"Support Tactician" ranger build

[Kiesman]

I have a build concept I've been thinking about that I'd like some advice on.

The idea is to be sort of a passive buffing tactician, with as many at-will (as in not uses-per-day) abilities to help in this. It started out with me wanting to use the Orc Hornbow and researching the Ranger archetypes, coming across the Freebooter.

So, here's the build I came up with:

Tactician Ranger
Human?
Freebooter Ranger 5/Holy Tactician Paladin 3/Medium 2

(Ranger 1, Freebooter's Bane)
1a. Point Blank Shot
1b. Precise Shot
(Medium 2, Champion Spirit, Shared Seance for Seance Boon to party)
2. Exotic Weapon prof: Orc Hornbow
3. Deadly Aim
(Paladin 3, Weal's Champion, Tactical Acumen, Battlefield Presence)
5. Far Shot?
6. Outflank (probably)
(Ranger 2-5, Freebooter's Bond, Freebooter's Bane +2)
7a. Vital Strike
7b. Focused Shot
9. Improved Critical?

The idea is that I use most of my move actions to give Freebooter's Bane or Freebooter's Bond to my allies, and at the beginning of the day we all share a Seance for +2 to non-magical damage. This way I'm helping everyone out with increased damage and giving them Outflank with no listed duration, and I can do decent damage with the Orc Hornbow and Vital Strike.

I'm open to any suggestions that might be offered, the only thing I'm pretty set on is the Freebooter Ranger part of the build.

[Grandlounge]

Consider dropping the pali for guided blade swashbuckler you get teamwork sharing earlier .

[Kiesman]

The difference is that Battlefield Presence doesn't have a listed duration - It seems to last all day, unless there's been an errata.

[Grandlounge]

Neither does freebooter's bond if you want to run them that way.

[Kiesman]

What do you mean "if you want to run them that way"? What's the alternative?

[Chess Pwn]

If I remember there was an authors comment that the paladin's thing did work basically forever.

[Grandlounge]

The abilities require sight and sound so presumably you are pointing and telling people what do for them to be active. Like cackle from the witch you can keep them going all day but your basically yelling "you flank" , "swing low when he swing high", "attack in tandem" everywhere you go.

This is a pretty strict ruling and I would understand groups not wanting to run it this way.

Also sorry for sounding like a passive agressive jerk.

[Kiesman]

Well, yes, that's exactly how I'd be playing the character. He's directing the battles. My DM would probably rule that I'd have to reactivate it for each battle, which is still not bad. Unlimited uses per day.

[Grandlounge]

It is still a great ability and I like the build.

A few small things rapid shot gives more damage than dealy aim, and many shot will out perform vital strike by a wide margin. If you want to go a more traditional route. I would try to get the action economy to one round of buffing and then full attack.

Trip arrows could help the melee folks on your team.

If you can get everyone to by animal masks you can use a pharamon arrow to further boost attack and damage.

One extra level a tactician gives additional Weal’s Champion.

[Kiesman]

Thank for the suggestions. I went without rapid shot because I'll often be using my Move Action for other things like commanding the battle, hence using Vital Strike.

Trip arrows are a good idea, I was considering taking the ranged trip feat instead of something like Far Shot, since I'll want to be close to the melee for my buffs anyway.

Animal Masks and the Pheromone Arrow are a really cool idea that I'll definitely consider.

If this character goes past level 10, I'd probably be taking more levels of Holy Tactician.

[Grandlounge]

One other thing. If your spending a feat on the orc horn bow. You will have the same feats at 3rd level if you play an half orc but you will have better racial abilities.

[Kiesman]

Ah, not actually spending a feat on it. You get it from taking a Taboo with the Champion spirit as a Medium.

[Grandlounge]

Forgot. Good call.

[Dave Justus]

I think it is a fairly cool idea, but the problem I see is in actually fitting this build into a party, particularly a 4 person party, 5 or 6 it seems pretty great for.

The problem is, you only do about half of the job of a support character. You give you pretty good static bonuses, particularly for martial strikers, but you don't have any real healing or condition removal. This doesn't make the build bad, but it leaves a hole that the party will still have to cover. If they do so with a traditional support character you are only going to have one dedicated strker in the party probably (assuming you don't leave control unfilled) which in turn is going to lessen the utility of your martial buffs and will make quite a few of the teamwork options less viable, if you are using a bow, and the rest of the party is a cleric, a wizard and a full bab martial, then outflank might not be used very much.

There are certainly ways around these issues, but they pretty much involve building a party with this character in mind, not necessarily bad, but you would have to get buy in from the other players as well, or it might end up being a lot less effective than planned.

[Kiesman]

Good input, thank you. Most of the time I play with a group of at least 5, so it should be fine, and if my current character in our Ironfang Invasion group dies it will fit in perfectly with our... 4 melee martials?