Long time D&Der here, but first time really delving into Pathfinder. I'm looking at joining a Pathfinder game in a homebrew "Witcher-esque" setting (all official Paizo content allowed) with the following non-optimized 7th-level party:
Alchemist (Construct Rider) + Bloodrager (Urban) + Swashbuckler (Mouser) = I have no idea!
Bloodrager = tank
Investigator = skill monkey/face
Sorcerer = blaster/mage
They definitely could use a PC fulfilling the "support/healer" role from conversations with the other players. That's a role I can enjoy, but I want to put a twist on it...a "Littlefinger" type character but with a heart of gold serving as a "Master of Ravens" in the PC's organization, a "thief who now works for the church/state" sort of vibe.
How does my build below look? LG Human Bard (Brazen Deceiver) 4 + Ranger (Urban Ranger & Divine Marksman) 3 + Oracle (Streets) secondary class.
I *think* this makes a competent if slightly under-powered character who can serve as another "rogue type" (face / trap-disarmer / skill monkey), a healer/support, and a ranged combatant. But this is my first time really digging into Pathfinder, so if something looks off or there's a better option, please let me know!
Still have a 1st-level feat. Would love a "gritty contacts/network of informants" type feat! Any suggestions?
Also still have ~4,000 gp to spend. Any suggestions?
Thanks! :)
CHARACTER BUILDING
CL 1 -- Bard (Brazen Deceiver) 1
-- traits (Canter, Exchange Agent)
-- human ability score (+2 Charisma)
-- human bonus feat (Iron Will)
-- 1st-level feat (?)
-- Bardic Performance (deceptive tale, fascinate, inspire courage +1), Cantrips, Shameless Scoundrel, Uncanny Dodge*
-- Spells Known (0th: daze, message, sift, unwitting ally; 1st: charm person, heightened awareness, saving finale)
-- Oracle Mystery (add Bluff, Knowledge (local), Perception, and Stealth to list of class skills)
-- Oracle Curse (Powerless Prophecy*)
-- favored class (+1 skill rank)
CL 3 -- Ranger 2
-- Combat Style Feat: Crossbow (Focused Shot)
-- Secondary Class Feature: Oracle Revelation (Eyes of the Streets)
CL 4 -- Ranger 3
-- Oracle Mystery (add "detect thoughts" to spells known...but only gain access to it once reaching 4th-level Bard)
-- Favored Community (<CITY NAME>), Trapfinding
-- ability score boost (+1 Intelligence)
CL 5 -- Bard 2
-- 5th-level feat (Deadly Aim)
-- Spells Known (0th: detect magic, bleed, touch of fatigue; 1st: cure light wounds)
-- Blatant Subtlety, Invoke the Blood
-- favored class (+1 skill rank)
CL 6 -- Bard 3
-- Bardic Performance (inspire competence +2)
-- Spells Known (0th: read magic; 1st: summon minor monster)
-- favored class (+1 skill rank)
CL 7 -- Bard 4
-- Spells Known (2nd: animal messenger, calm emotions, steal voice)
-- Secondary Class Feature: Oracle Orison ("stabilize")
-- favored class (bonus known spell: "calm emotions")
ACTUAL CHARACTER
Dietrich Kraust the Thieftaker
LG Human Bard (Brazen Deceiver) 4, Ranger (Urban Ranger & Divine Marksman) 3, with Oracle (Streets) secondary class
Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 16
HP 45; AC 17 (mithral shirt +1, ring of protection +1); Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +8 (cloak of protection +1, Iron Will)
Magic Items & Equipment (11,273 gp spent out of 16,105 gp allowed):
light crossbow +1 = 2,335 gp
longsword +1 = 2,315 gp
mithral shirt +1 = 2,100 gp
ring of protection +1 = 2,000 gp
cloak of resistance +1 = 1,000 gp
10 durable adamantine bolts = 610 gp
potion of cure moderate wounds = 300 gp
sleeves of many garments = 200 gp
scroll of blood biography (2nd-level bard)= 200 gp
masterwork thieves' tools =100 gp
rookery of 24 messenger ravens = 48 gp
scroll of comprehend languages (1st-level bard) 25 gp
scroll of share language (1st-level bard) = 25 gp
falconry gauntlet = 10 gp
spell component pouch = 5 gp
Backstory:
CHILDHOOD: Dietrich Kraust worked his way up from below, the indolent son of a traveling coffin-maker and a blind heretic. To do his part providing for his family, the boy turned to thieving – con-artists pretending to be priests, potion-peddlers, traveling ascetics, and drunken mages among his favored targets. Only his extraordinary charisma saved him from lashing; indeed on several occasions Dietrich managed to befriend (or at least beguile) those he'd stolen from...
