Heavy Flail Focused Build - PFS PC


Advice


There is a particular heavy flail available on one of the PFS chronicle sheets. I won't go into any details on it so I don't spoil the surprise if you haven't encountered it yet. I am considering making PC to take advantage of that item.

My first intention was to make a fighter weapon master. It does make a PC that is very powerful in using the Hv Flail. However, PFS scenarios are pretty dependent on skills (not just combat) and you can't count on necessarily having someone at the table that can (or will) cast useful buff spells on you. So now I'm more looking at War Priest. Close to as good as the weapon master in just plain swinging a weapon. Plus they have a lot of swift buffs, self healing, and buff spells.

So here is the build I've come up with so far. He's at level 10, just to see what he would look like. Yes I know he would have to start at 1st level. I haven't fit him out with any items except a weapon and armor. But he will probably have to be kinda anemic on items since he will have to spend so much on the heavy flail.

Go-Lem:

Oread warpriest of Anubis 10 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 60, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 205)
LN Medium outsider (native)
Init -2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 8, flat-footed 19 (+10 armor, -2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 83 (10d8+30)
Fort +9, Ref +1, Will +10; +2 trait bonus vs. charm and compulsion
Defensive Abilities sacred armor (+2, 10 minutes/day)
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft. (15 ft. in armor)
Melee +1 cold iron boarding axe +13/+8 (1d6+6/×3) or
. . slitherbane +15/+10 (1d10+10/19-20 plus 2d6 vs. chaotic and 2d6 vs. monstrous humanoids)
Ranged +1 adaptive greenwood composite longbow +6/+1 (1d8+6/×3)
Special Attacks blessings 8/day (Earth: acid strike, armor of earth, Protection: aura of protection, increased defense), channel positive energy 4/day (DC 18, 3d6), fervor 8/day (3d6), sacred weapon (1d10, +2, 10 rounds/day)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +7)
. . 1/day—magic stone
Warpriest Spells Prepared (CL 10th; concentration +13)
. . 4th—blessing of fervor[APG] (DC 17)
. . 3rd—dispel magic, invisibility purge, prayer, speak with dead (DC 16)
. . 2nd—inheritor's smite, martyr's bargain, communal protection from evil[UC], silence (DC 15), weapon of awe[APG] (DC 15)
. . 1st—air bubble[UC], bless, diagnose disease[UM], hide from undead (DC 14), shield of faith, stone shield[ARG]
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance, mending, stabilize
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Statistics
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Str 21, Dex 7, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 5
Base Atk +7; CMB +12 (+14 disarm, +14 trip); CMD 20 (22 vs. disarm, 22 vs. trip)
Feats Channel Smite, Combat Expertise, Felling Smash[UC], Greater Weapon Focus (heavy flail), Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (heavy flail), Weapon Specialization (heavy flail)
Traits birthmark, seeker
Skills Acrobatics -7 (-15 to jump), Climb +4, Handle Animal +1, Heal +7, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (religion) +15, Linguistics +3, Perception +17, Sense Motive +16, Spellcraft +9, Survival +7
Languages Azlanti, Common, Dwarven, Terran, Undercommon
SQ crystalline form[ARG]
Other Gear +1 full plate, +1 adaptive greenwood composite longbow, +1 cold iron boarding axe, slitherbane, 150 gp
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Special Abilities
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Blessings (8/day) (Su) Pool of power used to activate Blessing abilities.
Channel Smite Channel energy can be delivered through a Smite attack.
Combat Expertise +/-2 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Crystalline Form (1/day) +2 AC against rays. Can deflect a ray 1/day.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Felling Smash Trip a foe when you make a power attack
Fervor (3d6, 8/day) (Su) Standard action, touch channels positive/negative energy to heal or harm. Swift to cast spell on self.
Improved Disarm You don't provoke attacks of opportunity when disarming.
Improved Trip You don't provoke attacks of opportunity when tripping.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Sacred Armor +2 (10 minutes/day) (Su) As a swift action, grant armor enhancement bonus or certain powers. Use 1 fervor as free action to also activate Sacred weapon.
Sacred Weapon +2 (10 rounds/day) (Su) As a swift action, grant weapon enhancement bonus or certain powers.
Warpriest Channel Positive Energy 3d6 (4/day, DC 18) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.

