I found an interesting race trait. It would require Adopted, of course.
Aerial Harrier: When flying, +1 trait bonus to AC against melee attacks from anyone on the ground.
Maybe not. It's a trait specific to a flying race. Maybe I could let dragonkin characters take that trait without needing Adopted.
True.
I've gone through the traits and picked out the ones I like best.
Combat:
Killer: When you crit, add the mod to the damage. Trait bonus, not multiplied.
Pillager: +1 trait to Disarm and Steal.
Reactionary: +2 trait Initiative
Faith:
Fate’s Favored: +1 to any luck bonuses.
Birthmark: +2 trait to saves against charm and compulsion effects. Mark can be used as holy symbol.
Magic:
Dangerously Curious: +1 Use Magic Device, class skill
Social:
Life of Toil: +1 trait Fortitude
Race:
Mindlessly Cruel: When you have a +1 morale on Atk, gain +1 trait on damage. Requires Adopted.
Religion:
Bestial Wrath: +2 trait to confirm crit.
A friend suggested that instead of using a cleric/oracle gestalt, I should use a melee class/cleric instead. Any thoughts?
He was focusing more on battle optimization than flavor.
Cleric//Oracle is good if you want to use lots and lots of divine spells, but if you want to increase versatility, pretty much any other combination would be better.
If you just want to increase combat effectiveness, shore up Reflex saves, and add skill points without a lot of additional complexity, add slayer to the mix. It has a really solid chassis.
If this was for a PC, I'd probably change out a class. But since this is for an NPC that's really only going to fight once, I think I'll leave it as it.
How many rounds of combat do you anticipate?
This is my cleric's sheet. Link
His Fort is 12. I guess that is a little low for level 15. But I haven't bought any equipment other than the base weapon so there are other ways to boost it.
I'll put in Life of Toil. I can always change it later if I feel I need to.
So now for the feats. Thanks to class features, I get these for free: Improved Critical, Improved Disarm, Greater Disarm, Weapon Focus, and Greater Weapon Focus. I also plan on giving everyone Weapon Finesse and Power Attack for free. I can also use any one Combat Feat I qualify for for 15 rounds a day. That's a big base to start off with and leaves plenty of free space for other feats.
I'm not sure. I plan to have the PC's around level 12 when they face him, depending on how many there are.
At level 12 could he have a bloody and or flaming skeleton, giving him time to cast them spells?
Cultists/minions are usually low on hits or will saves.
Flaming skeleton at level 12? What ability is that?
Is Rovagog considered a demon lord?
And do I need the Command Undead feat when I have the Control Undead spell?
I think Flaming and Bloody are templates that can be added to regular skeletons. Or just alternate skeleton monsters.
I think Flaming and Bloody are templates that can be added to regular skeletons. Or just alternate skeleton monsters.
Ah, ok.
Ok, so I'm looking through the feats (though I'm nowhere near done) and I'm liking the look of Flyby Attack and Channel Discord. Death From Above could be useful too.
Graceful Flier would give me a nice bonus to my flying. It requires Skill Focus, but I have 8 feats available so there should be room.
Are you using Quick Channel? You spend 2 Channel Energy uses to channel energy as a move action. It can really help with your action economy, and for undead-types, lets you choose between healing or blasting. Blasting that targets Will saves, so no evasion! And there are some nifty Channel Energy feats for alternate effects and/or carrier effects.
You think I'll need it? Without any Cha boosting items, I can channel energy 6 times a day.
Slashing Grace is a given, of course. I need a way to get Dex-To-Damage.
Flaming skeleton at level 12? What ability is that?
That's a no then.
Quick Channel is a decent option if you are casting a Standard Action spell and only taking a 5 foot step or staying stationary. At 15th level, it is healing or harming 8d6 damage as a Move Action. 28 hit points (14 on a failed Will save, DC 17+your Cha bonus), on average, of area effect undead healing or area effect damage isn't too shabby for a Move Action (an action type you usually don't use for anything offensive). With 6 channel uses per day, you can use Quick Channel 3/day, or pretty much every round you are not full attacking if you plan on doing a mixture of casting and fighting.
That does sound useful.
I got on Hero's Forge and designed some figures for my antipaladin and cleric. How do I share pictures here? Post a link to a picture sharing site like deviantart?
I've paired down the feats I like to 9.
1. Slashing Grace: Use Dex for damage when using light or one-handed slashing weapon. Treat as piercing weapon for feats.
2. Aura Flare: Once, when using Channel Energy, can flare aura to add an affect to all good creatures within aura. Fort save 10+1/2 level +Cha to avoid fatigue for 1d4 round.