BARDIC APPRENTICESHIP (Bard 1): One mage, a canny enchanter and practiced con named ELAVREA was impressed by Dietrich's gift-of-gab, and took him under her wing. An unhealthy romance formed between them as Dietrich learned the bardic arts and rudiments of magic, while ELAVREA used him toward her own unscrupulous ends. Despite ELAVREA'S attempts, Dietrich proved ethically incorruptible, and so it was that he was sent on a final mission to prove himself – he had to steal the Wanton Eye from the Statue of <INSERT DEITY NAME> in the temple. However, he was caught by the temple guards! ELAVREA got away with the Wanton Eye, and Dietrich would not give her away. A grim fate awaited the thief, surely...
DIVINE INTERVENTION (Oracle secondary class): VOUND the high priest of <INSERT DEITY NAME>, had a premonition as Dietrich awaited execution, and ordered the young man brought to the Pit of Sacred Fumes. There, Dietrich's eyes became permanently clouded and an unfathomable presence touched his mind, filling him with visions of ravens over a battlefield. Unhappy with this divine sign, but not willing to risk angering his deity, the high priest VOUND had Dietrich sent into exile...
THE WORG CORPS (Ranger 3): Sentenced to compulsory military service in defense of <INSERT CITY NAME>, Dietrich found himself in a mercenary scouting band known as the WORG CORPS. Misfits and criminals sent behind enemy lines, backstabbing was common place among the WORG CORPS and not a night went by without a dagger close to Dietrich's bedroll. Though trained as an arbalister, his knack for bolstering the spirits of his brethren (and his tendency to freeze in battle) earned him a place as camp medic. His closest companion during those long nights was an unusually clever piebald raven who Dietrich trained and named QUASSIR after a fallen brother-in-arms. Despite the wickedness of many of the men he served alongside, Dietrich remained the moral compass for the few men of honor. The WORG CORPS was pitted against the <INSERT EVIL ORGANIZATION>, but their corrupt natures won out and half the Worg Corps betrayed their brothers-in-arms, making an alliance with the <INSERT EVIL ORGANIZATION>. Dietrich and a handful of brothers (most now leading scarred lives in hiding) were the only ones to survive the massacre...
MASTER OF RAVENS (Bard 4): Returning to <INSERT CITY NAME> with no little acclaim and no little notoriety, Dietrich found a placement as Master of Ravens at <INSERT ROYAL FAMILY CASTLE>. While Dietrich was close to the royals, they could keep an eye on him and exploit his growing knowledge of the city's temples, paramilitaries, criminal underworld, and merchant houses. After an unfortunate incident with <INSERT SPOILED PRINCESS NAME>'s necklace, his favored raven QUASSIR flew off to avoid the pie pot...but is sure to show up again (intended animal companion at Ranger 4th-level). Dietrich relies on a rookery of dozens of messenger ravens which deliver information among his scattered contacts and keep him apprised of many secret dealings...
Still have a 1st-level feat. Would love a "gritty contacts/network of informants" type feat! Any suggestions?
Black Market Dealings from the Black Markets player companion could fit if your GM is using that material. There are others there, but they have prereqs you can't meet for a few levels. Similar feats are Aspis Partner, Underworld Connections, and Guild Emissary (prereq Underworld Connections).
