| Woodoodoo |
So I am playing the Jade Regent AP and Its my first time playing outside of PFS so I wanted to play an unusual race(ratfolk? vanara? Ifrit?) and maybe try something new with it.
Most of my party(actually all of them) are going to be str based melee fighters(monk type, paladin/DD and a cavalier) so the most reasonable option was a ranged character.
I didn't want to play the cookie cutter archer build as I really want to play something unusual and I generally dislike most of the arcane caster so I was thinking something like a warpriest or paladin, maybe a flying blade swashbuckler(shuriken ninja?)
I actually have no idea what to pick and I don't even have an idea for a back story(Although that usually comes when I have a rough shell of a build).
Also one thing I was wondering do you generally use TWF for thrown builds rather than the basic rapid? It feels like TWF is the only way to even partially compete with an archer build.
So, any suggestions? Any specific suggestions for jade regent without spoiling anything?
| My Self |
Only drawback to the str based throwers is everybody else in the party is str based so i think we might atlast need someone who can do a couple of the dex based skills.
Pathfinder support for throwing stuff is pretty patchy. I'd try straight Swashbuckler or Swashbuckler (Flying Blade) if I couldn't do the STR stuff. Unfortunately, doing this makes you MAD instead of STR SAD, but it's probably your best shot.
| My Self |
Well couldn't I get an agile dagger/starknife to just ignore strenght?
Warpriest sounds cool as well with the air domain to throw that javelin/trident as far as you would like :p
I suppose Agile might work. Though as a thrown weapon, it might not be considered usable with Weapon Finesse, which would make Agile not work.
ChesterCopperpot
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
|
Dagger-throwing flying blade swashbuckler is a fun option. If you worship Pharasma (and get her deific obedience) you can prioritize a blinkback belt over a Dex belt without suffering in the accuracy department.
See if your GM is okay with the standard rules for combining magic items so you can eventually add Dex bonuses to that blinkback belt.
You actually probably want a ~12 STR to hold you over until agile. (If your campaign is typical, you might be level 5-6 before you can afford it, and you WANT that blinkback belt first). If you are doing swashbuckler, damage is going to come from having several attacks. Small bonuse-- a +1 or +2 from STR, weapon spec., weapon training--add up for you. A lot of your damage will come from precise strike. I played a similar character in a couple modules at mid levels, and I found it was better to maintain a modest strength and just up the enhancement bonus on my dagger. (Plus, you'll be really happy you didn't dump strength the first time you meet a shadow.)
The weaknesses of the build are DR at early levels (until you get clustered shot) and enemies immune to precision damage.
| Woodoodoo |
Obviously the drawback to ranged is the huge feat tax.
having to take point blank, precise, rapid, deadly, clustered and now quick draw with a thrown weapon build. It just makes it so much less fun than other builds until the later levels. "Well I cant get precise shot until level 3 I guess I'm not hitting anything for 2 levels"
ChesterCopperpot
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
|
Obviously the drawback to ranged is the huge feat tax.
having to take point blank, precise, rapid, deadly, clustered and now quick draw with a thrown weapon build. It just makes it so much less fun than other builds until the later levels. "Well I cant get precise shot until level 3 I guess I'm not hitting anything for 2 levels"
True, but you're still a swashbuckler (with weapon finesse). Open with a thrown attack, then set up a flank. True, the power level of this build really takes off at 5, but you're hardly useless at low level.
| WOLead |
Can a Brawler with Shield Champion and Snakebite Striker work? You could go Dex with Weapon Finesse, Agile, and a Light Shield, ignore the Blinkback Belt (lvl 5), have Cha for Bluff/Feint for Sneak Attack along with Dirty Tricks (Capable with a thrown shield at level 7), and use Brawler's Flurry for multiple attacks.
| Woodoodoo |
Race: Something
Traits: I have no clue
lvl 1 point blank, precise shot, quick draw
lvl 2 far shot?
lvl 3 deadly aim
lvl 4
lvl 5 close quarters thrower?
1v1 6 Improved Precise Shot
Maybe the snap shot chain after that?
From here on I have no clue. I could probably add a ring of ferocious action and twist away somewhere in there to shore up my saves.
Any suggestions on weapons? Chucking tridents seems pretty fun but I guess it is up to weapons like the Chakram or javelin. Since I am proficient with all thrown weapons I could use something interesting like bolas or the aklys
| TGMaxMaxer |
Unchained Rogue 3 Flying Blade Swashbuckler rest is a fun deal. Dex-y and flank with all the meatheads for damage early, then start dex to damage and level-3 to damage later.
