Builds with innovative atypical gameplay


Advice


1 person marked this as a favorite.

My party and I finished a long-term campain last week where i was playing a Battle dancer focusing on Ki-throw/Ascetic style, with a double chained kama that allowed me to trip opponents from a distance and replace them somewhere else (preferably in front of the heavy hitters for juicy AOOs). At higher level, i invested in dirty tricks to deal with ennemies that were too hard to trip or just immune.

I really liked how versatile and atypical the gameplay was in combat, and i was wondering if other uncommon builds like that were possible.

Do you guys know any innovative builds that have fun/atypical gameplay?


I had an Elf Swashbuckler/Ranger/Monk/Magus that used Panther Parry and Crane Riposte to constantly be up in the enemy's grill. He would use movement to draw AoO's from the enemy, symultaneously dealing damage with Panther Parry. Negating hits/symultaneously dealing damage with Crane Riposte and Opportune Parry & Riposte. He had Dex + Wis + Int to AC. Could use Panache with his Rapier, Unarmed Strikes, and Longbow. Could use Ki in place of Panache and Arcane Pool.


VoodistMonk wrote:
I had an Elf Swashbuckler/Ranger/Monk/Magus that used Panther Parry and Crane Riposte to constantly be up in the enemy's grill. He would use movement to draw AoO's from the enemy, symultaneously dealing damage with Panther Parry. Negating hits/symultaneously dealing damage with Crane Riposte and Opportune Parry & Riposte. He had Dex + Wis + Int to AC. Could use Panache with his Rapier, Unarmed Strikes, and Longbow. Could use Ki in place of Panache and Arcane Pool.

That looks like a quite complex if enticing build. Could you elaborate on the build? How did this character fared until all the needed parts fell into place? I like unconventional build too, but that looks very complex to handle.


1. Inspired Blade Swashbuckler
2. Hooded Champion Ranger
3-6. Kata Master/MoMS cMonk
7-12. Kensai Magus

I started playing him at level 9, so I avoided most of the madness and got it enjoy the build with all the pieces in place... didn't have to suffer through 4 levels of core Monk. Lol.

Elf has a +2 to overcome SR, a trait got me +2 CL, he was only level -2 when it came to CL vs SR... not bad for being six levels behind on his Magus crap.

Monk's Robes boosted his Unarmed Strikes to 1D10, and his AC Bonus to +2. He was "Long-Limbed" and with his Fast Movement he had a land speed of 45', which he made the most of.

He didn't take a single point of damage from level 9 to 12... so I retired him, because it wasn't enough a challenge.


Patol wrote:
Do you guys know any innovative builds that have fun/atypical gameplay?

I've posted a few.


I've made a thing but it takes too long to come online for my own taste. It's a "gun-n-sword" build based on the Gruesome Parry deed of renown and Overwatch Style, to automatically threaten critical hits with your x4 Heavy Pick. As a bonus you no longer need to roll any d20's.

Wild Child Brawler 1 / Kata Master MoMS Monk 1 / Id Rager (Dedication) 1 / Gunslinger 7

the deets:
Gruesome Parry wrote:
Some gunslingers wield guns and blades in concert, readying a shot to unbalance attackers and then eviscerating their assailants. At 7th level, the gunslinger can spend 1 grit point when she readies an action to make a ranged attack with a firearm against a creature that declares a melee attack against her. If she does, the readied ranged attack does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If this readied attack hits, she gains a +4 dodge bonus to AC against the triggering attack, and she can make a single melee attack with a slashing or piercing weapon against the creature that attacked her; if this melee attack hits, it is considered to be a critical threat. This deed replaces the dead shot deed and one other 7th-level deed.
Overwatch Style wrote:
While using this style, as a full-round action you can ready two ranged attacks with the chosen weapon, each with its own triggering event. You take a –2 penalty on attack rolls made with these readied actions.

So spend two grit points when we ready two ranged attacks against an attacking melee foe, and we have two potential critical hits if we succeed on a ranged touch attack. Thanks to the level of Monk we get the style feat without prerequisites, and regain Panache/Grit with melee crits/killing blows. Which means we regain the spent grit. With a Shadowshooting Buckler Gun we can 2-hand our weapon for extra damage and do not have to spend actions to reload. Just Power Attack and being Strength-based would be a little over 100 dmg per crit.

Now this sounds good on paper, but that's still three d20's that have to succeed to get one critical hit. So we're gonna stop rolling d20's.

Faith's Hunter (Combat Trait) wrote:
Divine powers smile upon you each time you grievously wound a favored enemy. When you confirm a critical hit against a favored enemy, you may extend the duration of any divine spell affecting you by 1 round. The benefits from multiple critical hits stack. Divine spells with an instantaneous duration can’t be extended in this manner.
Dedicated Adversary wrote:
When you select this feat, choose a specific kind of creature, such as wolf, frost giant, goblin, or babau demon. You gain the ranger’s favored enemy class ability against this particular type of creature with a bonus of +2. This feat does not grant the favored enemy class feature for the purposes of prerequisites. If you later gain the favored enemy class feature, you can replace this feat with a feat for which you qualify and whose prerequisites include the favored enemy class feature.
Touch of Law (Sp) wrote:
You can touch a willing creature as a standard action, infusing it with the power of divine order and allowing it to treat all attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws for 1 round as if the natural d20 roll resulted in an 11. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Right, right. So we flex into Dedicated Adversary at the start of combat (with our level in Brawler) and our animal companion (also from Brawler) with the Auspice archetype has two uses of Touch of Law per day (having taken the Believer's Boon feat once). Now when we critically hit whatever enemy we've chosen with Dedicated Adversary, the duration of a divine spell affecting us increases by 1 round.

I'm a firm believer that effects that mentions spells should always work with Spell-Like Abilities unless they're explicitly disallowed, or the effect itself has something to do with metamagics, spell slots, or the act of casting a spell. So imo the duration of Touch of Law would now increase by 1 round for every critical hit, and our whole attack routine essentially goes from a 60% chance of a critical hit to 100%.

With a level in Spirit Binder Wizard you can get another two uses of the Law domain per day, resulting in a respectable four uses in total.


Unconventional crafting Sorcerer...
1-9. Crossblooded/False Priest Sorcerer
*Arcane & Impossible Bloodlines*
10-14. Pathfinder Savant
15. Cyphermage
16-20. Pathfinder Savant

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Alchemist / Bard (Flame Dancer) 3.

Use bardic performance to allow party to see through smoke and shaped smoke bombs to control battle.

I think I had an infusion buffer built around this at some point.

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

A creepy doll (alternate race trait) halfling who builds jack-in-the-box traps which spring out with a bear trap jaw or the like when activated. She uses her quick trapsmith rogue talent to build and set her jack-in-the-box and cunning trigger to trigger her trap box when someone approaches, while hiding in plain sight looking like a porcelain doll.


I've never actually try to play this build, but I've been curious how effective it could be. Make a bog standard Kinetisist with Aether Blast. At 7th level choose to expand Aether and grab Foe Throw... now you can dimension door your party members.

How? Easy, you target your party member with Foe Throw. Take the optional damage on Telekinetic Blast.

Telekinetic Blast wrote:
Alternatively, you can loosen the strands of aether in order to deal damage to both the object and the target as though you had thrown the object yourself (instead of dealing your normal blast damage).

That should be about 1d4+str mod.

Pick a target on the battlefield. Tell the GM that you intentionally miss. If the GM doesn't allow that, close your eyes and give yourself no bonuses to hit. You only hit on a raw D20 roll, and if you succeed you have a 50% miss chance. The party member you threw ends up in a space of their choice within 30' of the target and not prone.

Foe Throw costs 2 burn, -1 for Infusion Specialists 1, and -1 if you Gather Power, so the real cost to move somebody is your throwing damage in hp. Not bad.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Cawn, the Lovable Scoundrel...
1-4. Charlatan/Guild Agent Rogue
5-X. Brazen Deceiver Bard

A Tengu who is always using Long-Nose Form, pretending to be a Human with a long nose. Cawn is a pathological liar, and is d@mn good at it. At level 15 (Bard-11), Deceptive Tale applies to Impossible Lies... it's over, he can convince you that you aren't you, and if he fails or gets caught in a lie, he can try again, or shrug it off because he's adorable.

Key feats:
1. Lovable Scoundrel
3. Long-Nose Form
5. Extra Rogue Talent
6. Spellsong (bonus)
7. Persuasive
9. Confabulist
11. Rhetorical Finish

Rogue Talents:
2. Black Market Connections (bonus)
2. Obfuscate Story
3. Rumormonger (bonus)
4. Gossip Collector (bonus Social Talent)
4. Steal Story
5. Convincing Lie

Dark Archive

I did this in pfs
Cavalier/ thug rogue/freebooter ranger/bard/ battle herald

Wolf Mount and I used bodyguard feat to add a total of 19 to an adjacent person's AC (10 from me, 9 from wolf)
AoE intimidate (thanks to dazzling display) that causes the frightened condition (thanks to thug rogue) and continues to debuff enemies after they run
Bardic music to buff party and freebooter ability to buff vs single target


Sunder builds don't get much love, but here we have a Ranged Sunder build...

