Tips For Unarmed Fighters in Pathfinder (Who Aren't Monks or Brawlers)

Those who fight with their fists, feet, and foreheads are a staple of fantastical tales. Most of us who want to embody someone who treats their body like a weapon will go to either the monk, or the brawler. However, there are times you don't really feel either concept truly embodies what you're going for... but building an effective unarmed fighter outside of those two classes can seem overwhelming.

The following tips don't encompass everything in the rules. They are, however, some useful places to start if you're looking for good ways to start stacking the numbers in your favor.

And they come in a lot of shapes and forms.

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First, What Are Unarmed Strikes?

First things first, it's important to note that all characters are capable of making unarmed strikes. They deal 1d3 damage, if you're a medium creature, and the damage is nonlethal unless you either take a penalty to that attack, or you have a feature that allows you to make your unarmed strikes lethal (such as the Improved Unarmed Strike feat). Unarmed strikes provoke attacks of opportunity from armed opponents without a feature that negates this. Unarmed strikes are light weapons, and the damage they deal is considered weapon damage for any features or abilities that increase weapon damage. That may be important for later, so tuck that away.

Also, consider these.

It is important to remember, as well, that attacks with gauntlets are still considered unarmed attacks. The only advantage they offer is that they allow you to deal lethal damage with your strikes, and later on they provide a convenient place to put a weapon enchantment (or to get metals like mithril or adamantine) to increase the damage your unarmed strikes are dealing.

Consider that a bonus tip! Now, let's get started.

Class Features

The bread and butter of any unarmed fighting build is going to be in the class features you choose to utilize. However, there are a lot of different options on the table that should be considered, depending on the approach you want to take.

Boot to the head, you say?

One of the first options that presents itself is the fighter. Because while the fighter may not gain bigger and bigger damage dice like a monk or a brawler, they do gain bonuses to hit and damage with their favored weapons (which can be unarmed strikes, gauntlets, and other weapons from the close group). So while the 1d3 damage die wouldn't change, that might not matter so much if you're stacking favored weapon damage onto it, along with your Strength modifier, and other bonuses from feats, magic items, spells, etc. If this were an option one wanted to pursue, I'd recommend the brawler fighter archetype (as opposed to the brawler hybrid class), as it gives you bonus attack and damage with your unarmed strikes, but it also allows you to penalize opponents in your threatened area, without making you trade in the defensibility of heavier armor.

Those who want to embrace dirty fighting in its truest form can use the sneak attack or sudden strike class features. The most common classes who get this are the rogue and the ninja (for those who are willing to deal with less-than-full BAB progression), and the slayer (for those who want a full-BAB precision fighter). While sneak attack won't apply to every strike, good positioning, proper use of abilities (like feinting against your foes), and other strategies can let you rock an enemy with a single kick. After all, your unarmed strike damage die is still 1d3, but when you're throwing 4-8d6 along with it, that doesn't matter quite as much.

The vigilante offers several devastating abilities one can use to increase the damage done when fighting unarmed (some of which we see in The Silver Raven Chronicles). Fist of The Avenger adds half an avenger vigilante's class level in damage to unarmed strikes (up to a +5 at level 10), or those made with a gauntlet. Lethal Grace is particularly useful for those who wish to fight with Weapon Finesse, but which still need extra damage dealt by their blows. Stalker vigilantes, of course, receive their own version of precision damage, which can make every blow devastating to their targets.

Keep in mind that spellcasters can incorporate unarmed strikes into their spells. As I mentioned way back in Playing By The Book: Some Rules Pathfinder Players Keep Forgetting, any spell that allows a touch attack may be delivered via an unarmed strike instead. However, it's no longer a touch attack at that point. That's a dangerous place for a wizard or a sorcerer to be, but it might be a solid place for a magus. It may be even better for a warpriest (whose damage die goes up as long as they have Weapon Focus for their unarmed strike), or even a paladin (with their smite damage and full BAB), as they can also add additional enchantments and bonuses to their blows (or to a gauntlet, should that be required).

Lastly, consider the swashbuckler. Their abilities are focused on using light or one-handed piercing weapons, and an unarmed strike normally deals bludgeoning damage. You could add a cestus or spiked gauntlet to overcome this issue, but both of these are weapons in their own right. However, there are feats like Snake Style (level 3) or Boar Ferocity (level 6) that you can take in order to deal piercing damage with your unarmed strikes. While not an ideal build option, this would allow you to get the benefit of your Swashbuckler's Finesse, Precise Strike, and other class features.

Feats

Feats are another important component of most combat builds, and an unarmed fighter is no different. While only dealing 1d3 as your base damage die might seem pathetic, keep in mind that it's really about how many other bonuses you can stack on top of it.

Trust me, you'll hit like a ton of bricks!

- Power Attack or Piranha Strike: Each of these feats lets you take a penalty to attacks for bonus damage on hits. Use the first for Strength, the second if you're going full Dexterity in combat.

- Weapon Specialization, Improved, and Greater: For those who have the ability to take these feats, they can stack a lot of damage onto your strikes. Especially if you're also adding precision damage from Precise Strike, or from Weapon Training as a fighter.

- Accomplished Sneak Attacker: If one multiclasses, or simply doesn't have the full benefits of sneak attack, this feat can add an extra 1d6 of damage to every time you deal this precision damage.

- Heavy Hitter: Technically a trait and not a feat, it still adds +1 damage on unarmed strikes.

- Boar Style: This style allows you to add 2d6 bonus damage whenever you hit an enemy with two unarmed strikes in one round.

- Two Weapon Rend: Deal a bonus 1d10 + 1.5 times your Strength modifier when you hit an enemy with your primary and off-hand weapon once per round. Best used with a two weapon fighting build, as this feat has several prerequisites, including a BAB of 11.

These are just a handful of options for dealing additional damage with unarmed strikes, but they can stack a lot of damage onto your blows... especially when combined with your class features!

