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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Nov 17, 2015 20:29:35 GMT
Plans for future feats that James and I have discussed include Dazzling Display, Cleave and similar.
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Post by theoverlord on Nov 18, 2015 8:02:56 GMT
I did look at dazzling display, but it only seems useful if use in an out of combat sense, which is interesting because a fighter is only allowed combat feats. So I was wondering if Alex would actually allow it?
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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Nov 18, 2015 8:35:19 GMT
It is a combat feat, and it could be useful both in and out of combat. In combat, if successful, it gives the condition 'shaken' to enemies iirc.
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Post by theoverlord on Nov 18, 2015 9:25:00 GMT
Just finished looking at the list of combat feats, this is what I feel might be good for Bertie: Bloody vengeance, catch off guard, chair breaker (need to check rules regarding this again), cleave (and improvements), combat reflexes, critical focus, improved critical, dazzling display (if also able to use out of combat), furious focus, gory finish (depends on many enemies), intimidating prowess, penetrating strike (and improvements), pin down, step up, press to the wall, shatter defences, shield proficiency (not sure), stage combatant, vital strike (and improvements), weapon specialisation, all-consuming swing. All of these I found through the SRD, and so may be found under different names elsewhere.
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Post by grumblyarcher on Nov 18, 2015 11:42:56 GMT
I tried to write this post several times but lost it due to slipping on the keyboard. This is something of a trimmed down version, I previously had multiple paragraphs written for each section
Feats for Better Stabbing These five feats are a cornerstone of fighter builds, they make you better at hitting and hurting things. They are all weapon specific and I assume your weapon of choice will be the bastard sword. Weapon Focus and Greater Weapon Focus improve your attack rolls with that weapon. Weapon Specialization and Greater Weapon Specialization increase the damage you deal with that weapon. Improved Critical makes it easier to score critical hits by doubling the critical range. In the case of the bastard sword you will get critical hits when you roll 17-20. I will not say that any of them are required, but if you have nothing better to spend a feat on, pick them up.
Scary Bertie Feats These feats will allow you to make more use of Intimidate in combat. Intimidating Prowess and Skill Focus will apply bonuses to Intimidate. They are not required but pick them up if you feel like your are not getting the mileage out of your intimidation checks you want. Intimidating Prowess is a little better in my opinion as it allows you to add your Strength modifier to intimidation checks, while skill focus is a flat bonus. Dazzling Display, Shatter Defenses, Deadly Stroke, Cornugon Smash, and Vicious Display allow you to make intimidation checks in combat more frequently and in more ways. Another upshot is that they allow you to take advantage of conditions like shaken or flat-footed for new and vicious opportunities. I can explain their action economy and relative merits if you would like.Other Feats The combination of Improved Bull Rush and Bull Rush Strike will allow Bertie to send enemies flying when he scores critical hits. Noble Scion gives you some sundry bonuses based on your aristocratic heritage. Technically, you have to take this feat at 1st level but Alex may let you take this feat later since it fits Bertie so well. The already listed bonuses could be easily reflavored to fit the McGuffinghams. Eldritch Heritage and its various iterations essentially gives you access to the Sorcerer's Bloodline class feature which can provide some interesting abilities with great flavor. Like Bull Rush Strike, there are a wide range of feats that add debilitating effects to your critical hits that you may want to peruse and being a fighter, you have considerably better access to them than other classes. Keep an eye out for synergy opportunities with the Scary Bertie feats. Cleave is another feat that has been mentioned. It has numerous supplemental feats I will not go into here but the Cleave feats are what you want when you need to clear a room quickly. Instead of pummeling one enemy with multiple hits, you attack several of the adjacent enemies once. The supplemental feats turn up into a whirlwind of death. Great for clearing out lots of mooks.Prestige Class This is literally a prestige class for aristocrats. You would end up taking a slight hit to your attack rolls and hit points but nothing that cannot be compensated for easily. You get things like a weekly allowance of gold to spend on services or mundane goods, your own chamberlain, a body guard, and a number of hirelings. It is actually a prestige class I have wanted to play for a long time but have never had the opportunity. You will not be able to gain levels in this prestige class for a couple more levels but the sudden return to affluence could be played any number of ways.
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Post by theoverlord on Nov 18, 2015 12:03:17 GMT
Just checking, since Bertie already has the Noble scion feat at first level, What scion benefit did he take, I already know that he has a +2 to knowledge nobility, but am not sure of the other benefit.
