hello recently i made a halfelf swashbuckler from tien i rolled for stats and put them as such
str 14
dex 18 +2 half elf +1 lvl 4
con 14
int 12
wis 14
cha 16
my idea is for a dual wielding swashbuckler that uses wakizashi he is built to be part face and tank.
so my feats are
exotic weapon proficiancy wakizashi (half elf trait)
two weapon fighting lvl 1
weapon focus wakizashi lvl 3
weapon specialization wakizashi lvl 4 (bonus feat)
double slice lvl 5 feat
we have a enchanter in the party so i was able to get both wakizashi to be agile so my to hits are this so far
first wakizashi +11 ( +5 dex +5 bab +1 wep focus +1 magical +1 weapon training -2 two weapon fighting)
2nd wakizashi +11 (same as above)
1d6+5 1d6+5
ac is 20
+1 darkleaf lamaller leather +4 ac max dex 5
+1 ring protection
also my skills are split between face and tank
acrobatics, diplomacy, profession soldier, and sense motive.
so my question is what do i do from here? any advice?
feats items multiclassing?
Doesn't seem very tanky to me. More of a striker/melee combatant.
Doesn't seem very tanky to me. More of a striker/melee combatant.
Admittedly, swashbucklers tend to have great AC, due to their dex focus, scaling AC bonus, and ability to go sword and board with a buckler without affecting their damage.
My question- why TWF? Swashbucklers don't really support it well (since precise strike only works when attacking with one weapon)
hello recently i made a halfelf swashbuckler from tien i rolled for stats and put them as such
str 14
dex 18 +2 half elf +1 lvl 4
con 14
int 12
wis 14
cha 16my idea is for a dual wielding swashbuckler that uses wakizashi he is built to be part face and tank.
so my feats areexotic weapon proficiancy wakizashi (half elf trait)
two weapon fighting lvl 1
weapon focus wakizashi lvl 3
weapon specialization wakizashi lvl 4 (bonus feat)
double slice lvl 5 featwe have a enchanter in the party so i was able to get both wakizashi to be agile so my to hits are this so far
first wakizashi +11 ( +5 dex +5 bab +1 wep focus +1 magical +1 weapon training -2 two weapon fighting)
2nd wakizashi +11 (same as above)
1d6+5 1d6+5
ac is 20+1 darkleaf lamaller leather +4 ac max dex 5
+1 ring protectionalso my skills are split between face and tank
acrobatics, diplomacy, profession soldier, and sense motive.so my question is what do i do from here? any advice?
feats items multiclassing?
oh ya i tottally forgot about the swashbuckler ac bonus so my ac is 21 and like i said i need this character to be the face and part tank we already have a barbarian for our "main" tank, a long range rouge, and an oracle for our healer/spellcaster whos backstory wouldnt allow diplomacy so i need to be in mellee range along side the barbarian but my dm has the habit of switching from the tank alot so i need a mobile striker with a good amount of ac that can still do some dmg. as for the twf for the swashbuckler the precise strike is the only ability that limits the second hand, so im still doing the precise dmg when i charge or move and when im up close i can do the full atk or if i need to hit easer i can choose to not atk with the second hand
Still, if you are aiming to be the tank, a buckler would be better.
That not only grants shield AC, but gives a yet another enhancement slot for AC. Taking the money from your second weapon (which is always a big expense for TWF characters) means you can invest that in AC enhancement.
You would have 23 AC and still have 1,150 gp left over. That is enough to grab a cloak of resistance to help your saves (another important factor for a tank).
And none of this even begins to mention the number of feats you would be saving.
To be honest, I would not bother TWFing with a buckler. Piranha strike a.k.a. power attack for small weapons should up your damage a fair bit and make you more of a threat (so enemies focus you and not the "squishies", so I would take it instead of TWF. A buckler in the other stats is a cheap source of AC, and if you want a "taunt" of sorts, you could check the Antagonize feat.
Swashbucklers aren´t great for dual-wielding imo as your special damage source requires you not to use your off hand for attacks. If you want that, quite a few classes are actually better - fighters, rangers, slayers, unchained barbarians and rogues... You do not have to have levels in the swashbuckler class to play a swashbuckling character - heck, you don't even need to have a buckler to swash :) .
