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I recently stumbled across a somewhat stellar combo which lets you move as a swift action and thus pounce to your hearts delight. All you need is one Teamwork Feat (Stick Together from Melee Tactics Toolbox) a valet Familiar with decent mobility and a 3000 GP item.
When an adjacent ally with this feat moves, you can move up to your speed as an immediate action, as long as your movement ends adjacent to that ally. If you do so, you are staggered on your next turn. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.
This ring allows its wearer to persevere through physical or mental trauma that hampers his actions. The ring has 5 charges, which are renewed each day. At the start of his turn, if the wearer is staggered, as a free action he may spend a charge to activate the ring and ignore the staggered condition until his next turn.
Basic idea is that you start combat with your familiar on your shoulder, then let it fly/walk 5 feet away from your foe which is within your movement distance. Then spend a swift action to make your move (provoking AoO) and then moving next to your familiar and full attacking. Next turn you use your ring to avoid becoming staggered and rince and repeat if needed.
I'm working on a couple of builds to best abuse this and essentially all you need to do is optimize full attack damage while not using your swift actions, find a way to aquire a Valet Familiar and you can one shot most foes on turn 1. Two builds than can swing around 130 DPR at level 9:
Bloodrager 1/Mutageninc Mauler Brawler 8 with Shield or Sansetsukon Flurry
Straight Unchained Knifemaster Rogue with Eldritch heritage.
It's also pretty exceptional on a Holy Tactician Paladin for group mobility.
In order for this to work, both you and your familiar need the teamwork feat. At what levels do Familiars gain feats? I thought familiars only ever got their base feats to start with and never gained any more. Is that incorrect?
Valet Familiar is counted as having all the teamwork feats its owner possesses.
Valet Familiar is counted as having all the teamwork feats its owner possesses.
Cool
Of course, now that this is posted, expect an errata/faq for Stick Together to make it so the feat doesn't work if you are immune to being staggered...
Isn't it more likely they will just bann the ring of ferocious action? Seems the brokener part of this combo and the reason they have been jumping through verbal hoops on every ability that makes you staggered.
Actually I think the trick is still useful even without the ring, as it's still great action economy by providing you with a time walk of sorts.
Except quick runners shirt is banned in PFS :)
The whole trick also works on the inquisitor without any help as long as you have an ally adjacent at the start of the battle who felt like engaging an enemy.
I'd be worried about getting my familiar whacked at some point but otherwise it's a neat trick
Definetly an issue that's why I'd suggest using a flying one (to avoid AoO as best as possible) and only dipping one level in a familiar granting class. That way replacing a dead familiar is only 200 GP.
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Of course, now that this is posted, expect an errata/faq for Stick Together to make it so the feat doesn't work if you are immune to being staggered...
Well it's from a not core line (err whatever you call the main books), that at least that reduces the chances of it being eviscerated in it's sleep by errata.
Anyone have some good ideas for builds? The obvious one is move and full attack with a class/class combination which gets many attacks and doesn't utilize swift action buffs.
So at early levels this is prolly best abused by natural attack based builds. At later levels TWF and Flurry surpass it.
What other things can one do with a Full attack action?
Eww here's one that you'll normally never use: Jaijitsu Stike from sword saint Samurai :)
You can prolly do some silly stuff with grapplers or dirty tricks(with the nifty new Barbarian Archetype perhaps?) but I'm no expert on those types of shenanigans.
Except quick runners shirt is banned in PFS :)
The whole trick also works on the inquisitor without any help as long as you have an ally adjacent at the start of the battle who felt like engaging an enemy.
Hunter's like this too. It's like Coordinated Charge but accessible way earlier.
Make that a feral Hunter whose (expendable) Summons, of which he will have a lot, share all his TW Feats.
I happen to have a build for that lying around:
Human
Feral hunter 1: Racial heritage (Kobold), Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Feral hunter 2: -
Feral hunter 3: Augment Summoning, TWF: Stick together
Feral hunter 4: -
Feral hunter 5: Scaled Disciple
Feral hunter 6: -
Dragon Disciple 1: Superior Summoning
Dragon Disciple 2: BF: Power Attack
Dragon Disciple 3: Shaping Focus
Dragon Disciple 4: -
Dragon Disciple 5: Outflank, BF: Improved Initiative
Dragon Disciple 6: -
Dragon Disciple 7: Snapping Flank
Dragon Disciple 8: BF: Quicken Spell
Dragon Disciple 9: Coordinated Charge
Stick Togheter is [combat] so dipping Eldritch Guardian may be worth it to pick a different familiar archetype, like Protector if you are worried for his survival.
Stick Togheter is [combat] so dipping Eldritch Guardian may be worth it to pick a different familiar archetype, like Protector if you are worried for his survival.
I've also thought about this, however you wouldn't necessarily have to only dip as Mutagenic Mauler stacks with Eldritch Guardian so that makes for a nice combo. However I find it hard to build a fighter than can achieve the same sort of DPR numbers as I posted above for the Barbarian/Brawler combo.
Did you factor the familiar helping out? A Mauler familiar can get a hand on with the DPR. Or, a Guardian effectively gives you +2 to AC nearly all times, and half of your HP of "reserve" with shield master, while still being able to use his standard to use wands since Eldritch Guardian gets UMD as class skill.
Honestly, the only good teamwork feats are also combat (like Outflank-Overrun combo) so anything a valet can do, an Eldritch Guardian familiar ca do it better with a different archetype.
Did you factor the familiar helping out? A Mauler familiar can get a hand on with the DPR. Or, a Guardian effectively gives you +2 to AC nearly all times, and half of your HP of "reserve" with shield master, while still being able to use his standard to use wands since Eldritch Guardian gets UMD as class skill.
Honestly, the only good teamwork feats are also combat (like Outflank-Overrun combo) so anything a valet can do, an Eldritch Guardian familiar ca do it better with a different archetype.
No I didn't because I've been growing annoyed with ACs and familiars who fight but that's my personal bias. However consider that you won't be able to utilize stuff like outflank in combination with your familiar unless you have a way to set up non opposing flanks as you need to be adjacent to your familiar after your move.
Also from an RP perspective I prefer the whole familiar used for movement angle. I'd consider my grumpy Dwarven Brawler Rager to be very enamored with his pet but it always runs away. If someone wants to hurt it he's always there to protect it like don't you touch my kitty bam, bam bam bam bam...
Ratfolk with the Scurrying Swarmer Feat can do it.
Blades above and below from ISR also works if you and your familiar are different sizes.
Then there's the one feat that only works for hunters...