Daring Champion and Vivisectionist?

[tatszico]

Hey all, new to Pathfinder and i'm trying to theory craft unique/workable builds for my compendium for future games i want to join. Right now, i'm working on a Daring Champion.

So far, I have a human Daring Champion with a dueling sword, picking up Weapon Focus for it and Slashing Grace as the bonus feat. I am planning to go Order of the Flame for the Glorious Challenge feat for all of the damage, as well as picking up Power Attack at level 3.

However, as i was thinking about the AC issues that Flame Order will give , i had an idea of dipping my second level to a Vivisectionist Alchemist. That way, i can get Mutagen to up my beefiness, extracts that includes Shield, as well as Sneak Attack which is great for a dex build.

What do you guys think? After the Vivisectionist dip, i was planning to continue with maxing Daring Champion. Another alternative was to take Order of the Dragon and be more tanky/supportive as well as having the benefits of the Vivisectionist dip.

Also, what feat would compliment the build , or just compliment daring champion in general?

Thanks in advance!

[avr]

It can be an issue getting the time to use short duration spells (& extracts) in combat. You often have something better to do with your standard actions. A better dip for defence might be into swashbuckler for one level to get the opportune parry & riposte deed which requires no actions to use, or a class with the trickery domain or blessing to get an illusory double as a move action.

You'll find that a class with panache wants to use a weapon with a base 18-20 crit. It's important for getting panache back. Using a duelling sword isn't impossible but it isn't optimal either.

A feat you might want later is chain challenge, if the game you join isn't using Pathfinder Society (PFS) restrictions. Sure, Order of the Flame gets something like it, but if you're concerned about defence you might not want stacking penalties to AC every time and the feat has a slightly better range (an enemy within 30' instead of one within 15'.) This is even better if you go with Order of the Dragon of course. If you go with a swashbuckler dip then combat reflexes is good in a tight spot. Crane style /wing /riposte might be a feat chain to aim for, and improved critical is certainly useful.

[Anger Nogar]

Don't go Order of the Flame for the blazing challenge – even with a lot of damage - securing the last hit can be unreliable in most cases. Pick the Extra Challenge feat if you are worried about the amount of challenges for day. As a Daring Champion - you will have more than enough damage to melt anything you are able to get a full attack on, and after the fist 1-2 key enemies are defeated - the combat turns into a clean up anyway.
Stay with Daring Champion and focus your build on ensuring that you can get said challenge empowered full attack on a key enemy in the fight as soon as possible (foolhardy rush is actually very good at that with sufficient speed and initiative) and don't worry for needing more challenges in that combat as it is not really needed.

[My Self]

I'd consider Order of the Eastern Star as a very good Daring Champion defensive order, especially if you want to add Crane Style. As mentioned above, your damage will already be pretty good. I'd worry more about your hit bonus, since Daring Champion gets neither extra attacks like the Monk, nor a situational or general bonus to hit like the Fighter or Ranger, although your flat challenge+precise strike damage is still really good, and the challenge multiplies on a crit.