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I'm working on a character based on the blind swordsman archetype but I'm having trouble figuring out what class to build him as. Right now all I can say for sure is that he is a Caligni Darkfolk, has Blind-Fight and the Blinded Blade style feat, and is Dex based. Thematically he is a duelist who fights to protect the other exiled Caligni from their former kin and escape beyond their reach and now fights blind after being cursed by his former societies gods. Beyond that I'm torn between these concepts.
Bladed Scarf Magus: A gloom magus with a bladed scarf, this build concept focuses on using his swift strikes with his purple scarf mixed with shadow magic.
Slayer two weapons: A slayer, this build uses an Estoc (think piercing bastard sword) and a side weapon (likely a gladius) in a 2 weapon style. Probably grab up the two-weapon combat style along with weapon finesse and some rogue talents like bleeding attack, extinguishing strike (sneak attacks extinguish light), poison use, and umbral gear (lets you make shadow gear).
Swashbuckler: Estoc or Bladed Scarf build (finagle the slashing finesse feat to work on it) with some focus on panache and some parry and riposte stuff.
Now whatever he is is going to be 5th level but beyond that those are the 3, if anyone has any good reasons for one of these over the other please let me know. I'm trying to winnow the field and I'm looking for unique ideas for each that might help there so anything helps ^-^.
The bladed scarf magus was actually designed to be a specifically Varisian thing... but if you're GM doesn't care about reflavoring it they qualify to use slashing grace on a bladed scarf (they can use it as a 1 handed slashing weapon). So... you could multiclass? It would probably be more of a dip though- Swashbuckler 1/Magus is only one level behind on spells but (with slashing grace) can finesse the scarf and use it for parry and riposte; or a magus 3/swashbuckler loses one point of BAB but can use spell combat and/or spellstrike with his small number of spells and has an arcana (and the option to take the extra arcana feat) to increase accuracy.
Another thing to consider is that being blind is always going to screw you... even just moving- being blind forces you to roll acrobatics to move at half speed, and having limited visibility makes each square of movement cost 2, so you're functionally moving at 1/4 speed all the time (or not at all if you fail the check). All that is to say that you should really be actively pursuing another means of 'seeing' the world. Off the top of my head, the best option I can think of would be variant multiclassing as a deep earth sorcerer (for tremorsense 30' at 9th level), or eldritch heritage feats (to get it at 11th). Dragon Disciple gains blindsense 30' at 5th (which they could get by 10th overall level) and you might be able to convince your GM to work with you to tweak it to allow an umbral dragon instead of a base metallic or chromatic...
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The bladed scarf magus was actually designed to be a specifically Varisian thing... but if you're GM doesn't care about reflavoring it they qualify to use slashing grace on a bladed scarf (they can use it as a 1 handed slashing weapon). So... you could multiclass? It would probably be more of a dip though- Swashbuckler 1/Magus is only one level behind on spells but (with slashing grace) can finesse the scarf and use it for parry and riposte; or a magus 3/swashbuckler loses one point of BAB but can use spell combat and/or spellstrike with his small number of spells and has an arcana (and the option to take the extra arcana feat) to increase accuracy.
I'm working as the GM designing an NPC so finagling Slashing Grace to work with the bladed sash isn't an issue. I'm also not looking to multiclass between 2 of the classes since I kind of see each as rolling with a distinct style so just one.
Another thing to consider is that being blind is always going to screw you... even just moving- being blind forces you to roll acrobatics to move at half speed, and having limited visibility makes each square of movement cost 2, so you're functionally moving at 1/4 speed all the time (or not at all if you fail the check). All that is to say that you should really be actively pursuing another means of 'seeing' the world.
Actually you only have to check if you move great than 1/2 movement speed which should work fine for what I need. 2nd you have a source for that limited visibility halving your movement cause I'm not seeing it anywhere.
As for a means of "sight" the new Blinded Blade Style Combat feat tree helps solve a lot of that, giving you scent, blindsense, and eventually blindsight as you move through the tree. Atm he'd have scent and combined with the other perception bumps the style gives I'm not as worried about his perception abilities.
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AWT? Also interesting suggestion but I'm not looking for more classes to choose from especially those that add more spellcasting.Blind oracle 1 (battle mystery) + anything.
Weapon master fighter is good, the new AWT lets you finess anything and and other adds damage(not dex thought).
Advanced Weapon training. It's for fighters (and other classes with weapon training).
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If you go the slayer route, Norgorber's weapon style can get you early access to Greater Blindfight, which will help in meeting the prerequest for Blinded Blade.
