Pixie Swordmaster - Pathfinder Possibility?

[Rizaidym]

Ok. Some background. We're about to start a monster campaign where we start out as a bunch of CR 1 monsters running a dungeon, with a rank up system broadly inspired by Re: Monster. Now, I can't pull this idea off at first, but eventually I want my character to be, well, a Fairy Knight. The type of monster that waits for the heroes in an empty room, challenges the strongest looking one to an honorable duel, then beats the living stuffing out of them once they're done laughing. This five-inch-tall warrior is a legitimate master of the sword and knows it. But that's not all, she knows how to best use her in-born magicks as well, so she's not a one trick pony. My request from you, honorable GitP posters, is thus; how in the world am I supposed to pull this off within Pathfinder rules? (No 3.5 or homebrew) The DM says that he could be convinced to allow Path of War, but it would be a really hard sell. Too many class levels already being bandied about by the other players already.

Requirements:
Young Pixie as race (as pixies are apparently small, not tiny.)
Preferably possessing Armor Training, or some other way of wearing Mithral Fullplate without reducing fly speed.
A smattering of magic (in a pinch, I could settle for the pixie SLAs, but I'd like something a little more versatile.)
A not-horrible way to take advantage of the pixie's Special Arrow quality.
Preferably around CR 8ish, but no pressure.
For the sake of having a sturdy spine, assume no magic items. (we will have magic items, I just want to try building the monster without them first.)

So! What combination of templates and class levels can we use to make this knightly fay come to life? My current idea is just levels in Myrmidarch Magus, but bleh, I play Magi way too much. Cavalier would be wonderful if the mounted bits weren't completely useless....

By the way, here is my inspiration pic for the character (obtained from GitP, actually.):
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/84/263959614_1d28100205.jpg

[CasualViking]

Requirements:
Young Pixie as race (as pixies are apparently small, not tiny.)
Preferably possessing Armor Training, or some other way of wearing Mithral Fullplate without reducing fly speed.
A smattering of magic (in a pinch, I could settle for the pixie SLAs, but I'd like something a little more versatile.)
A not-horrible way to take advantage of the pixie's Special Arrow quality.
Preferably around CR 8ish, but no pressure.
For the sake of having a sturdy spine, assume no magic items. (we will have magic items, I just want to try building the monster without them first.)


Pixie is CR 4. Assuming you can hoodwink your GM into okaying young pixie as a CR 3 monster, will you be using the monsters-as-PC rules, where CR 3 and 6 class levels make level 8, or monster rules with associated and non-associated classes for CR shenanigans.

[CasualViking]

Does "rain of sleep arrows from invisibility" match your idea of a fairy knight, or do you need to be visible and fighting melee? Because if you want to be a DMF, there are better fey than the Pixie.

[Extra Anchovies]

Master of the sword, uses in-born magicks... hm. Two ideas come to mind, but they both kinda need DM support to be workable:
1. Bloodrager (Fey Bloodline (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/bloodrager-bloodlines/paizo---bloodrager-bloodlines/fey)). The main issue with this option is that your size (and correspondingly low Strength) means you'll be best off with a Dexterity build, a style the Bloodrager doesn't do very well. If your DM lets you swap the normal Bloodrage effects with the Urban Barbarian (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo---barbarian-archetypes/urban-barbarian)'s Controlled Rage or the Unchained Barbarian's rage effects, then a Dex-Bloodrager could at least make use of its core class feature. You'd still have damage issues, though; Fencing Grace gets you Dex to damage, but you'd need 13 Strength for Power Attack and Piranha Strike can't be used with one-handed weapons unless your DM is nice and houserules it accordingly.
2. Eldritch Scion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/archetypes/paizo---magus-archetypes/eldritch-scion) Magus (Fey Bloodline (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/bloodrager-bloodlines/paizo---bloodrager-bloodlines/fey)). This is the more powerful of the two choices by a fair margin, because Spellstrike takes care of your damage problems and the spellcasting is significantly better. However, the 2-round duration on Eldritch Pool's mystical focus is harsh - it'll be really expensive in both swift actions (which the Magus has a lot of uses for) and pool points unless you can convince your DM to boost the duration (I personally think 2+Cha rounds would be much fairer).

