Pathfinder Pathfinder: Kingmaker Builds and Strats Thread

[Lawntoilet]

Should I take combat casting for frontline casters, like clerics and magus etc? I remember it being useful in NWN 2.

I'd definitely recommend it, especially for Magus since you'll be casting every round (Fatiguing Touch basically replaces your auto-attack).

 

[Fedora Master]

I'm trying a Rogue/Bombardier build and it's pretty amazing on what kind of shit sneak attack applies - Even to bombs!

 

[thesheeep]

I'm trying a Rogue/Bombardier build and it's pretty amazing on what kind of shit sneak attack applies - Even to bombs!

Reminds me of my Shadowrun (2nd edition? IIRC) character who was sneaking up on people with a chainsaw. Good times

 

[Luckmann]

I'm trying a Rogue/Bombardier build and it's pretty amazing on what kind of shit sneak attack applies - Even to bombs!

Holy shit, that's insane. Even a single level of alchdmist is strong, since it'll contextually scale by rogue/backstab progression.

 

[Roqua]

Paladins gets a really nice group benefit for tough evil enemies as a smite ability thing that removes DR restrictions from the target.

The god with the swirly icon has the repose divine school whatever, that at level 8 has an aura of death protection (stops negative level or finger of death, etc). It lasts a number of rounds equal to the cleric level (non-concurrent too, and works like nard's performance), but that is more than enough if you focus the drainers. Better than wasting time casting death ward, and you get it earlier. Also, one of the paladins gets immunity to negative energy/death effects and an always on aura that improves saves against death effects by 4 for everyone in 10 meters (I think?, the cleric aura is 30 meters).

Monks with pummeling get a feat for free trips with every full attack. There is a cloak that adds free trip attacks with bite attacks too. I played as a monk and also got a feat adding my dex bonus as well as str bonus to trip attempts I am not sure is monk specific, but free trips with full attacks is worth building around. Going druid with the cloak sounds neat. I'm not sure how viable it is for barbarians since rage is limited compared to it always being on for monk, and pretty much always being on for druids in wild shape. I haven't checked out dragon disciple so they may have an always on bite ability the cape would work well with.

Two-handed weapon fighters get an ability for a free bull rush attack - I'm not sure if it is an always on ability, or has to be selected.

1st level sword saints get an ability to add their intelligence bonus as AC so is a decent splash for high-int builds?

Rogues get bonus feats like fighters and they aren't restricted.

The high charisma of the tower shield lady isn't wasted if you go the dazzling blade route for the level 11(12?) feat that gives you a free demoralizing roar feat after getting a killing blow. It is wasted on the thief/wizard lady. I thought I could get her to stop casting the fucking acid ray shit if I went two-weapon with her, but no - she still does it. The only way to get her to stop is to right click one of the other level zero ray ones.

I created a companion with the animal divine school thing since it says it allows them to talk to animals. So far it doesn't. Maybe it has to be the lead character only?

Sneak attacks are very, very nice. And the game is very generous when it comes to flanking. The knife rogue gets 1d8 damage per sneak attack die, with the regular rule of sneak attack dice total not being higher than half your character level if you are splashing and taking the feats to get more SA dice.

Getting dex for damage is super easy. It is baked into the rogue classes, is an easy feat to get at lower levels too, and is also on a lot of weapons (agile prefix). The regular feat descriptor I think used longsword as an example of a light weapon? Maybe it allows all one-handed? I don't know.

The male priest recrtuitable can't cast spells if you multiclass him into a class with armor profs/feat him with armor profs and put on armor. The inquisitors can cast spells in heavy armor but can't cast judgements (and loses those fort and will evasion abilities). I didn't test to see if it stopped the auto-teamwork feats of the inquisitors.

You can only spacebar through camp conversation. All other conversation with chat showing overhead has to be endured. Unless someone else found a way to skip this nonsense?

 

[Jarpie]

Would like to play crusader, just shame that regular cleric is better, or doing cleric/fighter multiclass.

 

[Haplo]

The Int AC bonus of Sword saints is supposed to be limited by SS level. So you need to be SS level 4 to have +4 Int-based AC (and so on). So not great for splashing, I'm, afraid.

 

[Luckmann]

Getting dex for damage is super easy. It is baked into the rogue classes, is an easy feat to get at lower levels too, and is also on a lot of weapons (agile prefix). The regular feat descriptor I think used longsword as an example of a light weapon? Maybe it allows all one-handed?

