How to decide on a build (archetype choices in pathfinder)

[PostMortemCP]

So this is more for the people who play pathfinder, as a newly transitioned adventurer I can’t decide what I want to build. I had a custom made class I was going to do for a character concept I really like, but now it’s a bit difficult. So I’m definitely using Skald as the base class as the Celtic and Norse feeling really help sells the character. But I’m torn on archetype as there’s a few I want stuff from. Those being: Fated Champion, Spell Warrior, Ancestral Warrior, War Painter, and Warlord. As the class I had previously made just for him was a mix mash of stuff. The overall feeling is a lawful neutral young man who can either use extraordinary powers to become a honoured King or a feared tyrant. He’s basically an avatar of war and how a small thing could shape if he saves people with compassion or “forced liberation for their own good”

[Alexvrahr]

That's pretty vague in terms of what actual abilities you want. Some sort of intimidation I guess, and some sort of buffs to allies? Any skald could do that much. Can you define other things you want to do?

[PostMortemCP]

Well that’s part of the problem is I had built the old version using psionic abilities to mimic elemental powers and things under the mantle system of destruction. So I kinda need something that will allow me to customize a weapon (ancestral warrior looks really good there) or something that has overly powerful mind effects to shut down and convert people. But seen as no real psionics exist is pathfinder (first party at least) I cant really go looking through the list. He needs to be able to buff his weapon, and also have some of the old energy bursts and other powers that paizo has not translated from 3.X to Pathfinder.

[Gallowglass]

based on your wish list of things you want to do, you would have to go with magus instead of skald. Magus lets you buff your own weapon and have some burst spells, some charm spells, some other spells you can organize to get the flavor you want.

Depending on how powerful and long your campaign is to go, you can maybe take some levels in skald and magus but that's going to weaken your character compared to the other characters (while increasing your number of different abilities to keep track of.

I'm not sure what features you get VMCing Magus or Skald and can't look it up at the moment, but you can look that up. see if you get what you want by playing a Magus VMC Skald or Skald VMC Magus.

And, of course, if you have a DM willing to work with you to custom built things then take the features you want from skald and trade out the features you don't want with magus or vice versa to make your custom build-a-bear.

[Alexvrahr]

Yeah, skalds can gain a few elemental effects but it's not what they're good at; a magus is better. There is no variant multiclass (VMC) skald, and VMC magus needs a bit of Int which may be hard to fit on a skald who may want Cha and all physical abilities already, so have a care there.

[Kurald Galain]

Since your post mentions "first party", I should point out that the ancestral warrior is third party material.

What I'm missing in your post is whether you want to buff and support your allies. Skald is primarily a buffing and supporting class, and its abilities and spell list reflect that. If you primarily want to be a melee striker, then go for Magus as GG suggests above. Here's a guide (https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2swxz?Myrrh-Frankincense-and-Steel-Kurald-Galains).

[PostMortemCP]

I should have mentioned the inspire rage ability intent to have as a bread and butter of the character. This character also isn’t supposed to be all “magicy” if I could find a complete non caster class to gain the abilities I want I would have gone with it. Magus is not the right flavor for the character and I’m already playing a magus kensai so my next character I want to be different and more “barbaric”

[Gallowglass]

I should have mentioned the inspire rage ability intent to have as a bread and butter of the character. This character also isn’t supposed to be all “magicy” if I could find a complete non caster class to gain the abilities I want I would have gone with it. Magus is not the right flavor for the character and I’m already playing a magus kensai so my next character I want to be different and more “barbaric”

I realize this is going to blow your mind but psionics are just magic. You can rename the pig, put lipstick on the pig, take the pig out dancing, but it is still a pig.

So far, we've been able to parse

1> I want to basically remake my old character who was a psionic with 'elemental' powers <- magic
2> I want to use Skald
3> I want to buff my weapon <- magic
4> I want "some of those old energy burst powers" <- magic
5> I want "powerful mind effects to shut down and convert people" <- magic
6> I want a martial character with no "magicky" stuff.

A lot of this is contradictory.

Can you, maybe, really try to write out what is truly important to you. It seems that you are dead set on Skald. Great, I love skalds.

Skalds main power is to buff the rest of the party (just like the bard they are) which fits with your "inspire others"
There are elemental rage powers you can pick up that will give you that elemental feel "when I inspire rage in others, they are on fire!"
You can use your high charisma and social skills to diplomance others in place of actual mind control.

You are not going to look like what you had before, but it could still be as good or better.

As KG said, ancestral weapon is already 3rd party, so convince your DM to include the psionic classes. The Dread, The Tactician, The Wilder. Any of these you could dip into from skald and get some or all of what you are looking for. The Dread and Wilder synergize with the "feel" of the skald well and the tactician synergizes with the abilities.

[PostMortemCP]

I realize this is going to blow your mind but psionics are just magic. You can rename the pig, put lipstick on the pig, take the pig out dancing, but it is still a pig.

So far, we've been able to parse

1> I want to basically remake my old character who was a psionic with 'elemental' powers <- magic
2> I want to use Skald
3> I want to buff my weapon <- magic
4> I want "some of those old energy burst powers" <- magic
5> I want "powerful mind effects to shut down and convert people" <- magic
6> I want a martial character with no "magicky" stuff.

A lot of this is contradictory.

Can you, maybe, really try to write out what is truly important to you. It seems that you are dead set on Skald. Great, I love skalds.

Skalds main power is to buff the rest of the party (just like the bard they are) which fits with your "inspire others"
There are elemental rage powers you can pick up that will give you that elemental feel "when I inspire rage in others, they are on fire!"
You can use your high charisma and social skills to diplomance others in place of actual mind control.

You are not going to look like what you had before, but it could still be as good or better.

As KG said, ancestral weapon is already 3rd party, so convince your DM to include the psionic classes. The Dread, The Tactician, The Wilder. Any of these you could dip into from skald and get some or all of what you are looking for. The Dread and Wilder synergize with the "feel" of the skald well and the tactician synergizes with the abilities.

I know it’s a bit contradicting but it’s based off an old class I built called “mutant” that was able to recreate anything from wolverine to thor. So I just really need to sit down and update that for pathfinder (or look for one that gives all I wanted cause pathfinder has way more stuff). The “feel” of the character should be a lawful neutral young man (teens to 20s depending) who has two paths set infront of him the path of a great leader who all revere or the path of a tyrant. I want to play a character who would change alignment based on actions because most of my group are two dumb or “safe” to let a character grow by their actions and consequences. So I pick Skald because his abilities seem to be a good way to drive into the story a personal struggle of so the means outway the cause and is that cause the right one.
I also want to try Skald so it’s trying to retro fit a character into a new class. Ideally this is going to be a Skald who fights and rages the whole party (do they count themselves in their inspire?) and eventually through some means (magical device probably) able to use charm and dominate spells based on his current standing. In the end I want a good man who can easily fall to the dark or an evil man who once had good intentions.
(P.s. I use to read book of vile darkness like it was the only book, so I’ve come to understand alignment means “shouldn’t have step on the grass paladin now your god has forsook thee”)