Guided Hand Pathfinder: A Comprehensive Guide
The Guided Hand feat in Pathfinder allows characters to use their Wisdom modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity on attack rolls with their deity’s favored weapon․ It opens unique character build possibilities for greater combat effectiveness․
In the expansive world of Pathfinder, character optimization often involves seeking feats that synergize with a chosen class and playstyle․ Among these, the Guided Hand feat stands out as a boon for characters who prioritize Wisdom, particularly those devoted to a deity․ This feat offers a unique advantage, allowing a character to utilize their Wisdom modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity when making attack rolls with their deity’s favored weapon․
For classes like Clerics or Warpriests, who heavily rely on Wisdom for spellcasting and other abilities, Guided Hand can significantly enhance their combat prowess․ By freeing them from the need to invest heavily in Strength or Dexterity, it opens up opportunities to allocate resources to other crucial stats․ It provides strategic advantages in combat, enhancing both ranged and melee attacks, thus improving overall character effectiveness․
What is the Guided Hand Feat?
The Guided Hand feat allows a character to use their Wisdom modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity on attack rolls with their deity’s favored weapon, offering unique combat advantages․
Benefit of Guided Hand
The primary benefit of the Guided Hand feat lies in its ability to substitute the Wisdom modifier for Strength or Dexterity on attack rolls when using the deity’s favored weapon․ This is particularly advantageous for classes like Clerics or Warpriests, who typically have high Wisdom scores but may not prioritize Strength or Dexterity․ By leveraging Wisdom for attack rolls, these characters can focus on improving their divine spellcasting and other Wisdom-based abilities without sacrificing combat accuracy․
This feat enhances both ranged and melee attacks, offering a strategic advantage in combat․ It also opens up unique character build possibilities, allowing for greater versatility․
Prerequisites for Guided Hand
To acquire the Guided Hand feat, characters must meet specific requirements․ These include the Channel Energy class feature, the Channel Smite feat, and proficiency with their deity’s favored weapon, ensuring divine connection․
Channel Energy Requirement
The Channel Energy class feature is a fundamental prerequisite for obtaining the Guided Hand feat․ This ability, typically possessed by classes like Clerics and Warpriests, allows the character to channel divine energy․ They use it either to heal allies or to harm undead, depending on their alignment and divine focus․
The presence of this ability signifies a character’s deep connection to a divine source․ It demonstrates their capacity to manipulate sacred energies․ This connection is essential for the Guided Hand feat, as it empowers the character’s attacks with divine favor․ Without Channel Energy, a character cannot access the feat’s benefits․
Channel Smite Requirement
Channel Smite serves as another crucial prerequisite for acquiring the Guided Hand feat in Pathfinder․ This feat allows characters to imbue their weapon attacks with channeled energy, adding extra damage against foes․ It is a tactical enhancement, combining divine energy with martial prowess․ It is a testament to the character’s ability to channel divine power directly into their strikes․
Obtaining Channel Smite typically requires the Channel Energy class feature․ It signifies a deeper mastery over divine energies․ This prerequisite ensures that characters seeking Guided Hand possess both the capacity to channel energy and the skill to channel it effectively in combat, enhancing their deity’s weapon․
Weapon Proficiency Requirement
Proficiency with your deity’s favored weapon is a fundamental requirement for obtaining the Guided Hand feat in Pathfinder․ This prerequisite highlights the character’s dedication to their deity․ It ensures that the character is skilled in using the specific weapon favored by their god․ This proficiency reflects the character’s training and expertise․
The Guidance Hand feat allows the character to channel divine power through their deity’s favored weapon․ This proficiency ensures that the character is adept at wielding it․ It allows for a harmonious blend of martial skill and divine favor․ This is essential for realizing the full potential of the Guided Hand feat․
Mythic Guided Hand