Are you referring to Weapon Finesse? That is only attack, not damage.

Would like to play crusader, just shame that regular cleric is better, or doing cleric/fighter multiclass.

Yeah, it sucks that the Crusader takes up an archetype spot for clerics, considering that Crusader is terrible. They definitely could've used something to set them apart, like a unique use of channelling or something, or extra channelling and some Divine Feats (or whatever they're called in PF).

 

[Haplo]

Actually here rogues supposedly get a feat for dex-to-damage at level 3 also.

There's also Slashing/Fencing Grace, but those are more limited and cost a feat (main hand only, light weapons).

 

[Serus]

Would like to play crusader, just shame that regular cleric is better, or doing cleric/fighter multiclass.

Crusader might be worse relatively to basic cleric in most situations - but it's still a strong class. It's still a cleric with access to all cleric spells (just 1 less per level) and those feats do add additional offensive power for a combat cleric. I'm not even sure if they properly implemented the Crusader lower spell progression. It seem that if you create a pure level 1 cleric vs a level 1 crusader with the same WIS they seem to have the same amount of non-domain level 1 spell slots. And as far as I understand it - they shouldn't have. Anyone had tested it? If that's really the case, and Kingmaker's Crusader gets all the spell slots as normal cleric, it means all you lose is the second domain (and its spells) to get 5 feats which helps you with your main role (being a combat focused cleric) which isn't such a bad deal even if not ideal.
Seriously anyone have tested Crusader's spell progression?

 

[Luckmann]

Would like to play crusader, just shame that regular cleric is better, or doing cleric/fighter multiclass.

Crusader might be worse relatively to basic cleric in most situations - but it's still a strong class. It's still a cleric with access to all cleric spells (just 1 less per level) and those feats do add additional offensive power for a combat cleric. I'm not even sure if they properly implemented the Crusader lower spell progression. It seem that if you create a pure level 1 cleric vs a level 1 crusader with the same WIS they seem to have the same amount of non-domain level 1 spell slots. And as far as I understand it - they shouldn't have. Anyone had tested it? If that's really the case, and Kingmaker's Crusader gets all the spell slots as normal cleric, it means all you lose is the second domain (and its spells) to get 5 feats which helps you with your main role (being a combat focused cleric) which isn't such a bad deal even if not ideal.
Seriously anyone have tested Crusader's spell progression?

Yeah, it's been mentioned in one of the threads, because people were confused, since the game never fucking mentions that you lose one spell per level. That said, you make a fair point, especially since most of the domains in PF:K are both uninteresting and shit.

On a Domain-related note, is it normal that the War Domain only has one power/ability? Because if you take it in PF:K currently, there's only one power, but the regular Clericmprogression still mention unlocking a ppwer at lvl 8.

 

[vazha]

So I have decided (first time in my life) to go with a rogue. Thinking about supplementing it with grenadier level or two, so that i can love the smell of napalm in every battle.
Question: How many lvls of grenadiers should I take?
And is this build viable stat-wise?
Race: human starting class: rogue
Str: 7 (will switch to dex to damage feat as soon as i am able to)
Dex: 19 (should i have gone to all 20?)
Con: 14 ( I think)
Int: 16 (read its good for bombing)
Wis: 14 (don't know why, only marginal rewards in will saves)
Cha: 7 (wish I could decrease it further)

Any advice is well-appreciated.

 

[Haplo]

Vivisectionist seems like a lovely OP class. Nerdo Commando / Pope Amole seems to even have a sweet build for it.

That said, can you make an effective Strenght based build with the class? The Mutagen +8 Strenght and no Arcane Spell Failure for armor is quite tempting.
I suppose you'd have to stay in the back and use a Glaive or something, as your AC wouldn't be competitive (even if you reach capstone +8 Natural AC)?

 

[Cael]

Hi guys, I have a build related question. I am planning to create a Mad Dog Lvl1 char, then switch to Fighter (and go all the way to 20 with Fighter).

Would boon companion feat make my pet continue to scale with my level, even if I'm fighter?

Someone on the inet said that boon companion is bugged and the pet won't scale when you multiclass, so if someone has tested this, please share your experience.

that's not what boon companion does in the tabletop, so i would hope not. it adds a flat level bonus for your pet, and is designed for rangers (since they don't get a pet until lv4, so the bonus makes the pet have level parity with them), though it can be used by other people if they want to dip and keep a full level pet.

