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Category: Build of the Week

Build of the Week: Branch Pounce

You must begin Charging with Branch Pounce resting above your enemy. No Dragoons Allowed.

Hope I didn’t leave anyone hanging the last couple of weeks. Leaping from one coast to the next is no simple feat. And neither is Branch Pounce. Go ahead and pounce on that link now. I’ll hang out here. Don’t worry about me: I have a nice view and plenty of tea.

Ready? Let’s fly. 

I’ve been wanting to sink my teeth into this feat for a while. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with it successfully up to mid-tier. And now that I find myself flying over Chicago without wifi, this feels like the perfect opportunity to take the plunge. And if you think my puns will get any better, I hate to say it’s all downhill from here

Analyzing the Feat

The feat can be something of a trap, so make sure you understand all the pitfalls.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: Snakes & Foxes

If you’ve ever had the displeasure of mentioning any mechanics on this page to me in person, I should apologize right now for likely gushing about the character I have that uses this build. It was my first Pathfinder character, a sort of dedication to my then favorite hardcover book. I’ve posted the build elsewhere online, usually recieving the same criticisms you read on most Rogue/Monk multiclass builds: That the loss of base attack bonus and the inconsistency of sneak attack make the build inferior to your standard Thug-Enforcer. And maybe you have a point, but after playing this character and seeing the limited combat options available to a Thug-Enforcer, I would argue that this build is just far more… stylish.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: Oozemorph

By now you’ve probably been made aware of the quirky archetype from Ultimate Wilderness: The Oozemorph. The class doesn’t just let you turn into an ooze, it makes your base form an ooze! Well, kind of. And while it has so many backdraws with so few features that most people were quick to dismiss it, I’m here to make the case that Oozemorph is not a crappy base class: It’s a quirky and fun prestige class. Maybe by the end you too will succumb to the lure of the Gooclaw!

A̶r̶c̶h̶e̶t̶y̶p̶e̶ Prestige Class Analysis: Only 6 Levels

Prerequisites: The Oozemorph Prestige class is a peculiar one. It have no prerequisites and only four levels. You do have to give up the ability to use most magic items most of the day, but its flavor is such a homerun that it’s hard to complain.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: Hunting for Crits…Together!

Do you enjoy fishing for crits? Have you always wanted an excuse to use a panda mini? Or maybe you just enjoy the idea of effectively using teamwork feats in tandem with more attacks of opportunity than your GM can shake a stick at…

The “Crit-Fishing Hunter” is nothing new, but it’s a fun build that I’ve been experimenting with for a while. It can be a little too flashy for many players, but a new spell from Blood of the Ancients has the potential to make it work in tandem with the rest of the party, rather than making them feel like their role when you finally crit is merely watching as you and your panda blend an enemy into a fine red mist.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: The Lion Blade

 Build of the Week: The Lion Blade

The Spy. The Assassin. Agent of the Crown.

Today i’m going to show off one of my favorite Prestige Classes, the Lion Blade. The first iteration of the class itself predates the Pathfinder RPG, published in the 3.5e book “Taldors, Echoes of Glory”. An apt title, given the class itself is an echo of a bygone relic: multiclass prestige classes. Oh, sure, we still have the Mystic Theurge and Eldritch Knight, but while every other base class in Pathfinder got all new features like School and Bloodline Powers, the prestige classes continued to only advance casting or base attack bonus.

The Lion Blade had similiar problems. As a rogue, it cut your base attack bonus and sneak attack progression to hard to be an effective striker, but gave mediocre bonuses to your skills.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: White Fluffy Tail

There are so many ways to read a new sourcebook. Maybe you are looking for just the right feat for that explosive fire-mage you levelled-up last week? Or are you trying to find that perfect swashbuckler archetype for your aasimar? It’s natural that new material means new discoveries. But I’m going to argue today that the most exciting part about new content isn’t what you can discover in the new book, but rather what you can rediscover in older material.

There are plenty of really cool character options that just don’t work as well as we’d like. It’s always fun to try the archetype regardless, especially in a format lLike thisike Pathfinder Society where the scenarios aren’t (usually) designed to crush the party.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: The Axe Gang

Get your top hats on and sharpen your axes. Thrown weapon builds have been thought of as a “trap” for quite a while, and for good reason. Veterans of the 3rd Edition might remember the Master Thrower and Bloodstorm Blade, capable of throwing enough daggers (or chairs) per round to put a Zen Archer to shame. But in Pathfinder, thrown weapons are no longer about littering the battlefield with enough weapons to choke Rovagiggles himself. Rather, they have found a niche in Midrange Control.

Your job as a thrown weapon wielder isn’t doing the most damage per round. It’s utilizing your ability to keep out of the way of your crowded melee fighters, while adding to their damage per round with the Trip combat maneuver.… Read the rest

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Build of the Week: Devoted Poet

I come first with a rose. Since it gives me Cha to Initiative.
Have you dreamt of flitting across the battlefield, cutting down enemies one at a time with such grace and beauty that your bard has to scoop his jaw off the ground to keep singing? Well, there are already about five or six ways to do it in Pathfinder….but what if I told you now it can be done with a katana!?

There’s been quite a bit of enthusiastic talk about Pathfinder’s newest softcover Player Companion, Heroes from the Fringe. In addition to a number of incredible alternate racial traits, the book has finally given us an archetype we’ve been wanting for years: A Dexterity & Charisma based Samurai!

Queue the collective squeal of every Crane clan player everArchetype Analysis: Warrior Poet

Unless you are especially fond of Iaijutsu, the Warrior Poet is the perfect archetype for those looking to play a “fantasy samurai”, giving up every class feature other than Challenge, Resolve and Honorable Stand (i.e.… Read the rest

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