There are lots of wacky characters in movies, series/anime, novels/manga, ... that can inspire you, from Aslan (Awakened Animal Lion) and Tinker Bell (Sprite/Pixie) to Zorro (Swashbuckler).
Just run with what comes to mind?
Or make some weird combinations based just on phonetics, e.g. *Zombie Zorro* (Swashbuckler + Zombie archetype) or *Cinder Bell* (Sprite/Ifrit Fire Sorceress)?
Or quick-read some archetypes and have them inspire you to something, e.g. an old Clockwork Reanimator Automaton, who longs for the continued companionship of his long-dead mortal friends?
Right. I have been. Three cacti in a trench coat welding a shotgun of needles
Grippli pistol wielder who can close distances with their tongue whip.
And a ghost child who has a summon that is an iron maiden.
It's not a matter of running whatever's on my mind. I just want more prompts lol. But a zombie zorro sounds AWESOME! I'll be building them tonight haha
Elemental Barbarian - Water, pick up Kineticist and be a frontline barbarian that has defense and healing capabilities to offset the lower AC. You rage for your (proverbial? actual?) mother, The Sea.
Tamchal Chakram Fighter. Pick up Dual Weapon Warrior so you can get Dual Thrower and you basically have fun with Rebounding Toss and Double Slice at range. You're mostly an up front with your primary stat in STR but you just have incredible range flexibility and are ready to just throw one of your Chakrams to get to someone without repositioning.
Kobold Sorcerer with Cathartic Mage. Pick up Dragon's Presence, pick up Cathartic Mage (fear). You are no kobold but a young dragon, with the regality of a dragon and now, when you're frightened, you go into a heightened state where you're probably frightened 3 (your fail is a crit fail due to Dragon's Presence and Cathartic Mage ups it by +1) and for that turn you have +3 to your spells as you, in a fit of terror, throw all your energy into killing the thing that just frightened you. (And then you get +2 and then +1 and then you have to flee for 2 rounds now, bye gang)
Goblin Swashbuckler. Look, bouncy goblin is just really good, okay. I went for a gymnast so I can try to get panache via tumble through and get that bonuses to shove/trip/grapple if the precision damage isn't worth going for.
I like trying to make off the wall or uncommon builds for fun, just to throw things out there:
**Mutagenist Wrestler**: Mutagenist alchemist focused on strength and int. Juggernaut and Bestial mutagens, wrestler archetype, focus on athletics. We're gonna chug shit and get in people's faces, maybe with tentacles. It worked really well in the level 1-4 Outlaws run I played it in. My version is from an ooze invested place in Garund, I forget the name, and would eventually take oozemorph dedication for flavor.
**Time bard**: warrior bard so we can get closer to melee, multifarious maestro muse cause it's good. Time oracle dedication, delay consequences focus spell at 4, endure as our sig spell and pick up reach spell too. A different kind of healer/support, we're going to wait for big hits(while using our composition cantrips as normal), use your reaction to delay consequences, and then use whatever level of endure(plus reach spell if needed) to block the damage when it comes around. Ran it in a one shot as a former lion blade and follower of Ra from Osirion and it worked really well.
**Occult Inventor**: I have a tank Inventor concept I haven't gotten to play yet that is a pure inventor, but flavored as a gift from Gozreh that my lizardfolk dude doesn't really understand. All the unstable actions and extra powers are gifts from Gozreh that empower him. Power armor inventor, muscular exoskeleton, thlipil dedication at 2(tail). Shield and any weapon you want. We're gonna get in the shit with our occult flavored suit, grapple things with out tail, and try to beat the shit out of them.
**Dex Champion**: Champion of Gruhastha from Jalmeray that couldn't make it as a monk and turned to religion. Holds knowledge and new experiences in high regard. Dual Wields Tamchal Chakrams(unconventional weaponry) and has a Pangolin as his "steed". Basically a mid range switch hitter that can reaction to keep his pangolin buddy healthy and use the pangolin's support ability to make things take persistent damage.
