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I would say you want to use the katana two handed if you are crit fishing. The 1.5 str damage increase with high strength combines well with a 15-20 crit range. Double that if you want to use power attack.
One handed wielding does open two options: TWF or wielding an oversized katana. The visual on these might outweigh the math which favors a two handed regular size. If you go these routes you will want to improve your confirmation rolls because of the greater penalties to the to hit chances.
Hey Julius. Still making sword-wielders, this time with no magic?
With martial weapon prof you can two-hand a katana, yes. Using it in one hand requires a feat or you take the -4 non-proficiency penalty - which may still be an emergency option if you're grappled or climbing I guess.
An 8th level full BAB character probably qualifies as 'very skilled'; If you want to really specialise in one weapon then there's the weapon master fighter archetype. You could throw all the fighter feats into attack/damage/crit bonuses, or you could take fancy stuff like swordplay style and advanced weapon training.
I might be stretching the build thin, trying to incorporate too many things. But it does look functional at level 8. The idea is to dart around while feinting, scoring AoOs for the whole party.
Dragonscale Loyalist Vigilante 6 / Warrior Poet Samurai 1 / Guiding Blade Swash 1
20 PB (no ABI included)
18 Str, 14 Dex, 12 Con, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14
Character Traits
Dueling Cloak Adept (Combat)
Power of Suggestion (Equipment)
Feats and level progression
Samurai 1
1 Power Attack, Equipment Trick (Cloak) (H), Kitsune's Mystique: Improved Feint (B)
Vigilante 1-4
2
3 Combat Reflexes, Shield of Blades: Weapon Trick (One-Handed) (B)
4 Social Grace
5 Feint Partner, Take 'Em Alive
Swash 1
6 Improved Feint Partner (B)
Vigilante 5-6
7 Eldritch Heritage (Arcane), +1 Social Talent, House Rogarvia: Skill Focus (Know History) (B)
8 Vigilante's Reflexes: Paired Opportunists (B)
***
The level in Swashbuckler allows us to grant Improved Feint Partner out to the party, and we regain Panache from ally killing blows (and our own crits).
Dueling Cloak Adept (a trait) gives us a +1 Dodge bonus to AC for every successful feint.
Equipment Trick (Cloaks) allows us to feint against everyone who sees us. So if we include our allies in that we get a huge Dodge bonus to AC. Every successful feint on an enemy also triggers Improved Feint Partner which means we grant AoOs in an aoe effect.
Additionally, when our turn has ended we switch to a one-handed stance. This fulfills the prerequisite for Weapon Trick (One-Handed), so the first time an enemy misses us by 5 or more (and our AC is high) they provoke an AoO.
To make use out of the aoe Feinting AoOs ourselves, we'll use a familiar with the Paired Opportunists feat. Which is why we have Eldritch Heritage. I haven't finalized the details here yet, but the familiar needs a way to both have the feat and threaten enemies.
- Valet familiar with its one feat retrained into... Lunge?
- Mauler familiar with its one feat retrained into Paired Opportunists.
- Valet familiar, but the master takes Evolved Familiar (should start with 11 Intelligence in that case)
- Valet familiar, but it's already small/medium and threatens.
- Some other weird shenanigans
***
The result is a sword master so proficient that the mere sight of their swordplay makes enemies leave themselves open. Power of Suggestion (a trait) is for convincing everyone that the sword master is actually using a common stick instead of a sword, further embellishing their mastery.
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It sounds like you want the simplest possible goon, right? So here's something close to that.
Race - anything that can get EWP (katana) because being able to use it 1H when you need to without penalty is good. Half-elf, tengu, human. Or if you have your heart set on being an elf, aasimar, tiefling etc. EWP is just a situational thing after all and not a huge deal.
1: power attack
FIghter 1: weapon focus
Fighter 2: combat reflexes
3: weapon versatility
Fighter 4: advanced weapon training (defensive weapon training)
5: weapon spec.
Fighter 6: advanced weapon training (warrior spirit)
7: cut from the air
Fighter 8: improved critical
Attack, damage, crits, do bludgeoning or piercing damage when you need to, an AC bonus and the ability to cut arrows out of the sky - and just one ability which lets you power up a little. If it's unwanted take lunge instead. And for fixed bonuses which crits multiply, with gloves of dueling to enhance your weapon training bonus and weapon focus/spec you get +4 attack, +5 damage; with warrior spirit set to bane that becomes +6 attack, +7 damage and +2d6 damage which doesn't multiply on a crit.
