Best "Intimidating" Fighter?

[Timeshadow]

I'm thinking human adopted anc to Hobgoblin to take Remorseless Lash feat at 1st lvl Using heaviest armor available and a reach weapon. 18Str/16Cha 12Wis/Con 10Int/Dex.

At lvl2 Marshal Archtype will give exp Intimidate and access for dread stance at 4th.

What else can make this a super intimidating killing machine.

[Ventnor]

A Braggart Swashbuckler who gets the Derring-Do feat at 10th level gets to roll twice and take the higher result whenever they try to intimidate an enemy while they have panache.

[Castilliano]

Barbarian, Fighter, Monk (Dragon Roar), and Rogue all have good abilities re: Intimidation so it's a matter of which chassis or imagery you wish to build upon (as well as party synergy). It doesn't take that many feats to get the ball rolling. So you'll need to figure out what other feats/abilities you want to use once they're intimidated or if they're immune.

Remorseless Lash requires hitting, so I might suggest Fighter for best guarantee and the armor you crave, plus the AoO for that Reach weapon. If so, then you don't necessarily need that much Cha because of Intimidating Strike. (Factor in the levels you expect to play through and other skills, etc.) Marshal might get you that Expert level sooner, but balance that with other MCDs which might open up more options (depending on how much you like a Marshal's other feats.)

[NECR0G1ANT]

Remember to wear a Demon Mask or a Mask of the Banshee.

[Timeshadow]

I'm thinking hard hitting good def with great intimidation. Of course I'll be taking intimidating prowess and the best item for extra intimidate as well.

[manbearscientist]

Personally, I would build a CE Hobgoblin Champion of Calistria. This is because the basic skill check will always remain:

Intimidation Proficiency + Charisma + Item Bonus + Status Bonus + Circumstance Bonus vs Will DC - Status Penalties - Circumstance Bonus

For virtually any martial, you will end up with everything maxed out but status bonus. Evil champions can not only easily get a status bonus (while scaling class features on Charisma), they also can impose a circumstance penalty. This makes them significantly more likely to succeed than other classes (without Heroism).

I will assume this is under the alternate free archetype system. Mostly because I prefer it and only play with it.

Hobgobling (Tiefling Heritage)
1-Pitborn
5-Agonizing Rebuke
9-Fiendish Wings
13-Fiend's Door
17-Relentless Wings

Antipaladin
1-Deity's Domain (Pain)
2-Conceited Mindset / Marshal Dedication
4-Aura of Despair / Dread Marshal Stance
6-Rallying Charge / Celebrity Dedication
8-Smite Evil or Good / Mesmerizing Gaze
10-Litany of Self-Interest / Never Tire
12-Radiant Blade Spirit / Martial Artist Dedication
14-Divine Reflexes/Gorilla Stance
16-Expand Aura/Gorilla Pound
18-Path of Iron/Swashbuckler Dedication
20-Basic Flair ("You're Next") / Advanced Flair (Derring-Do")

General
3-Incredible Initiative
7-Toughness
11-Fleet
15-Scare to Death
19-Canny Acumen

Skill
1-Intimidating Glare
2-Intimidating Prowess
4-Bon Mot
6-Terrifying Resistance
8-Battle Cry
10-Terrifying Retreat
12-Evangelize
14-Group Coercion
16-Quick Coercion
18-Reveal Machinations
20-Entourage

Stats
Ancestry- +Free(STR)/+Extra(CHA)/+INT/-Extra(-WIS/-DEX)
Background- +STR/+CHA (Raised by Belief)
Class- +STR
Initial- +STR/+CON/+WIS/+CHA
SUM - 18/8/12/12/10/16
5- 19/8/14/12/12/18
10-20/8/16/12/14/19
15-21/8/16/14/16/20
17-21/8/16/14/16/22 (Apex Charisma)
20-22/10/16/16/18/22

Initial Skills-
* Champion - Religion
* Calistria - Intimidation (instead of Deception)
* Background - Deception (Raised by Belief)
* 2+Int(3) - Athletics, Diplomacy, Occultism

Skill Increases
2-Marshal Dedication - Intimidation expert
3-Deception Expert
5-Diplomacy Expert
6-Celebrity Dedication -
7-Intimidation Master
9-Deception Master
11-Diplomacy Master
13-Occultism Expert
15-Intimidation Legendary
17-Deception Legendary
18-Swashbuckler Dedication - trained in Acrobatics/Medicine
19-Diplomacy Legendary