Starting the build with a level of Swashbuckler would probably be a good idea. Free Weapon Finesse and the ability to qualify for combat feats with Charisma instead of Intelligence both make your build less resource-intensive, and Opportune Parry and Riposte is a nice ability for a master swordsman that also happens to scale with BAB rather than class level. The Inspired Blade archetype also nets you Weapon Focus (Rapier) for free, and you need that feat for Fencing Grace.

Pixies (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary/pixie.html) don't really match what you're looking for in a race - they're quite a bit larger than you think, usually running about 2 feet tall. A better choice of species would be the Diminutive Atomie (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary3/atomie.html), which are a bit under a foot tall and have a very thematically fitting tendency to "take tremendous pride in defeating and humiliating foes larger than themselves". It'd be a mechanically strong choice, too, with (among other things) +6 Dexterity, +8 Charisma, 1d6 racial sneak attack, a 50-foot fly speed, free Improved Initiative, and a 3/day Invisibility SLA. Only 2 HD (and CR 1) means it won't take up too much space in the build, leaving more room for class levels.


Now, I can't pull this idea off at first, but eventually I want my character to be, well, a Fairy Knight. The type of monster that waits for the heroes in an empty room, challenges the strongest looking one to an honorable duel, then beats the living stuffing out of them once they're done laughing. This five-inch-tall warrior is a legitimate master of the sword and knows it. But that's not all, she knows how to best use her in-born magicks as well, so she's not a one trick pony.

This is an infectiously good character concept. Now I want to play a fairy knight too :smallbiggrin:


Does "rain of sleep arrows from invisibility" match your idea of a fairy knight, or do you need to be visible and fighting melee? Because if you want to be a DMF, there are better fey than the Pixie.

I'm unfamiliar with the term "DMF". Care to explain?

[CasualViking]

I'm unfamiliar with the term "DMF". Care to explain?

Dumb Melee Fighter.

[CharonsHelper]

You haven't ever seen all of the tiny melee combatant builds before? There are several of them.

Swashbuckler is effective, as is Unchained Rogue. (I believe there is a way to count as flanking whenever anyone else is threatening them when you're in their square.) Unchained Monk would work pretty well, though you wouldn't really match the picture as you would be unarmored.

Mobility is great since closing to melee (getting in their square) always provokes an AOO. No acrobatics check to avoid it. Or use Parry to block it.

Then there are ways to make having you in their square a huge pain to them.

I've actually seen a PFS version which was a kitsune who stayed in fox form 95% of the time.

There is a VERY long thread on the Pathfinder message boards about it, though I believe they're mostly discussing normally legal ways rather than monster races. (kitsune & polymorphing into songbirds mainly)

[Rizaidym]

Pixie is CR 4. Assuming you can hoodwink your GM into okaying young pixie as a CR 3 monster, will you be using the monsters-as-PC rules, where CR 3 and 6 class levels make level 8, or monster rules with associated and non-associated classes for CR shenanigans.

I...don't need to hoodwink anyone. For the game we're playing, this is totally legit. I can't dive in at first session, no, but that's not the point here. I just want what I'm working towards to be clear.


Master of the sword, uses in-born magicks... hm. Two ideas come to mind, but they both kinda need DM support to be workable:
1. Bloodrager (Fey Bloodline (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/bloodrager-bloodlines/paizo---bloodrager-bloodlines/fey)). The main issue with this option is that your size (and correspondingly low Strength) means you'll be best off with a Dexterity build, a style the Bloodrager doesn't do very well. If your DM lets you swap the normal Bloodrage effects with the Urban Barbarian (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo---barbarian-archetypes/urban-barbarian)'s Controlled Rage or the Unchained Barbarian's rage effects, then a Dex-Bloodrager could at least make use of its core class feature. You'd still have damage issues, though; Fencing Grace gets you Dex to damage, but you'd need 13 Strength for Power Attack and Piranha Strike can't be used with one-handed weapons unless your DM is nice and houserules it accordingly.
2. Eldritch Scion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/archetypes/paizo---magus-archetypes/eldritch-scion) Magus (Fey Bloodline (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/bloodrager-bloodlines/paizo---bloodrager-bloodlines/fey)). This is the more powerful of the two choices by a fair margin, because Spellstrike takes care of your damage problems and the spellcasting is significantly better. However, the 2-round duration on Eldritch Pool's mystical focus is harsh - it'll be really expensive in both swift actions (which the Magus has a lot of uses for) and pool points unless you can convince your DM to boost the duration (I personally think 2+Cha rounds would be much fairer).

