I'm building a Cavalier (Standard Bearer / Strategist) 1 / Brawler (Exemplar) 5 / Battle Herald 6 for PFS and I'd like to get some commentary on the way I've gone about it.
Please note that I know there are dozens of other ways to build a Battle Herald, but the class progression above is set in stone for me. It's everything else I'm interested in.
So here's what I have:
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Human
STR: 16 DEX: 13 CON: 14 INT: 10 WIS: 10 CHA: 15
Traits: Chivalrous, Helpful
Level 1 - Cavalier (Standard Bearer / Strategist) (Order of the Dragon) 1
Abilities: Banner, Challenge, Order, Tactician
Feats: Power Attack, Shield Focus
Teamwork Feat: Precise Strike
Level 2 - Brawler (Exemplar) 1
Abilities: Brawler’s cunning, Call to Arms, martial flexibility, martial training
Level 3 - Brawler (Exemplar) 2
Abilities: Bonus combat feat, brawler’s flurry (Two-Weapon Fighting)
Feat: Improved Shield Bash
Bonus Combat Feat: Outflank
Level 4 - Brawler (Exemplar) 3
Abilities: Inspiring Prowess
Level 5 - Brawler (Exemplar) 4
Abilities: knockout 1/day
Feat: Combat Expertise
Level 6 - Brawler (Exemplar) 5
Abilities: Bonus combat feat, Field Instruction
Bonus Combat Feat: Shield Slam
Level 7 - Battle Herald 1
Abilities: Inspiring command (+1), improved leadership, voice of authority
Command: Sound the Charge
Feat: Gang Up
Level 8 - Battle Herald 2
Abilities: Easy march
Level 9 - Battle Herald 3
Abilities: 2nd Inspiring Command (Teamwork)
Feat: Team Up
Level 10 - Battle Herald 4
Abilities: Inspiring command (+2), inspire greatness
Level 11 - Battle Herald 5
Abilities: 3rd Inspiring Command (Battle Magic)
Feat: Shield Master
Level 12 - Battle Herald 6
Abilities: Teamwork feat
Teamwork Feat: Coordinated Charge
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Considering the following items:
Commander's Banner (not really thinking about the Banner of Ancient Kings. Too expensive and requires a feat and I've already got Standard Bearer).
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What do you think?
Outflank requires BAB +4, you have BAB +3 when you get it.
It doesn't look like you use shield focus as a prereq for anything, and a feat which only provides +1 non-touch AC is fairly poor. Even Dodge is better.
By level 9 most PCs will have better things to do with their actions than Aid Another, including yours; you're sacrificing at least 2 attacks for that Aid Another. +4 AC vs. one attack or +4 to one attack by someone else is worth less IMO.
This is how I might do the feats.
1: Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Precise Strike
3: Improved Shield Bash, Gang Up
5: Outflank
6: Shield Slam
7: Improved TWF (You're using TWF. You should have this.)
9: Intercept Charge (This makes getting full attacks easier, as well as helping save squishier characters. Think of it as a better substitute for Team Up.)
11: Shield Master
12: Coordinated Charge
Thank you for responding! This is just what I was hoping for.
I'm not sure why I thought Shield Focus was a prerequisite for Improved Shield Bash. Perhaps I just misread "Shield Proficiency". So, yeah. Happy to get rid of it.
I'm less certain about Improved TWF. It requires me to have a 17 Dex (it's 13 in this build). Certainly, a +4 belt is easy enough at that level, but I'd really like a +4 STR. Is the extra attack at -5 really worth the feat and the required item?
Finally, I wonder if you're right about Aid Another in this situation. He'd be aiding for a lot more than +4. Aid Another is +2. The Helpful trait makes that +3 and the The Battle Herald's "Teamwork" Inspiring Command would give that a further +4 (to +7) and with a benevolent weapon he could easily be adding another +4, for a total of +11 Aid Another.
