Dex Living Grimore worth it?

[mbradtke]

I've been thinking about some build ideas for the Living Grimore and first i went with animal domain but then i scratched that again, just didnt want to ride a horse the whole time and would prefer something more lore related, when i watched a guide i noticed that the madness domain is one of the best domains and i was like "hey that sounds fun and that could work"

so my current idea is to make a dex based living grimore because the book counts as finesse weapon, why? well, to max the AC and make it surviveable in melee combat
for race i had some choices:
human? ok but too many skillpoints i dont need, so no
elv? pretty good but i didnt like the -2 CON malus, so no
halv elv? +2 will saves with heritage are nice but a bit too niche
fox? similiar to elf, good but maybe i can find something better, a bit STR would be nice to have and this one has -2
so i went for Aaasmir with Peri-Child heritage, it gets a bonus on 2 skill checks what is semi useful but more important +2 INT, the +2 CHR are nice for RP reasons but beside that, semi worthless but most important i can get Wings at lv10 what will grant me +3 AC against melee attacks, so i decided that it would fit my build best and went for that..................

So i went:
Str 13
Dex 16
CON 14
INT 17 (max this later)
Wis 12
Chr 10

I took the background for free unarmed strike and on lv1 i chose "evade" for +1 AC,
my aim is to go for crane style next to lessen the penalties on Att rolls while boosting my AC, i can also take defensive fighting for situations where i need it, mixed with teamwork feats that boost my AC and seelah as partner, wings later, i should be able to achieve a solid AC,
not sure how i want to continue beside that, will probably go for feats that increase my combat casting potential, also for madness domain's touch attack and SR feats, she has pretty good skill points income, skill focus: perception sounds reasonable as well,
first i was thinking about going for dazzling display as well, INQ get half class level on initimitade rolls, but decided that i would have to pay too many feats and that shattering defense also doesnt seem so be so important for this build, so i also went with only 10 CHR, ah, of course ill get weapon finesse later and mythic weapon finesse but that can also wait, 13 STR so i can wear shields and maybe also light armor, so i dont get weighted down and for an easier start,

not sure how good this build is, didnt pass act 1 yet, also not sure about mythic path later, i went with a chaotic character because of the madness domain and i play on hard mode,
any thoughts? (:
I guess my idea for this char is:
make is tanky and supporty, skill monkey, use spells to buff/CC, do some dmg if u can

[reidj062]

I don't think it will make it on hard mode. I played Grimoire through Act I and most of Act 2 and realized...it doesn't have a lot going for it. You get to cast and learn divine spells like a wizard? Kind of an interesting concept, but no real mechanical advantage, plus this makes you weaker than warpriest, cleric, or druid, who are divine casters that learn EVERY single spell for that level the second they level up. You gain the ability to enhance your weapon? Great, except it stays as a masterwork weapon until you do that...meaning it's less powerful than a paladin's weapon bond, a warpriest's sacred weapon, or a spirit shaman's weapon enhancement, which can be applied to actual magic weapon. You get a bonus to weapon strikes a round after casting a spell? Great. Unless you want to make concentration checks every single round, you'll be doing that maybe once a fight, before you enter into melee range?

Add in the fact that even though the class description says "uses int for spellcasting," and the development team REPEATEDLY had class features working based on wisdom instead, and there's a whole lot of reasons not to do it.

If you want to be a super skillful character who can enhance the party, and hit hard, just play a bard.

Also, not sure why you're taking unarmed strike if you want to fight with a light mace for the entire campaign.

[mbradtke]

thx for your input (:
unarmed strike is from background and i need it for crane style what is still a pretty potent feat, even if you dont go for crane wing, i could but better to use a good shield i think, shield spell is only 4 AC, a good shield with shield wall will be more usefull i think and cost less feats....
well, bard is a fine class but i just wanted to play a divine caster and i somehow like the living grimore a lot, it is just something special compared to clerics or warpriests, guess i'll just try to make the most out of it (: