andr3w1sh
2015-02-17, 07:34 PM
Hello, Giants,
I'm about to start playing in a new Pathfinder campaign, and I have an idea for what I want to play, but I wanted to reach out to the community for build advice. I want to play a melee (non-caster) DPS character that uses a bo staff/quarterstaff. Pro for bo staff = adamantine. Con for bo staff = Exotic WP feat required. IMO it's worth it. Quarterstaff is ideal for any kind of Monk build, because Quarterstaff Master lets you still do unarmed strikes for stunning fist. Although, an unarmed strike can be with any body part, so really you don't need. One other Pro for bo staff.
At any rate, here are the class choices I'm currently looking at:
Fighter - Weapon Master: my current fav. Tons of feat slots, and good free feats like Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization. Enough room for TWF and Double Slice. Basically, a high bonus to strike using the staff as a double weapon and lots of damage consistently across the board.
Brawler - Snakebite Striker: similar to the Fighter, but fewer feats and armor/weapon training replaced by Sneak Attack damage. This build looks pretty fun, especially with some of the special abilities you get like rolling 2d20 for strikes and taking the higher. I'd def pick up Imp Feint to go along with Snake Feint. Brawler's Flurry negates the need to take both TWF and Double Slice, so that def saves your limited feat slots. Bonus to strike is a little lower with this build and standard damage is a couple points lower, but SA damage can vastly make up the gap in Feint/Flanking/Flat-footed situations. So this build isn't as straight forward smashing as the fighter, it's more of a bob and sting fighting style, which still sounds cool.
Monk - Martial Artist: trade Ki pool for the ability to use Monk levels to meet requirements for Fighter feats, Exploit Weakness, and there's a feat that lets you use a monk weapon to make Stunning Fist attempts, so again Quarterstaff Master isn't really needed. Also, Flurry of Blows again means no need for TWF and Double Slice. This build is squishier than the Fighter and Brawler, and is built more around precision and immobilizing enemies with the Stunning Fist and Quivering Palm abilities. Won't ever see as much damage as the Fighter or Brawler, but way more skill points than either of them.
Monk - Weapon Adept: All the fun of a Monk with Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization as bonus feats, along with Perfect Strike at level 1. Evasion just comes slower and you don't get Imp Evasion.
So what do you guys think? What sounds fun? What could best be maximized for a fun, scrappy play style. Has anyone played a bo staff/quarterstaff build before? It might be worth mentioning that the campaign will take place in a mostly urban setting, where we're acting more or less as vigilantes cleaning up the streets and bringing down evil organizations and such. So I plan on doing lots of jumping and climbing and smashing people's kneecaps.
Thanks for your input!
I'm about to start playing in a new Pathfinder campaign, and I have an idea for what I want to play, but I wanted to reach out to the community for build advice. I want to play a melee (non-caster) DPS character that uses a bo staff/quarterstaff. Pro for bo staff = adamantine. Con for bo staff = Exotic WP feat required. IMO it's worth it. Quarterstaff is ideal for any kind of Monk build, because Quarterstaff Master lets you still do unarmed strikes for stunning fist. Although, an unarmed strike can be with any body part, so really you don't need. One other Pro for bo staff.
At any rate, here are the class choices I'm currently looking at:
Fighter - Weapon Master: my current fav. Tons of feat slots, and good free feats like Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization. Enough room for TWF and Double Slice. Basically, a high bonus to strike using the staff as a double weapon and lots of damage consistently across the board.
Brawler - Snakebite Striker: similar to the Fighter, but fewer feats and armor/weapon training replaced by Sneak Attack damage. This build looks pretty fun, especially with some of the special abilities you get like rolling 2d20 for strikes and taking the higher. I'd def pick up Imp Feint to go along with Snake Feint. Brawler's Flurry negates the need to take both TWF and Double Slice, so that def saves your limited feat slots. Bonus to strike is a little lower with this build and standard damage is a couple points lower, but SA damage can vastly make up the gap in Feint/Flanking/Flat-footed situations. So this build isn't as straight forward smashing as the fighter, it's more of a bob and sting fighting style, which still sounds cool.
Monk - Martial Artist: trade Ki pool for the ability to use Monk levels to meet requirements for Fighter feats, Exploit Weakness, and there's a feat that lets you use a monk weapon to make Stunning Fist attempts, so again Quarterstaff Master isn't really needed. Also, Flurry of Blows again means no need for TWF and Double Slice. This build is squishier than the Fighter and Brawler, and is built more around precision and immobilizing enemies with the Stunning Fist and Quivering Palm abilities. Won't ever see as much damage as the Fighter or Brawler, but way more skill points than either of them.
Monk - Weapon Adept: All the fun of a Monk with Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization as bonus feats, along with Perfect Strike at level 1. Evasion just comes slower and you don't get Imp Evasion.
So what do you guys think? What sounds fun? What could best be maximized for a fun, scrappy play style. Has anyone played a bo staff/quarterstaff build before? It might be worth mentioning that the campaign will take place in a mostly urban setting, where we're acting more or less as vigilantes cleaning up the streets and bringing down evil organizations and such. So I plan on doing lots of jumping and climbing and smashing people's kneecaps.
Thanks for your input!