Starting the build with a level of Swashbuckler would probably be a good idea. Free Weapon Finesse and the ability to qualify for combat feats with Charisma instead of Intelligence both make your build less resource-intensive, and Opportune Parry and Riposte is a nice ability for a master swordsman that also happens to scale with BAB rather than class level. The Inspired Blade archetype also nets you Weapon Focus (Rapier) for free, and you need that feat for Fencing Grace.

Pixies (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary/pixie.html) don't really match what you're looking for in a race - they're quite a bit larger than you think, usually running about 2 feet tall. A better choice of species would be the Diminutive Atomie (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary3/atomie.html), which are a bit under a foot tall and have a very thematically fitting tendency to "take tremendous pride in defeating and humiliating foes larger than themselves". It'd be a mechanically strong choice, too, with (among other things) +6 Dexterity, +8 Charisma, 1d6 racial sneak attack, a 50-foot fly speed, free Improved Initiative, and a 3/day Invisibility SLA. Only 2 HD (and CR 1) means it won't take up too much space in the build, leaving more room for class levels.

I mentioned my aversion to Magus. I'll do it if I have to, but I really don't want to...I play Magus all the time....

My DM very likely won't let me swap rage effects, and without that, it really doesn't fit the image in my head.

I'm aware that pixies are size small, and have already okayed a size reduction with the DM, so I like the versatility their varied spell likes and special arrows give. And the natural invisibility gives a strong fallback if the situation becomes dire enough to force her to abandon her honor. For the sake of her dungeon-mates. (Just because we're monsters doesn't mean we don't have camaraderie!) On the other hand, Atomie is an excellent race to start off with at CR 1! Thanks!

And yeah, Swashbuckler is such a mechanically sound option that it is incredibly hard to resist, as is Daring Champion Cavalier. In fact, if Daring Champion got Opportune Parry and Riposte, we wouldn't be having this discussion! The only reason I haven't snapped one of these up yet is because...well...I'm really attached to that heavy armor...especially as I just realize that I can get armor training from the Fighter creature template if I convince my DM....

This is all made much harder by the fact that my DM is starting to get twitchy about all the class levels everyone is planning to use. He seems to be of the opinion that if you are going to play a monster campaign, you shouldn't be using class levels. Or only a smattering of them, if you really must. Combined with his paranoia against homebrew...well, he's a pretty inflexible DM at times. Or rather, he's very flexible in some very strange directions. Very gimmicky.

Finally, I know I'm being kinda picky, but I have a super fun idea, and I'm just trying to make it work on paper with as little warping as possible. Of course, in a day or two I'll try out a few suggestions on paper, and that may very well change my tune. So let's keep the ideas coming! I'll talk to my DM tomorrow about an idea I just had, but I'll post it here first:

If you could make a tailored cavalier archetype for this idea, what would you replace the mounted features with? Magic could come from a template or possibly a rank up, so don't worry about that. Let's just focus on the martial side for now.

(Also, to elaborate on how my GM is "gimmicky," he keeps trying to convince me to play this character as a living sword with a fairy eidolon/projection. Not what I'm trying to play, but right up his alley, and the kind of thing he'd bend over backwards to make work.)

[Jaguarfabulous]

I think Extra Anchovies is onto something with his suggestion of an Atomie - fluff and crunchwise they are perfect. I actually built an Atomie Swashbuckler for a one-shot and he was ridiculously fun. If you take the Mouser archetype you can negate a lot of the size problems associated with melee and set up some flanking for you and your buddies very easily. They also come with some fun SLAs that level the playing field a bit. Hope this helps!

[I3igAl]

I second the Darting Champion Atomie.

Precise Strike+Challenge means you will deal A LOT of damage.
Order of the Flame could be great allowing you to charge new targets and get even more damage, when you down an enemy. With a fly feet of 50ft. you can easily get anywhere on the battlefield and cut up everyone.

[dascarletm]

My friend played a pixie ranger in a game, focusing on a falcata as his weapon. He was a Harrier (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/super-genius-games/adept-godling/archetypes/rogue-genius-games---adept-godling-archetypes/harrier) Ranger. This is 3rd party mind you.

He used his flyby attack, power attack, and superior mobility to do quite a bit of damage flying around the battlefield. It looked like a lot of fun, and he enjoyed it.