Interesting though now I'm kind of torn since I was thinking twf with slayer and pulling those through my combat style. Will have to see which one is better at getting me the feats I want earlier and frees up more slots.
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Advanced Weapon training. It's for fighters (and other classes with weapon training).AWT? Also interesting suggestion but I'm not looking for more classes to choose from especially those that add more spellcasting.Blind oracle 1 (battle mystery) + anything.
Weapon master fighter is good, the new AWT lets you finess anything and and other adds damage(not dex thought).
Ahh. Sounds cool but again I'm trying to winnow the class field I already have, not add more lol. *Resists urge to peek on them so as not to be tempted...*
you have a source for that limited visibility halving your movement cause I'm not seeing it anywhere.
Sadly I can't link directly to the relevant sections but under Movement in the gamemastering section the "Hampered Movement" chart shows that 'poor visibility' results in movement costing double. This is confirmed in the "Tactical Movement" subsection under the heading 'Hampered Movement' (wherein it also states that "You can't run or charge through any square that would hamper your movement," which effectively precludes a blind character from ever doing either of those things ).
Where is blinded blade from? I haven't seen that one and its not up on d20pfsrd yet...
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Slayer seems nice, studied target is a nice way to show how you need to find your opponent. In a fluff sense at least. It provides bonus feats that skip prerequisites. Allowing you to focus on less attributes.
Swashbuckler is asking to spread you to thin. Chr, con, dex, str, and wis (assuming you need a good perception skill). It has good stuff though.
Magus is simlar in that it adds int instead of chr. It also has nice stuff.
I cannot find the blinded blade style feats anywhere. The internet has failed me.
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you have a source for that limited visibility halving your movement cause I'm not seeing it anywhere.Sadly I can't link directly to the relevant sections but under Movement in the gamemastering section the "Hampered Movement" chart shows that 'poor visibility' results in movement costing double. This is confirmed in the "Tactical Movement" subsection under the heading 'Hampered Movement' (wherein it also states that "You can't run or charge through any square that would hamper your movement," which effectively precludes a blind character from ever doing either of those things ).
Where is blinded blade from? I haven't seen that one and its not up on d20pfsrd yet...
Ugg... another rule buried somewhere not easy to find lol. To my reading though I think the hampered movement penalty it's referring to as poor visibility in this instance is already factored into the blinded condition since it would be weird to have both of those stack and then not reference it somewhere in the blinded condition. Like I think it's looking at like darkness or fog that impairs your vision which would feel kind of inconsequential to a character who can't see them anyways.
As for Blinded Blade form it's a new feat chain out of Blood of Shadows. It basically makes the blind swordsman/fighter concept much more viable. You should be seeing it here in the next few weeks.
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Slayer seems nice, studied target is a nice way to show how you need to find your opponent. In a fluff sense at least. It provides bonus feats that skip prerequisites. Allowing you to focus on less attributes.
Swashbuckler is asking to spread you to thin. Chr, con, dex, str, and wis (assuming you need a good perception skill). It has good stuff though.
Magus is simlar in that it adds int instead of chr. It also has nice stuff.
I cannot find the blinded blade style feats anywhere. The internet has failed me.
Same worry about point spread but the Caligni Darkfolk gives you a lot of ability score bumps you need like Dex & Con though Int takes a hit. That actually helps rule out the magus unless I can combo with the eldritch knight arc and slide to Cha casting...
Ugg... another rule buried somewhere not easy to find lol. To my reading though I think the hampered movement penalty it's referring to as poor visibility in this instance is already factored into the blinded condition since it would be weird to have both of those stack and then not reference it somewhere in the blinded condition. Like I think it's looking at like darkness or fog that impairs your vision which would feel kind of inconsequential to a character who can't see them anyways.
If you want to ignore/change the rules to make your NPC work that's your prerogative, but they are clearly separate rules. The mechanics aren't even the same: the blindness mechanic doesn't actually slow you at all, it forces a skill check if you choose to move farther than half your speed (a roll which poor visibility in no way offers); poor visibility has nothing to do with your movement rate or how much of it you choose to use, it just flat out makes every square of movement cost double. If you ignore the poor visibility rules for blinded characters then why wouldn't people just close their eyes so that an acrobatics check would allow them to move full speed (and run/charge? since that's under visibility not blindness)?
I agree that it would be nice for there to be something somewhere pointing out that being blinded may trigger other consequences beyond the penalties stated under the condition, but just because it isn't spelled out explicitly doesn't mean it isn't the case...
