Multi Class Front Liner


Advice


Our group consists of a conjuring wizard (battlefield control), a debuffing cleric and a half orc barbarian X / Mutagen Fighter 3 - Getting a +12 to str with rage, mutagen and amplified rage.

We will be playing in either the savage tide or giantslayer campaign.

I'm interested in being a multi class front liner. I've created a monktopus (monk 1/ druid 4 / bloodrager 1 / weaponmaster fighter X) in another campaign which gives me dps, reach and grappling options. So I'd like to create something else hopefully just as powerful.

Any recommendations on what to do to round out this group and what type of dips I can take in different classes? The prestige classes look interesting but I have no experience in them. Would love to hear from experienced pathfinder adventurers who have experience with multi classing front liners.

Any help greatly appreciated ! :)


lore wardern X \ thug scout unchained rogue 4.
you have feats, skills, maneuvers, dex to damage . a very good play.

Shaman speaker of the past X \ monk 1 > no armor, monkish style divine warrior.


also, bard 1, cavalier 4, with horse master feat > battle herald.

full melee, decent buffs. full mount - commander style.
can aid another (order of the dragon + helpful), can charge, can buff and melee.

cavalier X (small race) \ 4 levels inquisitor or hunter for shared team feats offer a cool strong knight as well.


Crexis wrote:
I've created a monktopus (monk 1/ druid 4 / bloodrager 1 / weaponmaster fighter X) in another campaign which gives me dps, reach and grappling options. So I'd like to create something else hopefully just as powerful.

How powerful was your Monktopus? What worked, and what didn't? I would very much like to know!


Will you start at level 1? Combining swashbuckler and brawler can make a really fun build with out slung style but it doesn't get Dex to damage until level 4 or when it gets an agile weapon.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I had fun with a dwarf barbarian 1/magus X. Used a dwarven waraxe, so I could do one-handed Spell Combat or Spellstrike, or two-handed enlarged raging Power Attack.

Traits were Berserker of the Society and Magical Lineage (shocking grasp)
Feats were Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Arcane Strike, Intensify Spell. I also took Dodge, but it was a mistake since it stopped working with enlarge person's Dex penalty. Extra Rage or Furious Focus might have been better options.

A 2nd level in barbarian can get you Moment of Clarity as a rage power, which would let you cast mid-rage. The dwarf favored class option lets you use some 1/day magus arcana 2/day.

It might not be the highest DPS build, but it is very versatile. Every fight is different. Sometimes you rage, sometimes you buff, sometimes you blast, sometimes you nova. I played it up to 7th level, just missing out on getting fly and haste, and then fireball and lightning bolt. A dwarf barbarian 2/magus 18 would be able to full attack and cast a dazing fireball as a swift action twice a day!

An oradin might work. A slayer/warpriest might be fun, combining two-weapon fighting and sneak attack and increased base weapon damage from the warpriest stuff. A paladin/ninja (smiting sneak attack!) or paladin/swashbuckler (crit-fishing smites!) might be fun. A bloodrager/sorcerer/dragon disciple with Abyssal Eldritch Heritage might be able to get some giant strength (any way to add a mutagen to the mix?). A barbarian/alchemist/master chymist might get some huge Strength and damage too.


Looking at that group skills are something that's missing. Trying to compete on strength with the half-orc is just going to end in tears. You want a front liner. That says dexterity-based melee or dex-based switch-hitter to me.

One dex-based melee option goes something like Sohei monk 1 / unchained rogue 3 / hunter X. The sohei monk level is for mounted skirmisher via the bonus feat, the unchained rogue levels give the dex-to-damage, the hunter (with boon companion) gives you a fully leveled animal companion to ride. Before 5th level a purchased horse or riding dog works just fine. You're going to be using two-weapon fighting; mounted skirmisher lets you do so even when you move. Daggers have a bunch of options to improve them which kukris or short swords don't BTW.

If you're allergic to animal companions - some people are - a different option is the swashigator. Swashbuckler 1 / investigator X. Probably empiricist investigator, most likely inspired blade swashbuckler. If you're allowed variant multiclassing on top of that then VMC Magus might appeal to your desire for multiclassing. Investigators are the masters of skills and are decent in combat later, the swashbuckler level helps them survive until then via the parry/riposte (which is still useful later) and lets them start with dex-to-damage.

Grand Lodge

There are lots of bloodrager alchemist builds are awesome. Make great frontliners.

