Weird Character Concept, Lawyer!!

[Blind_Prophet]

So uh yeah long story short the DM has basically said in his world "adventurer" has not been a common profession in a while, think Pixar's "The incredibles" so all our characters need to stat the game with a "normal job" (ie. Baker, Blacksmith, Butcher, etc.)

Anyways as I'm insane and can't just choose something boring I've worked with the DM to have Lawyers (w/ a splash of peacekeeper and Private Eye) make sense within the context of his world.

So problem is I have no idea how to go about this but I have a couple things

1. At least my first level has to relate to profession (As per DM rule)
2. I want to try out the new Hybrid classes
3. I want to have Decent Int/Wis/Cha preferably with one of them being my main stat.
4. Need "party face skills", Profession: Law and Several knowledge skills

So this led me to the following list

A Divine class worshipping a God with the Law Domain (and preferably community and/or freedom) if possible a Lawful Neutral God.

So: Paladin, War Priest, Oracle, Cleric, Inquisitor

Other classes that fit the archetype are:

Investigator - Leans a bit more to the PI side but still fits the Lawyer sde of things

Magus - The class itself doesn't firt the bill but in my mind a Bladebound Kensai w/ a Sword Cane makes me think of Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock...slightly insane a bit pompous, incredibly obsessed (kensai) but brilliant and a master in his chosen field (ie. Lawyer/PI)


All that said my current ideas are as follows

Plain Magus: Magus is a good class, I've always wanted to try it in a game so would be fun but I don't get to play with the need hybrid classes

Magus/Warpriest: Fits the archetype near perfectly imo and I get to worship a divine god not quite sure how well these classes would actually mesh.

Warpriest/Monk: Wisdom Primary (Guided Amulet of Mighty Fists FTW), Cha/Int secondary possibly w/ 2 Paladin (ie. WP16/P2/M2)could use any weird weapon due to WP weapon damage die progression....the kursigama would be fun.

Plain Investigator: Divine - Check, Hybrid - Check, Skills - Check, Theme - Check...it's a very strong contender that I actually just noticed so I'll have to look through it...cursory glance seems interesting but it might be a bit too weak. My first thought is to make some weird Dwarven improvised weapons user but thats mostly because I've been trying to work that particular character into a game for a long while.



Anyways I know this first post is a bit nebulous but I'd like to see what people think (and do a little more research on investigator) before making an actual build

P.S. No 3.5 material but we have access to most PF material (we only have about a dozen books but I can pick up another one if neccessary)

[(Un)Inspired]

What's divine about the investigator?

Anyway, I would go witha cleric of Law. Like, not even worshipping a deity that has the law domain, worship law as a concept.

Boost your wis through the roof followed by int for skills. Its who I'd want to help me interpret the law.

[Sian]

Cloistered Cleric of Pholtus with Law, Inquisition and Knowledge Domains

Greyhawk lore has his clerics often being lawyers and judges

[Hazrond]

i would suggest going warpriest with the Law blessing, its a pretty class from what ive seen and the law blessing just gets even better at levvel 10 when you gain the major blessing, which is swift action summoning :smallbiggrin:

[Hazrond]

Cloistered Cleric of Pholtus with Law, Inquisition and Knowledge Domains

Greyhawk lore has his clerics often being lawyers and judges

i believe this is pathfinder, not 3.5, as noted by the thread tag

[Blind_Prophet]

It is but I do remember Cloistered cleric having all kinds of fun shenanigans.

That said I've been looking into the various classes more and Inquisitor seems to be a pretty tight fit

[The Vagabond]

Oh, well, the first thing that comes to mind is the Negotiator bard archetype, but doesn't fit as well as it could.

[malonkey1]

I dunno if you want homebrew, but I built a class centered around that very concept: The Crack Lawyer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?278589-GitP-PrC-Contest-XL-Based-on-a-Bestseller!&p=15015127#post15015127)

[Kurald Galain]

So uh yeah long story short the DM has basically said in his world "adventurer" has not been a common profession in a while, think Pixar's "The incredibles" so all our characters need to stat the game with a "normal job" (ie. Baker, Blacksmith, Butcher, etc.)

Anyways as I'm insane and can't just choose something boring I've worked with the DM to have Lawyers (w/ a splash of peacekeeper and Private Eye) make sense within the context of his world.

