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They come in many forms but the distinguished gentleman's gentleman being the most common. You know the type I'm talking about.
The Alfred, Sebastian, Albert, Jeeves
The ultimate Manservant, Always there with what his master needs. Often invisible until called. The Mentor, Bodyguard and Servant all in one package.
How would you create a Butler character for Pathfinder?
(Note: this is going to be for the Hell's Vengeance adventure path)
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I'd go with the Expert NPC class, using high scores for CHA and WIS, and building up good scores in Bluff, Sense Motive, Diplomacy, and maybe even Intimidation. Good scores in Knowledge History and Nobility would be handy, too.
A bard for the dramatic entrances ;) Theme songs are important
Mechanically I'd say a Monk or Brawler build - a ninja would be good too. Something that can get by without armor.
Beyond that this is more a role rather than roll play concept.
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I'd actually use an Investigator.
Think about it. A high intelligence for many skills because fictional butlers are expected to know how to do a crapload of different things. Inspiration makes them do those things well. And alchemical extracts with the infusion discovery can be represented as different teas that the butler prepares for the master to get them psyched-up for an upcoming encounter.
Just want to add that the guy I'll be Buttling for normally plays spellcasters, so that's I'm expecting to be backing up. (Officially he hasn't decided what he's playing but 90% of the time it's a wizard)
I do like the idea of the Investigator, that could work really well
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I'd go with the Expert NPC class, using high scores for CHA and WIS, and building up good scores in Bluff, Sense Motive, Diplomacy, and maybe even Intimidation. Good scores in Knowledge History and Nobility would be handy, too.
Something like this sounds good, but I'd go with the Phantom Thief (Unchained Rogue) archetype over the Expert class.
The Phantom Thief's skill mastery, bluff, sense motive and initiative bonuses, and minor/major magic boosts are a great fit for someone like Jeeves who is very skilled, great at using Bluff and Sense Motive to get his master out of trouble, always a step ahead of everyone else (initiative boost), and with some magical tricks to explain some of Jevees almost supernatural abilities (e.g., Mending, Charm Person, Vanish (for his sudden quiet appearances whenever he's needed), Suggestion).
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Halfling packmule fighter with a handy haversack?
Having just the right item?- I'm fairly sure there is at least one other similar feat out there.
Unobtrusive and carrying enough that they can also potentially be ready with just what is needed.
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Wishcrafter or Impossible bloodline can really up the fact that the fictional butler is always breaking the laws of reality to be/have exactly what their master needs.
The other obvious choice would be a Vigilante. Doesn't truly hide the fact that he can wipe the floor with everyone in the room but even those who are close to them forget what they can do more often than not.
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Vigilante. Double Time, Social Grace, Startling Appearance, Unshakeable. It's all there.
Halfling is great, especially in Cheliax.
Well prepared feat, maybe Catch Offguard (wield a barstool!)
Read this blog if vigilante at first turns you off
Consider the Bellflower Tiller prestige class later. You can do fun stuff with the morale bonus, luck and aid another options, see this build for ideas.
You'd need +2d6 sneak attack though and hidden strike doesn't count. So maybe Catnivalist Rogue1/Snakebite striker brawler 1as a dip? You could then adapt that build pretty closely by going for magical child vigilante and picking a valet familiar, which even upgrades to improved familiar. Cat Sith would fit, maybe a celestial cat.
Or you just pick a few tricks from the build.
Though I like the idea of a vigilante halfling butler to bellflower tiller immensely.
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The Investigator Majordomo Archetype is basically styled off of a Head-of-Staff styled butler.
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My friend came up with this idea. He was a multiclassed human, Fighter 3 (weapon bearer squire)/Brawler. His big schtick was that he'd run around, offering people swords, applying weapon blanches for people, that sort of thing. He also was specialized in disarm. And he always talked in an super calm English Butler voice.
Him: "Sir, if you do not desist, I will be forced to relieve you of your weapon."
Enemy: "GO TO HELL"
Him "Very good sir." (Disarm)
It was funny because one time he disarmed someone of their exotic weapon, and his 'master' told him to cut his enemy down, so he used martial flexibility to get proficiency in the weapon and do just that, because he was told to.
I think he expressed interest in becoming a pathfinder chronicler just so he could have the deep pockets class feature so he could pull out whatever his master needed at any time. Never got that far though.
Still, fun stuff.
I'm playing an elven duelist as a butler ATM, its going pretty ok. Wilhelm from ReZero is my inspiration.
Stealth Rogue, always there, never noticed.
Some class dipping to a precognitive class.
Add Juliet Mills (Nanny and the Professor) as an edge to the stereotype.
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I'd definitely go Investigator or Vigilante for a butler that can hold their own in combat. Which would depend on whether they have a 'normal butler' identity and another more martial one or are just known as a dangerous fellow as well as a butler.
Investigator also has the advantage that with Infusion you can fix 'the master' a 'soothing tonic'. Which is wonderfully thematic and amusing. I'd probably go Empiricist...but then I really love the Empiricist Archetype.
I would not go with Majordomo. It's a bad archetype and there's very little you can do with it you can't do with a baseline Investigator one way or another IMO.
Phantom Thief is also valid if you don't mind being not so good at combat.
