This is a follow-up to my last post. I debated this a lot. Some combinations very much appealed to me. I’ll start by listing other builds I strongly considered–and would probably do a pretty good job–before letting you know what I built.
Honorable mention goes to the paladin. Paladins only get 2 skill points per level, but picking Human (or round-eared Half-elf/skilled Half-Orc) and boosting Int to 12 solves that. Full BAB, d10 hit dice, great saves, martial weapons and heavy armor, not to mention lay on hands (boosted by Fey Foundling), mercies, immunity to fear/diseases and a magical mount give you a very survivable PC. They are great at diplomacy too, and even get some nice spells and smite evil. What they don’t get is the ability to summon, and their mount doesn’t come online until level 5, leaving him all alone. They don’t get any level 1 spells until level 5 either. Paladins don’t get perception or disable device as class skills so they must take traits or archetypes that give them to him, and he cannot dump any stat.
In third place is the Herald Caller/Idealist Cleric, which does provide 4 skills/level, allows for great summoning–as a standard action with Sacred Summons–and can have an animal companion with the Animal domain. Free Augment Summoning and Superior Summoning bonus feats are essential boosts, and the Idealist archetype adds some hot sauce. Clerics are full casters and can also take the Divine Scion prestige class as well. I ultimately didn’t go with it though. They only get one domain, light armor, and the animal companion doesn’t come online until level 4 (at -3 level unless you take Boon Companion). Sacred Summons also applies to a relatively narrow subset of creatures, and clerics still need a way to get disable device and perception as class skills. All this aside, I still think someone who played it right would have a good run, and if they go the possibly-more-powerful necromancer route they can have a lot of fun along the way.
Silver medal goes to the Druid class, especially the Saurian Shaman archetype. Summoning as a standard action is very powerful, Totem Transformation is a nice boost, and becoming a dino at your level +2 is fun. Add to this being a full caster, and it even combines with the Dinosaur Druid archetype which expands your options for summoning. I almost picked this, but ended up passing. Summon Nature’s Ally is strictly inferior to Summon Monster, because there are no templates such as celestial to add power without taking extra feats. Also, SNA spells only summon beatsticks–powerful dino beatsticks, especially if you put the Young template on them–but Summon Monster spells also summon spellcasters and utility creatures which adds much more versatility. Then there is the “only wooden armor” limitation, which isn’t super important, but still a factor. These are relatively minor complaints, this can be a very strong build. There is a version of this I have for Wrath of the Righteous, click here to read about that.
So what did I ultimately decide on? I selected Human with the Dimdweller race trait, getting an extra feat and darkvision. The class is a Monster Tactician/Ravener Hunter Inquisitor with a level of cleric, and I’ll explain why. Inquisitors get inherent bonuses to initiative, 6 skills/level, and are 2/3 divine spellcasters (the human favored class bonus adds spells known). They also get Bane by level 5. They have bonuses to identify enemy weaknesses and have the two best saves in the game; later they get Stalwart (the equivalent of Evasion) to those saves. They get a cleric domain or an inquisition. They also get the underrated Solo Tactics feature, getting the benefits of teamwork feats as if everyone had them, and these bonus feats are integrated into the chassis. Blood for the Empire + Outflank is OP, and can be enhanced with spells like Tactical Acumen. They are outstanding buffers, and can be a good ‘intimidate’ face from level 1 thanks to Stern Gaze. As for defenses: good saves, moderate/good AC from armor combined with spells like shield of faith, channel vigor, shield of darkness, clay skin, resist energy, defending bone etc is very nice.
Judgment is a great feature I didn’t mention, but I traded it away with the Monster Tactician archetype. Why? Because Monster Tacticians can keep up with Summoners at summoning monsters. They summon as a standard action; they cast as a spell-like ability which advances quickly, independently of their spells; and the summons last minutes per level instead of rounds, 10 times as long! What makes this even better is the Summon Tactics ability, which allows me to share a teamwork feat with all of them by level 5, increasing at levels 8, 16. Broken Wing Gambit and Linnorm Hunting Style anyone?
I’ve also added the Ravener Hunter archetype. This is one of the only ways in the game to get the powerful Oracle Revelations, and without the curse! I trade away my domain, but that actually works in my favor as I’ll explain later on. Expanding my spell list and getting Demon Hunter is also nice. There are lots of excellent Mystery choices here, but I chose the Lunar mystery to get an animal companion from level 1 (prefer the paladin’s mount? Pick the Nature mystery). Wolves are the kings of tripping, then later on I can trade it out for a tiger or a dinosaur if I want. “But dinosaurs aren’t on the list” you say? Enter the cleric level.
I took one level of cleric, and I took it at level 2. This adds all the cleric’s spells to my list, so if I find a divine-type wand I can use it without having to use UMD. There is also a unique ability inquisitors have: “The inquisitor uses her level as her effective cleric level when determining the power and effect of her domain powers… Levels of cleric and inquisitor stack for the purpose of determining domain powers and abilities.” Adding two domains and their scaling powers for one level of cleric is a good deal. Normally one domain has to be the same as the inquisitor’s, but since I’ve traded it away I don’t have that restriction! Pick your favorite two domains and get their powers. I went with Liberation and Luck, worshipping Desna, but there are lots of great candidates. I also strongly considered Scalykind/Saurian for a dinosaur, Nobility/Leadership, Madness, and Archon/Good.
(EDIT: Your GM may rule that trading away the Domain with Ravener Hunter also trades away the stacking domain powers. By RAW this is correct. However he may still allow it, because it’s a solo campaign. If they don’t I recommend dropping the cleric level. Keeping your animal companion and a scaling mystery is more crucial than getting two domains that don’t scale past level one. It also means gaining Inquisitor abilities faster.)
Taking the trait Well-Provisioned Adventurer: Holy Warrior gives me masterwork breastplate and a masterwork longspear (reach build for me with Phalanx Formation), among other nice things. The trait Trap Finder or Criminal makes Disable Device a class skill, and with a drawback I can grab Deathtouched as well. My stats would likely be Str 18 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 15 Cha 8.
There you have it. What do you think? Please feel free to comment and give feedback, or your own builds below.
• Animal companion at level 1 (wolf via Lunar Mystery) ✓
• Summoning at level 1 (standard action, spell-like ability) ✓
• Two good saves (Fort/Will, the most important) ✓
• 6 skills per level (exceeds the 4+ requirement) ✓
• Medium BAB and d8 HD ✓
• Medium armor proficiency (layered defenses) ✓
• Spellcasting (6th-level divine caster) ✓
• Self-healing (divine spell list) ✓
• Ranged and melee capability (Longspear + Crossbow/longbow + Divine Favor + Bane) ✓
• Perception, Disable Device, and Knowledge (Dungeoneering) as class skills via traits ✓
If you want my full build, I have it here.