Geez guys, you forgot the obvious. Take a goblin, and max out the Dexterity if you can.
Then take levels in Rogue, and use the Knife Master archetype.
Put 3 ranks into Knowledge Religion, and worship Pharasma. You then get +2 to hit with daggers, and this stacks. It's called Deific Obedience, and you can find it in Inner Sea Gods.
Start the PC with blowing one of your character traits in Indomitable Faith, and your first level feat in Iron Will. Trust me.
Later on, take Twist Away as a feat. You can substitute your Reflex save for your Fortitude. At least I think that's what it is called.
Do what you can to up your sneak attack damage with rogue talents, like Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Deadly Sneak etc.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/magic-weapon-special-abi lities/agile
Oh, and see if you can grab Outflank as a teamwork feat with the party warrior.
Geez guys, you forgot the obvious.
If you play a rogue, be prepared to spend feats and gold just trying to keep up with everyone else, accuracy-wise.
[. . .]
If you play a Rogue, for the love of all things holy invest in your saves. Traits, items, feats if you can spare them - get your Will and Fort up.
Eh herm. You suggest spending a trait and three feats getting your to-hit and saves to a level still beneath what a chained or Unchained monk reaches matter-of-course. And then you can get started on building towards Weapon Finesse or TWF or Pirhanna Strike - or Gang Up or Two Weapon Feint or any of the other feats you need to reliably get off Sneak Attacks.
What part of this is something obvious us guys forgot? Because I distinctly remember writing “be prepared to spend feats and gold to keep up with everyone else.”
What part of this is something obvious us guys forgot? Because I distinctly remember writing “be prepared to spend feats and gold to keep up with everyone else.”
Ah, Rogue hate. Naw, goblins are perfect for them. At minimum, they get +11 to Stealth starting out, and that doesn't count the +4 Dexterity and skill ranks.
Bad idea. Then you get sickened penalties for an hour if you drink too much. Me personally, I don't like the deity that much, and would rather have a permanent bonus so I don't have to remember to activate this trait.
Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 64, Advanced Player's Guide pg. 1
Requirement(s) Cayden Cailean
Cayden Cailean’s holy brews invigorate your mind, making you less susceptible to mental attacks. Whenever you imbibe any alcoholic beverage, you gain a +2 trait bonus on saves against mind affecting effects for 1 hour.
The Okayo Swashbuckler is phenomenal, and stacks well with a 1 lvl dip into Scaled Fist Monk. Flurry and Precise Strike? Yes please. Any Light weapon with a decent crit range will let you recoup Panache and use Piranha Strike (I suggest the waveblade). Your AC will be obscene, and at 4th level your damage will be fantastic.
An alternative build with even more damage is the Daring Champion Cavalier. First level Kata Master Monk, then Daring Champion X. At level 5 you'd be precise strike flurrying with monk weapons AND stacking Challenge on top of it all.
The Warrior Poet Samurai is also worth a look, BTW. Less optimal, but still very fun. Works in place of Daring Champion in the above build.
The Okayo (Corsair) Swashbuckler is phenomenal...Except for goblins, who are charisma-dumped.
Thanks folks! So okay, usually they use Swashbuckler...The problem with getting finesse from Swashbuckler is that you're then tied down as to what weapons your rogue can use. Saps, for instance, are neither slashing nor piercing. With sufficient system mastery, swash is a good rogue stack in a charismatic race -- but in a charisma-penalized race subject to point-buy, I'd look elsewhere. (So, leave swash-dips to halfling rogues; go dex-ragers for your martial dip with goblins.)
Maybe this stuff could work to play straight rogue too? Also, why exactly the vanilla rogue (not unchained) isn't working that good compared to other classes?(i'm curious)You save a feat (Weapon Finesse), a pile of money (dex>damage without Keen), and gain a lot of abilities going from core to unchained.
The mainly issue i can see with rogue is what do you do when the monster is immune to your SA?
As early as 4th in the build I submitted, you'll have a 24 dex w/belt, raging to 28, and gaining +9 dex bonus to damage. 1d3+9 (no sneak) with a non-magical weapon is a lot better than what most support builds, even many martials, are capable of dishing out at that level when denied their most destructive mechanic by circumstances. And...throwing? ~10.5 average is about what the greatsword barbarian is getting when he has to chuck a javelin.
You'll do fine.