My other suggestion is that your post is less likely to get lost at the bottom of people's feeds if you post at a busier time of day. :-)
I assume that you are using the variant multiclass option for your secondary class. Variant multiclassing does not give any spell casting ability other than the Orison at 7th level. Therefore it does not grant the spells known from the mystery. Even if it did you cannot use another classes spell slots for spells gained from another class. You do not have any oracle spell slots to cast oracle spells, and bards cannot cast oracle spells.
If you want to be even somewhat effective with the bow, you should definitely take Point-Blank Shot and Precise Shot. Looks like you have the free feat slots at levels 1 and 3.
Unless you are playing gestalt and getting full levels of oracle as well as the bard/ranger, you haven't really made a except for the ability to use wands of cure light wounds after a battle.
It also seems that you might be doubling up a lot with the investigator as far as the out of combat roles go. I'd make sure that you aren't stepping on anyone toes.
What the group appears weak on is access to condition removal magic (fixing things like ability damage, blindness, curses, poison, death and stuff like that) the Investigator has a bit of this, but really that calls for a 9-level divine caster. Personally I prefer Cleric if I'm filling that role as a lot of these are fine as a 'next day' thing and I don't want to spend a valuable spells known slot on something like cure blindness. If you really prefer the Oracle, you would probably have to fix such things with scrolls, a viable tactic if you are in an area where they can be purchased. Having a few scrolls for each of the conditions you might have to fix is a good (if expensive) plan anyway, but for an oracle it is usually a necessity while for a cleric it is a luxury.
If you have any interest in a cleric, the evangelist archetype might suit you, as it gives many of the buffing powers of a bard.
What the group appears weak on is access to condition removal magic (fixing things like ability damage, blindness, curses, poison, death and stuff like that) the Investigator has a bit of this, but really that calls for a 9-level divine caster. Personally I prefer Cleric if I'm filling that role as a lot of these are fine as a 'next day' thing and I don't want to spend a valuable spells known slot on something like cure blindness. If you really prefer the Oracle, you would probably have to fix such things with scrolls, a viable tactic if you are in an area where they can be purchased. Having a few scrolls for each of the conditions you might have to fix is a good (if expensive) plan anyway, but for an oracle it is usually a necessity while for a cleric it is a luxury.
Every oracle should end up with Mnemonic Vestment. This is the item that makes spontaneous casters better at utility than prepared casters.
Since this is your first Pathfinder character, I'd recommend going with a single class. Multi-classing was big in 3.5, but not really needed in Pathfinder in most cases. The bard should be able to do want you're wanting IMO.
The brazen deceiver looks like a good rogue bard, surprisingly though one of the best rogue bards is the archaeologist barsd. Despite the fluff, the class gets a lot of iconic rogue features, like gaining a bonus to disable device and perception, uncanny dodge (sadly not a huge boon with a low dex score), trap finding, evasion and rogue talents. I just want to bring it up since it may not seem like a rogue archetype from the name of it. The problem is that archaeologis's luck is not as good as standard inspire courage for this group IMO.
To make it short, I think that you'll be in an uphill battle making this character a good archer. The dex is not really high enough, you seem to be taking 3 levels of ranger to prop it up, and in doing so put your spell casting way behind. Bull's eye shot negates the penalty for shooting into melee, and focused shot only gets you 1 more damage point over point blank, while tying you to a crossbow.
The arrowsong minstrel makes a good archer. It gives up a lot of iconic bard abilities, but then again iconic bard doesn't seem to be the focus of this character.
I'd recommend taking point blank instead of deadly aim if nothing else, you're not going to be able to take penalties to attack and have a 13 dex as an archer IMO. If set on archery I'd suggest taking point blank and precise shot and using a bow, even for this character.
With full bard you could haste yourself, a plain bard (or the brazen deceiver bard) could inspire courage as a move and haste as a standard at 7th level. Bard used to be a rogue sub class (in 2nd) so you don't need a rogue flavored archetype to make the character more rogue like IMO.
