Pathfinder Weightlifting Competition

[Kurald Galain]

I've been looking at some monsters with massive strength scores, and was wondering how high you can get as a character. So I've come up with this weightlifting champion. This is meant as theory-op but it doesn't use any big loopholes, so it's actually playable (if a bit silly). Also, this forum can use some more Pathfinder builds, so feel free to post your own high-strength characters!

So I present: Bloodrager 4 / Alchemist 2 / Dragon Disciple 7 / Bloodrager +7.

Take the following feats and class options:

• For the bloodrager, the bloody-knuckled rowdy archetype (for bonus feats) and crossblooded. Bloodlines are draconic (required for dragon disciple) and abyssal (which enlarges for free when raging, and at levels 12+ provides another strength boost).
• The bonus feat is Blood Frenzy Style, which adds +2 to strength when you take damage. At bloodrager level 5, this activates at the start of each combat.
• Bloodrager can also get a familiar. Let's go with a figment, which is imaginary and returns for free when killed.
• Blood Vengeance feat. If anyone kicks your imaginary puppy, your strength goes up!
• Finally, bloodrager can get the Blood Piercing mutation, which adds your strength bonus to SR checks a couple times per day.
• For the alchemist, the ragechemist archetype gives +2 more strength while using mutagen. Also, vivisectionist replaces our low-damage bomb by +1d6 sneak attack.
• Alchemist gets one discovery, so let's take a Tentacle for another attack and pretend it's a draconic tail.
• Deific Obedience feat. Gorum is a fitting god for a hulk-like character, and it adds +4 to all our strength checks and skills (not attacks). At level 16 it gets the ability from the Strength domain to add up to +10 (!) more. If you qualify for a divine gift (under the GM's control, so not included below) then Gorum's is a permanent +1 to strength.
• A scroll of Visualization of the Body adds another +5 to strength skills and checks, for a day.
• Trap Wrecker feat, which lets you disable devices by hitting them really hard.
• Skill Focus, Eldritch Heritage (orc), Improved Eldritch Heritage feats. Yes, our orc is descended from a long bloodline of... orcs. At high level, this adds +6 to our strength. Unfortunately this doesn't stack with tomes.
• Fun traits are Wrecking Wrath (1/d double your str mod to an attack) and Balanced Education (1/d add str to an int check), because we're so strong that we can punch knowledge checks.

At level 10, our strength score ends up as follows:

• 18 point buy
• +4 race (orc)
• +2 levelup
• +4 belt
• +4 rage
• +6 mutagen
• +4 dragon disciple
• +2 enlarge
• +2 improved eldritch heritage
• +2 Blood Vengeance
• +2 blood frenzy style

...for a total of 50 strength. This tops the tarrasque (41 str) as well as great wyrm dragons (43 str).

But wait, we're not done yet. At level 14 and up, the bonuses from abyssal and orc bloodline kick in, and at level 18 the spell Form of the Dragon kicks in whenever we rage.
Also, we can add the Blood Rage spell (from a potion or ally). It lasts only 1 round per level, but if we can manage to take 25 damage, our rage bonus increases to +10.
Then, the spell Pesh Vigor (which is on the bloodrager list) lets us deal damage to ourself as a free action, to increase the enhancement bonus to strength to +10. Doing this for two rounds will most likely max out Blood Rage, as well as trigger Blood Frenzy Style if that was still needed.
There's also the Biting Words spell (also on the bloodrager list) which deals ranged damage based on strength, basically by shouting at people. Not amazing but very fitting.
Finally, the Ant Haul spell (on the alchemist list) flat-out triples our carrying capacity.

At level 20, it looks like this:

• 18 point buy
• +4 race (orc)
• +5 levelup
• +6 belt
• +6 rage
• +4 abyssal bloodline
• +6 mutagen
• +4 dragon disciple
• +6 form of the dragon
• +6 improved eldritch heritage
• +2 Blood Vengeance
• +2 blood frenzy style
• +2 blood rage spell
• +4 pesh vigor spell

...total Strength of 75! Now we outclass Chthulhu himself (who has 56 str).

Regarding weightlifting, our heavy load is 7,3 million pounds, or 3300 metric tonnes. This makes it trivial to pick up an elephant, blue whale, or dragon; we’re at the level where moving buildings and landmarks around is very doable. The Apollo 11 rocket weighs about 3300 tonnes, so we can carry that around. How's that for making the olympics blush?

[pabelfly]

Since Pathfinder doesn't have LA for races, only an amount of points that they're worth, you could also choose to customize a race, or if you don't want to do that, you can pick a Trox which has +8 STR instead of the Orc's +4.