I would make it an Arcanist.

Then take the counterspell exploit and yell "OBJECTION!" at enemy casters :smallcool:

[deuxhero]

If you aren't poison focused, Empiricist is a strict upgrade to Investigator. Int to EVERYTHING. Toss on Student of Philosophy and you have great social skills.

[Baroncognito]

Oh, well, the first thing that comes to mind is the Negotiator bard archetype, but doesn't fit as well as it could.

What are you talking about? It's right there in the fluff: "Negotiators are those bards who take the skills of a performer and apply them to the realms of business and law (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/negotiator)."

Edit: Unless you mean that it's not a hybrid class. In which case, you're right.

[nedz]

Is there a PF version of the Beguiler ? Or could you not grandfather it across ?

They would make excellent Lawyers.

From a similar line of argument: Bard or Rogue should work well — you just need to choose face type skills.

In fact any Face type character should fit this bill.

[Jigawatts]

I think this concept just screams LN Inquisitor. The skills are exactly what you want, then theres stern gaze, detect alignment, detect lies, etc. All wrapped into a nice fluff package that fits the concept perfectly. I definitely say Inquisitor.

[Blind_Prophet]

A LN Inquisitor Worshipping Abadar w/ the Infiltrator Archetype and a Guided Weapon could make a pretty cool Wis/Int focused build.

Thinking Sword Cane :)...maybe a PISTOL Sword Cane :P

2 Levels of a Empiricist Investigator might fit nicely

[Blind_Prophet]

So doing some research I discovered several ways to reduce my stat needs from Dex/Cha/Con/Int/Wis to Int/Wis/Con


Inquisitor Archetype Infiltrator 1 Adds Wis mod to Bluff and Diplo

Rogue Trickster 1 - Adds Int to Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and Sense Motive (I'd also take Sanctified Rogue which does nothing for less than 4 levels but suits a church affiliated Lawyer better)

Wisdom in the Flesh (Religious trait) select a str, dex or con skill use wisdom instead, and it becomes a class skill. Thinking Stealth

Inquisitor 1, Conversion Inquisition - Use wisdom to bluff, diplomacy and intimidate instead of cha. (this+Infiltrator grants double Wis Mod to Bluff/Diplo..and w/ Kitsune it also adds Int Mod)

If only I could find a way to move AC/Reflex to Int or Wis (so far I've only found canny defense which is Lvl dependant) although considering a level of fighter for a bonus feat and access to heavy armor to make up for the low dex....reflex save will still be lacking though.

Point Buy Stats: STR: 7 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 18 WIS: 18 CHA: 9

Oh and general look:

Court Room (minus the hat & pistol) - http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/317/d/d/victorian_vigilante_by_foxin shadow-d32ro9o.jpg
Combat Gear - http://prodigyduck.deviantart.com/art/Kitsune-Cavalier-459648944

[malonkey1]

Monk 1 gets Wis to AC.

[Blind_Prophet]

How does this backstory sound (names undecided - story subject to change)

X grew up in the town of Y where he enjoyed causing trouble, nothing dangerous just minor pranks and tricks but due to a near flawless silver tongue he got away with pretty much all of it.

Unfortunately One day X pulled a prank on the wrong person, the dreaded ??? (think mafia boss or something) and whilst X couldn't get away scott-free despite his honeyed words he was able to convince Mr.??? to let to slide IF he steals something for him.

Now X didn't like the idea of stealing but he did enjoy the idea of not "sleeping with the fishes", besides Mr.??? only wanted a hammer from the local church, no biggie right.

Well unfortunately this wasn't just any hammer it was the churches holy symbol (Golden Gavel with a key shape engraved on it) so when the Warpriest Commander caught him no amount of smooth talking would save him but luckily the Commander saw something in the boy and gave him an ultimiatum...

...Spend the rest of his life behind bars OR join the Warpriest ranks as his squire.

X of course chose the latter, his parents unknowing of the theft were very proud of him assuming he joined by choice

At first it seemed like X would never succeed as a warrior as despite being fairly agile he wasn't very strong but under the tutelage of Z X realized that his wit and silver tongue could be useful in combat by distracting, bewildering or misleading his opponent allowing him to strike despite having lesser strength and/or speed.

