Hi Paizo community, this is my first post here, so apologies if I've not followed a posting rule.
I want to build a character with an animal companion (something big and furry and friendly; likely a wolf, bear or cat) as well as a familiar focussing on teamwork feats.
My thinking is to go a half elf (for Skill Focus (knowledge)) Sacred Huntsmaster and take Eldritch Heritage at 3rd level. The familiar would be the Valet archetype, to also get teamwork feats.
She probably worships Reymenda and there's some story behind that. The Loss subdomain fits with the story and she can wield a falchion.
The teamwork feats I'm eyeing are: Escape Route; Outflank; Paired Opportunists; Precise Strike; and Shake It Off. I'd also love Pack Flanking. Clearly Power Attack is a great feat for a Falchion-wielding melee character, but I don't think I can spare the feats.
So the advice I'm looking for is as follows:
- given that I need a 13 Cha to get Eldritch Heritage for a familiar and as a melee Inquisitor I'm already quite MAD, is there a way I can be considered flanking when adjacent to my friends (for the benefit of Shake It Off, etc.) that doesn't require 13 Int? Both Gang Up and Pack Flanking require 13 Int and Combat Expertise, and stats and feats are not things I can spare.
- If I have to flank the regular way and I have a tiny (or smaller) familiar, is there a way to flank with it? While sharing an enemy's space I don't think it counts. Is getting a small familiar the only way?
- Is there some way I can save on all these feats? Probably not. Would playing a Hunter help? I don't really feel it would, other than getting Outflank earlier, and I prefer the Inquisitor spell list. Plus the story fits better.
- Is fighting with my familiar going to be truly not viable? It's core to the build, anyway, so I'm not changing it but I'm curious to know. I'm pondering a cat/skunk for 3 attacks to go with Precise Strike and have more likelihood of coring a critical for Outflank, a bird for 2 attacks at slightly better bonuses and superior maneuverability or something like a goat which benefits less from Precise Strike but more from provoked AoOs. Thoughts?
- What have I missed in this build? Any other advice you can offer would be very much appreciated.
As a close, our group is unlikely to play beyond level 8-9 and we usually start at 1. So options that come online later are of less interest to me. Thanks again for your time and expertise.
Yeah, that could work. I guess the idea I had for this character was to play her when the party had no real melee presence (my group rarely try to fill all the 'roles') so that I could take up a lot of space all by myself. In that case she would need to be self-reliant, but she would also make a fun character within a teamwork team.
|
Are you willing to multiclass?
One level in brawler will let you qualify for Combat Expertise without 13 Int. You'll also get Martial Flexibility, Improved Unarmed Strike (at minimum, a backup if you get disarmed), and a boost to your Ref save. Take the wild child archetype and you don't lose a level on your animal companion (you lose nothing on the brawler side for taking the archetype).
Two levels in Lore Warden fighter gives you Combat Expertise (whether or not you have 13 Int) and two other bonus combat feats, helping with both your feat and stat problems.
One level in Eldritch Guardian level gives you a familiar (saving you two feats and the 13 Cha for Eldritch Heritage), and two lets your familiar share all your combat feats. Your familiar won't gain higher-level familiar abilities since those are based on fighter level, but it will gain Teammate and its BAB, HP, and saves still scale based on yours. The biggest loss is the nat AC bonus. Not compatible with Lore Warden and I'd prefer the former, but YMMV.