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So, the sohei.It has a rather confusing mix of abilities, but with the right build it can be a beast... How would you like to charge and flurry? How about some nice juicy damage? lets begin...
Rating system
**** YES!take this! or so help me...
*** Its a good option, but not always the best...
** Its oay I guess...
* NO! GOD NO! PLEASE!
Sohei abilities:
Skills: handle animal *** If you want amount or something, sure why not.
Weapon and armor prof:**** Much much better. Light armor is good for low point buy games.
Bonus feats: *** Mounted combat is a viable pathfor you to follow so it gives you more options
Devoted guardian **** yup, definitly. A niice juicy bonus to initiative and you can always act in surprise rounds... by comparison, a slayer archetype gets this at level 7, and its still good... definitively worth giving up stunning fist, for.
Unarmed strike * no...but you get other abilities that make up for it.
monastic mount *** so you can boost your mount... thats very nice and you generally will use the temporary hit points to keep your mount from dying.
ki weapon** Not a very good ability, but in situations when youre in an emergency and don't have magic weaponson hand... it can help.
weapon training**** YES! YES! withthis you can flurry with a lance, and with a greatsword, and with pretty much anything you want. A small bonus to damage is also nice.
Other archetypes.
sensei*** surprisingly okay. Think of this as a support cavalier who charges into battle alongside the fighter, and kicks butside by side. With ride by attack you can spam charges and still buff your
allies. You might want to take quingong monk for some nice ki powers.
( EDIT: they can'tactually combine because of fast movement... bummer. Ask your GM if he will let them combine.)
quingong monk: some nice little ki powers, but you hardly have any original features to trade... TRading high jump for barskin is probably a good idea.
Stats
STR>DEX>WIS=CON>CHA>INT
Dexismore important than for others due to you needing it for ride, and try not to dump CHAtoo hard, as you need it for handle animal.
Mounted build ( this build uses handle animal, and you may want to dip into ranger, paladin or cavalier for extra abilities)
1o pb ( lower wisdom, you will be wearing armor)
STR:15 (7) DEX: 13 (3) Con: 13 (3) Wis:8(-2) INt: 7 (-4) CHa: 13(3)
15 pb (still no armor until you get bracers)
str:16(10) Dex:14(5) Con:13 (3) wis:8 (-2) Int:7 (-4) Cha:13(3)
20 pb: (armor until the later levels when you get bracers)
str:17(13) Dex: 13 (3) Con:13(3) wis:10 (0) Int:7 (-4) Cha: 13 (3)
25 pb: str: 18 (17) dex:13 (3) con: 13 (3) wis: 11 (1) INt:7 (-4) cha:13 (3)
For other builds:
Melee hooligan: uses longspear or some other reach weapon for AOOs. You want vital strike atearly levels. Definitely. Beforelevel 6 you have 1 attack per round,so make it hurt!
For a melee hooligan, str>dex>con=wis>int>cha
Archer: seriosly,if you want t be a straight archer,go Zen archer. However, the sohei has one advantage over the zen archer: mounted archery. Give it a try, it is pretty awesome... mobility and damage.
For an archer Dex>str ( cause you need dex to ride)>wis=con=cha(handle animal)>int
Feats: theobvious stuff. Also, a mounted build and possiblyamounted archer might want dazzling display. ( Tip: you can get spedirit charge at 1st level).
Tips:
Mounted build:
level 1: get a lance. try to get an animal to use as a mount. If not, ask your wizard to summon a horse for you. You can do tons of damage at this level, but if you don't have a mount to charge with, use your unarmed strikes-your strength is decent and they're still d6s.
level2-3: at 2nd you get evasion, and at 3rd wizards can summon better stuff- or extended summon monster 1 if you still don't have a horse ( which you schould) other wise, use your lance on a charge and your unarmed strikes otherwise.
level:4-5 your unarmed strikes start becoming suboptimal, so use them sparingly. Your ki pool can help- 3 attacks for 1d6+str each are okay. You better have a mount by now-and rideby attack as well.
level:6-8 you start to rock. With wizards throughing up battle field control charging might be a problem, but hopefully you can have your wizard cast fly on your mount- and thanks to flurry you now make three attacks (4 when hasted or using ki, 5 if using both) andem one of them deals triple damage. If you can not charge you might want to take a look at dazzling display.
level 9-10 you get improved evasion and a bonus feat. Keep doing what you're doing,and if you have headbands of+cha dazzlingdisplay starts being an okay strategy against enemy hoards.
level 11+ you get an extra attack, but no real change here. Ask your DM if you can domesticate a dinosaur- at really high levels and with good charisma you can even rear a spinosaurus at high levels.
at 12th level, you want to invest in a secondweapon-a longbow probably.
