I am working on making a 1st level character, a half orc fighter and could use some feedback. RPG games are new to me and I thought a fighter would be a good place to start.
If I did the point buy correctly I have, STR 16, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 10. I also have 150 gold for equipment and need to pick skills, feats and traits.
I can afford scale mail, a great axe, short bow, a dagger and miscellaneous gear. I am assuming that would be enough to start with.
I get two skill ranks, one feat and a bonus feat (combat) as a fighter. I get +2 intimidation as a half orc.
For skills, one rank in each of Climb and Survival.
Feats, Weapon Focus (Great Axe), +1 attack bonus; Toughness, +3 hp.
Character traits, I am using the Pathfinder RPG Character Traits pdf. It appears that I get to pick two, and they have to be from different types. There is so much there that I am lost as what to pick.
Deft Dodger for the +1 on reflex saves maybe? I could work anything from the combat traits into the backstory. As for picking one from Faith, Magic or Social, I could work in, Skeptic +2 on saving throws vs illusions, Poverty Stricken +1 on Survival checks or Rich Parents, 900 gold(or in this case one rich parent).
The first two would always be there and the boost from Rich Parents would be one time only. So I don’t think the extra cash makes that much of a difference. I could I think pick up a faction trait, such as Perception from the Grand Lodge which reads “You gain a +1 trait bonus on all checks with the chosen skill, and the chosen skill is a class skill for you.” Which I think is +3 as a class skill, +1 as a misc mod, +1 as an ability mod, for a +5 with no ranks.
I want to be good at dealing damage and not dying, but I also do not want to be easily tricked into walking off a cliff or chopping up my team mates.
The character sheet list homeland, I am not sure what to put there. Some place with deep forest and Orcs. Is this your place of birth or where you are now?
I would appreciate your feedback.
Heyo, is this for society organized play or a home game?
You're shorting yourself a bit on the point buy. You could increase the Strength to 17 (which would let you get to 18 Strength at level 4), or perhaps boost Int to 12 if you'd like more skills, or Wis to 14 for better Will saves, Perception, and Survival.
Your feat and skill selections look good. But I wouldn't bother putting more than the one rank in Climb, to get the class skill bonus. Same with swim. Before long, you'll be able to rely on cheap magic items for those tasks, unless something unexpected happens.
For traits, Rich Parents isn't allowed for PFS. Picking up Perception is good, but keep in mind that you don't get the class skill bonus unless you have ranks in it. The traits for +1 to Will saves or +2 initiative are also solid choices.
Homeland isn't important for anything but your backstory. Lore-wise, a half-orc in the Pathfinder Society would be much more likely to have been raised by humans than orcs, but you could always be the exception. Lastwall would make sense.
Its for Society organized play.
Flutter's guide to newbies This should help give an overview.
You can dump stats below 10, and for most fighters i would seriously consider doing so on charisma. you probably want more INT in PFS. Skills are important.
If there is a ranger style that goes with the fighting style you want i'd greatly consider that instead of a fighter, it's almost always better. very few fighter builds don't work better mechanically as something else.
I would recommend going el-cheapo on your initial equipment as it will be sold for 1/2 price and replaced with Masterwork fairly quickly.
Has the Level 2 rebuild been phased out?
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It has not.
As to the OP, I made a dagger fighter with similar stats, so you should be fairly well on point with that setup. I agree with the recommendation for a 17 Str if you don't mind dropping one of your other stats a bit. However, I have done just fine on my dwarven holy vindicator having a 16 Str and being melee focused.
Actually a few tricks! For each pathfinder secenario you usually get 1-2 prestige points. Those can be traded in for boons, vanities or items worth 150 gp for 1pp or 750 for 2pp.
A Composite Longbow with +4 strength is 500gp, so you can buy it for 2pp and later cast masterwork transformation for 300gp on it to get a better one.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
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A Composite Longbow with +4 strength is 500gp, so you can buy it for 2pp and later cast masterwork transformation for 300gp on it to get a better one.
BTW unless you can actually cast masterwork transformation yourself (or have a friendly PC at your table cast it for you), you also need to pay the spellcasting cost, which is caster level × spell level × 10 gp (or 3 × 2 × 10 = 60 gp for masterwork transformation).
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The best trait for you is definitely Fighter of the Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor) - it's pretty-much a gimme for all fighters. For your other trait, if you don't have anything else in particular, you could just grab the +1 Will Save. (There's a trick for half-orcs to get higher saves with Fate's Favored, but it requires owning the Advanced Race Guide, which I'd guess that you don't have.)
