Spear / pole-arm & Shield question

[JuliusCromwell]

Hello . I would like to seek some advice on a spear/ pole-arm user

My questions is besides fighter due to there abundance of Feats what other classes could pull of a fighting style like this.

Say a short spear as the primary weapon and shield possibility of shield bash or maybe just trying 5o boost the character Defenses

I was thinking a light Armored agile like Paladin could be cool

I could also see a Ranger or slayer

I'd like the character to either have feats or class abilities related to shield fighting and polearm fighting

Also the spear I have in mind design wise is a short spear with a spear head the length of a short sword. It's more for personal imagery but the idea comes from a sword I saw online that I though would make a cool spear

[Waterhammer]

I would suggest using a trident.

[I grok do u]

The shortspear is a one-handed piercing weapon, so the swashbuckler is a possibility. You're limited to bucklers, but there are the unhindering shield and the upsetting shield style line of feats to increase its versatility. With unhindering shield, I suppose a magus could be feasible as well.

Two-handed polearms like the naginata will best be paired with the shield brace feat.

Most full-BAB classes work in general: fighter, cavalier, ranger, slayer, paladin. Fighter has spear fighter and viking archetypes that may work for you.
Ranger has weapon and shield combat style, and the virtuous bravo would work similar to a swashbuckler.

[Trokarr]

Avenger Vigilante could work as well. A lot of their talents grant you two feats such as shield of fury counting as improved shield bash and two weapon fighting and signature weapon counting as weapon focus and weapon specialization. The combat skill talent also grants you combat feats with an effective fighter level equal to half your vigilante level.

[JuliusCromwell]

Ok here's a questions

What feats are absolutely necessary to Use a spear/polearm either reach weapon or not and use a shield as a weapon ?

If I was level 5 to start what would he the basic feats I'd need to actually be able to play said character?

I kinda want to either play a slayer who uses a trident & shield or a Paladin who uses a long spear and shield .

[I grok do u]

Do you have a preference for the race? What ability score generation method are you using?

Basic feats:
Shield bash, so you can hit with shield and keep its AC
Two-weapon fighting, so you can attack with shield and weapon

Basic feats for trident + shield:
Possibly some throwing feats since trident can be used in melee or thrown:
Point blank shot, precise shot, quick draw, etc

Basic feats for longspear + shield
Shield focus
Shield brace <- required for wielding shield and THW at the same time

[JuliusCromwell]

@ I grok do u

Ok I'm not sure class or race yet but I'd like to play a character who can uses upsetting shield style and a Trident taking advantage of upsetting shield effects and be able to Deal fight decently with the trident as well

My roommate who is also my groups primary GM is going to run the idea of doing a Mystic game I know we be between level 12 and 15

I see swashbuckler and virtuous bravo mention
I probably lean toward the bravo.

If I was level 15 and let's say my race is Aasimar

What would be a good set of Feats ?

[Andostre]

Warpriest is also a decent option. Of the non-evil deities that use the shortspear, there's the Empyreal Lord Lorris, who's pretty much a blank slate. If it can be any one-handed spear, there's also Ra (Osirion deity), Tsukiyo (Tian Xia deity), and the Iblydan demi-god Psomeira.

[Marcella]

When you say "polearm with reach", I think "Combat Reflexes", which requires a high Dex to be worthwhile, e.g. a rogue.

See also: https://rpgbot.net/pathfinder/characters/area_control_defender/

[Magda Luckbender]

Marcella wrote:

When you say "polearm with reach", I think "Combat Reflexes", which requires a high Dex to be worthwhile, e.g. a rogue.

See also: https://rpgbot.net/pathfinder/characters/area_control_defender/

In fact a 12 DEX is quite sufficient for Combat Reflexes. That gives two AoOs. In actual play one rarely gets more than two AoOs in a given round. DEX 14 allows two AoOs even when Large, so DEX 14 is really the upper end of what's needed. This makes the Area Control Defender approach viable for any PC who has DEX in the 12-14 range.

[Mysterious Stranger]

That depends on if you want to be able to utilize combat reflexes while under the effect of an enlarge person. Combat Reflexes does not have a minimum number of extra attacks, so if your DEX goes down to the point you no longer have a DEX bonus you gain no extra AoO. Using Enlarge person on a character with a reach pole arm and combat reflexes is very effective.

For that reason, I would go for at least 14 DEX.

[Magda Luckbender]

I agree with Mysterious Stranger. With Combat Reflexes feat the sweet spot for DEX is 14. 12 works but, as MS points out, gives no extra AoOs when one enlarges. One rarely gets more than 2 AoOs per turn.

The primary benefit of Combat Reflexes is getting AoOs even when you lose initiative and haven't acted. Most Paizo maps are very small so foes can usually get close if they win initiative.

[*Khan*]

A Fortuitous weapon often gives 2 AOO…