Need a good Tank and Skill monkey Build

[Supagoth]

So, New to pathfinder and am joining a game in progress. Party needs a Tank and a Skill monkey, Is there any good builds out for this?

[avr]

You may be disappointed by the capability of tanks in PF; big dumb fighters have a lot of difficulty drawing enemy attention when they want it. The fancier ways around this (summoning enough goons they can't be ignored, weird spell-based solutions) might be difficult for a PF newbie.

A ranger is the standard bruiser / skill monkey combo. If you need to be able to disarm magical traps the Trapper archetype is necessary.

What level are you starting at?

Edit: and what books are allowable as sources?

[aleucard]

In order to be a proper Tank character in 3.5/PF, you need to be able to make yourself more annoying/concerning than any other member of the party for the opposition primarily, and be able to survive that amount of negative attention secondarily. The number of things in existence that let you do the first by way of mechanics is limited, though you could also do this job by actually qualifying for that descriptor, which has its own issues. The second relies more on things like Saving Throws and Resistances/Immunities than HP and AC, though they definitely help. As long as you can get an average hit die/level of, say, 8-10 (with a good Con to go with it), then you should have minimal issues with surviving direct damage.

[Supagoth]

What level are you starting at?
Edit: and what books are allowable as sources?

Starting level is 7 IIRC (GM has gone to bed) And allowed all Official books with some restrictions on Races. Should probably have mentioned that While I'm new to Pathfinder, I've been playing D&D since 2nd edition.

Skills needed, I believe, are more the knowledge based ones.

[3drinks]

The Crusader from Tome of Battle is the best at Tank functionality in the D&D universe.

[Psyren]

I assume by "tank" you mean "melee" - so you can run in front of the party and be a more juicy target for your DM.

Inquisitor is great at this - they are powerful in melee, great in a group, 6+Int skills and get all of the "big 4" knowledge skills. Go with either the Preacher or Spellbreaker archetype (the latter is great if you choose "Evocation," while the former lets you keep Monster Lore and put those knowledges to good use.) Feel free to burn a feat on heavy armor since you cast divine spells, or go for more of a dex-focused build (though that will make you a bit MAD.)

[Supagoth]

I assume by "tank" you mean "melee" - so you can run in front of the party and be a more juicy target for your DM.

Inquisitor is great at this - they are powerful in melee, great in a group, 6+Int skills and get all of the "big 4" knowledge skills. Go with either the Preacher or Spellbreaker archetype (the latter is great if you choose "Evocation," while the former lets you keep Monster Lore and put those knowledges to good use.) Feel free to burn a feat on heavy armor since you cast divine spells, or go for more of a dex-focused build (though that will make you a bit MAD.)

Melee is correct. What book is Inquisitor from?

[aleucard]

Starting level is 7 IIRC (GM has gone to bed) And allowed all Official books with some restrictions on Races. Should probably have mentioned that While I'm new to Pathfinder, I've been playing D&D since 2nd edition.

Skills needed, I believe, are more the knowledge based ones.

A few things.

The changes from 3.5 to PF are not as drastic as to invalidate most of the recommendations from 3.5. Greater Trip plus Reach Weapon plus Combat Reflexes plus some method of allowing you to use Trip attacks on AoO (not sure if this is allowed as standard in PF) allows you to lockdown a fairly large area from most movement, which forces most melee combatants to deal with you first before they can move on to the squishies behind you.

Get your Wizard or whomever is doing a stand-in to be the walking library. You'd be better served by things such as Stealth, Perception, Disable Device, UMD, and Diplomacy than that. Skillmonkeys usually make the best non-magic party faces, after all, and relying on spells for it has very large opportunities for it to backfire (with most indirect methods being less useful). Have the Casters focus on other things and give you the Buffs in it as needed.

While not the most optimal choice in general, you will be made to regret it swiftly and routinely if you neglect to get at least passable ranged options. Closing to melee range is not always an option, and more commonly can be a very poor one. Being able to function at distance as more than mobile cover will up your survivability massively in relevant situations, and open up more tactics too (especially if you can get away from the spot you fired from quickly and stealthily).

What exactly are your other party members playing? This will help us tell you what you should cover as priority and what can be left to the other players.

[avr]

Psyren's idea works. So might the inquisitor's arcane cousin; bards can use spells like mirror image to help survive while in a monster's face and they're definitely good at knowledges. The antagonise (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/antagonize) feat will help keep enemy attention.

[Psyren]

Melee is correct. What book is Inquisitor from?

Advanced Player's Guide. You can read about it (and all the archetypes for it) here. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/inquisitor)

Bard is also a good option but you will need the right archetype to be decent in melee. I suggest either Dervish of Dawn (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/dawnflower-dervish) or Arcane Duelist. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/arcane-duelist) However, both of these sacrifice Bardic Knowledge and Loremaster.

[Spore]

Advanced Player's Guide. You can read about it (and all the archetypes for it) here. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/inquisitor)

Bard is also a good option but you will need the right archetype to be decent in melee. I suggest either Dervish of Dawn (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/dawnflower-dervish) or Arcane Duelist. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/arcane-duelist) However, both of these sacrifice Bardic Knowledge and Loremaster.

Guide Ranger is also very decent (just do yourself a favor and DO NOT pick two weapon fighting, pick two handed weapons instead).

[Supagoth]

If I remember right, the rest of the party is a Witch, an Oracle, A barbarian, A barbarian/Rogue and an Arcane archer.

Liking the idea of the Inquisitor. Any recommendations for an Archetype?

[Psyren]

If I remember right, the rest of the party is a Witch, an Oracle, A barbarian, A barbarian/Rogue and an Arcane archer.

Liking the idea of the Inquisitor. Any recommendations for an Archetype?

Preacher or Spellbreaker as I suggested above :smalltongue:

Those two trade out the Teamwork feats (most of which are jank, though supposedly we're getting better ones in ACG) for useful class features.

For Preacher, keep in mind for the third ability (Warning) that in PF, you count as your own ally. So look at your shoes, yell a warning to yourself, and make your enemy reroll their attack.