Need DPS / Skill character build recommendations

[Sir_Andrew]

Hello Everyone!

I was wondering if you guys/gals could offer me advice/ideas for a backup character in a campaign i'm currently in. (home game, not society) I've began to realize lately that we are lacking in the skill department, and my current build is only good mainly for damage and diplomacy. Being the only person without a backup character i thought i should create a character that is great at dealing Damage/good with skills and/or has a good amount of utility. note: i'm not interested in playing a full caster since we have 2 already.

the group we have is
1) lv 7 L/N paladin 2/cavalier 5 (Tank role)
2) Lv 7 L/G Cleric (buffer/healer role)
3) Lv 6 N/E Arcanist (blaster/debuffer role)
4) Lv 7 L/G bloodrager 1/Paladin 6 (DPS role) *Me

a little info about the campaign:
its very Lovecraft meets Lord of the rings, basically the shadow plane is slowly leaking into the Material Plane and corrupting it (Dm is using a slightly modified version of the 3.5 "taint" rules). Our group is in charge of fighting the tainted creatures/people, find where its leaking in from and cure the land, In addition it involves some type of elder gods and ancient unheard of civilizations/fractions that are connected to the taint somehow.

Other rules/house rules/notes
1) *one automatic 18 at character creation
2) were allowed to take one 3pp feat with DM approval
3) Mythic rules might be added soon depending on if the group whats to use it. (DM has previous experience with those rules)
4) No Gnome Characters for plot reasons
5)During the the course of the campaign we have rolled these skills the most:
Diplomacy/(knowledge Arcane/history/nature/planes/religion)/linguistics/perception/sense motive/ spellcraft
6) lately we running into a problem with not having disable device for traps, so having that on the new character would be nice.
7) Aberrations/monstrous humanoids/plants/undead being the most common foes
8) rolled stats *18,17,16,16,11,9 pretty awesome stats :)

Any builds that could be awesome for this type of character and campaign?

[avr]

An investigator can do trapfinding and is possibly the best character class at knowledge skills. By L7 their studied combat is up to +3 attack/damage and they could have quick study to apply it as a swift action. Drop one of your good stats on Int, the others on the physical stats and you're good to go. There are archetypes you could take for various different flavours but you don't need one, though admittedly empiricist would save you a couple of traits you'd otherwise use.

[PCScipio]

An Investigator would indeed be a great choice. There's two main builds: high dex Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 1/Investigator X, and high strength straight Investigator with a longspear using reach tactics. The strength build has higher damage output, while the "Swashtigator" has higher AC and is more tanky. The strength build has a good AC, but the dex build's AC is even higher. Your very high rolled stats arguably favor the strength build.

If you want to cover Diplomacy, the Empiricist archetype and the Student of Philosophy trait is a good combination.

[Scott Wilhelm]

This Character is an expert ninja/sniper and grappler

Half Elf with Ancestral Arms, Orc Hornbow and Arcane Training

Ancestral Arms and Arcane Training are Half Elf Alternate Racial Traits. Ancestral Arms gives you proficiency with an Exotic Weapon. The Orc Hornbow is an Exotic Weapon that does 2d6 Damage. Aracane Training lets you use Magic Wands, which will give your character lots of utility.

1Fighter1: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Wolf Cub, Indomidable Will, BAB+1

Precise Shot is essential for an Archer, so get it at level 1.

2F1Ninja1: Sneak Attack 1d6, Poison

Here come some skill points.

3F1N2: Ninja Vanishing Trick, Extra Trick, Rogue Talent, False Attacker, Ki Pool, BAB+2

The idea here is that you use Vanishing Trick to turn Invisible in your first round, then find a spider hole to shoot from. This will automatically lock in your Sneak Attack Damage.

Now attacking turns off your Invisibility, and staying hidden after that requires a Stealth Check at a -20, but False Attacker lets you make a Bluff Check as a Swift Action. Success means your target thinks the attack came from somewhere else, and you don't need to even roll Stealth to stay hidden.

Since this takes Swift Actions, you might as well start using a Wand of Scorching Ray, and make Ranged Touch Attacks, vs. Flatfooted AC that automatically lock in Sneak Attack Damage. Just try saying that out loud without your face splitting open in an evil grin!

