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Hello folks.
I'm here to ask for a build advice on the frontliner role. Let me give me a quick briefing of the situation before making my point.
Our GM has turned one of those classic ADnD modules, Temple of Elemental Evil (ToEE) into Pathfinder, and have been playing since 5-6 months. Yesterday, we experienced our first total wipe in the module (in the most possible brutal way), thus started to prepare a new party before carry on.
For those who doesn't know ToEE, its combat encouters are pretty tough. We are a party of four PC (if we do not hire an NPC to aid us), and nearly we always face against 12-13 opponents. Of course, just 2-3 of those opponents going to be the big-bad-guy, but nevertheless, its just not gonna be very easy facing that much opponents every time. Environment is also harsh, you cannot find every magical shiny things you want from the market (for those who are familiar with ToEE, we wiped at the very entrance of the temple, so we were hanging around the town Nulb mostly).
Okay, here is the thing: Our party was combined of a Paladin, a Bard, an Investigator, and an Arcanist (which was me). After that damn wipe, we also decided to switch the roles. So, I volunteered to be the frontliner of the party. My other friends now thinking about to build a cleric, a wizard, and a rogue.
Before I decided what to play, I want to ask an advice on this thread. I was thinking to build a bloodrager or a swashbuckler. I really would like to play a swashbuckler, but, as I said, I'm gonna be the group's main frontliner, I have hesitations on swashbuckler's durability. Thus, maybe steelblood archetype?
When we wiped out, we were level 5, so we are gonna build our new PCs from that level. And, our GM limited our new PCs WBL by 4000 gp.
Character shouldn't be also very item-dependent one due to the reasons I mentined above.
Any fun to play and face smashing build advice appriciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
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Against that many enemies you're going to need help on the front line no matter what you play. Are the cleric and the rogue going to do their share?
Also against that many enemies, a swashbuckler is likely to do poorly. Their parry won't do anything much for them in defence with multiple enemies attacking them, though it does still add an attack via the riposte.
A steelblood bloodrager does seem like a reasonable call. If you were often flanked though (given the number of enemies) it might be better not to take the archetype - improved uncanny dodge might help more than heavy armor.
The verdant bloodline is the most defensive of the bloodrager bloodlines, the arcane bloodline has more utility and is notably good later on.
If you're going to be using a reach weapon then combat reflexes is good assuming you can get Dex 12+, and power attack and raging vitality are other important feats to get. If you're not going to be using a reach weapon then variant multiclassing (from Pathfinder Unchained) into magus might help a lot, assuming that's allowed.
Any fun to play and face smashing build advice appriciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
"fun" is subjective, but I do think you'd want to have more options in combat rather than just deciding who to hit during your turn. Straight Bloodrager might feel a bit flat unless you make sure you have other alternatives such as combat maneuvers or threatened areas.
Also, as the main frontliner (read: only frontliner) you'll want to have some sort of healing available for when the cleric is busy dying and you're at 1 HP. Maybe the Urgathoa's Hunger Divine Fighting Technique, or the Healer's Hands/Signature Skill (+ Resilient Martyr) combo.
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With only 4K gold at level 5 you guys are not so well off in the equipment department.
Maybe consider a Kineticist as your frontliner? Phytokinesis gets you natural ac and you can UMD a wand of shield, and the wood blast is pretty decent. Once you hit 7th level go hydrokinesis and get cold blast for an energy type, expanded defense and ditch the wand of shield. Go small sized race like Halfling or grippli too. Dex based attacks, natural switch hitter thanks to kinetic blade and extended range; decent damage, and really high AC and HP. Kinetic whip will help provide reach tactics too. And the only equipment you would really need is that wand and some decent armor.
The steel blooded bloodrager should do well. I think aberrant makes a good tank. But arcane with its free blur is very nice.
But with your party, I’d probably go summoner. If synthesist is an option, this might be a good time to try that.
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Thank you very much guys. I really will do my build according to your advices. In the mean time, we have rolled for the stats. Let me share my dice results:
12, 9, 14, 15, 11, 18
Yeah, I was never a good ability roller.
Please note that above numbers are not in an order. So, I can put that 18 to STR and that 9 could go to INT etc. As I said in my first post, we are going to start from level 5, so I have a free +1 from level 4 achievement. Thus, above numbers are also free from race ability modifiers.
By the way, occult classes and unchained rules (and classes too) are forbidden. Apart from these two boks, nearly everything is permitted.
So, you are saying Bloodrager will do good? How about the race? Azata blooeded Aasimar maybe :)
With bloodrager, you don’t usually need much charisma, because you only get a few spells and you don’t get much more benefit from it. Starting with 12 charisma should be enough to get you by until you should almost certainly have a headband of charisma.
There are two main ways you can take your build. You can go more offensive with a two handed weapon. Or you can go more defensive with a shield and one handed weapon and focus on dirty tricks to make yourself a threat. If you go the dirty tricks route, you will want all of the feats you can get, so human is great. If you are going for damage then anything with a strength bonus should be good.
Since you have a rogue, you may want to coordinate with him and both go dirty tricks. You use the feat dirty fighting to make the prerequisites much easier for the improved dirty tricks feats.