What are your favorite archetypes or archetype combinations?

[Wartex1]

I've seen talks of favorite prestige classes and favorite classes, but I don't see much about favorite archetypes, and I know there are a ton of good and flavorful archetypes out there as well.

For instance, my favorite archetypes are Living Grimoire (Inquisitor), Saboteur (Alchemist), and Gingerbread Witch (Witch, duh).

However, there's also some really neat combinations, like Eldritch Scoundrel and Hidden Blade (PoW content) for the Rogue.

[Psyren]

There's too many to list. I'm a big fan of the archetype system and I can spend hours just coming up with new combinations to base characters on.

Some of my favorites are the ones that remove casting from a certain class in exchange for something else. They almost always make that class a little weaker, because spells/extracts are that good, but they also enable concepts that can be hard to pull off any other way. For example, a Shapeshifter Alchemist who doesn't use extracts or bombs is a character I've always wanted to play, as is a Temple Champion Paladin in a no-spellcasters campaign.

[Eldonauran]

Hmm, that's a good question... I consider the archetype a favorite if I would, more often than not, choose to take it over the other archetypes or base class.

I do have a favorite... The Druid (Nature Fang), maybe tack on (Druid of Gorum) so we can wear metal armor without losing some of our class features for 24 hours.

[legomaster00156]

I like playing a Wizard (Pact Wizard/Pact Wizard) with the Pact Servant and Dragon Pact traits.

[Ellrin]

I've always thought it would be hilarious to have a tome eater occultist and an order of the tome cavalier in the same party.

[Psyren]

I've always thought it would be hilarious to have a tome eater occultist and an order of the tome cavalier in the same party.

"Godsdammit Krunk, again???"

[Mehangel]

One combination which I very much enjoyed was Nimble Blade combined with Gifted Blade. It is unfortunate that the Path of War errata wasn't updated to allow the combination of Nimble Blade + War Soul.

[Grod_The_Giant]

There's too many to list. I'm a big fan of the archetype system and I can spend hours just coming up with new combinations to base characters on.

Some of my favorites are the ones that remove casting from a certain class in exchange for something else. They almost always make that class a little weaker, because spells/extracts are that good, but they also enable concepts that can be hard to pull off any other way. For example, a Shapeshifter Alchemist who doesn't use extracts or bombs is a character I've always wanted to play, as is a Temple Champion Paladin in a no-spellcasters campaign.

Wait-- shapeshifter Alchemist?

[Psyren]

Wait-- shapeshifter Alchemist?

Sorry, I was being lazy. The actual archetype name is Metamorph.

[Elricaltovilla]

Martial Master Mutagen Warrior Fighter takes a bottom of the barrel class and pushes it to very nearly Tier 3. Still has a dearth of skill points, sadly.

[Azoth]

While it trades away alot of class abilities, I do love stacking Infiltrator, Preacher, and Sin Eater on Inquisitor. It plays alot differently than a typical Inquisitor, but is fun in its own right.

One of my player's is about to give it a spin and combo it with a Soul Eater dip. He is going for a divine assassin feel. I can't wait to see how it pans out for him. The idea of stealthing in, killing the target, trapping it's soul and devouring it's sins is awesome.

[Forrestfire]

I'm a huge fan of the Vigilante (serial killer). The synergy with Unchained Rogue multiclass (maybe not optimal, but amusing and leads to some nice shenanigans), the (Ex) charm effect, and Death Attack on a base class (while not particularly strong, it certainly feels nice) are really nice.

Likewise, the Rogue (thug)'s debuffs are incredibly efficient for what I tend to want to do with rogues, so I'm a fan there as well. Likewise, Rogue (eldritch scoundrel) does some very fun things; ES URogue is basically what I, personally, want out of an Intelligence-based spellbook caster, so I've had a lot of fun with that.

Honorable mention to the Avowed (betrothed), Soulknife (living legend), and Kineticist (avant guard), though I suspect those are a bit disingenuous to list

[Grod_The_Giant]

Sorry, I was being lazy. The actual archetype name is Metamorph.

Hmm, neat. Terrible, but neat.

[Rynjin]

Hmm, neat. Terrible, but neat.

I wouldn't say it's TERRIBLE...in a Gestalt game. Or if you start at around level 10-13. Early levels are rough though.

