As the title suggests:
Half-orc Skald (Belkin War Drummer, Sunsinger) VMC Bard
Half-Elf Inquisitor (Monster Tactician) VMC Rogue
Human Druid (Nature Fang) VMC Barbarian
The Skald intends to be a force multiplier, on several levels, never entering actual combat until the second round (minimum). Going to pump the abilities of ANY summoned creatures (through sharing rage powers, combat teamworks feats, etc) that the Inquisitor or Druid pump out via Inspire Rage and Inspire Courage (once he has 4th level spells and the capability to have two performances going). Can perform role of backup healer and arcane utility through UMD. Also has a trick in store for anyone that manages to kill a summoned monster that has the potential for permanent debuffs. Intimidation/Bluff Focused for demoralization.
The Inquisitor will be a summoner of sorts (Augmented Summoning), scout, trapfinder, and flanking/damage dealer. Domain is, as of yet, undetermined. Looking for a stacking archetype with Monster Tactician but NOT something that trades out Stalwart. Can also perform role of backup healer. Flanking role is not set in stone. Ranged might be a better option.
The Druid is planning on being a melee combatant. Worships Gorum and will be using a twohanded weapon and charging in with Vital Strike though Gorum's Divine Fighting Technique. Crocodile domain for familiar and added sneak attack. May multiclass for 4 levels of Rogue (Scout), might not.
Some thoughts I had was a ranged damaged dealer that can hit HARD with fire damage. Maybe a Pyrokineticist or a Witch (Havoker) that uses fire blast. There are reasons for the choice of Fire. I am leaning more towards the Witch for the arcane full casting, even without the Havoker archetype, as a single level dip into sorcerer can help with the damage issue.
So, thoughts?
I'd consider going for an Alchemist. Bombs have good fire damage, and discoveries are only going to make them better. You have a ton of utility, great self-buffs, and you can make alchemical items with ease.
The one thing I think the group may be hurting for is some of the out-of-combat utility magic. I'd consider an Arcanist, maybe picking up the Admixture Wizard ability through an exploit, and that sweet, delicious Potent Magic. If you want to go all-in on fire, you can make some fun stuff happen early with Spell Specialization, too. A human Arcanist with Spell Focus (Evocation), Spell Specialization (Burning Hands or Snowball), and Potent Magic as your level 1 exploit can KO almost anything without much fuss.
Pick up Admixture at 3 and Dimensional Slide at 5, and you're off to the races. You can change your Specialized Spell at even levels, which coincides with new spell levels quite nicely.
Some interesting/strong choices include:
Scorching Ray at 4 (bump CL with Potent magic for 2nd ray).
Fireball at 6 (10d6!)
Dragon's Breath at 8
From there it's really up to you where to specialize. This is also relatively low-investment, so it puts you in a good place to provide your party with Teleport, knowledge skills, Mage Armor for the Druid's AC, and other various little benefits that a Wizard (or Arcanist) bring to the table.
Vmc pally life Oracle?
Hmm, its possible though the party is tending to wards a more Chaotic and Neutral alignment. Inserting a character that is bound to be more Lawful could be a problem. The Good, not so much issue there. Perhaps a Pei Zin Oracle with the Life Mystery could fill in the big healer role. Though, that does make the party very heavy in the Divine casting. Hmm....
I assume you're building a 4 person party, then?
I would look for an arcane caster that can battlefield control or blast as the situation demands. But I really like my battlefields controlled.
Yes, anything more than four people will really bog down the game, especially with the plans of using summoned monsters. Pet classes are being advised against, though not banned.
Yeah, arcane caster is kind of what I had in mind, preferably a full cater. Lowering the enemy's saving throws is a bit ideal as well, as it plays into the Skald's tactics.
I'd consider going for an Alchemist. Bombs have good fire damage, and discoveries are only going to make them better. You have a ton of utility, great self-buffs, and you can make alchemical items with ease.
It is definitely a possibility. I usually don't see the Alchemist as fitting the role of battlefield control or arcane support.
Finally, don't underestimate the power of a second dedicated mass-buffer. Having a wizard or cleric out there backing up the skald with spells like Bless or Haste or other mass-effect spells can pay huge dividends when one of the two summoners doubles the front line with melee allies. Druid of Gorum in front, holding the line? Suddenly they're joined by 2 celestial dogs, all +1 to attack from Bless, the dogs gaining +2 attack/damage from Augmented Summoning, everyone benefitting from a +2 Flanking bonus as that same cleric (tank) moves up to eat an AoO and get in position, and finally the skald lending everyone another +1 attack/damage from Rage. Suddenly, it's time to party!
It gets better than that. All summoned creatures will be able to benefit from the Inquisitor's teamwork feats, just one at 5th level, and then more as they level. Between Inspire Rage, Inspire Courage (via Virtuoso Performance spell), Outflank, Amplified Rage, and Warleader's Rage (and whatever other actual buff spells) they can cast, things will get crazy.
Anyway, I am looking for specific holes in the party that need to be filled and weaknesses shored up.
The one thing I think the group may be hurting for is some of the out-of-combat utility magic. I'd consider an Arcanist, maybe picking up the Admixture Wizard ability through an exploit, and that sweet, delicious Potent Magic. If you want to go all-in on fire, you can make some fun stuff happen early with Spell Specialization, too. A human Arcanist with Spell Focus (Evocation), Spell Specialization (Burning Hands or Snowball), and Potent Magic as your level 1 exploit can KO almost anything without much fuss.