I am not necessarily set on the dumped dexterity. It is just that I always think of Oread as slow and uncoordinated. Plus he's in full plate which slows. I would probably plan on drinking potions of cat's grace before significant fights. But I could certainly drop the strength a little and bring the dexterity back up to normal.

Let me know what you think.

Grand Lodge

I'd swap out Birthmark for Fate's Favored. You're already a wis-based class with good Will saving throws, you're not likely going to need a +2 from charm and compulsions, and that +1 att/dmg you get from Fate's Favored+Divine Favor can go a long way. Also, you're going to want to primarily have Shield of Faith and Divine Favor as your first level spells prepared, as a general rule.

I'd also consider picking up Dirty Fighting instead of Combat Expertise, unless you actually plan on using Combat Expertise (which you shouldn't, it's a terrible feat). It's still a feat tax to grab Improved Trip and the other feats but it's better than Combat Expertise, IMO. It also lets you bring Int down to 12 and put that Dex up to 9. Not great but beats a 7. And yes, you can use Dirty Fighting in lieu of other prereqs for Felling Smash.

This is for PFS, right? Do you plan on playing this character in seeker content? If the answer is no, be sure to even out your highest stat, so by level 8 you get an even number to it (in your case, Strength) since lv12+ doesn't really matter.

You could go Str 16+2 Dex 9 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 14+2 Cha 7-2. Or Dex 10 Int 12 Cha 8-2, since you don't need the Int for Combat Expertise if you instead go Dirty Fighting (though skills are nice) At 4th and 8th you'll put your ability points in Str and end up with 20 base at 8th, and probably will have either bull's Strength or a +4 Str belt to go with it.

Weapon Specialization is nice, but consider instead Greater Trip. An extra attack due to an AoO (and allowing allies to get AoOs too) is far better than a measly +2 to damage. You're a Warpriest, you get bonuses to dmg out the wazoo. Better to get an extra attack in. Even at higher levels there are plenty of creatures you can trip. Not everyone flies the moment they hit level 7+, despite what others might have you believe.

Felling Smash is good but you're already strained for swift actions as a Warpriest. Swift action fervor. Swift action Sacred Weapon. Swift action Sacred Armor. You're always better off full-attacking a creature than not, given the opportunity, and that means Felling Smash would usually only ever be used in the first round of combat (when you have to move up to a target to hit them). BUT first round of combat is also generally dedicated to using Fervor to cast a buff as a swift action, so felling smash suddenly can't be used on the first round either. So maybe replace that with something like Improved Critical.

Grand Lodge

reflex save of +1 at level 10 is pretty terrible...you will pretty much always take full effect from AoE spells, and fall on your but any time someone even thinks about a Grease spell.

Otherwise, looks decent. Warpriest is a strong class, especially for someone using an unusual weapon.

Plus what Syries said...Fate's Favored is almost a requirement for Warpriests.


Probably will only play to level 12. I've found it difficult to get in seeker level games in my area. But because of the specifics of that item and if the PC is as useful as I think it might be, this could be one I would consider playing beyond 12 if I get the chance.

Yeah, I think I agree with you that dirty fighting is better than combat expertise. I always forget about that one.

I missed that felling smash takes a swift action. Will definitely ditch that one. Might replace it with Improved Critical. Will have to look at what I can get at the specific levels though. I think that is too many at +8 BaB.

I will consider greater trip. Though I have a different build that is struggling at level 10 since he focused too heavily on tripping and disarming. There have been too many fights where he isn't able to contribute as much as he should be able to do.

Yes to Fate's Favored.

Grand Lodge

The build isn't accounting for equipment. By level 10 you can easily afford a +3 cloak of resistance and possibly even an Ioun Stone for +2 Dex.

Plus, even though this isn't the best use for it, fervor can be used as a swift action to heal themselves.

In my experience the most annoying things I've had to make reflex saves for in PFS were environmental hazards or traps, most of which can be solved with a potion of fly.

