Human Tactician Fighter9, make it fit the fluff

[Spore]

Greetings,

I will switch my character around the next time we play. We need a frontliner for fights and someone who keeps out plans together and our group effort focussed. Although we have a Diplomancer we need a leader figure. The group consists of the following: supporting Time Oracle 9, blasting Fire Oracle 9, Gunslinger 1/Paladin 8 and a Bow Ranger 9 with a Large Wolf as flanking buddy.

My idea was (since Lore Warden doesn't fit AND isn't available for our group) to use a Tactician Fighter: They have more skill points, improved class skills and the tactician feature - while weaker than the alternative - conveys the sense of group efforts we desperately need. I don't need a massively good combat performance for this group but it would be nice to provide some desperately needed skills (knowledge, diplomacy from another angle than the conservative paladin).



Carim Preston is the boy of Sergeant Timothy Preston and his love, Maiara. Being the kid of two parents who belonged to foreign occupying forces, Carim's youth has not been the greatest. Luckily he always had a burning passion to beat up his naysayers. At the age of 16 his father introduced him into the royal guard where his daily duties where to protect the citizens of the city. Bored out of his skull, naive and optimistic, he regularly took up jobs to twart the endeavors of local criminals, much to the dismay of his superiors. Until one day he nearly surfaced the crimes of the mayor and the bribes he receives from a local trading corporation which forced him to retire early and without any benefits.

Only with his military training and street smarts, he was forced to offer himself as a vigilante mercenary, unable to get the better prices, conditions and equipment the larger mercenary companies get. After 5 years of wandering around the continent, even working as a blacksmith in the Elven realms for a few months and getting paid to repel entire strike forces only with a handful of poorly armed commoners, a certain mercenary company has discovered his talent. And they are in dire need for a commander to their youngest and most chaotic mercenary band...

Carim Preston

Human Fighter (Tactician) 9

LG Medium humanoid (human)

Init +9; Senses Perception +9

Defense

AC 31, touch 15, flat-footed 26 (+9 armor, +5 shield, +3 Dex, +2 deflection, +1 natural)

hp 81 (9d10+27)

Fort +11, Ref +18, Will +5;

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +2 Guardian Bastardsword +19/+14 (1d10+8/17–20) or mwk dagger +15/+10 (1d4+5/19–20)

Ranged dagger +17 (1d4+5/19–20) or +1 Adaptive Mighty (+5) composite shortbow +13/+8 (1d6+6/×3)

Special Attacks weapon training (heavy blades +1)

Statistics

Str 20, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14

Base Atk +9; CMB +14; CMD 26

Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastardsword), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Bastardsword), Fast Learner, Improved Initiative, Master Craftsman (Blacksmith), Stealth Synergy (Tactician), Quick Draw, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Improved Critical (Bastard Sword), Greater Weapon Focus (Bastardsword)

Skills Climb +9 Craft (Blacksmith) +16, Diplomacy +14, Intimidate +13, Know (Royalty) +9, Know (Engineering) +4, Know (Geography) +9, Know (Dungeoneering) +6, Know (Local) +11, Linguistics +8, Perception +9, Ride +7 Sense Motive +12, Survival +4, Stealth +7

Languages Common, Elven, Dwarven, plus five large regional languages

SQ armor training 2, strategic training, tactical awareness +2, tactician, traits: defender of the society, world traveler (local)

Combat Gear +2 Guardian bastardsword, +3 Large mithril shield, +3 mithril breastplate, +3 cloak of resistance, +2 ring of protection, +1 amulet of natural armor, ring of sustenance, +1 mighty (+5) adaptive composite bow, 2.100 gp. (can go 25% over WBL with a crafting feat)

Largely I need help with the overwhelming amount of (combat) feats available to me. I won't have a flanking buddy so often times Outflank is just wasted potential. Other than that I don't really want to use either a Longsword or a Scimitar (as they are the prime weapons for standard S&B and Critfishing respectively). But I feel my feat choice lacks severly on the battlefield control side. I want to be the guy that protects the people. He shouldn't be terribly experienced at fighting casters but he should be able to control the flow of battle.

[avr]

If you're trying to control the battlefield using a martial character in PF, that means combat maneuvers in all probability. Which means you'll need to invest 2-3 feats minimum at this level. Either 2 for an improved/greater maneuver off power attack (e.g. overrun), or combat expertise (or dirty fighting) plus another 2 for one of the maneuvers depending on combat expertise (e.g. trip, dirty trick).