A +4 benevolent weapon costs 50K, which is more than half your wealth by level until level 12 (and only just under half then). Inspiring command gets added to inspire courage when you use the latter, but the teamwork inspiring command uses just the inspiring command bonus, which is +1 at level 9 when you get that feat, +2 at level 10+. The aid another bonus works out to +4 at level 9, +5 at level 10+, maybe as much as +9 by level 12 if you're willing to burn a lot of money on it. Only on or against one attack though - multiple attacks are very much the norm by level 9 IME. My experience doesn't include PFS though.
You're right, Improved TWF is iffy with those attributes. If you're getting a +4 benevolent weapon it's going to cost far too much, and even without that it's expensive.
I'm still not really impressed by Team Up for this character. Anyway it's not worth agonizing about too much. You have martial flexibility after all, you could drink a potion of cat's grace and flex up ITWF if you wanted.
Yeah, you're right on the Aid Another. Aiding one attack isn't worth it. I'm used to my Honor Guard cavalier who can pump out four or five Aid Anothers (to AC) per turn through the Bodyguard feat, and therefore tend to think of Aid Another as a free resource.
You're also right that teamwork inspiring command. I don't know why I was thinking it provided +4, not +2. Ditto for the benevolent weapon. Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
So then, if Team Up isn't worth it, what about Gang Up and Combat Expertise (which in this build is just a feat tax to reach Gang Up and Team Up)? Should I instead try a different feat tree, like Bodyguard and Vanguard Style or perhaps Vital Strike?
Vital strike with a light shield is probably not terribly useful. Combat reflexes + bodyguard is perfectly reasonable and from the sound of it you've got more experience than me using it (only as a GM, once with a team of ninjas, once with a monk bodyguard) I hadn't looked at vanguard style before, it looks like a useful extension of the bodyguard feat.
Yes, bodyguard is probably better than gang up or paying thru the nose for ITWF. Improved & greater bull rush is a more offensive option if you want to go that way.
Thanks! Lots of good ideas and edits here!
Here is what I went with, eventually.
BUILD
Human
STR: 16 DEX: 13 CON: 14 INT: 10 WIS: 10 CHA: 15
Level 1 - Cavalier (Standard Bearer / Strategist) (Order of the Dragon) 1
Abilities: Banner, Challenge, Order, Tactician
Feats: Power Attack, Weapon Focus (light shield)
Teamwork Feat: Precise Strike
Level 2 - Brawler (Exemplar) 1
Abilities: Brawler’s cunning, Call to Arms, martial flexibility, martial training
Level 3 - Brawler (Exemplar) 2
Abilities: Bonus combat feat, brawler’s flurry (Two-Weapon Fighting)
Feat: Improved Shield Bash
Bonus Combat Feat: Outflank
Level 4 - Brawler (Exemplar) 3
Abilities: Inspiring Prowess
Level 5 - Brawler (Exemplar) 4
Abilities: knockout 1/day
Feat: Weapon Specialization (light shield)
Level 6 - Brawler (Exemplar) 5
Abilities: Bonus combat feat, Field Instruction
Bonus Combat Feat: Shield Slam
Level 7 - Battle Herald 1
Abilities: Inspiring command (+1), improved leadership, voice of authority
Command: Sound the Charge
Feat: Improved Bull Rush
Level 8 - Battle Herald 2
Abilities: Easy march
Level 9 - Battle Herald 3
Abilities: 2nd Inspiring Command (Teamwork)
Feat: Greater Bull Rush
Level 10 - Battle Herald 4
Abilities: Inspiring command (+2), inspire greatness
Level 11 - Battle Herald 5
Abilities: 3rd Inspiring Command (Battle Magic)
Feat: Shield Master
Level 12 - Battle Herald 6
Abilities: Teamwork feat
Teamwork Feat: Coordinated Charge
It's an interesting question I could argue either way. Exemplar says its inspire courage feature "functions as bardic performance." Meanwhile Battle Herald says "bard and battle herald levels stack to determine the bonuses provided by inspire courage. "
I think the better argument is that they do stack for the purposes of inspire courage only, through the transitive property.
If Exemplar inspire courage is the same as bardic inspire courage and bardic inspire courage is the same as Battle Herald inspire courage, then A=B=C.
^Exemplar Brawler's Inspiring Prowess grants an effective Bard level, so you should be okay.