Vigilante for this campaign? (PC thread, please no spoilers)

[Secret Wizard]

Just wondering if this campaign could support a Vigilante and if Renown (Thrushmoor) might be a good idea.

[gustavo iglesias]

You won't stay in Thrushmoor for long time.

[King Chicken]

I'm currently in Book 1 with a vigilante, and he has never left the vigilante persona. Not a lot of call for a secret identity.

Does it work? Sure, if you want to play a sub-optimal fighter.

And I don't know if it's a spoiler to say you are pursuing someone and don't stay in one place long enough to make a social identity worth your time, but there you go. My vigilante took the opposite of renown: obscurity.

Granted, he does expect to get flying at level 12, and took Avenger, so his BAB is fast, but come on, a fighter does the Vigilante Identity better and a bard or Rogue does the social better. And the whole party will be flying by level 6-8 with spells/magic/scrolls, etc...

I advised my player against playing a vigilante, and a paladin. Guess what he's playing? A vigilante acting like a paladin.

[Revan]

A fighter...in no way does the Vigilante Identity better. As an Avenger Vigilante, which would be the only one where the comparison makes sense to begin with, the Vigilante gets as many bonus feats, of not more, and most of those actually have additional effects that the Fighter simply cannot mimic, like getting an AC bonus while Power Attacking. It's also pretty laughable to suggest the Rogue is better at the Social Identity. Seriously, there's a reason there's no Extra Vigilante/Social Talent feat.

Now, playing a Vigilante in Strange Aeons certainly has challenges. The fugue state does create some oddities with the character concept, as you likely cannot remember that you *have* two identities, and the travelogue nature of the campaign makes many Social Talents less useful. But there's still ample mechanical reason to recommend the class, and remember that all you give up to have full use of Vigilante and Social talents at once are your divination protections.

[Secret Wizard]

Revan wrote:

A fighter...in no way does the Vigilante Identity better. As an Avenger Vigilante, which would be the only one where the comparison makes sense to begin with, the Vigilante gets as many bonus feats, of not more, and most of those actually have additional effects that the Fighter simply cannot mimic, like getting an AC bonus while Power Attacking. It's also pretty laughable to suggest the Rogue is better at the Social Identity.

I mean, sure, if you build a Fighter like s@$*.

Shield of Blades is still a shield bonus and can be matched with AWT: Defensive Weapon Training, the Fighter has several effects the Vigilante cannot easily mimic either (Cut from the Air, Disruptive, Pin Down, AAT: Armored Juggernaut, Poised Bearing), not to mention Weapon and Armor Training boosting accuracy and AC well beyond the norm).

AND Fighter's have d10 HD.

[Squiggit]

Renown Thrushmoor won't help you very much but vigilantes are sure solid and one of the best nonmagical classes in the game regardless. So if you want to play one play one.

[Thatwackyned]

One of the best nonmagical classes in the game, I agree. But in a game where you don't remember who you are, you are very limited. IMO, vigilantes are best on Home Brew campaigns, where there is the danger of the week. If you are adventuring or playing an AP, they can't use all their resources effectively. So at level 1, you are a fighter no bonuses, remember you have the fugue state. At level 2, you get a feat+, still a feat behind, but your saves are good. Now if you wanted to play a Agathiel Vigilante, that would be playable.

[captain yesterday]

There are plenty of APs that work well with a Vigilante. Strange Aeons probably isn't the best choice, but it's not game breaking if you wanted to.

As someone that recently got Ultimate Intrigue myself I understand the desire. :-)

[Dragonchess Player]

A vigilante PC requires a bit more work to fit Strange Aeons than many other classes (gaining Renown in new communities takes a lot of time before 13th level and the Instant Recognition social talent; or using Great Renown/Incredible Renown to gain renown in two communities). Other adventure paths that mostly stay within one urban area, such as Curse of the Crimson Throne, Council of Thieves, or Hell's Rebels, are much easier to integrate a vigilante into.

If you want an "alter-ego" class with a better thematic fit, there is always the medium (relic channeler archetype, probably) from Occult Adventures. Choosing the champion spirit as the "primary" identity when adventuring is a fairly decent choice; with the archmage and hierophant as good choices for "downtime" activities (like item crafting), marshal and trickster as "social" identities, etc.

[gustavo iglesias]

I would talk with the GM. The vigilante class seem to be strongly tied to a background (ie: why you are Batman) and a,set of villains (ie: the governor troops for The Zorro, or Nottingham Sheriff for Robin Hood). This may or may not work in this AP, as you have no memory, and no background beyond the amnesia, until the GM reveal it. Ask him if Vigilante might work.

In general, it's a good advice to ask your GM about the AP, and how your character fits, for all AP. I also suggest always try to build a,PC for THAT AP. A Goliath druid will work much better in Gisntslauer than in Hell's Rebels, and a Vigilnte will work better in Hell's rebels than in Giiantslayer. Make sure you aren't swimming against the tide

[Abandoned Arts]

Browsing this thread makes me think about how cool a vigilante would be in the Kingmaker campaign.

[Squiggit]

gustavo iglesias wrote:

I would talk with the GM. The vigilante class seem to be strongly tied to a background (ie: why you are Batman) and a,set of villains (ie: the governor troops for The Zorro, or Nottingham Sheriff for Robin Hood). This may or may not work in this AP, as you have no memory, and no background beyond the amnesia, until the GM reveal it. Ask him if Vigilante might work.

Nothing about the vigilante really necessitates either of those things be true.

Yeah, those are all things you can go crazy with if you're really in love with the concept. But you can do that with a fighter or a paladin too and a vigilante can also just be a full bab martial with good skills and a bunch of neat abilities for combat and non-combat scenarios.

[gustavo iglesias]

Abandoned Arts wrote:

Browsing this thread makes me think about how cool a vigilante would be in the Kingmaker campaign.

I thibk Curse pf Crimson Throne wpuld be an awesome AP to play a Vigilante

[Devo]

The Vigilante would be a fun way to do a split-personality, if you wanted to be "broken" from your experience in the asylum.

[propsofprophecy]

Devo wrote:

The Vigilante would be a fun way to do a split-personality, if you wanted to be "broken" from your experience in the asylum.

I was also thinking this would be a fun way of doing it.

[Yakman]

I don't think it's a good fit thematically.

[Veltharis]

While it may not be appropriate for all Vigilante specializations, I think it can certainly work for some of them.

I've long been brainstorming a split-personality character using a number of different approaches and one of the more recent iterations is a Cabalist Vigilante. The basic idea is that the "original" personality the Vigilante Identity, who is unstable, reactionary, and absolutely convinced that his mind has been invaded by some outside force and turned to the "dark powers" mentioned in the Cabalist archetype description in a misguided attempt to find a way to excise the "parasitic" persona that's taken up residence in his head.

Naturally, that makes the "alternate" personality the Social Identity, who is by far the more collected and socially adept of the two, but also possesses a manipulative (possibly even malicious) streak that only feeds into the original's paranoia, despite the fact that it considers their relationship to be more "symbiotic" in nature.

But that's just my take...