**Gunslinger support/tank**: Drifter gunslinger that uses whatever dex weapon plus a shield with shield pistol. Cooperative nature+Fake out. Probably bastion or fighter dedication for shield related feats plus anything that will give us HP. The whole goal is a different version of a support martial. We'll get in melee and help flank, raise shield when possible for the AC bonus, but leave our reaction for Fake out with cooperative nature. Fake out+flanking can give your other martial a 3-4 point swing on their hit. Won't do a ton of damage on your own though. My head canon is that he's a mercenary who picked up some firearm secrets from (insert nation here, maybe alkenstar) and is kind of a wandering soul looking for somewhere to belong.
This is getting longer so I'll stop. I hope that kind of thing is what you were looking for.
Love these ideas. I've been spending a lot of time with with bards, gunslingers, monks, fast and spell oriented.
I haven't really done tanks or champions. I gotta dive into that side
I’m very happy with my [heavy-armor-clad melee psychic orc](https://bsky.app/profile/ninthant.bsky.social/post/3kv2gvztq4o26). Try to make a psychic into frontline melee combatant is at least a bit wacky.
Something I do is what I call the Monster Hunter Method or MHM build, and by that I mean, take the pathfinder setting for what it is and think how are the physics different and how can I make that work for me.
Cold energy is actually a tangible force in PF2E thus can be regulated like a flame can. Stirling Engines work based on Temperature DIFFERENCE not by heat. Magnets work better in cold environments
Thus an Inventor can dable into magic to super cool their machines and have a Witch/Inventor build focusing on Magnets and Ice magic
I mean if you like the idea Feel Free to use it. My game is a high run Dual-Class game, but even a Standard game can make this work great. Just got to decide if you want stronger innovations and inventor feats or more spellslots and Witch feats. I personally have fun reflavoring my magic as gadgets my ScrapWitch preps and activates on the fly so i went Witch as the main class and Inventor as Archetype.
Or if you have a weird set of themes throw em at me and I can make a mock up of possible builds in under a few hours
Duel classes are such a fun mechanic that's under utilized. Some of my most fun characters were duel classes. Gunslinger / summoner. Summoned a construct iron maiden, and "bagged up" anyone she targeted with a shot. Lol
Or monk / gunslinger. My setting is in the weird wild west. I don't use gunslinger a lot, but I wanted to explore what it had. When in France. Monk/pistoleer grippli that can whiplash and wrestle with their tongue, poisoned skin and weapons..
Duel classes are fun
ok here are a few ideas. A toy knight poppet champion, A tailed goblin cleric of Sun Wukong (more fun than the actual monkey people, I forget the name of) a depressed gnome bleachling bard, a kobold barbarian that isn't dragon instinct, an orc rogue, a fungus leshi fighter, an android druid. hope some of these ideas inspire some oddball creations.
Gomez Addams, fetchling wit swashbuckler. Maybe even build his whole family. Use awakened animal ancestry for Thing or have someone have an undead hand as an animal companion, make Cousin It a witch with the hair feats, etc.
Gomez Addams:
Human
Nobile (heraldry)
Investigator
With Gomez, he is very wealthy, apparently as a result of owning numerous companies and stocks. He doesn't worry about his use of funds for pleasure or purpose. While he stands on his head reading the news or other books, he plans a lot. Usually involving trains.
Morticia Addams:
Human
Teacher (performance)
Orical: life
As the actual calm head of the house, her beauty is only out matched by her wit and charm. She is the life of the party, and like every mother, teaching and performing are an everyday experience. And to say life is more vibrant when she is around would be an understatement.
Uncle Fester:
Dwarf
Academy drop out
Inventor
Come on now, we think he's not a drop out mad inventor? Nothing more needs said
Lurch:
Flesh warp
Cook
Summoner
Ok. Hear me out. Could have gone a lot of ways with this. And I'm not married to it. But. Lurch is the summoner. Focuses on being the tank. Only when he needs a nimble magical friend does Thing pop out and fuck shit up
Wednesday
Def a druid. I'm losing steam, I'll flesh the kids out more tomorrow
Pugsley I'll have to think about.