3 level Hunter dip with pack flanking. Then ride your pet and flank all the time. With Escape Route you dont need acrobatics to avoid aoo.That'll only work for a few levels, then the pet increasingly dies during opening salvos because it's not leveling. --You can do it if you're not a "professional" rogue (more than four levels), in which case you're not really a rogue, but just some other class who's dipped it for sneak dice.
Ah, Rogue hate. Naw, goblins are perfect for them. At minimum, they get +11 to Stealth starting out, and that doesn't count the +4 Dexterity and skill ranks.Indeed. With the right equipment, he'll very quickly be able to beat the average schmo rolling a 20 on his Perception check.
You did read the OPs opening post where he requests a non UC build?It's actually not that big of deal: he'll be a core rogue, and goblin will do exceptionally. He'll have to eat a feat, and spend gold on Keen. (It be interesting to hear the reason that his GM is precluding unchained.)
Also one that uses either Dogslicers or Horseslicer?
Well that's easy: he's named his masterwork dagger "Dogslicer". (And, if this particular goblin was born on the bayou, there's no reason not to grab another +1/+1 attack and damage.) --It's an open secret that most racial weapons suck; the OP shouldn't feel required to stick to them.
Perhaps that's a lesson he learned from that time a gnome tried using a flickmace to keep from being eaten.
Ah, Rogue hate. Naw, goblins are perfect for them. At minimum, they get +11 to Stealth starting out, and that doesn't count the +4 Dexterity and skill ranks.
With a bare minimum of acrimony, I must ask: why in the world would I hate rogues? I assure you, I don't have any deep emotional connection to the class.
Goblins are spectacular at stealth. That has no bearing on whether or not playing a rogue would be the optimal way to build the character the OP asked us to help them build. Investigators get Stealth as a class skill too, as does anyone willing to spend a trait. A straight class Swashbuckler who made such a purchase would be better at stealth than a Rogue, even.
Bad idea. Then you get sickened penalties for an hour if you drink too much. Me personally, I don't like the deity that much, and would rather have a permanent bonus so I don't have to remember to activate this trait.
You're welcome to dislike whichever gods you want. I'm practically brimming over with my own dislike for the various unstatted outsiders, so I'm not one to judge. Myself, I'm a Cayden Cailean fan; he's like Dionysus if Dionysus didn't dismember people. All of the partying, lack of constraint, and down-with-the-establishment-ism with none of the, erm, dismemberment. What can I say, I'm a sucker for gods that don't dismember people. In any case, twenty-four mouthfuls of something mildly alcholic spread out over the course of the day wouldn't sicken even a lightweight goblin. So as long as we're giving optimization advice without regard to flavor, I'll recommend good ol' Oh be Joyful to anyone who needs help resisting mind control.
The problem with getting finesse from Swashbuckler is that you're then tied down as to what weapons your rogue can use. Saps, for instance, are neither slashing nor piercing. With sufficient system mastery, swash is a good rogue stack in a charismatic race -- but in a charisma-penalized race subject to point-buy, I'd look elsewhere. (So, leave swash-dips to halfling rogues; go dex-ragers for your martial dip with goblins.)
The Swashbuckler dip would be in Inspired Blade but even were it not, the OP said that they want to have a decent Charisma. If they'll be investing in it anyway, they might as well get some benefit out of it.
If the OP wanted to build a Rogue, I'd probably recomend something besides Swashbuckler, something more synergistic with Sap Master - but that's not what they said they wanted to build. They said they wanted to fight in melee. With a dogslicer. Swashbuckler's going to do that better than anything except, perhaps, a Swashbuckler multiclass.
As early as 4th in the build I submitted, you'll have a 24 dex w/belt, raging to 28, and gaining +9 dex bonus to damage. 1d3+9 (no sneak) with a non-magical weapon is a lot better than what most support builds, even many martials, are capable of dishing out at that level when denied their most destructive mechanic by circumstances. And...throwing? ~10.5 average is about what the greatsword barbarian is getting when he has to chuck a javelin.
Firstly, unchained classes are off the table. Secondly, a Rogue'll be without Sneak Attack and full attack much more frequently than a Barbarian'll be chucking javelins.
But the thing that really gets me here is . . . how in the world is a Rogue a support class? How precisely are they supporting anyone?
It's an open secret that most racial weapons suck; the OP shouldn't feel required to stick to them.
Perhaps that's a lesson he learned from that time a gnome tried using a flickmace to keep from being eaten.
Dogslicers are reflavored shortswords. They aren't great, but they won't cripple your character to use. And building the character you envision with the Pathfinder ruleset is the great joy of character building - if your goal is to build as powerful a character as possible, you'll build the same character every time. And that'd be boring.