3. Dazzling Display: Full round action, make Intimidate check to demoralize all foes within 30 feet that can see you.
4. Extra Channel: Can channel energy two more times a day.
5. Flyby Attack: While flying, when moving, can take a standard action at any point during the move.
6. Motivating Display: When you use Dazzling Display, allies make a check to gain +1 morale on Atk and skills for same duration. Same DC.
7. Quick Channel: Channel energy as a move action instead of standard by using 2 daily uses.
8. Iron Will / Great Fortitude / Lightning Reflexes. Depends on party.
9. Shatter Defenses: Any shaken, panicked, or frightened foes you hit this turn become flat-footed against your attacks until the end of your next turn. This includes any further attacks that round. Requires Dazzling Display.
Shatter Defenses is a Combat feat which I can use for 15 rounds a day thanks to my War domain.
Ignore the last post. I've decided to go in a slightly different directions. Twin dragonkin. One will be a gestalt with oracle and a martial class, and the other will be a pure cleric. The feats and stuff I'm taking are too martial based and it's hurting the character's ability to fight.
Plus twins are a fun little plot point.
Aura Flare is a good de-buff when Channeling Negative Energy.
Variant Channeling is another option to look into...
If one BBEG is going to be gestalt, both should be. Especially if they're twins. I would suggest UnRogue for the other half of the cleric. It grants a lot of utility: skills, Reflex saves, defenses (evasion, uncanny dodge, improved uncanny dodge, various rogue talents), and bad-touch spell sneak attack damage (not necessarily something to focus on, but a nice little trump card for emergency situations).
Hm, that could work.
I figure if you're going to go gestalt, try to get all good saves at the very least. Swashbuckler or Slayer would give good Reflex and full BAB, but you're not trying to do as much combat, right?
Correct. He'll stand back and cast spells while his brother does the melee.
And here are the links to the pictures of the figures. Cleric Antipaladin
Animate dead is a third level spell so a ninth level or higher evil cleric can cast it. They can create up to twice their hit dice in one casting. They can keep the bloody skeletons in a closet till they need them. Once they have all the skeletons they can control, they can use the spell slot for something else.
Add a cleric buying onyx gems to the rumor table. They may have claimed they were trying to keep the gems out of the reach of necromancers.
Hm. I do still plan to use the War and Rage domains for the cleric so he might be a better choice for melee. Instead of the Battle Mystery for the oracle, I could choose something else. Is there a trait or feat that would allow him to be healed by negative energy like an undead?
Whichever one will be doing the melee will be Strength based and the caster will be Dex based. I think that would probably work best. And the melee one can replace the Flight racial trait with Dragonic.
Don't hide those skeletons in the closet--hide them under loose soil under the PCs. They can reach up and grab the PCs' ankles!
*shivers* Scary.
With a monk's bonus to AC from Wis and his unarmed strikes, a high Dex isn't needed as much in the point buy. I'm thinking 18 Str, 13 Dex, 14 Con, 14 Int, 18 Wis, and 18 Cha. This is including the racial bonuses and level up points and the +2 NPC bonus I'm giving them.
For the oracle, I'm still not sure what to gestalt him with. But an oracle does need a good amount of Cha for spells. For his stats, I'm thinking 10 Str, 18 Dex, 15 Con, 16 Int, 18 Wis, and 20 Cha.
Slayer//Oracle: Full BAB, all Good Saves, 1d10 HD, 6+ Skill Points, Martial Weapons, plus Studied Target, Sneak Attack, and Slayer Talents, like Ranger Combat Style and other types of bonus feat-like abilities.
How married are you to the oracle being an oracle? An Int-focused Alchemist//Wizard or Witch or Arcanist might be interesting. All Good Saves, Medium BAB, d8 HD, 4+Int skills with super-charged Intelligence, and 2 Int-based spell lists. Plus bombs (or sneak attack), mutagen (and/or cognatagen), and either hexes, arcanist tricks, or wizardy stuff.
One twin can be divine, one can be arcane.
He needs a decent Cha for channeling. I'll be buying him at least one stat booster.
I suppose twin 2 doesn't need to be an oracle.
Monk won't work, they have to be lawful. You can't have an alignment that's the exact opposite of your god. Rovagug is Chaotic Evil. That means the cleric gestalt has to be either Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, or Chaotic Neutral.
Brawler would work though. It gets features from both Monk and Fighter. Ooh, and his Unarmed Strikes will be considered magic, cold iron, silver, and either evil or chaotic.