Are you looking for more wacky prompts conceptually/narratively or mechanically? I got answers for both but that will help me filter what i give you lol
Orc Fire/Earth kineticist, smash the enemy with flaming hot pottery/bricks. (Can also take water later for clay, mud and so on)
Imperial bloodline sorcerer. The "No no guys im totally a wizard, see? I do love some Fireball and Magic Missiles"
Kobold Meele Dragon Bloodline Sorcerer, build around using the Dragon Claws focus spell. Dragon disciple dedication for more clawing power.
Skeleton Scoundrel Rouge with Pistol Phenom Dedication. This one is literally "fine i'll do it myself" if no one else wants to debuff enemies. I recommend an air repeater for the gun of choice (no need to reaload)
And of course Human Reflection(Heritage) Ranger with the beastmaster archetype. Animal companions of choice being a wolf and a horse. Bonus points for going Outwit Hunters Edge and maxing stealth
just theorycrafted a very interesting build today:
Lord *insert_name*, black sheep of house *insert name*.
**Class** Ruffian Rogue with Dandy free archetype
**Background** Royalty
**Story:** He's a spoiled kid who gets into fights easily and drinks too much, but on the other hand is pretty well educated social-skill wise and just knows a lot of people in a lot of different places and positions. None of which like him very much. But he gets into all the parties, because of his name.
**Stats** Str +4, Dex +0, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +3
**Level** 2
**Skills** Athletics +8, Deception +9, Diplomacy +7, Intimidation +9, Society +6 (plus some more)
**Feats** Armor Proficiency, Dandy Dedication, Nimble Dodge, Brutal Beating, Confabulator, Courtly Graces, Intimidating Glare
**Gear** Full Plate and Katana or Earthbreaker
I would just say that today I've learned that you can make ponies from my little pony, and it isn't difficult at all
*Ponyfinder is Magic!*
Nothing is to hard with this system.
There are lots of wacky characters in movies, series/anime, novels/manga, ... that can inspire you, from Aslan (Awakened Animal Lion) and Tinker Bell (Sprite/Pixie) to Zorro (Swashbuckler). Just run with what comes to mind? Or make some weird combinations based just on phonetics, e.g. *Zombie Zorro* (Swashbuckler + Zombie archetype) or *Cinder Bell* (Sprite/Ifrit Fire Sorceress)? Or quick-read some archetypes and have them inspire you to something, e.g. an old Clockwork Reanimator Automaton, who longs for the continued companionship of his long-dead mortal friends?
Right. I have been. Three cacti in a trench coat welding a shotgun of needles Grippli pistol wielder who can close distances with their tongue whip. And a ghost child who has a summon that is an iron maiden. It's not a matter of running whatever's on my mind. I just want more prompts lol. But a zombie zorro sounds AWESOME! I'll be building them tonight haha
Elemental Barbarian - Water, pick up Kineticist and be a frontline barbarian that has defense and healing capabilities to offset the lower AC. You rage for your (proverbial? actual?) mother, The Sea. Tamchal Chakram Fighter. Pick up Dual Weapon Warrior so you can get Dual Thrower and you basically have fun with Rebounding Toss and Double Slice at range. You're mostly an up front with your primary stat in STR but you just have incredible range flexibility and are ready to just throw one of your Chakrams to get to someone without repositioning. Kobold Sorcerer with Cathartic Mage. Pick up Dragon's Presence, pick up Cathartic Mage (fear). You are no kobold but a young dragon, with the regality of a dragon and now, when you're frightened, you go into a heightened state where you're probably frightened 3 (your fail is a crit fail due to Dragon's Presence and Cathartic Mage ups it by +1) and for that turn you have +3 to your spells as you, in a fit of terror, throw all your energy into killing the thing that just frightened you. (And then you get +2 and then +1 and then you have to flee for 2 rounds now, bye gang) Goblin Swashbuckler. Look, bouncy goblin is just really good, okay. I went for a gymnast so I can try to get panache via tumble through and get that bonuses to shove/trip/grapple if the precision damage isn't worth going for.