The Okayo (Corsair) Swashbuckler is phenomenal...Except for goblins, who are charisma-dumped.
The OP expressed an interest in bumping his Charisma, despite the racial penalty. Doing so isn't optimal, certainly, and is painful on a pointbuy. But so long as his Dex and Con are high enough, his charisma really has very little bearing on the effectiveness of the builds I have suggested.
Thanks everyone, really! I've been hella busy so i'm late with my answer, i'm sorry!
The reason with my GM unchained denial it's a mistery for me too, but i wont discuss this stuff, he said that and for me it's enough, i'll respect his choice without arguing about.
I didn't had time to set some builds yet, maybe tomorrow :C!
I prefer staying with swashbuckler as first class. I should set an inspired blade one, a vanilla swash and maybe something else dipping just to see how they appear. Once done (and finally chosen) i would really love some advice on how to build (i'm zero when it comes to building).
Anyway your advices are like honey for me, so really guys thanks!
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Here's an example Dawnflower Dervish, which gives you some charisma, and Perform Sing! At lvl 2, Versatile Performance will allow you to use Perform Sing for Bluff and Sense Motive.
With Battle Dance, at lvl 1 you have +8 to hit for 1d4+7 damage, along with 19 AC and 14 HP.
Note: My interpretation of Goblin intellectual abilities is to give them reasonable intelligence and low wisdom.
Male goblin bard (dawnflower dervish) 1 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Magic 34, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 156)
NG Small humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +5 Dex, +1 size)
hp 14 (1d8+6)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +1
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee scimitar +6 (1d4+5/18-20)
Special Attacks bardic performance 5 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate [DC 11], inspire courage +1), battle dance: inspire courage
Bard (Dawnflower Dervish) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +2)
. . 1st (2/day)—cure light wounds, expeditious retreat
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, message, prestidigitation, read magic
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 6, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 13
Base Atk +0; CMB -3; CMD 12
Feats Dervish Dance[ISWG], Toughness
Traits resilient, one more
Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +1, Diplomacy +5, Escape Artist +8, Perception +3, Perform (sing) +5, Ride +8, Stealth +16; Racial Modifiers +4 Ride, +4 Stealth
Languages Common, Goblin
SQ battle dance
Other Gear studded leather, scimitar, backpack, bedroll, waterskin, 61 gp, 9 sp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Bardic Performance (standard action, 5 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Battle Dance (move action) A Dawnflower dervish is trained in the use of the Perform skill, especially dance, to create magical effects on himself. This works like bardic performance, except that the Dawnflower dervish’s performances grant double their normal bonuses, but th
Battle Dance: Inspire Courage +2 (Su) Morale bonus on some saving throws, attack and damage rolls.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Dervish Dance Use Dex modifier instead of Str modifier with scimitar
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at https://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Inc.®, and are used under license.
At lvl 3, you can take Arcane Strike, so you don't need a magic weapon for a while.
So my first build focuses on damage and survivability. It hits it's peak at level six, with each attack adding a +16 to Damage. (+5 Dex, +5 Precise Strike, +2 Weapon Specialization, +4 Piranha Strike). Chained Monk Flurry often leads to many misses, so you should forgo Piranha Strike when attacking enemies with high AC. Your weakness will be your Will Save, so look for ways to shore it up.
EDIT: You can also apply precise strike to shuriken when attacking enemies within 30 ft.
The concept of this build is to flurry a high crit monk weapon enchanted with Agile. As Precise Strike doesn't multiply on a Critical, the crit range is for gaining Panache. You begin with a level of swash for HP, BAB and armor. At level two you dip into Sohei Monk to pick up the ability to Flurry in armor as well as Devoted Guardian. You then continue with four more levels of Okayo to reach Ki Panache and Swashbucklers Weapon Training. Ki Panache ups your damage by allowing you to make extra attacks, while Swashbucklers Weapon Training doubles the crit range of your preferred weapons. After that you may continue with Okayo for more Precise Strike damage, or exit and begin leveling another synergistic class.
Ability Scores: 10 Str, 19 Dex, 12 Cha, 14 Con. You'll be wearing armor, so you can't afford the low carry capacity of an 8 strength. Put your 4th level ability score boost into Dex to reach 20.
