Some Base Concepts:
- Undead-ish Champion Seer... Grave Orc + Bones Oracle + Spirit Barbarian
- Champion Pyromancer... Flames Oracle + Dragon Barbarian
- Brute... Hold-Scarred Orc + Giant Barbarian
Some goals for this build:
Use Assurance to see how well it works for Athletics and Intimidation; I know Assurance (Medicine) with Continual Recovery is really good (bonus points for Battle Medicine and Risky Surgery)Assurance is better to shore up Skills with poor Ability Score Modifiers. It's still worth trying Assurance (Athletics) to get around MAP with things like Trip or Shove.- Explore Deviant Feats since this probably one of the only times I'll see them
- Since (if?) we're going with Champion here, how good is Lay on Hands? We know the Cleric's Heal spell is amazing from a different adventure but resources are limited.
- Compare using a shield with using a two-handed weapon; when playing a Fighter, I never used a Shield and I'd typically take Multiple Attack Penalties instead of using Raise a Shield (and Shield Block).
- Think about how Shield Block compares to Retributive Strike (and Attack of Opportunity). I anticipate that Raising a Shield might encourage enemies to attack an ally (allowing Retributive Strike to function) but gives me the option to use Shield Block if they attack me. Again with the Fighter, it seemed relatively rare to be able to trigger Attack of Opportunity so having more options to use my reaction seems worthwhile.
Radko (IRL name inspriation: Radko Gudas).
Grey orc inspired by Killmonger, noticeable scarring all over his body (ritualist) and wears red and white war paint across his face; his teeth have been ground flat.
Follower of Iomedae, LG, 25 year old, Male
His bloodline is cursed and he's rapidly decaying. During the Missing Moment, Radko saw himself -- uncursed and healthy. The Troll Deviant Abilities are his hope of regaining his health.
Class
Champion (Paladin)
We're locked into Lawful Good (LG) here, so we're going to follow Iomedae.
Ancestry and Background
Orc. The decision comes down to Hold-Scarred Orc or Battle Ready (or the late newcomer - Grave Orc):
- Battle Ready - You descend from a line of terrifying battlefield commanders. You become trained in Intimidation, and you gain the Intimidating Glare skill feat.
- Hold-Scarred Orc - You are part of an orc community that participates in ritual scarification or tattooing. The marks on your skin show your exceptional hardiness and vitality. You gain 12 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 10. You also gain the Diehard feat.
- Grave Orc - You were exposed to powerful necromantic energies that should have killed you-but you survived. Your skin is cold, clammy, and gray. You gain resistance to negative damage equal to half your level (minimum 1). You also gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against necromancy effects.
Battle Ready is equivalent to the Warrior background, so it's basically a free skill and skill feat. Since I know I'll be somewhat reliant on Charisma, this is appealing. Hold-Scarred Orc is great for level 1 but it's value diminishes as the character levels up. Heritage Resistance is incredibly powerful, so the Grave Orc has a ton of appeal.
Two different stat ability breakdowns:
- Hold-Scarred Orc (Warrior) - +6 STR, +4 CON, 25 HP at level 1.
- Battle Ready (Farmhand) - +6 STR, +2 CON, +2 CHA, 22 HP at level 1. This is a slightly better progress for level 10. We'll end up with +10 STR, +8 CON, +8 CHA instead of +9 CON/+6 CHA.
Background is either Warrior (STR/CON, Intimidation, Intimidating Glare) or Farmhand (CON/WIS, Athletics, Assurance Athletics). Other options included Field Medic (CON/WIS, Medicine, Battle Medicine), Emissary (INT/CHA, Society, Multilingual), Artisan (STR/INT, Crafting, Specialty Crafting).
The Warrior Background and the Battle Ready Heritage introduce some complexity in Class Feats and Skill Feats, particularly around the Barbarian's Raging Intimidation Class Feat. Most DMs will probably allow you to replace on of the Skill Feats (but it would be a massive abuse case to take the Battle Ready Heritage, the Warrior Background, and the Raging Intimidation Class Feat).
The original plan was Hold-Scarred Orc and Warrior but after researching weapons a little bit (I was sold on using a Guisarme due to the Reach and Trip properties), Farmhand fit better.
Originally, I looked at a Mistbreath Azarketi since the ideal base stats are +6 STR, +4 CON, and +2 CHA. The Ancestry feats weren't that interesting and it's unlikely I could benefit much from any of the water-based feats they offer; I also wouldn't want to randomly get hosed if we somehow ran across alghollthu.