My personal favorites are the Ectoplasmatist Spiritualist, Sanctified Slayer Inquisitor, Speaker for the Past Shaman, and a toss-up between the Shield Champion and Exemplar Brawler (I REALLY wish they stacked).

Not that archetypes for Core classes are bad, but there's so many good ones for the Core classes it's hard to list them all without making this a "Top 5 archetypes for each class" list.

[grarrrg]

Skulking Slayer Scout Rogue.

Scout: Charging turns your attacks automatically into Sneak Attacks
Skulking Slayer: Charging with a 2-handed weapon upgrades your Sneak dice to d8's

KROG SNEAK ATTACK!

[Psyren]

Hmm, neat. Terrible, but neat.

It's weak at early levels but gets good not long after. You don't need to wait until 10 either - level 4 is enough to stay shapeshifted for the whole adventuring day.

I would simply be a regular alchemist from levels 1-3 or so and then retrain into it.

Another of my favorite archetypes (one that raises the base class' power this time) is Amnesiac Psychic.

[Rynjin]

It's weak at early levels but gets good not long after. You don't need to wait until 10 either - level 4 is enough to stay shapeshifted for the whole adventuring day.

At 4th it's just Alter Self though, which functions basically as a worse Beastmorph Mutagen (1/4 the upside, but no downside at least). At 5th you get Monstrous Physique I, which isn't as great as it sounds since most of the cooler monstrous humanoid abilities are locked at MP I, so it's just "Alter Self, but can grant move speeds".

MP II comes on at 9, which is where you start to be in business, and it just ramps up from there since MP III-IV and both Giant Forms are really good. MP IV finally lets you be a Calikang which is where things start to get REALLY fun.

Another of my favorite archetypes (one that raises the base class' power this time) is Amnesiac Psychic.

I forgot about the Amnesiac! I played one in a (sadly) short lived game a few years ago, they're really damn cool. It let me play a redeemed (sort of) villain (he'd been mindwiped and dumped in an unfamiliar city) without going through a whole campaign first.

[Yanisa]

Martial Master Mutagen Warrior Fighter takes a bottom of the barrel class and pushes it to very nearly Tier 3. Still has a dearth of skill points, sadly.

Great combo, but I also add Eldritch Guardian (and Mauler for Familiar) to the mix. It really feels like a neat package where all the archetypes connect to each other to create something unique.

Another of my favorites Feral Gnasher, even when Goblin is one of the worst choices for Barbarian.

[grarrrg]

The actual archetype name is Metamorph.

"This ability replaces alchemy (which also includes bombs, extracts, and mutagen) and Throw Anything."
"At 1st level, a metamorph gains mutagen"

[Florian]

I really like archetypes that manage to deepen the fluff of a class, as well as the mechanical function.
Hexenhammer (Inquisitor), Mounted Fury (Barbarian), Daring General (Cavalier) and Foehammer (Fighter) are ones I like the most. I rarely use more than one archetype for characters I play, with the exception of Mounted Fury and Superstitious on a Barbarian, as I feel they complement each other well, both in theme as well as mechanics.

[Rynjin]

"This ability replaces alchemy (which also includes bombs, extracts, and mutagen) and Throw Anything."
"At 1st level, a metamorph gains mutagen"

Why the sigh?

It takes away an all encompassing class feature, and then adds one sub-section back as part of the archetype.

[lord pringle]

Reaper of Secrets/Sanctified Slayer Inquisitor with Improved Outflank and Betrayal feats. Stare an enemy as a swift and then flank with them for sneak attack, since they threaten their own square. Then Ally Shield them every chance you get.

[Kitsuneymg]

Great combo, but I also add Eldritch Guardian (and Mauler for Familiar) to the mix. It really feels like a neat package where all the archetypes connect to each other to create something unique.

Another of my favorites Feral Gnasher, even when Goblin is one of the worst choices for Barbarian.

Since the weapon master's handbook, I can't see me using Martial Master fighter anymore, and it used to be my favorite. Giving up access to Advanced Weapon Training means no Iron Caster. Dip brawler 1 and you can then flex Advanced Weapon Training, select Item Mastery, and then proceed to "cast" any of those spells on that list. It's a very rough trade to make for a better martial flex ability.

Lore Warden (PFSFG) + Myrmidon is one of my favorite combos ever.

