I can't help but notice the Daring Champion Cavalier archetype can do some really solid damage entirely independent of ability scores. Which led me to think of the worst case scenario for a melee race. The Kobold. Even with a dex build, the constitution penalty leaves a lot to be desired.
As far as the character him/herself goes, so many Kobolds are under the rule of evil dragons too scary and powerful to oppose, but what about Good-aligned ones? Some of them must take these creatures under wing? Enter this as of yet unnamed Kobold. He/she was raised to be the knightly sort, and takes to it well. Save for the minor napoleon complex*. So far I have this up to 5th level:
Kobold
Str 6 (-4 Racial)
Dex 18 (+2 Racial, future level up bonuses go into this)
Con 12 (-2 Racial)
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 14 (+1 level)
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus: Rapier, Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Fencing Grace.
Traits: Irrepressible, need ideas.
AC: 22 (+4 Armor, +4 dex, +1 Dodge, +1 size, +1 shield, +1 Natural Armor)
Fort: +5
Ref: +7
Will: +3 (+5 vs. Charm and compulsion)
Equipment: +1 Rapier, Mithral Chain Shirt, Buckler, considering wayfinder + Clear Spindle Ioun Stone, but very expensive at 5th level.
So at level 5 damage with a challenge will be 1d4 + 13, with a +12 to hit. Which is pretty good, I think. A critical will be even better, bringing it to 17. Piranha strike would be great, making that 17 the standard, but I'm not sure where to fit it.
But I don't know where to go for an Order. Order of the sword helps my will saves, which are what I'm really worried about. Unfortunately, the challenge bonus is useless for me, because I don't have a mount.
And is the free Weapon Focus and Parry/Riposte worth the dip into Inspired Blade? I'll be taking a -2 or more on most of my parries, due to assumed size differences.
Also, any name suggestions? I'm terrible at that.
Who wants to help me play against type?
Eastern Star has a really good Challenge bonus. Probably the best one I've ever seen so far. I like the skill bonus too. But I need to find a place for Combat expertise to make use of the higher level abilities.
I think I'll add that to the short list. Probably on top.
Any other ideas, anybody?
If you need a name I would go Laknir. I see a lot of kobold names with k like sesserak. Laknir seems fitting. Also, kudos for using a kobold, they aren't often used.
Thanks, I try not to be a bit off the beaten path with some of my builds, hence, melee Kobold. Laknir sounds cool. I was ready to start plugging words into this Skyrim draconic translator I found a while ago. I think I'll use it for a last name instead.
That's a good point about the 12 intelligence. The extra 2 points I get from lowering Int can't help my primary stats, but I could either shore up my will save with a higher , or make my Str an 8, which would make carrying my own equipment easier and cheaper.
Does anyone have any other Order possibilities, or Trait ideas?
That's mostly just for flavour though. (which is what I believe traits are meant to be used for)
I did pick Irrepresible for a reason. Two of them:
1. Mechanically useful. Compulsions like "kill the cleric" are why I'm worried about my Will save.
2. Fitting for the character. Strong conviction and Honor are staples of your ideal fantasy knight.
I would personally go with order of the flame. You are screaming about how you are the scion of the mighty (insert ancient dragon here), and your enemies will flee before your wrath. Then stacking the Glorious Challenge bonus on a kobold just screams draconic kill frenzy.
From a roleplay standpoint who would focus on the kobold of the group as the melee threat, at least until you killed the 3rd or 4th guy and they realized you were a monster.
You are going to want to aim for dex build and celestial armor, and just stack everything you can for the killing frenzy. You need to make friends with someone who can cast Shield into a cracked vibrant purple Ioun stone (level 1 spell storing item, 2k) and get some miss chance and some mirror image somehow.
Possibly a level of Bard, and go for Battle Herald?
Battle Herald itself is an amusing idea. But it doesn't progress my Challenge as far as I can tell, nor Precise Strike, which are how I plan on keeping my damage high. I will consider Order of the Flame too, since more stat agnostic damage is always nice, Parry/Riposte can help mitigate the lower AC I'll get from it.
Any more ideas? I think I'm going to go with the Order of the Eastern Star, for the defense. There are three more feats I'd like to include: Piranha Strike, Imp. Unarmed strike, and Snake fang. Where can I fit these? That way, I believe I can maintain very good damage even disarmed. Plus, how many Kobolds can make people hear this? Er, language warning I suppose.
Whoops, meant snake style. that lets me turn my unarmed strikes into piercing, right?
I don't know about multiclassing into a third class though. The punching is secondary to the character anyway, and I'd have to choose between getting Wepon Focus or Imp. unarmed free. Could it be worth it?
One last bump o'the thread to see if anyone has advice for Orders, or feats.