We start with a Half-Orc, Sacred Tattooes, Shaman's Apprentice, Fate's Favored, darkvision, Orc HornBow.

1-3. Archer Fighter
4. Toxophilite Ranger
5-X. Arsenal Chaplain Warpriest

Pretty much spend your time shooting Familiars, wands, Ioune Stones, holy symbols, shields, weapons... just breaking $#!+, but breaking it way over there from way over here.


Does the Vexing Mouser count as atypical?

Grippli, so you're Small, with a CLIMB SPEED.

1. Mouser Swashbuckler
2-9. Vexing Dodger UnRogue
10-15. Mouser Swashbuckler
15-X. Who cares, more UnRogue?

You just climb are over people, stabbing their vital organs in alphabetical order. Once you are climbing on them, they take penalties for trying to attack you, AND penalties for attacking anyone other than you. You have Limb Climber, Underfoot Assault, Debilitating Injury, Hamstring, and Distracting Climber... plus, SO MANY Dirty Tricks... all the Dirty Tricks. And some Sneak Attack, I guess.


VoodistMonk wrote:
Sunder builds don't get much love, but here we have a Ranged Sunder build...

Take Master Craftsman and customize a magic weapon.

Make a Maul of the Titans, only make it +1 instead of +3 to save money, and instead of a Masterwork Greatclub, put it on an Adamantine Earthbreaker. Maybe put it on a sledge hammer and make a character build with Shikigami Style Feats. Combine that with the enchantment from the Shatterspike. Whenever you Sunder, you bypass the first 20 points of an object's hardness, you do triple damage, and any extra damage goes to the wielder of the thing you Sundered.


I think Arcane Trickster builds generally end up being atypical. Most people don't want to wait for six levels of Slayer or Snakebite Striker, so Rogues get used a lot. Which makes accuracy a problem. So the whole martial aspect is often quite lacking for your average Arcane Trickster.

Focusing on spellcasting to take advantage of full spell progresion is inevitably delayed by acquiring Sneak Attack to get into Arcane Trickster. At this point, probably should have just been a full caster and not concerned yourself with Sneak Attack/Arcane Trickster, at all.

Anyways, I have some fun builds trying to capture the full flavor of the Arcane Trickster PrC...

First up is a Kobold NPC I threw together a while ago. This little guy is as confused as the PrC... still wants to do Rogue stuffs, has a lesser version of Martial Flexibility thinking he is cool in combat, but really is just a fun NPC to have around.
1-4. Scout UnRogue
5-8. Eldritch Scrapper Sorcerer
9-18. Arcane Trickster

Another NPC I built, well changed an existing NPC in the AP, to capitalize on sneaky casting. She plays like a Sorcerer, but also has 11D6 Sneak Attack, +12 BAB, and 6th level Bard Spells.
1-10. Sandman Bard
11-20. Arcane Trickster
1-20. VMC Rogue

And finally, just for fun, a necromancer Arcane Trickster. Wasn't really sure about this one, but I actually like the way she turned out. Lots of little things kind of fell into place, she ended up with some good flavor. I could have skipped Accomplished Sneak Attacker and just stayed in Eldritch Scoundrel to gain access to Agent of the Grave, but I wanted to jazz her up with Arcane Trickster.
1-4. Eldritch Scoundrel UnRogue
5-10. Arcane Trickster
11-15. Agent of the Grave


How about a Half-Elf Stygian Slayer VMC Wizard? Take the alternative racial feature Arcane Training for use of wands on the Bard list, choose Illusion as your Wizard school via VMC.