If you are in a home game, and not PFS, you can do an Unchained Ninja with Shuriken. That would be pretty sick actually.
(Either Ninja is a rogue archetype or it is it's own class. You can't have it both ways)
EDIT: yeah.. I had missed that bit on Melee only. hmmm.
| Secret Wizard |
Again, don't worry too much about using STR for damage and DEX for accuracy.
Unlike the Swashbuckler or whatever, the Far Strike Monk has this:
At 5th level, a far strike monk can spend 1 point from his ki pool as a swift action to change the base damage dice of thrown weapons to that of his unarmed strikes. These weapons are also treated as ki focus weapons, allowing the monk to apply his special ki attacks to his thrown weapons as if they were unarmed strikes. This effect lasts until the beginning of his next turn.
Unarmed Damage dice means you DO get a damage bonus (it's virtually +7 damage at level 20 for a 1d3 base damage weapon) and the fact that they are ki focus weapons means you get to ignore all types of damage reduction too.
At 1st level, a far strike monk gains Quick Draw as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the prerequisites. At 4th level, he gains Shot on the Run as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the prerequisites. At 8th level, when using the Shot on the Run feat, he can make a second ranged attack with a –5 penalty at any point during his movement. At 15th level, he can make a third ranged attack with a –10 penalty at any point during his movement.
This scaling ability is sweet as hell too.
ALSO: remember that you can Flurry of Blows ONLY with thrown weapons... but it doesn't say you need to THROW them. You could use a chakram in melee range as well.
| CWheezy |
Without magic your party will not do so well, but whatever!
Remember things like acid flasks and alchemist fire early on, they are pretty useful. You can't flurry with them because you can't quick draw them, but if you are holding two at once you can throw em both, and that isn't bad.
Get clustered shots asap, after that you will be fine. Just carry around a bunch of masterwork and +1 weapons
| Zwordsman |
yFlying blade swash is a lot of fun, few issues but fun.
Its pretty hilarious to be a stone oracle who throws stones and such..
I had a flying blade I was building into shadow dancer, TWF, blinkback belt, and those teleporting dimensional savant line. and while i hadn't gotten to it if i could i wanted snap shot and improved snapshot
Was basically building shadow lord zone control. Who just teleprots everywhere giving TONS of allies flanking (as it requries threatening, so tyou yourself will not get flanking bonuses, but your melee friend will) while he ports around throwing knives everywhere.
It was fun, not exactly super duper effective. not sure how the snap shot stuff would have turned out
Hand't seen far strike monk back then.. so that would be pretty rocking.
Alternative idea is a bomb throwing alchemist. and you can get conductive knives; so exploding knives.. fun if not efficient.
| Woodoodoo |
Woodoodoo wrote:Most of my party(actually all of them) are going to be str based melee fighters(monk type, paladin/DD and a cavalier) so the most reasonable option was a ranged character.So all other PCs are martials? And you want to play another one?
Yes because arcane casters are incredibly boring to play.
| kyrt-ryder |
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So guys, has Pathfinder managed to put out a method of actually using magical shuriken without pissing money away?
Either some sort of glove/gauntlet/pouch that bestows its magical properties onto the Shuriken, or a means of having magical shuriken that aren't permanently destroyed?
EDIT: even a +1 magic property tax would be better than the current situation for shuriken users.
| Durngrun Stonebreaker |
Best Magic Item for a thrown weapons build, especially if your DM lets you modify specific magic items.
| kyrt-ryder |
Yeah, that's great for throwing weapons.
Shuriken are classed as ammunition though, which is cool in some ways but causes them to be destroyed when they hit the target.
Naturally overcoming this penalty requires a cost of some sort [because Shuriken being ammo is a benefit in ways, the penalty balances that] but to date I've yet to see an actual method of making it work.
| Gwen Smith |
A couple of comments on the builds:
Close Quarters Thrower requires both Dodge and Weapon Focus.
If you try to use a chakram in melee, you take a -1 penalty on attacks and have a chance of cutting your hand (DC 15 Reflex save to avoid); it's also a one-handed weapon, so you can't use it with normal Weapon Finesse. Go for a dagger, club, hunga munga, spear, etc. for a melee+thrown option.
Far Strike Monk gets flurry of blows, so (as someone already pointed out), they don't need/can't use rapid shot.
Without Far Strike Monk, you can use Two Weapon Fighting for thrown weapons instead of Rapid Shot. That gives you a bit more flexibility. (Throw a weapon, then five foot up and hit in melee, for example: this works well with Opening Volley, too.)
I'm currently running a Far Strike Monk/Juggler Bard combination: I've only played it once, so I haven't decided how well it works yet.