Hello, everyone.
My old character has died and won't be resurrected, so I'm preparing a new one to start the campaign (CotCT) at level 6. Group needs a tank and could use some divine magic, so after giving it a lot of thought I think I'm going for a sword and board dwarf inquisitor. Before I post my planned build to gather your feedback and criticism, let me explain the character creation rules in place for our campaign:
- Only Core rulebook and APG are allowed. No exceptions.
- No multiclass allowed except to apply for a prestige class and then to follow it. No other exceptions.
- Racial favored class bonuses giving extra spells to spontaneous casters are forbidden. No exceptions.
- Some other minor restrictions, like some forbidden feats and combos, but I don't think any of those affect my build.
So I'm thinking on a dwarf inquisitor of Abadar. I know other gods (like Sarenrae) might be mechanically more optimized, but I'm set on Abadar for RP reasons. I also want to go S&B because I want to be very tanky, so that's also decided. From there on, optimization is the priority.
My current build involves using a quickdraw shield and the quickdraw feat to be able do two-handed attacks (for those sweet strength and power attack extra damage bonuses) in my turn, but still have a shield between turns (I checked and this particular combo is allowed). I'll wield a one-handed weapon, so that I can also do AoO between turns (in this case, wielding the weapon in one hand). I plan on having non-magic weapon, shield and mithral full plate. Rod of extend lesser + magic vestment x 2 (shield and armor) + magic weapon would give me the magic bonuses that I need for the whole day, every day. Bead of Karma (from string of prayer beads) can be added to further improve all these bonuses every morning when casting those spells for the day. With this + steel soul + stalward, I think the tank part is covered.
Starting attributes and progression (20 point buy): STR 16, CON 14 (12+2), DEX 14, INT 10, WIS 16 (14+2), CHA 6 (8-2). All increases into STR.
Expected feat progression is
1: Heavy armor proficiency. 3: Quickdraw. 5: Power Attack. 7: Exotic weapon proficiency (falcata) 9: Combat Reflexes. 11: Improved critical (falcata). 13: Steel Soul.
For Teamwork bonus feats I'm thinking
3: Precise Strike. 6: Outflank. 9: Lookout. 12: Paired Opportunists.
Potential domains: Protection and Travel.
Group includes a ranger who also has the outflank feat.
Any thoughts? I can't decide if I should go for Falcata or Scimitar proficiency. Also not sure if that's the beast order for feat progression. And I would like love to hear trait suggestions!
Thanks in advance for your help!
Broken wing gambit is great, but it's not in Core + APG. Outflank triggers on crit, and then my ally gets AoO, but then I also get AoO with paired opportunists. That's also quite good, but it's the reason why a high crit range is so important in this build, and why I'm having trouble deciding between falcata and scimitar (with improved critical, their crit range would be 17-20 or 15-20, respectively, but with Falcata criting x3). I can't use Dwarven War Axe one handed, but in any case the low crit range makes weapons dwarfs are proficient with less desirable than usual.
Shield slam with Greater Bull Rush and paired opportunists is a great combo I hadn't thought about! But these kinds of S&B TWF builds are way too feat intensive for an inquisitor without multiclassing (they can't even use a shield as a weapon since it's martial). I thought about Quickdraw feat with two handed attacks because it's equally tanky and still kind of competitive in damage, without needing so many resources (and keeps just one weapon candidate for bane).
weapon and shield is a poor path fomr a inquisitor.
it's a GREAT one for a slayer or ranger.Inquisitor need 1 hand to cast spells, they lack bonus feats, they need STr and WIS so no room for TWF requirements.
they value 1, bigger the better weapon or 1 super Crit range weapon.
I tend to agree, but with quickdraw+quickdraw shield I can always wield a high crit range weapon two handed during my turns, so it's practically the same as a two-handed weapon build. The only difference between scimitar and, say, elven curve blade or falchion is around 1 point of base damage, which is negligible. Additionally, there's no problem with getting a free hand to cast spells.
I'll admit damage difference gets higher in opportunity attacks, since outside of my turn I will wield the weapon in only one hand because I will also don the shield (this is also why two-handed weapons are not compatible with this build). But in exchange I can have a much higher AC and therefore tank better. Seems a reasonable deal (not clearly better, but arguably not really worse either).
So I want a S&B build that functions practically like a two handed weapon build. I agree a TWF S&B build is not an easy option for an inquisitor, but that's not what I'm pursuing here.
Or am I missing something?
If you're concerned about having your hands full and casting in combat, don't be. Maybe allow a buff spell in the first round of combat, but then focus on Bane and Judgments. You can plan to use your spells for utility like exploration and social interactions outside of combat.
One thing to consider is the number of swift actions your build will be using. Is switching between using a shield and wielding 2-handed a free action or a swift action?
Getting lots of AoOs while Bane is up is a big damage multiplier.
The difference between Scimitar and Falchion: Scimitar does 1d6, so 3.5hp on average, and a Falchion does 2d4, so 5. That is a difference of 1.5. The Elven Curved Blade gives you a clean +2 over a scimitar
Ah, I thought ECB was 1d8, my bad.