Half-Elf
*Arcane Training (Bard 0-4)

1. Studied Target Ex. (move action) +1
1. Track Ex.
1. VMC School (Extended Illusions Su.)
1. Feat:
2. Slayer Talent:
3. Sneak Attack Ex. +1D6
3. VMC Familiar
4. Invisibility Sp. 1/day
5. 2nd Studied Target
5. Studied Target Ex. +2
5. Feat:
6. Slayer Talent:
6. Sneak Attack Ex. +2D6
7. Studied Target Ex. (swift action)
7. Spell Use (Illusion 0-4)
7. VMC School (Blinding Ray Sp.)
8. Invisibility Sp. 2/day
8. Slayer Talent:
9. Sneak Attack Ex. +3D6
9. Feat:
10. 3rd Studied Target
10. Studied Target Ex. +3
10. Shadowy Mist Form Sp.
11. Swift Tracker Ex.
11. VMC Cantrip (acid splash)
12. Invisibility Sp. 3/day
12. Slayer Talent: Assassinate Ex.
12. Sneak Attack Ex. +4D6
13. Slayer's Advance Ex. 1/day
13. Feat:
14. Quarry Ex.
14. Slayer Talent:
15. 4th Studied Target
15. Studied Target Ex. +4
15. Sneak Attack Ex. +5D6
15. VMC Arcane Discovery
16. Invisibility Sp. 4/day
16. Slayer Talent:
17. Slayer's Advance Ex. 2/day
17. Feat:
18. Slayer Talent:
18. Sneak Attack Ex. +6D6
19. Improved Quarry Ex.
19. VMC School (Invisibility Field Sp.)
20. Invisibility Sp. 5/day
20. 5th Studied Target
20. Studied Target Ex. +5
20. Master Slayer Ex.
20. Slayer Talent:


VoodistMonk wrote:

Does the Vexing Mouser count as atypical?

Grippli, so you're Small, with a CLIMB SPEED.

1. Mouser Swashbuckler
2-9. Vexing Dodger UnRogue
10-15. Mouser Swashbuckler
15-X. Who cares, more UnRogue?

You just climb are over people, stabbing their vital organs in alphabetical order. Once you are climbing on them, they take penalties for trying to attack you, AND penalties for attacking anyone other than you. You have Limb Climber, Underfoot Assault, Debilitating Injury, Hamstring, and Distracting Climber... plus, SO MANY Dirty Tricks... all the Dirty Tricks. And some Sneak Attack, I guess.

I really like the idea but I have some questions:

-The build mixes rogue and swashbuckler, so what stat are you supposed to prioritize? DEX/INT or DEX/CHA?
-How do you cope with DEX being your only source of AC? Light armors don't really help so i feel like the build needs a dip in an AC scaling class like monk
-What feats are necessary/in what order? Do you have room for dirty trick feats?


You get Imp Dirty Trick for free, and a bonus equal to your Sneak Attack die from Distracting Climber. You prioritize Charisma, because there's nothing in the Rogue crap based or keyed off Intelligence. Combat Relfexes, Agile Maneuvers, Dirty Fighting, Athletic, Greater Dirty Trick, Dirty Trick Master... yeah, it's all very doable.

I was wrong in my earlier post, though, definitely continue Swashbuckler after 15. This way you don't lose out on BAB, and you get 11th level deeds.

I mean, you're mixing Rogue and Swashbuckler... neither are well armored. You get a minor cloak of displacement and hope for the best. Take the Armor Master trait and wear Mithral Breastplate (like everyone else).


VoodistMonk wrote:
I think Arcane Trickster builds generally end up being atypical. Most people don't want to wait for six levels of Slayer or Snakebite Striker, so Rogues get used a lot. Which makes accuracy a problem. So the whole martial aspect is often quite lacking for your average Arcane Trickster.

If you want to be like a magic thief though, it's easier just to be a Vivisectionist Alchemist. Or just be a Half Elf and take the Arcane Training Alternate Racial Trait, and you can use Magic Wands.

Half Elf, Arcane Training, Arcanist
1Fighter1: Precise Shot
2F1Ninja1: Sneak Attack 1d6, Ninja Stuff
3F1N2: Ki Pool, Ninja Vanishing Trick, Extra Trick: Rogue Talent: False Attacker

So, now you can use NVT to disappear and find a spider hole using Stealth in the first round. Then the next round you pick off targets of choice with your Wand of Scorching Ray. Ranged Touch Attacks while hidden so against Flatfooted AC, so you get your Sneak Attack Damage. With False Attacker, you stay hidden with a successful Bluff Check, and you don't have to make that Stealth Check at -20 to stay hidden, but you still get it if you need to.

So like from there, you just take levels in Vivisectionist Alchemist, and you still keep growing your Sneak Attack Damage. And you get more magic powers. Your BAB is resepctable. And Alchemists get a decent number of Skill Points, and you can use any other Sorcerer or Wizard Wand.