RDA wrote:
I missed that felling smash takes a swift action. Will definitely ditch that one. Might replace it with Improved Critical. Will have to look at what I can get at the specific levels though. I think that is too many at +8 BaB.

Remember your bonus feats at 3, 6, and 9 count your WP level as your BAB, so you can take Greater Trip as your 6th level bonus feat and Improved Critical as your 9th level bonus feat.

RDA wrote:
I will consider greater trip. Though I have a different build that is struggling at level 10 since he focused too heavily on tripping and disarming. There have been too many fights where he isn't able to contribute as much as he should be able to do.

Fortunately this is a Warpriest. The wonderful thing about this class is that they have so much battlefield potential that they can take feats like Greater Trip without making that absolutely critical to the build. If something is too hard to trip (or downright impossible) you can still beat the snot out of them with your high damage output that is inherent to your class abilities.


I don't see Combat Reflexes in your build. I don't see Greater Trip. The cool thing about Disarming your opponents is that if they attack you without a weapon or try to pick up the weapon you Disarmed them from, you get an Attack of Opportunity. After you made your opponent Prone, if they try to get up, they provoke an Attack of Opportunity.

To my mind, Tripping and Disarming Builds are Attack of Opportunity builds.

You can also get Vicious Stomp, which gives you an Attack of Opportunity for Falling Prone, which is different from getting Tripped, which gives you get 1 AoO for Tripping them, and a 2nd at the same time for them going Prone! The AoO for Vicious Stomp has to be an Unarmed Strike, but as a Warpriest, you can take Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike and do Warpriest Sacred Weapon Damage instead of 1d3 like Unarmed Strikes normally do.

Also, you stat block has your character wielding a boarding axe. I thought you were using a heavy flail.


I didn't take combat reflexes since I had dumped dex. (Though I may still change that.)

The boarding axe and the bow are additional weapon I threw on there just to see the stats. He is wielding the Hv Flail. I didn't realize HeroLab only put the name of the item on the output. Slitherbane is the name of the Hv Flail.

Even though war priest gets some additional bonus feats. There are still only so many. Have to pick and choose.


Revolving Door Alternate wrote:
Yeah, I think I agree with you that dirty fighting is better than combat expertise. I always forget about that one.

I think Combat Expertise is underrated. I am playing a level 12 Fighter/Rogue right now, and I find I use Combat Expertise all the time. I seem to have Attack Bonus to spare, but I always want more AC.

You are planning to use a 2 handed weapon: no shield, lower AC. You are planning on being a single-class Warpriest, so Medium Armor, and you are Dex-dumping.

Think about it.


Revolving Door Alternate wrote:
Even though war priest gets some additional bonus feats. There are still only so many. Have to pick and choose.

Well, I noticed your character worships Anubis, whose weapon is Flail. That means you get your Sacred Weapon Powers for Flail even if you don't take Weapon Focus. You can take Weapon Focus Unarmed instead. Your Maximmum Damage for Heavy Flail in PFS (level 12 is 1d10, and Heavy Flail already does 1d10.

If you aren't taking Weapon Focus Flail, you don't need to take Greater Weapon Focus, Flail, either, so you can take Greater Trip. Instead of taking Weapon Specialization Flail, take Combat Reflexes.

I'm not a super fan of Channel Smite: it only works on Undead, doesn't it? Replace that with Vicious Stomp. Now with every Trip, you get 2 attacks of opportunity instead of 1. To get the most out of it, you would best not Dex-dump. Dex-dumping might be a bad idea anyway since you are wearing Medium Armor and no shield.

You know you can't sleep in Medium Armor. I don't know about you, but few things make my skin crawl more than the evil gleam in the DM's eye when he asks, "Are you sleeping in your armor?" If you say "yes," you wake up Fatigued. If you say "no," you WILL be fighting a Hill Giant in your underwear that night. I have a suggestion. Be a Half Orc instead of an Oread. Take Shaman's Apprentice instead of Intimidating, and you get the Endurance Feat, and then you can sleep in Medium Armor. Take Sacred Tattoo instead of Ferocity, and you get a +1 on all your Saves, which is good because Slyme has a point about your Reflex Save. You could consider taking Chain Fighter instead of Weapon Familiarity, so now you can use a Dire Flail, but if you do that, you need to find a place for taking 2 Weapon Fighting, maybe sacrifice Felling Smash, since it takes a Swift Action. Now you can make 2 Trips/round, and both yield 2 Attacks of Opportunity. Dire Flail does 1d8/1d8 as opposed to the Heavy Flail's 1d10, so you might also take Weapon Focus Dire Flail instead of Power Attack, so then you do get Sacred Weapon Damage for the Dire Flail.

