Stalker (Bushi, Vigilante) Build Advice needed

[Nosta]

I am looking at build Advice for My half-elf Stalker
I plan to add the Bushi class template as I want a Samurai/swordsmen type feel with her and I want to stack the Vigilante Archetype on top cause I like the way it feels, and i Prefer Sneak attack over the other

I need advice for my point buy, its a 20 point buy but i want to have a good spread but not spread myself to thin

I could also use advice on my feats

I am not sure what to take cause i don't think i can use weapon finesse with a katana , a wakazashi yes but not a katana

I do know i want to take a bunch of critical feats later on

I start at level 5 and I'd like to at least establish my first 10 level of feats and stalker arts.

[Elricaltovilla]

Didn't you just post a thread for this character yesterday?

[Andor13]

I am not sure what to take cause i don't think i can use weapon finesse with a katana , a wakazashi yes but not a katana


Well for starters Daisho Expertise (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/path-of-war/feats/daisho-expertise-combat/) has you covered for the Katana, so don't take Weapon Finesse. Deadly Agility is the obvious follow on feat, making you Str independent.

Katana/Wakizashi are good crit-fishing weapons, and the base Stalker likes to crit fish, but the Vigilante doesn't care, so it seems odd to me to switch to Vigilante but still want to focus on crits.

Available disciplines are Broken Blade, Solar Wind, Steel Serpent, Thrashing Dragon, Veiled Moon, Primal Fury, Scarlet Throne, Tempest Gale, Riven Hourglass (less one, because you need to drop one to get) Mithral Current.

Stalker gets the most maneuvers known of anybody, but even so that's too many. You're going to want to pick the ones that match your chosen fighting style and specialize in them. You obviously have a Samurai thing going on, so:
Mithral Current is the Iajutsu focused discipline, seems like a no brainer, although don't over specialize as it doesn't come fully online until 6th level when Bushi gives you Mixed Combat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/path-of-war/feats/mixed-combat-combat/) for free.
Pick one of Thrashing Dragon or Scarlet Throne as your other combat style. Scarlet Throne concentrates on wielding a single sword Toshiro Mifune style, Thrashing Dragon is two-weapon fighting Musashi style.
Riven Hourglass is a powerhouse of utility, take that.

If you have spare maneuvers, you can hunt around in the other disciplines for picks you like. Broken Blade has very powerful boosts, Steel Serpent gives funky poison abilities, Tempest Gale can fill in for your otherwise lacking ranged abilities.

[Nosta]

@ Elricaltovilla

sadly yes, I'm sorry i got impatient and sadly i have issues >.>
but i am sorry. I want help cause The game starts soon and I need help crafting my character

[Nosta]

@ Andor13

so your saying not to take the Vigilante archetype. I just though it fit well with the Mithral current style as it dose a lot of stuff to cause my foe to be flat footed

I was also told i could get some mileage out of the third level stance of the broken blade line

I kinda want to dual wield and two weapon fight and just use Boost and counters as i am trying to get the flavor in my head to come out on two paper

[Epic Legand]

I personally vastly prefer the Vigilante. It switches your prime stat from Wisdom to INT. Now with your 6 skill points/ level, PLUS your INT, your an awesome skill monkey. Adds Inspiration and that's like +3.5 points to every knowledge check, perception and sense motive check , you get a better sneak attack progression and Trapfinding. For extra synergy, look up Harbringer edgelord. 1 level of that gains you a lot, including INT to Armor Class (without armor), +10; movement and much of what you gain from Bushi, plus a bunch of maneuvers. Add in a wand of Mage Armor and your AC is great. ( give wand to party mage)

For your stats and race, consider elf or teifling. +2 to INT and DEX are the key. Teifling gains 1/4 of a stalker art as an ACF, just like the 1/2 elf, but also has Darkvision instead of lowlite. For feats, I second Daisho Expertise and Deadly Agility. Also look at Monastic Weapon Training and greater unarmed strike. 2 feats or Arts makes your unarmed damage 1D8(1D10 at 10th level), and adds to your eastern samurai flavor

Primal Fury Stance would bring your Katana from 2D6 to 4D6 base damage, or your unarmed from 1D8 to 3d6. The 3ed level Broken Blade maneuver Steel Flurry Strike is awesome as well.

If you take the 1 Level dip in Harbringer, take it at 5th level, and combine it with Practiced Initiator (Combat) trait. Then all 5 of your starting maneuvers and your one stance can be 3ed level.

The choice of the 1 level dip costs you a point of Base attack bonus, if your bothered by a BAB of 3 at level 5, you could stick to vanilla Harbringer, and you get to add +1/2 your INT as a bonus to to hit.


I hope this helps, have fun

[Andor13]

No, if you want Vigilante, go Vigilante. I was just observing that if you wanted to take critical feats then it seemed odd to take an archetype that reduced your focus on seeking crits, but it is completely legitimate to want to make your character less dependent on lucky dice. And as Epic Legand notes, the Vigilante is a strong Archetype even if it did nothing but shift your initiating stat from Wis to Int. (Wisdom is still good since it's the base of your most important saves and the most important skill in the game, but Int is probably better.)

Don't worry too much about perfect mechanical optimization. If you want Musashi, then build Musashi. Unless you play at an extremely high OP table, then any PoW class will do well, as long as you don't go out of your way to self-gimp. This build has access to some very powerful disciplines.

On that note, a Harbinger dip is a mechanically sound choice, but the class has a decidedly supernatural flavor that you may decide is a poor fit, OTOH you're not making the Miyamoto Musahi of Earth, but a D&D variant and why wouldn't he pick up some magic? Call it channeling the Spirit of Bushido. The only thing to be aware of is that a lot of your power is coming from your boosts, and the Harbinger Dark Claim will compete for that swift action, but that's hardly a crippling problem, especially when you're getting several more maneuvers readied.

Mithral Current does have a few maneuvers that let you make a foe flat-footed but also remember the Vulnerability to Silver that you can inflict with MC, get some silver weapons and suggest the rest of your party get some too.