I've been working on this build for a couple of days now, altered from a concept I've held onto for years. I've always wanted to try a whip/controller build, but it always seemed far too feat intensive to really be effective. I found a suggestion recently to try warpriest, which I hadn't looked at before, and it seems like I might have finally found a viable way to make this a reality. The idea is to have a 15 ft reach/trip fortuitous weapon that threatens 10 ft at lvl 5 (possibly further, see Gear) and 5+ AOOs, so she'll have excellent control of enemy movement in addition to being a decent DPS fighter. She'll also have several options for swift action self-buffing capabilities, along with other spellcasting utility.
I'm looking for any kind of critique really. Will this work? Is everything PFS legal? How useful will it actually end up being in practice? Is there anything I've overlooked that might be a problem (or bonuses I missed)? Are there any other feats that would work really well with this? How truly awesome is this build?
Thank you in advance for any suggestions you have! (Or compliments.) I look forward to reading them.
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Evelyn the Whippista (for PFS play, planned to level 6)
Kitsune, Warpriest, CG, Deity: Calistria, Scarab Sages, Female, Age 19, 5’5”, 113 lbs
{add to WIS at level 4}
STR (6): -2
DEX (18): +4
CON (14): +2
INT (10): +0
WIS (15): +2
CHA (12): +1
Tomb Raider (PFS): +1 bonus on Perception and Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks, Perception as class skill
Inspired: 1x/day, free action, roll twice, take better result on a skill check or ability check
(Racial)
Low-Light Vision: see twice as far in low light
Natural Finesse: gain Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat at lvl 1
Gregarious: after successful use of diplomacy, target takes -2 penalty to resist any Charisma-based skill checks for next 24 hours
Shifting Mind: A kitsune’s shapeshifting abilities make him resistant to mental attacks. The kitsune gains a +2 bonus on Will saves. Additionally, once per day the kitsune can roll twice when making a Will save and use the better result. He must choose to use this ability before attempting the saving throw.
lvl 1
Bonus Feat (deity favored weapon) - Exotic Weapon Proficiency (whip)
Bonus Feat (warpriest) - Weapon Focus (whip)
Bonus Feat (kitsune, natural finesse) - Weapon Finesse
Slashing Grace
lvl 3
Whip Mastery
Bonus Feat (warpriest) - Combat Reflexes
lvl 5
Improved Whip Mastery
lvl 6
Precise Strike, Teamwork (w/ sibling)
I'm also considering Deific Obedience (see below) and Additional Traits (also see below). I've already looked into serpent lash, improved trip/disarm, and combat patrol, and I personally don't feel like they're worth it.
Originally my character will have a whip and hide armor, but will replace it with mithral agile plate at the earliest opportunity. Second will probably be a Belt of Incredible Dexterity. Then a +1 Fortuitous whip. Beyond that, in no particular order: Ring of Spell Knowledge I for storing the Long Arm spell (reach +5),Ring of Protection, Headband of Inspired Wisdom, Cloak of Resistance, Amulet of Natural Armor.
Note that I will probably not be getting a handy haversack. It will bring me too close to incurring medium load penalties on my character even after I get the mithral plate, and I will be playing with a sibling each time onto whom I can offload any extra weight. The only other use I have for strength is swim and climb, so I'd like to keep it as low as possible (I may drop it to five, see below).
Stats at level 1:
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Speed 30 ft w/ armor; Init +4; AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 dex)
HP 10 (1d8+2); Fort +4; Ref +4; Will +6 (+2 and roll twice 1x/day from racial trait);
CMB -2 (+5 trip w/ whip, +7 disarm w/ whip); CMD 12 (-2 str, +4 dex)
Melee whip, AB +5, 1d6+4 dmg, 15 ft reach (AB +1 weapon focus, +4 dex; dmg from sacred weapon, +4 dex)
Trained Skills Diplomacy +5 (additional +2 after successful use), Perception +7, Spellcraft +4
Special
Spellcasting, 3 orisons & 2 prepared lvl 1 spells, DC 13
Blessings, 3x/day
Charm Blessing: Touch, lasts 1 minute, functions as sanctuary, except if the ally attacks an opponent, the effect ends with respect to only that opponent.
