I'm making an empiricist ratfolk and I've got a few questions that need answering.
Which racial trait would be more beneficial; Tinker (+2 to Craft (alchemy), Perception, and UMD), or Scent which penalizes me with a -2 to sight and sound-based perception checks.
Should I build into natural melee attacks, or stick to melee weapons?
(So far I'm planning to have a bite and two claw attacks following up with the Gnawer feat, to accent my stubborn rat's personality)
Would The Pack Rat feat be helpful at all? If so; would it be more useful in early levels, or in later levels?
I'm only ironing out the details, and I'm not set in stone, except for my race and class. Any and all advice is appreciated.
What kind of campaign are you running?
Unsure as of yet; Our sessions won't start for a couple weeks, and our first session is going to be character building, which I enjoy helping others with. We've got about 6 people in the group, 7 including the GM, who is playing a bipolar type of character with another player. They plan to swap out on GMing so everyone gets to enjoy the game as a player.
We were playing Rise of the Runelords, but with a prolonged hiatus and the introduction of new players, my GM decided it'd be best to start a new campaign instead of dropping newbies in at lvl 13.
Pack rat is definitely better early - it's more flavor than optimal but it could be a lifesaver at low levels if you suddenly have anti-toxin you forgot, or acid, or quicksilver, etc.
Well, if you're definitely investing all the feats into natural attacks, I'd use them, except that you're small, have a str penalty, so it's hard to do any damage until / if you get an amulet of mighty fists (agile).
Feats you already are saying you want:
sharp tooth
sharp claw
gnawer
weapon finesse
pack rat
so you're basic build isn't done until level 9? OTOH, I guess you could try going str based, with enlarge person and a mutagen.
If I were you I'd take weapon finesse first, and pack rat at level 3, and not take the natural attack feats (meaning you miss out on gnawer). Or, take sharp tooth at 5th level and use it in addition to your rapier, taking gnawer at 7th and sharpclaw at 9 or vice versa.
Feats are the most precious and limited resource you have. You should try to accomplish with skill points, or with gold first.
So, scent is very difficult to replicate elsewhere. Take that. You can just shove skill points into the other skills, and +2 isn't so much that you'll notice after level three. Buy eyes of the eagle if you need.
Pack rat seems like it could be entirely replaced with better planning. I say skip it. Buy a haversack if you want, and fill it with all manner of useful supplies.
If you're going natural attacks, you need strength so you can do damage. Nothing else matters as much. And hey, you can skip weapon finesse now.
Anonymous Visitor 163 576 wrote: Feats are the most precious and limited resource you have. You should try to accomplish with skill points, or with gold first.
So, scent is very difficult to replicate elsewhere. Take that. You can just shove skill points into the other skills, and +2 isn't so much that you'll notice after level three. Buy eyes of the eagle if you need.
Pack rat seems like it could be entirely replaced with better planning. I say skip it. Buy a haversack if you want, and fill it with all manner of useful supplies.
If you're going natural attacks, you need strength so you can do damage. Nothing else matters as much. And hey, you can skip weapon finesse now.
I decided against the whole natural attack idea and I'm going with rapier tactics instead. Gonna go with Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Rapier), and Fencing Grace, so I can utilize dexterity as my key attack feature. It won't come online until 5th, but it should be worth it.
Would it be logical to have a bone rapier, made from the ribs of a giant fish? Certainly something most wouldn't expect, though considering how PF describes it in the Special Materials section, I'm guessing no.
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It's no less logical than being a talking rat person.
Just thought of something, and it fits as a good background. My character was born to a warren in a fishing village; the Warren is popular for making jewelry, weaponry, and other odds and ends from the things they're given in trade for their services. Swordfish rapiers are a specialty and are usually made as a parting gift for any of the warren that go out to explore the world. These rapiers are not considered to have the fragile quality, despite being made of bone.
Also, This is the build I've made;
Ratfolk Investigator (Empiricist)
Str 10 Int 18
Dex 18 Wis 12
Con 14 Cha 7
1F- Weapon Finesse
3F- Weapon Focus (Rapier)
3T- Infusion
5F- Fencing Grace
5T- Quick Study
7F- Sharptooth
7T- Sickening Offensive
At 5th level my combat effectiveness is up and running and I'll pick up Gnawer at lvl 15, because my character is stubborn and won't give up on a locked something. How's this sound as a build plan?
For this sort of build, starting with a level of Inspired Blade Swashbuckler is really nice. You can have Weapon Focus (rapier), Fencing Grace, and Finesse with rapiers all at 1st level. A Panache Pool based on Cha+Int is nice too. Normally I don't advocate dipping, but Swashtigators are really popular for good reason.
I'd still need to get to 5th level to come online, but that would be for my studied combat & strike abilities, I guess I could go with this idea, and it would allow me to get sharptooth and gnawer much earlier. And I'll make my favored class Investigator.
Also, I was looking at potion glutton as a 7th level feat, but it requires worshiping a deity of gluttony, disease, and death. Which is counter-intuitive to my character's alignment. I'm not looking for min-max, I just want to be an effective member of the party, so it looks like my skill talents won't pick up until a level later. I guess I'm okay with this, because a majority of magic items won't come in until at least 5th level, right?
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