Rage Powers for a Skald

[Chrion]

Subject says it all, looking for some advice on good rage powers for a Skald. For whats its worth here's my build so far:

Lvl: 3

STR 16
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 14

Scribe Scroll, Improved Init, Skald's Vigor

Thanks!

[Red Griffyn]

The Spirit Totem line can be good with higher CHA builds. Provides some miss chance and gives a free CHA based attack from the spirits.

If you want some cheese to really buff your guy up, I would recommend being a half orc, taking your first level in Bloodrager, swap your bloodline for a bloodline familiar (valet archetype so it shares your teamwork feats), then pick your first feat as amplified rage. At level 2 and beyond when you use your raging song you get +8 STR and +8 CON. If you use an urban bloodrager you can get +4 STR/DEX/CON and helps with the Skald being so MAD. If you do use this build a lot of Teamwork feats become imminently good for you since your familiar is essentially squeezed/adjacent to you while sharing any teamwork feat you pick so you'll get to activate a number of teamwork feats on that basis alone.

I have a thread on it here:

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2u9qv?Skald-Build-Advice-Bloodrager-1-Skald-X#1

Feats/Rage Powers I considered in that build:

Feats:
1 - Amplified Rage (Starts Working at Level 2)
1 - Extra Performance (PFS Swap for Scribe Scroll Feat)
3 - Skald's Vigor (Gain Fast Healing Equivalent to STR Bonus from Raging Song)
5 - Deific Obedience - Irori (+ 4 Profane or Sacred Bonus on all Knowledge Skills)
7 - Extra Rage Power (Guarded Stance gives me more AC)
9 - Extra Rage Power (Superstitious)
11 - Greater Skald's Vigour (or Discordant Voice if the fast healing isn't impressive)

Rage Powers:
4 - Lesser Spirit Totem
7 - Spirit Totem
7 - Guarded Stance (Feat)
9 - Superstitious (Feat)
10 - Greater Spirit Totem

Alternate Feats
1 - Battle Cry (Level 5) - +1 morale to hit/+4 morale to saves vs. fear
2 - Escape Route (Teamwork - move through your own adjacent square without giving an AoO)
3 - lookout (Act in a surprise round if your ally can)
4 - Scion of the Last Empire (+2 competence bonus on attack roll, save, ability check, or skill check as an immediate action)
5 - Shake It Off (+1 total saving throws per adjacent ally)
6 - Discordant Voice
7 - Stealth Synergy (works great with the scorpion familiar)
8 - Power Attack
9 - Phalanx Formation (If using reach weapons)

Alternate Rage Progression:
4 - Superstitious
7 - Guarded Stance
7 - Extra Rage Power (Surprise Accuracy)
9 - Extra Rage Power (Sharpened Accuracy)
10 - Savage Dirty Trick

[Blymurkla]

Is this for PFS? If not, any limitations on sources worth mentioning? What's your party composition?

[Cavall]

I find the 3 best totem limes are

Beast for pounce help

Spirit for aoe group death

Celestial for massive heals over time via path of glory spells.

[Guru-Meditation]

I played a beast line Skald in Kingmaker.

Pounce rocked! In! Your! Face!

[Claxon]

Come and Get can be really amazing if you have a party with decent dex and combat reflexes. Being able to hit an enemy each time they hit you can be a huge benefit during combat.

I am curious though, can the skald grant rage powers gained via extra rage power to allies? The way the ability is written it's a little unclear to me, and I've never bothered to ask before.

[Markov Spiked Chain]

I used Lesser Spirit Totem for a while in PFS and it was a lot of fun, but didn't scale that well starting around level 7. I switched it to Strength Surge, which scales really well, around then.
Then I took Savage Dirty Trick as my level 6. This basically combines Improved Dirty trick and Quick Dirty trick, as well as giving nice Blind and Daze options. This works really well with Strength Surge making it almost always land.
Unexpected Strike at 9th is awesome. It's almost always an extra attack for each party member.
I went with Flesh Wound at 12th. This can stop a ton of damage, and combines well with Greater Skald's Vigor.

Starting at 7th, remember to Rage Cycle like *mad* by dropping your Rage Song and restarting it as a move action. This resets everyone's 1/rage powers. It's often worth skipping your full attack to make a standard attack, 5' step back and then getting an AoO from Unexpected Strike instead. Or stepping back, casting a spell, then blinding/staggering on your Unexpected Strike AoO with Savage Dirty Trick+Strength Surge. And, of course, all your allies can do this again too now!

Also, grab Flexible Fury as a spell known, and be aware of your other Rage Power options. Switching to Ghost Rager (which, if it's not clear from whatever online resource you use, *doesn't* have Superstitious as a pre-req) or Lesser Celestial Blood will turn challenging encounters into cake walks.

[deuxhero]

Does summoning+the curse powers still work?

[Chess Pwn]

Claxon wrote:

I am curious though, can the skald grant rage powers gained via extra rage power to allies? The way the ability is written it's a little unclear to me, and I've never bothered to ask before.

No, only the skald class granted powers can be shared. FAQ

[Claxon]

Chess Pwn wrote:

Claxon wrote:

I am curious though, can the skald grant rage powers gained via extra rage power to allies? The way the ability is written it's a little unclear to me, and I've never bothered to ask before.

No, only the skald class granted powers can be shared. FAQ

I thought so. It looks like a lot of people are suggesting rage powers to share that their builds are obtaining via extra rage power feat.

So that's definitely something to look into and be aware of.

[Gulthor]

Our party has a Half-Orc Red Tongue Skald VMC Cavalier who's going:

3. Good For What Ails You (it's a "drunken" party with a brewkeeper alchemist, a drunken master monk, etc)
6. Quick Reflexes
7. Paired Opportunists
9. Unexpected Strike
11. Tactician - Amplified Rage
12. Come and Get "Us"

The opportunity attack rage power route seems like it will be extremely strong.

EDIT: (Red Tongue arguably is intended to be for Tengu only, but it really fit the character and doesn't have a tengu-only requirement listed, so I allowed it.)

[Snowlilly]

deuxhero wrote:

Does summoning+the curse powers still work?

As far as I know, yes.

[Cavall]

"A summoned creature also goes away if it is killed or if its hit points drop to 0, but it is not really dead."

Ok so by strictest reading it would have to be "killed" outright, as in hp drop below con.

Since it can't be unconscious from lethal, but does say it could be "killed".

This is of course a really literal way to read something and most would ignore it and say if it's gone it counts as dealt with.