I love a halfling dragoon sacred huntmaster with a heron mount. Destruction domain for rage. The build is amazing at aerial combat.

Swashbuckler 1 / Unchained barbarian / investigator X - the extra damage, accuracy and temp HP help the parry repose and durability.

Blood conduit celestial bloodrager, investigator. The build can be good at uas/grappling and THF. It is crazy accurate.


Scott Wilhelm wrote:
Crexis wrote:
I've created a monktopus (monk 1/ druid 4 / bloodrager 1 / weaponmaster fighter X) in another campaign which gives me dps, reach and grappling options. So I'd like to create something else hopefully just as powerful.
How powerful was your Monktopus? What worked, and what didn't? I would very much like to know!

Hey Scott,

I'm only level 5 so I'm still becoming the monktopus


I have a character I was thinking would be cool. I've posted about him a bit. He is a Fighter/Inquisitor with dips into Paladin and Ranger. He fights Thunder and Fang and uses Shield Slam, Greater Bull Rush, and Paired Opportunist. I envisioned him for Pathfinder Society.

Human, Father Maxwell MacKenzie

1Paladin1: Paladin Stuff, Weapon Focus Klar, 2 Weapon

I worry a lot about sleeping in Armor. In Pathfinder Society, low-level magic items such as Wands with Level 1 Spells are readily available. So this character will get a Wand of Swift Girding. Swift Girding lets you dress in your armor (or dress someone else in theirs) as a Swift Action. Plus, I like the first level to be a 10 hp level for maximum hit points, and I really want him to have the title "Father" as soon as possible for roleplaying, character-concept reasons. So, I figure as a Paladin, he is plausibly some sort of clergy and can be called Father MacKenzie.

2P1Fighter1: Weapon Focus Earthbreaker
3P1F1Inquisitor1: Stern Gaze, Judgement, Monster Lore, Domain, Spells Thunder & Fang

In case a reader doesn't know, Thunder and Fang lets you fight with an Earthbreaker in 1 hand and a Klar (shield) in the other. His Earthbreaker will be Alchemal Silver, of course.

4P1F1I2: Detect Lies, Detect Alignment, Cunning Initiative, Ability +1, BAB+3
5P1F1I3: Solo Tactics, Broken Wing Gambit, Combat Reflexes, BAB+4

With Broken Wing Gambit, just being attacked will be an Attack of Opportunity Trigger. If your party Barbarian (and each and every party member) takes BWG, too, then whenever any of you is attacked, all of you get Attacks of Opportunity.

6P1F1I3Ranger1: Freebooter’s Bane, Wild Empathy, Tracking, BAB+5
7P1F1I3R2: Shield Slam, Power Attack, BAB+6
8P1F2I3R2: Improved Bull Rush, Ability +1, BAB+7
9P1F3I3R2: Greater Bull Rush, BAB+8
10P1F4I3R2: Paired Opportunist, BAB+9

Shield Slam gives you a free Bull Rush with every Shield Bash. Greater Bull Rush gives all your allies Attacks of Opportunity whenever you Bull Rush somebody. Paired Opportunist lets you take an Attack of Opportunity, too. You could make your AoO another Shield Bash, triggering another Bull Rush, looping Attacks of Opportunity for as long as the party's Combat Reflexes lasts. This would only happen if you set up battlefield positioning right, with Flanking for instance, but I think it looks sweet.

I like the Wand of Lead Blades. It won't do anything for your Klar, but your Earthbreaker's Damage goes from 2d6 to 3d6.

11P1F4I4R2: Judgement 2/day, Harder they Fall, BAB+10

Bull Rushing has a Size Limit. Harder they Fall gets around the Size Limit.

12P1F4I5R2: Bane, Discern Lies, Ability +1

I'm guessing the Klar is the best recipient for Bane.

So, I'm thinking this is a character with good AC and 3 good saves. He 2 weapon fights with a high base damage, and he gets and gives to his party lots of attacks of opportunity. Plus battlefield control and Divine Spellcaster stuff. I'm thinking this is a powerful build.

Silver Crusade

A Fighter 1/Investigator X reach weapon build might work well.


Fighter 1/Kineticist X works as a front liner if you take Kinetic Blade. He uses Str to hit & Con for damage. If you can't reach your foe, he can revert to Kinetic Blast (range 30, Extended Range 120'). Earth-oriented comes with DR.


