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 the hidden Astradaemon. While categorized as Finesse Wielding, elven curve blades are also two-handed weapons and benefit from the 50% bonus damage of Power Attack.

This build combines Power Attack, sneak attack, and critical hits to inflict effective damage. It obtains the Iron Will feat at level 5 to mitigate dangerous mental failure, and the Blind Fight feat at level 15 to negate invisible enemy shenanigans. All remaining feat choices are dedicated towards the elven curve blade, Shatter Defenses, and late game dual wielding for Allslayer. While the obvious endgame weapon is Bane of the Living, inclusion of two-weapon fighting for an Allslayer in each hand provide attacks that devastate enemies immune or regenerative to Harm.

Thundercallers are not meant to be melee combatants; yet here we are. Though I frown upon using 8’s on starting attributes, in order to make this unorthodox concept work one needs min-maxing to assign at least 14 points towards Constitution. Any lesser amount would be early level hit point suicide and the exceptional baseline skill points and Will saves of a Bard makes sacrificing Intelligence and Wisdom tolerable concessions. Strength 11 to comfortably wear armor and gear without weight penalty.

This build goes hard for longsword optimization in anticipation for endgame acquisition of Perfection, which adds much needed Inherent +2 to multiple stats while equipped. Piranha Strike is obtained at level 5 for the requisite damage of a would-be warrior. Completing the Crane Style feat chain, along side medium armor proficiency, then becomes a focal point for survivability afterwards. Spell selection includes melee favorites such as greater heroism and haste; however various support magics such as communal delay poison and mass cacophonous call are also included to maintain the Bard’s trademark flexibility.

In most scenarios the maximum level a General will attain during the Varnhold DLC of Pathfinder Kingmaker will be ninth level. With a maximum size party of three (the General, Maegar Varn, Cephal Lorentus) and all experience sharing disabled, it is possible to reach level twelve, but that becomes difficult and burdensome – especially in the final dungeon.

This build assumes an endgame of level 9 to level 12 for the General. However it can easily function efficiently in the main game. If pursuing that option, swap out each instance of scythe selection for the greataxe and aim to acquire the Vanquisher. You will be monster murdering powerhouse with that single change. The overall concept is quite simple: high melee damage, enemy debuffs through intimidation, and reliable late game critical attacks if used in the main quest with the aforementioned greataxe substitution.

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.

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.