[PF] Character concepts for Military Resistance Campaign

[8wGremlin]

You need to be level 8 You are the leader of the underdogs in your world, the leader of the uprising, revolution, resistance.

There was a great evil that destroyed everything or oppressive empire or something like that I need you to be able to tell me about your world, your evil empire, your resistance force.

You are a leader of men, whether you mean to be or not (hero or antihero) you have been fighting your battles for a time now.

At the start of the campaign you find yourself face to face with your most bitter enemy locked in a final conflict one sword stroke away from total victory or utter defeat.

I need to know what your character stands to win in victory(love, revenge, riches) or lose in defeat(humiliation, exile, fate worse than death)

Through your efforts against the evil empire you have obtained a hard won power which has evened the odds. It could be a magical weapon or a spell like ability.

I need to know what this is and what it does as long as your character makes sense as the leader of a military group

One last thing: along the way you had to make a deep personal sacrifice give up a limb, accept madness and chaos, lose a loved one, betray your friends
etc. something like that you have an impurity of body or spirit due to this


So 8th level leader of men (or anything race)
No 3rd party stuff...

Ideas?


Edit:


All the players are given the same base info (as above), so you are ALL leaders of men

I think this means that we're all from different worlds and brought together some how, to team up..

now if we are all bard paladin or cavaliers, what else could be a leader of men/(any race)

[Ravenica]

cavalier or noble scion both have some nice benefits, or a battle herald based build maybe?

What kind of playstyle preference?

[Amnestic]

Given that description I'd go with Bard, Factotum or a ToB class, in that order of preference.

Edit: PF only? Straight up Bard then, no question.

[8wGremlin]

cavalier or noble scion both have some nice benefits, or a battle herald based build maybe?

What kind of playstyle preference?

No playstyle preference really, as this will be my first pathfinder, I've played dnd for years.

I do like versatility and odd ball concepts and tend to pick casters in dnd

Thanks for the suggestions I'll look in to those.

[Ravenica]

I'd suggest a bard build with a 1 level dip to cavalier and prestige into battle herald then

[AttilaTheGeek]

I second the Battle Herald idea. It's an incredibly fun class. See if you can get your GM to drop the Cavalier level requirement, because it has absolutely no relation to what the class does, and get the requirement replaced with three levels of the Holy Tactician (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/holy-tactician) Paladin archetype. Paladin 3 / Bard 1 / Battle Herald 4 is fun. (though you might want to take a 4th level of Paladin for Channel Energy and casting).

You could also go Bard 8, with a focus on Perform (Oratory). That could be fun.

[nobodez]

Just make sure you have the Natural-Born Leader trait and Leadership (the most powerful feat in the d20 system aside from Epic Leadership).

But yeah, you want to lead, take Bard.

[TheTick]

Battle Herald might be your best option. Though you may enjoy playing a Paladin in PF, they don't suck the way they did in 3.5.

[Waker]

A Holy Tactician Paladin, Arcane Duelist Bard or Guide Ranger all make excellent heroic leader types. Cavalier can work too if you go with something like Musketeer.

[Manflesh]

Paladins don't suck in Pathfinder. Plus your campaign seems to fall right in line with that kind of class since high charisma would probably suit you best (as I'm assuming you're taking the leadership feat). They also a very good mix of combat/healing/spell casting/high saves. Look at their archtypes. There's some fun stuff.

If you want to play an a-traditional leader type, I'd peak into monk. They don't necessarily provide amazing support, but the RP potential is great. I think it'd be hilarious if the hero/rebel leader was a drunken master monk.

[8wGremlin]

All excellent Ideas, thank you all...

I'll go and read them now...

any really left field as I've now learnt the following from the DM


All the players are given the same base info, so you are ALL leaders of men

I think this means that we're all from different worlds and brought together some how, to team up..

So if Paladin, Bard, and Cavaliers are all common leaders of me, what else could be?

[Amnestic]

So if Paladin, Bard, and Cavaliers are all common leaders of me, what else could be?

Anyone of 8th level could theoretically be a Leader of Men simply by virtue of the setting and relative power level compared to other people (inc. commoners).

Rogues and Fighters could both fit the bill. Clerics fill a niche similar to Paladins, but might have more focus on being a religious leader as well as a military one.

At the end of the day, class might not even be that important. A person of any class can be an inspiring symbol to others if they have the personality, strength of will and personal ability. Even Ninjas, Alchemists and Gunslingers could find themselves in a leader role if they have the right attitude and ability.

Edit: Remember that just because you're leader doesn't mean you have to be the strongest, the fastest, or the smartest. You inspire loyalty through one method or another, but as a Leader you will have others to fill in the gaps where your own skills are lacking.

[Dissonance]

Sorcerers also make good leaders if your looking for something out of the ordinary. They have full spontaneous casting and the CHA to be effective at the leader role. Sorcerers also make VERY good shakers in a campaign world due to their tendency toward hot blooded and reckless decision making and having the raw power to still be effective.

One interesting concept I gathered from a PBP was that of an assassin who went around murdering the corrupt officials of a corrupt king. who subsequently infiltrated the kings trust and then murdered him, becoming a fair handed ruler of the land. The story even continues today :P

[avr]

A great fighter may not be the best leader of men. To make armies useful in D&D you need either to buff them or otherwise somehow protect them. Besides the Battle Herald PrC mentioned above, Clerics buff well with spells, any caster with illusions can offer decoy targets, Bards can inspire and do illusions. Witches can do odd tricks using the scar hex and can buff well if they have an Ancestor patron.