Dark Archive

Scott Wilhelm wrote:
Revolving Door Alternate wrote:
Even though war priest gets some additional bonus feats. There are still only so many. Have to pick and choose.

Well, I noticed your character worships Anubis, whose weapon is Flail. That means you get your Sacred Weapon Powers for Flail even if you don't take Weapon Focus. You can take Weapon Focus Unarmed instead. Your Maximmum Damage for Heavy Flail in PFS (level 12 is 1d10, and Heavy Flail already does 1d10.

If you aren't taking Weapon Focus Flail, you don't need to take Greater Weapon Focus, Flail, either, so you can take Greater Trip. Instead of taking Weapon Specialization Flail, take Combat Reflexes.

I'm not a super fan of Channel Smite: it only works on Undead, doesn't it? Replace that with Vicious Stomp. Now with every Trip, you get 2 attacks of opportunity instead of 1. To get the most out of it, you would best not Dex-dump. Dex-dumping might be a bad idea anyway since you are wearing Medium Armor and no shield.

You know you can't sleep in Medium Armor. I don't know about you, but few things make my skin crawl more than the evil gleam in the DM's eye when he asks, "Are you sleeping in your armor?" If you say "yes," you wake up Fatigued. If you say "no," you WILL be fighting a Hill Giant in your underwear that night. I have a suggestion. Be a Half Orc instead of an Oread. Take Shaman's Apprentice instead of Intimidating, and you get the Endurance Feat, and then you can sleep in Medium Armor. Take Sacred Tattoo instead of Ferocity, and you get a +1 on all your Saves, which is good because Slyme has a point about your Reflex Save. You could consider taking Chain Fighter instead of Weapon Familiarity, so now you can use a Dire Flail, but if you do that, you need to find a place for taking 2 Weapon Fighting, maybe sacrifice Felling Smash, since it takes a Swift Action. Now you can make 2 Trips/round, and both yield 2 Attacks of Opportunity. Dire Flail does 1d8/1d8 as opposed to the Heavy Flail's 1d10, so you might also take...

This is pretty much all bad advice. The half orc part is almost good


Name Violation wrote:
This is pretty much all bad advice. The half orc part is almost good

Well, I think my advice is just swell, so there!


Fighters get Advanced Weapon Training. There's a AWT that boosts skills called Versatile Training.

Versatile Training:
Versatile Training (Ex)
Source- Weapon Master's Handbook pg. 19

The fighter can use his base attack bonus in place of his ranks in two skills of his choice that are associated with the fighter weapon group he has chosen with this option (see below). The fighter need not be wielding an associated weapon to use this option. When using versatile training, the fighter substitutes his total base attack bonus (including his base attack bonus gained through levels in other classes) for his ranks in these skills, but adds the skill’s usual ability score modifier and any other bonuses or penalties that would modify those skills. Once the skills have been selected, they cannot be changed and the fighter can immediately retrain all of his skill ranks in the selected skills at no additional cost in money or time. In addition, the fighter adds all skills chosen with this option to his list of class skills. A fighter can choose this option up to two times.

The Bluff and Intimidate skills are associated with all fighter weapon groups. The various fighter weapon groups also have the following associated skills: axes (Climb, Survival), bows (Knowledge [engineering], Perception), close (Sense Motive, Stealth), crossbows (Perception, Stealth), double (Acrobatics, Sense Motive), firearms (Perception, Sleight of Hand), flails (Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand), hammers (Diplomacy, Ride), heavy blades (Diplomacy, Ride), light blades (Diplomacy, Sleight of Hand), monk (Acrobatics, Escape Artist), natural (Climb, Fly, Swim), polearms (Diplomacy, Sense Motive), siege engines (Disable Device, Profession [driver]), spears (Handle Animal, Ride), and thrown (Acrobatics, Perception).

