[PF] Requesting Advice (Battle Herald)

[Razo1204]

Hello Everyone!!

I have this concept for a character that utilizes aid another and bodyguard to protect her allies. I was hoping to use lingering performance to keep inspire courage and teamwork up for the majority of combat. I decided to avoid swift aid because there seems to be a lot of different opinions on the ruling and I don't want to subject my group to that kind of debate. If there is an official ruling that i am unaware of, I might consider putting it back into the build.

I'm not sure what feats I should pick in the later levels and I'm having trouble finding an order that compliments this build. Order of the Dragon seemed to fit nicely until I realized that the bonuses don't stack with my current selections. I had considered picking up a different trait and using Order of the Dragon for a net loss of 1 to aid another but the challenge still doesn't stack with inspire courage.

Any advice and would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!



Level 15 Halfling
4 Daring Champion Cavalier / 1 Arcane Duelist Bard / 10 Battle Herald


Attributes (20 Point Buy):
Str:12, Dex:15, Con:14, Int:12, Wis:12, Cha:12
Racial Attributes: +2 Dex (17), +2 Cha (14), -2 Str (10)
Level Attributes: +3 Dex (20)


Features:
Racial: Fearless, Fleet of Foot, Halfling Luck, and Keen Senses
Traits: Helpful (Halfling) and Reactionary
Order: ???

Feats:
1 Cavalier: Weapon Finesse
1 Cavalier: Escape Route
1 Level: Combat Reflexes
3 Level: Bodyguard
5 Bard: Arcane Strike
5 Level: Lingering Performance
7 Level: Combat Expertise
9 Level: Gang Up
11 Herald: Outflank
11 Level: Team Up
13 Level: ???
15 Level: ???

Helpful Items:
Gloves of Arcane Striking
Ring of Tactical Precision
Benevolent Armor
Benevolent Weapon

[Beowulf DW]

I feel that I must ask why you're using Halfling before I offer any real advice.

Though I will say that I strongly recommend looking into whether or not Standard Bearer stacks with Daring Champion, as Battle Herald will get quite a bit of use out of that Archetype.

[Razo1204]

I feel that I must ask why you're using Halfling before I offer any real advice.

Though I will say that I strongly recommend looking into whether or not Standard Bearer stacks with Daring Champion, as Battle Herald will get quite a bit of use out of that Archetype.

I picked Halfling because it has bonuses to Dex and Cha, a bonus to AC for being small, and the racial trait that changes aid another to a +4 bonus. Standard Bearer and Daring Champion do not stack.

[Abrasis Mindlef]

Arcane strike scales with your caster level.

Your current build has a caster level of 1; this forces your arcane strike bonus to remain at +1(similar for the bonus to defensive aid another from gloves of arcane striking)

I suggest taking the Lantern Bearer (http://www.archivesofnethys.com/TraitDisplay.aspx?ItemName=The Lantern Bearer) trait(this changes your birthday, but nothing else) to remedy that lamentable fact.

[avr]

You won't have that many challenges, so Order of the Flame might help. Order of the Staff extends your ability to help other party members.

For later feats you probably want one of the feats which boosts damage, in case you have to fight on your own some day - Piranha Strike or Risky Striker.


Arcane strike scales with your caster level.

Your current build has a caster level of 1; this forces your arcane strike bonus to remain at +1(similar for the bonus to defensive aid another from gloves of arcane striking)

I suggest taking the Lantern Bearer (http://www.archivesofnethys.com/TraitDisplay.aspx?ItemName=The Lantern Bearer) trait(this changes your birthday, but nothing else) to remedy that lamentable fact.
Paizo just released a FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fm#v5748eaic9qow) which, among other things, stopped the use of SLAs to power feats unless the feat names the exact spell which that SLA uses. Having a caster level for a Light SLA won't power arcane strike any more.

[Razo1204]

You won't have that many challenges, so Order of the Flame might help. Order of the Staff extends your ability to help other party members.

For later feats you probably want one of the feats which boosts damage, in case you have to fight on your own some day - Piranha Strike or Risky Striker.


Paizo just released a FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fm#v5748eaic9qow) which, among other things, stopped the use of SLAs to power feats unless the feat names the exact spell which that SLA uses. Having a caster level for a Light SLA won't power arcane strike any more.

Are you sure about that interpretation? I thought it just prevented you from using SLA's to meet qualifications like "Ability to cast 4th level spells" or "Ability to cast arcane spells". I meet all the prerequisites for arcane strike naturally even if it wasn't a free feat.

The feat states, "As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level." It says nothing about actually using spells to fuel this ability. If my caster level for this SLA is my level, why wouldn't it be able to fuel this feat?

[avr]

Are you sure about that interpretation? I thought it just prevented you from using SLA's to meet qualifications like "Ability to cast 4th level spells" or "Ability to cast arcane spells". I meet all the prerequisites for arcane strike naturally even if it wasn't a free feat.

The feat states, "As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level." It says nothing about actually using spells to fuel this ability. If my caster level for this SLA is my level, why wouldn't it be able to fuel this feat?
The 'every five caster levels' would be a requirement. Anyway, their intent is clear. Another new entry in the FAQ says you can't use SLA's for item creation feats (which only require a caster level).

[Razo1204]

The 'every five caster levels' would be a requirement. Anyway, their intent is clear. Another new entry in the FAQ says you can't use SLA's for item creation feats (which only require a caster level).

Bah Humbug!! It's probably best to avoid the lantern bearer trait. Does anyone know if you can take a trait designed for an adventure path if you are not running that adventure path? I'm looking specifically at Fools for Friends (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/campaign-traits/second-darkness/fools-for-friends) from second darkness.

I could potentially switch to human, join order of the dragon, and take the fools for friends trait to come out with the same aid another bonus as the original halfling build.

I also thought about adding Saving Shield (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/saving-shield-combat) to the build.

[Beowulf DW]

You seem to putting a lot of resources into the Aid Another action, and if that's what you have your heart set on, then I'd say that you're probably good to go as is.

However, I feel that I must caution you that Aid Another only works when you're within melee range of the enemy that your friend is attacking, and I can't imagine any circumstance in which the Aid Another action would be of more use than another attack. The best defense in Pathfinder is a good offense (usually). The faster you kill your opponents, the less danger your allies are in.

That said, I'd recommend switching to human and using a reach weapon. Since Aid Another uses "melee range," increasing your reach means increasing your chances to use Aid Another.

You may also wish to look into Skald, as I personally think that it's second to none in terms of being a melee support class.