Final Thoughts

There's enough variety in abilities and strategies that not everything is going to overlap. Some spells, like magic fang might be useful for you, and you might choose to seek out an amulet of mighty fists to ensure you have a way to enhance all your strikes. You might choose to grab an enchanted gauntlet with the glamered enchantment so it looks like you just have simple gloves on before you slam an iron fisted uppercut into someone's jaw. Belts that improve your physical stats, hand wraps that boost your damage output... there's all sorts of spells and enchanted items that may come into play. Sometimes they work on unarmed strikes, sometimes they expressly don't, and getting a full list of those will probably be its own, separate post.

However, the ability to hit harder, and to deal elemental damage, holy damage, etc., is where even a hard strike is going to turn into a serious weapon. Choose your magic items wisely, but remember that even without them you should still be able to pack a pretty solid punch. Or kick. Or headbutt.

And just in case you need even more...

Lastly, if you're looking for some extra wooge to add your unarmed fighters, consider some of the options I presented in Sellswords of Sundara recently! While there is a monk option for batting aside everything from swords to spells, there's 9 other martial archetypes ranging from the Widowmakers and their ungentlemanly forms of warfare, to the Gray Blades who've seen everything war has to offer, and done most of it at least twice. Check it out, and delve in for yourself!

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That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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5 Ways To Sidestep Hits in Pathfinder (Without Magic)

The main defensive mechanic players pay attention to in Pathfinder is their armor class. If that number is as high as they can get it, typically through armor, shields, spells, magic items, feats, and additional abilities, it will allow them to just tank attacks while avoiding damage.

What was your total? Heh, git gud, scrub.

As the game goes on, though, your armor class just isn't going to keep pace with the enemies you're fighting. Even the biggest tanks are going to run into issues when it comes to melee touch attacks, or trying to dodge arrow snipers who were specifically built to aim for their visor slits. So, with that said, this week I thought I'd lay out some handy tricks for making sure you've got at least one Get-Out-of-Pain-Free card on your person for when you need it most.

For example...

#1: Deflect Arrows

Catch these hands!

 Perhaps the oldest trick in the book, Deflect Arrows is one of the favorites from the Core Rulebook. In short, it allows you to just deflect any one missile attack that would normally hit you (provided it's appropriately sized, as cannonballs, boulders, etc., are all too large to be affected). All you need is to be aware of the attack, which makes it ideal for those who can't be caught flat-footed (looking at you barbarians and rogues).

The reason this feat doesn't wind up on nearly as many sheets as it should is because it has Improved Unarmed Strike as a pre-requisite. As such, most folks only give it to brawlers and monks. However, if you have a DM who actually uses archers, poisoned throwing stars, darts, firearms (as Ultimate Combat states that this feat works on the flintlocks and muskets we typically see) it is well worth the investment. It's ideal for warpriests (whose Sacred Weapon ability lets them bump up their unarmed strike damage, as well as apply blessings and bonus abilities to their strikes), but as a purely defensive measure it's also worth keeping in mind.

#2: Parry

What did you say? "Parry this"?

 Anyone who's shared a table with me knows that the swashbuckler was one of my favorite additions to the game in the Advanced Class Guide. Their parry ability allows them to try to make a counter attack using an attack of opportunity in melee, essentially deflecting an incoming attack. When combined with Combat Reflexes, the proper weapon buffs, and even traits like Fencer, that can add up to a big damn defensive ability. Even if you can only riposte once per round as an immediate action, it's possible for a swashbuckler to just guard themselves with a flurry of steel... even against melee touch attacks!

With that said, the duelist prestige class also offers a parry ability. The difference is that the swashbuckler's ability costs panache to use (based on your Charisma modifier), whereas the duelist's just allows you to use your normal attacks reserved from a full attack action. So which option works better for you depends on what your Charisma modifier is going to be (for the record, a paladin with a dip in swashbuckler, or simply taking the paladin archetype Virtuous Bravo which gives you swashbuckler abilities is one of the best combos for this ability). This is only going to work in melee, of course, but sometimes that's all you really need.

#3: Snake Style

Go on, punk... take your shot.

 One of the most popular fighting style feats found in Ultimate Combat, Snake Style takes a bit to set up. You need to take a swift action to get into the stance, and then once you're in it you can use your immediate action to roll a Sense Motive check against an incoming attack that you are aware of, and while you're not flat-footed. That requires you to first invest maximum ranks in a skill, and to probably have a pretty good Wisdom score. You then need to take the whole first round of combat setting up your stance. However, the thing that makes Snake Style really good is that it counts as your AC or your touch AC. So if you've got a ghost that's slapping you through your armor, or a necromancer who's shooting beams of acid green death, this ability is a great method for dodging out of the way.

The hard part, of course, is beefing up your Sense Motive to a high enough degree. Skill Focus will help a lot here (making it ideal for half-elves wondering what to use their free Skill Focus on), and any traits that give you a bonus, and which make Sense Motive a class skill will stand you in good stead. Again, this is commonly used by monks and warpriests, but it's great for any class that wants to be able to just cobra their way out of being hammered into the dirt.

#4: Cut (And Smash) From The Air

Better make it count.

 There are few things more frustrating than being a fighter, and constantly getting shot at from nine different directions. However, if you have a crap load of attacks of opportunity, then you might want to consider taking Cut From The Air and Smash From The Air, both feats out of the Weapon Master's Handbook. The first feat allows you to spend an attack of opportunity to try to cut a ranged attack out of the air, provided it's a normal-sized missile (boulders, ballista, etc. still not allowed). The second feat allows you to use Cut From The Air against all missiles that come your way, as well as targeted magic effects. A great way to save your fighter from taking a few rays of searing light in uncomfortable places.

I keep saying fighter, because like many other feats from this book, you need to have weapon training with a melee weapon in order to use these feats. While there are other classes and archetypes that gain this ability other than fighters (looking at you, swashbuckler), your options are pretty limited for which characters you can slap these feats onto.

