Crowdsourcing Dwarf Builds

[Palanan]

I have a major encounter coming up soon in my game, and I’m dealing with enough RL issues to make preparation a challenge.

So I could really use help fleshing out an all-dwarf party that will be part of the encounter. What I need are third- and fourth-level builds—nothing higher, please—which are solid but not too involved, since I’ll be running these as well as other combatants and NPCs.

The game is Pathfinder, and I’m open to using any of the classes in official Paizo sources, as well as any of the standard classes from the 3.5 PHB and PHB 2.

The dwarves are part of a notorious mercenary company, and they’ll be heavy on the martial aspect and less so for spellcasting. I don’t need detailed backstories, but feel free to give me a quick description if you like. Also, it would be very helpful to add a line or two about how the build would work in combat. Any help is appreciated.

[daremetoidareyo]

Notorious for what? And what alignments?

[Kapow]

Only "standard" dwarves or would Duergar be a possibility?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by daremetoidareyo
Notorious for what? And what alignments?

Notorious for ruthless efficiency in pursuit of their objective, among other things.

There won’t be any good-aligned dwarves here, so it’ll be some mix of the other alignments.


Originally Posted by Kapow
Only "standard" dwarves or would Duergar be a possibility?

I’m open to dwarven racial variants (i.e. arctic dwarves, gold dwarves, etc.) but no duergar, please.

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[Kapow]

I’m open to dwarven racial variants (i.e. arctic dwarves, gold dwarves, etc.) but no duergar, please.

.

Well, I wanted to make sure.

Which method of ability scores?
Standard array? Elite? Or even point buy?

How much gold for equipment?

[daremetoidareyo]

For one of them, How about marshal 4
Minor aura: Motivate dexterity, Motivate reflex saves
Major aura:DR 1
1day grant move action to all allies in 30ft.

Feats: 1. Wild cohort: wolf, skill focus diplomacy, 3: Martial study(leading the attack)(standard action, melee attack, if it hits, all allies get +4 for one round)

Give him a net to use without proficiency, and throwing axes as he hangs back marshalling the allies.

Probably pairs well with a duskblade or swordsage or whirling frenzy barbarian

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Kapow
Which method of ability scores?
Standard array? Elite? Or even point buy?

How much gold for equipment?

Good questions. Elite array will work here, and NPC wealth.


Originally Posted by daremetoidareyo
For one of them, How about marshal 4

Marshal fits perfectly here, thanks.

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[el minster]

Maybe a duskblade as their only spellcaster, maybe a barbarian and a rogue/scout to round out the party. Try to take advantage of the Dex boost.

[daremetoidareyo]

The Dex boost goes to initiative for the team, then switch as a swift action to boost reflex saves. Granting the move action happens early in the conflict for tactical advantage or disengagement.

I was thinking stalwart battle dwarf sorcerer sub levels with scimitar of sand and like 2 other spells to do battle with could be cool, but a little squishy. You could dragonblood him and do wings of cover too. Feats could be earth bloodline, weapon focus scimitars, craft wondrous item. Give everyone bracelet or something that cast scimitar of sand for them as a back up weapon. If you don't want a crafting feat, obtain familiar is good. His guy gets DR/1 adamantine as well as DR 1 from the marshal.

And then a precocious apprentice duskblade?

And then you need a tripper tank.

[el minster]

No expert?

[tiercel]

I was thinking stalwart battle dwarf sorcerer sub levels with scimitar of sand and like 2 other spells to do battle with could be cool, but a little squishy. You could dragonblood him and do wings of cover too. Feats could be earth bloodline, weapon focus scimitars, craft wondrous item. Give everyone bracelet or something that cast scimitar of sand for them as a back up weapon. If you don't want a crafting feat, obtain familiar is good. His guy gets DR/1 adamantine as well as DR 1 from the marshal.

Hmmmm, SBS dwarf sorcerer might not be all that squishy:

Str 14 (20 w/fist of stone) Con 15 Dex 10 Int 10 Wis 8 Cha 16 (Elite array, UA Desert Dwarf, +1 Cha at 4th level)*

AC 15 (chain shirt +1, 19 w/shield), hp 36 (d8+2+Con per level, max @1st, assume “4” on d8 thereafter)
Fort +3 Ref +1 Will +3 DR 1/adamantine (dwarven sor sub level)**
BAB +3 Atk +6/d10+4 (+9/d10+8 w/fist of stone), using +1 dwarven waraxe two-handed
Spells known: 1) fist of stone, shield 2) mirror image
(Cantrips, skills not laid out, but obviously max Concentration. Possibly Spellcraft or choose w/eye for PrC, though SBS tends to work best w/little PrCing, possibly Abjurant Champion or maaaaybe 1-level dip in Sand Shaper... -1 BAB and -1 spell progression for +many spells known, maybe)
Feats: possibly Combat Casting, Power Attack ***

Note: obviously leans in hard on buff spells; works best if NPC party contains a good scout-type so that can be buffed prior to any significant fight

*could easily switch Cha and Dex to gain +1 AC, +1 Ref given that character concentrates on buff spells, but will eventually become equipment-dependent in order to cast max-level spells

** alternatively, consider Spell Shield variant sorcerer (Dungeonscape), arguably better at higher levels

*** Combat Casting mostly if build will continue on to pick up Abjurant Champion; Power Attack is arguably better later with more BAB, bigger buffs

[Palanan]

Good builds so far, keep 'em coming.

[zlefin]

Do you have the pathfinder NPCs already? cuz the prebuilt pathfinder NPC listings have several dwarves in about that CR range. and that's always my goto for easy npc when short on time. You can also take the ones for other races and just make the adjustments for the race change. adjusting for racials should be very fast, especially since you can change stat distributions a bit.

