Bounty Hunter/Mercenary class choice

[Spore]

Greetings playground,

I wanted to play a switch hitting mercenary and bounty hunter. He should be able to do ranged damage until melee breaks out. Skillwise he should be able to track his targets, protect people and be a versatile T4 character (mostly due to the possible absence of some players).

From the DM: 25 points, 10.500 gold, 5th level.
From me: Human, nordic background, retired hunter and mercenary in ongoing war.

Two builds are viable for 5th level for me:
Ranger 5 with Archery Combat Style: Classical. Picking up most archery feats while giving yourself some feats for melee.
Str 16 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 8
The classical antisocial wise ranger type.
Another one I found online: The bow-barian: Fighter 1/Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager/Urban Barbarian) 4. Picking up all archery feats and switching up his rage depending on the situation. Using an adaptive composite bow and Dex-rage/Reckless Abandon to go full on Deadly Aim and Rapid Shot.
Str 18 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 12 Wis 10 Cha 8
this one is more physically strong and smarter and bumps his will save via Superstition rage power.

Ranger:
+ more skill points
+ "cleaner" class overview
+ more resilient
+ less dependent on rage
- favored enemy/terrain and finnicky to get good substitutes for that
- I dislike the Legolas/Aragorn similarities immensely

Barbarian advantages:
+ more burst damage
+ more creative
+ not as much standardized stuff
+ more enjoyable fluff
- less skill points
- quite inflexible due to Superstition
- prone to dying quickly since it's a Con 12 barb without Con rage and resisting heals

Opinions please. Respective guides are:
Optibuilds: http://www.optibuilds.com/pathfinder-optimized-barbarian-archer-build/
Treantmonk: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OI2lQ_FPUpnXD4i3sBLgzvgyOV9l43gKL0JM83co7iI/edit
(I will shift the emphasis from melee to ranged combat, unlike in the guide, see suggested Ranger stats above)

[Corvino]

Personally I like Switch-Hitter Rangers, especially Urban Rangers for extra utility as Trap/Lock specialists. 25-point buy provides a lot of leeway, though I'd always err on the side of a higher Strength than Dex - Strength adds to your damage whichever weapon you're using (if you take a composite bow), and your BAB means you'll rarely have problems hitting. Power Attack will provide for most of your melee needs at lower level, and Ranger weapon style feats can provide most of the Ranged feats you need without prereqs. Precise Shot and Deadly Aim, plus Multishot and Improved Precise shot will get you a long way with a bow, and Rapid Shot can actually wait until higher level on a Ranger who doesn't need it as a prereq for Multishot (and might struggle to land hits with it at low level).

As for melee, grab a Falchion and Improved Critical at level 7 and you'll be golden. From then on, picking up synergistic melee feats works well - staggering critical etc. If you opt to have an Animal Companion then Boon Companion is pretty much mandatory too.

As for the Aragorn/Legolas comparison - screw that. They may have inspired the Ranger class but things have come a long way since then. If you plan on being a grizzled mercenary veteran then play it that way, you don't need no pansy elves or noble heirs getting in your way.

[NightbringerGGZ]

If the ACG is available, you could try playing a Slayer. Personally I'd just stick with the Ranger though.

Another interesting idea to try would be the Card Caster / Staff Magus combo for a "Gambit" build.

Finally, I'm a big fan of the Gunslinger 1 / Alchemist (Grenadier) X build. This gives you extracts and plenty of skill points for some versatility and a decent delivery mechanism for bombs if you take Explosive Missile. Plus with a 25 pb you could go with a Str = Int > Dex build.

[Slipperychicken]

You might want to put a [PF] tag on this thread.

I once played a level 5 switch-hitter ranger build with the Sky Stalker (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo---ranger-archetypes/sky-stalker) archetype (I think they changed it a bit since then). Also the most boring ranger ever (whole village massacred, grizzled, grumpy, vendetta, etc etc). The campaign didn't last long, but that hippogriff mount was really useful (100ft fly speed, 3 attacks, and good special qualities are nothing to sneeze at). I would do the mounted-archery shtick, then once I got bored with that, switch to a lance for a double-damage mounted charge, then either keep fighting with the lance or switch to greatsword and have the hippogriff help out. It's also generally convenient to have access to that 3rd dimension of movement.

I find 5th level can be a decent one to start off firearms builds with. I'd probably do Gunslinger1/Trench Fighter4 if we want pistols and bonus feats, or Musket Master5 continuing with Trench Fighter if we want a musket. Leftover feats beyond the normal required ones can go toward things like Power Attack. You could use an Axe Musket (or sword-cane/dagger pistol), which is badass, saves you a feat on Quick Draw, and means you don't need to drop your weapon. If advanced guns are allowed, they can help make your life much easier, but would probably give too much temptation to avoid melee altogether.