This just seems like the best way to be a magic thief to me.


VoodistMonk wrote:

Cawn, the Lovable Scoundrel...

1-4. Charlatan/Guild Agent Rogue
5-X. Brazen Deceiver Bard

A Tengu who is always using Long-Nose Form, pretending to be a Human with a long nose. Cawn is a pathological liar, and is d@mn good at it. At level 15 (Bard-11), Deceptive Tale applies to Impossible Lies... it's over, he can convince you that you aren't you, and if he fails or gets caught in a lie, he can try again, or shrug it off because he's adorable.

Key feats:
1. Lovable Scoundrel
3. Long-Nose Form
5. Extra Rogue Talent
6. Spellsong (bonus)
7. Persuasive
9. Confabulist
11. Rhetorical Finish

Rogue Talents:
2. Black Market Connections (bonus)
2. Obfuscate Story
3. Rumormonger (bonus)
4. Gossip Collector (bonus Social Talent)
4. Steal Story
5. Convincing Lie

Long nose form is only once per day. So 15 min per day.


Lemartes wrote:
VoodistMonk wrote:

Cawn, the Lovable Scoundrel...

1-4. Charlatan/Guild Agent Rogue
5-X. Brazen Deceiver Bard

A Tengu who is always using Long-Nose Form, pretending to be a Human with a long nose. Cawn is a pathological liar, and is d@mn good at it. At level 15 (Bard-11), Deceptive Tale applies to Impossible Lies... it's over, he can convince you that you aren't you, and if he fails or gets caught in a lie, he can try again, or shrug it off because he's adorable.

Key feats:
1. Lovable Scoundrel
3. Long-Nose Form
5. Extra Rogue Talent
6. Spellsong (bonus)
7. Persuasive
9. Confabulist
11. Rhetorical Finish

Rogue Talents:
2. Black Market Connections (bonus)
2. Obfuscate Story
3. Rumormonger (bonus)
4. Gossip Collector (bonus Social Talent)
4. Steal Story
5. Convincing Lie

Long nose form is only once per day. So 15 min per day.

It's not a deal-breaker... as an NPC, I have it there for when he interacts with, or is near, the party. If the duration were to run out, and he reverts back to bird form, he can just lie about it.

Poof, he's no longer a Human with a big nose, but a birdman...

"WHAT THE...?"

"What's wrong?"

"You're a freaking Tengu! I thought you were human just a second ago..."

"I am human." Rolls Bluff, succeeds.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

you know you're a good liar when you convince everyone that your real race is a disguise for your disguise!


One character I've always thought might be kind of fun would be a Fighter with dumped Intelligence, lots of Charisma, average Strength & Dexterity, Desna's Shooting Star Fighting Style, and the Advanced Weapon Training abilities that boost Charisma skill.

You basically have this dummy who is super-nice, can become very scary, and is an absolute legend with a Starknife despite how unassuming he looks.


A Str/Cha high ninja who specialises in dirty tricks worked pretty well - turn invisible to get into position and to get the first dirty trick off then keep as many enemies as possible blinded. He could do some decent damage too when necessary.

A summoner who creates hazardous terrain and an eidolon who keeps repositioning enemies into it looks like it should work.

Then there's the iron caster - a fighter/brawler who casts spells via item mastery feats. There's a fighter advanced weapon training to get an item mastery feat, AWT can be a combat feat, and brawlers can flex into combat feats


avr wrote:


Then there's the iron caster - a fighter/brawler who casts spells via item mastery feats. There's a fighter advanced weapon training to get an item mastery feat, AWT can be a combat feat, and brawlers can flex into combat feats

A strange variation on this theme is dipping a few of the better Full BAB classes so you can pump your Fortitude save very early.

Start Gunslinger so you get a firearm at 1st level. Go through your choice of Brawler, Slayer, Ranger and Unchained Monk. You keep full BAB and gain +2 fort and reflex per class. End at Paladin so Will becomes a good save for you. Stat wise you plan on Paladin stats. Taking more than 4 dips gets a bit silly, considering that the item mastery feats max out at +12 fortitude. Also delaying progress on Will saves can be lethal.

Still, picking up item mastery feats to let you see invis, and fly at low levels is going to be really rewarding.


Are Reincarnated Leshy builds atypical?

