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Many threads like this have existed, but many (all?) of them are years old. I wonder, with all the current knowledge, what cool builds do we cook up? And what makes them so awesome? I'm going for fun to play, here, without distinguishing whether it's fun because of power or whackyness or other reasons.
I'll start off with a few:
The fated champion skald with the expanded spell kenning feat. Cool because:
- Super high initiative
- Can make a scroll of any level 6 or lower spell through spell kenning.
- Can make entire armies airborne if he performs loudly enough (greater air elemental blood rage power)
The scaled fist monk with a leveldip in nature oracle, with a possible leveldip in self-perfection psychic. Needs nature's whispers and the kinetic enhancement psi-tech. Would venerate arshea and have the proper obedience. Cool because:
- Adds int, wis, and twice cha to cmd
- Adds wis and thrice cha to AC.
- Could totally abuse the foot stomp style strike (going on cmd)
- Would be complete with 2 paladin levels for cha to saves :)
- Has sex with everyone without ever contracting diseases.
Arcanist with fighter leveldip and many EK levels, specialised in a combat maneuver and polymorph spells. Would need the knowledge is power wizard discovery as an exploit (there is an exploit to do that). Cool because:
- Changes into big creature to have an awesome cmb, because of high int and high str, then goes to town like a pro wrestler.
- Can use the dimensional slide exploit to come up behind, then bull rush off cliff.
I'm excited to see what you people come up with!
I think there was an (unfortunate) FAQ that makes it so that abilities that add a stat to something don't stack, so you wouldn't be able to get thrice your cha to CMD.
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Well... It'd be:
- Cha bonus instead of dex bonus to AC (nature's whispers)
- Cha bonus to AC, when not wearing armor (monk bonus, converted to cha, as scaled fist)
- armor bonus equal to cha bonus (arshea's boon)
These are three different bonuses, just incidentally all to AC and all coming from cha. They're not the same.
If your DM is cool enough to allow you to worship both Irori and Arshea (which is not that weird, since one is a deity and the other merely an empyreal lord), you could even add levels or Iroran Paladin to add:
- Cha bonus in addition to dex bonus to AC
Which is a fourth different bonus to quadruple your cha bonus to AC :)
The FAQ only rules out doubling up on the same bonus, I think, right?
I think there was an (unfortunate) FAQ that makes it so that abilities that add a stat to something don't stack, so you wouldn't be able to get thrice your cha to CMD.
It is more that untyped bonuses based on a stat are considered to have a "type" of that stat, for purposes of stacking. So, all of those bonuses are of the charisma bonus type and thus don't stack. However, if one of those bonuses were typed, it would stack with the untyped bonuses. So, if one were sacred charisma and one were enhancement charisma and one untyped charisma, then they'd all stack.
Unfortunately, all of these bonuses seem to be of the untyped-charisma type and so don't stack.
Even if they are different typed bonuses, they are drawing from the same source. I have no idea where the FAQ is for this, but it specifically states that you can't add Cha or any stat twice to something.
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Weird... I thought that this ruling was to prevent stuff like adding dex to damage twice, and such.
I'm not completely convinced, yet,because no one in his right mind should make the ruling work like that, but it hardly matters, since it's only a single character concept.
Let's get on with other cool concepts! :)
Even if they are different typed bonuses, they are drawing from the same source. I have no idea where the FAQ is for this, but it specifically states that you can't add Cha or any stat twice to something.
cha to AC instead of dex and cha to AC are both cha to AC so they don't stack.
One of my favorites is a tumor familiar with the protector archetype, so you have a built-in, fast-healing, hit-point battery.
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Oh yes! That's a nice one, Melkiador!
Can we then proceed to make this alchemist a ratfolk vivisectionist with a tailknife, a bite, and two daggers? With scurrying swarmer and improved invisibility?
Would be nice to find a potion of CL15 sense vitals, which can be used over and over again using the alchemical allocation extract :)
A true melee beast! Or actually... A very small one :D
I'm fond of the Kitsune Spirit Guide Oracle with the Life mystery and the Wrecking Mysticism curse. Trade away all of your mystery spells for a full set of tails, then channel the life spirit to get them all back.
You can also get two full-strength channeling pools (and you're a CHA based caster): one from your mystery and one from your spirit.
We had one of these in our Carrion Crown game, and she absolutely wrecked stuff; worship Pharasma and take Fateful Channel for extra shenanigans.
I've tried double life before and it's just really too much healing once your second set of channels kick in. Seriously, your party becomes too survivable to the point of boredom.
I have been wanting to try your basic build using double heavens though.