Feats:
Piranha Strike (1st Lvl Feat)
Combat Reflexes or Dodge (Monk Bonus Feat)
Extra Panache (3rd Lvl Feat)
Weapon Focus (5th Lvl Feat)
Weapon Specialization (Swash Bonus Feat)
Here's an example Dawnflower Dervish, which gives you some charisma, and Perform Sing! At lvl 2, Versatile Performance will allow you to use Perform Sing for Bluff and Sense Motive.
With Battle Dance, at lvl 1 you have +8 to hit for 1d4+7 damage, along with 19 AC and 14 HP.
Note: My interpretation of Goblin intellectual abilities is to give them reasonable intelligence and low wisdom.
** spoiler omitted **...
The spell Allegro seriously compliments your build.
You did read the OPs opening post where he requests a non UC build? Also one that uses either Dogslicers or Horseslicer? A lot of the standard goblin builds get thrown out if you actually try and conform to the OPs request.Geez guys, you forgot the obvious. Take a goblin, and max out the Dexterity if you can.
Then take levels in Rogue, and use the Knife Master archetype.
Put 3 ranks into Knowledge Religion, and worship Pharasma. You then get +2 to hit with daggers, and this stacks. It's called Deific Obedience, and you can find it in Inner Sea Gods.
Start the PC with blowing one of your character traits in Indomitable Faith, and your first level feat in Iron Will. Trust me.
Later on, take Twist Away as a feat. You can substitute your Reflex save for your Fortitude. At least I think that's what it is called.
Do what you can to up your sneak attack damage with rogue talents, like Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Deadly Sneak etc.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/magic-weapon-special-abi lities/agile
Oh, and see if you can grab Outflank as a teamwork feat with the party warrior.
Wrong. I used a regular Rogue for the build. Check out the url I used. You still get Dexterity to damage.
The rules on alcohol say you can only have conx2+1 drinks per day. After that you become sickened for 1 hour per additional drinks. This is a poison effect so classes that become immune to poison don't get sickened or addicted. Rather ironic for the Drunken Master that they get generally get immunity to poison.
Hm. I think that at some point we have to apply common sense to the rules as written, when they've been written in a way contrary to common sense (the death from exposure rules, for instance) - obviously you can't fill Conx2+1 bathtubs with booze and down them without so much as a Fort save - likewise, a few sips spread out over the day would hardly sicken the faithful Caydenite.
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The OP expressed an interest in bumping his Charisma, despite the racial penalty. Doing so isn't optimal, certainly, and is painful on a pointbuy. But so long as his Dex and Con are high enough, his charisma really has very little bearing on the effectiveness of the builds I have suggested.The Okayo (Corsair) Swashbuckler is phenomenal...Except for goblins, who are charisma-dumped.
You're trying to have your cake and eat it too, and that doesn't work. There is an exactly inverse correlation between cake and no-cake, and between "painful(ly)...(sub)optimal" and "effectiveness".
Pisspoor charisma will definitely have a bearing on panache usage by a Swashbuckler, which is a major factor in going for it as a dip instead of simply relegating a feat for Weapon Finesse, or getting it from another class dip instead, for a version that'll work with 100% of finessable weapons rather than a subset.
The difference between a 5 charisma and a 10 charisma is 6 point-buy in a goblin, and 9 points to get it to providing a +1 bonus. YOU ARE A GOBLIN; 98% of everything you meet is going to going to treat you as if you had a charisma of 2, so you might as well go with the flow.
~ ~ ~
Goblin dex-rager, Take #2 (no unchained classes)
STR- 5
Dex++ 21 (17,14,14,14,7,7 20pt array)
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 14
CHA- 5
Traits: Bruising Intellect, Magical Knack:Hunter
01 Bloodrager1 [Id Rager(Whimsy:Improved Dirty Trick)/Urban], Agile Maneuvers
* At 1st level, you are a support character who Dirty Tricks.
02 Hunter1 [Primal Companion][Evolution Pool:2]
* "Say 'hello' to my snarling friend."
03 Fighter1 [Gendarme:Mounted Combat,Skill Focus(ride)], Boon Companion
04 Hunter2 [Outflank], Dex>22
05 Hunter3 [Hunter tactics][teamwork feat:Paired Opportunists], Indomitable Mount
06 Hunter4 (2nd-level spells)
07 Hunter5 Combat Expertise
08 Hunter6 [teamwork feat:Pack Flanking]
Equipment: +1/Agile/Fortuitous dogslicer (Effortless Lace'd), various mount gear
(Well that was silly.... Craft a beautiful build, and then forget to put Weapon Finesse in it!)
