Pathfinder Pathfinder: Kingmaker Builds and Strats Thread

[Desiderius]

Here's what the Duelist class actually does:

One thing to keep in mind is that every level of Duelist is worth +1 AC and +1 Damage (if you have the INT), which most people consider worth a feat (they're wrong, but it's still valuable), apart from anything else you're getting so it can be worth jumping through the hoops to get there.

My guess is that it should work with Jaethal on Elven Curve Blade if you'd like to try that. Let us know.

 

[Desiderius]

Thunder Caller vs Regular Bard - which is better and why?

Each have their positives, but at the end of the day Sonic Burst is a (highly underrated) second level Cleric/Bard spell and Dirge of Doom is a unique and essential effect.

Does Dirge of Doom scale up? Would it be effective on Hard at lvls 15+? Doing a full merc run and spot #6 is a utility type and Thundercaller is in now but having 2nd thoughts.

Mercs suck.

Dirge is the Bread and Butter of beating Unfair.

 

[Desiderius]

Shatter Defenses requires Shaken condition. Start combat with Dirge Lingering to turn it on.

 

[TheGreatKazzan]

Thanks for the reply. Guess I'll go with a wizard/duelist.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Shatter Defenses requires Shaken condition. Start combat with Dirge Lingering to turn it on.

Yeah I get that but does it still work regularly on Hard/Unfair??

 

[Desiderius]

Shatter Defenses requires Shaken condition. Start combat with Dirge Lingering to turn it on.

Yeah I get that but does it still work regularly on Hard/Unfair??

That's what I said. Yes, it does.

 

[Desiderius]

Thanks for the reply. Guess I'll go with a wizard/duelist.

Yeah, Wiz Elf can make a nice one. Most natural fit is Sword Saint if you've played with those. See pic above for one.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Shatter Defenses requires Shaken condition. Start combat with Dirge Lingering to turn it on.

Yeah I get that but does it still work regularly on Hard/Unfair??

That's what I said. Yes, it does.

Alright good to know.

 

[NJClaw]

I'm starting a new playthrough of Kingmaker and I need someone to help me make some choices. Desiderius, I'm asking specifically for your help because, due to your continuous shilling for bards, I want to try one. Consider that I play on hard, not unfair, so I can live with something not as optimized as it could be. I know you hate them, but I also want to try a full mercenaries party.

I'm all set on the rest of the party:
- aasimar Paladin with a single Monk level;
- tiefling Vivisectionist, I still have to decide if it's worth going strength-focus for the added bite attack or if it's just better to stick to dexterity for better AC and easier abilities distribution;
- human Kineticist (earth/fire) with bowling and dreadful carnage;
- human Sylvan Sorcerer;
- a cleric with animal and community domains, but I really could use help with this build: is it worth it to take archery feats? Usually with my clerics I fill my feats slots with Extra Channel and that's it;

The character I need most help with is the Bard:
- are there particular feats I should pick other than Lingering Performance? Is Extra Performance worth it?
- the group already has 4 melee toons (the Paladin, the Alchemist and two animal companions), so I would prefer a ranged Bard: is it too nonoptimal?

 

[Haplo]

Shatter Defenses requires Shaken condition. Start combat with Dirge Lingering to turn it on.

Yeah I get that but does it still work regularly on Hard/Unfair??

That's what I said. Yes, it does.

Alright good to know.

There's no roll on Dirge.
If you're not immune to fear and are in aura radius, you're fucked... so its actually great for Unfair.

 

[Desiderius]

I'm starting a new playthrough of Kingmaker and I need someone to help me make some choices. Desiderius, I'm asking specifically for your help because, due to your continuous shilling for bards, I want to try one. Consider that I play on hard, not unfair, so I can live with something not as optimized as it could be. I know you hate them, but I also want to try a full mercenaries party.

I'm all set on the rest of the party:
- aasimar Paladin with a single Monk level;
- tiefling Vivisectionist, I still have to decide if it's worth going strength-focus for the added bite attack or if it's just better to stick to dexterity for better AC and easier abilities distribution;
- human Kineticist (earth/fire) with bowling and dreadful carnage;
- human Sylvan Sorcerer;
- a cleric with animal and community domains, but I really could use help with this build: is it worth it to take archery feats? Usually with my clerics I fill my feats slots with Extra Channel and that's it;

The character I need most help with is the Bard:
- are there particular feats I should pick other than Lingering Performance? Is Extra Performance worth it?
- the group already has 4 melee toons (the Paladin, the Alchemist and two animal companions), so I would prefer a ranged Bard: is it too nonoptimal?

Hap finally talked me into ranged Bard and it's fine if you're log jammed in melee. Javelins are nice because they keep you in range for your songs and are simple proficiency. You can use Bracers of Archery late to use the busted unique Bows, but then you'll need to position yourself more. Just take the usual ranged feats (including Rapid Fire and Deadly Aim lategame) with Dazzling Display/Shatter Defenses. Once you hit lvl 12 with Vitals and Deadly Aim (and all your passive buffs) you'll do fine damage, but your main job is casting AoEs like Slow or devastating single target spells against bosses that only land half the time, which is enough. I don't feel like Spell Focus feats do enough compared to the items you'll find. Extra Performance isn't worth it with once you have Lingering, though it is nice on Linzi at lower levels. Late game you can get Dispel, Greater high enough to really do some work.

Likewise use your Cleric feats making him an effective Reach fighter so your Archon's Aura will stay in range of the mobs. With the team you're putting together you shouldn't need to Channel much at all.