4F1N2Brawler1: SnakeBite Striker, Unarmed 1d6, Sneak Attack +1d6, Martial Cunning, BAB+3
5F1N3B1: Sneak Attack +1d6, No Trace+1, Improved Grapple, BAB+4
6F1N3B1Cavalier1: Tactician, Coordinated Maneuvers, Order of the Penitent, BAB+5
7F1N3B1C2: Expert Captor, Greater Grapple, BAB+6

Coordinated Maneuvers gives you and all your allies a +2 on all Combat Maneuvers. Greater Grapple lets you Grapple as a Move Action and lets you make 2 Grapple Checks/round to harm your opponent. Expert Captor lets you Tie Up your Opponent without having Pinned your opponent first, and you don't take the -10 you normally do. That means that if you begin your Round adjacent to your opponent such as if you snuck up on it while Invisible, you can Initiate a Grapple as a Standard Action, then Tie it Up as a Move Action, done and dusted in 1 round. You can plausibly get your Grapple Mod up to +30 Full Time by level 9.

Expert Captor carries the drawback that you can't kill any except the most loathesome creatures, but if you have been in a Lovecraftian campaign up against, Undead and Aberrations, well, no problem!

8F1N3B1C2Alchemist1: Vivisectionist, Mutagen, Extracts, Throw Anything, Brew Potion

Alchemists get lots of skills, too. Not as good as Ninjas, but still good. Also, they are very fitting for a Lovecraftian campaign, especially Vivisectionist, which also will let you continue to wrack up your Sneak Attack Damage.

9F1N3B1C2A2: King Crab Tumor Familiar, Infusion, Sneak Attack +1d6, BAB+7

Okay, get yourself a Wand of Touch Injection, and give your Familiar an Infusion of True Strike. Cast True Strike on yourself the round before, then Sneak up on your opponent. Then the next round you Initiate a Grapple as a Standard Action with an extra +20 on your roll; your Familiar injects you with that Infusion of True Strike as a Readied Action. Then you Tie Up your opponent as a Move Action with another +20 on your roll. As I said, with the right magic items, you can up your Grapple Mod to +30 Full Time, so now we just got it up to +50! A Balor Demon's CMD is only 54.

King Crab Familiars give you a +2 on Grapple Checks.

10F1N3B1C2A3: Sneak Attack +1d6, Swift Alchemy, BAB+8
11F1N3B1C2A4: Tentacle, Accomplished Sneak Attacker

The Tentacle give you an extra +4 on your Grapple checks, and hey, Lovecraft!

[Mr. Hebeme]

++ to investigator. I also think a skald could fill the roll you’re looking for too. I’ll put up a couple of builds later today if I get a chance.

[MrCharisma]

Haunt Collector Occultist.

Half-Elf (using Elf FCB)

Starting Stats: S15, D14, C14, I17, W10, C7 (Level STR/INT at 4/8).

Implements:
1. Abjuration/Transmutation
2. Conjuration (Haunted: Champion spirit).
6. Trappings of the warrior

Feats: Combat Reflexes, Shield Focus, Shield brace, Power Attack.

You're now a full BAB character (thanks to Trappings) with 6th level spells. You have 4+INT skills/level (and should have 18 INT by level 8). You also have good AC with a Breastplate and a (Darkwood) Large Shield (with an additional +1 to your shield bonus to AC), and you're wielding a 2-handed weapon with Power Attack, reach and Combat Reflexes.

With your Transmutation Implement resonant power you should have 20 STR, and can give your weapon a +2 enhancement bonus every fight (or hopefully +1 Bane for +3 to hit and +2d6+3 damage).

With your Abjuration implement you can get some very nice swift action defensive buffs, and a free "cloak" of resistance.

With your haunted Conjuration implement you get +2 damage to all attacks, some bonuses to hit/damage a few times a say (I recommend 4 mental focus points for +2/+2 4 times per day) and the ability to teleport short distances as part of a move action.

This should get you ~55 DPR if you can position yourself to get some AoOs (and remember, you can teleport as a move action).