Grand Lodge

Scott Wilhelm wrote:
Name Violation wrote:
This is pretty much all bad advice. The half orc part is almost good
Well, I think my advice is just swell, so there!

The issue is your advice moved way far away from what the OP was hoping for. They have a specific weapon they want to build around and most of what you offered up had nothing to do with that weapon.

Not only that, some of your stuff seems to be a bit misleading. Like getting Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) which does nothing for a character focusing on using a heavy flail. Vicious Stomp requires Improved Unarmed Strike which is not the same thing as weapon focus. I'm also of the opinion that going that route takes the character too far into the realm of being reliant on tripping to contribute to combat.

Channel Smite might not be your cup of tea but there are undead aplenty in PFS scenarios so it's not at all useless.

Sleeping in armor almost never comes up in PFS scenarios either. Most missions take place in a single adventuring day and those that don't almost never have random encounters. Besides, Warpriests are proficient in heavy armor and a non-dex based WP will want Full Plate.


Syries wrote:
They have a specific weapon they want to build around and most of what you offered up had nothing to do with that weapon.

That's completely false. The advice I offered was about Tripping. Flails are Tripping Weapons.

Syries wrote:
Not only that, some of your stuff seems to be a bit misleading.

Am not! I am completely straightforward. I am thorough in my explanations and rationale.

Syries wrote:
Vicious Stomp requires Improved Unarmed Strike

Ah, I had overlooked that. That's another Feat the OP would have to squeeze in. Fair point.

Syries wrote:
Like getting Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) which does nothing for a character focusing on using a heavy flail.

It is false that Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike does nothing for a Warpriest focusing on a flail. Flails are Tripping weapons. My advice is about maximizing the Tripping potential of the Flail.

The Attack of Opportunity Provoked through Vicious Stomp has to be an Unarmed Strike. Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike allows the Unarmed Strike to do Sacred Weapon Damage.

Warpriests get Sacred Weapon effects not only for weapons they have Weapon Focus in, but also for their deity's weapon. The OP's Wapriest worships Anubis. Anubis's weapon is the Flail. Anubis Warpriests get the Sacred Weapon benefits for flails even if they don't take Weapon Focus Flail. It fair for me to point this out, and shame on you for scolding me.

Syries wrote:
I'm also of the opinion that going that route takes the character too far into the realm of being reliant on tripping

That's a legit complaint. I have some thoughts on how to mitigate some of the problems associated with Tripping. I felt like I'd written enough and should listen to reactions to other things before exploring that problem.

Syries wrote:
Channel Smite might not be your cup of tea

It is fair to observe that my opinion on Channel Smite might have more to do with my own biases and less with the rules and dynamics themselves.

Syries wrote:

but there are undead aplenty in PFS scenarios so it's not at all useless.

Sleeping in armor almost never comes up in PFS scenarios either.

That's metagaming, cheeseball, munchkin, cheating tactics. I always design my PFS characters with the idea that wandering monsters might disturb their sleep. I would never stoop so low as to do otherwise nor advise anyone else to. Anyone who does deserves to fight hill giants in their underwear.


What about a Strength-base Half-Orc Rogue? This will give you a bunch of skill points for PFS.

The Chain Fighter racial gives you proficiency with heavy flails, and the Scout archetype lets your charge and move to trigger Sneak Attack. On top of that, you can use a Rogue Talent to get Improved Trip without burning a feat on Combat Expertise/Dirty Fighting.

Take Bludgeoner at level 1, Sap Adept at level 3, then Sap Master at level 5. Your level 2 Rogue Talent should be Unbalancing Trick from Elemental Master's Handbook to get Improved Trip (which let's you qualify for Greater Trip without the feat tax). To get around DR for Undead and Evil Outisders, take Sacred Sneak Attack from Champions of Purity. For DR on constructs, take Disabling Stunt from Inner Sea Combat. The only downside is that this build relies on non-lethal damage, which non-living creatures are immune to, but you can still do solid damage with your Sneak Attacks.

