Knife Master race

[Exto]

Does Halfing win again, strictly in terms of optimization? I'm kind of tired of Halflings though, even though I only have 1 Halfling in my team so far. I guess I just read about them way too much.

So far I have:

Human Monster Tactician (MC)
Human Tower Shield Specialist (Valerie, may replace with druid)
Aasimar Ecclesitheurge
Elf Arcane Trickster
Halfling Monk

Also, does Gnome/Halfling Tower Shield Specialist work, for giggles?

[Dixon Sider]

I think the best Knife master race (out of the ones we can pick) is Elf. Unless you want to go for the 2 custom races, but I try not to use them myself because they feel cheaty, and I would end up with a team of all tieflings if I didnt limit myself lol

[Exto]

I don't have DLC and I won't be getting them so I think I'll try Elf. Could I ask why you think Elves are best?

[dwarfpcfan]

halfings get dexterity and size bonuses so they are probably the best choice. Mind you race is mostly irrelevant in overall effectiveness as class build is what matters

[Dixon Sider]

Originally posted by Exto:

I don't have DLC and I won't be getting them so I think I'll try Elf. Could I ask why you think Elves are best?

They get +2 to DEX and INT. You arent too concerned with INT, but its nice to have because they are the skill masters of the game. Other things that come with elves are also nice bonuses. You dont want to skimp on STR because you are going to use STR early on to buff your damage (It SUCKS early on when dumping STR). You also have more variety of weapons to use weapon finesse on when your not tiny

[Exto]

I decided to just stick with Half Elf because I want to use this portrait. Not a full elf based on the ear shape and size.

https://i.imgur.com/rxFXTO8.jpg

I do think the Halflings are probably best, especially due to the saves more than anything else for me, but I can't find a good portrait for one.

Thanks for the info guys!

[Exto]

Originally posted by Dixon Sider:

Originally posted by Exto:

I don't have DLC and I won't be getting them so I think I'll try Elf. Could I ask why you think Elves are best?

They get +2 to DEX and INT. You arent too concerned with INT, but its nice to have because they are the skill masters of the game. Other things that come with elves are also nice bonuses. You dont want to skimp on STR because you are going to use STR early on to buff your damage. You also have more variety of weapons to use weapon finesse on when your not tiny

Knife masters only use tiny weapons anyway right?

[Exto]

One more question, is Knife Master with splash of Vivi best or Vivi with Rogue/KM best or pure Vivi best for late game?

[Dixon Sider]

Originally posted by Exto:

Knife masters only use tiny weapons anyway right?

You have smaller small weapons too. Every weapon from a halflling will be 1 size smaller than if it was wielded by an elf. 1d4 turns to 1d3 for daggers for example

and shortswords go from 1d6 to 1d4

[Exto]

Originally posted by Dixon Sider:

Originally posted by Exto:

Knife masters only use tiny weapons anyway right?

You have smaller small weapons too. Every weapon from a halflling will be 1 size smaller than if it was wielded by an elf. 1d4 turns to 1d3 for daggers for example

and shortswords go from 1d6 to 1d4

Okay that's new info for me. Thanks!

[Slice]

As a rogue, weapon damage is almost meaningless. It's the sneak attack dice that do the damage.

[dwarfpcfan]

Originally posted by Slice:

As a rogue, weapon damage is almost meaningless. It's the sneak attack dice that do the damage.

not entirely meaningless given with finesse training and all the +8 to attribute items around you can easily crank your dexterity to 40 making adding your dexterity modifier to damage nothing to sneeze at

[Slice]

Originally posted by dwarfpcfan:

Originally posted by Slice:

As a rogue, weapon damage is almost meaningless. It's the sneak attack dice that do the damage.

not entirely meaningless given with finesse training and all the +8 to attribute items around you can easily crank your dexterity to 40 making adding your dexterity modifier to damage nothing to sneeze at

Again, the weapon is almost meaningless. D4 vs D3. You're still getting the dex bonus and sneak dice

[Kyutaru]

I had a party of axe throwers in one game. I think it was Pillars of Eternity? Don't know because I'm desperately trying to block that game from memory. But it used similar rules to 5th edition where thrown weapons could be Strength-based and it had them all as returning weapons. So I just spammed throwing axes that hit for stupid amounts of damage at a distance and kited anything that tried to get closer.