Items (2 per level)
1-Silvertongue mutagen (lesser)
2-Magic Weapon +1
3-Other
4-Demon Mask/+1 Striking weapon
5-Magic Armor +1/Other
6-Other
7-Grim Trophy/Wounding Rune
8-+1 resilient armor/Other
9-Mask of the Banshee/Other
10-+2 striking weapon/Other
11-+2 resilient armor/Other
12-+2 greater striking weapon/Greater Fearsome Rune
13-Other
14-+2 greater resilient armor/Other
15-Other
16-+3 major striking weapon/Speed Rune
17-Circlet of Persuasion/Silvertongue Mutagen(major)
18-+3 greater resilient armor
19-Mask of the Banshee (Greater)/+3 major strike weapon

* 1-Silvertongue Mutagen - +1/2/3/4 item bonus at 1/3/11/17
* 4-Demon Mask - +1 item bonus, fear DC 20
* 4-Fear Gem - Make an Intimidating Strike per Fighter feat
* 7-Grim Trophy - Compare Demoralize result to 2 targets DCs
* 9-Belt of the Five Kings - +1 circumstance bonus vs orcs and giants
* 9-Mask of the Banshee - +2 item bonus
* 10-Demon Mask (Greater) - +2 item bonus, 3rd level fear DC 29
* 11-Gorget of the Primal Roar - +2 item bonus, AoE pseudo-Demoralize once per polymorph effect
* 19-Mask of the Banshee (greater) - +3 item bonus
Diploma

Below is a list of the factors that I perused going through this build.

ANCESTRIES

Hobgoblin
* 1-Remorseless Lash - Hitting a frightened foe in melee stops them from reducing frightened condition
* 5-Agonizing Rebuke - 1d4-3d4 damage on Demoralize depending on proficiency

Human
* 1-Quah Bond (Shoanti) - trained in intimidation, assurance(intimidation)

Kobold
* 1-Dragon's Presence - +1 circumstance bonus on Demoralize vs your level or lower

Tengu
* 1-Squawk! - Reaction to get failure instead of critical failure on Intimidation check

Tiefling
* 1-Fiendlish Lore - Free trained proficiency in Intimidation

CLASSES

Alchemist:
* 8-Feral Mutagen - Mutagen item bonus on intimidation checks-bestial
* 16-Genius Mutagen - Mutagen item bonus on intimidation checks-cognitive
* 14-Glib Mutagen - Ignore circumstance penalties and linguistic requirements on Intimidation checks (silvertongue already gives item bonuses and makes crit. fails into fails)
Barbarian:
* 1-Raging Intimidation - Free Intimidating Glance + Scare to Death fears

Champion
* 4-Aura of Despair - Enemies get -1 circumstance penalty to fear within 15', and can't reduce frightened condition

Fighter:
* 2-Intimidating Strike - Two-Action, Strike and target becomes frightened 1 if you hit, 2 if you crit.
* 6-Shatter Defenses - Press. Strike, if you hit frightened target is flat-footed and can't lose frightened till after your next urn
* 10-Fearsome Brute - 2/frightened circumstance bonus to damage

Investigator
* Lie Detector - +1 circumstance bonus to first Intimidation check after you catch someone in a lie

Monk
* 6-Dragon Roar - AoE pseudo-demoralize, stops frightened from dropping below 1, +4 status bonus to damage on first strike vs frightened creature.
* 6-Gorilla Pound - One-Action Demoralize>Strike (Gorilla Stance strikes only] with 3/Frightened status bonus to damage if you hit

Rogue
* 1-You're Next - Demoralize Reaction (Free if legendary) with +2 circumstance bonus after reducing enemy to 0
* 4-Dread Striker - Any creature that is frightened is also flat-footed to your attacks
* 6-Watch Your Back - Intimidation vs Will DC to give target -2 vs status penalty vs fear effects (Bon Mot is superior if you have high Diplomacy, but is redundancy if you are trying to Demoralize > Scare to Death at high levels)

Swashbuckler
* 1-You're Next - Demoralize Reaction (Free if legendary) with +2 circumstance bonus after reducing enemy to 0
* 2-Antagonize - After Demoralize, target must make hostile action towards you or frightened condition can't go down
* 8-Flamboyent Cruelty - +X/condition status bonus to damage if target has at least 2 (not per value of condition), and hitting such a foe gives +1 to panache granting actions
* 10-Derring-Do - Roll twice and take higher result if you have panache (and are a braggart)

ARCHETYPES

Celebrity
* 2-Dedication - Upstage reaction to get bonus on skill checks
* 6-Mesmerizing Gaze - Creature must make Will DC, which intimidation lowers.