Also, if you don't want to burn Rogue Talents to overcome DR, use weapon blanches.


Xaimum Mafire wrote:
you can use a Rogue Talent to get Improved Trip without burning a feat on Combat Expertise/Dirty Fighting.

Another Rogue Talent to take would be Underhanded Trick, which gives you Improved Dirty Trick. Both Improved Dirty Trick and Improved Trip have Combat Expertise or Dirty Fighting as a prerequisite, which you would still need if you want to take Greater Trip or Quick or Greater Dirty Trick.

Tripping has limits on whom you can use it on just as Syries was suggesting. Dirty Tricks are much more versatile. With Dirty Tricks, you can, for instance, make your opponents Blind which would lock in your Sneak Attack Damage, and if your victim has Blindsense, another Dirty Trick will make them Deaf, too. That should do it!

Xaimum Mafire wrote:
Sap Master

IIRC, to use Sap Master, your opponent must be actually Flatfooted. It's not enough to just be targeting Flatfooted AC. You can make your opponent Flatfooted with the Shatter Defenses Feat, which requires the Dazzling Display Feat. Maybe also Cornugon Smash. If you take Knockout Artist, that would be even more Damage, but that only works with Unarmed Strikes, which I was suggesting via Vicious Stomp.

I think exploiting Sap Master would be very, very Feat intensive, possibly worth it, though.

Grand Lodge

Scott Wilhelm wrote:


That's completely false. The advice I offered was about Tripping. Flails are Tripping Weapons.

Okay, but OP's request was advice for using the Heavy Flail specifically. You were going on about dire flails and unarmed strikes, which is not what OP was asking for.

Scott Wilhelm wrote:
Syries wrote:
Like getting Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) which does nothing for a character focusing on using a heavy flail.

It is false that Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike does nothing for a Warpriest focusing on a flail. Flails are Tripping weapons. My advice is about maximizing the Tripping potential of the Flail.

The Attack of Opportunity Provoked through Vicious Stomp has to be an Unarmed Strike. Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike allows the Unarmed Strike to do Sacred Weapon Damage.

Yeah, it can work if OP wants to fit in Vicious Stomp but again this is a build around using a Heavy Flail. It requires four feats (Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike), Combat Reflexes and Vicious Stomp) to pull off what amount to maybe an extra AoO with a non-specialized weapon. Building around AoOs is only good if you have a high enough Dex to make the number of AoOs you need. Those feats could go into other things to diversify the build so it isn't entirely focused around tripping.

Scott Wilhelm wrote:
It fair for me to point this out, and shame on you for scolding me.

If you feel like I'm scolding you, I apologize. That was not my intent.

Scott Wilhelm wrote:
That's metagaming, cheeseball, munchkin, cheating tactics. I always design my PFS characters with the idea that wandering monsters might disturb their sleep. I would never stoop so low as to do otherwise nor advise anyone else to. Anyone who does deserves to fight hill giants in their underwear.

How is it metagaming when you are briefed before each mission the general goals and general timeline? Was it metagaming to pick up an evil outsider bane weapon when Year of the Demon was the current season, or is it metagaming to prepare Communal Resist Energy when you know you're going to the Plane of Fire? Absolutely not. You should absolutely be clear of conscience building a character that fits around the overall campaign of Society play. If you're briefed on a timeline, you are given the chance to prepare for a multiday journey before leaving for a particular scenario. Even then, players should still know what to do in case the mission takes multiple days, but a player using heavy armor should not compromise themselves on a regular basis because they *might* have an encounter while they're asleep. If you've got low dex and Heavy Armor proficiency you'd be smart to use it.

I'm also not suggesting I look up what encounters are in each scenario I play. I am saying that Pathfinder Society has a general Good vs Evil campaign setup and when you're the "good" guys and undead are evil, it's not a far stretch to assume you'll be fighting undead a fair few times during your career as a Society agent.


Syries wrote:
Okay, but OP's request was advice for using the Heavy Flail specifically. You were going on about dire flails and unarmed strikes, which is not what OP was asking for.