#5: Missile Shield and Ray Shield

Don't miss.

 Missile Shield, out of the Advanced Player's Guide, is pretty common among sword-and-board fighter types. It has Shield Focus as a prerequisite, but basically lets you use Deflect Arrows as long as you have a shield to deflect them with (same rules and restrictions apply). This is particularly useful for two-weapon style fighters who are going sword and shield bash, who still want to slap away crossbow bolts while they ginsu the enemy forces. Combined with the above feats, it can get tough to even scratch these fighters.

Of course, just to add insult to injury you can also take Ray Shield out of the same book. It requires you to have the Spellbreaker feat, which itself requires you to have Disruptive, and to have 10 levels of fighter. However, it allows you to basically deflect ray spells and effects, taking the hit on your shield. Your shield still takes the effect of the spell, which can be a problem for things like disintegrate or spells that deal absurd amounts of energy damage, but if your shield is tough enough you can often negate enemy magic that could otherwise seriously impede you. Especially if the ray wouldn't have an effect on an object, so you can basically ignore it.

Also, for those who like the idea of getting to smack away rays with impunity, the Crystalline Body feature of the oread not only increases your AC against rays (making them more likely to miss in the first place) but gives you a once-per-day deflection due to your crystalline structure. Just something to think about!

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That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.

In Defense of The Humble Sling (in Pathfinder)

Every now and again I'll see someone claim that a class, a spell, or a weapon in Pathfinder is useless. "Why would anyone waste their time with this thing?" is the typical question, and it's led me to write posts like Aid Another in Pathfinder is More Powerful Than You Think (one of my highest-viewed posts, by the by) in defense of certain aspects of the game. Recently I came across a post of someone bad-mouthing the sling. Why would anyone use such a stupid weapon when crossbows and longbows are available?

Well, ask a stupid question...

Since I hadn't used a sling as a PC before, I figured I'd look into this complaint and see how valid I thought it was. And hoo boy do I have some new character plans after doing this bit of research.

What's The Big Deal About A Sling?

All right, we'll begin at the beginning. A sling is a simple weapon that has a 50 foot range, and it can be fired (though not loaded) with one hand. You can apply your Strength modifier to damage with a sling, which gets a lot of folks' ears to perk up. It takes a move action to load, too, which is where a lot of players start edging away from it. It has no crit range and only does 1d4 damage for a Medium sling, and 1d3 damage for a Small sling. Not great, but the ease of use means it's something any character can pick up and use when they need a ranged weapon.

Most of the time a character has a sling on them as a back-up weapon, or as something cheap to use at low levels when they had no gold left after hitting the armor shop.

Of course, there are ways to make it better.

The big benefit to a sling is, of course, that you can add your Strength modifier to your damage. The negatives are its relative lack of oomph when it comes to damage, and the reloading time. So before we get to the first concern, let's address the second one.

When it comes to re-loading a sling, there are two major solutions:

- Warslinger halfling trait: This halfling trait lets you reload a sling as a free action. It replaces sure-footed, but reloading still takes 2 hands, and provokes an attack of opportunity.

- Ammo Drop and Juggle Ammo: Ammo Drop allows you to load a sling or one end of a double sling as a swift or move action using only one hand. Juggle Ammo lets you reload as a free action, giving you full rate of fire with a sling.

Both of these options might seem like a lot of work to get the most out of a weapon that only deals 1d3 or 1d4 damage, depending on your character's size. However, if you're willing to invest in them, you then have the task of figuring out how to get the most out of your sling.

Beefing Up The Sling

If you want your sling to do more damage, the first thing you need to do is to take the usual battery of ranged attack feats. Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, etc. Rapid Shot is something that will take some work to get off, but you could also use it with a stone bow if that's your jam. That one is a fun weapon too, and worth looking into if you like bullets but don't want to deal with the restrictions of the sling itself.

Your class features are going to be one of the big ways you beef up your sling damage. Fighters can choose the sling's group as a favored weapon, increasing their damage and accuracy with it. The barbarian archetype Savage Technologist alters your Rage to boost your Strength and your Dexterity, which makes it a lovely dip for slingers who want you really put their shoulder into a shot (though higher level abilities are meant more for firearms). A rogue's sneak attack can be devastating when delivered with a sling, as well.

You didn't see that coming, did you?

The other thing to consider with the sling is how you can modify its damage with magic (either magic used by someone in the party, or from a handy magic item). Some of the spells and magic items that I recommend for a slinger include:

- Magic Stone: A low-level spell that lasts for half an hour, it makes 3 pieces of ammo into +1 weapons that deal 1d6 points of damage. 2d6+2 against undead, which can get heinous if you can rocket off all three shots in one turn against that lich.

- Alchemist's Bullet: This +1 magic bullet can be merged with an alchemical item, and both items hit at once. Useful for when you want to deal additional damage with alchemist's fire or acid over and above the normal bullet. Bonus, if you miss with this item, you can retrieve it and use it again later!

- Boulder Bullet: A shrunken piece of artillery, as soon as it's fired, these bullets grow to be significantly bigger. Like Ant-Man, the joke never gets old!

- Soakstone Sling Bullets: These porous stones can be filled with poison or lamp oil. If the former, a hit delivers the contact poison. If the latter, they deal 1d2 fire damage on a hit. Not great, but hey, every little bit counts!

- Frostbite Sling: A +1 frost sling that, 3 times per day, lets you fling a magic snowball that does subdual damage, and makes the target fatigued. A handy little debuff.

These are just a few of the handy things I came across when tricking out a sling. The major problems, aside of course from cost, are that lots of feats and spells that normally increase the damage on ranged attacks (Rapid Shot, Gravity Bow, things like that) just don't apply to slings. On the other hand, feats like Sling Flail allow you to make melee attacks with a loaded sling, dealing whatever the damage of the enchanted ammunition was in addition to treating it as a flail. A handy feat for pinch-hitting fighters, if that's what you're built around.

