Optimizing An Aristocrat to Rule

[Palanan]

Using the Aristocrat NPC class, and assuming a build around levels 8-10, how would you go about designing this character for out-of-combat effectiveness in manipulating and controlling local power structures? What feats and traits would be best here, and what subsystems (if any) would be most useful for this character?

Please note: for my purposes I am using only the Aristocrat class for this build, so suggestions involving other classes will not be helpful here. With that one restriction in mind, I’m open to suggestions from all first-party Pathfinder material, thanks.

[Xei_Win_Toh]

A very simple build you could do with this is to simply be a Kitsune and spend all of your feats on Magical Tail to get a bunch of spell-likes. By 9th (or 8th, if you allow favored class bonuses for NPC classes) you'll have disguise self, charm person, misdirection, invisibility, and suggestion each twice per day.

[Gnaeus]

Leadership, Dynasty Founder feats
Natural Born leader, Trait.
Get a Suzerain Scepter, maybe a ring of the Ecclesiarch, Breastplate of command and/or imperial army greathelm. Also anything that boosts Cha or diplomacy.

Use the downtime or kingdom building rules in conjunction with the followers to create teams and manage them. Use the magic resource rules to get your cohort to craft the items above at 1/4 cost or less. Obviously if you can use the cheese where your cohort gets leadership, thats exponentially good.

Any free feats level 5+ can be used for extra social talent to mimic vigilante stuff. That entire list seems self explanatory and designed for what you are aiming at. And also meshes well with leadership (for example, renown social talent probably gives another +2.

Say Aristocrat 8, 16 cha. Feats include Skill Focus Diplomacy (1), Dynasty founder (3), Extra social Trait (renown) 5, Leadership (7)
Leadership score =8 (level) +3 (cha) +1 (NBL) +3 (Founder) + 2 (Renown) +2 (you built a hq, right)=48 followers, including several competent managers. Every +1 (even if just a headband of cha+2) is an increasingly large boost.

Should be able (8 ranks +3 class skill +3cha +3 skill focus =+17 before items) to hit the DC 25 diplomacy checks to alter aspects of your settlement to suit yourself. You can specifically change things like alignment, settlement qualities, local laws, and government type. I don't know what else you would want to manipulate. But you are printing money every day at an increasing rate and reinvesting that into hiring new teams or telling your cohort to boost your cha/diplo/ldrshp. And thats without even considering the logical financial implications of what happens if you pass a law giving yourself a monopoly on some vital good. Or change the government type to something you can control.

[Kurald Galain]

Take the feats Nature Soul and Animal Ally to gain a decently-leveled horse animal companion. Show how aristocratic you are by getting on your high horse! Alternatively, a wolf works too.

The feats Associate (local city guard), Brilliant Planner, and Call Truce may be fitting, too.

[Ramza00]

Using the Aristocrat NPC class, and assuming a build around levels 8-10, how would you go about designing this character for out-of-combat effectiveness in manipulating and controlling local power structures? What feats and traits would be best here, and what subsystems (if any) would be most useful for this character?

George Carlin Voice: MONEY!

[Gnaeus]

The feats Associate (local city guard), Brilliant Planner, and Call Truce may be fitting, too.

Yeah, associate does sound handy. In my build above I would take it as my human feat or for a flaw. Use it on whichever area of social control you plan to take direct control over last. Retrain it when everything is directly run by your followers.

For manipulating and controlling power structures I would spend the 2 feats to get a familiar rather than an AC. You can buy a horse. You can't easily buy a minion with your skill ranks. Can a Raven be a building manager? maybe.....

[Max Caysey]

Using the Aristocrat NPC class, and assuming a build around levels 8-10, how would you go about designing this character for out-of-combat effectiveness in manipulating and controlling local power structures? What feats and traits would be best here, and what subsystems (if any) would be most useful for this character?

Please note: for my purposes I am using only the Aristocrat class for this build, so suggestions involving other classes will not be helpful here. With that one restriction in mind, I’m open to suggestions from all first-party Pathfinder material, thanks.

Take Noble Born, and leaderahip, extra followers… boost leadership score through the roof, build spy network and build army, use said organizations as a big stick while speaking softly with your extremely high diplomacy check!

Make sure your cohort is a whisper gnome rogue optimized for stealth and assasssination. That way your political enemies simple go missing/ die…

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Gnaeus
*snip*

Some excellent suggestions here, thanks.


Originally Posted by Gnaeus
Any free feats level 5+ can be used for extra social talent to mimic vigilante stuff.

Can you clarify this? How can an aristocrat get social talents?