[Tohron]

If you're boosting weightlifting specifically, equipping Muleback Cords will increase your strength by 8 for the purposes of carry capacity.

[Maat Mons]

I’m pretty sure a Synthesist Summoner can get to 50 Strength when Fused with their Eidolon.

16 (Eidolon base) + 16 (Large Huge Size Evolution) +8 (Ability Increase Evolution x4) +8 (Eidolon level bonus) +3 (Eidolon ability increases) = 51 (costs all 26 points in Evolution Pool)

It’s nowhere near the 75 you got, but it is all day.

[Rynjin]

Are you looking for maximum Strength score or max carrying capacity? Because those are two VERY different things. Size and quadruped bonuses mean a lot for the latter. As a quick example, this is what a Druid is capable of at level 8 with essentially zero optimization.

Further down the thread is this gem:

Druid 8 /Alchemist 2/Bard 1/Draconic Disciple 5/ Barbarian 4

Shaping Focus
Powerful Shape
Eldritch Heritage (orc)
Eldritch Heritage, improved (orc)
Eldritch Heritage, Greater (orc)

+5 furious courageous weapon

20 Strength + 5 Levels + 6 inherent + 6 enhancement + 7 morale + 8 Size + 4 Draconic Disciple + 4 Alchemic

Base Heavy Capacity: 20 (400)

60 Strength 4^4= 256
Gargantuan x8
Anthaul x3

2,457,600 w/o Quad bonus
2,457,600 lifting over head
4,915,200 lifting to waist
12,288,000 Pushing

Thats able to push 6144 tons

Edit: and if you do allow quadruped bonus it moves you x8 to x12, meaning the whole thing is multiplied for another 1.5.

That'll give you a push value of 18,432,000 pounds

Edit: Oops, with masterwork Backpack it'll be 14,131,200 or 21,196,800 pounds.

I.e. around double(?) the carry weight of your big Strength lad.

Losing a few points in Strength to become a quadruped, Huge+, or preferably both is well worth it for maxing carrying capacity. If that's the goal, seems like it'd be fun to fiddle with tomorrow. The thread in question is over 10 years old and there's a lot of new material to work with to crack that number.

[Kurald Galain]

Are you looking for maximum Strength score or max carrying capacity?

Well I started with strength but then I decided that weightlifting is actually more fun.

Good point about size and quadrupeds, I had forgotten about that. My build is actually a large dragon, so it should triple its carrying cap. I'll see if I can find a way to make him huge.

If you're boosting weightlifting specifically, equipping Muleback Cords will increase your strength by 8 for the purposes of carry capacity.

you can pick a Trox which has +8 STR instead of the Orc's +4.

Great, so now we're up to 77 million pounds, or about 35000 metric tonnes. This is about half of what the Eiffel Tower weighs.

[Eldonauran]

Found a discussion on the Paizo Boards about finding the highest strength possible. You might be able to pick through that thread for anything you might have overlooked.

[Kurald Galain]

Found a discussion on the Paizo Boards about finding the highest strength possible. You might be able to pick through that thread for anything you might have overlooked.

Good find, thanks!

From that list, the feats Extreme Mood Swings and Amplified Rage (assuming either a teammate or a valet familiar with the same feat) add +6 to strength. The Righteous Medal item adds another +2. And switching obedience to Haagenti can add +4 (via using Form of the Dragon III instead of II).
It's possible to make a pact with certain demonic entities, but I'm not listing that since it's strictly under the GM's control.

Current strength: 91 (+8 from muleback).
Weightlifting, about 206 million pounds, or 95,000 tonnes. That's about the weight of an aircraft carrier.

[Another_Lurker]

Probably shouldn't count because all the limitations go out the window in Epic, but I'm gonna speak up anyway.

Friend of mine has an Epic Pathfinder character with some incidental chops here. He's vaguely optimizing for weapon size and gets real big when he wants. While I don't know the entire build (and there's GM Extras flying around on top of Epic shenanigans), offhand I know he's a Trox (so base Large) with an Epic feat to bump him to base Huge, plus a psionic item (Psychoactive Skin of Proteus) for an at-will plus/minus two size cats. Probably other stuff I'm missing too.

The numbers I have from the Discord are about six months old and I'm fairly sure there've been belt & headband upgrades since, his Heavy Load/Above Head is 26 million pounds or within rounding distance of 12,000 metric tons (11,889 and change), Off Ground is 52 million pounds or 23,781 and change metric tons, and his Pull/Drag is 131 million pounds or 59,453 and a quarter metric tons.

Active character at a table, but again, Epic.

[JNAProductions]

I want to know what it takes to hit 6*10²⁴ kilos.
That is, a little above the mass of the Earth.