For Ancestry Feats, we are going with this plan:
- Level 1: Orc Warmask (Religion)
- Level 3 (from Ancestral Paragon): Orc Ferocity
- Level 5: Defy Death
- Level 9: Mask of Pain
Skills
- Intimidation (Background: Warrior)
- Lore: Warfare (Background: Warrior)
- Religion (Ancestry Feat: Orc Warmask)
- Skill Feat: Dubious Knowledge
- Diplomacy (Deity Skill, replaced Intimidation)
- Athletics
- Crafting
- Deception (Class Skill, replaced Religion)
What skill feats are worth it?
- Assurance (Intimidation) - If I find that Assurance (Athletics) is worth it, Assurance (Intimidation) would likely have similar guaranteed successes with Demoralize.
- Intimidating Prowess?
- Assurance (Medicine) - Guarantee Treat Wounds
- Continual Recovery - Heal every 10 minutes instead of every 60 minutes.
- Titan Wrestler?
- Quick Repair - If I end up using a shield, this let's me repair the shield more often (and shores up the relatively low skill score by being able to repair more often).
- Trick Magic Item
- Pilgrim's Token
- Bon Mot?
- Additional Lore (free skill progression, even if it's just in lore)
Deviant Powers
Troll all the way here. Titan Swing at level 1, High-Speed Regeneration at either level 6 or 8 (this largely depends on how useful I think Attack of Opportunity will be when compared to Retributive Strike).
The Gatewalkers Player's Guide hints at free Awakening feats, so I'm targeting the following awakened powers:
- Titan Swing - On a hit, you deal 1d6 persistent bleed damage.
- High-Speed Regeneration - Regrowth invigorates you. You gain a +10-foot status bonus to your Speed until the end of your turn.
Free Archetypes
Sorcerer Dedication (Angelic Bloodline)
Only looking at this to get access to the "Cast a Spell" action, there's no intent to progress the dedication unless we have to (the table is using a house rule where the first dedication you take isn't limited by the three feat rule).
Note: In order to use a Staff, you must be able to cast the spell normally. This means the Spellcasting Archetype Feats are required to use a staff. Wands and Scrolls do not have this requirement.
https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=748
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/109hh8o/basic_advice_to_anyone_wanting_to_play_a_caster/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/cuea5o/using_scrolls_and_wands/
Oracle Dedication (Flames or Bones Mystery)
The Oracle Dedication will fulfil the same role the Sorcerer Dedication does but it's separated out because there's an interesting path you could take to get around the Free Archetype restrictions. You'd double up on Archetype Class Feats at level 4 so you could get the Barbarian Dedication at level 6.
- Level 2: Oracle Dedication (Flames/Bones)
- Level 4: First Revelation
- Level 4: Basic Mysteries (Domain Acumen) or Basic Oracle Spell Casting
The First Revelation for the Flames Mystery doesn't rely on your Charisma modifier but has the potential to hurt your or your allies when fighting against enemies capable of doing fire damage. You won't have a reliable way of doing fire damage without a Flaming rune or a party member that loves fire spells until level 6 or 10.
There are two approaches to the Oracle Dedication, either Focus-based casting or Spell Slot-based casting. The additional focus points give you more flexibility with your Champion class, you'd have 3 Focus Points at level 4. Basic Oracle Spellcasting gives you more utility and gets better if you're willing to commit more resources to it -- Mysterious Breadth at level 8 and Expert Oracle Spellcasting at level 12.
Barbarian Dedication
There's a lot to love about the Barbarian Dedication and the Instincts are appealing: Giant (give me a huge reach weapon) and Spirit (positive or negative damage is flavorful for the Champion and free Ghost Touched is nice and gives the Champion more flexibility with Divine Ally).
- Level 2: Barbarian Dedication (Dragon/Giant/Spirit)
- Level 4: Basic Fury (Sudden Charge)
- Level 6: Instinct Ability
- Level 8: Barbarian Resiliency
- Level 10: Advanced Fury (Fast Movement)
Alternative Path with the Oracle Dedication:
- Level 6: Barbarian Dedication
- Level 6: Instinct Ability
- Level 8: Barbarian Resiliency or Basic Fury (Sudden Charge or Raging Intimidation)
Marshal Dedication
- Level 2: Marshal Dedication (Intimidation)
- Level 4: Dread Marshal Stance or Inspiring Marshal Stance
- Level 6: Rallying Charge
- Level 8: Attack of Opportunity
Inspiring Marshal Stance is technically better but we're spending out Skill Increases on Intimidation, not Diplomacy.
Starting Gear
This is a bit of bummer since a party member requested a Champion with a big, two-handed weapon (like a Greatsword or a Maul). However, Reach is too important for a Paladin until level 6 when I can get Attack of Opportunity. The Guisarme is perfect for a two-handed weapon but one-handed weapons with the Reach property are rare. I'll assume a Scorpion Whip is available even though it's an Uncommon weapon; if not, just take a Whip and knock everything out instead (since you're Lawful Good, we should technically be doing this anyways). We could grab a Chakram or Trident instead but our Dexterity modifier is pretty bad.
