Need suggestions on a Poacher

[Quoth13]

A friend of mine is starting a campaign soon and I finally get to play again (been GMing for the past couple years) and for her campaign the characters need to have had some sort of reason they are in jail. Its a wilderness campaign so i was thinking of doing a poacher. Not evil just down on his luck trying to make a living. The problem is which class/archetype? Ranger is the obvious choice but that was my go to back in 3.5 an I would prefer to try something new. So im hoping for some suggestions I am not set on a play style yet could be ranged could be up close.

[DeathlessOne]

My advice will changed based on what kind of relationship your character has with magic. How big of a role do you want magic to be in your character's development? Does your character use animals/companions to help his hunting?

The Hunter hybrid class would be a good start if you want to use both magic and a companion to influence your development.

[Quoth13]

As of right now Im thinking no animal companion. I realize they are good especially for action economy but its a new GM so not having an animal companion allows for the new GM to focus on fewer things. This isnt to say its not an option by any means but thats why I was thinking of avoiding it. As far as magic i would rather avoid a full caster although that could make for a unique character concept so magic use and degree of such is very much up in the air. I forgot the hunter was a class i will look into that thanks!

[DeathlessOne]

Hmm, no animal companion? Well, if you aren't opposed to the 6th level casting that the Hunter gets, the Forester might be right up your alley. Hunter would be my best suggestion for the class, other than Ranger. Most of the other classes tend to not quite fit the whole "normal guy poaching because he's down on his luck".

[Quoth13]

Thank you for the suggestions the forester is pretty much a perfect fit

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

I suppose hunter is a good enough fit for the concept, but there is something in me that is very fond of playing classes against type. You can kill animals with a bow easy enough with any class, and if you have the skill ranks anyone can have a high survival.

What about a Bolt Ace gunslinger? The grit class feature sounds very flavorful for a down on their luck character.

What about a cleric? There's a god for every philosophy, and I know people who swear by archer cleric builds.

What about barbarian? Unchained barbarians get a morale bonus to hit and damage, instead of strength, so they make steller archers.

Or Bolt Ace 5 into barbarian, since everyone seems to agree there's no point staying gunslinger after fifth. That sounds like a memorable character, a crossbow-wielding barbarian/gunslinger who acts like a ranger!

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

Actually, unchained barbarians only get their morale bonus on melee attack rolls. :(
So they wouldn't make particularly good gunslingers.

[MageHunter]

Savage Technologist for the win! Or Urban Barbarian.

[Quoth13]

I was considering doing something with melee rather then archer because I agree non traditional can be fun. The terrain is going to be mostly swamp so plenty to hide in/swim through. Possibilities for a grappler build that could try to drown targets? Any suggestions on featsir build? The suggestion of unchained barbarian gave me the idea so that would probably be the class if i go that route.

[Syries]

Feral Hunter is nice since you get wildshape and a few other goodies.

For a poacher, invest in stealth, sleight of hand, perception, kn(nature) and survival.

As for class, I agree that Hunter is a good choice. You could also be a swashbuckler with the new Arrow Champion archetype from Ult Wilderness. They make for great switch hitters.

If you want to be a grappler, you can be a dex-based brawler with agile maneuvers and go Undine for the theme as you drown them in the swamps.

[Java Man]

A slayer could be an excellent, purely martial hunter. You could play it largely like a ranger, but with some new mechanics to keep your interest.

[Mark Hoover 330]

A martial, no need for an animal companion, possible grappling, and using terrain to your advantage? There's a lot of different ways to build this. The main thing to think about with your concept is how to fluff a non-ranger into a "poacher/hunter" type role?

Some ideas have already surfaced. Others might include: a Monk or Brawler - take Skills and Traits that reflect nature training and wilderness skills; focus on maneuvers and movement. Another way to go might be a straight fighter; there are a lot of interesting things to do now with Weapon Training.

Alternately, here's one you might not have thought of: Druid, Swamp Druid template. It's not a full on Martial but spells and abilities might make up for it. With summoned creatures with grappling focus that you can aid in combat you can be fairly effective in Maneuver combat.

Last but not least... what about a Grippli? You begin play with a Climb speed and a couple alternate Race traits give you impressive leaping and gliding movement. Playing a ranger and taking a rank in Swim every level for 8 levels eventually gives you a Swim speed. Add in Net proficiency and the Agile Maneuvers Feat and your grappling can still be effective.

Side note: I would urge you to reconsider an Animal Companion for a maneuver build. Taking something with a natural Grab or Grapple ability that you can build off of is a decent way to get a boost to that maneuver.

[Quoth13]

Thank you all for the feedback! I truly do appreciate it i have been GMing for so long i forgot how to build a character who is going to last more then one session lol. I think I am going to go with hunter with a possible dip in brawler or despite this being a thread about a non ranger poacher a deep diver archetype ranger as I think the manuver based combat would make it very different from any character I have run before. I think i do need to have an animal companion any recomendations? Crocodile is the obvious go to but it starts small size and caps at medium which might not be great. Thanks again for all the input!

[Syries]

Honestly crocodiles are great animal companions. Death Roll is awesome.
Another great option is Constrictor Snake, which gets constrict and is large sized at lv7.

[Casey Taylor]

I would think the Survivalist Rogue using sneak attack on animals also granting disable device and craft trap for snares, dead falls, and other ways to discretely kill an animal without being there. That way he can always say he "found" the King's deer dead and pass a detect lie spell