Useless? No. Great? Eh...

If you want to build your character around using a sling, it is totally possible for you to do that. With the right feats, enchantments, magic ammunition, and other stuff, you can even do some seriously impressive damage with a sling (boost your strength score, enchant the bullets, get a magic sling, use class features to do more flat damage, etc.). However, wielding a sling takes a lot of resources and dedication; it's not something you're going to slay with right out of the gate, contrary to what David would tell you.

Then again, if you're a half-orc with a medium-sized sling and a +5 Strength score, then then 1d4 from the bullet is just gravy, really. And if you add in weapon training and other bonuses, it will be pretty respectable by the time you hit double digit levels.

Just know there's a long road ahead of you on this one.

Final Thoughts

Building a sling-based character is already a little unusual... but consider all the possibilities you could explore with it! Rather than your usual shepherds and local, small-town heroes, perhaps ask if he used to be a pirate (particularly with the burning bullets mentioned above)? Was your slinger part of a mercenary legion, using this unexpected weapon to devastating effect? Or perhaps he used to be a bandit, carrying such a common weapon to make sure no one could pick him out of a local crowd?

If any of those sound appealing, you should check out:

- 100 Pirates to Encounter

- 100 Random Mercenary Companies

- 100 Random Bandits to Meet

Each of these supplements is by yours truly, and they're full of NPCs you could tie your character and background to, helping you fully flesh out an adventurer with such an unexpected weapon of choice.

Just a thought!

That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.

Warrior Spirit, A Fun Trick For The Pathfinder Fighter's Advanced Weapon Training

Fighters are one of my favorite classes because there are so many different ways to play them. Are you a tactician, using placement and teamwork to enhance your battle plan? Are you a brute, swinging the biggest weapon you can and leaving a trail of bodies? A nimble fencer who relies on pinpoint precision over power? An archer? A one-man barricade behind your tower shield?

The list goes on.

And let's not forget the prize fighters!

I thought I'd seen most of the tricks you could pull off with fighters. However, there's always a combination out there that surprises me. That's why I thought I'd share this one with all the other folks who enjoy this class as much as I do.

Unlocking Your Warrior Spirit!

Weapon training is something of a fighter's bread and butter. The ability to be extra dangerous with a particular group of weapons is a lot of where both your flavor and functionality come from. Normally when you hit level 9 you can opt to choose an additional group of weapons you're skilled with... but you also have the option to take an advanced weapon training special ability. This ability typically applies to any weapon in the group(s) you already wield, and they allow you to bend (and sometimes break) the rules for what a warrior should be capable of.

That's where the advanced weapon training option Warrior Spirit comes into the picture.

You ready to do this?

Warrior Spirit allows a fighter to pick any weapon from one of his weapon training groups, and unlock its true potential via a spiritual bond. Every day he can select one such weapon, and bond with it. The fighter gains a number of points equal to his weapon training bonus +1. While wielding that weapon the fighter may choose to spend one of those points to add an enhancement to his weapon equal to his weapon training bonus. These enhancement bonuses stack up to a +5 with any bonuses the weapon already has, and the fighter may choose instead to add one magic ability to his weapon in exchange for an appropriate amount of his bonus. The weapon must already have an enhancement bonus of at least +1 for that to work. This ability lasts for 1 minute.

What does that mean in common speech? Well, say that your fighter is 9th level, and picks up a regular old longsword, a weapon that is in their weapon training group. So in addition to their normal attack and damage bonuses they get with that weapon, they also have 3 points per day to activate this ability. So they can choose to spend one of their points to make that regular longsword a +2 longsword, or they could make it a +1 flaming longsword spending one enhancement bonus point to add a +1 magic ability to a weapon.

But what if the fighter already had a magic longsword? Well, then he could, say, make it a keen longsword by cashing in his enhancement bonus for that +2 magic ability. Or he could make it a holy longsword. Or add a +1 to the enhancement, and pick a +1 magic ability like shock, keen, flaming, etc.

In short, it allows the fighter to enhance their weapon the same way a paladin's holy bond or a magus's arcane pool would. However, unlike those classes, the fighter can add any weapon property they want, instead of picking off a specific list. Which is handy... but that isn't where this particular trick ends.

A Little Extra

This trick works best if you're going to focus on a single weapon group. Or, if you want to pick only a single weapon by taking the Weapon Master archetype, that works too.

So what you do is, as soon as you gain weapon training (5th level for standard fighters), you also take the feat Advanced Weapon Training. This allows you to add Warrior Spirit to your character at 5th level instead of 9th level, where you're going to get a lot more bang for your buck. If you're a Weapon Master, you can take this feat at 4th level.

If you want to add a little extra damage to your swings, you should also invest a few of your skill points into Use Magic Device (and if you're going to sling wands and scrolls, consider taking the background trait Dangerously Curious, too, to make it a class skill and to get a +1 trait bonus on your checks). Then at your next opportunity, take Weapon Evoker Mastery. This item mastery feat allows you to supercharge any elemental damage a weapon you wield deals. You spend a swift action to activate the feat, and then for the next round you add 1d4 of elemental damage to every successful strike (the element in question corresponding to whether your weapon deals acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic damage). The sheer number of attacks you can make as a fighter (and the number of types of elemental damage you can have on your weapon) can quickly add up... even if an enemy isn't weak against a particular element.

A Handy Trick

As with a lot of the mechanical tricks I have here in the Crunch section, this isn't something that will completely re-invent the fighter. And, at least by itself, it won't destroy an encounter. However, the ability to spontaneously alter your weapon to have the abilities you really need it to have when the chips are down is something that can pull your bacon out of the fire. Especially if you combine this trick with an already-solid build geared toward a particular fighting style.