Arcanist has some serious potential, especially with Potent Magic. Admixture makes things interesting. The party has a reliable way of making the enemy vulnerable to fire (and possibly cold, if fire immunities pop up). Benthic Spell (metamagic) can make up for the instances where elemental damages are unreliable.
For sure - I'd even consider Quick Study and using a handful of divinations before burning extra spell levels on Benthic. There are also plenty of good Force options- Battering Blast is BONKERS, for example.
I wouldn't worry too much about immunities, with Admixture. It's not too common for something to be highly resistant/immune to all energy types, so you can finagle it on the fly if you need to, and the things that are resistant/immune are likely going to have DR, so Benthic still sort of hoses you, just differently. I think as a mid-level Arcanist, it'll be really hard to have nothing useful to do in a round, whether or not it's blasty. Being into evocations doesn't preclude you from Haste, Wall of Force, or 100 other options, you know?
It looks like you have the support role covered with the skald, the druid is going for a striker role, and I tend to use summoned monsters as control although some treat it more like a striker (really depends on what you summon and how you place them.)
If everything is covered, I usually go for a second striker next. If the inquisitor wants to use his summons mostly as strikers, then a dedicated control specialist would be most useful.
While there are a lot of ways to do control and striker, for this party I would actually consider an alchemist with control style bomb discoveries (thinks like tanglefoot bomb and grease bomb), as that way he can cover whichever role the inquisitor doesn't pretty well.
Some thoughts I had was a ranged damaged dealer that can hit HARD with fire damage. Maybe a Pyrokineticist or a Witch (Havoker) that uses fire blast. There are reasons for the choice of Fire. I am leaning more towards the Witch for the arcane full casting, even without the Havoker archetype, as a single level dip into sorcerer can help with the damage issue.
Admixture blaster wizards are a ton of fun.
I second the alchemist here. Grenadier that specializes in the different types of bomb elemental damage. The ability to make and hand out longer lasting extracts like barkskin to the rest of the party is nice. And a one time heavy investment in a high CL potion + alchemical allocation extracts will make you all extra nasty.
Thanks for all the replies. After last night (effectively game session -1 "Pre-Game 0") everyone got their concepts finalized and modified for team cohesion. The 4th party member surprised me after we discussed the options for the 4th niche role. After mentioning Arcanist and Alchemist as potential options (and conferring with the Inquisitor, who decided to change his VMC to something else), they brought up the possibility of an Unchained Rogue (Eldritch Scoundrel) VMC Alchemist, if I was willing to allow the Underground Chemist archetype to work with Eldritch Scoundrel (a bit of a grey area). I gave the thumbs up. It is not exactly what I had in mind, but it gives access to the wiz/sorc spell list, and has damage dealing potential in spades. Bonus? Not as squishy.
Human Skald (Sunsinger, Belkin War Drummer) VMC Bard
-Focused Study (Survival) [eventually for Eldritch Heritage: Orc]
-Lingering Performance
--Community Minded
--Fate's Favored
Roles: Force Multiplier (through Inspire & Buffs), Emergency Healing, Flanking Assist
Main Tactics: Inspire Rage + Share Rage Powers (add in Inspire Courage once 4th level spells are attained). Provide flank as needed.
Half-Orc Inquisitor (Monster Tactician) VMC Cavalier (Flame Order)
Domain: Rage
-Spell Focus (Conjuration)
--Fates Favored
--Toothy
Roles: Force Multiplier (Tactician/Teamwork feats & buffs), Emergency Healing, Flanking Assist
Main Tactics: Summon Monsters (with access to teamwork feat(s)) for the bard to buff, Share Amplified Rage through Tactican (and other teamwork feats), Warleader's Rage feat to allow allies to spread out, wade into combat when appropriate.
Half-Elf (Half-Drow) Druid (Nature Fang) VMC Barbarian
Nature Bond: Crocodile (Protector)
Death Roll ability traded for Divine Fighting Style (Gorum)
-Fey Foundling
--Heirloom Weapon: Proficiency (Greatsword)
--Reactionary
**Is going to pick up Trapfinding as a slayer talent, eventually**
Roles: Frontline Melee, Divine control, Emergency Healing, Traps
Main tactics: Buff and Smash face. Rely on shared rage powers (Lesser celestial totem) and fey foundling to keep him healthy in battle from healing. Manage traps.
Samsaran Unchained Rogue (Eldritch Scoundrel, Underground Chemist) VMC Alchemist
---Feats/Traits/Etc to be determined.
Roles: Battlefield Control, Arcane Support, Artillery, Utility
Main Tactics: Lock down enemies through spells, blast them with spells/bombs. Assist in combat when necessary.
Anyone got suggestions on improvements on any of the characters? Especially with the Unchained Rogue. With the pick of Samsaran, they are going to want to cherry pick useful spells. Each character appears to be taking ranks in UMD, with the Skald and Rogue going to be the best out of the lot. The Skald and Rogue appear to be interested in fill some aspect of party face, and have the ability to do so.
I recommend the witch because I like witches. That is all.
Bumping the thread.
The 4th party member has settled on the concept of the Samsaran UnChained Rogue (Eldritch Scoundrel, Underground Chemist) VMC Alchemist.
What kind of feats would you all recommend? Traits? Rogue Talents? Spells? Ranged/melee weapon's?
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A Human Wizard vmc Oracle for "skill at arms" to single class into ELdritch Knight, prestigious spellcaster and you're a full caster with some extra bab.