So.. I had this random idea.. Of a character build arround intimidation so I was wondering, What items/feats buff intimidation? And what feats interact with intimidation? I seem to recall something where you could hit someone if you intimidated them..? Am I missremembering..?
Anyone got any fun and intresting builds for a intimidation based character? Sugestions for race? I was thinking Half Orc.
Oh! And any sugestions for class? Was thinking maybe Alchemist..
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The feat combo is curnagon smash (free intimidate on those you power attack) and hurtful (immediate action swing on anyone that is demoralized).
There are several alchemic items good for an intimidate bonus, skill focus or intimidating prowess are the usual boosting feats.
There are also a couple slayer specific feats and the dazzling display chain.
Thanks! I knew I had a vague memory of a feat combo. I am just realy bad at remembering what things are called!
There's also Enforcer if you're willing to deal non-lethal damage. The only pre-req outside of dealing n/l is 1 rank in Intimidate. Any n/l hit with a melee weapon triggers Indimidate to inflict Shaken which, if successful, lasts a number of rounds equal to damage dealt; if you Crit to deal 1 round of Frightened and the remaining rounds Shaken.
There's Dazzling Display, which requires Weapon Focus first. If you have these 2 feats you can use a Full-Round action to make an Intimidate check to demoralize any foe within 30' that witnesses your actions.
Intimidating Prowess adds your Str score as well as your Cha score to the bonus for Intimidate; Skill Focus: Intimidate is obvious; Bloody Mess lets you take an amount of damage from Slashing, Piercing or Bleed sources that are equal to or greater than your Character Level and if you live through that you can make an immediate Intimidate check against the damage dealer - if the damage came from a successful Crit then you inflict Sickened instead of Shaken.
What kind of build are you looking to do? Are you just demoralizing foes, or maybe you use Intimidate with the Antagonize feat to make foes target you while you tank your AC? Maybe you're playing a Slayer and looking to Intimidate with Killing Flourish to make everyone afraid when you drop a foe? What's on your mind?
It will be important to pay attention to your bonus types.
Feral Mutagen(alchemist) can get you +2 competence bonus on intimidate while your mutagen is active.
I like the skill unlocks for intimidate, which allows you to frighten in addition to demoralize, though you may need to take 5 levels of Unchained Rogue depending on the campaign (PFS vs home). That said, Rogue has a few archetypes that work well, I like Rake because you can forgo a sneak attack die for a free action intimidate check and a +5 circumstance bonus per die past the first. I typically mix it with Underground Chemist for a different take on Alchemist.
Other people like Thug which lets you trade out Shaken rounds for Frightened and can forgo sneak attack dice for the ability to Sicken. I prefer the skill unlock and a Cruel weapon.
Next, a few consumables.
Gravelly Tonic(50gp, 1 hour) for +5 alchemical bonus.
Elixir of the Thundering Voice(250gp, 1 hour) for a +10 competence bonus.
With just those 2, you pretty much won't be failing.
Dead Man's Headband(3600gp) for a +2 circumstance bonus. Or just Masterwork tools(50gp) though they are typically more awkward to use in combat. Thremyr's Beard, Lesser(32,250gp) for the +5 circumstance.
Deific Obedience(Kazutal) for a +2 sacred bonus, for a +4, or Iron Eye of you have access to Channel Energy which may be profane if you channel negative.
Deific Obedience(Gyronna/Ozranvial, Zipacna) for a +4 profane bonus.
Dahak would be a +2.
Also bear in mind that bonuses directly to Charisma (and other ability scores if you add them too), may also apply. Circlet of Persuasion/Enlongated Cranium/etc.
Gory weapon for an immediate demoralize after you crit. A bit expensive at a +3 enchantment. I prefer the Cruel enchantment(+1) because it allows you to tack on sickened if you hit an already demoralized opponent.
I like Larger than Life which doesn't give you a direct bonus, but size matters for intimidate checks, so its effectively a +4 most of the time. You either get a -4 if you are smaller, no penalty if you are the same size, or a +4 if you are larger than the opponent. You can get a similar effect from a Rod of Subtle Menace(12,305gp).
As mentioned, Hurtful, Enforcer and Cornugon Smash work well.
@Mark Hoover 330 I... Actualy dident have a plan when I asked this.. Sorry... I just had the random idea of a big burly intimidating guy who uses intimidation to get his will through, To intimidate people to make them back down from fights and maybe to get them to focus on him if possible.. I'm not quite sure whats possible, And I dident think this through.. Sorry!
@Firebug Thank you for the list!
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When it comes to an intimidate build you'll probably want to consider a 1 level dip into rogue(thug) in order to pick up the ability Frightening.