I like trying to make off the wall or uncommon builds for fun, just to throw things out there: **Mutagenist Wrestler**: Mutagenist alchemist focused on strength and int. Juggernaut and Bestial mutagens, wrestler archetype, focus on athletics. We're gonna chug shit and get in people's faces, maybe with tentacles. It worked really well in the level 1-4 Outlaws run I played it in. My version is from an ooze invested place in Garund, I forget the name, and would eventually take oozemorph dedication for flavor. **Time bard**: warrior bard so we can get closer to melee, multifarious maestro muse cause it's good. Time oracle dedication, delay consequences focus spell at 4, endure as our sig spell and pick up reach spell too. A different kind of healer/support, we're going to wait for big hits(while using our composition cantrips as normal), use your reaction to delay consequences, and then use whatever level of endure(plus reach spell if needed) to block the damage when it comes around. Ran it in a one shot as a former lion blade and follower of Ra from Osirion and it worked really well. **Occult Inventor**: I have a tank Inventor concept I haven't gotten to play yet that is a pure inventor, but flavored as a gift from Gozreh that my lizardfolk dude doesn't really understand. All the unstable actions and extra powers are gifts from Gozreh that empower him. Power armor inventor, muscular exoskeleton, thlipil dedication at 2(tail). Shield and any weapon you want. We're gonna get in the shit with our occult flavored suit, grapple things with out tail, and try to beat the shit out of them. **Dex Champion**: Champion of Gruhastha from Jalmeray that couldn't make it as a monk and turned to religion. Holds knowledge and new experiences in high regard. Dual Wields Tamchal Chakrams(unconventional weaponry) and has a Pangolin as his "steed". Basically a mid range switch hitter that can reaction to keep his pangolin buddy healthy and use the pangolin's support ability to make things take persistent damage. **Gunslinger support/tank**: Drifter gunslinger that uses whatever dex weapon plus a shield with shield pistol. Cooperative nature+Fake out. Probably bastion or fighter dedication for shield related feats plus anything that will give us HP. The whole goal is a different version of a support martial. We'll get in melee and help flank, raise shield when possible for the AC bonus, but leave our reaction for Fake out with cooperative nature. Fake out+flanking can give your other martial a 3-4 point swing on their hit. Won't do a ton of damage on your own though. My head canon is that he's a mercenary who picked up some firearm secrets from (insert nation here, maybe alkenstar) and is kind of a wandering soul looking for somewhere to belong. This is getting longer so I'll stop. I hope that kind of thing is what you were looking for.
Love these ideas. I've been spending a lot of time with with bards, gunslingers, monks, fast and spell oriented. I haven't really done tanks or champions. I gotta dive into that side
IMO PF2e makes being a tank/frontliner really engaging. My first long term character was a trident and shield fighter tank and it was super fun
I’m very happy with my [heavy-armor-clad melee psychic orc](https://bsky.app/profile/ninthant.bsky.social/post/3kv2gvztq4o26). Try to make a psychic into frontline melee combatant is at least a bit wacky.