The OP expressed an interest in bumping his Charisma, despite the racial penalty. Doing so isn't optimal, certainly, and is painful on a pointbuy. But so long as his Dex and Con are high enough, his charisma really has very little bearing on the effectiveness of the builds I have suggested.The Okayo (Corsair) Swashbuckler is phenomenal...Except for goblins, who are charisma-dumped.You're trying to have your cake and eat it too, and that doesn't work. There is an exactly inverse correlation between cake and no-cake, and between "painful(ly)...(sub)optimal" and "effectiveness".
Pisspoor charisma will definitely have a bearing on panache usage by a Swashbuckler, which is a major factor in going for it as a dip instead of simply relegating a feat for Weapon Finesse, or getting it from another class dip instead, for a version that'll work with 100% of finessable weapons rather than a subset.
The difference between a 5 charisma and a 10 charisma is 6 point-buy in a goblin, and 9 points to get it to providing a +1 bonus. YOU ARE A GOBLIN; 98% of everything you meet is going to going to treat you as if you had a charisma of 2, so you might as well go with the flow.
You're underestimating the power of a +4 Dexterity in point buy. He'll easily have a Str 10 (2 Points, -2 Racial), Dex 20 (7 Points, +4 Racial, +1 at lvl 4), Con 14 (5 Points), Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12 (5 Points, -2 Racial.) Flurrying with an 18-20 Crit weapon gives him a strong flow of panache, which becomes near constant after unlocking Swash Weapon Training. I've played a very similar build and rarely struggled for Panache. A pool of 3 is plenty high enough, particularly when you consider that most deeds take a swift or an immediate action to activate. Additionally, he'll probably never really use Opportune Parry and Riposte, as he'll suffer a penalty against bigger opponents (AKA, all of them.) Like I said, the builds only big weakness is it's Will save, and even then the Sohei dip starts you off very well. Is the build optimal for a Charisma penalized race? No. But it's certainly functional.
However, I do like the build you posted above. Other than dumping Str, and dumping Cha quite that low, it'd be a very effective and fun build.
You're underestimating the power of a +4 Dexterity in point buy.No I'm not, which is why I angled to not only start with a dexterity even higher than your build's, but gave him a dex-rage class at 1st to boost it into the ionosphere. I funded the point-buy by dumping the unneeded stats down to 5, where they belong (almost iconically so) in a goblin. And...
the builds only weakness is his Will save. He'll need to select traits and items to boost it.
...have enough build points left over for a high enough wisdom so I don't have to do that.
STR- 5
Dex++ 21 (17,14,14,14,7,7 20pt array)
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 14
CHA- 5
This structure is very "bonus dense", because it works with, rather than against, the race's design. Goblins are not charismatic halflings; so do not build them like halflings. Cater to their strengths; dump their weaknesses.
This l'il squirt rages to Dex 26 by 4th level, not-counting a belt, potions, mutagens, or received buffs. Do the River Rat trait and uRogue levels for dex>damage, and at 4th as a (rage class)1/uRog3, he's looking like +11/+11 for 2x (d3+9 + 2d6sneak) melee or ranged within 30' with Extra Rage, Quick Draw, and (dealer's choice) for feats, and Combat Trick(Two Weapon Fighting) and Weapon Training(Weapon Focus:dagger) for his rogue talents, and using vanilla masterwork daggers. (Switch the 1st-level dip from Urban Bloodrager to Barbarian[Hurler/Savage Technologist] for even better ranged combat and mental protection.)
He'll have a light load of 12 pounds, be vulnerable to str and cha damage and he can't use unrogue. Before getting an agile weapon, he'll have a -3 to all damage rolls. Your build has great DPR under normal parameters, but doesn't fit the OP's restrictions.
Building for charisma with a Goblin is an uphill battle. It's an inefficient use of resources that could be better spent. I personally wouldn't play a charismatic goblin, the suboptimal use of resources would hinder my enjoyment. You and others had demonstrated to him why it wasn't the best idea, he's been informed. But the OP seemed keen on a gregarious goblin, so I built a solid option for that route.
He'll have a light load of 12 poundsA small-size mithral haramaki weighs 0.75lbs (which is actually less than Bracers of Armor!), and that's all the armor he'll ever need. Aside from his knives, everything else goes into an efficient quiver or on the party fighter's back.
be vulnerable to strIt'll be the rare ghost that can hit his touch-AC. (And SavTech will let him rage it up to 9, so he's better off than your usual Pathfinder wizard.)
and he can't use unrogue.Then go back to my previous build (which also raged to dex 26 with the same attribute array and had a full-level animal companion sidekick doing damage.