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/npc-s/

[Palanan]

Thanks, I've seen that before, but dwarves are pretty underrepresented in there. And it's more helpful to me to have builds ready to go.

[Mnemius]

In pathfinder, there's a dwarf feat called Steelsoul.
Upgrades the racial trait Hardy from +2 to those saves, to +4.

There's also a dwarf trait that adds another +1 to it.

It's not all saves, but... enough of them.

[tiercel]

Hmmmm, SBS dwarf sorcerer might not be all that squishy; works best if NPC party contains a good scout-type so that can be buffed prior to any significant fight

Let’s give him a scouting buddy (Ranger 4, ACFs Favored Enemy Arcanists (CM), Urban Companion(Cityscape web enhancement), Trap Expert (Dungeonscape), possibly Spiritual Connection (CC))

Str 14 Con 15 Dex 16 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 6 (Elite array, standard dwarf, +1Dex at 4th level)
AC 17 (mithral chain shirt), hp 28 (d8+ Con per level, max @1st, assume “4” on d8 thereafter)
Fort +6 Ref +7 Will +3
BAB +4 Atk +8/d8+3, Full attack +6/+6/d8+3 using composite longbow +1 (add +1 hit +1 dmg within 30’; +2 dmg vs arcanists)
Skills Hide,MS +10, Spot +11 (+13*), Listen +8(+10*), Search,Disable Device +7 (Trap Expert, Dungeonscape ACF, includes trapfinding) *Alertness from Urban companion when within arm’s reach
Feats Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot (B), Precise Shot

Urban companion ACF (Cityscape web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)): Gyrfalcon (Frostburn p.45, as hawk but gives flat +3 to Spot checks) hp 21, AC 17
Spot +17 Listen +9 Hide +18 MS +10

For added utility, consider giving scroll(s) and/or (partially charged) wand(s) of useful ranger spells, much less masterwork gear for Hide/Move Silently

Also, don’t forget backup weapons and standard adventuring gear for both this character and the SBS character above

Note: I’m purely building using 3.5 tech, since PF isn’t my specific bag, so something this 3.5-dependent might not fly or be doable in other ways under PF

[Gorthawar]

Maybe a duskblade as their only spellcaster, maybe a barbarian and a rogue/scout to round out the party. Try to take advantage of the Dex boost.

I don't know what your take is but for me the difference between a heroic party (or villains for that matter) is different to a mercenary company which will be much more focused on uniform skills and tactics and less on individual skills. Especially so for a dwarven company. As such I'd probably go for something like this.

2 Dwarven fighters level 3
Str15,Dex14,Con15,Int10,Wis12,Cha6
Combat Reflexes, Stand Still, +2 feats
Armed with Glaives or other reach weapons stopping the opponents closing in on
2 Dwarven fighters level 3
Str14,Dex15,Con15,Int10,Wis12,Cha6
EWP:Heavy Repeating Crossbow, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot who pelt the party with as many bolts as possible. Composite bows would work as well but I felt the crossbows were more Dwarven.
And a marshal as above or
1Dwarven cleric 4
Str14,Dex13,Con14,Int10,Wis16,Cha6 who casts bless or blessed aim to buff the whole group and then silence on the opposition to disrupt the communication and make life for spellcasters more difficult.
Everyone should be armed with Dwarven waraxes as secondary weapon and a shovel/pickaxe which they will use if possible to dig a trench between themselves and the party if possible

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Make an Earth Kineticist 4, use the Dwarf favored class bonus for three levels, and use the Stonesinger racial feature to make him count as one level higher for earth effects which should increase the kinetic blast damage by one more die. Take point-blank shot and precise shot, wild talents are Extended Range and Entangling Infusion. So anyway he starts blasting....

Make a Crusader 3 or 4, max Str and Con, take Extra Granted Maneuver and probably Stone Power. Stances are Bolstering Voice and Iron Guard's Glare, maneuvers include Mountain Hammer and Shield Block. The deck of cards method for granted maneuvers is generally easiest.

What about gnomes? A few Gnome Fighters with Dodge and Titan Fighting (3.5 RoS) get a +4 AC against a dodge target that's medium or larger, give them tower shields and Stand Still they're a suitable phalanx. Stick some dwarves with longspears or other reach weapons or ranged weapons behind them.

[TiaC]

A defensive teamwork fighter, to be used in groups. A cluster of these will be a tough nut to crack.

3rd level Dwarf Fighter (Phalanx Soldier)
Stats: 15 Str, 13 Dex, 16 Con, 10 Int, 14 Wis, 6 Cha
Feats: Shield Wall, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Dwarven Giant-Sticker), Shake It Off
Equipment: Masterwork Dwarven Giant-Sticker, Tower Shield, Banded Mail, Spear (5)
HP: 25
AC 22 (24 if adjacent to ally with Shield Wall)
Attack: +7, +4 (thrown spear)
Damage: 2d6+2, 1d8+2 (thrown spear)
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +3 (+2 vs magic, +1 per adjacent ally with Shake It Off)

[Palanan]

I appreciate the builds, and that phalanx soldier is just excellent. Now I'm wondering how the phalanx would operate together with the crossbow dwarves.

Great suggestions so far, keep 'em coming.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I appreciate the builds, and that phalanx soldier is just excellent. Now I'm wondering how the phalanx would operate together with the crossbow dwarves.

They would all hold until they can all go right before their second rank does, then all walk forward in formation and attack anyone they get close enough to. The second rank would then move up as they continue firing, or charge forward with reach weapons and attack past the phalanx. Repeat on subsequent turns, but now their initiative should be right so no more holding actions.