So here's what I'm up against, I'm playing a kobold who will be functioning as the face and general skill monkey of the party. I'm also expected to be able to be pretty competent in combat. I also want to do something that is kind of kobold specific so here's what I've got.
-Traits: goldens scales, student of philosophy (with these racial stat mods I need a dump stat and charisma is the least painful, hence student of philosophy cuz I gotta be the face too)
-Racial traits: dragon maw: gives a 1d4 bite attack, no 1/day added element cuz I'm gold cu I want that trait more than I do 1/day extra damage
Wyrmcrowned: +2 diplomacy and it's always a class skill.
-Stats: STR 12, DEX 17, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 7
-Class and level progression I've got so far:
Slayer
Lvl 1: feat: weapon finnese
Lvl 2: slayer talent-natural weapon combat style-aspect of the beast-claws
Lvl 3: feat: Kobold racial feat tail terror, 1d4 tail slap natural attack
Lvl 4: slayer talent-combat trick-piranha strike
Lvl 5: rending claws, 1d6 precision damage if both claws hit
I'm thinking since I'm not gonna have a great str bonus ever I'll just have a lot of very accurate hits that have a bunch of stuff tacked onto them (studied target, piranha strike, sneak attack, rending claws etc.) also if anyone knows an easy way that won't cost me much skill points or be much of a dip I'd dig it.
I don't really know what to do from here. I think it's a pretty solid idea so far, but need help with the rest. Also if your suggestion is to just do something else/don't be a kobold/ whatever that's not what I'm looking for. I want to make this probably bad idea as good as it can be. Thanks in advance!! :D
I won't ever get dex to damage on that many things. Also I have crap Con so bigger hit die is nice, the ranger combat style is giving me two of those natural attacks, and I had to dump charisma so no ninja.
Also studied target gives me some nice social bonuses to skills that otherwise won't be very good.
Have you taken a look at the Bounty Hunter Slayer? It would unfortunately require you to go into Agile Maneuvers (and you'd lose a few talents which might be much more crippling to your early build ideas) to capitalize on your Dexterity score but you can throw debuffs on your target and do some pretty neat stuff with Grapples and Dirty Tricks.
With the Dirty Trick Tree (Int can be avoided with Dirty Fighter from the Dirty Tactics Toolbox) you can throw on debuffs and make your attacks fairly accurate while hampering the target down. With a level of Brawler (Snakebite Striker) you can get another Sneak Attack dice, maintain your BAB and get an extra 2 Fortitude and Reflex. Additionally you can then dovetail into Kobold Style; which I adore on smaller characters.
Just some ideas naturally.
Slayers get sneak attack... This way it's not my only gimmick but I still have it ya know? Also piranha attack scales off bab so full bab seemed
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I'd also go with the unchained rogue, if only for three levels, it would also get you +2d6 sneak attack, and the finesse training works almost everything in the light and heavy blade category
If you are opposed to that go with some of the one handed fighter arch types, while keeping the rangers dual combat style. Most of the archetypes specify that you either have nothing in hand or a buckler, which is easy for a natural weapons combatant, and you can add things to boost damage, while keeping your hp up with fighter Hp progression
I need to many ranks to go fighter, my main job is to face and cover the non combat skills we need.
Also if I were to use any archetype it would be Stygian slayer, it's cool, and I WILL NOT give up my first talent. I' not waiting till fourth (or further fine archetypes) to get a slayer talent. I want those claws ASAP as we are starting from level one so I want those quickly ya know?
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I understand completely, I am trying to find a way to build a nonconventional character myself.
The learned fighter gets the AC bonus on the first level, which is useful for natural combatants, claws definitely are light weapons. Do you have a forgiving GM? They might let you bend the rule to get the character concept.
If I were going to put it anywhere in you class progression it would be at the third level, it places the current fourth and fifth level benefits later, but allows a character level based benefit time to charge up with no loss.
I'm not saying go for the whole archetype, just one level
Get an Amulet of Mighty fists with the Agile enchantment as soon as you can. That'll get you dex to damage with all your natural weapons, and it only costs a few grand (don't even have to pay for a +1 first). Doesn't cost you any extra feats either.
Does it has to be a full slayer? Maybe you could try to add several classes, with several different bonuses.
For example, archeologist bard 1, with fate favored trait, gives you +2 luck bonus to damage, although you would need CHA. A 4th lvl Investigator add +2 insight bonus to attack and damage (1/2 his level, actually). Etc.
You could even afford a lower strength if you have access to a lot of magic items or crafting in your games.