Melee hooligan-
level 1- 5 you can attack adjacent and atreach. combat reflexes is good. I recommend alucern hammer.
level 6-8 you can now flurry...yay! at 8th level you probably want vital strike for when you have to mo
level 9-11: more damage, plenty of attacks, your unarmed strikes are not very good-but who cares, you mostly use those too threaten.
level 12+ I recommend a second weapon- a thrown weapon, or a longbow.
Archer
level 1: you are an archer who just happens to kick but in melee- but you aremostly an archer.
eate
level 2-3: you should have a mount or at least a way of getting one- such as summoning. So really, you should have no problem.
level4-5. Your unarmed strikes start to get weaker but you still can threaten adjacent
level6-8: bonus damage and you can finally flurry with a bow. So lots of attacks,and you stay mobile the whole time.
level9-11: more attacks, and more damage. Battlefield control can make riding around difficult,but you should be able to fly by now.
level 12+: You get a second weapon, which should probably be for melee. So...you stay an archer.
Main weapons:
Greatsword*** pretty much all builds will like this as backup. Its not much more though. Maybe a fighter who takes 6 levelsin sohei for flurry
will want this as his main...
longspear** you might want this and the melee hooligan probably would if it weren't for the
lucerne hammer**** high damage and reach. What's not to like?
Flying blade**** -2 on attacks +2 on attacks of opportunity. For most buils this would be pretty bad as a monkdoes not have terrific to hit, but for a mellee hooligan it's as good as the lucerne hammer, give or take.
Composite longbow**** YOU NO QUESTION. YOU BUY. EITHER AS MAIN OR AS BACKUP, YOU BUY. OR ELSE!!!!
Whip*/***/**** Don't laugh, for a specialized melee hooligan this can work really well ( hense the ****) If you take the whip mastery feat chain. With it and enlarge person You can threaten all squares within 15 feet, and you can attack 20 feet away. If you have feats to spare, all other builds can use it for backup if they have at least improved whip mastery ( hence the ***) but you can take whip mastery at level three at the earliest, and it requires exotic weapon proficiency. For the feats, you might want to dip fighter. without investment, it's very*.
Races: ( note, ratings are mounted/melee hooligan/archer)
Human ****/****/**** Flexible stat bonus and a feat. If you want, you can take the dual talent (flexible+2 to two stats) alternate racial trait instead of the feat for mounted builds and for melee hooligans, but archers need the feats.
Halfelf: ***/***/***
skill focus goes into handle animal or perception for archers and ounted builds, melee hooligans who are not as reliant on that skill may want to take intimidate instead.
Dwarf: ***/****/**** yes,dwarfs make good monks. They are especiallygood for low pointbuy games when you are using armor, but the CHA penalty makes them lose a star for the mounted build.
Halflings: ***/**/*** bonus to Cha and dex helps, and even though the str. penalty hurts, riding smaller animals makes up for this- except for the mellee hooligan, who considers this a dealbreaker.
ELf: **/**/*** useless for anyone but the archer and okay at best for him (or her). So... better not to take this one.
Halforc: ***/****/*** the flexible bonus helps everyone, and melee hooligans with intimidating prowess will love this.Ferocity is good for everyone, but slightly less for archers ( even though they tend to haveless hp)
Gnome: ****/***/**** good for everyone,the melee hooligan might not like it as much, but an AC bonus from small size helps.
Featured races
Aasimar/tiefling: ****/****/**** They are both great, and at least one variant is good for each build, so they really rock.
Catfolk/fetchling/ifrit : ***/**/**** dex is good for archers and gives an extra AOO per round to the mellee hooligan. The wisdom penalty hurts the front liners the most and the CHA bonus helps the mounted build more the mellee hooligan.
Dhampir/drow ***/*/**** they are in the same boat as the catfolk, but the Con penalty is even worse for the melee hooligan.
Goblin:**/**/*** not that optimal for anyone, but It probably looks cool in combat, so I'll let it pass.
Hobgoblin: ****/****/*** Dex and con without penalties, plus sneaky and darkvision. It's pretty sweet overall.
Kobold:*/*/* I like their art but to be honest they suck. WWWWWWHHHHHYYY?????
Orc **/***/** Not really that good for anyone, but they are at least passable, though the wisdompenalty hurts.
Oread ***/***/*** The oreads stats are okay, and the immunity to some effects is okay.
Ratfolk:**/**/** penalty to str. hurts everyone, but the bonus to dex. helps everyone
Sylph: **/**/*** simular to ratfolk, butCON is less important for archers.