Building for charisma with a Goblin is an uphill battle.
Which is why you shouldn't do it unless your deliberate intent is to craft a gimp-build. There's no reason to go uphill in point-buy when you can go downhill for better results. --It's like watching those guys who kept trying to build half-orc sorcerers in 3e Living Greyhawk (which also used point-buy) or str 18/dumped-mental-stats human rogues (with no multiclassing) in Pathfinder as some sort of weird ritual masochistic fetish that only they understand.
First, I want you to know that while I did not laugh aloud at “as some sort of weird ritual masochistic fetish that only they understand,” I did smile at it; you have a way with words.
I don’t think it’s that big a deal, though. The OP is playing an adventure path. Adventure paths are designed for the average player, not the determined powergamer. As long as your character can pull their weight, it’s best not to try too hard, if your table is not as inclined and/or skilled at the char-gen sub game; the DM and other players start looking at you funny.
Tired of being looked at funny, I’ve long since stopped trying to build the most powerful characters possible. Instead, I’ve used my skill at char-gen to explore suboptimal concepts that, with a little munchkinnery, can be made at least as effective as what other people in my groups bring to the table. Dwarven sorcerers, gregarious goblins, rogues. People I’m interested in pretending to be. And, when asked, I help others make viable the people they want to pretend to be. I really have very little patience for people who try and convince others that they should want to pretend to be somebody besides who they want to pretend to be, because if they pretended to be someone else they could kill imaginary monsters faster. I’ve very little patience for those sorts at all. :/
How about something a little different?
Angry Goblin Horsechopping Hero
20pt buy: 10,18,12,12,12,13
Swashbuckler (Mouser)
1. Weapon Finesse (from class)
1. Combat Reflexes
Fighter (Weapon Master)
2. Weapon Focus Horsechopper
3. Bladed Brush Combat
3. Slashing Grace
4. Weapon Training Ex.
4. Charisma +1
Arcane Duelist Bard
5. Arcane Strike (from class)
5. Iron Will
Urban Bloodrager
*Aberrant, or Arcane, or Destined*
6. Nothing
7. Blooded Arcane Strike
Continue as a Bloodrager, and increasing your Charisma via levels.
Use Combat Reflexes and the reach of the Horsechopper at first... with a +0/+0 from your strength modifier, you might hit stuff and you might not, you might do damage and you might not. You're a level 1 Goblin, welcome to Goblin problems.
Mouser allows you to spend a Panache point to enter the space of a larger adjacent opponent if they miss you with a melee attack. You can't attack the person you share the space with because you have a reach weapon, but you can attack his friends behind him.
With Bladed Brush/Slashing Grace you can use your Horsechopper with or without reach, and with your Swashbuckler stuff. Gives you Dexterity to attack and damage. And since the whole moving into the space of an adjacent opponent that misses you isn't a move action, so if someone gets up inside your reach and misses... you can enter their space and switch your grip next turn to still attack them. Or don't switch your grip and attack his friends behind him, whilst occupying his space. All your friends enjoy flanking him.
Weapon Training is for the quintessential Gloves of Dueling.
Arcane Strike/Blooded Arcane Strike is for scaling damage bonus that is always active when you bloodrage... in case the raging wasn't enough already.
That's a chief reason why, if I dip a rage class, I stick with a barbarian archetype rather than bloodrager. You start talking about your phantom's emotional focus wheelbarrow of bling, and everybody's eyes glaze over and begin rolling around. Hulk-smash is a lot easier to understand.First, I want you to know that while I did not laugh aloud at “as some sort of weird ritual masochistic fetish that only they understand,” I did smile at it; you have a way with words.
I don’t think it’s that big a deal, though. The OP is playing an adventure path. Adventure paths are designed for the average player, not the determined powergamer. As long as your character can pull their weight, it’s best not to try too hard, if your table is not as inclined and/or skilled at the char-gen sub game; the DM and other players start looking at you funny. Tired of being looked at funny, I’ve long since stopped trying to build the most powerful characters possible.
Instead, I’ve used my skill at char-gen to explore suboptimal concepts that, with a little munchkinnery, can be made at least as effective as what other people in my groups bring to the table. Dwarven sorcerers, gregarious goblins, rogues. People I’m interested in pretending to be.
I have a soft spot for rogues. Every "experienced" player is adamantly convinced they're worthless. So I bring in my "just a regular halfling" and have a blast doing all the things everyone else forfeited by minmaxing their builds.