Cipher Investigator for the "invisible until needed" schtick
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Prepare a hangover remedy:
There are two main ways to do this. For alchemical "casters", Infusion plus Polypurpose Panacea will remove the effects of a hangover for an hour. For everybody else, Alchemist's Kindness costs 1gp and has a craft DC of 20, meaning that Master Alchemist allows a character with a +10 modifier to take ten and complete the remedy in eight minutes (or twenty-four minutes if your GM divides the entire day rather than the eight-hour crafting window).
Anticipate everything and always be prepared:
We'll leave aside the many spell preparation options there are, and instead focus on the ability to be impossibly prepared for every circumstance. Halflings can take Well-Prepared for a once-per-day contrivance of a necessary item. More serious prescience can be pulled off with Brilliant Planner, which takes some preparation in advance and ten minutes to enact, but allows for a lot more versatility. Traveler's Any-Tool is excellent for handling simply always having the right tool for the job.
"Unarmed" and dangerous:
Improved Unarmed Strike is the obvious option, with follow-on style feats as an option, but there are a few other ways to pull off a dangerous character without appearing armed. Sword canes are good for classes with proficiency and a focus on dexterity. For everybody else, there's Rough and Ready, although without an option to grant enhancements on the fly, an improvised weapon is going to fall off in usefulness at higher levels.
Anticipate everything and always be prepared:
We'll leave aside the many spell preparation options there are, and instead focus on the ability to be impossibly prepared for every circumstance. Halflings can take Well-Prepared for a once-per-day contrivance of a necessary item. More serious prescience can be pulled off with Brilliant Planner, which takes some preparation in advance and ten minutes to enact, but allows for a lot more versatility. Traveler's Any-Tool is excellent for handling simply always having the right tool for the job.
In the "anticipation" side of things I was looking at the Creation subschool for Conjurers
there is also Barrom Braweler feat which would give me 1/day shot of martial flexibilityCan't take everything of course but there seem to be a lot of options
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I second the Investigator Majordomo, seems perfectly built for the role, spend some time to focus on Aid Another buffing (Effortless Aid for example) and you're golden, especially should you choose to go with a halfling and take advantage of all the Aid Another buffs they can pick up as well. You can answer any question your gentleman has, you can direct him in how to be more effective at his own tasks (with Aid Another and Teamwork feats) and if need be, deliver a sound thrashing to anyone so gauche as to strike him!
With Effortless Aid, the Helpful halfling trait and the Bodyguard feat you could be adding +4 to your masters attack as a swift action and then +4 AC to every attack against him up to your attack of opportunity limit... that's pretty great.
"Sir, if I might note, he seems to favour his left side. Oh, also, one might wish to step to the right a little. Perhaps a quick step back. Marvelous sir, one has no idea how you do so well when forced to resort to fisticuffs! /sigh."
I'd have to go with ninja, because clearly the best butler in cinema is Cato - Inspector Clouseau's butler in the Pink Panther movies.
(Cato aside, I love the Investigator recommendation.)
The very best butler is a...
(wait for it...)
Flesh golem with a lisp.
"Yeth, marthter? What ith it that you dethire?"
and called Lurch?
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I currently have the bard from Knights Tale. Best Cohort EVER. Full bard with maxed out aid another. I've played with mechanically better cohorts before but style is where its at.
Megamind: Oh, you're a villain, alright! Just not a SUPER one!
Titan: Oh, yeah? What's the difference?
[Megamind's giant hologram head opens its mouth and from the inside appears Megamind]
Megamind: PRESENTATION!
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and called Lurch?
Naah! Terry Pratchett's Igor.
“I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth."
"Really? Why not?"
"I don't know, thur. I didn't athk.”
Another choice is an assassin like Walter C. Dornez of the Helsing organization.
/cevah
Vigilante. Double Time, Social Grace, Startling Appearance, Unshakeable. It's all there.
Halfling is great, especially in Cheliax.
Well prepared feat, maybe Catch Offguard (wield a barstool!)
Read this blog if vigilante at first turns you off
Consider the Bellflower Tiller prestige class later. You can do fun stuff with the morale bonus, luck and aid another options, see this build for ideas.
You'd need +2d6 sneak attack though and hidden strike doesn't count. So maybe Catnivalist Rogue1/Snakebite striker brawler 1as a dip? You could then adapt that build pretty closely by going for magical child vigilante and picking a valet familiar, which even upgrades to improved familiar. Cat Sith would fit, maybe a celestial cat.
Or you just pick a few tricks from the build.
Though I like the idea of a vigilante halfling butler to bellflower tiller immensely.
Why did no one point me to thethe awesome Bellflower Harvester archetype?
They come in many forms but the distinguished gentleman's gentleman being the most common. You know the type I'm talking about.
The Alfred, Sebastian, Albert, Jeeves
The ultimate Manservant, Always there with what his master needs. Often invisible until called. The Mentor, Bodyguard and Servant all in one package.
How would you create a Butler character for Pathfinder?
(Note: this is going to be for the Hell's Vengeance adventure path)
The defining aspect of the Butler is not his competence, because after all, Heroes are generally competent, but by the fact that he plays Second Banana to someone else.
So who is your character second banana to? Who's your Green Hornet, Kato?