So our Lord of Darkness Antipaladin fell to the smiting blows of a Paladin and now he is deciding what to play next.
Our party consists of the following other classes (we are fifth level):
Cleric- fire/trickery domain. Focuses on channels, deception, calling undead to serve him, only real healer also. Good with bluffing and diplomacy. Good channels with high charisma.
Wizard Conjurer- focused mostly on being a controller with a bit of damage thrown in.
Rogue- skill monkey and backstabber moving towards assassin.
Bard (archaeologist) 1/Cavalier (daring champion) 4- dexterity fighter who is finally doing some really good damage with his cutlass due to slashing grace and precise strike deed. Uses antagonize for some control as well as being a good intimidator (order of cockatrice).
So the question is obviously, what build would you do were you in his position and given the current party make-up? Right now, the Daring Champion and the Rogue (sometimes) do the most damage, with the Cleric and Wizard throwing in a bit. Formerly, the antipaladin and daring champion were the main sources of damage.
Obviously given the adventure, we have created some pretty sneaky and deceptive characters. That is pretty well covered by the daring champion, the cleric and the rogue.
Thanks in advance for the ideas everyone.
Alchemist -- Goblin poisoner type.
Witch. Cook People hex. Offer people baked goods constantly.
So the question is obviously, what build would you do were you in his position and given the current party make-up?
When in doubt, go druid. Go for the lawful neutral alignment (so you don't ping as 'evil' on everyone's radar), and turn into a frog or a stray cat or something and you are every bit as stealthy as the rogue. Then when things get dicey, you pull your animal companion out of stasis and trap the bad good guys between a summoned fiendish T. rex and something really scary, whatever you pick for your companion.
Then, once you've dealt with the opposition as befits someone foolish enough to oppose you, you can help clean up the status conditions.
(There are a few real gems buried in the summon nature's ally list that can make boss monsters like angels and dragons really unhappy, but I'll let you find them for yourself.)
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My other suggestion would be a full-on bard. Grab the pom-poms, start chanting "go team evil" and make everyone else better -- I mean that, of course, in the sense of "more skillful."
I don't have any real experience with the AP, although I get the gist of it, but it seems to me this is actually an AP where a Vigilante might really shine.
Being able to disguise your identity when you are good and hiding from bad guys is awesome, but being able to disguise your identity when when you are bad is really awesome.
It sort of fits with being a replacement character too, if as I understand it the AP starts in a prison...the whole secret identity would be hard to spin in that situation, but it works for a second character who has never been caught.
The party seems to have all the bases pretty well covered, so replacing a primary striker with another striker works out well too.
Those are some really good ideas. Anyone else have any thoughts? (And thanks much for the input.)
Westerner, What do your party wants right now?
If they want another damage dealer go Invulnerable rager barbarian or a Ranger (Divine Marksman) with Humans as favored enemy.
If they need more social skills go vigilante to handle situations where your aligment would F*** the others.
If they need even more magic do a Evil druid (Goliath druid if your GM permits)and grab strenght or destruction domain.This way you can cast support spells on your party (This will help your evil cleric friend) and go vital strike build with giant forms for lots of dice on damage rolls.
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Also,
You can always make a Crossblooded draconic,Primal elemental Sorcerer and make people suffer with your spells.
Don't go Fire or Eletricity as a lot of enemies are resistant or immune to it,In a evil AP you are expected to fight good outsiders and a lot of then resist elecricity. Go Crossblooded (Black Dragon,Acid) or (Silver Dragon,Cold) and expect lot's of fun moments on the later books.
Thanks everyone for the really good ideas. Some great food for thought for certain.
I believe I know exactly what smitey paladin killed the antipaladin. My party's antipaladin nearly bit it there, too, but I came to the rescue with Darkness. Our party matrix as we enter book 3 is witch, necro wizard, vivisectionist alch, that catfolk monk archetype, and a cleric. It is working well so far. The cleric replaced the antipaladin after an unrelated death. We intend to get said antipaladin back as an intelligent undead.
As far as recommendations, whatever the player wants will fit in well enough, from what I'm seeing. Any of the 3/4 casters would be good as they can fill multiple roles, any full caster is at the point where they start facerolling encounters, any martial provides what martials normally provide.
The big thing, though, is this: the player needs to decide what his desired playstyle is and run with it. 5th level is an amazing jump point for anything. As the AP progresses, additional full casters are worth their narrative weight in gold, though, while martials play the numbers game.
Class recommendations:
Full caster: Shaman, Witch, Psychic
3/4 caster: Inquisitor, Magus, Occultist, Mesmerist
Martial: Bloodrager, Barbarian, Slayer, Avenger Vigilante