 

[Desiderius]

This is another interesting Cleric option (since you've already got a pet on your Sorc):

 

[Nerevar]

Whelp wrapped up that last battle. The hardest form of the lantern king was the one that can cast the big AOE dispel because it would remove all of the good buffs.

I only managed to win by making everyone stay against the wall and turning off their AI and then just teleporting my monk to focus the boss each time.

Big difficulty spike getting to House at the end of time. It was much much easier for me this playthough even on the harder difficulty. First time I did this area I got frustrated and had to use elemental swarms to beat even trash mobs.

Just need to think of a new character and focus on not messing up my henchmen quests this time and rushing the good things for my characters Ruin ETC maybe there is a guide for that.

Spoiler

Nok nok died and so did Jaethal and then Tristian died too.

I'm thinking 1 Scaled fist/2 Paladin/X Two Handed fighter/Something else? Just so I can have damage to do big numbers.

Character end game stats.

Spoiler

 

[Nerevar]

What does crusader get for losing a domain?

 

[NJClaw]

What does crusader get for losing a domain?

Five feats and access to Fighter feats (like Weapon Specialization), but they also lose one slot for each spells level.

 

[Desiderius]

What does crusader get for losing a domain?

The feats required to Shield Bash. Next to levels feats are the scarcest resource in the game, so three by lvl ten is a lot.

You trade offensive casting for dominant melee presence combining your excellent self-buffs with tons of attacks. I probably wouldn't bother with the Monk Splash if I had it to do over. Human Crusader starts with three feats so can start game with TWF, Shield Bash, and Double Slice if you like.

Weapon Specialization is the worst one.

You get Shield Bash, Weapon Focus (for prereq), and Improved Crit at lvl ten.

 

[Nerevar]

That's really rough. Still medium BAB too. I don't even know what the pathfinder domains do, on NWN it would do cool stuff like give you heal as a lower spell level same with divine power so you could have heal fully slotted on two spell levels.

What domain do you take on this monk 2/ crusader 16? I know community and animal are good but I don't know if they fit into a fighter build.

Crit for 150 on 15-20 looks good too I noticed a few fights on my character I just beat the game with I would have to swap to perfection and the spiked shield for the AC. Where do I get that Falcata?

 

[Desiderius]

That's really rough. Still medium BAB too. I don't even know what the pathfinder domains do, on NWN it would do cool stuff like give you heal as a lower spell level same with divine power so you could have heal fully slotted on two spell levels.

What domain do you take on this monk 2/ crusader 16? I know community and animal are good but I don't know if they fit into a fighter build.

Crit for 150 on 15-20 looks good too I noticed a few fights on my character I just beat the game with I would have to swap to perfection and the spiked shield for the AC. Where do I get that Falcata?

That's Nobility Doman from Abadar.

It's not that bad, you still get full channeling, fast spell progression, and Archon's Aura, which are the important things. Instead of nuking or CCing you're bashing. Very hard. Cleric has best self-buffs in game, and they stack.

Falcata is from Varnhold.

 

[Desiderius]

Nobility also has some sweet Domain spells like Brilliant Inspiration at lvl 11 (usually unique to Bard at 16 at the earliest).

I'll rebuild it tonight with lategame items and post pics.

 

[Nerevar]

The first skill is just like a free heroism? Morale doesn't stack right but the insight will.

The second one looks good though a +2 everything bard song type skill? You can spam it has a tiny duration though. I like the big 1/2 hour buffs and the guarded hearths.

I want to jump on this next playthrough while the iron is hot but I'll need to do one more varnhold playthrough real quick to get the falchion I missed it somehow. For the main campaign I might do turnbased and attempt to join the 0.3% club.

Just need to decide on a character build.

 

[Desiderius]

The first skill is just like a free heroism? Morale doesn't stack right but the insight will.

The second one looks good though a +2 everything bard song type skill? You can spam it has a tiny duration though. I like the big 1/2 hour buffs and the guarded hearths.

I want to jump on this next playthrough while the iron is hot but I'll need to do one more varnhold playthrough real quick to get the falchion I missed it somehow. For the main campaign I might do turnbased and attempt to join the 0.3% club.

Just need to decide on a character build.

Guarded Hearth is one per rest attack and saves only (no AC/skillz), Command is WIS+3 per rest. Big difference. By midgame you get five or six rounds, which should be enough.

 

[Yosharian]

What does crusader get for losing a domain?

Crusader is fucking shit.

 

[Nerevar]

That build he posted has some good AB/AC though and lvl 9 spells.

I think I'm imagining a NWN cleric that can cast divine power and it will give them the same AB as a fighter and they walk around casting implosion with magic resist.

Is there spell mantle on pathfinder? That was a good spell too.

 

[Yosharian]

That build he posted has some good AB/AC though and lvl 9 spells.

I think I'm imagining a NWN cleric that can cast divine power and it will give them the same AB as a fighter and they walk around casting implosion with magic resist.

Is there spell mantle on pathfinder? That was a good spell too.

The problem is that those bonus feats are restricted to feats that are (mostly) shit. The loss of a domain is bad enough, but one less spell per day? Fuck that shit. Just be a normal Cleric and still own just as much.

 

[Nerevar]

I like the idea of it but all it makes me want to do is try to make a STR vivi with Falcata and bashing shield to see what kind of AB/AC that ends up with.

But still level nine spells. Kinda gay that domain spells only let you use one slot you should be able to fill your book with them.