Frightening (Ex) wrote: Whenever a thug successfully uses Intimidate to demoralize a creature, the duration of the shaken condition is increased by 1 round. In addition, if the target is shaken for 4 or more rounds, the thug can instead decide to make the target frightened for 1 round. This ability replaces trapfinding. This causes enemies to literally run away from you. Other fun things to consider
Memorable(trait)
Adopted[Ifrit] + Fiery Glare
This allows you to always take 10 on your checks and if you beat the DC by 5 you can automatically make them frightened instead of demoralized.
I'd also look at the feat Scrutinize Spell. Sure, it only works on spellcasters but then again those are probably the types of creatures you most want to run away from you. It's unclear to me if the free intimidate granted by this feat requires you to be within 30 feet of the target.
The Soulless Gaze feat from the Champions of Corruption player companion allows you to cause stronger fear conditions instead of increasing the duration of shaken when you intimidate at two damnation feats and intimidate as a swift action at four.
My favorite is the Teisatsu/Stalker Vigilante build that exploits Twisting Fear to get unlimited AoE damage against anything that isn't immune to intimidation.
Run into a room, use Dazzling Display, everyone within 30' takes 1d4 damage (+1d4 every odd level) and is shaken (if you take Signature Skill: Intimidate, you can push that fear effect all the way through the fear levels, frightened, panicked, even Cowering at high enough levels)
Intimidate can be insanely broken, as it is super easy to demoralize enemies, and it is super easy to get your skill high enough that you auto succeed against anything that isn't just fully immune.
I'm looking to do some Intimidating with my Half Orc Primalist Bloodrager.
I'll be taking DREADFUL CARNAGE in a couple of levels (free action, Intimidate all foes within 30 feet when I kill an enemy).
At the same time I'll take the Barbarian Rage Power TERRIFYING HOWL (Standard action, force all shaken enemies within 30 feet to become panicked, will save negates).
Java Man wrote: The feat combo is curnagon smash (free intimidate on those you power attack) and hurtful (immediate action swing on anyone that is demoralized). Just a note, HURTFUL is from the Monster Codex, and is technically a Bugbear feat. While the feat doesn't list "Bugbear" as a prerequisite, it's probably worth checking with your GM about it (the book says: "The following feats are common among Bugbears", so it's not exclusive, but it's worth checking).
Dazzling display leads to some more feats with ___ display as names. A surprising number of them are race-specific, but not all.
I should start by saying I am not a super fan of Intimidate builds. I played around with some ideas for builds.
Intimidating Prowess lets you add your ST and CH to your Intimidate Roll instead of just your CH.
Make yourself big? Enlarge Person, Monstrous Physique? Wildshape? The bigger you are, the more your Intimidate bonus.
Shatter Defenses makes your opponents Flatfooted, and that's Intimidate Based.
If you are making your opponents Flatfooted, it seems a shame not to be doing lots of Sneak Attack Damage, so I'd say lots of level in Ninja, Vivisectionist, or Unchained Rogue for you.
I'd work in Sap Adept, Sap Master, and Knockout Artist, and double your Sneak Attack fun.
I just want to second what one of the other posts said. Intimidation builds are easy to break the game with. Defending against intimidate is extremely hard. I've seen campaigns absolutely busted by the thig archetype. By itself intimidate isn't so bad shaken is manageable unless you're a psychic caster, but once you can fear stack (which is pretty easy to do) you can make it not fun. It's not so bad with abilities that allow a traditional saving throw.
Thanks for all the replies! I'm still not sure what I wanted to do with this idea, It was just a random thought I couldent stop myself from asking about. But you have all given me plenty to think about, Thanks!
I like Violent Display for the potential to have a high initiative character jump out, do a sneak attack, and suddenly apply whatever intimidate debuffs they have against everyone within 30 feet. It's a nice way to give yourself valid targets for ranged sneak attacking too if you're using Shatter Defenses, and it pairs nicely with the Thug archetype's Frightening ability.
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Lots of people have already mentioned Cornugon Smash, Shatter Defenses, etc., so I'll add Shadows of Fear.
If you're going with alchemist and don't care as much about bombs, the vivisectionist archetype gets you sneak attack. The fun synergy with this and shatter defenses is that if they're shaken, you get sneak attack on every attack in a round. However you get them demoralized, you attack and Shadows of Fear gets you sneak attack on the first hit. Shatter Defenses makes them flat-footed, so you get sneak attack the rest of the round and then every round after that.
I'll second Dreadful Carnage, too. Gory Finish is basically the same thing with different requirements. You'll be downing enemies with your piles of damage and be ready to hunt down everyone else on the battlefield.
Since Violent Display is technically only available to weretigers and their kin, Frightening Ambush is another option for high initiative shenanigans. It feels less useful overall, but ymmv.
Blistering Invective is a feat-lite version of Dazzling Display. It is also based on them hearing you versus seeing you so there might be a niche advantage against blinded foes. The save is just to stop from catching fire, there is no save for the 1d10 fire damage.
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