Let's be clear, though, that the bonus is +4 up to a maximum of your HD. So in that sense, it's possible to "scale with fighter". Not that that would help in this particular instance in any way whatsoever, I just wanted to point out that it's not a flat +4.

I wonder how it works in PF:K. I know it works for Ekun and I know effective animal "druid-level" is tracked seperately. I know this because at lvl 7 i was trying things out and gave Ekun (who has Boon Companion) a class level (but not a character level) of Divine Huntsmaster (or whatever the Inquisitor class is called) and his wolf grew to Large as if it's effective druid level was 8.

I want to also point out that it's not necessarily made for Rangers. It is equally good for druids that multiclass, or a number of other classes that get full ajimal progression. That said, I don't kjow why someone would multiclass a druid in PF other than for the lulz. Multiclassing is largely a sucker's game in PF.

In 3.5 tabletop, it allowed you to take higher level animal companions and retain effective Druid levels. For example, a Brown Bear is a level 7 Druid AC but the effective Druid level when figuring out its abilities and bonuses and the like is current level-6, which means a level 7 Druid has a Brown Bear with the bonuses of a level 1 Druid (i.e., none). With Natural Bond (the 3.5 version of the feat), you add 3 effective Druid levels, so you end up with a Brown Bear with level 4 Druid bonuses on it.

They probably didn't allow this in Paizoland.

 

[Yosharian]

Should I take combat casting for frontline casters, like clerics and magus etc? I remember it being useful in NWN 2.

It's useful early on but later it's a useless feat. So, take that into consideration. I'm not gonna get it on any of my casters, but... early game may be tricky.

 

[Luckmann]

Hi guys, I have a build related question. I am planning to create a Mad Dog Lvl1 char, then switch to Fighter (and go all the way to 20 with Fighter).

Would boon companion feat make my pet continue to scale with my level, even if I'm fighter?

Someone on the inet said that boon companion is bugged and the pet won't scale when you multiclass, so if someone has tested this, please share your experience.

that's not what boon companion does in the tabletop, so i would hope not. it adds a flat level bonus for your pet, and is designed for rangers (since they don't get a pet until lv4, so the bonus makes the pet have level parity with them), though it can be used by other people if they want to dip and keep a full level pet.

Let's be clear, though, that the bonus is +4 up to a maximum of your HD. So in that sense, it's possible to "scale with fighter". Not that that would help in this particular instance in any way whatsoever, I just wanted to point out that it's not a flat +4.

I wonder how it works in PF:K. I know it works for Ekun and I know effective animal "druid-level" is tracked seperately. I know this because at lvl 7 i was trying things out and gave Ekun (who has Boon Companion) a class level (but not a character level) of Divine Huntsmaster (or whatever the Inquisitor class is called) and his wolf grew to Large as if it's effective druid level was 8.

I want to also point out that it's not necessarily made for Rangers. It is equally good for druids that multiclass, or a number of other classes that get full ajimal progression. That said, I don't kjow why someone would multiclass a druid in PF other than for the lulz. Multiclassing is largely a sucker's game in PF.

In 3.5 tabletop, it allowed you to take higher level animal companions and retain effective Druid levels. For example, a Brown Bear is a level 7 Druid AC but the effective Druid level when figuring out its abilities and bonuses and the like is current level-6, which means a level 7 Druid has a Brown Bear with the bonuses of a level 1 Druid (i.e., none). With Natural Bond (the 3.5 version of the feat), you add 3 effective Druid levels, so you end up with a Brown Bear with level 4 Druid bonuses on it.

They probably didn't allow this in Paizoland.

Animal Companions do not work like that in Pathfinder, so it's a non-issue. I don't mind, either, since I always considered the whole "At lvl 6 you can trade your animal companion that you've bonded with and shared adventures with in for a rhinoceros" or "Yeah, you can realize your character concept of a druid with animal x... on lvl 11", and stuff like that. In PF, there's a huge list of available animals and that's it, things outside of it subject to DM adjudication, and then they progress according to your Nature Bond/Animal Companion class feature(s)

 

[Yosharian]

1st level sword saints get an ability to add their intelligence bonus as AC so is a decent splash for high-int builds?

It should work the same as the Duelist ability, which is to say that the amount of Int modifier you can transfer to your AC is limited by your class level. So dipping 1 level of Kensai to pick up that ability only gets you a maximum of 1 AC.