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Ugg... another rule buried somewhere not easy to find lol. To my reading though I think the hampered movement penalty it's referring to as poor visibility in this instance is already factored into the blinded condition since it would be weird to have both of those stack and then not reference it somewhere in the blinded condition. Like I think it's looking at like darkness or fog that impairs your vision which would feel kind of inconsequential to a character who can't see them anyways.If you want to ignore/change the rules to make your NPC work that's your prerogative, but they are clearly separate rules. The mechanics aren't even the same: the blindness mechanic doesn't actually slow you at all, it forces a skill check if you choose to move farther than half your speed (a roll which poor visibility in no way offers); poor visibility has nothing to do with your movement rate or how much of it you choose to use, it just flat out makes every square of movement cost double. If you ignore the poor visibility rules for blinded characters then why wouldn't people just close their eyes so that an acrobatics check would allow them to move full speed (and run/charge? since that's under visibility not blindness)?
I agree that it would be nice for there to be something somewhere pointing out that being blinded may trigger other consequences beyond the penalties stated under the condition, but just because it isn't spelled out explicitly doesn't mean it isn't the case...
That said let us assume for the sake of this discussion that the poor visibility thing DOES NOT double the cost of entering squares if you are blind and move on assuming you can move up to half movement speed without penalty as the condition lists.
Ohh, that said fleet might be both appropriate and thematic here.
I suppose there may be some 'table variance' involved here but in every game I run darkness, extreme weather, and other things that limit visibility effect your movement as described in the movement rules. YMMV.
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I suppose there may be some 'table variance' involved here but in every game I run darkness, extreme weather, and other things that limit visibility effect your movement as described in the movement rules. YMMV.
Cool, but anyways back on topic.
Blind fighting style duelist assassin from the Darklands who fights with either large piercing weapon like the Estoc or a flurry of slashes with the bladed scarf turned defending of the Caligni looking to separate from his darkfolk clan and their Owb masters. Worships a pantheon composed of the Empyreal lords Tanaagar and Ashava or maybe just Ashava which causes him to leave his clan, collect up the other Caligni, and get blinded by the Owb when they try to stop them. Now he's leading the rest of his people to the surface while the Owb sick some of the pack on them and slowly picks them off. That's about where the party should find him.
Now, I'm trying to figure out what style will fit the best to that. Like part of me likes the Magus bladed scarf build since it matches Ashava's favored weapon, lets me use the base art for the Caligni more, and gives me this cool iconic purple scarf to fiddle with. On the other hand though him just rocking this deep purple bandanna, a black scarf to cover his blinded eyes, and this big Estoc he uses to parry, riposte, and impale enemies with deft precision is also really cool especially when you combo it with some of the options in BoS like sneak attacks that extinguish light or let you make rope and crowbars out of shadows.
Problem is I can't have it both ways and I'm trying to figure out which one I like better. If you guys can think of some mechanics that are cool with that like does the magus get some really interesting shadow spells or cool slayer/swashbuckler abilities that really fit into these molds or certain classes that work those themes of honored shadow duelist well?
Ok. So... random I know and probably not what you're looking for. Not even sure it'd work with what you want, but, Earth Kineticist. Now, here me out. I know it's technically not a martial class, but you could feasibly still build it into one. The real draw is Tremorsense. It's a move action, but if you spend burn, it lasts as long as your kineticist level. Granted the enemy would need to be on the ground, but as far as I can tell, not many things give full on blind sight. Plus, you can get the Kinetic Blade wild talent, and have a fairly strong sword come out of no where.
Anyways, not great, and there are probably better, but just an idea to help with the seeing while not seeing thing.
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Ok. So... random I know and probably not what you're looking for. Not even sure it'd work with what you want, but, Earth Kineticist. Now, here me out. I know it's technically not a martial class, but you could feasibly still build it into one. The real draw is Tremorsense. It's a move action, but if you spend burn, it lasts as long as your kineticist level. Granted the enemy would need to be on the ground, but as far as I can tell, not many things give full on blind sight. Plus, you can get the Kinetic Blade wild talent, and have a fairly strong sword come out of no where.
Anyways, not great, and there are probably better, but just an idea to help with the seeing while not seeing thing.
Lol not building Toph.
But seriously it's an interesting idea but I'm not looking to add another class to my pool or earth kineticist in particular. I've actually done a geokineticist and am thinking on doing another already (slag giant smith) so I don't really want to add a 3rd lest I become redundant.