Tengu: ***/**/*** they are okay overall, and the skill bonus never hurts. Aside from that, they arenothing special.
Undine: **/**/*** like ratfolk, except larger and with a SLA
Uncommon races:
aquatic elf: **/**/*** see elf.
Changeling:***/**/*** CON Penalty hurts, but Wis and Cha are both pretty important.
Duergar: */****/** CHA penalty is terrible, but the melee hooligan will love enlarge person.
Gilman: **/**/* stat bonuses are okay at best, and water dependency sucks.
Grippli: ***/***/**** Gripplis thengare okay,and they help with the str
penalty by giving access to the net, a good battlefield control weapon.
Kitsune: **/**/*** dex. and cha are okay for everyone and great for the archer, but the strength penalty really hurts.
Kuru: **/***/*** strictly worse than the hobgoblin, your skill points will suck and they only speak one language.
Merfolk: ****/****/**** Merfolk are awesome, but I am not sure how they ride stuff. Strongtail is a must
Uncommon races:
aquatic elf: **/**/*** see elf.
Changeling:***/**/*** CON Penalty hurts, but Wis and Cha are both pretty important.
Duergar: */****/** CHA penalty is terrible, but the melee hooligan will love enlarge person.
Gilman: **/**/* stat bonuses are okay at best, and water dependency sucks.
Grippli: ***/***/**** Gripplis thengare okay,and they help with the str
penalty by giving access to the net, a good battlefield control weapon.
Kitsune: **/**/*** dex. and cha are okay for everyone and great for the archer, but the strength penalty really hurts.
Kuru: **/***/*** strictly worse than the hobgoblin, your skill points will suck and they only speak one language.
Merfolk: ****/****/**** Merfolk are awesome, but I am not sure how they ride stuff. Strongtail is a must and the stat bonuses rock.
So, in generall, you want a STR.DEX. orCON. bonus for any build.
Here is one special mention:TROX ***/****/** STRENGTH in tons,but not much else. A huge mount is tough to find early on, and it often has trouble squeezing through gaps.
Mounts you can get
Summons:Depend if your GM rules that they are combat trained they rock. If not they are usually okay.
Bought or raised
Animals (usually best early on)
Aurochs*** not that fast, but if your wizard can summon they can help build a stampede, which conjures an awesome mental image.
Mounts you can get
Summons:Depend if your GM rules that they are combat trained they rock. If not they are usually okay.
Bought or raised
Animals (usually best early on)
Aurochs*** not that fast, but if your wizard can summon they can help build a stampede, which conjures an awesome mental image.
Reserved
Bison **** betterand cheaper than the aurochs. Take this instead.
Boar *** like the aurochs for small characters
Elk** A worse boar that costs just as much. Just don't take this.
Giant chameleon *** stealthy, and not weak at all. A nice flavor choice, and it's good otherwise.
Giant frilled lizard ** Not fast or tough, but has anice intimidating charge.
Giant gecko ** It can climb really well, so strap your self in and have some fun! In direct combat it kind of sucks though.
Giant owl *** Offensively it's like the giant chameleon but it's really expensive... still, it can fly, though most wizards can cast it by the time you can afford this. It does have a nice bonus on knowledge checks, and can think... guardians of ghahoole anyone?
Giant vulture**** a cheaper flying option. I'll take it.
Goblin dog*** IT'S very cheap and very weak, so use it early on if you are a goblin.
Lion/tiger. **** they both have pounce, and they're both awwesome. Besides, ridinga tiger? Cool mental imagery.
Ram *** Like a goblin dog,but is not diseased and it's powerful charge is nice. Great for early levels if you are small. ( I just have a friend who... really likes rams ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Gbb7ySa0I
Rhino * I really want to recommend this but it's just way to expensive.
Roc:*** Probably the best endgame flyer,and it can carry your party around. For open plains combat and taxi dutybecause it's so big.
Wooly rhinocerous *** Okay stat wise it's a lot better than the rhino.
Dinosaurs and mega fauna Now we're talking! good mid to late game.
Allosaurus. **** trumps the whooly Rhino and it haspounce! POUNCE! Yay!
Ankylosaur:*** It's slow but it's really tough. So... I suggest youtake it to use as a meatshield. Better than the whooly Rhino
Archelon * Much too slow, but it has uses in an aquatic campaign ( **** for an aquatic campaign)
Aquatic adventures
Best choices
Basilosaurus **** better CR than the spinosaurus, and costs less.
Great white whale**** For underwater transportation. It's also very powerful.
Giant octopus **** Lot's of attacks, and is small enough to fit into most dungeons.
Credits: I found this stuff on pathfinder OGC under the ride skill section, and the monk archetype skill section