I would downgrade the sword to masterwork, your character won't be very good at using it, and you'd probably get more out of spending the money elsewhere. The 4k gold I'd suggest a belt of dexterity.
I'm surprised you have durable adamantine bolts, but not cold iron or alchemical silver bolts.
The AC is very low, it's because of low dex and light armor, but it's still really low. I've seen 15+character level as a general minimum AC, that'd be 22.
I'm guessing these are rolled ability scores, they're kind of low it seems.
If you choose a masterwork longsword over the +1 you'll save 2,000 gold. You could get a +1 buckler and have money left over. You can use a buckler and bow or crossbow without penalty to the attack rolls, but I don't think you'd get the AC bonus. If pressed into melee you could fight with the sword and buckler and have a 19 AC. You're still not going to be good at attacking, so I'd recommend fighting defensively, to buy time for your allies to help you out. Fighting defensively you'd have a 21 AC. It'd be better to raise your Dex, but that could work. I would also recommend the spell vanish a level 1 spell, to get out of the really bad situations.
Edit: If you get the belt of Dex +2 with the 4,000 gold, you'd have a 20 AC in melee, and 22 AC when fighting defensively.
I know this is a bit whacky - but go and look at the Pregenerated characters for PFS. That'll give you an idea of a simple build and how it scales up.
Then go and read the guide to your class. They are somewhat overly focused on doing one thing but it gives you an idea for a build or two.
Personally your posted build is over multiclassed. Littlefinger is an information broker and schemer.
You can try; Bard(Brazen Deceiver), Bard(Negotiator), Spymaster Prestige class(although it's about disguises).
If you choose Perform(Oratory) then that's just talking <grin>.
I agree with Azathoth, your build is trying to do too many things at once and will do none of them well as a result. There is nothing wrong with being a straight bard given your background and character. Bardchers have a long tradition in pathfinder, so there should be no problem making a half decent ranged attacker. I understand the desire to have a Raven Animal Companion, but you could just take it as a pet (or there may be a way to get it as a familiar) and role play the rest.
Beyond that, cool character background and personality :) Wish mine were half as detailed.
The other route I'd suggest is unchained Rogue, there's a LOT of Flexibility in the class, many archetype options.
I see 'Littlefinger' staying in rogue, maybe dipping into investigator, bard, or monk. Poisoner IS an option.
In a gaming practical matter multiclassing becomes easier with Rogue as Bard is a slow progression spellcaster making multiclassing more painful.
Good dips are Brawler(martial flexibility), Barbarian(RAGE! & big weapons), Fighter(combat feats), Wizard(diviner)(act in surprise round and bypass pesky UMD rolls for arcane items and get some neat spells(shield, vanish)), Arcanist(dimensional slide & see Wizard above), Cleric(healing & domains).
In general;
buy a MW cold iron weapon, mithral chain shirt or MW armor, ranged weapon with cold iron ammo, Wand of Cure Light Wounds or Infernal Healing, Pot of Cure Light Wounds, Anti-plague, Anti-toxin, (2)Alchemist fire, (2) lamp oil, (4) first level scrolls for party support(such as; mage armor, comp languages, endure elements, reduce person), bandolier, (2) spring loaded wrist sheaths, allot $100 for usual items and pocket money.
buy a warhorse & gear $326, put 1+ rank in Ride. Max ranks in Perception.
review Items that can save you thread.
Maybe Aegis of Recovery, Cloak of Protection, +1 ench on your armor.
that should cover the first $5000.
your list is okay, I'd exchange;
light crossbow +1 = 2,335 gp -> comp longbow or comp shortbow.
longsword +1 = 2,315 gp -> cestus, (2)gladius, (1)bastard sword or (1) greatsword, (2) obsidian daggers, sap.
potion of cure moderate wounds = 300 gp -> (2) potions of cure light wounds, wand of cure light wounds/infernal healing.
is the rookery portable? I see it's a background thing. Handle Animal should have ranks.
I'd add Eyes of Eagle, Boots of Elvenkind, DEX or INT boosting item.
