A dwarf inventor?

[Nik Gervae]

In hopes I might find a chance to playtest this class, I'm thinking about building up a dwarf inventor, with a weapon innovation but also a construct companion that will become a mount when it's advanced. I'd be taking ancestry & other feats to boost survivability to cover the defense side of things.

I usually play caster classes, though, so I'm not terribly up to speed on melee weapons., I'm going to be looking over the weapons but if you have any advice for someone new to that aspect of the game, I'd love to hear it.

Anvil Dwarf heritage and Tinker background are pretty obvious, although that winds up doubling the Specialty Crafting feat and I don't recall if you can replace one of those like you can a skill training.

Likely starting stats: STR 14, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 18, WIS 12, CHA 8

If dropping INT for STR is viable I might do that. Or I might do a ranged-weapon build with DEX, although that's not really how dwarves roll.

I can post more about the build when I have it figured out.

[Salamileg]

You'll definitely want to get that strength up to 16, even at the cost of constitution or maybe even intelligence. It isn't like the Investigator where you can use int to hit, you'll be using str/dex as your attack stat all the time and you don't want that below 16.

[Nik Gervae]

I guess I can move the free boost from dwarf from INT to STR, for 16 in each. Options are limited there for a dwarf. It's a wonky thing having INT be the class stat when what you do is mostly combat anyhow.

[Nik Gervae]

Okay so here we go. Just based on my first read of Inventory and digging around at bits in the main rulebook. The idea is to have a decent front-/mid-line armored combatant, with a mount at some point.

Browver - Anvil Dwarf Inventor

STR 16, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 16, WIS 12, CHA 8

Anvil Dwarf Heritage grants Crafting, Specialized Crafting (blacksmithing, woodworking)

This is the Crafting class par excellence, so I guess I'll push that as far as I can.

Background: Laborer – Athletics, Athletics Lore, Hefty Hauler feat (+2 to bulk limits)

Guess I'm the party mule!

Additional skills: Acrobatics, Arcana, Engineering Lore, Occultism, Society, Stealth, Thievery

Obvious picks are the INT and STR skills, with a bit of room for other useful skills.

Innovation: Weapon
I think a Maul would be fun, but I'm gonna get a construct companion too (a robo-dino or a robo-bear). Default modifications:

Level 1: Modular Head or Razor Prongs - Looks like a Maul obviates a couple modifications right off the bat!

Level 9: Aerodynamic or Manifold Alloy

Level 17: Momentum Retainer or Rune Capacity, - Both seem like nice boosts. - Extensible Weapon or Impossible Alloy as needed.

The innovation modifications for the construct didn't really grab me but some of the base features are nice. I think I could switch this build to a construct innovation without much fuss.

Innovation: Construct
Or I could do the construct as the innovation instead and have a plain old maul. Default modifications:

Level 1: Accelerated Mobility - Good for when it becomes my mount.

Level 9: Advanced Weaponry - Complex Simplicity or Razor Prongs (if its Athletics will be enough)

Level 17: Runic Keystone or Resistant Coating.

The innovation modifications for the construct didn't really grab me but some of the base features are nice. I think I could switch this build to a construct innovation without much fuss.

Ancestry & General Feats
Looks like we're going for combat boosts most of the way here. Toughness + Mountain's Stoutness will mean lots more hit points, but given the lack of a peak stat, Heroes' Call has its appeal. Might be nice to fit Canny Acumen in there?

1a) Dwarven Doughtiness (frightened reduces by 2)
5a) Defy the Darkness (gr. darkvision) - Dwarven Reinforcement is thematic but situational, as is Sheltering Slab. Boulder Roll could be fun?
9a) Heroes' Call (heroism spell) •OR• Mountain's Stoutness (+level HP) - Battleforger sounds nice but everybody will probably have rune by then. Right?
13a) Telluric Power •OR• one of the 9a feats
17a) Stonegate •OR• one of the earlier choices

3g) Fleet •OR• Incredible Initiative •OR• Toughness - These are the big three, it's a question of what order to take them. But for a dwarf with 20' move, Fleet is probably going to be first.
7g) Fleet •OR• Incredible Initiative •OR• Toughness
11g) Fleet •OR• Incredible Initiative •OR• Toughness
15g) ??? - probably a skill feat (Craft Anything?)
19g) ??? - I have no idea

Class Feats
As with an animal companion, the upgrading feats are essentially required picks which leaves a few open choices.