Mythic Guided Hand enhances attacks with a deity’s favored weapon, adding the Wisdom modifier to damage rolls․ It requires the Guided Hand feat․ This mythic ability offers divinely inspired power and enhances combat effectiveness․
Benefit of Mythic Guided Hand
The Mythic Guided Hand feat in Pathfinder offers a significant enhancement to characters who already possess the Guided Hand feat․ Its primary benefit lies in allowing the character to add their Wisdom modifier, instead of their Strength or Dexterity modifier, to damage rolls when attacking with their deity’s favored weapon․ This is in addition to using Wisdom for attack rolls․
This Mythic feat makes Wisdom a central stat for both attack and damage․ This is especially advantageous for classes like Clerics or Warpriests who heavily rely on Wisdom for their spellcasting and divine abilities․ Effectively, Mythic Guided Hand maximizes the impact of a high Wisdom score in combat․ By consolidating the reliance on a single ability score for both attack and damage, characters can optimize their character builds, improve their overall combat prowess, and become more formidable opponents on the battlefield․
Classes and Archetypes that Benefit from Guided Hand
Classes like Clerics and Warpriests notably benefit from Guided Hand, leveraging their high Wisdom scores․ Archetypes like the Sensei Monk also synergize well, replacing Strength dependency with Wisdom for attacks using favored weapons․
Cleric Multiclassing
Multiclassing into a Cleric offers a straightforward path to obtaining the Guided Hand feat in Pathfinder․ Taking just one level in Cleric grants access to Channel Energy and Channel Smite, essential prerequisites for Guided Hand․ A Cleric of Irori, particularly within the Inner Sea Campaign Setting, gains unarmed strikes as a favored weapon, further enhancing the synergy․
For those seeking alternatives to the core Cleric class, archetypes such as the Crusader provide a bonus feat at 1st level, potentially expediting the acquisition of Channel Smite․ This approach opens diverse character build options, enabling Wisdom-based attack rolls with a deity’s favored weapon through Guided Hand․
Sensei Monk Archetype
The Sensei Monk archetype presents an alternative route to utilize Wisdom for attack rolls, diverging from the Guided Hand feat․ Choosing this archetype allows you to substitute Strength with Wisdom for attack rolls, offering a distinct advantage․ However, this path entails trade-offs, as you lose the Flurry of Blows ability, a key component of the standard Monk class․
The Sensei Monk’s advice ability undergoes modification as well․ Despite these changes, this archetype furnishes a viable method for Monks to leverage their Wisdom score in combat, presenting a different strategic approach compared to the Guided Hand feat․
Strategic Advantages of Guided Hand
The Guided Hand feat offers distinct strategic advantages in Pathfinder, primarily by allowing characters to substitute their Wisdom modifier for Strength or Dexterity on attack rolls with their deity’s favored weapon․ This is especially beneficial for classes like Clerics, who typically have high Wisdom scores but may lack in Strength or Dexterity․
By focusing on Wisdom, characters can optimize their build, improving both their spellcasting abilities and their combat prowess․ This creates a more versatile and effective character, capable of excelling in various situations․ The feat enhances both melee and ranged attacks, providing a significant boost to overall combat effectiveness․
Alternatives to Guided Hand
If Guided Hand doesn’t fit your build, consider the Guided weapon enhancement․ It allows you to use Wisdom for attacks, offering a different path to achieve similar combat effectiveness without the feat prerequisites․
Guided Weapon Enhancement
The Guided weapon enhancement offers an alternative route to utilizing Wisdom for attack rolls, bypassing the need for the Guided Hand feat and its prerequisites․ This enhancement, a +1 bonus, allows a character to substitute their Wisdom modifier for their Strength or Dexterity modifier on attack rolls made with the enhanced weapon․ This can be particularly beneficial for characters who prioritize Wisdom but may not meet the requirements for Guided Hand, such as those lacking the Channel Energy or Channel Smite abilities․
The Guided enhancement provides a flexible option, especially for builds that don’t heavily rely on cleric levels or deity-specific weapons, offering a streamlined path to Wisdom-based attacks․ It can be applied to any weapon, granting versatility in character design and equipment choices․