Just a little food for thought!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or head over to my Gamers profile to see only my tabletop articles. And if you'd like to check out some of the videos I've put together with other gamers, stop in and have a listen to the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter! If you'd like to help support me you can give me one-time tips by Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or if you'd rather become a regular, monthly contributor you can sign up at The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. Lastly, you could also support me by going to My Amazon Author Page to buy some of my books... like my new fantasy novel Crier's Knife!

5 Fun Multiclass Dips For 5th Edition

As folks who are regular readers know, I don't really do single-class characters. It's just not my thing. While multiclassing in 5th Edition isn't for everyone, given that it pushes back your additional attacks, attribute bumps/feats, etc., but I've got a handful of tricks that I've come to really favor. So I thought I'd share them, in case there were folks out there who haven't tried multiclassing themselves, or who are wondering what benefits you could really get out of it.

So, without further ado, here are some of my thoughts, and a few of the potential paths you could take. Also, if you're the sort of DM who feels that multiclassing is something that requires even more red tape, might I recommend checking out DMs, Stop Putting Up Barriers To Multiclassing.

#1: Just A Hint of Barbarian

Got a problem?

For most people, barbarian is a big commitment... but it doesn't have to be. There is nothing wrong with only taking 1 or 2 levels if that's all it takes to get the goodies you want. What do you get for those levels? Well you get Rage, which gives you a bit of bonus damage and advantage on Strength checks, but more importantly gives you resistance to slashing, bludgeoning, and piercing damage. You also get Unarmored Defense, which is ideal for those with a high Con score who don't want to stomp around in armor all the time. And if you take the second level you get access to Reckless Attack, which is a cheap way to get advantage on an attack when you need it.

So who benefits from that? Well that handy advantage could be particularly useful for an assassin who wants to stick their short sword right where it needs to be for their sneak attack damage. Sure it leaves them open for counterattacks, but if you're dropping half a dozen d6s on someone's head, they might not live to stab you back. It's handy for fighters with high Constitution scores who just want to walk out on the field with sword and shield... or who prefer a bow or a crossbow, giving them a high Dex and a high Con to add to their armor class.

Whether you're a brute-force knife fighter, a tough-as-nails duelist, or a Wyatt Earp-style lawman who just walks out into a hail of gunfire like it ain't no thing, a few levels of barbarian will stand you in good stead.

#2: A Touch of Monk

I take my bonus action to kick him in the head. Twice.

Much like the barbarian, people tend to think of characters as being either all monk, or no monk. But while characters who spend their lives in monasteries training in esoteric martial arts can be perfectly viable PCs, monks can also be pit fighters, gladiators, brawlers, and other warriors who know their way around a battlefield even when they're unarmed. Much like I said in The Non-Problem of Making Monks Fit Your Setting, there are all sorts of things this class can be.

And if all you want are their early building blocks, they lend themselves well to a lot of concepts.

The first thing you get is Martial Arts, because of course you do. This lets you deal some real damage with your unarmed strikes, but it also lets you use Strength or Dexterity for your attack and damage rolls. That will come in handy later. You can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, if you're wielding a monk weapon (defined as shortswords and any simple weapon that doesn't have the two-handed or heavy property). So, right out of the gate, you have something you can do with your bonus action. You also get unarmored defense, allowing you to add your Wisdom modifier to your AC along with your Dex modifier when not using a shield or wearing armor. Then at second level you get ki points, and you can do all sorts of fun things with those even if you stop at 2 levels.

So what would you mix that with? Well, there are all kinds of possibilities.

For example, let's go back to the rogue. Whether you're a spy trying to look unassuming, or you're an enforcer who doesn't need showy weapons to put a hurt on your target. All you need is a dagger (since sneak attack requires a weapon, and your unarmed strikes specifically don't fulfill that requirement), and then once you get your big shot in, you finish them off with a strategic kick to the throat. Or two. Alternatively, say you were a fighter who relied more on their Dexterity than raw power, typically fighting with nothing more than a shortsword. The dueling fighting style dovetails perfectly with monk abilities, letting you stick, move, and headbutt someone if the stab doesn't do the job. That works quite well if you're going for a Porthos kind of feel.

#3: A Whiff of Rogue

It doesn't take much.

Rogues are, honestly, one of my favorite classes to dip with. While I am firmly opposed to the arbitrary limitations on sneak attack, and this edition's insistence that good rogues are Dex-based rogues, the class still offers advantages. First level gives you sneak attack, expertise, and thieves' cant, which are all handy things to have. Then second level gives you Cunning Action, which is one of the most fun bonus actions to abuse in the whole game. Especially if you're annoyed that you can't just make an Acrobatics check to avoid opportunity attacks like you could in older games.

And rogue mixes with all kinds of fun stuff. A rogue/barbarian might be a wrestler using Expertise and Rage to choke out opponents far larger than himself. A rogue/fighter might move around the battlefield with ease, dashing, evading, and remaining mobile in order to do the most damage. Even a rogue/warlock might always have a trick up their sleeve, especially if they've gone pact of the blade and want to appear unarmed when they enter hostile territory to do a job.

#4: A Dash of Fighter

I had to pay for wizard college somehow... so I did cage fights on the weekends.

A level dip into fighter is a long-standing tradition among multiclass enthusiasts because it's front-loaded with so many fun toys. That, at least, didn't change with editions. At first level you get to grab a fighting style, which is always a glorious thing to have, and you get Second Wind to help keep you going. At second level you get Action Surge, letting you take two actions on your turn once per day.

Now, spellcasting enthusiasts are well aware of the shenanigans that a fighter dip can give to any caster class. In addition to that extra action (which has to follow all the rules for casting more than once on a turn), you also have armor and weapon proficiencies you wouldn't otherwise have. And since you can cast in armor you're proficient with, if you really want a warlock in full-plate, or a sorcerer in enchanted scale mail, this is an easy way to make that dream come true.