1c) Prototype Companion - If I do a construct innovation, I might go with Tamper here, but I'm really not sure about the level 1 feats.
2c) Searing Restoration - I'm already taking all the companion-upgrading feats, so No! No is out. Searing Restoration is goofy enough and will help me take even more punishment.
4c) Advanced Construct Companion - gonna make it Large so I can ride it
6c) Clockwork Celerity - Lightning bolts are cool but spellcasters do them better. Then again, at level 12, you get to ricochet them around! Visual Fidelity is good vs. invisibles, compared to Greater Darkvision via an ancestroy fea, and there are some interesting other ancestry feats..
8c) Incredible Construct Companion
10c) Manifold Modifications - Meddling just doesn't interest me.
12c) Boost Modulation - I can't see myself throwing gadgets willy-nilly, so mucking with my own weapon it is. Unless I want to ricochet lightning around with Gigavolt! If unstable becomes more usable I ight go for that instead.
14c) Paragon Companion - Unstable Redundancies sure would be nice though.
16c) You Failed to Account for...This! - Haven't actually done the math, but if that doesn't pan out, then I will get...Unstable Redundancies!
18c) Devastating Weaponry - Since I'm not interested in Meddling, this is what's left me.
20c) Full Automation - Still not interested in lobbing sprockets at my teammates's weapons.

Notably, without knowing exactly how they're going to fix the whole unstable thing, I'm not tempted to pick many feats with the keyword, which is one of the reasons I'm doing a weapon but taking all the companion feats. Many of the unstable class feats seem a bit underwhelming anyhow.

Skill Training Feats
Obviously as a class based all around Crafting, I'm going to take a lot of Crafting skill feats. Although I've heard elsewhere that the Crafting rules are a mess, so maybe not? That'll still leave room for some other skill feats later on. I really don't know much about Athletics feats but skimming over then none seemed like must-haves. Maybe Cloud Jump? :-P

3t) Expert Crafting - This is going up first, obviously.
5t) Expert Athletics - Good for melee combat moves.
7t) Master Crafting
9t) Master Athletics
11t) Expert Society - Gotta take something! Happy to hear of a better pick.
13t) Master Society
15t) Legendary Crafting
17t) Legendary Athletics
19t) Legendary Society

1s) Specialty Crafting (blacksmithing, woodworking) - from Anvil Dwarf ancestry
1s) Athletics: Hefty Hauler - from Laborer background
1s) Inventor - free with the class, I'll take it

2s) Assurance (Crafting) - seems like an obvious pick
4s) Quick Repair - faster is better, especially without Unstable Repair
6s) Magical Crafting (?) - I'm not a spellcaster but this still works, right?
8s) Impeccable Crafting - In for a penny....
10s) Trick Magic Item - I don't have the skill training but I'm running out of ideas for skill feat picks.
12s) Society: Streetwise
14s) Society: Underground Network
16s) Craft Anything (will probably take as 15g feat)
18s) ??? - Out of ideas....
20s) ???

[Nik Gervae]

I think one big loss of going with a weapon innovation and a regular construct companion is that then Overdrive doesn't apply to the construct as well, which it does with a construct innovation. Also, having Explode center on myself instead of my disposable/replaceable construct is living more dangerously.

Then again, all the boosts to my own weapon, a 1d12 maul, look like they'll really pile up over the construct's base 1d6 damage (which as an innovation would be upgradable to 1d8).

I haven't really thought about the Cortex upgrades to Intimidation, Stealth, and Survival. I can see a hissing, clanking, clockwork beast being intimidating, but sneaky? I'll leave scouting to the familiars and tracking to the rangers.

[QuidEst]

- A construct's base weapon is 1d8. They have 1d6 as an agile finesse secondary.
- Explode centering on yourself is less risky than on your construct, because unless I missed something, it can't hit yourself.

[Nik Gervae]

QuidEst wrote:

- A construct's base weapon is 1d8. They have 1d6 as an agile finesse secondary.

Ah well that's better then. Something about Paizo's writing makes it really easy for me to miss key bits of information.

QuidEst wrote:

- Explode centering on yourself is less risky than on your construct, because unless I missed something, it can't hit yourself.

Yes, but to explode with any impact, you have to be in the thick of melee, which means you are definitely getting pounded on. With the construct exploding, you could trigger it from a safer position, and possibly be using a ranged weapon. That's not how this build is...built, but it's a possibility.