However, they may not have implemented it correctly.

 

[Cael]

Animal Companions do not work like that in Pathfinder, so it's a non-issue. I don't mind, either, since I always considered the whole "At lvl 6 you can trade your animal companion that you've bonded with and shared adventures with in for a rhinoceros" or "Yeah, you can realize your character concept of a druid with animal x... on lvl 11", and stuff like that. In PF, there's a huge list of available animals and that's it, things outside of it subject to DM adjudication, and then they progress according to your Nature Bond/Animal Companion class feature(s)

That is really up to the player and his table. If they allow it like that, they allow it.

The only times I had to get a new companion is when my old one died. There was one time where my chimp (reskinned baboon) AC died fighting a dragon and I reincarnated him as a brown bear (random roll, hilariously enough). So, contrary to my usual Bob the Big Brown Bear, he became Chuck the Big Brown Bear, a homage to his original name of Chuck the Poo Throwing Chimp.

 

[Serus]

Would like to play crusader, just shame that regular cleric is better, or doing cleric/fighter multiclass.

Crusader might be worse relatively to basic cleric in most situations - but it's still a strong class. It's still a cleric with access to all cleric spells (just 1 less per level) and those feats do add additional offensive power for a combat cleric. I'm not even sure if they properly implemented the Crusader lower spell progression. It seem that if you create a pure level 1 cleric vs a level 1 crusader with the same WIS they seem to have the same amount of non-domain level 1 spell slots. And as far as I understand it - they shouldn't have. Anyone had tested it? If that's really the case, and Kingmaker's Crusader gets all the spell slots as normal cleric, it means all you lose is the second domain (and its spells) to get 5 feats which helps you with your main role (being a combat focused cleric) which isn't such a bad deal even if not ideal.
Seriously anyone have tested Crusader's spell progression?

Yeah, it's been mentioned in one of the threads, because people were confused, since the game never fucking mentions that you lose one spell per level. That said, you make a fair point, especially since most of the domains in PF:K are both uninteresting and shit.

On a Domain-related note, is it normal that the War Domain only has one power/ability? Because if you take it in PF:K currently, there's only one power, but the regular Clericmprogression still mention unlocking a ppwer at lvl 8.

Ok, sorry I take it back. I tested it and it seems to work correctly after all. Crusader does get 1 spell slot less per level. My mistake.
Still despite being weaker than a pure cleric for most purposes , if you really want to focus on it being a combat cleric and are willing to play with less spell slots, he will be dealing a bit more damage than regular cleric would, so if that's your priority (or you plan to have another cleric in the party) it's worth considering.

 

[Yosharian]

Vivisectionist seems like a lovely OP class. Nerdo Commando / Pope Amole seems to even have a sweet build for it.

That said, can you make an effective Strenght based build with the class? The Mutagen +8 Strenght and no Arcane Spell Failure for armor is quite tempting.
I suppose you'd have to stay in the back and use a Glaive or something, as your AC wouldn't be competitive (even if you reach capstone +8 Natural AC)?

• -75% chance of getting critted
• Shield: +4 Shield AC
• Mutagen +2/4/6/8 Nat AC
• Mutagen +4 Dex = +2 AC
• Cat's Grace +4 Dex = +2 AC
• Receive friendly mage armor buff = +4 Armor AC
• Aasimar Wings +3 Dodge AC
• Spontaneous Healing = free action 5 hp heal many times/day, effectively worth 50 HP at level 20 (same as 2.5x Toughness feats)

Not sure about ditching Dex completely, but I have a build that focuses on Dex and has some Strength.

 

[vazha]

guys help me ffs

 

[Cael]

guys help me ffs

You chose rogue. There is nothing in the multiiverse which can help you. So sorry. You are terminal.

 

[vazha]

But i wanted to bomb people! I even named him Ahmed!

 

[Jarpie]

I think crusader would be better if they'd give the bonus feat more frequently, maybe every four levels, instead of five.

 

[Norfleet]

Reminds me of my Shadowrun (2nd edition? IIRC) character who was sneaking up on people with a chainsaw. Good times

I imagine it would have to be an electric chainsaw, since a gas-powered one would make too much noise just idling, and would take too long to get up to speed. Not that a chainsaw is a good melee weapon to begin with. In fact, chainsaws are pretty much designed to be the opposite of a melee weapon, with pesky safety features that actively work to stop you from properly cutting a bitch.