Years pass with X eventually being deemed an official Warpriest but Unbeknownst to X word of his "gift of the gab" had spread throughout the now fortress-like temple (the town has grown leaps and bounds as well) and a new breed of "warrior" were looking to recruit him the "Barristers" as with the peace came the need for laws to keep said peace and with laws comes the need of someone who can understand them.

Not much to say beyond this point X joined the Barristers and has become quite successful in his Endeavors even opening up a little PI business on the side.

Frankly it sounds like a happily ever after until...*DM takes over here*

[Blind_Prophet]

Monk 1 gets Wis to AC.

Thats only useful on Dex/Wis characters Wis alone isn't enough to outweigh heavy armor and it comes with ALOT of restrictions

[Psyren]

The iconic Investigator actually is a defense attorney. The iconic wizard also dabbled int his prior to adventuring.

[Blind_Prophet]

Well here's the build I came up with to maych the character/backstory

Kitsune Inquisitor
Male kitsune inquisitor (infiltrator) of Abadar 2/rogue (sanctified rogue, kitsune trickster) 1/warpriest of Abadar
LN Medium humanoid (kitsune, shapechanger)
Init +5; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11
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Defense
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AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 21 (+9 armor, +2 deflection, +1 Dex)
hp 42 (4d8+10)
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +9; +2 vs. abilities that detect lies or force the truth
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee father's chain scythe +7 (1d12+6/×3)
Special Attacks blessings 3/day, judgment 1/day, sacred weapon (1d6, 1 rounds/day), sneak attack +1d6
Inquisitor Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +8)
. . At will—detect alignment
Inquisitor (Infiltrator) Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +8)
. . 1st (3/day)—bless, command (DC 15), divine favor
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance, light, read magic
. . Domain Conversion inquisition
Warpriest Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . 1st—shield of faith, torchbearer
. . 0 (at will)—animate tools, simple bed, summarize (DC 14)
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 7, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 19, Cha 9
Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 12
Feats Cosmopolitan[APG], Scholar[ISWG], Weapon Focus (flying blade)
Traits magical knack, wisdom in the flesh
Skills Acrobatics +1 (-3 to jump), Bluff +19, Diplomacy +19, Disguise +7, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (history) +13, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (nobility) +11, Perception +11, Profession (barrister) +11, Sense Motive +15, Stealth +11
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Jistka, Skald, Sylvan
SQ blessings (law: axiomatic strike, battle companion, magic: blessed magic, hand of the acolyte), change shape, fast shifter, forbidden lore, gregarious, misdirection, necessary lies
Other Gear full plate, father's chain scythe, 150 gp
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Special Abilities
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Blessings (3/day) (Su) Pool of power used to activate Blessing abilities.
Change Shape (Su) Assume a single human form.
Detect Alignment (At will) (Sp) Detect chaos, evil, good, or law at will.
Fast Shifter (Su) Using your racial change shape ability is a move action instead of a standard action
Forbidden Lore (Ex) May cast spells of alignment opposed to own or deity alignment.
Gregarious (Ex) Successful Diplomacy check causes target to take a –2 penalty vs further CHA skills for 24 hr.
Inquisitor (Infiltrator) Domain (Conversion Inquisition) Deities: Any deity.

Granted Powers: You are a powerful persuader. A honeyed tongue empowered by divine argumentation sways the indifferent and adversarial to your side.
Judgment (1/day) (Su) Variable bonuses increase as the combat continues.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Magical Knack (Inquisitor [Infiltrator]) +2 CL for a specific class, to a max of your HD.
Misdirection (Lawful Good) (Sp) When prepare spells choose an alignment to count as for magical detection.
Necessary Lies +2 (Su) Gain bonus to saves vs abilities detecting lies or forcing truth.
Sacred Weapon (1 rounds/day) (Su) As a swift action, grant weapon enhancement bonus or certain powers.
Scholar (Knowledge [local], Knowledge [history]) +2 bonus on two Knowledge skills
Sneak Attack +1d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Wisdom in the Flesh (Stealth) Stealth becomes a Wisdom-based, class skill.
--------------------

[Yael]

I would make it an Arcanist.

Then take the counterspell exploit and yell "OBJECTION!" at enemy casters :smallcool:

Come on! I was late!!! (http://objection.mrdictionary.net/go.php?n=7776164)