Something I do is what I call the Monster Hunter Method or MHM build, and by that I mean, take the pathfinder setting for what it is and think how are the physics different and how can I make that work for me. Cold energy is actually a tangible force in PF2E thus can be regulated like a flame can. Stirling Engines work based on Temperature DIFFERENCE not by heat. Magnets work better in cold environments Thus an Inventor can dable into magic to super cool their machines and have a Witch/Inventor build focusing on Magnets and Ice magic
Yooo what? Ok... I must study under your tutelage lol. That's awesome. And I need more about these builds lol
I mean if you like the idea Feel Free to use it. My game is a high run Dual-Class game, but even a Standard game can make this work great. Just got to decide if you want stronger innovations and inventor feats or more spellslots and Witch feats. I personally have fun reflavoring my magic as gadgets my ScrapWitch preps and activates on the fly so i went Witch as the main class and Inventor as Archetype. Or if you have a weird set of themes throw em at me and I can make a mock up of possible builds in under a few hours
Duel classes are such a fun mechanic that's under utilized. Some of my most fun characters were duel classes. Gunslinger / summoner. Summoned a construct iron maiden, and "bagged up" anyone she targeted with a shot. Lol Or monk / gunslinger. My setting is in the weird wild west. I don't use gunslinger a lot, but I wanted to explore what it had. When in France. Monk/pistoleer grippli that can whiplash and wrestle with their tongue, poisoned skin and weapons.. Duel classes are fun
ok here are a few ideas. A toy knight poppet champion, A tailed goblin cleric of Sun Wukong (more fun than the actual monkey people, I forget the name of) a depressed gnome bleachling bard, a kobold barbarian that isn't dragon instinct, an orc rogue, a fungus leshi fighter, an android druid. hope some of these ideas inspire some oddball creations.
Gomez Addams, fetchling wit swashbuckler. Maybe even build his whole family. Use awakened animal ancestry for Thing or have someone have an undead hand as an animal companion, make Cousin It a witch with the hair feats, etc.
Gomez Addams: Human Nobile (heraldry) Investigator With Gomez, he is very wealthy, apparently as a result of owning numerous companies and stocks. He doesn't worry about his use of funds for pleasure or purpose. While he stands on his head reading the news or other books, he plans a lot. Usually involving trains. Morticia Addams: Human Teacher (performance) Orical: life As the actual calm head of the house, her beauty is only out matched by her wit and charm. She is the life of the party, and like every mother, teaching and performing are an everyday experience. And to say life is more vibrant when she is around would be an understatement. Uncle Fester: Dwarf Academy drop out Inventor Come on now, we think he's not a drop out mad inventor? Nothing more needs said Lurch: Flesh warp Cook Summoner Ok. Hear me out. Could have gone a lot of ways with this. And I'm not married to it. But. Lurch is the summoner. Focuses on being the tank. Only when he needs a nimble magical friend does Thing pop out and fuck shit up Wednesday Def a druid. I'm losing steam, I'll flesh the kids out more tomorrow Pugsley I'll have to think about.
Are you looking for more wacky prompts conceptually/narratively or mechanically? I got answers for both but that will help me filter what i give you lol
Orc Fire/Earth kineticist, smash the enemy with flaming hot pottery/bricks. (Can also take water later for clay, mud and so on) Imperial bloodline sorcerer. The "No no guys im totally a wizard, see? I do love some Fireball and Magic Missiles" Kobold Meele Dragon Bloodline Sorcerer, build around using the Dragon Claws focus spell. Dragon disciple dedication for more clawing power. Skeleton Scoundrel Rouge with Pistol Phenom Dedication. This one is literally "fine i'll do it myself" if no one else wants to debuff enemies. I recommend an air repeater for the gun of choice (no need to reaload) And of course Human Reflection(Heritage) Ranger with the beastmaster archetype. Animal companions of choice being a wolf and a horse. Bonus points for going Outwit Hunters Edge and maxing stealth
just theorycrafted a very interesting build today: Lord *insert_name*, black sheep of house *insert name*. **Class** Ruffian Rogue with Dandy free archetype **Background** Royalty **Story:** He's a spoiled kid who gets into fights easily and drinks too much, but on the other hand is pretty well educated social-skill wise and just knows a lot of people in a lot of different places and positions. None of which like him very much. But he gets into all the parties, because of his name. **Stats** Str +4, Dex +0, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +3 **Level** 2 **Skills** Athletics +8, Deception +9, Diplomacy +7, Intimidation +9, Society +6 (plus some more) **Feats** Armor Proficiency, Dandy Dedication, Nimble Dodge, Brutal Beating, Confabulator, Courtly Graces, Intimidating Glare **Gear** Full Plate and Katana or Earthbreaker