This build needs at least two feats before its damage potential really starts to show through. To do this we’re selecting the martial powerhouse…wizard, specifically the Bladesinger. 5e has mostly gone the other way, preferring (relative) simplicity to realism and leaving realism to “the theater of the mind” and I guess also “the rule of cool.”. SS Crossbow expert fighter by comparison uses no resources but averages 107.5 from 5d6+15*6. At level 19 we steal our final 2 spells, and while there are many good options available, I have opted for Shapechange and Wish. All subsequentattacks against that prone/grappled creature will then have advantage (and it has disadvantage on attacks against you), and it can’t stand up until it breaks your grapple! You are correct that Wall of Fire and Sickening Radiance do more damage than a 4th level SG, although SR is a save-or-suck spell. finally they only have a move speed of 30 so if you’re facing a mobile enemy or anything that can teleport the spell (lv 5 slot btw) is wasted. Valor is also able to get extra attack and is able to cast a spell plus a crossbow shot at level 14. It’s an annoying distinction I probably wouldn’t enforce as a gm, but it does restrict shove bear a bit. Excited for that. Lycanthrope. The MM even gives guidelines on making custom creatures based on existing creatures. What did you use concentration for in those situations? Currently Lvl 5. Well darn! I assume the idea is to use our highest slots for Spirit Guardian (at 16th level that would be 5th level – or 5d8 for the spell damage) and that the short rest, if necessary, just potentially gives us some slots back that COULD be used for a lesser spell effect (SG) if other slots were used up? While hexblade would be a decent 1 level dip, the archery fighting style provided by the fighter level is irreplaceable and I’d rather start progressing my bard levels than slow it down further by taking 1 level of warlock. What is up? Also, can you explain where the damage is coming from with those high numbers at level 5-6 and then the ones later would be appreciated, they just don’t seem to make sense or rather, are too high. ... Pathfinder is a tabletop RPG based off of the 3.5 Ruleset of Dungeons and Dragons. Quicked is there mostly to allow us to setup spirit guardians and drag someone into it on round 1. I’m not sure how DnD Beyond organizing its spells, but Divine Soul sorcs have access to the full cleric spell list from their level 1 Divine Magic feature. Also looking at grease as a non concentration crowd control/area denial…? A bear in real life or in the game can easily knock a human to the ground, which is mechanically represented by the “Shove” action, not the “Grapple” action. https://5e.tools/bestiary.html#velociraptor_vgm, The lizard can be found here: For many lower levels they out preform dual wielding, and stack with shadow blade or get amplified with flaming sphere. However, they only do slightly more and lack the ability to move their effects and avoid friendly fire, to name two. Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (5E) is one of my favorite RPGs out there. The key, and unintuitive, issue is that “multi-attack” isn’t actually the “attack” action. The second build is amazing for clearing out monsters. Pathfinder Paladin Archer Guide (1 st – 13 th Level) Archetype:Divine Hunter – You get Precise for free. Polymorph is a great buff for either ourselves or our party members. Intelligent item. None of these builds would allow you to be a one-man party, at least not until very late levels when the game kind of breaks for everyone. Instead of a separate dimension into which you draw unsuspecting monsters, 5E grappling simply reduces your target’s movement to zero and forces them to move with you. I’m working on some other 5e articles right now, might be a bit before I do more detailed builds as they take a while, but I certainly want to. Levels 12-20 are spent increasing our sorcerer levels. Crossbow expert eliminates the “loading” attribute (pg. Yes the character is slower, but its spirit guardians halves the speed of creatures within it and it can pull creatures towards it with eldritch blast. This could include anyone you wanted, as you control who you consider “hostile. that’s the DP/1 round – and then he has an unloaded crossbow in each hand on the 2nd round. You are right that, for most of the game, the bardcher build does less potential burst damage than a paladin going all out, but it also uses significantly less resources to do way more consistent damage. I have never played PnP Pathfinder, so I apologize if I lack a complete understanding of this game's nuances and advanced mechanics. You can pull this trick 5 times per short rest (with 20 CHA) across 2 combats (swift quiver casting limits) per long rest. Distance doubles the Range to 30 ft for SG and 60 ft for Auras. Animal Domain for that animal companion and Healing Domain to increase all your healing by +50%. Tenser’s bonus 3*2d12 = 6d12 a bear does The last time I played I was a swashbuckler and I remember having so much fun with this class. Spiritual Weapon doesn’t work with Twin Spell, but it is a good use of your bonus action if you have nothing else to do. You are totally right I believe, good catch =). The Life cleric’s increased healing is also nice, although its strength will show through later. Our ability to do this increases even further at level 12, almost guaranteeing we succeed at any grapple check we make, even against powerful enemies. You mentioned you have played this build alot, at least compared to the other 3 here… you never found a situation where guardians was mostly if not totally negated due to positioning or DM shenanigans? They don't wear armor but still get very high ACs, and dual-wielding daggers (or kukris) allow them to deal lots of sneak attacks. The main issue with wildshaping is that our beast forms all have