Kingmaker!

In less then 48 hours we'll be playing through the last part of my mini Blackmoor campaign. I always have such grand aspirations with these things but I find being the DM very draining. I cut a huge side adventure out and one night to explore the Temple of the Frog really isn't enough.

Anyway, it was a fun interlude to let the Kingmaker adventure path get a little a head of us so we don't run into a situation like we did with Council of Thieves where Paizo fell behind schedule and we did side quests for 2 months.

Picking a character class is always a fun task for me as you can tell from the many character related posts I make. I rejoined the group at the tail end of Age of Worms never really having played 3.5. Making a decent 17th level character with no real experience is quite a task. Since then each character gets a little stronger as I try out new things and learn from earlier character's weaknesses.

I've been especially proud of the last 3. Mendle was build using Pathfinder's beta rules for the Second Darkness AP. An elven wizard who didn't like to get his hands dirty; he specialized in cloud spells and debuffs (his Enervations and Rays of Enfeeblement were notorious for turning BBEGs into sissies). For our last 3.5 campaign (Legacy of Fire) I played Vendlon (see my campaign blog for details). An Archivist who started out rather weak but was a true combat monster by the end of the campaign though the use of Persistent spells via Divine Metamagic. I went somewhere a little different during the last campaign. Alphonso the paladin was nearly indestructible and shows that in Pathfinder, paladins are the ultimate in defensive tank. Sure I kicked some BBEG ass but that was largely due to the nature of the campaign (lots of devils and undead). The rest of the time damage was fairly mediocre and he had rather limited mobility.

So with Kingmaker on the horizon (we'll likely start in early June) I am still pondering what to be. I never did try out my Summoner vs the evil PCs but I think I've lost some interest in that class for now. For now I have it narrowed down to 4 choices.

The first is Melina the Witch. She is character that is a cross between Mendle and Vendlon and would hopefully prove to be as effective as both. An excellent debuffer with a nice selection of many of my favorite cleric and wizard spells.
The second is Samson the Inquisitor of Abadar. A decent archer, a solid skill monkey and tracker, mixed with decent cleric spells. I haven't played the skill monkey in a while and I think this guy could be fun.

The third is Jonathan Bevari (version 1). A fighter archer, this guy will be able to lay down some serious damage. My main concern is that he'll get boring. I mean when all you largely do is stand in one place and do full round attacks with a bow it might start to get a bit boring.

So I came up with Jonathan Bevari (version 2). A falchion wielding fighter. The guy is the anti-Alphonso. He is all offense and little defense. Most critters will die in a round or two but with a mediocre AC, and poor saves, I fear this guy may not live long. Tayloritos gave me a good idea with his evil PC. Jon v2 will use the the Lunge and Stand Still feats to keep opponents from moving past him to help protect the back line. I have to admit that I am strongly tempted to play this guy as it is something I haven't tried before. I'd just need lots of back line support to stay alive.