Toorg-mai
NG Leshy, worships Cayden Cailean,
1-5. Reincarnated Druid
6-15. Herbalist Alchemist
16-20. Brewkeeper

Traits:
...
...
...
... (drawback)

Reincarnated Druid
1. Orisons
1. Spells
1. Nature Sense
1. Nature Bond/Druidic Herbalism
1. Wild Empathy
1(level):

2. Mysterious Stranger

3. Trackless Step
3(level):

4. Resist Death's Touch

5. Many Lives
5(level:

Herbalist Alchemist
6. Alchemy/Herbalism
6. Mutagen
6. Nature Magic
6. Seed Pods 1D6
... deafen
6(class): Brew Potion

7. Seed Pods
... deafen for 1rnd, or
... reduce vision to 10' for 1min
7. Discovery
...
7(level):

8. Swift Alchemy
8. Seed Pods 2D6

9. Discovery
...
9(level):

10. Seed Pods 3D6
... deafen 1rnd, or
... reduce vision 1min, or
... entangle 2D4rnds

11. Discovery
...
11(level):

12. Seed Pods 4D6

13. Seed Pods
... deafen 1rnd, or
... reduce vision 1min, or
... entangle 2D4rnds, or
... sicken 1D4rnds
13. Discovery
...
13(level):

14. Seed Pods 5D6

15. Seed Pods
... deafen 1rnd, or
... reduce vision 1min, or
... entangle 2D4rnds, or
... sicken 1D4rnds, or
... blind to end of next turn
15. Discovery
...
15(level):

Brewkeeper
16. Distilled Spells
16. Faithful Drinker

17. Brew Reservoir
17. Helpful Homebrew
...
17(level):

18. Harmful Homebrew
...
18. Potion Master

19. Helpful Homebrew
...
19(level):

20. Brew Specialization

@20:
BAB: +15/+10/+5
Base Saves: +14/+11/+9
*CL5, 3rd level spells
*CL10, 4th level extracts
**advance either one in Brewkeeper**
(CL9, 5th level spells), or
(CL14, 5th level extracts)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

maybe not an atypical build, but an atypical play

Recently I've wanted to do an Ex-Hench. Pretty typical Fighter/Rogue build. But used to henchmen for one of the big bads of the world. Had some sort of come to Seranrae moment and is now trying to turn his life around. Has ranks in Profession: Henchmen and constantly critiques current minions of their lack of professionalism in their jobs and regales the group with stories of crazy capers he's been on...before he was reformed.

Dark Archive

yukongil wrote:

maybe not an atypical build, but an atypical play

Recently I've wanted to do an Ex-Hench. Pretty typical Fighter/Rogue build. But used to henchmen for one of the big bads of the world. Had some sort of come to Seranrae moment and is now trying to turn his life around. Has ranks in Profession: Henchmen and constantly critiques current minions of their lack of professionalism in their jobs and regales the group with stories of crazy capers he's been on...before he was reformed.

I did a ranger/ inquisitor like that

Mooky McMookerson
Bluffed/ diplomacied for henchmens rights.
Claimed he was part of The Union, please let him do his job or this will have to go in the report.
You are a card carrying member of the Henchmens Local 538, right? Don't wanna have to fine anybody.


"Atypical gameplay".

It's surprisingly hard to come up with something that feels different to play. Even if you're a functionally immortal ghost running through walls with a bardiche held high, or a pouncing shifter dealing sonic damage with their natural attacks, the end result is still just making full-attacks and rolling d20's. I've got a couple of character concepts that seems to fit the bill, though.

===

Idealist Cleric of a deity with the "No Gravity" or "Objective Gravity" traits on their home plane. Starting at level 1 you can create a gravity bubble around you that will shut down any attempts to approach you by those who lack flight. Selective Channeling is a must.

The above-mentioned Gun-n-Pickaxe build that readies firearm attacks to counter enemies with a pickaxe crit to the face. Reactive builds aren't popular for a reason, but actual gun-n-sword (that has synergy) is what I'd call atypical. With the Change of Heart feat you'd also be able to make friends out of enemies during combat with a +70 Diplomacy Modifier.

A mounted Mobile Bulwark Style build that grants Total Cover to allies while shuffling them to safety with Friendly Switch. Since you're sharing your mount's space you'd protect yourself, your mount, and any allies adjacent to your mount with Mobile Fortress. The atypical gameplay would be how to best position yourself while flipping allies all over the battlefield.

Part-time necromancer with Charnel Soldiers and the Friendly Fire betrayal feat. You get a squadron of skeletons and direct them to fire through your space at enemies. They'll not hit a single thing, but the enemy is so surprised that every one of those attacks provoke an AoO.


