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View Full Version : Pathfinder Help for a younger player, level 6



RedMage125
2015-01-08, 06:27 PM
So, I'm in a Pathfinder game right now, we're running Rise of the Runelords, and the party is level 6 (Mythic 1).

My 15 year old little brother-in-law, who has played 4e before, and is a player in a 5e game I run, had a 1/2 Orc Ranger (Dual-Wield, also had an animal companion). To be honest, having that much to keep track of was a bit much, the mechanics were WIDELY different from what he was used to (didn't seem to understand why he had a different attack and damage set with the same weapon if he made more than one attack, or why he could not attack twice if he moved).

Well, he's been playing D&D of some edition or another for a little over a year now, and he has finally experienced something near and dear to all of us gamers everywhere.

His character is dead.

So, we're looking to make him a new character, something that doesn't require 2 character sheets, preferably.

He seems to like the idea of a barbarian, and while I support that idea, I think paladin might also be a good choice. His Ranger was Lawful Good, and I don't think he'll have any issues with the Code of Conduct aspect. He's kind of lazy and more than a little ADD though, and I worry that he'll expect me or one of the other party members to keep track of his rage uses per day, as he does not do bookkeeping well.

Any thoughts on which would be better? Also, I'm very familiar with 3.5, but haven't seen either of these classes in PF yet, but I have looked at the books. So I also would not be adverse to some advice on feat choices for either class choice (and rage power choices for barbarian). I'm not sure if the DM is allowing other archtypes, but he may be.

Oh, and I believe he wants to go human with this next character (15 point buy).

Help, please?

RedMage125
2015-01-08, 09:45 PM
Remainder of the party makeup is dwarf cleric (Strength and Travel domains), Human Lore Warden Fighter, and Gnome Dragon Sorcerer.

Still on the fence on Barbarian vs Paladin.

Honest Tiefling
2015-01-08, 09:55 PM
I thought paladin relied a lot upon Smite Evil and Lay on Hands charges? I think you'll get the same problem either way. At this point, I'd present both classes to him and see which one he perfers. Get some cool art of both, or reference characters he's familiar with if you so desire.

Unless there is one in the party. In which case, pick the other one so he won't feel overshadowed by a veteran player or not understand that one paladin is better at one aspect while another is better at another if he is new to the system.

atemu1234
2015-01-08, 10:41 PM
Age here really doesn't seem like too much of a factor. When I was his(her?It?) age I was already prepping to become a DM.

jaydubs
2015-01-08, 10:56 PM
Just a thought - archers are fairly simple to run for people who don't have a good comprehension of action types. The most used tactic is just to 5-foot step away from the nearest melee source, and then full-attack.

A zen archer perhaps? They can even pick up improved precise shot as a bonus feat, so he wouldn't have to worry about cover modifiers.

Honest Tiefling
2015-01-08, 11:06 PM
Paladin archer? I've heard it works in Pathfinder, and feat selection is easy. The ones ending in 'shot' are probably a good choice.

deuxhero
2015-01-09, 12:34 AM
Are there even any BAD archery feats in PF? Without counting weapon specific feats like Weapon Focus I can't think of any BAD ones outside of MAYBE Far Shot (and that depends on encounter design).

Fallenreality
2015-01-09, 02:03 AM
Even far shot can be useful. I have a sniper build using the DSP Marksman class that can shoot 6000ft (1200 squares) with no attack penalties. The trick is being able to see that far...

deuxhero
2015-01-10, 04:38 PM
And having enemies more than 110 feet away in the first place, which not all games will encounter and most won't see it with much regularity.

Fallenreality
2015-01-10, 06:34 PM
Eh, this guy was going to be for a more urban game. He would send his psicrystal with the party to act as his eyes and give him a general direction of where to aim, then he would be able to snipe from across the city.

I loaded the psicrystal with a bunch of useful psionic cantrips and gave it a wide variety of skills like disable device and all that. Designed it to provide a decent contribution to the party while I sniped stuff.

Intimidate checks are more fun when one of your party members can snap their fingers and have you one shot random mooks to prove a point.