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I'm working on a short adventure involving Ogrekin. Naturally, I want to have a kitchen scene with an Ogrekin stirring some strange concoction in a big cauldron. Now I'm starting to wonder which class could add some crunch to the fluff, so to speak. I know there are some hexes that would work for a Witch, but I'd need a level 10 Witch for that, and I was aiming for an average party level of 3. Is there anything else I could use?
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Few, but not zero. There are child-eating witches, the Flesheater barbarian archetype linked above, Drunken Master monk, Vow of Fasting monk, the Souleater, the Pain Taster...
I think ranger makes a great cannibal.
You can track your prey. You can even have a favorite type of prey (favored enemy). Sure, there's no mechanically relevant part to cannibalism for a ranger, but I think it fits quite well.
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Anything that can gain a bite attack, like a druid, shifter, barbarian with the Animal Fury rage power or spellcaster capable of learning alter self/beast shape might be a natural fit.
[pedantic] Note that it's only cannibalism if you are eating your own species. If your dwarf 'cannibal' eats humans that's just anthropophagy. :) [/pendantic]
I think ranger makes a great cannibal.
You can track your prey. You can even have a favorite type of prey (favored enemy). Sure, there's no mechanically relevant part to cannibalism for a ranger, but I think it fits quite well.
Similar vein- since your 'prey' gather in more 'urban' settings than usual, you might want slayer.
They both get skills to bluff, perception, survival, and stealth... but slayer also gets bonuses to disguise. That is useful- it means you can approach your prey in the open. It also means you can deal with the authorities.
Slayer is also useful, since it applies to any race. It would be.... unfortunate.... if you put all your eggs into favored enemy (humanoid[human]) and then a dwarven member of the guard shows up. While a lot of cities are made up solely of humans, there are enough of other races running about to make things... bothersome.
However, if you rely upon isolation of the wilderness as a primary cover, then ranger is far superior. Less prey available, but less obstacles too.
I think it depends thematically on what sort of cannibal you want.
Typical savage jungle tribe cannibals (or the sort of thing that show up as monsters in Navajo stories) = barbarian, maybe slayer.
Hillbilly ogres a la Rise of the Runelords, or Sawney Beane and family = rangers or barbarians, maybe slayer.
Jeffrey Dahmer = rogue. (Urban, fast-talking, lured people back to his lair...)
German fairy-tale child-eater = witch (even without the hex that lets you cook people for mechanical benefits).
Black Mass type of decadent noble = anti-paladin.
Aztec lord with state-sponsored religious cannibalism == cleric, aristocrat, fighter, anti-paladin, ranger, pretty much could be anybody.
First off, if you're designing the adventure pick stuff that gets a Bite attack. Ogrekin can get one with their Beneficial Mutations, so that's not a concern. Then decide what kind of cannibal you're modeling after.
1. Hannibal the Cannibal: Hannibal Lecter was a brilliant psychologist, highly analytical, and incredibly epicurean. He was also savagely sociopathic and ate his victims since he was so utterly superior to them.
2. Cannibal Corpses: this metal band from the 90's pushed an aesthetic of ghouls and gore on steroids. The imagery conjured by their art and lyrics would suggest a profane religious fanaticism for the consumption of sentient humanoids.
3. RL cannibals: some native tribes have practiced cannibalism for a variety of reasons, though mostly ceremonial. For this reason the culinary practice would be secondary to the primitive lifestyle which would suggest possible class choices.
4. The Donner Party: the classic "cannibalism by necessity" scenario, these were homesteaders and pioneers. Again, the act of eating humanoid flesh here is secondary to their primary goals of survival in a hard world which suggests more NPC type classes.
So what kind of cannibal do you envision for your ogrekin? If you're imagining a cauldron of humanoid soup like in the OP then I'm guessing more primitive type eaters - Barbarians, Witches, Oracles and Hunters immediately spring to mind. However, can I suggest a few out-of-the-box alternatives?
1. Aberrant-blooded Sorcerer or Bloodrager: Ogrekin already have a Bite attack. Add in bizarre, tentacular limbs, paralyzing touch attacks and completely savage, alien minds and these things would be the stuff of nightmares.
2. Sin-Eater Inquisitor: taking the ogrekin in a COMPLETELY different direction, imagine they are cannibalizing for some kind of extreme religious ceremony. They eat their foes as part of their Judgment ability, utterly condemning their enemies to torment in the next life while they actually eat their own kin or allies to save them from said damnation.
3. Vivisectionist Alchemist, Rogues, and anyone that gets Precision damage: these ogrekin don't just cannibalize for necessity or ceremony; this is a lifestyle, an aesthetic. They can draw a dagger and carve the choicest pieces from their foes, sometimes while they're still standing. The consumption then is the highest feasting. Perhaps using alchemy, culinary skills and herbalism, the ogrekin are knowingly inflicting their blasphemy on the populace under the guise of haute cuisine? Bon Apetit!
There's lots of ways to take this O Great White Duke. I suppose it just boils down to one question: when you close your eyes and imagine the horror of these villains, what precisely do you see?
I believe all the goblins from We Be Goblins! suits this.