To be honest, I would not bother TWFing with a buckler. Piranha strike a.k.a. power attack for small weapons should up your damage a fair bit and make you more of a threat (so enemies focus you and not the "squishies", so I would take it instead of TWF. A buckler in the other stats is a cheap source of AC, and if you want a "taunt" of sorts, you could check the Antagonize feat.
Well, with those stats, regular power attack is an option.
I mostly advise this since power attack is a common prerequisite for feats. With those stats, I can't see any reason not to go with power attack. Piranha strike only has the ability to go about with no str, and it gets that by trading away the possibility of 2 handing- neither of those are relavant with this class though, so just grabbing the version that works with prerequisites seems advantageous.
But I agree that one of the damage boosters is probably preferred. From what I've seen with the math, the extra damage from precise strike more works to cover up the difference between 1 handed attacks and 2 handed attacks when you factor in x1.5 str and power attack. Oh, it might edge out a point or two here and there, and in later levels it stays ahead, but for a good deal of levels, it isn't that much difference...if you are comparing two attacks that are both using power attack.
Without it, the precise strikes seem more middling. I know power attack detracts from parry/riposte... but if you are largely relying on enemies attacking you for your damage, when you are already the tank which means that a large amount of attacks will be ineffective against you... well... no reason for them NOT to aim at the squishies.
@ Lemeres - I would have suggested power attack for a rapier or scimitar user, but iirc the wakizashi is light so the character would be using a bad tradeoff ratio and cannot use it two-handed.
@ Lemeres - I would have suggested power attack for a rapier or scimitar user, but iirc the wakizashi is light so the character would be using a bad tradeoff ratio and cannot use it two-handed.
There are only differences between the feats themselves
1. Prerequites to get the feat- power attack needs 13 str, piranha strike needs 13 dex and weapon finesse (non issue- he already has the stats and feats for both; this is a fairly good set of stat rolls, not a point buy- no reason to get rid of that str.)2. Power attack has language for 2 handing, piranha strike does not (non-issue- it is a swashbuckler- it isn't going to be 2 handing anyway. Actually, being able to 2 hand might be an advantage if he comes up against anything that is immune to precision damages).
3. Piranha strike only works on finesse weapons. Power attack works on any weapon (thus, it is more inclusive).
Other than that, they have the same langauge when you are using 1 handed weapons in 1 hand, when using light weapons, and when using offhand attacks. So when using those styles, he sees literally no mechanical difference from the feats themselves.
So really, he is only seeing advantages if he takes power attack, since there are a ton of feats that use power attack as a prerequisite for a ton of feats. Piranha strike is a lesser feat, whose sole advantage is that it doesn't involve str as a prerequisite, and as such it can be used by characters that don't have any str. It is settling...and this person is working with stats that don't need you to settle.
Anyway, if you think the trade off ratio is bad for power attack, then why are your suggesting piranha strike? It has the exact same ratio as 1 handing with power attack.
Ah, I had misremembered power attack - I thought it gave +1 to damage with any light weapons, but it was only off-hand weapons and secondary natural attacks. My bad - in that case, yes, PA is better due to the feat chains it unlocks.
Anyway, I was posting other information in my previous post but it apparently got lost.
Variant multiclassing is an interesting option if the DM allows it. It costs the character half her feats in exchange for class features from other classes. Swashbucklers get bonus feats, so it isn´t a bad option for them, and some of the features are pretty good. My favourites for such a character are:
- cavalier - 1/day challenge, order abilities, tactician - overall good package and the challenge is a great boss battle boost
- barbarian (unchained) - the unchained rage works well for a finesse build as it is straight attack and damage, you also get uncanny dodge and rage powers
- sorcerer - the level 1 through 15 bloodline powers and a bloodline feat. Some of the bloodlines are imo pretty sweet for a swashie - destined, serpentine and harrowed, for example, can get you some pretty cool stuff.
- magus - you get an arcane pool, a few magus arcana abilities, and spellstrike. The last one is useless to you, but the other ones are quite handy.
- inquisitor - you get stern gaze, judgement (eventually getting it twice per day with 2 judgements), and solo tactics. Stern gaze works best with a few points in intimidate, but is pretty decent then.
As for items, I would really aim for the duelist gloves if the DM agrees that they work with the swashie weapon training. The extra bonuses are sweet.