Wonderstell wrote:
A mounted Mobile Bulwark Style build that grants Total Cover to allies while shuffling them to safety with Friendly Switch. Since you're sharing your mount's space you'd protect yourself, your mount, and any allies adjacent to your mount with Mobile Fortress. The atypical gameplay would be how to best position yourself while flipping allies all over the battlefield.

I didn't know about the Friendly Switch feat, that's exactly the kind of stuff i'm looking for. I feel like these kind of feats have the potential for some really fun shenanigans, just like the ki-throw/ascetic style/reach weapon stuff i was talking about.

Silver Crusade

Play from an animal companion’s perspective. It would be fun to role play and could certainly change your perspective on combat.


.

Shadow Lodge

Oli Ironbar wrote:
Play from an animal companion’s perspective. It would be fun to role play and could certainly change your perspective on combat.

I have seen multiple druid builds where the druid turns into some 4 legged animal and has a companion that rides him.

I also played with one guy who used the animal soul feat (back before it got nerfed) to cast carry companion on himself. So he just had his animal companion following the party around, carrying a little statue of his druid. It was an ape with heavy armor barding so he looked kinda like a knight.


Patol wrote:
I didn't know about the Friendly Switch feat, that's exactly the kind of stuff i'm looking for. I feel like these kind of feats have the potential for some really fun shenanigans, just like the ki-throw/ascetic style/reach weapon stuff i was talking about.

It's one of the best feats of them all imo. Not only does it grant a very valuable ability (ally movement without it costing them anything) and has no (real) prerequisites, but it also comes online so early that it's relevant for any build. It only gets better when you go up in size, too. Displacing a threatened ally when large-sized means 10-15 ft of movement, taking them outside of the enemy's 5-ft step distance.

My only complaint is that it isn't a Combat Feat even though it obviously should be.


Not sure if this counts, but whip investment+whirlwind attack, and having disarm/trip allows for some pretty serious battlefield control. You could even through lunge in there for some extra range. The only issue is it takes a literal ton of feats to get off the ground, but it is doable.


There is being half elf and getting see in darkness from planar heritage (tiefling) -> eyes of the pit + at will deeper darkness from drow blood paragon -> drow noble.

Night blindness for enemies with see in darkness like devils

Your teammates can be tiefling, half or normal human, fanglord, or one of the classes that give see in darkness.

You can also skip the tiefling part and just be half elf or drow if you take one of those classes.

Those classes being shadow shaman(9th level), rouge(10th level, advanced talent) or void kineticist(11th level).


Godfrey Gloop the Goblin

1Fighter1: Precise Shot BAB+1
2F1Alchemist1: Grenadier, Bombs 1d6, Brew Potion, Mutagens, Extracts

Now he's Godfrey Gloop the Goblin Grenadier!

3F1A1Gunslinger1: Grit, Gunsmithing, Gun, Gunslinger stuff, Goblin Gunslinger Feat BAB+2

Now he's Godfrey Gloop the Goblin Grenadier Gunslinger!

The Goblin Gunslinger Feat lets him wield a size Medium Flintlock Pistol

4F1A2G1: Alchemal Weapon, Infusion, BAB+3
5F1A3G1: Burn! Burn! Burn! Bombs 2d6,BAB+4
6F1A4G1: Explosive Missile, BAB+5

With Explosive Missile, he can attach a Bomb that does 2d6 at this point to his bullets and shoot it as a Standard Action. He can attach a flack of Alchemist Fire or Lamp oil it as a Move Action, doing an additional 1d6, and because he has Burn! Burn! Burn! it does an additional 1d4 all as a Ranged Touch Attack. Funny thing is that as an Alchemist he gets a lot of Skill points, so he might be the party skill monkey and the brains of the outfit. What's a good way to go next? How about Grappling?

7F1A4G1Monk1: Improved Grapple, Feat: Extra Discovery, Tentacle
8F1A4G1M1Cavalier1: Constable, Tactician, Challenge, Order of the Penitent, Coordinated Maneuvers, BAB+6
9F1A4G1M1C2: Expert Captor, Greater Grapple, BAB+7

Now he's Godfrey Gloop, the Grappling Goblin Grenadier Gunslinger!

