For reasons difficult to put into words, I have a fondness for the Archaeologist archetype. Its a bard whose hippie music abilities were torn out and substituted with chad rogue features, yet retains access to spells for versatility. Archaeologist’s Luck is even more wonderous after Lingering Performance. However from a mechanics prospective, Archaeologist offers nothing beyond 18th level. I suggest starting two levels as an Aldori Defender for dueling sword and armor accessibility to ease the first chapter.

DPS intimidator for challenging mode difficulty (or lower) in Pathfinder Kingmaker. Effective from first level. Capitalizes on experience points obtained via successful Athetlics, 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).

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.

As the name implies, the Trippin Mad Dawg is all about tripping opponents. Wolf animal companion grants more opportunities, 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. Half-Elf because Half-Elves are just awesome.

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.

Sasaki Kojirō fans rejoice: the elven curve blade is Kingmaker’s equivalent of the nodachi. Powerful versions are readibly acquirable throughout the adventure, especially bane of the living if you can defeat the associated astradaemon. As a two-handed weapon, an elven curve blade benefits from the 50% bonus damage of Power Attack, providing extra damage oomph. If you’re not dabbling with Pathfinder’s multiclass madness, a straightforward rogue can utilize the weapon to create an effective melee build.