How to play with a Vigilante

[Neriathale]

I'm playing book 2 of Hell's Rebels at the moment and our party (all designed around the "this is an espionage-y game" suggestions in the player's guide) are:

Ratfolk sacred slayer inquisitor of Milani (me)
Kitsune Swashigator (replacement character of our best optimiser)
Human Stalker Vigilante.

All level 6 at the moment.

The Vigilante is struggling with the game because, although it feels as if Vigilante is the ideal character for the plot, there seem to be some huge flaws in the class and how it fits in with the rest of the party. Specifically, we can't figure out how to make the dual identity thing work. Having a different identity seems irrelevant if you are always hanging around with the rest of the party unless we also learn super disguise skills (which negated his big thing), and he seems to have the worst luck when it comes to being in the wrog persona for what we are doing at any given time.

He's our friend, we want the game to be fun, so has anyone got any advice from experience about how to make a vigilante work as part of a party? Not neccesarily asking for build advice so much as equipment, tactics, tricks and so on that the other two PCs can do to support him.

[Mysterious Stranger]

The big problem with Vigilante is that unless everyone is playing a Vigilante you are probably going to need to split the party sometimes. To get full use of the dual identity the character is going to need to be able to use both of them. The best way to support him is for the rest of the party to give up some screen time to allow his other identity to shine.

The kitsune also has the ability to assume a different form so could only use that form when the vigilate is in his social identity. Disguise self is a first level Inquisitor spell and at 6th level last an hour. That gives the ratfolk a way to blend in for short periods of time. When he is in his social identity both of the other characters should fade into the background. Assume disguises of servants instead of nobles and try to avoid attention. Be there in case something goes wrong, but the focus of the scene will be on the vigilante’s social identity not your characters.

This does not need to happen every game session but often enough that the vigilante gets his time to shine.

[Dragonchess Player]

Note that this is mostly an issue in how the GM "sets up" the adventure encounters/scenes. Because of the split between the vigilante's combat and social identities, the GM should make an effort to clearly foreshadow which identity would best suit the upcoming encounter/scene (usually; an occasional situation where the vigilante has to find a bit of privacy for a round or two to change identities* is one of the central "bits" of the class).

*- possibly with the help of some inexpensive magic items

[Derklord]

Neriathale wrote:

Having a different identity seems irrelevant if you are always hanging around with the rest of the party

As I've said on numerous occations, the Dual Identity is 'a badly designed, badly written class feature for Batman fanboys who are too stupid to find the disguise rules in the CRB.'

The main issue is actually not that the the class feature doesn't work sufficiently like it does for super heroes, but rather that the part where superheroes are in their civilian identity is the part that you don't normally play out in Pathfinder. Superman isn't in his Clark Kent identity when he's flying around with the Justice League fighting Brainiac. The problem with the "everyone needs a secret identity or you can't hang around with the group in your secret identity" is usually true for comic books, too! The part where Superman is in his Clark Kent identity is the stuff you don't see played out at the table, because it's ordinary life, and no oen drives across town to play Clark Kent at the Daily Planet.

So what the player has to realize is that his character being in his vigilanty identity 95% of the playtime is normal. The social identity is is much an afterthought most of the time as the PCs buying food is. Like, you don't roleplay out every time your characters do grocery shopping, do you? That is the time the Vigilante would spent in their social identity - not the time they're with the group.
The underlying issue is not Pathfinder, or the Vigilante class, but rather that the secret identity doesn't work in an action-centric group game.

In short, the social identity is for time spend away from the group.

One important thing is that despite the dual identity stuff maybe looking like a vital part of the class, it really isn't. You can totally play a Vigilante who never changes his identity.