Pathfinder: making a monster hunter

[Temennigru]

I'm trying to build a monster hunter (from the video game) starting at level 1. It's turning out to be kind of a hassle:

-Has to be a skill monkey: hunters are supposed to be able to climb to high spots, swim fast, make traps, etc.
-Has to craft gear out of animal parts: It's a major part of the game, but I can't find an efficient way to craft mundane gear without resorting to magic.
-Has to be a jack of all trades: the hunters in the game are able to use multiple pieces of equipment, from giant swords to crossbows.
-Is always prepared: hunters always come prepared, with bombs, traps, camo suits, etc.

The crafting part can be left out for later levels. The rest is what I'm struggling with.

[DMVerdandi]

Investigator hybrid class breh.
You get studied strike, you get inspiration points, you get alchemy, you get hella skills.
It's just a fantastic class, really. This class is SO Abraham Van Hellsing, and in a way, so Belmont clan.

As far as equipment, that is a GP thing. Craft with feats.

[Florian]

Occultist, Psychodermist archetype, Trapping of the Warrior, Harvest Parts feat chain and either a two level dip into Cavalier (Order of the Hero) or VMC Cavalier.

[Wartex1]

Well, some of it also depends on your flavor. If you're going Van Helsing style, Inquisitor and Investigator are good choices.

If you're going MonHun style, then nothing quite works for it except maybe Fighter or a Path of War class.

[Temennigru]

It's from the monster hunter game. Not from van helsing.
We're talking full plate armor with giant swords, lances and crossbows.
A friend of mine suggested lore warden or titan fighter/investigator

[Wartex1]

Definitely a Fighter, maybe multiclassing with Barbarian or Brawler.

Gunslinger could potentially work for a Gunner, but Path of War might be your best bet.

MH might be done better by another system.

[Temennigru]

I just realized.

"Only base and core classes allowed" is part of the rules.

[Geddy2112]

Good old fashioned ranger should do. You can easily use almost any weapon, they have tons of class skills and skill ranks, they are "monster hunters" and some archetypes can even build complex ranger traps and similar things, as well as camoflauge and similar tricks.

[arkangel111]

what's wrong with a ranger? Swap spells for trap s with an archetype. Keep or swap out hunters bond with another archetype. 6+ skills, martial and medium armor proficiency, bonus feats for combat style, and most importantly thematically appropriate.

[Temennigru]

Good old fashioned ranger should do. You can easily use almost any weapon, they have tons of class skills and skill ranks, they are "monster hunters" and some archetypes can even build complex ranger traps and similar things, as well as camoflauge and similar tricks.

There are a few problems with ranger that I see.
1- Hunters don't have favored enemies. It's not very flavorful to only be able to hunt one kind of beast.
2- Hunters don't use magic
3- Hunters craft their own gear
4- Hunters use over-sized gear

#4 I could solve dipping into titan fighter.
#2 is the one I least care about and am willing to let it slide.

How would I solve the other problems? I've looked all over for optimizing mundane crafting, but people just say "use fabricate" and it's not something I want. Maybe a dip into alchemist?

[Geddy2112]

There are a few problems with ranger that I see.
1- Hunters don't have favored enemies. It's not very flavorful to only be able to hunt one kind of beast.
2- Hunters don't use magic
3- Hunters craft their own gear
4- Hunters use over-sized gear

#4 I could solve dipping into titan fighter.
#2 is the one I least care about and am willing to let it slide.

How would I solve the other problems? I've looked all over for optimizing mundane crafting, but people just say "use fabricate" and it's not something I want. Maybe a dip into alchemist?

There are ways to get favored enemy everything, not just by going slayer. Freebooter, or some other archetypes that don't get favored enemy at all. Or again, they only hunt monsters, so they in a sense do have favored enemy"magical beast"

Likewise, there are hunters that trade out spells. You can take the trapper archetype to trade out your spells for ranger traps, solving two problems at once.

Craft is a class skill for every single class. Just put ranks into craft, get some masterwork tools and call it a day.

[Temennigru]

There are ways to get favored enemy everything, not just by going slayer. Freebooter, or some other archetypes that don't get favored enemy at all. Or again, they only hunt monsters, so they in a sense do have favored enemy"magical beast"

Likewise, there are hunters that trade out spells. You can take the trapper archetype to trade out your spells for ranger traps, solving two problems at once.

Craft is a class skill for every single class. Just put ranks into craft, get some masterwork tools and call it a day.

In monster hunter they call any kind of animal a monster. Not just magical beasts.

The problem with crafting with the craft skill is you take weeks to craft something. I need to find a way to craft something in a few hours without resorting to magic, as our DM doesn't like downtime.

I actually think the ranger archetypes trophy hunter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo-ranger-archetypes/trophy-hunter/), wild hunter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo-ranger-archetypes/wild-hunter/) and trapper (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo-ranger-archetypes/trapper/) might be a good fit. They provide versatility and preparation options.

[arkangel111]

Your feats are going to have to be used on crafting, but realistically if you are avoiding crafting magic items you might not need anything other than time/cost reducers. If i remember correctly you can reduce time by increasing DCs. I would just talk with your DM about your plans.
As far as favored enemy goes just reflavor it slightly and you won't have to mess with the mechanics. Maybe it's not that you hate them more but you are just more proficient at killing them, you understand their anatomy so it's easier to kill them. Skinning all those beasts gave you some surgical knowledge on where to strike.

[Wartex1]

Trapper and Guide or Wild Stalker might work.