I see that there are going to be quite a few frontliners already.
Why not join the fun with a Paladin 2/Ninja X.
Ninja is a very fun class. You will get an extra attack with your full attack thanks to Ki Pool. You can also use good exotic weapons and have heavy armor.

So the build is :
Paladin is there for saves, weapon proficiencies (1 level dip or 2 level dip, if you want even better saves). That smite evil is good against bosses too. If you are evil, just use Antipaladin.

Then we go into Ninja. I like this class. You get a ton of skills, sneak attacks, tons of ninja tricks and you can pick the rogue advanced talents too. Even though the BAB is not idea, we will have good enough attack rolls and we get that extra attack too. Sneak Attack damage will do a lot of damage. Antipaladin is probably the best choice because you can have better alignments than LG.


For your build, is the barbarian relying on you to be another raging half-orc for his Amplified Rage to work?


edmondlebeau wrote:

I see that there are going to be quite a few frontliners already.

Why not join the fun with a Paladin 2/Ninja X.
Ninja is a very fun class. You will get an extra attack with your full attack thanks to Ki Pool. You can also use good exotic weapons and have heavy armor.

So the build is :
Paladin is there for saves, weapon proficiencies (1 level dip or 2 level dip, if you want even better saves). That smite evil is good against bosses too. If you are evil, just use Antipaladin.

Then we go into Ninja. I like this class. You get a ton of skills, sneak attacks, tons of ninja tricks and you can pick the rogue advanced talents too. Even though the BAB is not idea, we will have good enough attack rolls and we get that extra attack too. Sneak Attack damage will do a lot of damage. Antipaladin is probably the best choice because you can have better alignments than LG.

Huh,

I interpreted the Battlefield Control Wizard and Debuffing Cleric as being decidedly not front-liners, leaving only the Barbarian and this new character as the frontliners. But maybe.


Bob Genghis wrote:
For your build, is the barbarian relying on you to be another raging half-orc for his Amplified Rage to work?

That's a good point. The OP's OC had levels in Bloodrager. And Amplified Rage is a Teamwork Feat. What would making a non-rage character do to the other party member?


I have had a lot of Success with Scaled Fist UnMonk 1/Bravado Paladin with dangerously Curious Trait. Using Dex and Cha as the main stats.

Using a wave blade and hacking people to pieces with it. Great AC, Saves, Parry/Ripo, Good HD, nice amount of skill to pick from, and Flurry of Smite is a lot of fun.

Level 9 and has a 32 AC with just Mage Armor and Shield. Has a wand of Mirror image for a miss chance. Defenses are great.


Bob Genghis wrote:
For your build, is the barbarian relying on you to be another raging half-orc for his Amplified Rage to work?

I believe he's going to have a familiar/companion to get the use out of amplified rage - I wasn't planning on going half orc.

I just started playing pathfinder earlier this year, a lot of good responses and a lot of information to go through!

I'm going to have to think about that 'attack of opportunity' type build you showed there mr. wilhelm.

Louse Bishop: You go 1 rank in UnMonk and rest in paladin? What is bravado paladin, I couldn't find it in my search?

Thanks for the replies and insights guys, lot of information to digest!


For giant slayer I'd recommend ranger or a class that gets and progresses favored enemy for no reason in particular... Alright no plot spoilers but,

Giant Slayer:
The first book is basically a day long dungeon in which casters and limited use ability characters struggle

but since you're keen on dipping and not being boring, ranger wouldn't work. So I present to you the Brawler Brawler!
He levels in this order,
Brawler 2/Fighter 3/whatever, I recommend more brawler levels.
Give the fighter the Brawler archetype. Take Extra Martial Flexibility early for ahem* no reason in particular. Take the Dwarf Trained campaign trait because it's giant slayer and who doesn't hate orcs. Your other trait should be Ancestral Weapon (Cold Iron) which does cost you a bit to upgrade down the line but I'd say its worth it considering the amount of attacks you'll have.

Your feats should be like this if you're playing a human.
1 Weapon Focus(Greatsword)
1 Extra Martial Flexibility
2 Power Attack
3 Toughness
3 Furious Focus
4 Weapon Specialization
5 Whatever/ step up or endurance for fun
7 Vital Strike
8 Improved Furious Focus
Use Martial Flexibility to grab Dedicated Adversary whenever you run into a horde of say... goblins.

