Which Classes Mesh Well With "Way of The Shooting Star"? (Pathfinder Advice)

A little while back I put out the blog post Divine Fighting Technique: An Often-Overlooked Pathfinder Feat, and I was honestly surprised at the reaction. Because while this is a feat that hasn't seen a lot of love at my tables, it's apparently seen a lot of love from the community in general. That's on me... I got that one wrong. However, what really surprised me was that the favorite among everyone seemed to be Way of The Shooting Star, the feat associated with Desna and the starknife. That confused the hell out of me... but the more I thought about it, the more potential I saw in it.

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!

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...

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.

- 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.

- Druid: Specifically the urban druid out of the Advanced Player's Guide. This one turns the druid into a Charisma caster, and gives them a list of Charisma-based skills to go along with the transformation. While not as useful if you're planning on doing a lot of animal shifting, it still has its perks. I figured talked about this archetype back in my Unusual Character Concept The Urbane Druid (and no that's not a typo in the title).

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.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Crunch post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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Make Sure You Have A Story To Tell (Whether You're A Player Or The Game Master)

Roleplaying games, generally speaking, come in two parts. One part is the game, where you roll your dice, add up the numbers, cast your spells, swing your swords, and determine whether you succeed or fail in the task you wanted to complete. The other half of the game, though, is the roleplaying. It's creating unique characters, and telling their stories as they attempt to achieve their goals, whether it's something as grand as saving the world from the threat of extinction, or as relatively small as solving a murder and catching the person responsible.

However, too many of us think that the responsibility of story rests with either the players or the Game Master. This week I wanted to remind folks that, just as the GM is also a player at the table, so too they should be a part of the collaborative storytelling exercise you're all participating in.

It's all about give and take.

As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Everyone Should Be Contributing

One of the primary mistakes that I see at tables is that either the players will assume that all story needs to come from the Game Master (and so they bring only bare bones archetypes, rather than fully fleshed-out characters with their own histories, goals, etc.), or the Game Master will assume that the players are here to drive the story, and so they sit back and wait for the table to pursue leads and make decisions that are important to the characters (a mistake that has sunk more than a few attempts from GMs to run sandbox-style games).

However, as with almost everything else at the table, this effort needs to be a cooperative one. Players and GMs shouldn't be dictating the story to one another, insisting that X, Y, or Z events need to happen. It's more like moving a couch. Each of you picks up your end of things, and you move it along a path, calling out warnings to one another as necessary, and trying to avoid as many hazards as possible.

You don't want one person carrying, and the other one sitting on the couch asking them why they aren't making progress.

Hey... how come we aren't getting anywhere?

If you're a player at the table, you should have a character who is willing to participate as part of a team (as TTRPGs tend to be team-focused activities), and who is willing to follow plot hooks as they're dropped. However, you should also have a character who has a history, who has goals, and who has a story both for who they were before the game started, but who also has a story of their own you want to tell with them as the game goes on. Whether they're a masked vigilante looking to topple a fascist regime, a farmgirl hero who wants to prove herself worthy of knighthood, or a government experiment who is trying to find their origin while escaping from their handlers, your character should have a story of their own you want to tell.

The Game Master should also have a story they're looking to tell as part of this campaign. This story might be how a gang of brigands and thieves became the heroes of the land when they helped overthrow a corrupt monarch, or it might be how a band of noble warriors stood against the lich king when no others would. It might be the story of Project Apotheosis, who tried to unlock superhuman powers in unwilling candidates, or it might be the story of how a generation ship floundering in the deep black was brought back online, and an entire generation of colonists were saved.

The key is that everyone on both sides of the screen should be helping tell both their own stories, and those of other people around the table. To do this we need to be open with our Game Masters and our players about the kinds of stories we want to tell, and to offer to integrate our stories together as part of the exercise.

That sounds simple enough, but it's something that takes practice.

For example, say you have two players who want to enmesh their stories together. One player is a holy warrior who is looking for a sibling they lost while they were in the orphanage, but who has also set their sights on being knighted for their efforts. We have a rogue who ran with a street gang as a child when they ran away from the orphanage, and then became a bandit when they got older and had to duck the law or wind up in prison. They've amassed quite a bounty on their head, and this life has caused them to grow hard over the years, though they often wonder what might have been.

Those two players could decide to wind their stories together. Maybe the brother was too young to come with, and the older sister promised she'd come back for him, but she never could. Plucked up by the church, he was trained to fight, to read, and to pray, while she led a hardscrabble life. They may not recognize one another at first, but they slowly begin to change each other's black-and-white views, and to grow closer. He begins to realize there are shades of gray in the world, and to be more flexible, while she learns that her skills can be used for good ends, and there really are people out there who care about her, and who will protect her if she'll just let down her guard enough to let it happen.

And then the Game Master could take that combined story, and weave it into the story they're telling. For example, was their mother slaughtered by the warlord who is currently conquering the northern fold, which is why they were in an orphanage in the first place? Is that warlord the father of these two characters, and their mother spirited them away to try to hide them from what being the heirs apparent to a kingdom of blood would do to them? And will they attempt to save their father, end him for what he's done, or will they join with him in hopes to achieve their own goals, twisted or otherwise?

I never had a chance to be other than I am... neither did you. Will you change that?

There are, of course, a variety of considerations to keep in mind. Whether it's dedicating too much involvement or story to too few players, ensuring everyone gets adequate time in the spotlight, etc. However, the basic idea shown here is that all of you should have different threads of story when you come to the table... and all of you should participate in weaving those disparate elements together to create a single, more cohesive, whole!

Need Help With The Heavy Lifting?

Coming up with all the different story elements isn't easy, especially for those of us who aren't used to building bigger, more involved stories, consider trying out some of the following tools:

- 100 Character Goals and Motivations: If you need a list of things to help make your character's journey stand out, and to help you shape their story, check these ideas out!

- 100 Dark Secrets: Everyone has secrets... and these secrets can make an excellent basis for your story. Both as a player and as a Game Master.

- 100 Questions To Ask About Your Characters: Sometimes it helps to look at our characters from perspectives we didn't previously consider, whatever side of the GM screen you're on.

- 100 Fantasy Professions (That Aren't "Adventurer"): It helps to mix it up from time to time, and your professional handle can say a lot about who you are, and what you do.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!