Firebrand Braggart
* 2-Dedication - Boast about a skill action. Next time you do it, attempt to roll twice take lower and if you still succeed you get +1 circumstance bonus for 10 minutes.
6-Boaster's Challenge - Intimidate check for +2-6 status bonus to damage depending on proficiency

Gladiator
* 8-Call Your Shot - Reaction, Make a creature frightened 1 after bringing another to 0 HP

Hellknight
* 2-Dedication - free expert proficiency, +1 circumstance bonus on intimidation

Hellknight Armiger
* 2-Dedication - free expert proficiency, +1 circumstance bonus on intimidation

Hellknight Signifier
* 2-Dedication - free trained or expert proficiency

Marshal
* 2-Dedication - Free expert proficiency.
* 4-Dread Marshal Stance - +1/dice status bonus to you and allies within 10/20 feet, also inflict frightened 1 on critical hit

Vigilante
* 12-Frightening Appearance - AoE Demoralize with setup

Zephyr Guard
* 4-Decry Thief - Give Demoralize target speed and stealth penalties

SKILL FEATS

Intimidation
* 1-Intimidating Glare - Demoralize loses auditory trait, gain visual, no linguistic penalties
* 2-Intimidating Prowess - +1 to +2 circumstance bonus, ignore linguistic penalty on Coerce or Demoralize (NOT Scare to Death)
* 2-Terrifying Resistance - After demoralizing caster, get +1 circumstance bonus vs their spells for 1 day
* 7-Battle Cry - Demoralize on initiative (Free), or critical strike (reaction, only if legendary)
* 7-Terrified Retreat - Critical success on Demoralize makes lower level enemies flee
* 15-Scare to Death - Incapacitation traited super-Demoralize with death on critical success (worth even on higher level foes to get around Demoralize immunity after first use)

Deception
* 15-Reveal Machinations. One-Action Deception check to make target frightened 2/3.

Diplomacy
* 1-Bon Mot - Lots of bad traits (which can make it useless), but awesome setup. Easy -2 or -3 to Will Saves, off the same stat as Intimidate. Very solid if you want to kill with Scare to Death.

Occultism
* 7-Disturbing Knowledge - Two-Action activity that compares Occultism check vs Will DCs of any number of creatures in 30 feet. Causes frightened, confused on critical success. Intimidate works well to setup or follow-up on.

ITEMS

* 1-Silvertongue Mutagen - +1/2/3/4 item bonus at 1/3/11/17
* 4-Demon Mask - +1 item bonus, fear DC 20
* 4-Fear Gem - Make an Intimidating Strike per Fighter feat
* 7-Grim Trophy - Compare Demoralize result to 2 targets DCs
* 9-Belt of the Five Kings - +1 circumstance bonus vs orcs and giants
* 9-Mask of the Banshee - +2 item bonus
* 10-Demon Mask (Greater) - +2 item bonus, 3rd level fear DC 29
* 11-Gorget of the Primal Roar - +2 item bonus, AoE pseudo-Demoralize once per polymorph effect
* 19-Mask of the Banshee (greater) - +3 item bonus
Diploma

[lemeres]

manbearscientist wrote:

* 4-Fear Gem - Make an Intimidating Strike per Fighter feat

Isn't that a talisman, which makes it a limited use item?

I like the suggestion, but that isn't the best way to use it. Fear gems can give you access to the fighter feat...or upgrade it if you have it already. The fear gem turns intimidating strike into a move that does frightened 2/crit 3.

You can get around the limited use of the gem if you take the talisman dabbler archetype (can create a few temporary talismans per day; basically, like an alchemist with extracts).

[Timeshadow]

So I really like what I am seeing here but I tend to play LN/CN alinments at worst and tend towards CG most of the time. So I'd shy away from any Evil themed characters. I'm looking at Fighter as my base Class cause I want to be able to hit hard to give them a reason to fear me :-) and decent armor. I like reach weapons over sword and board Whip is to weenie damage and wile flickmace is good it has a steep feat cost and considering I want to lean into intimidate this might not be possible besides it is not a weapon I associate with fear.