Throw Versatile Design onto your greatsword to make a "close weapon" and then you can brawlers flurry with a greatsword at 2nd level. If you're starting at first level then you'll need Rich Parents to modify your greatsword.
At 5th level you get some jank version of weapon training that only applies to close weapons but gives a +3 to damage instead of your standard +1

If two classes isn't enough take the Wild Rager Barbarian Archetype for an extra attack on your full attack though if you do I recommend picking up Iron Will and possibly not raging unless combat gets nasty.

Final Notes
The idea is to out damage the barbarian by getting more attacks in and actually land them. If you can't full attack, use vital strike. At second level your're already making two attacks. At Sixth thats three but if you go Wild Rager you get an extra attack on top of your three. Go back to Brawler to make that four attacks and before you know it your BAB is enough for yet another iterative attack. At 13th level you could possibly be at 6 attacks. If your half-orc barbarian friend needs a friend to use Amplified Rage with then go half-orc and grab those barbarian levels and the teamwork feat. This messes up the feat progression a bit but you'll still be raging and getting more hits in than your friend, just try not to kill him.


I'm currently playing a dwarf ranger 6/sacred huntmaster inquisitor 3/mother's fang cavalier 1/dragoon fighter 1/living monolith 1/mammoth rider 1 in Giant Slayer.

I ride a huge wolf that has combat reflexes and greater trip (qualified via dirty fighting).

Sacred huntmaster lets my companion share Outflank, Paired Opportunist and Pack Flanking with me. It's been really fun, my crits combo nice to help the wolf trip, to give us both yet more opportunity attacks.

Orphaned by Giants stacks nicely with the Giant Hunter dwarf alternate racial trait and favored enemy giants (and defensive training)

Living monolith lets me enlarge as a swift action, then clobber giants with larger weapons and reach 10 or more. Our party has some other ways to enlarge as a standard or full round action, but having the option as a swift that I can do by myself has been great.

Mother's fang cavalier gives 2 bonus feats at level one, lets me ignore armor check penalties to ride, and lets me ignore the Int 13 req on Pack Flanking. It also gives some exotic weapon profs, but I just use martial weapons.

If I did it over again, I think I would have dropped the last 3 ranger levels and gone into mammoth rider all the way as soon as I qualified to take it at level 10.

Even if your buddy has some way of sharing teamwork feats with allies and a familiar, his familiar won't be giving him the bonus since it won't be raging, so I assume you'll need to take a level of something to rage


Bob Genghis wrote:

I'm currently playing a dwarf ranger 6/sacred huntmaster inquisitor 3/mother's fang cavalier 1/dragoon fighter 1/living monolith 1/mammoth rider 1 in Giant Slayer.

I ride a huge wolf that has combat reflexes and greater trip (qualified via dirty fighting).

Sacred huntmaster lets my companion share Outflank, Paired Opportunist and Pack Flanking with me. It's been really fun, my crits combo nice to help the wolf trip, to give us both yet more opportunity attacks.

Orphaned by Giants stacks nicely with the Giant Hunter dwarf alternate racial trait and favored enemy giants (and defensive training)

Living monolith lets me enlarge as a swift action, then clobber giants with larger weapons and reach 10 or more. Our party has some other ways to enlarge as a standard or full round action, but having the option as a swift that I can do by myself has been great.

Mother's fang cavalier gives 2 bonus feats at level one, lets me ignore armor check penalties to ride, and lets me ignore the Int 13 req on Pack Flanking. It also gives some exotic weapon profs, but I just use martial weapons.

If I did it over again, I think I would have dropped the last 3 ranger levels and gone into mammoth rider all the way as soon as I qualified to take it at level 10.

Even if your buddy has some way of sharing teamwork feats with allies and a familiar, his familiar won't be giving him the bonus since it won't be raging, so I assume you'll need to take a level of something to rage

I believe his friend may have the Valet familiar archetype to allow him to use amplified rage


"Whenever you are raging and adjacent to a raging ally who also has this feat or flanking the same opponent as a raging ally with this feat.."

Even if the familiar has the feat due to archetype, how would a familiar be raging?

Ferocious Mount could work, if he had a way to share feats with a mounted companion.

I assume though that he needs your help at least the early levels


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Bob Genghis wrote:

"Whenever you are raging and adjacent to a raging ally who also has this feat or flanking the same opponent as a raging ally with this feat.."

Even if the familiar has the feat due to archetype, how would a familiar be raging?

Ferocious Mount could work, if he had a way to share feats with a mounted companion.

I assume though that he needs your help at least the early levels

Sympathetic Rage and eldritch guardian ma man...


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