PC Build Advice w / Free Archetype

[NECR0G1ANT]

I’m looking for a build that will complement my party members in our Outlaws of Alkenstar campaign. They are:

1. Starlit span magus w/ gunslinger archetype
2. Ranged gunslinger w/ swashbuckler archetype
3. Ranged investigator w/ Medic archetype
4. Construct innovation inventor w/ alchemist archetype (ranged, natch)

I think melee martial. Ideally I’d like to use options from Guns & Gears + Outlaws of Alkenstar Player’s Guide, but I mostly want something that works well. We are using Free Archetype. I specifically don’t want to go Champion + Wrestler since I’ve done that before.

[Gortle]

I look at that party and a couple of things spring to mind.

They are designed for ranged, so that is the tactic you party will try to implement most often. So you need a reasonable ranged attack as a secondary at least so you are comfortable in that situation.

No one character looks fragile so you really don't have to be a tank.

They don't have any primary magical support. No obvious buffing or debuffing ability which makes boss fights very hard. Being able to generate difficult terrain would help this party.

I'd be tempted into a Fighter or Ranger with two agile weapons and archery or as a switch hitter. Free archetype into Marshal (the name works) or Bard.

A couple of members of your party should be leaning into Intimidation. It suits this subgenre I think.

Think about maneuvers like Snagging Strike to help your teams accuracy.

Nothing particularily from Guns and Gears. The rest of your party has that covered. I guess just pick up a background.

[HumbleGamer]

No magical healing on a 5 people party may be kinda hard to deal with.

Investigator + medic is good as support, but if the target is required to get more than half their hp ( using battle medicine x2 is about half the hp pool of a character ) in a single fight, things are not going to go well ( leaving apart having to rest for at least 1 hour every time to let the bm "debuff/cd" reset ).

I'd probably stick with an armor inventor, since you like guns and gears stuff.

A one handed weapon + shield is going to help you withstand the damage.

Going for a small ancestry would imo make things interesting because of mounted combat ( FA gives a load of extra power given double the feats ).

For example:

Goblin Armor Inventor:

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

Lvl 1 feats: Prorotype Companion
lvl 2 Feats: Searing Restoration ( good healing ) + Bastion Dedication ( Reactive shield, which allows you to gain +2 AC as a reaction )
lvl 4 Feats: Advanced Construct Companion ( your construct gains an action they can use on their own, resulting in free stride for you ) + Aggressive block ( free disarm after a block ).

And you are mostly set and effective with your character.

The more you proceed the better the gizmos and gadgets you'll have access to ( megaton strike, megavolt, etc... ).

By lvl 10 you'll also can get a free shield block from the bastion archetype, and the more you proceed, the better your armor ( by lvl 7 you can get a passive piercing DR, which is great against the majority of monsters and ranged attacks ).

[gesalt]

Not sure what the overall difficulty level of the campaign is, but your party likely isn't optimized enough to try to brute force it with an all martial comp.

A bard/gunslinger supporting the party with inspire and another fake out could work nicely. Cleric/gunslinger is the other support option. Should find another archetype after 6 though.

If you need to live that martial life though, consider running a switch hit fighter/archer using a bladed scarf and short/longbow. It's not G&G (until 8+ anyway), but I'm not sure you can afford to compromise with that party comp. With dex/str/con/wis you can even utilize athletics for trip in melee and wear full plate at 5+.

[Guntermench]

It's a shame you don't want to do Wrestler, because with a bunch of ranged going with maneuvers would be amazing.

[Kyrone]

Some form of magic healing would do wonders, what about Sniper Duo Summoner? Pick either Divine or Primal Eidolon for Heal, makes the Eidolon melee then choose an ally to be the spotter.

[Captain Morgan]

The players guide mentioned some occasionally magical shut offs from the mana wastes, right?

[Sanityfaerie]

I'm going to throw a funny one out there. Try a kobold ranger snarecrafter/trapsmith build. Go heavy on the "gears" side of guns and gears. You've got a bunch of allies who want to shoot the enemy from far away, so your job becomes dropping snares so that the enemy gets punished from trying to get in close.

[Ed Reppert]

@Humble Gamer: Not sure you meant Agressive Block, which is a Fighter Feat. I gave him the Bastion Feat Disarming Block. I probably could have done better, but...

NotPoog
Male goblin inventor 4 (Advanced Player's Guide)
CN, Small, Goblin, Humanoid
Heritage unbreakable goblin
Background mechanic
Perception +5; darkvision
Languages Common, Dwarven, Gnoll, Goblin
Skills Acrobatics +8, Athletics +9, Crafting +10, Deception +7, Engineering Lore +8, Intimidation +7, Medicine +7, Stealth +8
Str 16 (+3), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 14 (+2), Wis 8 (-1), Cha 12 (+1)
Items scale mail, +1 striking axe musket (50 rounds)[GG], backpack, basic crafter's book, bedroll, caltrops sets (2), chalks (10), climbing kit, compass, flint and steel, healer's tools, ordinary clothing, rations (1 week)s (2), repair kit, rope (foot)s (50), soap, torchs (5), waterskin, construct companion, money, purse (14 gp, 7 sp)
--------------------
AC 21; Fort +10; Ref +8; Will +7
HP 50
--------------------
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] +1 striking axe musket (melee) +10 (critical fusion, magical, sweep, combination), Damage 2d8+3 S
Ranged [1] +1 striking axe musket +9 (fatal d10, combination, concussive, magical, range increment 40 feet, reload 1), Damage 2d6 P
Ancestry Feats Very Sneaky
Class Feats Advanced Construct Companion[GG], Prototype Companion[GG], Reactive Shield, Searing Restoration[GG]
General Feats Shield Block
Skill Feats Battle Medicine, Experienced Smuggler, Inventor, Quick Repair, Ward Medic
Other Abilities armor innovation, construct companion, expert overdrive, innovation, peerless inventor, shield block

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free demo available at https://herolab.online
Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Inc., and are used under license.