Non-casters can get a lot of extra oomph out of a fighter dip as well. A barbarian with a great ax, the great weapon fighting style, and the ability to get back some hit points while they keep on trucking is going to tickle. A rogue with the duelist fighting style, as mentioned above, is just adding insult to injury. Even monks who want to do some two-weapon fighting can boost their impact with a few fighter levels.

#5: A Little Bit of Ranger

Come to papa... just a few more steps...

Rangers get a lot of hate, and in my opinion the complaints are more than valid. That's another discussion for another day, however. What I will say is that the ranger takes the biggest dip before you get any useful toys, and they may not be to everyone's taste... but they can still be a lot of fun.

At second level, for example, you get a fighting style. The list is smaller than the fighter's, but it still has some goodies on it. At third level, though, you can take the Hunter archetype and grab Colossus Slayer, which gives you a bonus d8 of damage once per turn when you hit a creature below its maximum hit points. You'll also get some spells, but just putting your foot into the class won't make those a huge investment.

Who does this work for? Well, if you wanted to be a rogue with a fighting style who gets that extra d8 to make up for lost sneak attack, that would work quite nicely. Especially if you're an ambush archer sort of character. Barbarian/rangers might make for interesting bounty hunters whose tenacity and refusal to go down make them terrifying pursuers. Fighter/rangers might make good switch hitters, able to combine multiple fighting styles into a single whole. Even monk/rangers could get some benefits from their high Wisdom scores while hunting targets with their bare hands.

Remember, Your Class is Not Your Character

Though 5th Edition does its best to push characters into stereotypical roles, it's important to remember that classes are just a meta-term for a certain set of skills. They're building blocks, meant for you to put together an ideal character who does all the things you want. Or, as I said way back in What's In A Name? How Your Character's Class is Limiting Your Creativity, just because you're a member of a certain class, that doesn't mean people immediately see a label on you. So if you need two, or even three, different building blocks, don't be afraid to use them.

That's all for this week's Crunch topic. As readers, do you enjoy seeing Crunch for multiple games, or would you rather I go back to Pathfinder Classic? Leave a comment below!

For more of my work, go check out my Vocal archive! Or just click my Gamers profile to see all the tabletop stuff I've done on that site. You could also head over to the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio if you'd like even more advice and shenanigans. If you want to stay on top of all my releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to support me and my work, then consider leaving me a tip by Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or becoming a regular, monthly supported by heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. Either way, there's a load of sweet gaming swag in it for you as a thank you from me, to you!

The Fur-Clad Fighter

"Look at this savage!" Harren hooted, pointing at the man in the thick furs. "Probably his first time seeing a city, eh? What do you wager, that he's broke and begging by the new moon?"

"I'd keep my tongue between my teeth, if I were you, lad," Vakar said.

"Why? Harren asked, turning to the older man. "It's not like he can understand me."

"Take another look at him," Vakar said. "And this time try to see more than how he's dressed."

Harren frowned, watching as the outlander passed. He saw the same thing he'd seen before; a barbarian in wolf hides, with scars on his face and the heavy, sunken knuckles of a lifelong brawler. He turned back to Vakar, frowning.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?" Harren asked.

"Did you see his sword?" Vakar asked.

"I did," Harren said. "What about it?"

"Or the ring mail he wore under the wolf pelt?" Vakar pressed.

"But what about-"

"Or that tattoo on the side of his neck?" Vakar asked.

Harren turned, and looked at the figure's departing back. He turned back to Vakar, who was watching other people in the crowd now. The older man spoke without looking at his young companion.

"That's the mark of the legion, boy," he said. "And whatever skin a man wears now, just beneath it is a legionnaire."

Also, beware any old person in a profession where you tend to die young.

The Fur-Clad Fighter

What assumptions do players make based on how a character presents themselves? If a big man with a thick beard, wearing a bear-skin cloak and heavy armbands, sporting prominent tattoos, and carrying a longsword on his hip greets the party with a mug of ale in one hand and a hearty laugh, what do you assume his class is? How about that green-cloaked archer who seems more at-ease in the forest than she does in the hustle and bustle of the big city? Or that spearman who is far more comfortable on the back of his shaggy pony than he is afoot with everyone else?

When you strip them down beneath the skin, all of them are fighters. All of them. That's the idea behind the fur-clad fighter. The character looks (and may even act) like the stereotype of the barbarian, the ranger, or another class, but is in fact a fighter.

Two Approaches To Get You Started

There are innumerable ways to execute this concept, but a lot of them will boil down to two basic approaches. The first is statting out someone from a "savage" background, and the second is taking the bear out of the woods.

So, let's start with the first. Take a character we typically assign the role of barbarian. You know, the big shaggy northman, the tribal hunter, or the desert dervish. Then examine this character in the context of the society they come from, and ask what kind of fighter that culture would produce. A raider? A longbowman? A great weapon fighter? Were you trained to utilize speed, or strength? View their society and culture as the default, and then build them from the ground up by following the character's training, role in society, and the sort of tasks they typically handled.

The second is taking the bear out of the woods, or what I call the foreign legion approach. Rather than using the fighter class as a group of abilities geared toward what the character did among his people, have them taken and trained elsewhere. Perhaps he was a foreign legionnaire, trained with heavy armor, sword, shield, spear, and ax who was taught to fight in formation. Maybe she was taken as a slave and trained as a gladiator in a ludus, where weapon variety and endurance were the order of the day. This second method is for players who are looking to assuage their cognitive dissonance about why someone who comes from a region where steel is rare would be proficient in heavy armor like plate mail, even if they have no intention of ever putting that proficiency to use.

These are far from the only approaches you can take for this concept, but they're good ways to get the wheels turning.

If you're looking for further inspiration, check out 5 Tips For Playing Better Fighters!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories 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!

Think A Fighter's Bravery is Useless? Well, Think Again...

Fighters are a simple class, relatively speaking. They're where we tend to suggest new players start, and we tend to think of them as pretty basic. They get good armor, good proficiencies, a butt-load of feats, and they can hit hard pretty much without fail.