Going from Heavy Flail to Dire Flail is not an unreasonable alternative to suggest. Nor is it unreasonable to talk about how to emphasize Tripping and the Attacks of Opportunity that flow from Tripping when the OP wants to use a Tripping weapon.

That being said, it is fair to say that taken as a whole, the body of suggestions I was making would constitute a radical departure from the direction his character build was going in.

That being said, my advice was not necessarily intended to be taken as a whole. I was throwing a lot of ideas out there, and I have a lot more, but my advice isn't usually intended as an all-or-nothing package.


I second the Rogue bit actually. I was thinking of building a Skulking Slayer/Scout Rogue and this flail would be right up that alley.


- Warpriest does have Heavy Armor.
- Ok, dropping Felling Smash probably for Improved Critical.
- Drop the Birthmark for Fates' Favored.
- Lowered strength 1 pts to raise dex 3 points. That lets a potion of Cat's Grace give me a +1 mode which is all plate can use.
- Not going to go for Dire Flail or Improved Unarmed Strike. The whole theme of this PC is becoming the expert with this special Heavy Flail.
- Undecided about Channel Smite. With that deity, I could choose to channel neagative and the use it much more often. But I think that then prohibits me from using it for the swift action self healing.
- Still undecided about Greater Trip.

Giving those last 2 more thought.

Grand Lodge

In PFS, warpirests, clerics, paladins and inquisitors all have to worship a deity. No multiple deities worshiped either, though you can venerate (aka roleplay worship but gain no mechanical benefit to) other deities.

Keep in mind any Neutral deity on the good/evil axis allows you to choose between positive/negative, and of course evil must be negative.

*edit because I forgot about Channel Smite, thought you were talking about just straight Channel Energy*
Looking up the feat, Channel Smite requires a swift action so you might not want that feat either, for the same reason you likely don't want felling smash. And yeah, you wouldn't be able to heal yourself with fervor on that round too.

I do strongly recommend Greater Trip if you do plan on taking Improved Trip. Even if it's not for yourself, allowing an ally to get an extra AoO is huge. And as I said before, it doesn't lock you in to doing trip maneuvers because you simply being a warpriest allows you do a huge amount of damage.


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Scott Wilhelm wrote:
Xaimum Mafire wrote:
you can use a Rogue Talent to get Improved Trip without burning a feat on Combat Expertise/Dirty Fighting.
Another Rogue Talent to take would be Underhanded Trick, which gives you Improved Dirty Trick. Both Improved Dirty Trick and Improved Trip have Combat Expertise or Dirty Fighting as a prerequisite, which you would still need if you want to take Greater Trip or Quick or Greater Dirty Trick.

Unbalancing Trick specifically calls out that you don't need Combat Expertise to qualify for Greater Trip.

"Unbalancing Trick (Ex) (Elemental Master's Handbook pg. 9): The rogue gains Improved Trip as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. At 6th level, she is treated as if she meets all the prerequisites of Greater Trip (although she must take the feat as normal to gain its benefits)."

Same for Underhanded Trick for Improved Dirty Trick.

Scott Wilhelm wrote:


Xaimum Mafire wrote:
Sap Master

IIRC, to use Sap Master, your opponent must be actually Flatfooted. It's not enough to just be targeting Flatfooted AC. You can make your opponent Flatfooted with the Shatter Defenses Feat, which requires the Dazzling Display Feat. Maybe also Cornugon Smash. If you take Knockout Artist, that would be even more Damage, but that only works with Unarmed Strikes, which I was suggesting via Vicious Stomp.

I think exploiting Sap Master would be very, very Feat intensive, possibly worth it, though.

That's why I suggested the Scout archetype. You trade out Uncanny Dodge, but enemies that you charge as flat-footed. At level 8, the first enemy that you strike each round after moving 10ft also counts as flat-footed.

Scout archetype for Rogue

Grand Lodge

Xaimum is correct; the scout archetype allows you to deal sneak attack attack "as if" they are flat-footed, meaning they're flat-footed for the purposes of Sap Master.


Here he is with a more reasonable equipment set.

I'm actually considering Fey Foundling as a possibility instead of greater trip. That would make those swift action self heals much more effective. Still not sure. Might still end up switching it to Greater Trip.