He's expert in Crafting and Medicine. And here's his companion:

Googly
Construct companion
CN, Medium, Construct
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +10, Intimidation +6, Stealth +10, Survival +8
Str +4, Dex +4, Con +3, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha +0
--------------------
AC 20; Fort +11; Ref +12; Will +10
HP 46; Immunities bleed, death effects, disease, doomed, drained, fatigued, healing, necromancy, nonlethal attacks, paralyzed, poison, sickened, unconscious
--------------------
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] hand/arm +10 (agile, finesse), Damage 2d6+4 S
Melee [1] head butt +10, Damage 2d8+4 B

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free demo available at https://herolab.online
Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Inc., and are used under license.

[Gortle]

I got some spare time so I made a start on a build:

Krackers Kobold Deputy
Designed to be a melee combatant in an all ranged party. The point being that most enemies will have to close with you so you can get excellent value out of traps and snares. Capable of fighting well in melee or at range without the support of a flanking partner. I like the Snagging Strike ability as it will help setup the rest of the parties attacks and it doesn't require an investment in Athletics.

Str 14 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 12
Basic equipment: Leather, Short Sword x2, Composite LongBow
Ancestry: Kobold, Spellscale Kobold for Shield, 1st: Snare Setter, 5th: Snare Genius, 9th: Snare Commando, 13th:Vicious Snares,
Background: Deputy
General Feats: Ancestral Paragon for Dragon's Presence, Toughness,
Class Feats: Level 1: Double Slice, Level 2: Snagging Strike, Level 4: Lunge, Level 6: Parting Shot, Level 8: Felling Strike, Level 10: Agile Grace Level 12: Lunging Stance
Free Archetype Feats: Level 2: Archer Dedication, Level 4: Point-Blank Shot, Level 6: Snarecrafter Dedication, Level 8: Quick Snares, Level 10: Powerful Snares, Level 12: Plentiful Snares, Level 14: Lightning Snares
Skills: Intimidation, Stealth, Crafting, Acrobatics,
Skill Feats: Snare Crafting, Intimidating Glare

[Ed Reppert]

Btw, Notpoog also has the free archetype feats Bastion Dedication and Disarming Block.

[Ed Reppert]

I think I got this right based on Gortle's post. :-)

Krackers
Kobold fighter 4 (Advanced Player's Guide, 12)
Uncommon, CN, Small, Humanoid, Kobold
Heritage spellscale kobold
Background deputy
Perception +9; darkvision
Languages Common, Draconic
Skills Acrobatics +10, Crafting +8, Deception +7, Hunting Lore +6, Intimidation +7 (+8 to Demoralize foes of your level or below), Stealth +10, Survival +7
Str 14 (+2), Dex 18 (+4), Con 12 (+1), Int 10 (+0), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 12 (+1)
Items leather armor, +1 shortsword, +1 shortsword, composite longbow (20 arrows), dagger, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, cat’s eye elixir, chalks (10), doubling rings, flint and steel, grappling hook, lesser antidotes (2), lesser antiplagues (2), minor elixirs of life (3), rations (1 week)s (2), rope (foot)s (50), sheath, sheath, sheath, soap, torchs (5), waterskin, purse (1 gp, 9 sp, 8 cp)
--------------------
AC 21; Fort +9; Ref +12; Will +9 (Successes vs. fear effects are critical successes instead.)
HP 50
Attack of Opportunity [R] Trigger A creature within your reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it’s using. Effect You lash out at a foe that leaves an opening. Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If your attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, you disrupt that action. This Strike doesn’t count toward your multiple attack penalty, and your multiple attack penalty doesn’t apply to this Strike.
--------------------
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] [i]+1 shortsword[/i] +13 (magical, versatile S, agile, finesse), Damage 1d6+2 P
Melee [1] [i]+1 shortsword[/i] +13 (magical, versatile S, agile, finesse), Damage 1d6+2 P
Melee [1] dagger +12 (versatile S, thrown 10 ft., agile, finesse), Damage 1d4+2 P
Ranged [1] composite longbow +12 (deadly d10, propulsive, volley 30, range increment 100 feet, reload 0), Damage 1d8+1 P
Ranged [1] dagger +12 (versatile S, thrown 10 ft., agile, finesse), Damage 1d4+2 P
Arcane Spellscale Kobold Cantrip DC 17; Cantrips (2nd) shield
Ancestry Feats Dragon's Presence[APG], Snare Setter[APG]
Class Feats Double Slice, Lunge, Snagging Strike
Free Archetype Feats Archer Dedication, Point-Blank Shot
General Feats Ancestral Paragon, Shield Block
Skill Feats Crafter's Appraisal[APG], Experienced Tracker, Intimidating Glare, Snare Crafting
Other Abilities bravery, draconic exemplar, shield block

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free demo available at https://herolab.online
Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Inc., and are used under license.

[HumbleGamer]

@Ed: Yeah, I meant to write disarming block.

Nice build though.
I'd consider bm given the nimble shield hand and FA too, and probably medic ddedication.

I'd also go with witch dedication to get either a familiar and, life boost at some point.

Tanky!