Help with a Sword and Pistol Fighter (PF)

[BigKahuna]

My friend is running a game in a different city that I'm visiting for a few weeks and I'm going to join his game. We decided that instead of awkwardly fitting me into the party, I'm basically going to come in and play their new antagonist for the session (I'd say villain but the party started out CG and are well on the way to NE, so technically I'm a hero). Essentially the players planned out a heist at the end of their last session where they are going to ambush a group that is attempting to free slaves so that they can sell those slaves back into slavery. My character is going to be a freed Nagaji slave who will be leading the slave freeing group. To try and make the character unique and memorable I decided that the character is going to be a two-weapon fighter with a longsword in one hand and a pistol in the other. The main restriction for this character is that it can only be a Level 5 character. I think I've got it mostly figured out here (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=490027), but I'm looking for suggestions to make it better with different weapons, feat selections etc...

[Cieyrin]

You do have a couple issues to deal with on the firearm end of things, in that you can't reload the pistol one-handed and you don't have a way to fix it if it misfires, as you have none of Gunsmithing, Quick Clear or magic to repair the weapon. Amateur Gunslinger is a Combat feat that get you Quick Clear, so you may wish to fit that into your feat selection, like replacing Two-Weapon Fighting with it. Alternatively, unless you're banking on Leaping Attack for that +1 atk/dmg, you could change your level progression to Mobile Fighter 1/Mysterious Stranger Gunslinger 1/Mobile Fighter +3, which then allows you to swap in Amateur Gunslinger for EWP(Firearms) so that you have a Mysterious Stranger with Quick Clear and Focused Aim, which'll allow you to move some of your point buy from Str into Cha so that you have 16/16/14/8/10/16 and deal 1d8+5 with Focused Aim.

Also, you seem a bit underequipped for your level, as 5th level characters have a WBL of 10,500 gp, not to mention I'm not sure what the Scroll of Expeditious Retreat is for, since you have no native casting ability nor Use Magic Device, which you could invest in if you went Mysterious Stranger and the Dangerously Curious trait to get UMD as a class skill with a +1 bonus on top of that. You should be able to afford a +1 chain shirt and +1 weapons of your mains at least, maybe some magic bullets as well if you have an idea ahead of time for some Banes to have for the slavers/PCs, Humanbane being a good bet. Boots of Striding and Springing could also serve you well for just being faster all the time.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

[Ravens_cry]

Weapon cords (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/weapon-and-armor-accessories#TOC-Weapon-Cord) can help a lot. Recover as a swift action, so the pattern goes drop sword free, reload free, recover swift.

[BigKahuna]

Also, you seem a bit underequipped for your level, as 5th level characters have a WBL of 10,500 gp, not to mention I'm not sure what the Scroll of Expeditious Retreat is for, since you have no native casting ability nor Use Magic Device, which you could invest in if you went Mysterious Stranger and the Dangerously Curious trait to get UMD as a class skill with a +1 bonus on top of that. You should be able to afford a +1 chain shirt and +1 weapons of your mains at least, maybe some magic bullets as well if you have an idea ahead of time for some Banes to have for the slavers/PCs, Humanbane being a good bet. Boots of Striding and Springing could also serve you well for just being faster all the time.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

The reason I'm underequipped and poorly optimized is because the DM has been leveling his players up too fast without giving WBL so, as I'm an antagonist and ideally he would like me to lose, I can't come in with WBL and an optimized character or I would probably destroy his party (this is also why he gave me the scroll of expeditious retreat, so I can run away at the end of the fight when I start losing badly). Also, instead of going into Mysterious Stranger, I'm thinking of just doing a one level dip into pistolero to get most of the same stuff without having to change the ability scores.



Weapon cords can help a lot. Recover as a swift action, so the pattern goes drop sword free, reload free, recover swift.

Will definitely give the character a weapon cord.

[frost890]

I don’t know a lot about the Pistolero, but if your DM allows it the pistol weapon prof might allow you to use the pistol as a club for TWF. A lot of the Wheel lock pistols were designed with a ball at the base of the grip. this was to allow it to be used as a club when you didn’t have time to reload or ran out of ammo. I would also suggest having multiple pistols and swapping the rapid reload for quick draw(if you can, I don’t know the requirements for the pistolero).

Edit: If your Char gets to be a returning NPC/Char I would see about getting a pistol bandoleer with the returning property. then you just drop a pistol and reach for the next. I won’t change much from a game play perspective(with quickdraw) but from an imagery perspective it is just epic.

[the clumsy bard]

Also note that you cannot use weapon specialization

Look at the requirements (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/feats/combat-feats/weapon-specialization-combat---final)

Unless you are taking 4 levels of fighter of course.

[Cieyrin]

Also note that you cannot use weapon specialization

Look at the requirements (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/feats/combat-feats/weapon-specialization-combat---final)

Unless you are taking 4 levels of fighter of course.

...The character started as a Fighter 5 and shifted into Fighter 4/Gunslinger 1. Either meets the requirements just fine, as he'll take the feat with his bonus feat from Fighter 4.

As for Pistolero, you'd still need to shift stats about if you intend to use Up Close and Deadly, as you have a Wis of 10, meaning no Grit to use on it or to power Quick Clear. I suggested Mysterious Stranger simply due to Nagaji have a +2 racial bonus to Cha that you could make use of, meaning your relevant ability buy goes further.

As for the scroll, again, you have to be able to cast or be skilled in Use Magic Device, neither of which are met. Just change it into a potion and everything works out if that's all you want it for.


I don’t know a lot about the Pistolero, but if your DM allows it the pistol weapon prof might allow you to use the pistol as a club for TWF. A lot of the Wheel lock pistols were designed with a ball at the base of the grip. this was to allow it to be used as a club when you didn’t have time to reload or ran out of ammo. I would also suggest having multiple pistols and swapping the rapid reload for quick draw(if you can, I don’t know the requirements for the pistolero).

Edit: If your Char gets to be a returning NPC/Char I would see about getting a pistol bandoleer with the returning property. then you just drop a pistol and reach for the next. I won’t change much from a game play perspective(with quickdraw) but from an imagery perspective it is just epic.

Gunslinger 3 has a Deed called Pistol Whip that's all about smacking people in the gob. Not really relevant to this build but it's there. The Rapid Reload and Alchemical cartridges allow free action reloads, albeit with an increased misfire rate. Plus, due to the under-WBL, lots of pistols isn't terribly feasible, since each is 1k a piece, considering the standard time period for Golarion is flintlocks with each weapon made individually, not mass produced.

[BigKahuna]

Also note that you cannot use weapon specialization

Look at the requirements (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/feats/combat-feats/weapon-specialization-combat---final)

Unless you are taking 4 levels of fighter of course.

I knew there was a reason I had 4 levels in fighter, I'll switch it back

EDIT: Also, I'm thinking that I should give my character a pepperbox instead of a pistol, that way he can fire six shots before he needs to reload. Had to switch some stats for WIS, mainly using pistolero so I don't have to spend a feat to get quick clear.

[Ravens_cry]

I knew there was a reason I had 4 levels in fighter, I'll switch it back

EDIT: Also, I'm thinking that I should give my character a pepperbox instead of a pistol, that way he can fire six shots before he needs to reload. Had to switch some stats for WIS, mainly using pistolero so I don't have to spend a feat to get quick clear.
Hmm, can you get a revolver by any chance?

[BigKahuna]

Hmm, can you get a revolver by any chance?

I highly doubt it, but I'll try and find out.