The new Virtuous Bravo looks like it'll shape up to be real fun, even if it loses spell casting. Not sure how it'll compare to daring Champion.

[Florian]

Dip brawler 1 and you can then flex Advanced Weapon Training, select Item Mastery, and then proceed to "cast" any of those spells on that list. It's a very rough trade to make for a better martial flex ability.

OT: Try repeating a Occultist (Panoply Savant) 2/Fighter (Weapon Master) 3 building block routine. Ok, you´re locked into the Sword´n´Board style, but that makes a great Iron Caster.

[SwordChucks]

I forgot about the Amnesiac!

This made me smile.

I'm a fan of the Blaster Armorist archetype because why not be Megaman?

[Kitsuneymg]

OT: Try repeating a Occultist (Panoply Savant) 2/Fighter (Weapon Master) 3 building block routine. Ok, you´re locked into the Sword´n´Board style, but that makes a great Iron Caster.

im not exactly conversant with the occultist. Can you explain how that build accomplishes flexible casting?

[Psyren]

At 4th it's just Alter Self though, which functions basically as a worse Beastmorph Mutagen (1/4 the upside, but no downside at least).

I don't see how it's worse - you can get all of the abilities instead of just one, and it stacks with your regular mutagen to boot, getting you up to +6 Str at 1st level instead of just +4. In addition, since you don't need Int like a regular alchemist, you can focus on your physical stats, and boosting your Str with your Mutagen no longer gimps you.

At 5th you get Monstrous Physique I, which isn't as great as it sounds since most of the cooler monstrous humanoid abilities are locked at MP I, so it's just "Alter Self, but can grant move speeds".

MP II comes on at 9, which is where you start to be in business, and it just ramps up from there since MP III-IV and both Giant Forms are really good. MP IV finally lets you be a Calikang which is where things start to get REALLY fun.

Yeah MP2 gets you a Tikbalang so that's indeed a strong start.

"This ability replaces alchemy (which also includes bombs, extracts, and mutagen) and Throw Anything."
"At 1st level, a metamorph gains mutagen"

I don't see the issue. They even make sure to add language that you can use a Mutagen without the alchemy class feature.

The whole point of the archetype is to make you a melee beast, doing that without a Mutagen would be silly. They just remove the bombs and extracts.

[Pex]

I like the archetype system as a matter of game design. It allows players to specialize and in some cases have effective multiclassing while remaining one class. Personally it's not for me. I generally like the base classes as is and don't want to give up what I have to for the archetype. However, there are a couple of exceptions. I like Dual Cursed Oracle for the luck manipulation and Seer Oracle providing a better in my opinion Mystery Spell List than some appropriate Mysteries, especially Lore. Extra Revelation Feat makes up for whatever Revelations you want from your Mystery now as opposed to later when you take the archetype Revelations.

[Rynjin]

I don't see how it's worse - you can get all of the abilities instead of just one, and it stacks with your regular mutagen to boot, getting you up to +6 Str at 1st level instead of just +4. In addition, since you don't need Int like a regular alchemist, you can focus on your physical stats, and boosting your Str with your Mutagen no longer gimps you.

I forgot how Beastmorph works, mostly. Turning into a Sasquatch is definitely superior to just getting one of the options.

I still think it's a pretty bad trade until MP II though. In terms of raw buffing stacking Extract buffs is generally better or close to it, so the loss in utility and reliable ranged AoE damage still hurts.

I guess that's a problem with the archetype in general though. It feels bad compared to the base Alchemist, but at the same time it's really good just taken on its own merits as compared to other non-caster classes. It kinda could have just been its own class with some other helpful features, people have clamored for a dedicated shapeshifter for a while.

Yeah MP2 gets you a Tikbalang so that's indeed a strong start.

Yeah, Tikbalang is another good one. I actually got the two confused at first since the names are so similar and had to change it.

[Psyren]

I guess that's a problem with the archetype in general though. It feels bad compared to the base Alchemist, but at the same time it's really good just taken on its own merits as compared to other non-caster classes. It kinda could have just been its own class with some other helpful features, people have clamored for a dedicated shapeshifter for a while.

That's exactly why I like it - as a dedicated shapeshifter class in its own right. I agree that compared to a straight Alchemist it's weak, but T4 is my floor rather than T3 like many around here.