Ravener Hunter / Sanctified Slayer Build

[anchoress]

Hi folks!

Since you all helped me really out with your answers and suggestions in my first thread (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2uual?New-to-a-group-struggle-with-class-choic e), we now have made the decision that at the next big gap between two storylines in our campaign everybody can rebuild/change his character. What i want to do now over the next weeks is take some time with each player and build a character frame for them.

I want to start with a character idea my girlfriend had. So it is a bit more fleshed out then future builds will be. Here are the frame conditions:

Character lvl 8
Point-buy 15
Only core races (human, (half-)elf, half-orc, dwarf, halfling, gnome)
12.000gp to start (we are playing a rather low magic item campaign)
3 traits to start with (to flesh out the backstory more then usual)
No companions (GM has asked for this due to player group size)
No 3rd party stuff
No gunpowder (group wants to stay more classic fantasy-ish)
Player count: 6, so consider flanking to be easy, maneuver around not so much ;) Since i don't know who is changing his character (yet) please rate the character build on it's own, not related to the character mentioned in the other forum thread.

Airk, Half-orc, Ravener Hunter / Sanctified Slayer 8
Deity: Pharasma, HP: 58, INI 5, AC 18
STR 18 DEX 13 CON 12 INT 10 WIS 18 CHA 10
Ref +7, Wil +14, For +11
Racial: Intimidate +2, Darkvision, Sacred Tattoo
Traits: Fate's Favored, Theoretical Magician, Second Chance
1 Toughness
Oracle Mystery: Lore - Ancestral Weapon (Greatsword +1)
3 Power Attack
3 Demon Hunter (via Ravener Hunter)
5 Craft Wondrous Item
6 Outflank
7 Cornugon Smash
8 Ranger Combat Style (via Sanctified Slayer) - Shatter Defenses
8 Spirit Shield (2nd Oracle Mystery)
Diplomacy +11, Intimidate +17, Sense Motive +19, Survival +12, Perception +15, Spellcraft +19, all class-knowledge skills are +8
Cloak of Resistance +2, Headband of Inspired Wisdom +2, Belt of Giant Strength +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Boots of the Cat, Runestone of Power (1), Ring of Sustenance, Campfire Bead, Masterwork Tools (Spellcraft), Arcane Family Workbook, Sleeves of Many Garment, 190gp left

Airk starts the fight with "drawing" his Greatsword +1 (standard action), Studied Target (MA) and Bane (SwA). This adds up to
17/12 for 6d6+17 damage (when flanking, which is pretty much doable with 6 players)
This can be buffed to 20/15 6d6+20 (via Divine Favor) and shield for +3 (total of 21) AC. Vs. AC 22 (which should be average at lvl 8) he hits for ~64 Dmg per round. Not included an extra attack via haste from one of the other players, f.e. Not maxed out, but not too shabby as well. Take Cornugon Smash, Shatter Defenses and Blistering Incentive into consideration as well and he should be a damage dealing while also debuffing character in combat.

While not fighting Airk can craft a lot of items (which is really powerful considering we have a lot less money/magic items then usual), be the face if noone else steps up (Studied Target will add +2 to some skills), can detect alignment and discern lies at will. I gave him some flavourful spells like Speak with the dead, Cure Modereate Wounds, Focused Scrunity, Voluminous Vocabulary, Keep Watch, Nature's Paths, and the Ring of Sustenance. So all in all he is a Half-orc without (visible) weapon and armour, who has no need to eat, drink or sleep. Being a spontaneus caster also improves his viability in random social/combat encounters.

To be honest, i love this character concept (and most likely will be a bit jealous if my girlfriend will actually pick it). I guess playing him can be a blast! It's not like he is top notch in any category, but he will excel at almost all tasks if needed!

So, first of all thank you for sticking around with me until this point! Now, it's up to you: What do you think about this build? Any suggestions? Rules I'm missing/misinterpreting? Can you think of any feats/traits/gear I have overlooked? Any suggestion to improve the "flair" of the build? Feel free to leave a comment, I am happy to read them all :)

[Grandlounge]

You have a amazing set of archetypes in this build. That said Ancestral Weapon is pretty bad as revelations go. Your weapon enhances very slowly.

Weapon Mastery from the battle spirit is better. Skill at Arms is also great if you really want the great sword and better armor options.

Are you allowed hurtful (feat)? It would be a nice addition to the build.

Lessons of Chaldira is the real name for second chance and it is tied to a specific god that is no pharasma.

[anchoress]

Grandlounge wrote:

You have a amazing set of archetypes in this build. That said Ancestral Weapon is pretty bad as revelations go. Your weapon enhances very slowly.

Weapon Mastery from the battle spirit is better. Skill at Arms is also great if you really want the great sword and better armor options.

Are you allowed hurtful (feat)? It would be a nice addition to the build.

Lessons of Chaldira is the real name for second chance and it is tied to a specific god that is no pharasma.

Thank you so much, Grandlounge!

Yeah, Ancestral Weapon wasn't an easy choice to make.
Pro - free (no gp cost), free proficiency, always available, perfectly hideable, style factor
Con - underpowered at certain lvls, takes always a SA to "draw"
In the end i decided that it saves so much money which could be spend otherwise (roughly 4.000gp, which would equal the belt and headband - and both associated attributes are soo important for the Inquisitor...) and looks cool, that i decided to take the slower progression. In worst cases (i guess) you lose up to +2 weapon enhancement and +2 AB / Improved Critical (and ~4 AC comparing spirit shield to a heavy armor).

So yes, Weapon Mastery/Skill at Arms is technically better (way better) - IF (and this is a big if) you have the money to buy the fitting weapons/armour. I admit, this could be made easier by gaining the Craft Magic Armor and Weapons feat, which would halve the price of the gear. I will throw this into my excel sheet and see if i can make this work. Although it takes quite a lot of the character flavour, so i am not sure if i will change that. But thanks for pointing me into the Battle Mystery direction again, if have abandoned this very early in my researches.

Never heard of Hurtful, no. Is it normally tied to a specific race? 'cause it is from the Monster Codex. I know it has no restriction on the d20pfsrd, but that does not mean it has none in the official book itself. Like...

Lessons of Chaldira! Thanks for pointing this out! I wasn't really sure if i should take this trait (felt a bit too cheesy, tbh) and i am now somewhat happy that it is not available to me :D I will look for a more flavorfull trait then in the meantime ;)

[Gummy Bear]

The issue with Ancestral Weapon is that it will always be a standard action and is only minutes per level that must be used in 1 minute increments. Divine Favor is a staple buff, just summoning your weapon and casting that puts you at round 3 before you are hitting anything. At that point, your DPR is going to be really behind because your total for the first to rounds is zero. What if you have 9 battles in a day (not including times you accidentally wasted a use on things like a busting into an empty room or a fight was 11 rounds. Having to stop your contribution to a fight every 10 rounds is not ideal either)? Inquisitor casting is nice, but not enough of the focus to be an excellent fallback for the frontliner when he runs out of sword.

I understand that you are trying to save money, but you are already getting half cost wondrous items. I'd buy a regular +1 greatsword and some +1 armor, then look at other revelations. As Grandlounge mentioned, the Battle mystery can be really good (Surprising Charge is nice, as is Warsight and Battlefield Clarity). If you need greatsword proficiency, worship Gorum. Sounds like he would fit into your character pretty well.