Bola build

[Ravingdork]

Does anyone know of any awesome builds or combos involving bolas?

[Scott Wilhelm]

I don't, but as a Ranged Trip weapon, it holds a lot of promise: it means you can Trip targets without worrying about getting Tripped by your own trip attempt.

The problem is that you can't then make Attacks of Opportunity at Range. The best way I can think of to do that is Improved Snap Shot, which allows you to Threaten within 10'. Rather than do that, I guess you could use Quickdraw, a Bola, and a Lucerne Hammer. Take EWP, Greater Trip, and Precise Shot. I'd take Harder they Fall, too--via 1 level in Cavalier or 3 in Inquisitor--so you can Trip Mammoths. Bolas are Stone Age Weapons, right? But then Long Spear would make more sense than Lucerne Hammer.

It would be kind of like one of the things I was suggesting with Throwing Shield on your other Thread.

[GhostPepper]

I think they'd probably work well on a highly acrobatic/mobile character, working in cooperation with another party member whose job is then to move in and smash then to bits (alternately you could take leadership at level 7 and just run the support character yourself). It gives the whole thing a good story hook too:

Eg./ An agile swashbuckler, who trips opponents, and his old friend the massive hulking barbarian with an oversized great-club, who then power-attacks the ever-loving crap out of the now-fallen opponent. Ordinarily the oversized weapon would be impractical, but not when your opponent is prone on the ground!

[avr]

It does nonlethal bludgeoning damage so sap adept/master are potentially useful.

@Scott: Relentless Shot does that.

[Ravingdork]

So maybe a sap adept/master with teamwork feats? Perhaps the Lookout, Tandem Trip, and Target of Opportunity feats as well?

[Avoron]

What about a far strike monk? Bonus feats and flurry would definitely help alleviate some of the feat stress of having to build for both tripping and ranged combat. Eventually you could grab the Wolf Style line so you can trip squishy foes at range, yank them adjacent to you with Wolf Trip, and smash them with Vicious Stomp until you can land a bestow curse with Wolf Savage. Teamwork feats would add lots of fun as well, but without a way to hand them out you'd have to rely on coordinating with allies during character-building.

[avr]

Maybe the false opening feat if you could squeeze it in. Any way you cut it there's a lot of feats involved though.

[Louise Bishop]

RD,

Are you looking for Damage output with Bolas or Just using Bolas as part of the character when your at range?

Quote:

with teamwork feats? Perhaps the Lookout, Tandem Trip, and Target of Opportunity feats as well?

I mean a Hunter or Inquisitor sounds like a good go to class for not only getting Teamwork feats but also can have a companion whom could jump on top of a tripped target.

Having another PC help take advantage is another option. Using a Bolas to offer a trip attempt to a fighter Type (With Vicious Stomp) would generate more attacks for the Fighter type and hopefully force more AoOs in the process from them standing up.

[Ravingdork]

I'm just trying to find a way to use them without it being a detriment. It doesn't have to be super optimized, but I do want something that is both effective and fun. Ideally it will be something that takes advantage of the bolas' unique capabilities. If I wanted to focus solely on direct damage, I likely would have just chosen a different weapon.

[Scott Wilhelm]

avr wrote:

It does nonlethal bludgeoning damage so sap adept/master are potentially useful.

@Scott: Relentless Shot does that.

Okay, that's really cool. I'm adding that Feat to my spice rack.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Ravingdork wrote:

I'm just trying to find a way to use them without it being a detriment. It doesn't have to be super optimized, but I do want something that is both effective and fun. Ideally it will be something that takes advantage of the bolas' unique capabilities. If I wanted to focus solely on direct damage, I likely would have just chosen a different weapon.

Right now I'm envisioning a sort of hoplite soldier with a Heavy Shield or a Light, Quickdraw Shield, and the Quickdraw Feat. He can melee with Weapon, Shield, and/or Armor Spikes in melee, throw all sorts of weapons at close range: Spears, hammers, daggers, and of course, Bolas. With that lovely Relentless Shot Feat avr told me (us) about, he can also take Greater Trip for Tripping at Range and also making Ranged Attacks of Opportunity, using the Bola to attain the Trip and then a Spear or something as an Attack of Opportunity, drawing the right tool for the job as Free Actions using the Quickdraw Feat.

[Claxon]

I think it could be cool with Overwatch style to make a bunch of readied attacks.