Golem:

Oread warpriest of Anubis 10 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 60, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 205)
LN Medium outsider (native)
Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18
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Defense
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AC 21, touch 9, flat-footed 21 (+9 armor, -1 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 93 (10d8+40)
Fort +13, Ref +5, Will +14; +2 vs. death
Defensive Abilities sacred armor (+2, 10 minutes/day)
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft. (10 ft. in armor)
Melee hv flail slitherbane +16/+11 (1d10+12/17-20 plus 2d6 vs. Monstrous Humanoids)
Ranged +1 adaptive greenwood composite longbow +7/+2 (1d8+7/×3)
Special Attacks blessings 8/day (Earth: acid strike, armor of earth, Protection: aura of protection, increased defense), channel positive energy 4/day (DC 19, 3d6), fervor 9/day (3d6), sacred weapon (1d10, +2, 10 rounds/day)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +7)
. . 1/day—magic stone
Warpriest Spells Prepared (CL 10th; concentration +14)
. . 4th—blessing of fervor[APG] (DC 18), divine power
. . 3rd—dispel magic, invisibility purge, magic vestment, prayer
. . 2nd—inheritor's smite, martyr's bargain, communal protection from evil[UC], silence (DC 16), weapon of awe[APG] (DC 16)
. . 1st—air bubble[UC], bless, divine favor, hide from undead (DC 15), shield of faith, stone shield[ARG]
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance, mending, stabilize
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Statistics
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Str 22, Dex 9, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 5
Base Atk +7; CMB +13 (+15 disarm, +15 trip); CMD 22 (24 vs. disarm, 24 vs. trip)
Feats Dirty Fighting, Fey Foundling[ISWG], Greater Weapon Focus (heavy flail), Improved Critical (heavy flail), Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (heavy flail), Weapon Specialization (heavy flail)
Traits fate's favored, seeker
Skills Acrobatics -6 (-14 to jump), Climb +5, Handle Animal +1, Heal +8, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (religion) +15, Linguistics +3, Perception +18, Sense Motive +17, Spellcraft +9, Survival +8
Languages Azlanti, Common, Dwarven, Terran, Undercommon
SQ crystalline form[ARG]
Combat Gear potion of cat's grace (7), potion of cure serious wounds; Other Gear mwk stoneplate[UE], +1 adaptive greenwood composite longbow (+3 Str), hv flail slitherbane, amulet of natural armor +2, belt of physical might +2 (Str, Con), boots of the cat[UE], cloak of resistance +3, handy haversack, headband of inspired wisdom +2, ring of feather falling, 333 pp, 5 gp
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Special Abilities
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Blessings (8/day) (Su) Pool of power used to activate Blessing abilities.
Crystalline Form (1/day) +2 AC against rays. Can deflect a ray 1/day.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Dirty Fighting Forgo flanking bonus to make combat maneuver not provoke attack of op.
Fervor (3d6, 9/day) (Su) Standard action, touch channels positive/negative energy to heal or harm. Swift to cast spell on self.
Fey Foundling Magical healing works better on you
Improved Disarm You don't provoke attacks of opportunity when disarming.
Improved Trip You don't provoke attacks of opportunity when tripping.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Sacred Armor +2 (10 minutes/day) (Su) As a swift action, grant armor enhancement bonus or certain powers. Use 1 fervor as free action to also activate Sacred weapon.
Sacred Weapon +2 (10 rounds/day) (Su) As a swift action, grant weapon enhancement bonus or certain powers.
Warpriest Channel Positive Energy 3d6 (4/day, DC 19) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.

Grand Lodge

Are you set on Oread? Going human, half elf or half orc can get you a bonus feat through favored class bonus.

Keep in mind Fey foundling must be taken as your first level feat.

I’m still of the opinion you’ll get better mileage with greater trip, and I’d probably swap Greater Weapon Focus for that but if you’re not sold at this point, it’s not so important that you have to take it.


Syries wrote:
Xaimum is correct; the scout archetype allows you to deal sneak attack attack "as if" they are flat-footed, meaning they're flat-footed for the purposes of Sap Master.

Cool.

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