Approacheth me, brother!

The class feature we all tend to ignore is Bravery, which gives a fighter a small bonus on saves against fear as they increase in level. Sure, Will saves are the bane of a fighter's existence, but most of the time we're all too happy to trade out Bravery for other features. However, Da_Penguins made quite an argument for just how you can make Bravery a valuable class feature for your fighter over on the Pathfinder subreddit.

While I highly recommend checking out the entire thing, some of my favorite suggestions were...

A Little Something For That Will Save

As I said just a bit ago, Will saves are the bane of a fighter's existence. Sure you can bump it up with feats, and with racial bonuses, but there's only so much you can do about your weakest save. One option that may have slipped past, though, is to take the advanced weapon training option Armed Bravery at 9th level. This allows you to take the bonus from your Bravery feature, and apply it to all Will saves. Given that 9th level is when you start facing more enemies with heavy-hitting magic, it's not a bad option to go with. It also makes you harder to Intimidate, adding a bonus to the DC equal to double your Bravery bonus.

The Cure For What Ails You

The major problem for relying on Bravery, even if you can make it an all-purpose Will save patch, is that it's a small bonus. But if you're a worshiper of Cayden Cailean, and you're willing to do a little day drinking, you can boost it up. The feat Courage in a Bottle from Inner Sea Gods increases your Bravery bonus by +2 while you're intoxicated. If this would give you more than a +6 bonus against fear, then you're considered immune to it. That bonus applies to everything, as well, if you have something like Armed Bravery on your sheet.

You can take this feat as soon as you have Bravery as a class feature, and it can give your wine-swilling swordsman, or drunken mauler, a bit of an advantage when they step on the field. And it's a handy boost if you're dual-classing with the Drunken Brute barbarian archetype, too.

When You're So Brave, You're Scary

Intimidation is one of those things fighters and barbarians tend to rely on when they need someone to comply with their wishes, but they aren't quite ready to beat them soundly about the head and shoulders just yet. Undaunted Bravery allows you to add your Bravery bonus both to the DC to Intimidate you, and as a bonus on any Intimidate checks you make. If, of course, you're a worshiper of Cayden Cailean. If you've got some brew in your system, and you couple that with Courage in a Bottle, you might be looking at a significant weapon on the field. Especially if you use feats like Dazzling Display, or if you've got Cornugon Smash on your sheet. If you combine it with Intimidating Prowess, then you've got a pretty nasty snowball on your hands.

Pumping Up Your Bravery

If you're going to use Bravery for more than just getting out of being spooked, then there are some items you should have to get the best bonuses you can. The Band of The Stalwart Warrior is pricey, at 14k gold, but it gives you some good protections, and increases your fighter level by 4 for the purposes of determining Bravery. The Amulet of Courage, cheaper at only 6k, will cast remove fear on you once per day, and increase your Bravery bonus by 1. That will add up, and these items can be combined for the best results.

These are all the thoughts I had for this week's Crunch installment. Hopefully it helped get your mind spinning on what you might do with Bravery the next time you put a fighter together. For more content by yours truly, check out my Gamers archive, or head over to Dungeon Keeper Radio to see what sorts of shenanigans we're working on now. If you want to keep up to date on all my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to help support Improved Initiative, consider heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron. Because every little bit helps!

How Do Your Warriors Prepare?

The whistle of steel was loud in the courtyard. Korak flowed from strike, to guard, and back again, the heavy blade whirling in his grip. Every movement was precise, the muscles flexing and thrusting with singular, focused purpose. Once the army of phantoms around him was slain, he let out a slow breath, and relaxed his stance.

"Why do you practice every day?" Phineas asked from the bench.

"Why do you take a whetstone to your blade?" Korak replied.

"So it stays sharp," Phineas said.

Korak nodded, took a firm grip on his sword, and went through the form again.

Practice makes permanent.

What Do Your Warriors Do To Get Ready?

Mechanically speaking, we're used to the spellcasters needing to go through a morning routine to get their mojo flowing. Wizards have to spend an hour with their spell book, memorizing the magic they plan to use that day. Clerics and druids have to pray, going through whatever rituals they have to be granted their divine powers. Bards have to tune up, and sorcerers have to go through a 15-minute routine to get into the right frame of mind to access their powers.

But what about your bruisers, enforcers, swordsmen, and spear fighters? Do they do anything?

Mechanically, no. By the rules, fighters, barbarians, rangers, slayers, monks, brawlers, and all the other martial classes can be woken up in the middle of the night, and they're ready to rock. That's one of the inherent advantages of those classes.

Say when.

But since you have the time to wait for the spellcasters to limber up anyway, why not ask how the martial characters keep in fighting form?

As a for instance, does the brawler wake up early, and go through a warm-up routine? Planks, push-ups, shadow boxing, and maybe some pull-ups on a tree branch? Does the fighter spar with the ranger, the two of them ducking and weaving as they swing practice swords, or just stout sticks instead of steel? Does the barbarian take a certain number of swings with his ax every morning, first with the right hand, then the left, re-acquainting his grip with the weapon now that he's awake? Does the monk go through a series of yoga poses to awaken her ki, and ensure that her body is in proper, working order?

As I mentioned in What Does Your Spell Preparation Look Like?, the way your character prepares says something about them. Are you measured, going through routine to wake up the muscle memory you spent a lifetime imbuing into your body? Or do you prefer simulated combat, sparring against an opponent, or your shadow, as a way to trick your instincts in order to stay sharp? Do you warm-up in armor, or do you limber up before you put on the full weight of your gear? Or are you one of those people who rolls out of bed, tosses their hair out of their eyes, and relies on your lifetime of experience to see you through the next challenge?

It might not be a huge part of your character, and it might fade into the background in time. But it is worth thinking about what your martial character's preparation says about them, and what those who watch will learn about the way they were trained.