If he begins a round Adjacent to his opponent he can Initiate a Grapple as a Standard Action, then with Expert Captor and Greater Grapple, he can Tie Up an opponent with a Move Action. Agile Maneuvers negates his loss of Strength, and his Size Small Combat Maneuver Penalty will be more than offset by Improved and Greater Grapple: +4, Tentacle: +4, and Coordinated Maneuvers: +2. When he gets a chance, he'll get a King Crab Tumor Familiar for an extra +2. Add some magic items: Armbands of the Brawler +1, Gauntlets of the Skilled Maneuver: +2, Adhesive Armor Enchantment: +2, Brawler Armor Enchantment: +2, and a Belt of Dexterity:+1, maybe some other things and you can plausibly have a full time Grapple mod of Greater than +30! Plus I know a way of making good on True Strike twice in 1 round.

What could be more hilarious than a Goblin Grappler dominating and hogtying a Balor Demon in 1 round? And if he runs into monsters that can't be grappled? Exploding Bullets.


I was thinking another way to achieve the Grapple and Tie Up in 1 round is with 2 levels in Cavalier, 1 level in Monk with the Maneuver Master Archetype, and 1 level in White Haired Witch. You make an Attack with your Hair. If it hits, you get to Initiate a Grapple as a Free Action. Then with Flurry of Maneuvers, you get to make an additional Grapple Check, and with Expert Captor, that check can be to Tie Up your Opponent.

If you take Great Cleave, you could Attack every Adjacent target with your Hair, and Grapple each and every one of them as Free Actions, Grappling multiple opponents at the same time. Since Great Cleave is a Standard Action, you could then use Greater Grapple as a Move Action to Tie Up one of them, then Rapid Grappler to tie up a 2nd as a Swift Action.

If you also take Broken Wing Gambit or Snake Fang, then any of your Grappled opponents that Attack you, even as a Grapple Check to escape the Grapple, they then Provoke Attacks of Opportunity with your 'Hair, triggering additional Free Grapples, letting you Tie them up if successful! Remember that when you have somebody Grappled in your White Hair, they are Grappled, but you are not!

I like the idea of using Grappling to inflict more Damage. If you are wearing Armor Spikes, every successful Grapple Attack comes with bonus Armor Spike Damage. If you take the Hamatula Strike Feat, then every hit with a Piercing Weapon gives you a free Grapple. If you were 2 Weapon Fighting with Piercing Weapons--such as your Armor Spikes!--every hit could score extra damage like you were doubling your number of attacks/round. You might do that with a Natural Attack Build: Natural Attack builds get a lot of Attacks in a Full Attack as it is: say 1 Bite, 1 Gore, 1 White Hair. If you took the Versatile Weapon Feat, you could do that with your Claws, too.


Those are all some really interesting builds. I love the creativity on display.

I haven't done anything like that but I've had a few atypical builds, I think. My first was a monk/druid build that focused on being a master summoner at higher levels that excelled at disarming with stick-style in melee combat.

Another favorite is my eldritch knight who started as an arrowsong muse bard. He took a one-level dip into swashbuckler in order to get the melee components for the character. The eldritch knight came later when I realized it was possible,

The fun thing about playing an arrowsong muse is that if they use the Arrowsong's Lament masterpiece, they can become spontaneous casters with limited prepared spellcasting. The masterpiece allows them to add a new bard or wizard spell to their spell list for the day. It's a super fun and versatile build.

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Tiny race or foxform kitsune + Mouser swashbuckler + vexing dodger rogue.

Climb on your opponents like Kato and unleash the pain as golarions deadliest hat!


Stinky Druid.

Vanilla Druid (or a Toxicologist Druid?):

1. Orisons/Spells
1. Nature Bond
... Yzobu (gets Stench @7)
1. Nature Sense
1. Wild Empathy
1(human): Racial Heritage Ogre
1(level): Toughness
2. Woodland Stride
3. Trackless Step
3(level):  Great Fortitude
4. Resist Nature's Lure
4. Wild Shape 1/day
5(level): Spell Focus Conjuration
6. Wild Shape 2/day
7(level): Corrupted Flesh
8. Wild Shape 3/day
9. Venom Immunity
9(level): Improved Stench
10. Wild Shape 4/day
11(level): Toxic Stench
12. Wild Shape 5/day
13. A Thousand Faces
13(level): Pungent Stench
14. Wild Shape 6/day
15. Timeless Body
15(level): Putrid Summons
16+... more Druid, it just takes this long to get all the stinking feats.

Druid has access to both Amplify Stench and Negate Amora spells.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Advice / Builds with innovative atypical gameplay All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Advice