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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Nov 18, 2015 12:40:25 GMT
Just checking, since Bertie already has the Noble scion feat at first level, What scion benefit did he take, I already know that he has a +2 to knowledge nobility, but am not sure of the other benefit. The one that allows him to use his charisma bonus on initiative checks iirc. Has had zero impact on the game as of yet, but will mean he can potentially boost his init bonus at level 4 by bumping cha to 14.
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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Nov 18, 2015 12:56:45 GMT
Thanks grumblyarcher me and James have done some research together and it's good to know I've been on the right lines, as I have never played a pathfinder game beyond level 4. I was thinking that we might end up buying a 'Keen' sword, and hence not invest in critical feats as I believe the bonuses don't stack. The intimidate stuff is certainly the kind of thing we've been thinking about. As well as the obvious, fighter being good with weapon things. I looked at the noble scion prestige class too, was a bit uninspired by it in some ways, though obviously it is potentially very cool in flavour terms.
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Post by Alex Newall on Nov 18, 2015 18:04:06 GMT
Noble scion flavour is nice but I suspect that James will tend towards all of the "scary Bertie" feats. The more we play the more often he is using intimidate (to hilarious effect).
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Post by grumblyarcher on Nov 19, 2015 7:01:34 GMT
Thanks grumblyarcher me and James have done some research together and it's good to know I've been on the right lines, as I have never played a pathfinder game beyond level 4. I was thinking that we might end up buying a 'Keen' sword, and hence not invest in critical feats as I believe the bonuses don't stack. The intimidate stuff is certainly the kind of thing we've been thinking about. As well as the obvious, fighter being good with weapon things. I looked at the noble scion prestige class too, was a bit uninspired by it in some ways, though obviously it is potentially very cool in flavour terms. Keen and Improved Critical do not stack. Most effects that toy with critical threat ranges do not. Confirmation rolls and critical multipliers are often fair game though. I typically pick up Improved Critical with my fighter builds since they have an unhealthy number of feats to play with and two-weapon combatants in order to pinch a few pennies in the long run. There are some other critical feats that Bertie might be able to make good use of, particularly the ones that add status effects with successful crits as a lot of his feats will already focus on exploiting those. Cornugon Smash will give him the most immediate flexibility with intimidate but he'll have to wait until 6th level to pick it up. Action economy at higher levels can get tricky to balance and Cornugon Smash will alleviate that some. I'll probably add a bit about the concept in my tactics thread but it is not too concerning right now. The problem with Noble Scion, in my opinion, is that none of the abilities are really flashy or alter combat in a remarkable way. The class features center around solving humdrum problems. The Improved Leadership is nice as it essentially provides a second character but that is always dependent on the patience of the GM. Still, the concept is way too fun to really pass up and one day I'll have an excuse to use it.
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Post by grumblyarcher on Nov 19, 2015 9:52:11 GMT
Oh, and at higher levels and with a decent investment of funds, I know a way to give Bertie an effective ranged attack. A Belt of Mighty Hurling which comes in Lesser and Greater variants will allow Bertie to use his strength in place of his dexterity when making ranged attack rolls with thrown weapons. Thrown weapons already use strength for damage too. Then he picks up a +1 Throwing, Returning bastard sword. Throwing allows any melee weapon to be used as a throwing weapon with a range of 10ft and Returning makes the thrown weapon return to its thrower after attacking. If someone tries to run away, Bertie could break out his special Throwing Sword.
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Post by Alex Newall on Nov 19, 2015 20:01:53 GMT
Oh dear God grumbly! Bertie with a throwing bastard sword is utterly horrifying.
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Post by grumblyarcher on Nov 19, 2015 20:09:59 GMT
I did it once with falchions and it is hilarious.
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Post by Alex Newall on Nov 19, 2015 20:16:49 GMT
Always the latter but mechanically I promise that at some point he we will face an enemy he can't charge. Or better yet, one that kills him instantly if he does.
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Post by grumblyarcher on Nov 19, 2015 22:12:25 GMT
Sadly, hitting things is not always the answer.
As a side note, I've been thinking about building the ultimate generalist fighter for some time, just to see what happens. Fighters are always billed as masters of combat but the class features and feat selection tend to actually limit them to specialized builds.
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