[Louise Bishop]

Scott Wilhelm wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

I'm just trying to find a way to use them without it being a detriment. It doesn't have to be super optimized, but I do want something that is both effective and fun. Ideally it will be something that takes advantage of the bolas' unique capabilities. If I wanted to focus solely on direct damage, I likely would have just chosen a different weapon.

Right now I'm envisioning a sort of hoplite soldier with a Heavy Shield or a Light, Quickdraw Shield, and the Quickdraw Feat. He can melee with Weapon, Shield, and/or Armor Spikes in melee, throw all sorts of weapons at close range: Spears, hammers, daggers, and of course, Bolas. With that lovely Relentless Shot Feat avr told me (us) about, he can also take Greater Trip for Tripping at Range and also making Ranged Attacks of Opportunity, using the Bola to attain the Trip and then a Spear or something as an Attack of Opportunity, drawing the right tool for the job as Free Actions using the Quickdraw Feat.

Shield champ Brawler? Throw Bolas as well.

[Ravingdork]

Claxon wrote:

I think it could be cool with Overwatch style to make a bunch of readied attacks.

Ooh, that's an interetesting idea. I also like a lot the suggestions reviewed by Scott.

[Kris Verschaeve]

Here is possibly interesting tidbid.

Cudgeler style does not specify melee attack, it specifies charge attack and non lethal, so you could in theory do that with charging hurler feat, and fit the bola build still nicely into a scout charging build for sap master.
Itself cudgeler style is not that sexy on such a low weapon damage dice weapon, but cudgeler sweep is real interesting because again no melee requirement but there it says you can make a FREE trip attempt with a +2 mod, so you can do both damage activate SAP master AND do trip attempt with that that charge and make him prone

And then when the target is prone target him relentless shot as he is trying to get up...

[Artemis Moonstar]

RD, In your games do Bola wrap around an opponent as they typically do IRL? Or are they "hit and done"? I ask because, typically, thrown bola are not considered ammunition in PF. As such, they are not destroyed (as bola bolts are sadly).

IF there is a house rule that they wrap, then perhaps to get a bit more damage throw a +1 enchant and Flaming or some other element on them. They may typically do nonlethal, but the enchantments give a bit of lethality. If they wrap around an opponent's limb, perhaps it can be finagled into a continuous damage?

At the very least, a +1 Ghost Touch bola can trip an incorporeal, not nearly as effective as a +1 Ghost Touch net, but what the hey.

Alternatively, there's always the Slaver's Crossbow which shoots bola bolts. Same thing as a bola, same reload action as a crossbow of it's type (light or heavy). Except it has a 40ft range increment (200 max range I believe), can crit on a 19-20, and on a crit actually entangles the target.

Rapid Reload + Light Slaver's X-Bow + (+# enchantment + rider effects from enchanted crossbow) + Relentless Shot + Overwatch Style.

I don't recall which feat, but wasn't there a feat or two that if you successfully trip someone, they take some damage? Might be able to cheese that a bit.

Edit: Should be able to shut down some opponents with that. It's a build I've been trying to figure out for a while but haven't looked at recently. Let me know how it goes if you play it.

[Ravingdork]

Er...they wrap around (that's what bolas do after all), but they don't stay on for longer than what's required for the trip attempt. They don't stay on any more than an arrow stays in.

[Artemis Moonstar]

Ravingdork wrote:

Er...they wrap around (that's what bolas do after all), but they don't stay on for longer than what's required for the trip attempt. They don't stay on any more than an arrow stays in.

Typical rules then. I've sat at 3 tables that basically add an entangle effect to Bolas for some reason.

Besides that, what thought you of the rest of my suggestions, as the latter half were not predicated on the homewbrewed entangle effect.

[Ravingdork]

I'm not a fan of the bolabow idea; just doesn't have the same feel to me.

Don't bolas deal damage and trip already?

[Artemis Moonstar]

Yeah. Bolabow just gets you a farther range, and an entangle on a crit. Plus you can add rider effects via the crossbow itself.

I'm still waiting for a net launcher myself.

That said, I wonder. How would the Sharding enchantment work on a Bola? My instincts want to say you still get the damage + trip on the attack. Same range increment too, and you only need 1 bola to enchant.

[zauriel56]

Bolas deal nonlethal I believe except shoanti bolas