Luck Blessing: Touch, target rolls any one ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check twice and take the better result. Once 1 minute passes, the effect ends.
*Note that until level 3, I will be unable to do damage vs armored units, and will be focusing mainly on tripping, disarming, buffing/spellcasting, and blessing.
At level 2 I receive Fervor: 3x/day, swift action cast self buffs (divine favor, magic weapon give +1 AB/+1 dmg each)
Sacred Weapon/Sacred Armor give extra enhancement bonuses as swift actions at later levels
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- Charming Presence (the lvl 1 charm blessing) states that I can "touch an ally" and bestow a special sanctuary spell. Can I target myself as well?
- I really want to be a 'face' character, or at least the best one possible without conceding my other utility. Thus, I'm considering dropping STR to 5 and bumping CHA to 14. Thanks to weapon finesse and slashing grace, and the sibling who's willing to carry my extra crap (or I could just drop it in combat), the only thing I really need STR for is swim, climb, and carrying armor/weapon/magic items. I could just barely scrape by without encumbering myself at 5 STR with leather armor and a darkleaf whip. The difference is -1 AC (until I get mithral agile plate at level 3), and +1 to all CHA skills. Plus I get the thrill of living dangerously, which is almost enough incentive by itself. What'd'ya think? Great idea, right?
- As part of the above desire to be a 'face' character, I'm also considering the deific obedience feat, which for me means +4 on all charisma checks on a person that "could be sexually attracted to me". (Plus spell-like ability options at lvl 12 like suggestion 1x/day or divine favor 1x/day. That would be seeker status in PFS though, and I'm not sure how that works.) Worth it?
- Is the Fate's Favored trait worth using a feat to get and use with stuff like Jingasa of Good Fortune and the Divine Favor spell? (I'll probably be using Divine Favor a lot.)
Mithral agile plate at level 3? How do you plan to afford that? Even if you mean a mithral agile breastplate that's 4400 gp, more than standard WBL for level 3. If you mean some sort of heavy armor it'll be over 9K. You're not going to be able to afford a 750 gp darkleaf cloth whip at level 1 either.
The jingasa has been nerfed. Among other things it's a deflection bonus now. It may still be worth it to get additional traits if there's also a social trait you want, like maybe charming or gregarious (there's a trait of that name as well as a racial trait), +1 to the bonus of divine favor is pretty good, especially when you can cast it as a swift action. Divine Obedience sounds like it won't give you the +4 bonus over half the time, so not worth it IMO.
At level 2 it's probably worth carrying a few flasks of acid or something in case you have to damage someone.
And overall the build looks good and fun to play. No idea whether it's PFS legal except that I haven't heard of the Natural Finesse alternate racial trait so it might be from a newer book that PFS doesn't allow (yet).
Natural Finesse and Shifting Mind are 3rd party. Definitely not PFS legal.
Mithral agile plate at level 3? How do you plan to afford that?
Yeah, sorry, it's the breastplate at 4400gp. I'm basing my estimation of WBL on this guy's post: link to post. I still don't expect to be able to get it until mid level 3 though.
You're not going to be able to afford a 750 gp darkleaf cloth whip at level 1 either.
I'd have to wait until mid level 1 (my character is actually already at that point, but I'm allowed to rebuild her before she reaches level 2). Shouldn't it only be 375 gp though? It's cost is per pound, and if it's made of darkleaf it will only weigh 1 lb. In any case, it may not matter; I'll probably spend prestige points on it, so it would cost the same either way.
Edit: I've done some more searching, and I found a mithral specific FAQ that would seem to support using the pre-material weight value. Also, since I'm now probably going human, I'll have a little more strength to spare, so the darkleaf may be unnecessary.Your other suggestions are great, thank you!
Natural Finesse and Shifting Mind are 3rd party. Definitely not PFS legal.
Argh... I should've known it was too good to be true. I was really excited that kitsune worked so well, too. Guess I'm rolling human.