|
Close to this, I built an Investigator who heavily specializes in Identifying creatures to get the circumstance bonuses for her and her allies when she crits at Recall Knowledge using Know Weaknesses.
I will play her in Abomination Vaults, so she gets an AP background I liked and I built her to level 10 only.
She uses all tricks to maximize her Identifying creatures checks : First, Loremaster dedication to get Loremaster's Etude.
Then, Pathfinder Agent dedication to get the circumstance bonus from Thorough Reports.
Then, Scrollmaster dedication to access Bestiary Scholar, which together with Cognitive Crossover, gives her even more chances to get a critical.
Note that to be efficient from the start and keep its efficiency through the levels, this build makes liberal use of retrain.
She maxes Arcana, Occult and Society for identification, and Stealth. Later on (after level 10) she will also max Acrobatics and Athletics
************************************************
Investigator (Empiricism) – Human (Versatile)
Background : Ruin Delver
Lvl1
STR 12
DEX 16
CON 10
INT 18
WIS 12
CHA 10
Trained :
Acrobatics (Background)
Lore : Roseguard (Background)
Lore : Undead (Methodology – Empiricism)
Lore : Animals
Lore : Fey
Lore : Plants
Occultism
Society (Investigator)
Religion
Stealth
Survival
Thievery
Feats :
Catfall (Background)
That’s Odd (Methodology – Empiricism)
Natural Ambition (Ancestry - Human) => Trap Finder
Canny Acumen (Heritage) => Expert Fortitude
Level 2 :
Expert = Occultism
Loremaster Dedication
Survey Wildlife
Level 3 :
Expert = Society
Additional Lore : Animals
Retrain Trained Lore : Animals to Trained Arcana
Unmistakable Lore (General)
Level 4 :
Expert = Arcana
Orthographic Mastery
Loremaster’s Etude
Level 5 :
DEX+2 ; CON +2 ; INT +2 ; WIS +2
Expert = Stealth
Additional Lore : Undead
Additional Lore : Fey (Ancestry => General Training)
Retrain Trained Lore : Undead to Trained Lore : Fiends
Retrain Trained Lore : Fey to Trained Lore : Celestials
Level 6 :
Pathfinder Agent dedication
Expert = Acrobatics
Expert = Survival/Thievery (Dedication)
Thorough Reports
Level 7 :
Master = Occultism
Additional Lore : Plants
Additional Lore : Fiends
Retrain Trained Lore : Plants to Trained Lore : Fungus
Retrain Trained Lore : Fiends to Trained Lore : Monitors
Level 8 :
Master = Society
Additional Lore : Celestials
Retrain Trained Lore : Celestials to Trained Lore : Giants
Scrollmaster Dedication
Level 9 :
Master = Arcana
Additional Lore : Monitors
Retrain Trained Lore : Monitors to Medicine
Multitalented : Wizard dedication (Electric Arc, Shield)
Trained (dedication) = Deception
Retrain Canny Acumen (lvl 1) to xxx
Level 10 :
STR+2 ; CON +2 ; INT +2 ; WIS +2
Retrain Master = Society (Level 8) to Master = Stealth
Master = Society
Bestiary Scholar (all Identify Creature except Society are made with Occultism at (max LVL10+INT5+PROF6+ITEM2+CIRC2+STATUS1=26+reroll) et if failure, then : Arcana at (max 10+5+6+2+2=25)
Retrain Trained Religion to Trained Performance
Retrain Trained Lore : Fungus to Trained Medicine
Retrain Trained Lore : Giants to Trained Crafting
Retrain Additional Lore : Animals (lvl 3) to Assurance : Occultism
Retrain Additional Lore : Undead (lvl 5) to Kreighton’s Cognitive Crossover
Retrain Additional Lore : Fey (lvl 5) to ??? (Ancestry) Unconventional Weaponry / Arcane Tatoo / Quah Bond / General training
Retrain Additional Lore : Plants (lvl 7) to Disturbing Knowledge
Retrain Additional Lore : Fiends (lvl 7) to General = Automatic Knowledge : Occultism
Retrain Additional Lore : Celestials (lvl 8) to Foil Senses
Retrain Additional Lore : Monitors (lvl 9) to Recognize Spell
Retrain Unmistakable Lore (lvl 3) to Toughness
Skill Feat lvl 10 = Swift Sneak
|
|
I do not see how wary skulker helps with the concept described here. I understand it as sneaking ahead, observe and identify the creatures, then come back to the party and report. Not engaging. And wary skulker helps when engaging.
Ranger is one of the 3 classes I thought of when reading the OP's description. The other two being Rogue and Investigator.
But, unless you know that the creature types you will face are covered with one or two skills, you will really need the many skill raises provided by Rogue or Investigator.
Master Monster Hunter solves this, but it is level 10.
And it does not benefit from the reduced DC of creature-specific Lore, which mandates an INT-based concept, such as Investigator or Mastermind Rogue.
How would you build a scout which a person who gathers information about potential opponents without engaging them?
I'll use a Familiar, or some divination magic. The scout trope is not easily reproducible in PF2 as you need to be undetectable. Every time you roll a dice you take a risk of being found and pounded.
In my opinion, the best scout is the playtest Summoner. The Eidolon scouts very well and can be nearly as stealthy than a Rogue or Ranger. And if it is found, you can teleport it next to you for 3 actions. The invincible scout is the best scout.
Key components:
1) Good stealth score, duh.
2) A party willing to wait behind so they don't need to roll stealth checks.
3) A good speed or other get out of dodge button for when you get spotted.
4) Terrain Stalker in relevant terrain. This is huge.
5) Make sure you and your GM are on the same page about how Avoid Notice works. Specifically how frequently you should be rolling.
Beyond that, there's a lot of optional stuff depending on party composition. The wizard might occasionally need to give you Invisibility if there isn't cover. You could also have their familiar or small animal companion ride you if they can see through its eyes. Telepathic Bond would obviously help.
The Foil Senses feat also becomes mandatory past a certain level.
|
|
Key components:
1) Good stealth score, duh.
2) A party willing to wait behind so they don't need to roll stealth checks.
3) A good speed or other get out of dodge button for when you get spotted.
4) Terrain Stalker in relevant terrain. This is huge.
5) Make sure you and your GM are on the same page about how Avoid Notice works. Specifically how frequently you should be rolling.Beyond that, there's a lot of optional stuff depending on party composition. The wizard might occasionally need to give you Invisibility if there isn't cover. You could also have their familiar or small animal companion ride you if they can see through its eyes. Telepathic Bond would obviously help.
The Foil Senses feat also becomes mandatory past a certain level.
Good points.
You also need the skill increases in the Identifying creatures skills.
And having a way to understand many languages can be key too.
My favorite scout is probably the Outwit Ranger. They get some sweet stealth feats, bonuses to the checks, and at level 10 master monster hunter condenses knowledge skills. Though rogues do have some bonkers good end game feats.
Ranger archery is also pretty great on such a build, because with Terrain Stalker in an outdoor environment you can often put yourself in an ideal sniping position 200 feet from the enemy. That safety is great, especially if you lay down some snares between you and them, because you may not have as many boosts to put into Con early on.
And languages can be clutch, yes, but may be trickier to build for.
Investigators are very good. The trick with them is that to do the crit fishing thing everyone has to roll well on either deception or stealth for initiative. If the investigator is alone, then they probably need to retreat and they don't move as quickly as the rogue or ranger in difficult terrain and don't have Trackless Step to cover the escape. However, they are probably the best in an urban campaign for sure.