Looking for a class: "intelligence fighter"

[emky]

I'm looking for a class/archetype suggestion and I'm not having good luck. What I'm looking for:

Full BAB
Decent skills
Able to make use of intelligence
Medium armor, martial proficiency
Not a Dex/finesse fighter
"leader" or "commander"-y type powers would be good, but not required

Of the Pathfinder stuff... I don't know, slayer's almost there, but I'd prefer more "social" to it. Ditto ranger. Swashbuckler's out, unless there's an archetype that really redoes it for INT and.

I don't know, I guess in media it'd be "Aragorn" a fightering king and knows things type (which is not at all represented by ranger, which is all animal companion and nature and spells).

Perhaps I've overlooked the right archetype? A few fighter archetypes look like they increase skills to 4, but they all seem to go down to light armor only.

This is for an NPC that will be come-and-go for a while, so, while balance is good, it doesn't have to be perfect. Third party is OK, so long as it's not faaaar out there like Spheres of Might (that's a big can of worms).

[VoodistMonk]

Slayer... what you want is the Slayer.

You can be as social a Slayer as you want... there are traits to trade Charisma to Intelligence for skills... the rest is completely roleplaying.

The Vangaurd Slayer gets the Cavalier's Tactician ability, so they can hand out teamwork feats to the party... if you want that leader of the pack vibe.

There IS a swashy that uses Intelligence... Inspired Blade... but you're stuck using a Rapier (if that matters).

[emky]

VoodistMonk wrote:

Slayer...

Thanks, I will dig into Slayer more for it. I did find the Seasoned Commander Fighter or Tactician archetypes keeps medium armor, so maybe that. Vanguard didn't sound right from the "one sentence" blurb, I'll actually read it.

The rapier is a problem... I do want the dude to use a halberd or pole arm type weapon. And the Swashbuckler probably is still dexy (which will be this NPC's dump stat) and I personally really don't like how Deeds work.

[Wonderstell]

emky wrote:

Full BAB

Decent skills
Able to make use of intelligence
Medium armor, martial proficiency
Not a Dex/finesse fighter
"leader" or "commander"-y type powers would be good, but not required

If you're not averse to spellcasting, an Occultist with the Trappings of the Warrior panoply gains full BAB (starting at 2nd or 6th level) and Int is their primary stat.

Half-Elf works very well for the Elf FCB and would net you a free Skill Focus you can use to qualify for Orator to become very proficient in social situations.

[Mysterious Stranger]

A vigilante with the avenger specialization seems like it would fit your requirements.

As other have said a slayer works well for what you want. There is no reason a slayer cannot be a social character. The only social skill they don’t have as a class skill is diplomacy, which can be picked up with a trait. Just use extra trait to give an NPC 2 traits.

A Ranger with the Dandy archetype could also work, but would probably be CHA focused instead of INT. Nothing in the archetype prevents them from being STR based. Might be hard to get a high INT, but the character is defiantly highly social. He uses the bard spell list instead of the rangers.

[Name Violation]

Occultist using the Panoply Savant archetype with trappings of the warrior is really good. Its a martial powerhouse, but only a d8 hit dice

[Azothath]

hmmm.... everybody can use intelligence it's just skills are not highlighted in most games. People(writers thus Players & GMs) focus on the easy to adjudicate martial wins.

I think spellcasting is a big part of the game so for me dipping into wizard to take advantage of that seems natural. Of course I mainly play wizards (lol).
I think Paladin & Wiz(acting like a Bard) makes an interesting mix and Pal is MAD from the get go. You get all the good stuff of Paladin with some spellcasting. 1 or 2 teamwork feats are nice BUT they do detract from the damage dealing options and force more of a support role.

Typically you are looking at Cavalier, Samurai, Inquisitor. Investigators can be a bit too mundane for a fantasy quest unless there's brains needed.

[Java Man]

The Student of War prestige class might fit this idea.

[Claxon]

If your loosen your full BAB request you have a whole lot more options, including classes that can make up for their lack of BAB with class features & buff spells.

Magus jumps to mind. Inquisitor if you don't care so much about int specifically but are interested in "intelligent" tactics and skill use and non-fighty things. Inquisitor with archetypes can even get the ability to hand out teamwork feats IIRC.

[emky]

Some great suggestions in here, thanks! I think the NPC will be have Cavalier's "Tactician" from one of the sources, and then ease into Student of War. Good fit. I'll dig some "int-based diplomacy" in there (housecraft a feat if necessary) and call it good.

Claxon: Yeah, I know about the BAB-drop broadening a lot, but full BAB is necessary for this one.

(If you're curious, if we were playing 13th Age for this game, I'd have easily done Commander class with Strategist talent.)

[Andostre]

Claxon wrote:

If your loosen your full BAB request you have a whole lot more options, including classes that can make up for their lack of BAB with class features & buff spells.

I'll second this. I've made a strength-based investigator who used a reach polearm, and he was a lot of fun to play. Studied combat/studied strike made up for the medium BAB progression in my mind.

[Phoebus Alexandros]

emky wrote:

I'm looking for a class/archetype suggestion and I'm not having good luck. What I'm looking for:

Full BAB
Decent skills
Able to make use of intelligence
Medium armor, martial proficiency
Not a Dex/finesse fighter
"leader" or "commander"-y type powers would be good, but not required

May I introduce to you the PFS Field Guide version of the Lore Warden, as well as the Adventurer's Guide version of the same.

They lose proficiency with medium armor, but check off the rest of your requirements.

[VoodistMonk]

Lacking medium armor proficiency is not a big deal... there are traits that reduce your ACP by 1... this means you can wear Mithral Breastplate without proficiency.

Also, getting Diplomacy to key off Intelligence only takes a trait, no homebrew feat required.

[Claxon]

emky wrote:

Claxon: Yeah, I know about the BAB-drop broadening a lot, but full BAB is necessary for this one.

Can you expand on why? Is it some arbitrary restriction of the GM?

A well played 3/4 BAB 3/4 caster hybrid class can end up as effective or more effective than many full BAB classes if they're not built with the highest levels of optimization in mind.