Other than that and bumping up the STR to 17, it seems like a very solid build.
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The best trait for you is definitely Fighter of the Society
The trait is Defender of the Society, and is legal from Faction Guide (see additional resources) so you must own that source in order to utilize that trait.
Newbie trick: Get a sling. They're free, and they do 1d4+strength mod, which for a fighter is usually better than a 1d8 bow.
So trying to sum up, I should go with, STR 17, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 11, CHA 8. When I get to 4 level add one point to STR to make it 18.
The +1 on INT would give me one more skill point per level.
For Feats, Power Attack(-1 to hit, +3 to damage with 2 handed weapon)which I have to state before use and itlast one turn. Weapon Focus (Great Axe), +1 attack bonus, which applies any time I am using a Great Axe.
For Traits, Defender of Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor). This is found in the Faction Guide and in the Adventure Path: Shattered Star. The Shattered Star is a free pdf download. Would that justify my use of the trait or would I have to buy the Guide?
For the second Trait, I can pick the Faction Grand Lodge and choose Observant for a +1 on Perception, and put a skill point in it.
I should also get a composite bow with +4 strength when I can afford it, and maybe a sling for now because my strength bonus applies to the damage. So the idea with the sling is that the damage is 3-7 and a short bow is 1-8 damage.
For skills, Climb, Survival and Perception.
If you're gonna dump cha, DUMP it. 7 is 2 more points to get that wis up
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The best trait for you is definitely Fighter of the SocietyThe trait is Defender of the Society, and is legal from Faction Guide (see additional resources) so you must own that source in order to utilize that trait.
My bad on the name. >.<
So trying to sum up, I should go with, STR 17, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 11, CHA 8. When I get to 4 level add one point to STR to make it 18.
The +1 on INT would give me one more skill point per level.For Feats, Power Attack(-1 to hit, +3 to damage with 2 handed weapon)which I have to state before use and itlast one turn. Weapon Focus (Great Axe), +1 attack bonus, which applies any time I am using a Great Axe.
For Traits, Defender of Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor). This is found in the Faction Guide and in the Adventure Path: Shattered Star. The Shattered Star is a free pdf download. Would that justify my use of the trait or would I have to buy the Guide?
For the second Trait, I can pick the Faction Grand Lodge and choose Observant for a +1 on Perception, and put a skill point in it.I should also get a composite bow with +4 strength when I can afford it, and maybe a sling for now because my strength bonus applies to the damage. So the idea with the sling is that the damage is 3-7 and a short bow is 1-8 damage.
For skills, Climb, Survival and Perception.
You're still shorting yourself on the point buy, even worse this time. I'd go with a 17/14/14/12/12/9 or 17/14/14/12/14/7.
You really don't need Power Attack at first level; the enemies just aren't that resilient. I'd save it for level 2 or 3.
Ditto on picking javelins over a sling.
Okay, as a half-orc in the Pathfinder Society there are alternate racial abiltities you can try out.
1 One is Sacred Tattoos. It replaces Orc Ferocity. It gives you a +1 to all saves as a Luck Bonus.
A faith trait that works well with it is Fate's favored. It boosts Luck Bonuses. That gives you a +2 to fortitude, reflex, and will.
2 Another useful trait is Accelerated Drinker. It reduces the cost of drinking potions from a standard actions(preventing attacks) to a move action. Healing and buffing potions are quite useful for a Fighter.
3 A Great Axe is good to start with, but there are better equipment once you get gold and/or books. The Nodachi has a high chance of critical strike and can use two different types of damage to avoid enemies with damage reduction.
4 a Sling or throwing weapons are good to start with as the benefit from your strength bonus to damage. Later with more gold a Composite Longbow replaces those.
5 Power Attack is a useful feat you can start level 1 with. as your Fighter Bonus Feat, Furious Focus removes the chance to hit penalty from Power Attack, meaning your can Power Attack for free damage.
6 str18, dex14, con14, int12, wis12, cha7 are good starting stats for a Fighter. With 18 strength, a two-handed weapon, and Power attack you have a +5 attack and +9 damage bonus at level 1 on top of your actual damage roll.
Hey, Bob6500:
Since PFS is a 20 point-buy system, I'd definitely reference RainyDayNinja's listed stat arrays for your fighter. They are correct usage of spent points. Strength, especially getting bumped to an 18 at 4th level, will be your best friend, which is why...
