101 Kineticist Builds


Pathfinder Second Edition General Discussion


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1. Slip 'N Slide maximum melee control: Use the Winter Sleet (water, 4th) stance aura to make melee enemies miserable. It does three things: (1) Creates uneven ground with a Balance DC of 15. This means any movement action stops when they reach your aura, then they have to take a separate Balance action to continue. Based on that result they might be able to move up to you, face difficult terrain, fail to move, or end their turn. (2) They are always off-target (remastered term for flat-footed). (3) If you critically hit with or they crit fail against an impulse inside the aura they are also Slowed 1 for one round.

At 10th level, when you have Safe Elements (4th) to exclude allies from your aura and Aura Shaping (10th) to expand it to 20', melee combatants face an appalling action sink (and constant flat-footed) to approach your party.

2. Ride the Blast - The 1st level ability of that name is gone, but we have several impulses that let you damage and move at the same time. Air has Lightning Dash (4th), Water has Ride the Tsunami (18th), Air/Fire composite has Ash Strider (6th). Related are the Earth/Fire Lava Leap (4th) and Water/Fire Steam Knight (6th, stance) which give damaging leaps.

3. Cage of Fire - Maximum persistent fire stacking is a pyrokineticist with impulse junction (+1 die size on 2-3 action fire impulses), aura junction (take at 5th, half damage fire weakness on enemies in aura), Flying Flame (2nd, two action no overflow), Thermal Nimbus (4th, stance) to inflict a no save half damage fire to enemies in aura, critical junction (take at 9th) to inflict d6 burning on crit, and the 8th level feat to grab the metal/fire composite, Molten Wire.

Someone hit by Molten Wire takes (NOT persistent) fire damage every round and is Clumsy 1 until they Escape or destroy the fairly beefy wires; that is increased by your weakness aura. Thermal Nimbus and your weakness aura are also putting full level (at even character levels) damage every level, and then you Flying Flame for more and blast for the hope of more and a crit for persistent damage that also gets boosted by your fire aura. Ideally you're inflicting five separate ticks of fire damage per turn if you critted at some point - once for Molten Wire (automatic), once for Thermal Nimbus (automatic), once for Flying Flame (anything but a crit success), once for blast (on hit), once for persistent damage (the most iffy and out of your control).

4. Granite Grappler: Attack deficit verse martials got you down at those awkward levels, but your athletics proficiency is putting you even or ahead? Earth kineticist with skill junction (athletics) for scaling 1-3 status bonus, strength secondary attribute, Assume Earth's Mantle (14th) for a +1 item bonus to strength. Grab once per round, use your other actions on a save impulse.

Separately, Sand Snatcher (6th) let's you do a ranged grapple using your impulse attack bonus rather than athletics. Starts 30' away, can move 20' per round as you sustain. Can also provide a flank.


5. Mind Controlled Party Attacker - Just build normally, wait for the crit failed will save at the most inopportune moment at high levels.


6. One Skill Man - The skill junction gives a scaling 1-3 status (5/10/17) bonus to a skill associated with an element. You're at a -2 on secondary skill attribute, so with max status bonus you're +1 over any other PC who has max attribute in their skill but doesn't have heroism or similar up.

So you're as baseline just slightly the best at stealth (air), intimidate (fire), athletics (water or earth), survival (ugh, wood), or crafting (ugh, metal) if you invest heavily in the secondary attribute. This is best for air, who has concealment effects and invisibility, and earth, who has a 14th level ability that gives strength an item bonus. Fire/intimidate is nice build versatility, but it will be hard to justify the action.

Sczarni

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Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

7. Catalyst of Destruction. Fire/Earth kineticist that takes armor in earth and flying flame at 1 along with weapon infusion. At 2, flame oracle dedication. At 4, flame oracle revelation incendiary aura. At 5, thermal nimbus. Level 6, lava leap, and at level 8, calcifying sand. At level 10, aura shaping.

Goal is to leap into a battle and catch everyone on fire while having great defensive options.


8. Weakness Triggering Hazardous Terrain - Metal has Plate in Treasure (4th) that can add silver/cold iron to his metal blasts. It also has Rain of Razors (12th) that does damage in a fireball area and leaves behind 1 minute of hazardous terrain. You can make this hazardous terrain silver or cold iron and appropriate enemies will then take their weakness damage for every 5' square they move. Get those forced movement/push abilities going (air and especially water have them in class) and grind up your local fey/demons/velstracs/werecreatures.

9. Rare metal blaster - If you can afford it and get access, a nice GM might allow some of the more exotic metal effects (usually effects on a crit) to translate to a crit with a metal elemental blast or Magnetic Pinions when used with Plate in Treasure. Abysium for sickened and a bit of poison damage, for example.

10. Unusual material metal shields and armor: As above, your Metal Carapace (1st level, armor and shield) and probably Alloy Flesh and Steel (14th level, turns your body metal) can also grant special material properties to your armor, shield, or flesh (I presume as armor). For armor, silver/cold iron sicken those weak to it who crit miss you, Noqual gives a bonus to spell saves, Siccatite inflicts damage when grabbed/restrained, Abysium will kill you, etc.

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