So, I've seen the light on this one, and I thought I'd share some of the thoughts that came to me while it was rolling around in my head. I'm sure these will be old hat for a lot of folks, but for all the folks who were in the same boat as I was, I figured this might help mark out a few interesting paths for them to check out and explore!
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| This particular version of the feat should be in Divine Anthology, for those who want a copy. |
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What Is "Way of The Shooting Star"?
For those who aren't familiar, the Divine Fighting Technique feat comes in two varieties. The one taken from Divine Anthology requires you to have the deity associated with the feat as a patron deity. The first ability this feat gives you when you take it (which can also be taken in place of a versatile performance if one is a chaotic good bard) is that when you make an attack with a starknife that you use your Charisma modifier for both attack and damage. The advanced benefit (which requires a Dexterity of 17, Point Blank Shot, Diving Fighting Technique, Rapid Shot, and Base Attack Bonus +11 or 11 ranks of Sleight of Hand or being a chaotic good bard at level 10 and replacing one of your versatile performances) allows you to throw a starknife as a full-round action, and if you hit roll 1d4 to see how many of the weapon's spikes strike the target.
And, as a caveat, precision damage and critical hits only count once, even if you strike 4 times. So that does put something of a damper on the broken power of this feat's secondary ability.
Now, for my two cents, I'm not going to be focusing on the second ability of this feat. Sure, it's a fun trick, but the limitations on it can make it tough to really turn into a spinning death cloud (though if you have a combination that works really well for you, please leave it in the comments below!). I'm going to largely focus on the lower-level ability, as it's something you can build quite a solid character around if you choose to.
Which Classes & Abilities Pair Well With This Feat?
The ability to fight with your Charisma right out of the gate is a serious boon to high-Charisma builds. After all, if you can only have 1 attribute at a 20 (and you're going to focus on bulking it up as large as you can), then getting that +5 (or more) on attack and damage is a great way to compensate for the starknife's paltry damage die.
However, that solid start lends itself to some interesting class abilities. For instance...
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| Things are going to get a little... unusual. |
One of the options at the top of my recommendation list is the Arcane Duelist bard archetype from the Advanced Player's Guide. Something of a proto-magus, this archetype lets you use the chaotic good bard option for both parts of the feat if you desire, and it gives you the ability Bladethirst. This class feature lets you add magical ability to your (and later to your companions') weapon, letting you make your starknife more deadly as situations unfold. And if you choose to get the larger ability of this feat, one of the abilities you can put on your starknife is returning, which can be very useful if you intend to be slinging it around the field.
When combined with spell storing put onto a starknife for a little extra oomph, this is one of my top-tier recommendations.
Speaking of the magus, another solid combination is the Eldritch Scion archetype from the Advanced Class Guide. This limits the spells you can cast per day, but it allows you to cast from your Charisma score, and it gives you a bloodline similar to a sorcerer. For those who want to make the use of the magus's spell combat feature, their ability to wear armor, and who like to be able to add magical abilities to their starknife in the midst of combat, this is another solid option to pursue.
My next recommendation is the swashbuckler, and for folks who want to get particular, the Flying Blade archetype from the Advanced Class Guide. While a standard swashbuckler will get a great deal of mileage out of focusing on sheer Charisma and using a starknife, combining that with their Precise Strike deed to get some extra damage out of such a relatively small weapon. The ability to use their biggest stat as the basis for their parry also makes the swashbuckler a fine choice defensively, as well as offensively. However, the Flying Blade archetype limits you to daggers and starknives, but it provides you with a list of interesting deed options, and lets you get more benefit out of throwing your blades (which will be particularly useful if you do want to use your starknife as a thrown weapon in combat).
While the swashbuckler lacks the magical options of the first two class choices, it makes up for it in martial versatility in a lot of ways that shouldn't be dismissed out of hand... especially since these abilities start out strong at first level, and grow with the character as the game progresses.
These were, personally, my top 3 choices for class combination based on the abilities. However, there are several that I'd give honorable mention to, while stating that these are not bad choices if you want to go that route (especially since more than a few of these came up in folks' favored picks).
- Oracle: Oracles are pretty solid in melee, and they're Charisma casters. When combined with an appropriate mystery like Battle, this helps give them a leg up over other divine casters who mix it up in melee. (EDIT: Choosing the mysteries Lunar, Nature, or Lore provides you some of the best benefits for this class. Prophetic Armor lets you use Charisma instead of Dexterity for your AC and Reflex saves, Nature's Whispers allows you to use Charisma instead of Dexterity for your AC and CMB, and Sidestep Secret allows you to use your Charisma instead of Dexterity for your AC and Reflex saves).
- Skald: With a lot of the same advantages as bards, skalds are a solid fall back choice. Their raging song, however, is a lot less useful if you're relying on your Charisma for your attacks and damage.. but if you have a lot of characters with Rage class features in your party, this could still be a smart choice. (EDIT: The Court Poet archetype from Heroes of The High Court alters Raging Song so it boosts Intelligence and Charisma, which can boost the skald up in effectiveness for this strategy.)
Before I finish out this section, I wanted to add the caveat that I am certain I missed certain class archetypes or features for clerics, cavaliers, rangers, slayers, and even fighters and bloodragers that make them ideal for this feat. There may even be a way to get a warpriest to cast off Charisma that I don't know... if you do know it, though, please leave it in the comments below with what book it's from (Paizo books only, please) so I can expand this list!
Feats and Boosts
Your character class isn't the only consideration when it comes to how effectively you can put this feat into play. You should ask what other feats support it, and how you can put them all together.
- Weapon Focus and Improved Weapon Focus: If you're going to be using a starknife nearly exclusively, might as well get the most bang for your buck with it.
- Weapon Specialization and Improved Weapon Specialization: If you qualify for it (and that's a big if) these can help you boost your individual attacks' damage.
- Pirahna Strike: While this one does have Weapon Finesse as a prerequisite (which you won't be using), the bonus damage is extremely helpful. This is basically a gimme option for swashbucklers, since Swashbuckler's Finesse qualifies you for this feat.
- Combat Reflexes: Though technically good for anyone with the feat slots to spare, this one is particularly important for swashbucklers (as well as any archetype with the parry deed).
There is also one, last trick I'd suggest for anyone planning to use this feat, and it comes in the form of one of my few, genuine contributions to Pathfinder as a game, and Golarion as a setting. In Bastards of Golarion I created a potent drug called Silvertongue. It provides a 1d2 alchemical bonus to your Charisma, in addition to granting a +2 alchemical bonus against mind affecting effects. The former bonus lasts for 1 hour, while the latter bonus lasts for 4. It does have some noticeable effects (1d4 Constitution damage and a DC 16 Fortitude save to avoid addiction), but it's not a bad thing to keep in your back pocket, especially if your Charisma is on one of those odd numbers and you're guaranteed that a dose will give you that extra +1 you need in a pinch.
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