Hello to you all - been a while since I've posted anything here :)
I have a 4th level inspired blade swashbuckler, who levels up to level 5 after tomorrow's game. After that, I intend to make him into a paladin. I think the build is pretty solid - and really shines from lvl 7 and up.
This is for PFS play. And I know his Will save is ATROCIOUS. Paladin will help with that :)
Inspired Blade Swashbuckler / Oathbound Paladin of Vengeance
Starting stats: Str 13, Dex 18 (+2 race), Con 13, Int 13, Wis 7, Cha 14
Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 5
Str 13
Dex 20 (+2 from belt)
Con 13
Int 14 (+1 at lvl 4)
Wis 7
Cha 14
Fort 3 = 1 + 1 + 1
Ref 10 = 4 + 5 + 1
Wil 0 = 1 - 2 + 1
Feats:
1st Power Attack
Weapon Focus (Rapier) (Class Bonus)
[“Inspired Finesse” (Class Feature)]
Fencing Grace
3rd Combat Reflexes
4th Weapon Specialization (Rapier) (Class Bonus)
5th Extra Panache (+2) (Panache: 6)
Magical Items:
Plume of Panache x2
Rapier +1
Mithral Breastplate
Cloak of Resistance +1
Belt of Dexterity +2
Attacks To hit Dmg Crit
Rapier +13 1d6+15 15-20/ x2
Rapier w PA +11 1d6+19 -
AC: 21 (Armor: +4; Shield +1; Dex +5; Nimble +1)
Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 5 / Oathbound Paladin of Vengeance 1
Magical Items:
Mithral Breastplate +1
Buckler +1
Headband of Charisma +2 (Panache: 7)
Swordmaster’s Flair (Blue Scarf)
Attacks To hit Dmg Crit
Rapier +14/ +9 1d6+15 15-20/ x2
Rapier w PA +12/ +7 1d6+19 -
Rapier w Smite +17 / +12 1d6+16 -
Rapier w PA and Smite +15 / +10 1d6+20 -
AC: 23 (Armor: +5; Shield +2; Dex +5; Nimble +1)
AC w Smite: 26
Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 5 / Oathbound Paladin of Vengeance 2
Fort 10 = 4 + 1 + 2 + 3
Ref 14 = 4 + 5 + 2 + 3
Wil 7 = 4 - 2 + 2 + 3
Feats:
7th Extra Lay on Hands (Lay on Hands per day: 6)
Magical Items:
Cloak of Resistance +2
AC: 23 (Armor: +5; Shield +2; Dex +5; Nimble +1)
AC w Smite: 26
If I have the money and fame to get the "Answering" enchantment at this level, I will - or it'll be next level. This will give me a huge boost when parrying.
Opp. Parry & Riposte:
Normal: +19
/w PA: +16
/w Smite: +22
/w PA & Smite: +19
At lvl 9 I'll be getting Critical Focus as feat. I don't know about lvl 11 - but that's not so important right now.
My thinking is that he'll miss out on a bit of damage on regular mooks by going paladin, but he'll be so more effective against bosses. And his saves will get a huge boost - which will start to REALLY matter in PFS now.
Any advice for me? :)
Right now he's CN and a cowardly, arrogant, know-it-all, stuck up aristocrat - the seventh son of a lord. With 6 brothers, there would be no inheritance left for him, so he joined the Pathfinder Society on his father's orders. He mostly thinks of it as a Gentleman's Club and a club for Hunters and Explorers - the other pathfinders he mostly sees as servants, porters and hired guards. In the next 4 game days he'll get steadily more annoying (although he is already questioning his place in life and the value of his comrades) and I'll then engineer him to have some sort of epiphany and a massive change of heart - and some sort of vision from a god (hopefully it'll present itself organically as part of a scenario or the actions of my fellow players) - and then he'll change alignment to LG and change his ways - somewhat - he'll still be immensely annoying, now with the added bonus of being a god's chosen LG paladin, with all the knowledge of him being spiritually better than everyone else. That way he can deplore his own past and how mean he was to people, while still being completely ignorant of how annoying and holier-than-thou he now is. And his father, his 6 brothers, and probalby most of Taldan royalty, will hate him for it. That reminds me - what are the rules if I want to switch from f.ex. Sovereign Court to Silver Crusade?
I'm looking foward to both the multiclassing and the roleplaying :)
I do not know but you will need a MAJOR influence. People just do not one day stop being CN and switch to LG.
Is switching Alignment legal in PFS?
Yes, completely legal. It's pretty much hand waved - the idea is that X amount of time can happen between scenarios. So anything major (or minor) can happen outside play.
The only reason I'm doing it this way, is because it's fun to roleplay. I could just ignore it altogether and one day be a paladin.
And advice/ ideas for the build?
By the rules, all it takes to change alignment voluntarily is an atonement and a change in play style.
How much people worry about the character story varies wildly depending on region and who is playing at the table.
The annoying part is something that looks more questionable to me. In PFS the players are supposed to COOPERATE. That is much harder if the character is created to be annoying.
The other thing I find somewhat questionable is the Plume of Panache. I'm not sure you can just swap it for a different one once the ability is used.
Derwalt:
Switching factions (Sovereign Court to Silver Crusade) costs Prestige.
If you ever become disillusioned with your faction, you may join a different one. This costs a number of Prestige Points (not Fame) equal to 3 × your character level. Payment of Prestige Points to change factions does not alter your Fame score. Characters who change their factions retain their faction traits but lose faction- specific Prestige Awards.
If you can find a Silver Crusade character with a Season 6 Faction Journal Card, you can change factions for less prestige by playing with them. That season's Faction Journal Card had a goal of recruiting other characters to your faction.
Sponsor another PC to join your faction. To fulfill this goal, that PC must then join the Silver Crusade by spending only 1 Prestige Point per character level (one-third the normal cost). The PC must have at least 6 XP and at least three ranks in any combination of the following skills: Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (planes), or Knowledge (religion).
Check around your own area first, then check for something in PbP.
Thank you BretI, at least one of my co-players is Silver Crusade. I might continue being Sovereign Court, but the RP of switching faction could be fun :)
And don't worry, when I say "annoying" I mean it in a "the character is annoying - the players are having fun"-kinda way.
And to the rules part:
I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to switch out the plume. People do it with Pearl's of Power all the time, and I know of no rule prohibiting this kind of action.
Bump...
Any advice on other feats? Fun combos of feats/ skills/ class abilities?
Or magical items?
Or dipping another class for some reason? :)
There are plenty of multiclass Swashbuckler things I might suggest when starting from scratch, but not so much at this point.
The Weapon Trick feat Stylish Riposte is pretty fun. By FAQ, bucklers don't occupy your hand, so it should work fine with a buckler.
The Pommel Strike feat is kind of cool, and can be combined with Gauntlets of the Skilled Maneuver; if you're adding CHA to all rolls, the knockdown might be pretty persuasive. Since you're clearly using the weapon for the knockdown attempt, you don't need Agile Maneuvers; Weapon Finesse is enough. Do note: this is not a trip maneuver. So it has nothing to do with (and no need for) any of the trip feats; and enemies don't get any bonuses against it that they would against trip.
Stylish riposte is really good! Thank you :)
Just of curiosity, why did you pick Inspired Blade? Seems to me to be a weak archetype unless you are multiclassing with an Int-based class, which you are not.