I know you said no magic, but I had great success with my crit fishing Hunter. Since at level 3, all teamwork feats are shared with the animal companion, every time my Hunter crit the companion got an AoO from Outflank. And thanks to Paired Opportunists, the Hunter got an AoO as well. Once I put Keen onto my Scimitar, I was chain-critting up a storm.
Truth be told I wanted to make a melee version of my level 20 archer (lower level of course ) that stole the show at my friend's holiday one shot.
The idea was to stack as much damage on to my arrows via stuff like weapon spec and other such bonuess that one crit and if do a insane amount of damage just do it with a sword lol
See, that needs either magic, or more than a x2 crit or multiple hits really. With 22 Str (counting +2 enhancement and level ups) and a +3 katana, and warrior spirit (bane) working on my build above you're looking at 1d8+20+2d6, or 2d8+40+2d6 on a crit. Nice but it won't take out a CR 8 monster unless you hit at least twice. Which of course you may on a full attack. An archer has an easier time getting that full attack though, and has a x3 crit.
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With 22 Str (counting +2 enhancement and level ups) and a +3 katana, and warrior spirit (bane) working on my build above you're looking at 1d8+20+2d6, or 2d8+40+2d6 on a crit.
Not really getting those numbers to work out. Just two-handing with PA and 22 Str should be +18 dmg, so your build deals a lot more dmg on a crit. Gloves of Dueling (and a +3 weapon?) seems a bit out of reach for a 8th level character, but a +2 weapon doesn't.
1d8+23 without Warrior Spirit, without Gloves of Dueling, and just a +2 weapon.
===
Some technically Paizo stuff (from the Niobe book) which definitely help with crit builds is the Chosen One's Might feat. It increases your crit multiplier by one against "enemies of your god". If you're going to fight a lot of evil then it's pretty easy to find a smite-inclined deity. Or if you hate everything, you choose Rovagug.
It's a pretty dumb feat in that it's incredibly good for 18-20/x2 weapons (from +100% to +200% crit damage), but they decided that x5 weapons weren't allowed. So the one crit profile that gets the least benefit out of the feat (from +300% to +400%) is instead nerfed.
With 22 Str (counting +2 enhancement and level ups) and a +3 katana, and warrior spirit (bane) working on my build above you're looking at 1d8+20+2d6, or 2d8+40+2d6 on a crit.Not really getting those numbers to work out. Just two-handing with PA and 22 Str should be +18 dmg, so your build deals a lot more dmg on a crit. Gloves of Dueling (and a +3 weapon?) seems a bit out of reach for a 8th level character, but a +2 weapon doesn't.
1d8+23 without Warrior Spirit, without Gloves of Dueling, and just a +2 weapon.
Forgot PA, and if you want you can drop it for cheaper items. The point is, CR 8 creatures average 96 hit points and you're not taking one out with a katana crit, and you'll need to get lucky for a full attack to take one out.
Alright, then how about...
Urban Id Bloodrager 1 / Okayo Corsair Swash 1 / Mutation Warrior Fighter 6
Ability Scores:
Start with a 18 in Strength. Charisma isn't needed.
Character Traits:
Undecided
Undecided
Feats and level progression:
Bloodrager
1 Dedication Focus, Controlled Bloodrage, Extra Rage, Extra Rage
Swash:
2 Panache, Deeds
Fighter:
3 Extra Panache, Weapon Adept (Versatile Design) (B)
4 Combat Reflexes (B)
5 Mutagen, Chosen One
6 Power Attack (B)
7 Weapon Training +1, Chosen One's Might
8 Improved Critical (B)
===
Rage:
18 Rounds per day with a starting 14 Con.
Mutagen:
Lasts 60 minutes.
Panache:
You'll get a pool of 3 points in the whole 7-13 Charisma span, so you can dump it.
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Expected Gear
+2 STR Belt.
+1 Furious Versatile Design Katana
***
It's a pretty standard beatstick build except the level in Swash.
You'll use a +1 Furious Katana with a Versatile Design modification putting it in the Monk weapon group. Thanks to the Weapon Adept feat and the level in Okayo Corsair you're now proficient with it (as a One-handed weapon), so can regain Panache with Katana crits/kills.
Raging+Mutagen:
+19/+14 (1d8+28, 15-20/x3)
Raging+Mutagen+Dutiful Strike:
+21/+16 (2d6+28, 15-20/x3)