That's all for this week's Fluff post. Hopefully you all enjoyed it, and it got the gears grinding in your heads. If you want to make sure you don't miss any of my updates, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to help keep this blog going, stop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today. All I ask is $1 a month to help me keep creating content, and in return you'll get both my gratitude, and a lot of sweet gaming swag as a thank you.

The Gearhead Fighter

Every class has something it's inherently good at. Sorcerers are born with magic at their fingertips, wizards are masters of the arcane, clerics have the gods on their side, and monks have the capabilities to unlock their true potential through the study and practice of bringing the mind and the body into perfect harmony. But fighters? Well, what do fighters have? They are warriors. They are artisans of battle, and skilled dealers in the iron trade. Blow-for-blow, when battle is joined, the fighter is going to be the class that is the most comfortable in the maelstrom of chaos.

But what is a fighter without his weapons and armor? Little enough, actually. So why not use that to create a singular personality archetype that can make your fighter more than just another sellsword, bowman, or gunslinger?

It doesn't work for everyone, but a reverse-grip tower is ideal for someone with shoulders like mine.

The Gearhead Fighter

We all know this guy, in one guise or another. He's our uncle who will talk about the differences in air intake valves, and their effects on the gas/air ratio in your engine, and how that will make a difference in speed, efficiency, and response time. He's that friend we made in computer sciences who built his own gaming PC from the ground up, and could list everything from the ideal amount of RAM to the processor he had installed, and why he'd made every, individual choice. And since we're all RPG fans here, he's also that guy you met at a con who could lay out an ideal character build, complete with traits, feats, and edition notations, before you were halfway through your first sentence.

What you need to do is take that attitude, and apply it to your character, and their personality.

Why so many different swords? Well, let me tell you...

 

The Gearhead doesn't have a bastard sword. The gearhead has a full tang, hand-and-a-half with seven-inch quillions, a beveled fuller, and an alternating wire-wrap hilt. Every aspect of a weapon, piece of armor, and their maintenance, is something the gearhead knows. Not just knows, but loves. Whether it's in a, "let me show you how much I know about fighting," kind of way, or a, "these are my tools, this is my trade, and I would never dream of doing anything else," kind of way, the interest is one the gearhead goes on about at length.

It doesn't matter what sort of weapons or armor the gearhead favors, either. Archers may talk about preferred woods for bows and shafts, or preferred fletchings for their arrows. The merits and flaws of different arrowheads, a full versus partial draw, and how often a bow should be oiled, as well as with what kind of oil, are also good topics. When it comes to armor, the age-old debate of strength versus mobility is sure to be a factor, but there's more detail to get into. What kind of pattern does a chain shirt have? Was it left to blacken? What sort of maintenance needs to be done on it? What kind of metal was used to make the links?

And, most importantly, who is the artisan behind the work?

Just as there are signature surfboards, comic books, and cookware, so there is signature adventuring gear. It isn't just that your short sword is a piece of masterwork artistry, oh no. It came from the personal anvil of Ciril Greene, the finest craftsman in elven steel outside of Kyonin itself. Every detail, from the slight curve toward the tip, to the ironwood grip, would tell a fellow gearhead what they're looking at. They wouldn't need to see the maker's mark on the ricasso, but that gently floating leaf is enough to confirm just how masterfully that weapon was made.

A true gearhead would also be able to tell the genuine article from a forgery. A simple heft and swing, along with running his thumb and eye along the steel, would be enough to tell him whether or not the weapon was real, and if it was worth the cost.

Race, Culture, and Preferences Among Gearheads

Gearheads are shaped by the cultures they come from, as well as by their race. For example, dwarven gearheads may focus more on the composition of a weapon's steel, the forging techniques, and where the ore was mined. Five Kings steel, for example, might be the preference for a dwarf from the Five Kings Mountains. Even if that gearhead acknowledges the strength of metals smelted from other parts of the world, he may not trust it, or rely on it, as much as he would if it were his own people who had made it.

It just sits better in your hand.

 

The more exotic the race, or the weapons, the more unusual these gearheads can become. Mithril and adamantine might be recognized by most gearheads, who have only heard tales of these fabled metals, but there are even more unusual elements out there. Infernal and celestial weapons might be legendary, both for their craftsmanship, and for the inherent powers imbued into them by their inhuman smiths. Mortal gearheads have likely heard tales of these weapons, though, and may know more than many sages when it comes to named weapons and armor that hold prominent places in the history of war. Gearheads raised among the celestial realms, though, may have first-hand experience of such weapons.

Gearheads Can Be Other Classes, of Course

While the fighter is the class which is perhaps most closely tied to the gear they use, it's far from the only class that can be made as a gearhead. A magus, for example, might be able to go on at length about the enchanter's weave in his mithril rapier, showing how the spells were anchored at the weapon's balance point to create a singular effect. A ranger will be able to tie unique weapons and armor to their favored enemies, creating a synergy between their knowledge and specialization that gives them an edge against any prey they've studied. Even wizards, with their intense study and ability to craft potent magic items, may be able to rattle off the advantages and disadvantages of different weapons and armors. Even if they can't use them in the field, that doesn't mean they haven't studied them.

Gearheads don't just bore their companions to death with intricate discussions about honing techniques and flange styles, though. Their knowledge and familiarity can allow them to integrate into certain spheres to gather information. Weapon smiths and armor merchants will recognize an enthusiast, and may be more willing to cut prices (a little) when it comes time to find a buyer for their goods. A gearhead might even be able to evaluate a foe before initiative is even rolled by taking in their accouterments. To the rest of the party, the sneering prince is just another spoiled noble. The gearhead sees the iron eagle on the prince's blade, though, and he recognizes that as a high honor, that particular blade given only to those who've killed more than fifty men on the battlefield.

Which might mean he can smooth some ruffled feathers, and make a powerful friend.

If you're looking for further inspiration, check out 5 Tips For Playing Better Fighters!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories 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!