Viability of a dervish dancing warpriest

[Ashes]

With the coming of the warpriest, we've gotten a divine take on the classic gish, and of course I couldn't help but think of the most popular Magus-build: the scimitar wielding dex-build.

Now, I know that the warpriest and the magus don't have the same abilities, but still I got curious if this would be a viable build.

I was mostly thinking of a crit-focused self buffer.
Would this work?

[Prince Raven]

Definitely viable, just don't expect to be doing as much damage as a Strength build.

[avr]

Well, you get 2+Int skill points, the class has no reason to prioritise Int and there's exactly one dex-based skill on the skill list (Ride), so there's no synergy there. Also, you're not restricted to light armor the way a magus is at lowish levels, so there's not a lot of in-combat synergy there.

On the other hand they do get to scale weapon damage up so the scimitar's low base damage will improve eventually. Having a free hand to cast spells without having to take a hand off your weapon and then putting it back on will help verisimilitude. You may have the feats free to get an animal companion and also to follow the mounted combat feat chain, and a good ride skill will help there.

So - weak, but maybe there's a useful niche if you work at it.

[NightbringerGGZ]

With the way weapon damage scales up as you level your crit chance and crit modifier have increased importance. A Scimitar is a perfectly fine choice for a weapon.

The main issue is going to be damage output in general. You can't use Piranha Strike, so you'll want Power Attack. This means you still have to pick up 13 Str, which hurts considering how MAD the class is. You'll still do less damage that a 2-Handed Str build, but Dex-based Scimitar Damage is fine. You also have several options for boosting damage as you play.

I say go for it, it'll be a fun build if nothing else.

[Squirrel_Dude]

You'll lose some damage output, but you have spells to boost that. It provides the advantage of making you much less MAD than the Warpriest would normally be. Of course being dexterity focused also means you'll be better at ranged combat.

It might not be the best way to do it, but it's definitely a viable build.