[PF] Chacter Help for a 3-Man Group

[AimlessSpectre]

Long-time lurker, first time poster, blah blah blah.

So, playing in a campaign at the moment with 2 other players (and the DM).
Now, my last character died somewhat ingloriously attempting to actually get something done.

The group consists of a relatively incompetent rogue, due to the player being new, and a reasonably competent wizard; the issue being that the wizard has decided that he is an abjuration specialist, and that he is a pacifist. He literally will not hurt anything in a direct sense :smallannoyed:.

So, group dynamic and philosophical questions or what have you aside, what, from a mechanical standpoint, could I do to make a character that could carry this group? I'm out of ideas.

Characters are level 5 and basically anything by Pazio on http://www.d20pfsrd.com/ is fair game.

Anyone want to take a shot at this?

[Arbane]

The group consists of a relatively incompetent rogue, due to the player being new, and a reasonably competent wizard; the issue being that the wizard has decided that he is an abjuration specialist, and that he is a pacifist. He literally will not hurt anything in a direct sense :smallannoyed:.


An... Abjuration... pacifist.... :smalleek:

Does he ever actually cast spells, then?



So, group dynamic and philosophical questions or what have you aside, what, from a mechanical standpoint, could I do to make a character that could carry this group? I'm out of ideas.


So, you need someone reasonably tough, a caster with actual damage, and a healer/buffer. How about a Druid? They can do a decent job of all three.

[Eldonauran]

So, you need someone reasonably tough, a caster with actual damage, and a healer/buffer. How about a Druid? They can do a decent job of all three.

Yes, pick the druid. Get a tank-y animal companion so that the rogue has a flanking buddy. Get that companions Int up to 3 and start picking any good feats that will help with its job. Give it leather armor (at the very least) or more if it has any armor proficiency.

[Chained Birds]

An... Abjuration... pacifist.... :smalleek:

Does he ever actually cast spells, then?

Could be worse. He could be an Evocator. :smallsmile:

But more to the point, Druid or a Cleric with the Animal (Feather) domain + the Boon Companion Feat would cover all the areas you are missing.

Try to build your character stat-wise as a Gish (A bit of Magic and a Bit of Combat) though only lightly on the combat side. You don't want to invalidat the rogue nor do you want your casting to be everything and make the... pacifist Wizard look stupid for his... odd thought process and specialization choice.

If you choose Druid, the Natural Spell Feat is a must-have as always. Your slightly lower combat stats will be altered by your wild shape to be more useful if you need to battle, but your animal companion should do most of the fighting for you (acting as a Fighter buddy for your Rogue friend). The same goes for Animal Domain Cleric and using Buff Spells to either make the Rogue or Animal Companion better, or yourself if needed.

Lastly, always try to make the Rogue look good, especially if it is the player's first time.

[grarrrg]

In a similar vein, I was going to suggest Inquisitor.
You lose out on spell power versus a Cleric or Druid, but you gain a good bit in Combat ability (Judgements/Bane).
And you can still take the Animal, or better yet Scaly Kind domain for an Animal companion (Scaly Kind has restrictions on Type, but only a -2 level penalty).

Also, assuming the Rogue is passable, feel free to dump your INT, and/or take Skills he doesn't have.

[caltitch]

Im SO sorry I like to roleplay guys. SO sorry.

[Waker]

Im SO sorry I like to roleplay guys. SO sorry.

I'm assuming this is the Abjurer.


Anyways, the Druid is a good option. You might also consider the Paladin, which can make a very durable tank. Healing yourself with Lay on Hands is a Swift Action, you've got a fair amount of immunities and with Mercy's you can remove a number of debilitating effects. Some of the archetypes can make you annoying difficult to kill (Sacred Shield makes keeping the party alive much easier.)

[Korahir]

My vote goes to druid but i get the feeling you have issues in your group, which aren't related to any rules. If they who said sorry he wants to roleplay realy is the abjurer: merciful spell is your perfect roleplay metamagic.

[Paul H]

Hi

Aasimar Druid would work well.

Take Celestial Companion feat, so your companion is now Celestial (elemental resistances, smite evil, DR, SR etc)

Thanks
Paul H

[caltitch]

Merciful spell is your perfect roleplay metamagic.
Oh thanks man, I didn't even know that was a thing. Was too focused on meeting the requirements for the prestige class I wanted to get. I'm guessing that wasn't in 3.5? Doesn't look familiar.

[jderk]

I would suggest Warblade. You ought to be in melee with the Rogue to save his ass if you can.

[Slipperychicken]

Oh thanks man, I didn't even know that was a thing. Was too focused on meeting the requirements for the prestige class I wanted to get. I'm guessing that wasn't in 3.5? Doesn't look familiar.

Merciful Spell (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats/merciful-spell-metamagic), from APG, is a +0 metamagic which lets your spells deal all damage as nonlethal. Hand it to your mage and rejoice.

[Neo Tin Robo]

Seconding the Paladin. Great frontliner and decent support. Can take care of itself and help out the rogue. You could even make a point of bringing the villains in alive to face justice, so you can play nice with the abjurer.

[Squirrel_Dude]

A divine caster of some kind. If you want straight combat, and oracle with the battle mystery would be good. Clerics heal and buff the best. Druids summon tanks and can tank themselves, and then do a little bit of the other stuff, too.

[Zerter]

Im SO sorry I like to roleplay guys. SO sorry.

Am I the only one that reads this as 'Look at me, I am special!'?

[ericgrau]

So you have utility and utility/support, in a small group... ouch. Both are fragile too.

Go damage all the way, probably with less fragility. Barbarian and/or fighter most likely. A paladin or ranger dip would allow a wand of cure light wounds. You could also go with a straight TWF smite paladin. I wouldn't try to fill all missing roles equally; you're better off focusing on offense and then everything else is secondary.


Am I the only one that reads this as 'Look at me, I am special!'?
Perhaps. It may not be the greatest reaction but he should be able to play whatever he wants.

I've made a caster that went a very long time without dealing a single point of damage. Very effective since you pretty much use all battlefield control. Probably less so in a small party with fewer other people to actually kill the foes, hence why I'm pushing offense for the OP.

[Slipperychicken]

Go damage all the way, probably with less fragility. Barbarian and/or fighter most likely. A paladin or ranger dip would allow a wand of cure light wounds. You could also go with a straight TWF smite paladin. I wouldn't try to fill all missing roles equally; you're better off focusing on offense and then everything else is secondary.


Seconding. For all that "out of combat" and "utility" stuff, you have a guy with 8+ skill points per level, and a guy with 2+[Big Int Mod] skills who is also a pacifist wizard (those tend to use their spells on utility).


Besides, just about every problem in 3.5/PF can be solved by smacking it hard enough, especially since everything has stats (and thus can be killed/beaten until it yields) and the DM is encouraged to CR enemies to your convenience.