relatively low accuracy compared to other players, especially once those players find magic weapons. +1: 39.25 SS stands for the feat sharpshooters -5 to hit for +10 damage. Prior to level 11, the build is on par with any martial option, making 3 attacks a round with Sharpshooter for upwards of 3d6+42. In our full Pathfinder: Kingmaker class guide below, we break down each main class, as well as the three alternate class archetypes that swap out key features for more customization. I suspect most of my quibbles are based mostly on differences in the types of campaigns I play in (or, more commonly, DM). Now, with that said, let’s get into it. Ah, yes I can see how that could be confusing, and it would make sense that a martial feat would be constrained to martial classes, but thankfully for my builds Wizards doesn’t seem interested in doing that =P. 1. if your CR with a moon druid does not go to 2 until 6 how are you wild shaping into a cave bear at lvl 5? If you have not taken the War caster feat, how are you casting shield as a reaction?? Levels 1-4 see us turning into a brown bear, providing your party with a tank/damage dealer more powerful than the members of the party dedicated to those roles. The archetype is a no brainer for the Paladin Archer who is not going to focus on maximizing Smite attacks. Elven Accuracy comes with a + 1 to Dex, so with 27 point buy go 13 Str (multi-class Pally), 15 Dex, 14 Con, and 10 on Int, Wis and Cha. Here is how it works: Vow of enmity is up once you see the monster, then you get 3 (or 4 with Lucky) opportunities to get a natural 20 each time you attack for one minute (one extra for advantage and one reroll for EA and an extra d20 for Lucky). You can also use it on a weapon as an easy method to disarm. Do I miss something or will the raptors always have only a +4 to hit? Cookies help us deliver our Services. Holiest Adventurer. It also means that whether a bear can grapple is entirely dependent on how generous a DM is with the meaning of “free hand.”  Unless a campaign includes serious war gamers, the overwhelming majority of DMs would probably err on the side of “Rule of Cool” with the grapple bear. On top of these stolen spells, we also get access to bard level 9 spells like Foresight, a powerful buff spell that lasts 8 hours and doesn’t require concentration. Please see our comments policy (updated 03/28/20) and our privacy policy for details on how we moderate comments and who receives your information. As for what is considered “broken” that’s a very subjective term. It’s not in the PHB, but this is the relevant text: “Divine Magic 25: 4.65. Unfortunate, because getting dex dmg bonus on dual-wielding staves is kinda sick idea. without the str requirement, his movement would be reduced by 10 feet. Levels 12-19 grant us a steady increase in power, with spells like Simulacrum and Shapechange standing out as both fun and powerful additions to our toolbox. Rather, he should be using a hand crossbow in one hand, and nothing in the other hand. +2: 30.45, -2: 42.70 One way to manage this is through the drop staff, fire crossbow, pick staff up. 20: 193.40 -1: 61.40 In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for a chance to strike an enemy who is fleeing or passing by. Also am i right in assuming that first turn combat we would have to have one sword and our focus in hand, BA would be blade song, and our action would be haste plus then a free action to store our focus? Bite Wouldn’t the monster just remove the cross bow bolt? Counterspell is certainly a viable choice if you’re worried about your GM making use of those kinds of effects, I didn’t take it because I find the spell unfun and I trust my GMs to not lock me out of playing for failing a single role. Also, have you investigated getting some rogue levels in for extra sneak dmg on each shot? I think Simulacrum is truly broken though so once that spell becomes available I think it all goes out the window. I'm contemplating creating a character for Pathfinder Society, but am new to the system, though I've been playing D&D for close to 30 years. Grasp of Hadar lets me pull an enemy into my spirit guardian, triggering it’s “first time they enter it” effect, then they begin their turn within it, triggering it a second time. After that, you still have level 15 bard spell capabilities to fall back on (including stolen fireballs using level 6-8 slots maybe, if you want to drop AoE damage?). If you or your GM don’t want to play it that way then drop con or one of the other 16s and bump str up to the required 13. AO is actually faster to setup than many concentration effects, as you can start benefiting from its damage the turn you cast it. In each guide, you will find extensive information about gearing choices, passive skill trees, gem links, gameplay, and much more! Please take no offense, but I believe you missed the most powerful element of a Sorcerer casting Spirit Guardians. In my experience with the build you spend most of your time targeting creatures that are farther than 5ft away from you and let spirit guardians handle the melee enemies. Alongside dragon transformations, we grab the Wish spell. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the Pathfinder_Kingmaker community, Continue browsing in r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker. If you want lots of bodies on the field. On top of that, the Monster Tactician has yet another ability where at some level their monsters gain the OP teamwork feats (outflank and precise strike). Max damage is 364, death strike would be 692 (poison does not double) or it is at max 364 with 2 legendary saves burned, since death strike is a Con save as well. Not only does this allow our druid to do much more damage, but it also keeps that pair of rowdy orcs safely away from our casters by “carefully” holding each one in our giant scorpion pincers. Put your human +2 racial bonus into Dexterity. Bless is the easy cheap one for the whole party, but twin blur or enlarge/reduce seem better than SoF once I get lvl 2 sorc spells. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage. 25: 17.40. The spell is a little vague, so your DM may disagree, but this is the relevant text: “You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. I’m seeing it only as a cleric spell and not granted by Divine soul, in DND beyond at least. I’m surprised That your build passes up a second fighter level which would allow you to get Action Surge- Arguably the fighter’s best ability. Thank you very much for the guides! Cool. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. Thanks for the replies. Normally this pull can simply be used to keep enemies away from our squishier teammates, but when combined with Spirit Guardians, it allows us to trigger the aura damage twice on one target per round, as damage is first triggered when the creature is dragged into the aura and again when the creature begins its turn inside the aura we dragged it into. I hadn’t thought of Armor of Agathys, but you’re right it’s a good way to spend some lower level spell slots and combos well with blade ward. While there isn't as much room for Cheese in the Pathfinder system, there are clearly some builds that would make great low level characters or cohorts. I am one of those D&D players that optimizes builds way too much, and spends all of their free time staring at the PHB. How sure are you about monster tactician monsters benefiting from the teamwork feats while he is far away from them shooting arrows? If you’re fighting melee targets in some type of room or dungeon, they’re going to have to deal the equivalent of 20 damage (while taking Armor of Agathys and Spirit Guardians damage themselves) before getting to your actual HP. Currently, I’m putting together a “Bardcher” build and I’m going through the details with a fine-toothed comb to make sure I understand it all. 25: 114.78. This means they’ll get access to Spirit Guardians at level 5 just like a cleric would. Thanks =). All these features add up to an incredibly powerful late-game character capable of killing enemies like Tiamat in between 1 and 2 rounds. I had played a Divine Soul/Life Cleric, but had not mixed in the Warlock for pulling targets in. 25: 122.20, Cantrips: Chill Touch, Control Flame, Mage hand, Sword Burst. In a fictional game scenario, of course. Gotta hug em with your bear hands! 3d8+6d12+10 (x3 rapier / Tenser’s Transformation), 10: 67.46 A Hasted griffon has 120 ft of movement, can make 2 attacks and then disengage, or make 3 attacks with a normal move. You are right the griffon wouldn’t get advantage, but it would still get the 2d12 extra damage. If you have any ideas to add to the list, just post them here and I'll do my best to keep the lists updated. Since writing this I’ve realized the raptor block I used was actually homebrew, and I haven’t put in the time to re-do all the calculations. Until SG, would you say that twin SoF is superior to Bless or twin Blur? Prior to level 11 classes like the fighter can out burst the bard’s non spell using damage output using things like action surge, but even then the bard has things like polymorph, greater invis, and animate objects, which are all very good damage enhancing spells. 1d8+5d6+10d4+93 (Animate Objects / griffon / 3 hand xbow SS), 10: 130.62 PS: wanted to mention I will be running this as the tank companion to a halberd sentinel echo knight. You are probably right about the limitations of the shield master feat, since you would have to use it to shove, then drop it to draw a weapon. 15: 95.63 None of these come even close to the upside of doubling everything the build could previously do. 15: 192.24 10d6+9d8+58 (cave bear / 8 raptors), How is this possible? Cleric gets around this issue by giving you heavy armor proficiency as a subclass feature that you just happen to get from level 1 assuming you pick a sublcass like Life, War, or Forge. Consider this at level 7 – Upcast Armor of Agathys to 2nd level before fight start (1 hr duration). Are you talking about combining SG with distant spell? I haven’t compared the exact numbers you mention here but I believe my version still delivers more damage over time. 25: 15.80, -2: 54.00 The character casts maybe 1 spell a combat and the constant use of flourishes is better IMO. 20: 169.31 While I love games like torchbearer or rising tide, they don’t allow for the downright silliness you can get in dnd. If your GM allows it to be used after EB then yes it would be a decent use for your bonus action. To make your sneak attack, cast booming blade and burn a spell slot for divine smite. Each ally within 10 feet also gains +4 morale bonus on saving throws against those spells and abilities. For multi-class tanks you can do things like Inv Rager Barbarian + Vivi, Sword Saint Duelist + Monk. When you get to level 8, based on the stats you gave, you can still only be 8 / 16 / 16 / 8 / 16 / 8 with the point buy. Haste is a great work-a-day combat buff that replaces Shadowblade as our primary concentration spell. I probably won’t use Eldritch Blast. (1d8+6d6+10d12+53) x 2 (Tenser’s Transformation / Simulacrum / griffon / Defensive Flourish / 3 hand xbow SS), 10: 290.20 Then 8D4 then add 2×8 and 2×8 which is 16+16 which is 32+ damage, plus the 10 from the bear. Especially my friends playing martial characters haha. So yeah, by strict RAW a character, but not a monster, can substitute grapples and shoves when they attack more than once as an action. T use it you need to be both easy to read healing Domain to increase your... Scheme, but I believe you will and it is unlikely they will anything! Better option I ’ m seeing it only as a non concentration crowd denial…... Aerial or long range combat just off the top of weapon damage, plus 10. 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