Human melee build who combines power attack, sneak attack, and critical hits to inflict high damage. Effective and thoroughly tested in a normal difficulty campaign.

Sasaki Kojirō and Sephiroth fans rejoice: the elven curve blade is Kingmaker’s equivalent of a nodachi. Powerful versions are readily acquirable throughout the campaign, with bane of the living as the ultimate option if you can defeat an astradaemon. While categorized as Finesse Wielding, elven curve blades are also two-handed weapons and can benefit from the 50% bonus damage of Power Attack.

This build obtains the Iron Will feat at level 5 to mitigate dangerous Will failures, and the Blind Fight feat at level 11 to negate invisible enemy shenanigans. All remaining feat choices are dedicated towards elven curve blade usage, intimidation tactics, and late game dual wielding. The obvious endgame weapon is Bane of the Living, but inclusion of two-weapon fighting for double Allslayer usage provides attacks to devastate enemies that Harm could rejuvenate.

Human melee build that leverages a bear, rage, and critical hits for damage. Effective and thoroughly tested under normal difficulty.

Obtain the Iron Will feat at level 5 to mitigate dangerous Will failures, and the Blind Fight feat at level 17 for infamous endgame shenanigans. All other feat choices are dedicated towards dual wielding and critical hits. Although the Greater Two-Weapon Fighting feat is unlocked at level 11, you might be unable to achieve the 19 Dexterity requirement without the Cat’s Grace spell, as a Belt of Incredible Dexterity +4 is unavailable until reaching the Goblin Village.

Equip scimitars in your main hand, with Thundering Claw of the Bear God as the ultimate prize. Equip a light weapon in your offhand, prioritizing options that confer secondary effects, such as Lightning Duelist, Arcane Protector, Chilly Midnight, and Edict.

Battlefield control for normal difficulty in Pathfinder Kingmaker. Capitalizes on experience points obtained via successful Lore (Nature), Persuasion, and Trickery skill checks. Utilize heroism and greater heroism to augment BAB for melee combat. Thunder Call provides supplemental damage. Deliberate focus on longsword for acquisition of Perfection, which adds Inherent +2 to multiple stats. Medium armor proficiency for Singing Steel Breastplate

Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal! Ahr fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin fah hin kogaan mu draal! Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod, Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein! Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul, Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!

Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod, Rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein! Sahrot Thu’um, med aan tuz, bey zeim hokoron pah, Ol fin Dovahkiin Komeyt ok rein! Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal! Ahr fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin fah hin kogaan mu draal!

Ark fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein! Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein! Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz! Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot, Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz! Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal! Ahr fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin fah hin kogaan mu draal!

Lawful Good. Unarmor melee build that still achieves an impressive armor class. Capitalizes on experience points obtained via successful Persuasion and Trickery skill checks. Weapon of choice is Bloodhound, obtainable in Chapter Two by exploiting dimension door in the Lonely Barrow.

Chaotic Good. I have a strong fondness for the Archaeologist archetype. Its a bard whose hippie music abilities are substituted with chad rogue features, and retains access to versatile spells. Archaeologist’s Luck is even more wondrous with Lingering Performance. However from a mechanics prospective, Archaeologist offers nothing beyond the 18th level. For that reason I suggest starting two levels as an Aldori Defender for dueling sword and armor accessibility to ease the initial chapter.

Lawful Good. DPS Intimidation for challenging mode difficulty (or lower) in Pathfinder Kingmaker. Effective from first level. Capitalizes on experience points obtained via successful Athletics, Persuasion, and Trickery skill checks. Acquire the Amulet of Mighty Fists +1 from killing Grarrukh at the Old Sycamore, replace with the Amulet of Mighty Fists +3 from killing Enlarged Owlbear Treant in the Other World, then endgame with the Amulet of Mighty Fists +5 located in House at the Edge of Time (Dinning Hall treasure chest, Trickery DC 48).

Neutral Good. Battlefield control and rearguard support for normal mode difficulty (or lower) in Pathfinder Kingmaker. Effective from first level. Capitalizes on experience points obtained via successful Persuasion and Trickery skill checks. Smilodon provides the melee muscle and tanking. Sorcerer provides buffing on pet and debuffing on enemies.

True Neutral. As the name implies, the Trippin Mad Dawg is all about tripping opponents. Doggo animal companion grants more opportunities (such a good boi), while three levels into Sacred Huntsmaster increase the overall mayhem with Hunter Tactics and Tandem Trip. Requisite feats for maximizing CMB are included in the build: Trip, Greater Trip, Fury’s Fall, and Coordinated Maneuvers. Two-Weapon Fighting because, why not?

Chaotic Neutral. Javelins are one of the weapons that suffered major developer negligence in Kingmaker. There are zero unique javelins and programmer oversight made javelins not benefit from Weapon Training. While try to avoid overt min-maxing, javelin builds are completely reliant on feats or class features to maintain relevancy. If you choose to follow the path of a Fighter, the aforementioned Weapon Training bug will never get patched. Do not invest more than 12 levels: there’s nothing of value after Greater Weapon Specialization.