Hello to you all and thank you for your time.
After a series of unfortunate events my group has ended up with playing Mummy's Mask as our next AP. We have a few weeks to prepare our new characters, and I have decided to ask you, the community, for some ideas and advice to create a fun and functional PC for this adventure my buddies and I are going to play.
The group is composed of three players and a game master. For this campaign we are going to play a fighter, a rogue (me), and a wizard. We can use all the options from every Paizo book available, but the use of third party products is strictly forbidden.
Here are some guidelines I will use to create my character:
- For the attributes we are using the Point Buy system, with a pool of 20 points;
- I will most probably play a human character, because I really like humans;
- I'm going to use the unchained rogue variant class;
- I really like the idea of a tomb raider character, thus I will use the burglar archetype for my new rogue;
- I do not like multiclass, level dips, or prestige classes, I want to play a pure rogue with no levels in other classes;
- I am probably going to play a Two-Weapon Fighting rogue, since it seems to be the most effective style to play this class.
So, with these guidelines in mind, what ideas and advice can you give me to create a rogue character which is both fun to play and integrated with the game setting?
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Well, you will definitely want to have some traits to make skills like knowledge: religion and knowledge: history class skills as well as starting with the ancient osiriani language. Some ranks in linguistics would be very helpful as well. You will probably want to start with at least a 12 int. Other than that, the standard rogue stuff will be good. You might want to check out the hellcat stealth and hellcat pounce feats. I would probably start out with two-weapon fighting and double slice or two-weapon defense as my first feats.
Also, a three person party will get shredded in a paizo AP especially with no healer. You need to convince your dm to have an npc cleric tag along with you guys.
Ouch, a 20-pt buy for only 3 PCs? Beg for 25 with an extra skill point every level, plus maybe a 3rd trait. MM definitely needs some divine, IMO, given the obvious nature of the AP.
Your rogue can probably cover most of the knowledge skills (other than the typical wizard skills, and DD goes without saying), so don't skimp on INT. We dont typically play heavy charisma skills, but there are opportunities to put them to use if that's your style. Our MM unchained rogue does pretty well with two daggers, btw.
I'm about to start my son and his friend on a 3 PC jaunt through Ire of the Storm (I'll play the 3rd PC), so I'll have more to say in a few days.
I'm GMing a party in MM, we're on the last book. 1 Paladin, 1 Cleric, and 1 Bard with a DM NPC Sorcerer.
Multiple deaths throughout the AP and one TPK even thought the players are experienced optimizers.
Hopefully the GM will scale it to your party.
See if your GM will let you each run an NPC henchman? Just some extra bodies on the field. Warriors or adepts (for healing) built to fight quick and easy.
We did this in a pretty tough 15 point campaign, and it was fun. Killing off a character didn't leave a player in a lurch and into a forced spectator role....they still got to contribute! If a player was unlucky enough to love both her PC and henchwoman, she just took over someone else's henchman!
I played an inquisitor and paladin, but my NPC warrior was a tough survivor. He mostly just used a heavy crossbow. I forget if the NPCs were 5 or 10 point buys.
Ok, so this is what I came up with. What do you think of him, guys?
Human (Garundi) unchained rogue 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 132, Pathfinder Unchained 20)
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 11 (1d8+3)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +1; +2 trait bonus vs. fear effects.
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee short sword +2 (1d6+1/19-20), short sword +2 (1d6/19-20)
Ranged shortbow +4 (1d6/×3)
Special Attacks sneak attack (unchained) +1d6
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Statistics
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Str 13, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 16
Feats Dodge, Two-weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
Traits avid reader, reactionary, Wati native
Skills Acrobatics +5 (+1 to jump), Bluff +4, Disable Device +6, Escape Artist +5, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +5, Stealth +5, Use Magic Device +4
Languages Common, Osiriani
SQ avarice, trapfinding +1
Combat Gear caltrops; Other Gear leather armor, arrows (20), short sword, short sword, shortbow, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, chalk (10), flint and steel, grappling hook, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit[UE], mirror, piton (10), pot, soap, thieves' tools, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 29 gp
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Special Abilities
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Avarice Must gain at least 10% more treasure than allies or cannot Aid Another for 1 week
Sneak Attack (Unchained) +1d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
The one thing I am not really sure about is his ethnicity. Jair here comes from Wati, but I also like the idea of a character which comes from another country (most probably Taldan or Qadira), thus changing the "Wati native" trait with the "foreign opportunist" one (and maybe also change the "avid reader" trait, if I can find one more fitting and useful).
The other real problem is his carry capacity. He is 29lbs above light load, and I don't know how to answer this problem without investing more points in Strength (which I do not have at the moment), or selling a great part of his inventory back (which would leave me without useful tools to explore the dungeons ahead).
So, do you have any other advice for me?
When you can spare 50 gp a masterwork backpack will help. Otherwise try to ditch your backpack before combat, or give some of the heavier contents to the fighter to carry.
The character looks like a standard-issue rogue. Given the constraints you placed on the character build this was to be expected though.
Yeah, there's no reason you should be carrying some of that stuff. I don't want to spoil anything for you and I don't know what your GM has told you about how the beginning plays out, so I don't want to say more than that.
Is your Dex 16 or 18?
Can you get some rolling luggage or a wheelbarrow or porter or henchman to carry your gear?
If you haven't yet, you should consider downloading the free player's guide to the AP.
I just worked up your encumbrance (weapons, armor, equip) and by my calc you are only 17# over "Lightly Encumbered"
Common Player Knowledge on the AP is that it starts in Wati, a city. Do not buy a bedroll, rations or a pot, cities already have shelter and food. If it turns out you will leave the city, THEN buy bedroll, rations and a pot (and a cart to put them all in), until then, they are dead weight.
The hemp rope is a killer at 10#. You could dump that and buy a silk one for half the weight... you still have 29gp left over there.
OR - If your DM is starting the adventure with all of the party already knowing one another and part of a group/team, consider dumping the hemp rope with the group agreement that everyone pool some of their leftover starting gold to buy a silk rope for the party at the start of the AP.
Lose half your pitons & half your torches (I have yet to find a DM that enforces that, "torches last 1 hour only" rule.) And besides, why does the sneaky scout guy have to carry the light source?
All the suggestions above will shave off 29#.
Thank you all for the advice, they have been very useful.
The fact is that my character has changed a bit since I have posted here. Now I am most probably going to play an ifrit bard with the archaeologist archetype.
The party also changed a bit, since now we are going to be 3+1 players at the table, meaning that the GM will help us with a NPC that we will have to control in-game. This means that we can be more free in our choice about character creation (no need to over optimize), thus my decision of playing a bard rather than a rogue. We are also thinking about an all-geniekin party, thus the decision of playing a ifrit rather than a human.
If you have other advice or ideas please share it, I really enjoy reading your opinions.