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View Full Version : Pathfinder Is this an effective Hunter build?



Extra Anchovies
2014-10-17, 06:11 PM
No, not that Hunter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/hunter), Paizo's Ranger/Druid hybrid. I mean this Hunter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/tripod-machine/hunter), a class from Tripod Machine that's essentially Slayer-Plus. Full BAB, good Fortitude and Reflex, d10 hit die, 4+Int skills, Favored Enemy and Favored Terrain progressions as a ranger, all three Vital Strike feats for free, Sneak Attack 1d6 +1d6/3 levels (so, as Slayer + 2 levels), a few other side goodies (stealth at full speed, woo!), plus most of the Ranger's other abilities besides spells, animal companion, and style feats. This makes for an awesome TWF chassis, and I plan to use it in an upcoming survival-themed game, with a build arrangement as follows:

Race: Human
Ability Scores: Str 15, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 7
Traits: Reckless, Dangerously Curious
1st: TWF, Wild Cohort (ported in from 3.5) - something to flank with
3rd: Double Slice
5th: Piranha Strike
7th: Improved TWF
9th: Improved Critical
11th: Greater TWF
13th: Dazing Assault
15th: Improved Initiative
17th: Iron Will
19th: Additional Traits (Auspicious Tattoo, Carefully Hidden) - this is essentially taking Iron Will a second time
Skills: max ranks in Perception, Stealth, Survival, Handle Animal, Acrobatics, Use Magic Device, and Knowledge (Nature)

Are there any changes to the feat or skill selection that would improve the build's power or versatility? I'm not too sure about Improved Critical, but it seemed nice to have with TWF so I tossed it in.

ETA: Also, which animal should I choose for Wild Cohort? A wolf's tripping would be nice, but an Eagle would have a much easier time getting into flanking position with me.

Ssalarn
2014-10-17, 07:08 PM
What level are you starting at? I always get nervous about dumping CHA on characters who need to make HA checks since as it stands you've got a 20% chance of it failing to perform simple trained commands and a 90% chance of failing to push it.

Extra Anchovies
2014-10-17, 07:13 PM
What level are you starting at? I always get nervous about dumping CHA on characters who need to make HA checks since as it stands you've got a 20% chance of it failing to perform simple trained commands and a 90% chance of failing to push it.

Starting at 1, which may indeed be a problem regarding HA; I'm considering raising Cha to 8, sacrificing two points of Int, and dropping Knowledge (Nature) from the skill progression. What do you think about that?

Ssalarn
2014-10-17, 07:21 PM
Might not be a terrible idea. You won't need to keep pumping Handle Animal all the way through; as your pet receives more tricks for leveling and/or a raised INT, Push will be less important and you'll be able to auto-succeed on normal trained checks by level 3. So by level 8 at the latest you can start investing in Knowledge (Nature) instead of Handle Animal if you feel like you'll need it.

***Edit***
While the eagle is nice, your lack of spells to boost it and it's small damage die are going to make overcoming DR a bit problematic (or at least expensive). I'd probably go wolf, which also has the benefit of not being a really obvious target for ranged enemies.