- Guisarme (2gp)
- Scorpion Whip (5sp)
- Steel Shield (2gp)
- Shield Boss (5sp)
- Chain Mail (6gp)
- Adventurer's Pack (15sp)
- Crowbar (5sp)
- Repair Kit (2gp)
Level Breakdowns
The main plan is to use the Guisarme and switch to the Warhammer and Steel Shield if I need the additional AC bonus.
- Level 1
- Class Feat: Ranged Reprisal
- Free Deviant Feat (Gatewalkers): Titan Swing
- Cause: Paladin Cause (Iomedae)
Ranged Reprisal works extremely well with Reach weapons and potentially gives us some free movement.
- Level 2 (Note: A house rule is in play that allowed me to take two dedications here)
- Class Feat: Oracle Dedication (Bones/Flames)
- Cantrips: Divine Lance, Guidance
- Free Archetype: Barbarian Dedication (Spirit Instinct)
- Skill Feat:
- Class Feat: Oracle Dedication (Bones/Flames)
We're picking up the Oracle Dedication for the ability to cast spells instead of using the Trick Magic Item Skill Feat; we won't be picking up any other Oracle Archetype Feats. Take Detect Magic instead of Divine Lance if someone in the party doesn't have it; Charisma ability score modifier (ASM) is lagging behind by 2 from where it should avoiding saves or attacks is preferred.
Update: We're taking Oracle instead of Sorcerer here. The Focus Spells provided by Bones or Flames look great. Basic Oracle Spell Casting and Mysterious Breadth (although it only gets us one spell slot at level 8) seems okay if we decide to progress in the Dedication. The minor curses provide some nice role-playing guidelines for the character -- either looking at a dying seer/shaman or haunted pyromancer vibe. If we were to progress to level 12, Advanced Revelations are available through Advanced Mysteries. Basic Mysteries (Domain Acumen) and Advanced Mysteries (Advanced Revelations) expand our Focus Point pool and we can use them for Lay on Hands or our Deity's Domain.
Rage gets us a reliable source of temporary hit points and some extra damage.
If you don't have the favorable ruling for two dedications, take Trick Magic Item for your Skill Feat and pick up Deity's Domain (Might) with the Class Feat. This is the Gatewalker's Adventure Path, so Esoteric Oath screams at me but the bonus only applies to Retributive Strike.
- Level 3
- Skill Increase: Athletics
- General Feat: Ancestral Paragon (Orc Ferocity)
- Divine Ally (Blade)
Divine Ally (Blade) for the weapon critical specialization and access to some runes -- Ghost Touch until level 6, then Shifting or Disrupting. Remember that you can swap weapons during daily preparations.
- Level 4 -
- Class Feat: Deity's Domain (Might)
- Free Archetype: Basic Fury (Sudden Charge)
- Skill Feat:
Sudden Charge is as close to essential as it gets for heavy armor users.
It's also worth considering/trying to get Barbarian Resiliency here; your GM will likely not allow it since doing this is called out in the Free Archetype section.
- Level 5
- Skill Increase: Intimidation
- Ability Boosts: Strength, Constitution, Charisma, Wisdom (or Intelligence)
For the Ability Boosts, Wisdom improves your Religion skill and your Will saves; take Intelligence if your party needs additional languages or you want to lean on Crafting, Society, or other knowledge skills.
- Level 6
- Class Feat: High-Speed Regeneration
- Free Archetype: Barbarian Resiliency
- Skill Feat:
The Class Feat can be Attack of Opportunity instead but taking High-Speed Regeneration here gives us a shot at getting it Awoken for free (maybe?).
- Level 7
- Skill Increase: Intimidation
- General Feat: Toughness
We're increasing Intimidation here (instead of Athletics) because we're setting up for the skill feat at Level 8. Taking Toughness for the General Feat due to the synergy with Defy Death; Radko has enough trained skills that Untrained Improvisation didn't seem necessary here. FLeet, Incredible Initiative, or even Fast Recovery could be taken here.
- Level 8
- Class Feat: Attack of Opportunity
- Free Archetype: Barbarian Resiliency
- Skill Feat: Battle Cry
Barbarian Resiliency is coming on later than I'd like but you get 12 free hit points here and you're now on track for 3 additional hit points ever other level.
- Level 9
- Skill Increase: Athletics
- Ancestry Feat: Mask of Pain
Mask of Pain has synergy with Battle Cry and turns Demoralize into an attack that doesn't suffer from the Multiple Attack Penalty but Undying Ferocity is another option.
- Level 10
- Class Feat: Radiant Blade Spirit
- Free Archetype: Advanced Fury (Fast Movement)
- Skill Feat:
Fast Movement won't stack with High-Speed Regeneration but you can't necessarily count on having both feats active at the same time anyways.