If I use a two-handed weapon I won't be able to use it to do Opportunity Attacks, though. With the Quickdraw feat, both to don and to put away the shield are free actions, so I can put the shield away just before attacking and don it when I'm finished attacking. That means for the rest of the round the shield is on, and therefore I can't wield a two-handed weapon (I could just carry it in one hand, but not use it to attack). This is why I want to use a one-handed weapon: I'll wield it two-handed in my regular attacks (in my turn) and I'll still be able to wield it one-handed the rest of the round (for opportunity attacks).
I lose some damage and gain substantial AC (with magic vestment + karma bead, having the shield up is an extra 5 to AC at level 12). It's up to debate if it's worth it or not, but if I want to tank I think it it's not a bad deal.
Of course, I agree slayer or ranger (or fighter, for that matter) would be the right classes to properly build a TWF S&B character. It's because I want to play a tanky inquisitor (the other two melee characters are more striker-like and not too tough) that I have to settle for this middle ground where I'm basically a two-handed build (which only needs power attack) but with a shield and a one-handed weapon.
This is a small thing compared to the rest of the build, but since youre playing a dwarf, you dont need mithral full plate. Also, I really like the travel domain for the extra fun movement stuff.
Having played a similar build myself (half orc instead of dwarf, but should still apply), I fully recommend the shield dancer setup.
I would personally push heavy armor proff back to 9, or even not take it at all. You've got the right idea with extend rods and magic vestment, and a breastplate is still +6 to ac vs +9 (max dex 1) for full plate.
Teamwork feats I recommend (and remember you can swap out the last one you've acquired fairly easily) include outflank, precise strike, escape route, and stealth synergy. I don't think Broken Wing Gambit works with solo tactics, as your allies don't have the feat themselves.
Travel domain (and exploration subdomain, which is what I used) is way better than protection. That move-action not-quite-dim-door is amazing for setting up flanking positions.
Sure you will, at least you will with the attacks you are anticipating through Outflank and Paired Opportunist.
Well, I've thinking about the build for days and that didn't cross my mind no matter how many times I envisioned getting opportunity attacks through my own crits LOL.
I'm so used to assuming AoO are outside of my turn, so thanks a lot for that. Actually I'm much happier now about going the two-handed route instead of TWF. Besides the lack of feats, now that I'm fully aware that the extra two-handed damage from STR and PA will apply not only in my regular attacks but also in most of my AoO, I'm more convinced about the viability of the build damage-wise.
Now I have to think if 2 extra points of damage (elven curve blade vs scimitar) are worth not being able to do "regular" opportunity attacks outside of my turn (especially considering there's a ranger in my group who also has outflank). But these are just details. :)
This is a small thing compared to the rest of the build, but since youre playing a dwarf, you dont need mithral full plate.
Mithral is useful because I need light or medium armor for Stalwart (level 11 inquisitor trait), and because with 14 DEX and (hopefully) a +2 DEX ioun stone I can have a +3 DEX bonus to AC. 16 DEX is as far as I'll be able to go, so best to squeeze everything out of it.
Few things make my skin crawl more than that wicked gleam in the GM's eye when he asks, "Are you sleeping in your Armor?" If you sleep in Medium or Heavy Armor, you wake up Fatigued.
This is a drawback for sure. I'm thinking, as a possible alternative, going human for more STR (with less WIS), an extra feat (or two, since steel soul won't be an option), and the Hearth of the Fields trait, which replaces skilled and allows me to ignore an effect that would cause me to become fatigued once per day. The loss of +4 to all saves against spells surely hurts and has the potential to affect my tankiness, but it seems an interesting alternative nevertheless.
Travel domain (and exploration subdomain, which is what I used) is way better than protection. That move-action not-quite-dim-door is amazing for setting up flanking positions.
That seems to be the general consensum and I tend to agree, so Travel it is!
This gave me a lot of tips, many thanks to everyone for their contributions. Also, please feel free to discuss other options with less DM-dependent restrictions. It's always interesting to get ideas for future builds in other games :D
Even if you are getting AoOs on your own turn, there are tactical advantages to threatening the whole round. Remember, as a tank you need to actually protect your squishy friends. If you aren't actively threatening there's nothing stopping an intelligent enemy from walking past you to stab the wizard. Prone enemies won't hesitate to stand. Casters gonna cast in your face, archers gonna arch.
It sounds like you can just choose to not don the shield in those situations, but then you could make the wrong call or forget to shift stances.
As for sleeping in armor just buy a wand of keep watch or learn the spell.Or maybe a Wand of Bed of Iron?
or the comfort enchangment
Neither Comfort, or the similar Restful, are rules legal to the OP. One is in the Society Field Guide and the other in the ACG.
Even if you are getting AoOs on your own turn, there are tactical advantages to threatening the whole round.
Yes, I think I'd rather threaten out of turn and lose 2 points of damage per attack than go for an actual two-handed weapon.
Neither Comfort, or the similar Restful, are rules legal to the OP. One is in the Society Field Guide and the other in the ACG.
Yes, and same with Bed of Iron. It's a shame, because those were all very simple, efficient solutions to the problem. I'm thinking that, if all sources were allowed, Hellknight Plate + Mithral + Restful + Armor Expert trait would even save me the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat. Ah, well! It is what it is.