If you use a light flail your damage & crit range go down a point but you save a feat and get to have an actually different look, rather than a slightly longer/less curved sword. A flail gets bonuses to disarm and can be dropped instead of being tripped if you screw up a trip attempt.

Another form of battlefield control would be to get dazzling display and disheartening display and try to intimidate all your enemies. It would help a lot there to have someone else in the party who uses fear effects of some kind.

[Spore]

Fear effects can be quite situational. I am not one to minmax upon the campaign but I feel in a campaign that is largely about constructs, undead and evil outsiders (as well as clerics/inquisitors) I am not really keen on pitting fear effects or things that target Wisdom. I would much rather like to stop the enemy in its tracks. I was almost sure there was a feat tree that allows you to stop people with AoOs.

I am very fine with reach weapons such as spears but I am somewhat against flails.

[avr]

I was almost sure there was a feat tree that allows you to stop people with AoOs.
Kinda. Stand Still (prereq: combat reflexes) lets you make a combat maneuver check instead of an AoO to stop an enemy moving. Downsides: they have to provoke an AoO, it's a raw combat maneuver check with no bonuses from feats or weapons, they have to be adjacent to your tactician (reach doesn't help and may hinder if you're prevented from threatening adjacent.) Not a great option but it is possible. Tripping is better where that is possible (i.e. not vs creatures more than one size larger than you, not vs. flying, not vs. snakes, preferably not vs. dwarves or multilegged creatures.)

If a two-handed reach weapon is an option battlefield control will be a bit easier, though not with the use of stand still.

Edit: if you go the trip path a dragoncatch guisarme (http://archivesofnethys.com/MagicWeaponsDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Dragoncatch%20Gu isarme) lets you trip flying creatures. There's no other way IIRC.

[Serafina]

Actually, you can trip flying creatures with Ace Trip (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/weapon-mastery-feats/ace-trip-targeting-weapon-mastery) too. Ranged Trip (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/ranged-trip-combat-targeting) is sadly a full-round action, but still inflicts damage so basically it's two actions (combat maneuver and normal attack).

There's also the rather good Relentless Trip (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/relentless-shot-combat) - if you trip an opponent with a ranged weapon, you threaten them for the entire next turn - that's easily two or more AoOs you can get off that way (one from standing up, one more from moving, casting or ranged attacking). They have to be within 30 foot range though.
Bolas (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/weapon-descriptions/bolas) also allow you to make ranged trip attacks and do worth just fine with Relentless Trip.

And all the Trip-related feats apply as normal to ranged trips, so you can take them to your hearts content - and still apply them with melee weapon as you want. Thrown weapons also do have the advantage that you can combine them nicely with melee, so you're not exactly restricted to ranged combat and can stay on the frontline - just with the added ability of stopping enemies at range, and chasing them down easily if they run away.

[Spore]

I've redone the feats and weapon choice. I will focus on keeping the enemy at bay (not controlling them, I have two full casters after all) and inflicting debuffs.

Hu. Combat Reflexes
1. Power Attack
2f. Step Up
3. Weapon Focus: Scimitar
4f. Dazzling Display
5. Master Craftsman: Blacksmith
6f. Cornugon Smash
7. Craft Magic Arms and Armor
8f. Improved Critical: Scimitar
9. Improved Bullrush
(10f. Critical Focus)
(11. Bleeding Critical)

Using a +2 Cruel Scimitar, I can stack shaken, sickened and if I am lucky I can get people up to frightened if I use Dazzling Display before (right?). A major problem are still undead (and later on some constructs) but that is what we have the Time Oracle (aging touch deals with constructs) and the Paladin for (evil outsiders and undead get vaporized anyhow), leaving me to deal with more physical threats.

The fluff has changed as follows:

Carims family is kept hostage. Being a more mundane and subtle envoy of the Avatar of the Black Flame (an Antipaladin and sister of our party's Paladin) Carim has to deliver everything his master wishes or else his family gets punished. His country is in a constant state of civil unrest and civil wars but you cannot simply cross the border into other realms. You are not welcome there and you are not allowed to leave so easily either.

I can go over WBL with a crafting feat but needing two feats in order to be able to craft makes me wonder if I could get better results by dropping them and taking anti-caster stuff like Disruptive.

He is basically a 'gift' to the party. A sharp tool. According to everything he has learned so far you have to use every advantage you can get over your enemy. Even if this means suffering, fear and degradation for your enemy leading to his or her untimely death.