Hey, everyone. Looking for some critique on my build. Basically, I'm building a Warpriest of Pharasma for a Kingmaker game. The general idea is to capitalize on the Warpriest's sacred weapon damage with two-weapon fighting using daggers and the Deific Obedience feat.
I'm building on a 25 point buy. I'm not set on the blessings. Pharasma doesn't have the best ones . Any advice is appreciated.
Here's a little of the math:
To attack +1 (mwk), +2 (BAB), +1 (weapon focus), +4 (strength), +2 (Deific Obediance), -2 (two-weapon fighting), -1 (power attack)
Total: +7/+7
Damage: +4 (strength), +1 (River Rat), +2 (power attack)
Total: 1d6+7/1d6+6
Pharasman Warpriest
Human warpriest 3
N Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +3
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +2 dex )
hp 24
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +6
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee mwk dagger +7 (1d6+7/19-20x2), mwk dagger +7 (1d6+6/19-20x2)
Special Attacks ice strike (1d4) 4/day, fervor 4/day, powerful healer 4/day
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB +6; CMD 18
Feats Weapon Focus (dagger), Two-weapon fighting, Double Slice, Deific Obedience (Pharasma), Power Attack
Blessings Water, Healing
Traits River Rat, River Lander
Skills Knowledge (Religion) +3
Languages Common
SQ aura
Combat Gear wand of cure light wounds; Other Gear masterwork breastplate, masterwork dagger (2), holy symbol
For what it's worth, all the DPR calculators I've played with show that Power Attacking while TWF results in a reduction in overall damage output. The extra -1 (and eventually larger) to hit on top of the -2 from TWF isn't compensated sufficiently by the damage increase.
Maybe in most builds, but that's the entire purpose of Deific Obedience. I already have a +7/+7 to hit at level 3 with power attack on.
It looks solid, but on the fragile side. I'd recommend swapping Power Attack for Toughness; you should be able to get by with a bit less damage until level 5.
For traits, any reason you don't have Fate's Favored? It makes divine favor a godly (haha) buff at this level, especially swift-cast with fervor.
It looks like you've only got one skill rank, when you should have 6 (3 levels x 2/level. Don't forget the bonus one for being human).
It looks solid, but on the fragile side. I'd recommend swapping Power Attack for Toughness; you should be able to get by with a bit less damage until level 5.
For traits, any reason you don't have Fate's Favored? It makes divine favor a godly (haha) buff at this level, especially swift-cast with fervor.
It looks like you've only got one skill rank, when you should have 6 (3 levels x 2/level. Don't forget the bonus one for being human).
Ah, thanks. I forgot about the extra skills from my race. I wanted to take River Rat for the background and the extra point of damage. And we only get 1 trait plus a campaign trait. It effectively balances out (except I miss the attack bonus).
I didn't roll well on HP, but d8s are d8s. I'll think about toughness, but I was planning to take Weapon Specialization at level 5.
I don't think you can take Weapon Spec at level 5. I think you only count as fighter levels for your bonus feats, so you can take it at 6.
The Dual Talent racial alternative for a Human takes a lot of pressure off of MAD point-buy, and losing a feat is hardly a disaster for a Warpriest.
If you're only going Pharasma and daggers for the useful mechanics, one-handed weapon and cestus is a more powerful option that doesn't tie you down the same way; Fate's Favored is better than +1 damage as a Warpriest anyhow. The cestus is basically a dagger that is always 'drawn', but leaves your hand free to two-hand another weapon for charging and such, massively improving your single-attack damage.
The Repose: Gentle Rest blessing is extremely good, and a Conductive weapon lets you use it with an attack. A charge that inflicts stagger is about as good as it gets.
I don't think a cestus counts as a dagger for the purpose of weapon focus, sacred weapon, or deific obedience
I don't think a cestus counts as a dagger for the purpose of weapon focus, sacred weapon, or deific obedience
No, my point was simply that the base stats are equivalent. Sacred Weapon works on anything you have Weapon Focus on, so instead of spending a feat on Deific Obedience you spend a feat on Weapon Focus: Cestus to go along with your free Weapon Focus: Whatever 1-Hand Weapon You Want.
Instead of the +2 from Obedience you get a better mainhand weapon that you can two-hand whenever it's advantageous, like charging with 1.5x strength and Power Attack and an 18-20x2 crit rating. You also never get stuck without a free hand to cast a spell.
Naturally, the significant downside is that you can't split further weapon feats and you lose attack; but the Warpriest (particularly with Fate's Favored) already has excellent attack and damage, and not getting things like Weapon Specialization on your offhand is pretty minimal.
Anyhow they're both very solid options, I just though I'd point out the alternative.
quicken blessing... it’s a damn powerful trick for a level 1 character to pull
Unfortunately Quicken Blessing requires Major Blessing, so it's unavailable until 11.
I'm not set on the blessings. Pharasma doesn't have the best ones .You might want to ask your GM if she’ll let you use Slashing Grace with your daggers. If so, consider switching to a dex-based version, with Pirhana Strike instead of Power Attack. That would free up some attribute points for more Con, among other benefits.
That's a great idea.
I like the Repose blessing, but quicken can't work until level 11. I disagree on the usefulness of the Knowledge blessing.