Pathfinder Builds: Fighter, Corsair, Learned Duelist; Elf

Self-Interested Preface: This is a relatively non-threatening build! I wanted to see about making the Learned Duelist (or Ustelavic Duelist, I guess) archetype viable, so I made a DEX-focused light-armor light-weapon fighter that I consider pretty cookie-cutter as far as these go. It's got some neat abilities, but when I think about some of my other builds, I can't imagine actually playing this thing.

It's an elf for the racial bonuses and little boons like a 35' land speed and saving-throw-boosting racism. Learned Duelist trades weapon training and a bonus feat for a (slowly) scaling dodge bonus and some alright abilities, the best of which is that from level 9 forward when this character crits on a Vital Strike, it deals maximum damage. There ended up being some synergy with the Cloak and Dagger Style Feat chain, so those show up along with Dirty Tricks to give this build some disabling versatility. Added to the mix is the Corsair archetype, which trades out armor training and a couple bonus feats for Cleave and Great Cleave, meant to keep this character mobile. Since it's using (Improved/Greater) Vital Strike and (Great) Cleave for single-targets and multiple-targets, respectively, it should be able to dance pretty effectively around a battlefield and still do full-attack-like things. Weapon Trick's Stylish Riposte and Cloak and Dagger Style (see below) improve combat economy pretty nicely.

Cloak and Dagger kind of deserves more explanation, though I admit it's kind of tailor-made for this (relatively-shitty) character and no one else- it'd be great for a rogue if it wasn't so fucking Vital-Strike-and-high-BAB-oriented. The style itself, with an elaborate requirement of Combat Expertise, Improved Dirty Trick, Weapon Focus in a light melee weapon, Vital Strike, a BAB of +6, and an INT of 13, lets a character perform a dirty trick as a free action when attacking in the surprise round and get a free attack of opportunity from adjacent opponents removing dirty trick penalties. This'd be pretty great for a combat-initiating assassin, were it not for the fucking grocery list of requisites. The second feat in the chain, Cloak and Dagger Subterfuge, adds a free Dirty Trick to any attack of opportunity and tosses in a free Steal to any successful Dirty Trick, which is kind of neat considering Dirty Trick Master's ability to daze or nauseate, removing any penalty for attempting. Cloak and Dagger Tactics, a feat so full of requirements it's basically a capstone, adds a free Dirty Trick to any Vital Strike, with an additional saving-throw-based penalty. Shrug.

Defensively, this character does alright for AC until it's caught flat-footed or paralyzed. It's all touch AC, though, which is nice- dodge AC stacks with all AC including itself. At level 1 its base unenhanced AC is 10 + 4 DEX + 1 Combat Expertise + 1 (Learned Duelist) Duelist Stance + 4 Chain Shirt = 20 AC / 16 touch AC. At level 20 its base unenhanced AC is 10 + 6 DEX + 5 Combat Expertise + 5 Duelist Stance + 2 Leather Armor = 27 AC / 25 touch AC. Shrug, again.
Saving throws are pretty weak with Will abysmal, without a ton of min-maxing going on, Iron Will, or Armed Bravery.

All-in-all, this underwhelming concept was kind of relaxing to build- I think this'd be a good haughty elf NPC bitching off at the PC group about duels and whatever. Its abilities'd likely be genuinely surprising to a real player, having to fight a melee character who gets free attacks of opportunity when you miss him and those attacks add especially-debilitating dirty tricks and so do his Vital Strikes, etc.

This build created in June of 2017.

Fighter (Corsair, Learned Duelist), Level 20

Race: Elf, +2 DEX, +2 INT, -2 CON (+1 Hit Point/+1 Skill Point/+1 to disarm/sunder CMD)

Racial Traits

(Elven Arrogance) Elven Immunities (Immune to magical sleep effects, +2 to saving throws against Enchantment/+3 to saving throws against Enchantment from non-Elf humanoids)

Long-Limbed (base land speed 35’)

Shadowplay [cast spells with light/darkness/shadow descriptor at +1 caster level; can cast Disguise Self 1/day, Shadow Walk (self-only) 1/day at level 9, and Plane Shift (self-only, to Material or Shadow Plane only) 1/day at level 13]

(Blended View) Darkvision 60’

(Blended View) Low-Light Vision

Character Traits/Drawbacks

Drawback: (Detriment, Circumstance)

Combat: Threatening Defender (Combat Expertise penalty to attack reduced by one)

Race: Warrior Of Old (+2 to Initiative)

Regional: Freed Slave (+1 to Will saving throws)

Class Skills: Climb, Craft (Any), Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Knowledge (Engineering), Profession (Any), Ride, Survival, and Swim.

Known Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic

1: Fighter (Corsair, Learned Duelist) 1, +1 Hit Point

BAB: +1

Base Saves: +4/+4/+1

New Feats: Simple and Martial Weapon Proficiencies, Light and Medium Armor Proficiencies, [Shadowplay] Disguise Self 1/day, Duelist Stance, Pirate Weapons, [1^st Level Feat] Weapon Finesse, [Anti-Hero] Combat Expertise

Skills(3): Acrobatics, Climb/Swim, Linguistics (Common)

2: Fighter (Corsair, Learned Duelist) 2, +1 Hit Point

BAB: +2

Base Saves: +5/+4/+1

New Feats: Bravery (+1), (Deck Fighting) Cleave

Skills(3): Acrobatics, Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Swim/Climb

3: Fighter (Corsair, Learned Duelist) 3, +1 Hit Point

BAB: +3

Base Saves: +5/+5/+2

New Feats: Armored Pirate (3^rd), [3^rd Level Feat] Improved Dirty Trick

Skills(3): Acrobatics, Knowledge (Engineering), +1 other

4: Fighter (Corsair, Learned Duelist) 4, +1 Hit Point

BAB: +4

Ability Score Increase: DEX +1 (20)

Base Saves: +6/+6/+2

New Feats: [Fighter 4^th] Agile Maneuvers