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I'm fond of the Kitsune Spirit Guide Oracle with the Life mystery and the Wrecking Mysticism curse. Trade away all of your mystery spells for a full set of tails, then channel the life spirit to get them all back.
You can also get two full-strength channeling pools (and you're a CHA based caster): one from your mystery and one from your spirit.
We had one of these in our Carrion Crown game, and she absolutely wrecked stuff; worship Pharasma and take Fateful Channel for extra shenanigans.
Wow, cool!
I had to look all of this up, where usually I kinda already know. Doubling up life is one thing, but as Melkiador said, there're more options. Thanks!And I also see the possibility of dominate person 2/day at level 8 if you invest 4 feats and 4 bonus spells immediately in tails. Cool stuff!
Another fun thing is... I've figured out how to live forever using major mind swap, without being a body stealing bastard :) I'll write that down in a post below.
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Ok, so how to go about major mind swap without being an evil bastard.
Race: half-elf (not necessary, but a great option)
Class: psychic (probably best take amnesiac)
Psychic discipline: rebirth
Mnemonic esoterica: witch (perhaps there are other good options, but this one works great)
What to do:
1. Find a humanoid (even a giant) with a body you'd like.
2. Make the humanoid cooperate.
3. Take some flesh from the humanoid
4. Cast Clone on the flesh
5. Heal or regenerate the humanoid.
6. Wait until the clone matures and the soul switches to the clone.
7. Cast restoration on the newly cloned being and send it on its way, happily ever after.
8. You now have the body of the original humanoid. Animate it by using animate dead.
9. Optional (if target is not your race), cast paragon surge to take the racial heritage feat, so you're temporarily of the same race. Another option could be to cast wish to emulate the proper race. You'll need the DM to approve, but you won't be limited to humanoids. There are really cool monstrous humanoids out there... And dragons...
10 Aaanyway... Use the 'will of the dead' phrenic amplification to target the zombie with your (mind affecting) major mind swap.
And you're done. If you like, you can cast resurrection on yourself, or put your old body in a corpse-ferrying bag for keepsakes (zombified or not, whatever)
Snowball Magus and Ice Tomb Witch are cool.
I've spitballed this to players but no one ever takes me up on it.
Paladin 2/UC Scaled Fist 1/Sorcerer (Draconic Bloodline) 1/Bloodrager (Draconic Bloodline) 1 or Swashbuckler 1/Dragon Disciple 5
Advantages
-Charisma to Dexterity and Saves
-Access to 2nd level Sorcerer Spells
-Delicious Combat Buffs (Rage, Smite, Dragon Disciple Stats)
-A small amount of Healing (Lay on Hands)
-Backup weapons (Claws)
-Blindsense
-Room to Grow the build
Disadvantages
-No Armor
-No FCB
-Gotta book keep
One I'm toying with but haven't quite gotten around to putting together. Take a Paladin (Valiant Bravo) and add on the Devoted Muse prestige class. You basically get a very nice Paladin/Swashbuckler that adds Charisma to saves and AC, plus some extra bonus AC on top of that, plus Lay on Hands, for a very potent tank/disabler.
I have a Monk/rogue/inquisitor
I use the Thug archetype for the intimidate fear effects, with the enforcer feat so nonlethal damage gives me a free intimidate, and then inquisitor conversion inquisition to use wisdom for intimidate.
Intimidating is very easy to break, the DC to intimidate is their hit dice + wis modifier. A 1 does not auto fail so it is easy to auto intimidate people if you want. Now thug can make them frightened, and that forces them to runaway.
Now every punch can cause the bad guys to run away.
I stacked it with boar style for the bonus to intimidate plus when they flee it often provokes getting an extra attack to rend and cause bleed. SO they run away bleeding.
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Another good thing is to give a myrmidarch magus some gloves of duelling and give them the 'warrior spirit' advanced weapon training feat at level 9.
At that level they can add a total of +6 worth of enhancements for the price of a swift action and a standard action. Not bad.
Aaaand occultists. They are so epic. A level 1 occultist with the 'magic weapon' spell can, for the price of two standard actions, make any weapon enchanted with a bane effect. At level 1, that +3 to hit and +2d6+3 damage is really a game changer!
Archer occultist, anyone? They can move at speed 60` too...
The Spell Specialist Arcanist can qualify for the Dragon Disciple prestige class. And the Bloodline Development exploit should stack with the Blood of Dragons ability to let you bootstrap yourself into a limited version of the full bloodline.
If you don't mind getting your first real exploit until level 5, you can also combine this combo with the brownfur transmuter to have your shapeshifting be a little stronger.