You really don't need Power Attack at first level
killed a little bit of me inside lol. As one who plays infrequently (due to the DM-mantle I wear), I usually play beatsticks (i.e. barbarians and fighters) for the instant gratification. I assert that nothing (I say nothing!) is more fun than not just killing something, but obliterating it with a great axe and power attack! DO YOU RUE IT?! DO YOU RUE IT?! YOU WANTED MERCY?! I'M CHAOTIC NEUTRAL!
... sorry, I just had these violent visions of butting a man's head in with a rifle ...
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Another vote to wait on Power Attack. It isn't really very useful until level 4. Both because accuracy is an issue for the first few levels, and because -1 accuracy for +3 damage isn't really worth a feat. (-2 for +6 is more valuable)
In general levels 4-10 are Power Attack's most valuable levels. With the 2nd iterative & additional accuracy penalties (while static bonuses without it grow) it also becomes less useful past level 10. (Still worth having for a two-hander, but should be used less consistently.)
Another vote to wait on Power Attack. It isn't really very useful until level 4. Both because accuracy is an issue for the first few levels, and because -1 accuracy for +3 damage isn't really worth a feat. (-2 for +6 is more valuable)
In general levels 4-10 are Power Attack's most valuable levels. With the 2nd iterative & additional accuracy penalties (while static bonuses without it grow) it also becomes less useful past level 10. (Still worth having for a two-hander, but should be used less consistently.)
Furious Focus removes the penalty from Power Attack for the first attack each round. That means it makes Power Attack just plain free damage. It is invaluable. It is still useful on on full attacks, and it is still a better option than Vital Strike which is useless for anything but Attack Actions, which are VERY specific to one attack a turn and not part of a Charge, Full-attack or other special movement and feats.
The Fighter gets a Feat or Bonus Feat every level so you can easily use your bonus Feats from the Fighter class for COmbat Feats to increase your damage and use your default Feats from leveling for defensive and utility, such as Toughness and Improved Initiative.
Oh yes, by level 3 a Fighter can move at full speed in Medium Armor. At that point a Breastplate is very useful. Wearing Heavy armor is debatable as it gives heavy penalties.
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Furious Focus removes the penalty from Power Attack for the first attack each round. That means it makes Power Attack just plain free damage. It is invaluable. It is still useful on on full attacks, and it is still a better option than Vital Strike which is useless for anything but Attack Actions, which are VERY specific to one attack a turn and not part of a Charge, Full-attack or other special movement and feats.Another vote to wait on Power Attack. It isn't really very useful until level 4. Both because accuracy is an issue for the first few levels, and because -1 accuracy for +3 damage isn't really worth a feat. (-2 for +6 is more valuable)
In general levels 4-10 are Power Attack's most valuable levels. With the 2nd iterative & additional accuracy penalties (while static bonuses without it grow) it also becomes less useful past level 10. (Still worth having for a two-hander, but should be used less consistently.)
I don't understand how that counters anything I said. It primarily becomes less powerful past level 10 due to iteratives (as said above) and 2 feats are hardly 'free damage'. And without the -5 or -10 on iteratives, the first attack will usually hit with or without Furious Focus.
I didn't, and would never, suggest Vital Strike, so I don't understand you even bringing it up. (Though at level 11-15 Improved Vital Strike [which also costs 2 feats] with a greatsword is superior to Power Attack & Furious Focus when making a single attack when you ignore crits. By a lot if you make a habit of being enlarged etc.)
I even said specifically that two-handed combatants should still have Power Attack past level 10, it's just that it should no longer be the default strategy. (Vary depending upon circumstance & foe's AC.)
Anyway, my main point was that Power Attack isn't worth much until level 4 anyway.
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Thanks to everyone for your help, I think I am ready for the final copy of my character sheet. This makes me a One Trick Pony, but I should learn to do the one trick well first before making something like a shaman sorcerer with a ray gun and stylish boots.
For Traits, Defender of Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor). This is found in the Faction Guide and in the Adventure Path: Shattered Star. The Shattered Star is a free pdf download. Would that justify my use of the trait or would I have to buy the Guide?
There are two versions of Defender of the Society. The one from Shattered star does not require a fighter level, while the one from the Faction Guide does. Only the one from the Faction Guide is legal, so that is the resource that you'd need.
There are two versions of Defender of the Society. The one from Shattered star does not require a fighter level, while the one from the Faction Guide does. Only the one from the Faction Guide is legal, so that is the resource that you'd need.
For Traits, Defender of Society (+1 AC when wearing medium or heavy armor). This is found in the Faction Guide and in the Adventure Path: Shattered Star. The Shattered Star is a free pdf download. Would that justify my use of the trait or would I have to buy the Guide?
Thanks for letting me know. There are so many available books and guides that it is difficult to sort through them all.