Greetings All.
I've got a new Pathfinder game starting in the next week or so, and was looking for some fine tuning advice for my new Face-Puncher, who specializes in the drunken punching of faces. First, the basics, just so we're all on the same page. Regardless of what rules would actually say on the subject, this is a kind of "go a little nuts and have fun" campaign, so:
1. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook, APG, Ultimates, Advanced Race (but no designing your own for fun & profit). Other Paizo has to be reviewed, but can generally be talked into. 3.0/5 is out, with the exception of 0 ECL Races listed in the Race Books (except no Warforged). 3rd Party is just plain out barring just truly excessive GM bribing, including Psionics.
2. Starting at Level 5.
3. Character is (or at least eventually will be) a Drunken Monk/Drunken Brute barbarian. Multiclass is allowed despite alignment, but it does require the alignment to change, and it's a one time deal, so once I leave Monk there's no going back (however, see 5). As per rulebook though, whatever I learned as a monk, I keep.
4. GM is allowing the Fast Drinker feat (drink booze as a swift action) to power both Monk's Ki Pool and the Barbarian Rage as per the archetypes, with the same drink. One drink, done as a swift action, gives both a point of Ki and a freebie round of rage.
5. There is a Homebrew feat that allows barbarian levels to stack with monk to progress Unarmed damage, Ki Pool, Flurry of Blows, and Speed, but nothing else. Other such "quasi-gestalt" feats exist, but you only get one, and no doubling down in the magical world. (No feat allows two primary spell casting classes, including bard, summoner, and alchemist, to dual level). Also, no PrC can benefit.
6. A plague ran through this world and killed all the humans. No extra feat for you. Or rather me, I suppose.
6.5: Other party members are a Gunslinging Shapeshifting Ranger from our resident "amazing back story - hit or miss build" player and some sort of cleric-swordinyourface class mix I don't know any details of from our resident "I'LL BLOW UP THE OCEAN" lovable sociopath. So, I need to be decent enough to stay alive and punch some faces, but the build by no means has to be able to single-handedly bring about the apocalypse, though being able to quickly talk somebody else down from it might come in handy. That said, I'm here aren't I, so thrill me.
7. We will probably make it to around Level 12ish.
8. Stats are standard rolled (but rounded up to the nearest even), not bought, so until I roll them the specifics are a bit up in the air. Let's assume (hahaha) that before racials I'll have nothing higher than 16 and nothing lower than an 8, and hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Obviously, this opens up some fun possibilities. So, my general questions.
1. Race Suggestions? I'd prefer to be medium both from a damage and general character sense, and as you might guess from the Plague the GM is a little tired of Humans, and I get the feeling would really love some races aside from the core seven.
2. Rage Power suggestions? Good For What Ails you is great of course, and Intestinal Fortitude will help with the nausea from being drunk during the rage, but past that I'm a little lost at the possibilities. The other drinking powers are fun with the flavor, but seem a bit weak mechanically. Beast Totem Pounce is of course something fun to work towards, but since I'm already getting monk unarmed flurry which doesn't stack with natural attacks, the build up powers are a little lacking. Maybe a more drunken come and get me style?
3. When should I break from Monk? I've got to go to 4 to get the Ki pool, 5 I get Drunken Strength. Is drunken strength worth it? Is there anything else worth sticking for?
4. Is it at all worth my time to try and work some other madness in? I am allowed further multiclassing, so I had considered a couple levels of ninja to pick up Forgotten Trick, which my shared booze fueled Ki Pool could facilitate, but I'm not sure it's worth delaying the barbarian levels for, as that is kind of the whole point of this exercise. There's also of course Lame-Cursed Oracle/Rage Prophet, and the combination of some divine buffing and fatigue free raging does sound tasty, but Rage Prophet will not advance the monk abilities, and I will have the other cleric-y type for some basic pre-fight buffs, assuming they feel like sharing.
5. Feats? I'm burning one on Fast Drinker, One (pro-ssibly) on the Barb/Monk advancer. I suppose there's always Power Attack. A little later there's that 2 ki points per 1 drink feat. Other ideas?
6. Items? I've got a couple of bottles of hard liquor that will keep the drunken fun flowing for a while, and the GM has hinted that, barring my terrible murder at the hands of the forces of darkness, an early session will probably include a Canteen of Endless Booze as a treasure, but beyond the usual amulet of overpriced natural attacks or whatever, I'm open to ideas.
6. Any other advice? I'm pretty locked in to the main drunken plan, but past that would love any ideas you all might have.
Thanks for your help!
