Hello,
I am fairly new to Pathfinder and character creation but I have a concept that I need advice to flesh out.
My concept is a dex to damage swashbuckler as the title says. I have been told that the Inspired Blade archetype is good for this. My plan is to multiclass(?) rogue to gain the use of two weapons and skills like escape artist and other useful dex heavy skills.
I'm looking for any and all advice to help me flesh out this character build. This is my second character and I had a lot of assistance with my first so any and all advice is appreciated.
Thank you
If you're going to be using two-weapon fighting then you probably only want one level in swashbuckler. Their most reliable boost as they go up levels is bonus damage when using one weapon only. Swashbuckler 1 / unchained rogue X should work pretty well and doesn't require the inspired blade archetype, which specialises in the use of rapiers. It would get dex to damage at character level 4 and sneak attack before that.
You might want to be a halfling and take feats like this:
1: Two-weapon fighting (& weapon finesse via swashbuckler's finesse)
3: Risky fighting
Rogue talent 2: Combat trick (exotic weapon proficiency - wakizashi or waveblade)
5: Twist away
Rogue talent 4: Umbral gear or trap spotter or something
7: Hellcat stealth
Rogue talent 6: Dampen presence
9: Lunge
Rogue talent 8: Emboldening strike
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Inspired Blade is good, because you get Weapon Focus (Rapier) as a "bonus" feat, and Swashbuckler's Finesse gives you free "weapon finesse" you can snag Fencing Grace right out of the blood gate.
you don't want to go Two-weapon fighting with a Swashbuckler, as they need a free hand available.
If you want to multiclass into Unchained Rogue for sneak attack, look into using Feint maneuvers against your opponents
Like avr said, you probably want to dip into swashbuckler instead of rogue. If you're going swah for bab then I recommend the virtuous bravo paladin instead. You get your deeds at 4th and are a paladin. The only problem is that paladins are weak with twf since they don't bonus feats.
The Inspired Blade archetype gives you both Weapon Finesse and Weapon Focus (Rapier) at level one, which means you can take Fencing Grace for Dex to Damage at level one easily. But it only works for Rapiers, which aren't that good for two weapon fighting. Regular Swashbuckler gives you Weapon Finesse, but so does Rogue. And if you go Unchained Rogue, you can get Dex to Damage with any light weapon at class level 3 without having to use a feat. If you want to use different weapons for fighting, you can take Slashing Grace at character level 3. With fighting with 2 weapons, you want both of them to be Light so the penalties are at their lowest.
Thank you all for the advice.
I think I may drop the two weapon fighting in favor of the first level dex to damage with fencing grace.
What would another strong multiclass option be? As I stated above I am fairly new to building PF characters and am looking for a multiclass that will really stand out and help advance the dex to damage build.
I had heard that at one time multiclassing into gunslinger was good but that the pool for panache and Grit were separated.
Man, if you are more set on Swahbuckler than UnChained Rogue, then take a level of swashie and go Paladin or Bloodrager. If you aren't being an UnChained Rogue then you should probably have spells, not panache tricks that don't equate to UC Rogue skill unlocks, ever.
Dex to damage in one round with a rapier, do that, be happy with everything the swashbuckler will ever give you.
Now be useful and have a fun character that can be useful, and multiclass into something, well, useful. With spells and stuff that is useful for everyone in the party.
Swashbucklers don't even deal enough damage outright to be always useful. Bloodrage or smite, or anything helpful for anyone other than you, because swashies aren't powerful enough to pull their weight with damage, unless you are super face.
And you can still face as a UC Rogue, Paladin, or Bloodrager.
Or one level of swashie and two levels of Paladin and then go Hooded Champion Ranger or Kata Master Monk, surprise everyone.
Why do you want to multiclass? Under 3.x most of the classes where pretty front loaded so multiclassing gave you a significant power boost. In Pathfinder the opposite is true. Now most classes continue to gain and improve class features as they level up. In almost all cases multiclassing will cause your character to be less powerful. Even prestige classes are now weaker than the single classed characters. Unless you are looking for something specific you are probably best sticking to a single class.
The swashbuckler already has most of the DEX based skills as class skills. They may have less points than a rouge but You can always put your favored class bonus to skills instead of HP. Go for a human with an INT of at least 12 and this gets you 6 skill points per level. About the only DEX based skill swashbucklers do not have as a class skill is stealth. This can easily be picked up with a trait.
Inspired blade swashbuckler 1 / (alchemist, investigator, bard, skald or occultist) X works very well. You have a spare hand to use extracts or spells to buff with, and the action economy works out pretty well.
Inspired blade swashbuckler 5 / urban bloodrager 1 / (unarchetyped or weapon master) fighter X also works. A dash of rage helps and the bloodrager level also lets you use some wands without use magic device. The fighter levels provide more benefit than the later levels of swashbuckler.
Note: My post is made under the presumption that you want to go pure martial.
What would another strong multiclass option be? As I stated above I am fairly new to building PF characters and am looking for a multiclass that will really stand out and help advance the dex to damage build.
Depends on what you want. A Swashbuckler's main damage source (and the only reason to stay in class) is Precise Strike, which adds one damage per Swashbuckler level. Thus, a dip or multiclass has to be worth more than that.
The best dip would probably be into Savage Technologist Barbarian (if that book isn't allowed, Urban Barbarian also works fine) - take Extra Rage and you're good to go.Two levels in Mutagenic Mauler Brawler are also good - another +4 to Dex (warning: Lowers your already weak will save!), and pseudo-TWF.
Likewise, a few levels in Mutation Warrior Fighter grant the same +4 Dex, bonus feats (e.g. Weapon Specialization), and Weapon Training (which can be enhanced with Gloves of Dueling).
If you use the suggested Virtuous Bravo Paladin as a base (which is basically Swashbuckler, only in good*), you have more reason to stay in-class, als not only Precise Strike, but also Smite Evil and Lay on Hands scale with your level. Of course, Virtuous Bravo couldn't multiclass with Barbarian anyway (although Urban Bloodrager would be possible).
*) Seriously, unless your character concept doesn't work with lawful good (more "pirate" than "three musketeers", for instance), there's almost no reason to use a Swashbuckler instead of Virtuous Bravo. Way better saves, self healing, and better damage when it counts. And that's without counting all the other cool Paladin stuff that's vastly superior to deeds!
I had heard that at one time multiclassing into gunslinger was good but that the pool for panache and Grit were separated.
I really don't see the benefit of a Swashbuckler/Gunslinger multiclass. Gunslinger is a crappy class that only does something for you when you want to focus on firearms, while Swashbuckler is a crappy class that only functions when you focus on a single one-handed melee weapon. Most deeds are either crap, only work for the respective weapon type, or are crap and only work for the respective weapon type. I really don't see any noteable synergy.
Thank you all for the awesome advice!
I will take it all into consideration as I think through my build a bit more thoroughly!
If you're prepared to skip actual swashbuckler levels
Human Fighter
1 Weapon Finesse, Possessed Hand, Slashing Grace
2 Two-Weapon Fighting
3 Hand's Autonomy
4 Two-Weapon GraceDex to hit and damage at lvl 1 using 1 weapon, and at level 4 using 2
Slashing Grace requires Weapon Focus just like Fencing Grace does.
I'd also suggest Deadly Agility since it doesn't require a second feat to apply it to your secondary weapon.
It's a 3PP feat, it's not much of a supprise that it's stronger than the Paizo options.