So Requirements: Good aligned, Fighter Class as base (though this is the least set in stone if I can get good benefits in another martial), reach weapon, Mod-High AC/HP

[shroudb]

What i theorised for such a concept was going Martial artist for Gorilla stance/Pound.

It doesn't work with Remorsless but it does work with Agonizing from the hobgolbin side, and the gorilla attack, apart from being extremely good action economy (intimidate+attack in 1 action, with the intimidate being before the strike) it's also a remarkably good "one-hander" as a d8 with bonus circumstance damage from Intimidate (usually +3) and both Forceful and Backswing for keeping up the circumstance bonus damage on the second (and even more on third) attack from Forceful.

The remorsless effect can be somewhat replicated since you're a fighter with Shatter defences. As long as you flank before you Gorilla smash+Shatter defences your enemy it's the same effect.

[manbearscientist]

If you were going fighter instead of CE Champion, and wanted to stay Martial then instead I'd go:

Hobgobling (Tiefling Heritage)
1-Pitborn
5-Agonizing Rebuke
9-Remorseless Lash
13-Fiendish Wings
17-Relentless Wings

Fighter
1-Snagging Strike
2-Intimidating Strike/ Marshal Dedication
4-Knockdown / Dread Marshal Stance
6-Shatter Defenses/ Rallying Charge
8-Martial Artist Dedication / Gorilla Stance
10-Fearsome Brute / Gorilla Pound
12-Celebrity Dedication / Grievous Blow
14-Stance Savant/ Path of Iron
16-Never Tire/Mesmerizing Gaze
18-Swashbuckler Dedication/Basic Flair ("You're Next")
20-Weapon Supremacy / Advanced Flair (Derring-Do")

General
3-Toughness
7-Fleet
11-Breath Control
15-Scare to Death
19-Canny Acumen

Skill
Background - Any
Pitfiend - Assurance(Athletics)
1-Titan Wrestler
2-Intimidating Prowess
4-Bon Mot
6-Terrifying Resistance
8-Battle Cry
10-Terrifying Retreat
12-Intimidating Glare
14-Underwater Marauder
16-Quick Swim
18-Water Sprint
20-Legendary Negotiator

Stats
Ancestry- +Free(STR)/+Extra(CHA)/+INT/-Extra(-WIS/-DEX)
Background- +STR/+CHA (Raised by Belief)
Class- +STR
Initial- +STR/+CON/+WIS/+CHA
SUM - 18/8/12/12/10/16
5- 19/8/14/12/12/18
10-20/8/16/12/14/19
15-21/8/16/14/16/20
17-21/8/16/14/16/22 (Apex Charisma)
20-22/10/16/16/18/22

Initial Skills-
* Fighter - Athletics
* Background - Any
* 3+Int(4) - Acrobatics, Diplomacy, Religion, Intimidation

Skill Increases
2-Marshal Dedication - Intimidation expert
3-Diplomacy Expert
5-Athletics Expert
7-Intimidation Master
9-Diplomacy Master
11-Athletics Master
13-Religion Expert
15-Intimidation Legendary
17-Diplomacy Legendary
18-Swashbuckler Dedication - trained in Acrobatics/Medicine
19-Athletics Legendary

Items (2 per level, consumables listed as a 'pick up at a higher level' option)
1-Silvertongue mutagen (lesser)
2-Magic Weapon +1
3-Other
4-Demon Mask/+1 Striking weapon
5-Magic Armor +1/Other
6-Other
7-Grim Trophy/Wounding Rune
8-+1 resilient armor/Other
9-Mask of the Banshee/Other
10-+2 striking weapon/Other
11-+2 resilient armor/Other
12-+2 greater striking weapon/Greater Fearsome Rune
13-Other
14-+2 greater resilient armor/Other
15-Other
16-+3 major striking weapon/Speed Rune
17-Circlet of Persuasion/Silvertongue Mutagen(major)
18-+3 greater resilient armor
19-Mask of the Banshee (Greater)/+3 major strike weapon

Basically, this build throws in Athletics for good measure. It does good damage with its Martial Artist stuff, while potentially wielding a shield + heavy armor. It can go after Fort (Grapple), Reflex (Trip) or Will (Demoralize).