more str, HP, and natural armor.
I like playing multi-classed characters. Yes I know that doing so gives up full class abilities - but I enjoy crafting characters that do something unique or different and are still effective (of my PFS characters only one is not multi classed and three are with a fourth that is only level 3 about to be when I level him to level 3). The point of going Dragon Disciple is to be more flexible than a straight bard or Skald. He would be able to buff - but also would be a highly effective melee character himself (between a high STR, natural AC and a range of melee related abilities).
Lingering Performance is a possible consideration though PFS play means a free Extra Performance so a +6 rounds of performance at 1st level.
I would probably go lower on the DEX and higher on the CHA & INT if i go Ifrit. Though I'm leaning towards going Human for this character (possibly Ulfen).
Half-orc with a bloodline familiar is nice - I assume you went with a Valet to share teamwork feats?
Personally I wouldn't suggest the Totem Skald for your build as the Totem ability is an enhancement bonus (and eventually I assume you will want a belt of STR). Or if you do I would suggest another ability not STR - for example the mouse totem would give you (and all your allies) Evasion - which is rather strong at all levels and hard for many characters to get. Or I would suggest a CON bonus as fewer people have enhancement bonuses to CON (though for non-melee types it may be the belt they buy if they are going to boost any stat).
An alternative I may consider to going Bloodrager would be Eldritch Gaurdian for two levels to get a pretty potent familiar - which might be really fun with this build (and with rage song). But the Amplified Rage w/bloodline familiar (valet) combo is mechanically quite strong indeed. +8 to STR is nothing to sneeze at in the least. Though the larger CON gain does raise the risk of death when the rage ends...
where is the last +2 from?
+2 raging song, +4 amplified rage, +2 ?? or do you just mean higher lvl song
Chess Pwn, could you elaborate on that build? It sounds interesting :)
Inspired Rage wrote: If an ally has her own rage class ability (such as barbarian's rage, bloodrager's bloodrage, or skald's inspired rage), she may use the Strength, Constitution, and Will saving throw bonuses, as well as AC penalties, based on her own ability and level instead of those from the skald (still suffering no fatigue afterward). Since you count as your own ally, you may use the Bloodrage bonuses (hence, +4) in place of the +2 from raging song. Effectively, this means that you only get a net increase at Skald L16, so arguably you'd not be penalised too much for leaving the class compared to what a Bard would be.
It is more of a question if you want to buff your team with rage powers or if you want to be stronger yourself (you can after all pick up Extra Rage Power for selfish uses) - but DD certainly seems viable on a Skald/Bloodrager. Though, keep in mind that it would still be a massive benefit to be able to start a performance as a move action, so I'd probably not want to go DD before Skald 7. Nets you 3rd level spells as well (Hello, Haste!)!
Got it, and you still have your regular +4 pool of rage too I suppose! handy if you don't have the time to start a performance
did we ever get word if it would have to be draconic blood rager to go into DD?
Probably because of the language of bloodrager that "if you have another bloodline it has to be the same" (since you can't choose a different bloodline as a dragon disciple I would assume your bloodrager bloodline would have to be draconic)
Raging song gives +2 Str/Con, or your normal raging bonus. Since you've got a level of Bloodrager your base is +4 Str/Con, +4 for Amplified rage.
There should be a couple of threads on the board if you search for Skald.
Basic build is something like:
Half Orc
Community Minded trait
Toothy trait
Bloodrager (Bloodline Familiar) 1/Skald X
or
Bloodrager (Bloodline Familiar) 1/Cavalier (Standard Bearer) 1/Skald X
1 - Amplified Rage (or Die Hard if you're taking a cavalier level)
3 - Skald's Vigor
5 - Die Hard -or- Battle Cry
With an Amulet of Mighty Fists (Courageous) you're getting +9 Str/Con, and Fast Healing 9 while raging at level 3.
Community Minded does some heavy lifting here, both preventing Rage death, and evening out the Amplified Rage bonus if you're moving around.
I went with str to save money on needing to buy a belt. A belt of str 2 is 4000 that I save and then there is the belt +4, but that's 16000 gold, and is less of a boost than what DD is giving, and I still have my belt slot open for a dex or con belt, or a different unique belt.
fair enough - though frankly with Raging Song I think giving a boost to your allies is worth thinking about - they will already get a STR boost from the song but some of the more unique Totem abilities could save many allies lives (Evasion being perhaps the biggest since a Ring of Evasion is 25,000 and though not everyone has a good reflex save giving your party a chance to avoid significant damage seems pretty strong to me - especially since Raging Song would encourage the party to be clustered together...
(but equally the additional Str could make folks a bit better at physical attacks even if that's not their focus)
I did a dip into fighter for the heavy armor and tower shield and the advanced performance feat sring instruments that applies to ax weapons, specifically a long ax that gives AOO. Advanced Performance treats your skald lvl 1/2 for qualifying for Bonus Fighter feats which can only be applied to your choice of weapon type. Weapon Specialization feat, weapon focus, there's alot of feats that are available to focus inherent damage and attack. Add this to a AOO style fighter or I thought the fighter archtype monk would do crazy natural weapon damage with DD claws, bite, monk ability, and Allegro! If you go that route definitely do at least 16 CHR. This was my progression so far: 1-3 Skald, 4th Fighter, 4-5 Skald, 1-2 DD. I have natural +5 str dmg, and self buff another +6 with using Heroism and scrolling Devine Favor using spell kenning.the fighter feats just fuel the damage machine as I progress in Skald. Doing a minimum of about 30 dmg and max of 38 dmg (excluding crits) when draconic raging with Alegro. (1d4claw+1d4claw+1d6bite+5naturalstr+2Heroism+2DevineFavor)X2(Allegro)Chris ma is VERY important!
These sound like great character builds.
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