One slightly different build possibility, particularly if you're allowed to take the Multiattack feat, would be to make use of a dex-to-damage weapon in combination with your natural attacks (one claw is replaced with the weapon). Your main-hand attack becomes far, far more powerful for the many situations where you only make a single attack. When unleashing a full attack your claw and bite become secondary, but thanks to Multiattack that's only a -2 penalty. Your tail attack was already secondary, so Multiattack is a huge help there. Something like:
1. Weapon Finesse
2. *Talent: Claws*
3. Multiattack
4. *Combat: Dervish Dance*
Another possibility that would make for very potent natural attacks would be a 'battle witch' with the Strength Patron and Eldritch Knight. The Witch can pick up permanent claws through a hex, and since the Strength Patron grants the spell Divine Favor and Witch gets Heroism, all attacks get a massive bonus to attack and damage. Armor isn't really an issue since as a high-dex character Arcane Armor Training will get you all the armor you would want anyhow. The Witch also gets a whole host of spells and abilities for both combat and non-combat uses - the Witch's Disguise Hex would be awesome for a 'face', not to mention all sorts of trouble-making and manipulation.
I don't plan on magic items being terribly common based on our setting, but I will probably be proven wrong. I'm also more hoping for utility magic items and using those few scrolls I can use a LOT.
P.S. Pretty sold on Stygian slayer right now
I think the Agile amulet of mighty first is the best advice so far
Might grab if it comes up. The DM wanted a low magic party so I'm thinking magic items may be sparce.
Even if they are, make it your priority number 1. If you only have an ítem, make it that one
Crafting feats sound like they would be beneficial if allowed. Consider splitting a few up among the casters, and maybe coming up with a way to compensate the PCs that sound a feat if they want.
Only caster is a magus... He's also a min maxer who kind of expects his items to be handed to him, not make them.
Might grab if it comes up. The DM wanted a low magic party so I'm thinking magic items may be sparce.
The thing is, whether or not an Agile Amulet of Mighty Fists is an option or not with your GM completely changes your effectiveness by an order of magnitude. It's a massive, massive difference, so you might want to know whether or not it's going to be on the table before you commit to a build that's going to need it to be anywhere near optimal.
Might grab if it comes up. The DM wanted a low magic party so I'm thinking magic items may be sparce.The thing is, whether or not an Agile Amulet of Mighty Fists is an option or not with your GM completely changes your effectiveness by an order of magnitude. It's a massive, massive difference, so you might want to know whether or not it's going to be on the table before you commit to a build that's going to need it to be anywhere near optimal.
This, this this this. Also this.
If you don't need optimal, you may be able to make it work without dex to damage using piranha strike/sneak attack/etc. Depends on your group gaming style though.
Eh, optimal isn't what I'm going for anyway. Like I said I'm skill monkey and face. As long as I'm not a burden to keep alive and can contribute something in combat I should be good. I don't think it'll matter much, even at the highest level of play the most it's gonna get is like a +3 difference in my static pluses, I think I'll be fine. Like I said I usually like magic Items that are basically gadgets, seriously the Thieve's ring from 3.5 was my favourite thing I ever got throughout my entire time playing that system, just beating out a cape that gave me a fly speed. Yea, I know I'm weird. :P
Well assuming that you'll at least get a +4DEX belt and a point in dex, you're talking about a +1STR vs a +6DEX on a build that's otherwise barely above 10 by mid-level. By level 8 it's something like 12 vs 17 when you make a typical attack. If you're fine with that so be it.
Just to mention, going the route of a Dervish Dance scimitar replacing one claw and the Multiattack feat helping, your mainhand weapon gets close to 20 damage (with a much better crit range as well), and gets an iterative attack, while your free claw and bite diminish by a few points and your tail stays the same. I completely understand if that's not your concept - just thought I'd mention the benefits.
Eh, optimal isn't what I'm going for anyway. Like I said I'm skill monkey and face. As long as I'm not a burden to keep alive and can contribute something in combat I should be good. I don't think it'll matter much, even at the highest level of play the most it's gonna get is like a +3 difference in my static pluses, I think I'll be fine. Like I said I usually like magic Items that are basically gadgets, seriously the Thieve's ring from 3.5 was my favourite thing I ever got throughout my entire time playing that system, just beating out a cape that gave me a fly speed. Yea, I know I'm weird. :P
I think it'll matter more than any other thing you can get for that level of effort.
It only costs 4000gp and the neck slot, no feat, or multiclass, or trait needed. And it's not a +3. First, it's more than that, if you pump DEX with enhancement bonus and leveling.Second, it means you can drop STR a bit more, use the points elsewhere (like INT or CON) and never look back.
Have you thought about the 1 lvl dip into archeologist bard for luck bonus to hit and damage?
Like I said, I don't expect a lot of magic items, and since everyone else likes their stat pluses and crap and are all beat sticks basically, I'll probably be using my money for stuff like magic walkie talkies and stuff. Also I'll stress this, I don't expect this to be a campaign where if you can afford it you can get it. From what I know about the setting these things shouldn't by any means be readily available, I'll likely be proven wrong and if I am I might grab one.
One thing to note is that the lower-magic a campaign, the better being a mage-warrior type is. In a world where +ability items are rare to non-existent, being able to cast +ability spells is suddenly an extremely potent skill to have...