Equipment for a level 10 Fighter

[true_shinken]

Hello guys.
I mentioned before in these (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163505&page=2) threads (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162816) how I'm trying to fit a new player in my game and he decided to go with a hengeyokai (dog) fighter/bloodhound. We winged a character sheet for him in the first game, he wasn't able to attend the last time and I'm hoping to have something to show him on our next game, probably this weekend.

I'm at a loss on what weapon he should use. The player initially wantedhalberd, but it gets very little support and gets no reach. He told me it was fine to swap it, but I still don't know what to swap it for. I still have 2 fighter bonus feats 'free' on his build, so I could use them to tune him to the weapon. Something that deals conditions like stun/nauseated/etc would be best - unfortunatelly, there is already a character with a warhammer and I believe the player would rather have a sword and not a bludgeoning weapon.

About other equipment... other than greatreach bracers and an augment crystal to add extra damage, I really don't know what I should pick. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[unimaginable]

Halberd is a pretty damn decent weapon, just that making the most out of it relies on trip. Set against charge is a cool plus but not too amazing. Tripping in 3.5 is very powerful, after all... provided you're fighting against enemies that can be tripped.

Also, you're the DM. You can make his halberd as awesome as you want to make it. As it's a classic "defender" weapon (Vatican guards carry them, for example), you could tweak it to give something magical to add onto the set against charge... maybe three times per day if he takes a resilient stance (ie, readies/delays his action) he can use it to counterattack targeted spells used against either him or allies within a cone behind him? Finnangle some kind of counterspell mechanic, substituting an attack roll for his side of things to see if he can disrupt the spell. Possibly do that in addition to amping up the set-against-charge, maybe allowing him to set it against anyone who tries to charge past him, not only at him. Then he gets to play mobile defender -- not stuck in that role, but capable of counterattacking anyone who tries to get past him to his allies.

[Greenish]

Halberd is decent for a non-reach weapon. You could homebrew a "Long Haft" feat for him, too.

A&E had a fancy halberd that did something cool, I'll try to dig it up. Other than that, the basic stat boost items, armour of choice and boots that allow normal movement in difficult terrain (there are two in MIC, the cheaper of which has limited uses per day) are a good start.

Lesser Crystal of Undead Slaying (or something to that effect) to give an option against incorporeal critters and Restful Crystal to sleep in armour are nice too.

Blueshine Armour and Everbright Weapon(s) are nice for not having to worry about rust effects.

For a weapon, potential good enhancements are Keen (especially for weapons with naturally good crit range), Eager (MIC), Smoking (LoD) and Valorous (UE).

[Edit]: MIC also has Steadfast Boots, that allow you to treat any two-hander you're carrying as set against any charge against you, which is great for a halberd.

[herrhauptmann]

Steadfast boots from MiC. So long as he's not flatfooted, and is holding a weapon in 2 hands, he's considered to have his weapon set against a charge. Even if it's not something that can be set against a charge.
Everbright weapon (MiC)
Durable armor (Dungeonscape)

edit; So I got ninja'd. Did I also get ninja'd by an edit? Or did I ninja someone elses edit?

[Greenish]

Steadfast boots from MiC.I should've refreshed before editing. :smallredface:

[true_shinken]

A&E had a fancy halberd that did something cool, I'll try to dig it up.
The Breaking Blade? Improved Sunder as a bonus feat and double damage against reach weapons.
There is also the Halberd of Vaulting - while nice and colorful, it does not help much on actual battlefield control. The party already has a charger, anyway...
EDIT: Ninja'd

[Eldariel]

Guisarme? Kinda similar but has reach, and is overall solid for Fighters.

[Greenish]

The Breaking Blade? Improved Sunder as a bonus feat and double damage against reach weapons.No, the weapon I was thinking of is the Halberd of Vaulting (pg 109). Huge Jump bonus and double damage after a charge in which you jump at least 5' high.

At 20,310 gp it's a bit pricy for a 10th level character though.

[true_shinken]

Guisarme? Kinda similar but has reach, and is overall solid for Fighters.

Yeah, I think it might be the guisarme after all. The only halberd-specific feat, Spinning Halberd, is pretty weak anyway.
But I kinda like that feat. Any thoughts on how you would 'fix' it?

[Eldariel]

Yeah, I think it might be the guisarme after all. The only halberd-specific feat, Spinning Halberd, is pretty weak anyway.
But I kinda like that feat. Any thoughts on how you would 'fix' it?

Make it behave as a double weapon while still applying two-handed bonuses to the primary end. That is, give it an entire secondary attack line. That or make the bonus attack deal full two-handed damage. Either should do it IMHO. And maybe scale the Dodge-bonus a bit.

[Cieyrin]

If he still wants a halberd-like, you might want to invest into a Dwarven Warpike (RoS), which is basically Halberd+. All the halberd abilities plus reach and a damage increase. Not bad at all, methinks, as Exotic Weapons go.

[Keld Denar]

Dwarven Longaxe is also decent, as far as exotics go. Similarly Halberd shape, just with reach and is also a tripping weapon.

As far as gear goes:
+Str
+Con
+Resistance
a couple of minor +AC (+1 Necklace of NA, +1 Deflection, +1 Armor)
Either Anklets of Translocation, or Boots of Speed (or both, combined costs 14,100g)
Armbands of Might (for PAers)
Gauntlets of War (if applicable) otherwise Truestrike Gauntlets (1/day attack reroll)
Safewing Amulet
Spellguard Rings (if applicable)
Bolt Shirt if you don't have Anklets of Translocation

Yea, that's a pretty good list of the general run-of-the-mill gear for a mid level fighter. Oh, and make sure his weapon is Adamantine if he's upgrading it. No point in upgrading a steel weapon only to have to pay it all again to make it Adamanatine. Adamantine is great for resisting sunders, bypassing the nastiest DR, and rerouting dungeon hallways. Also doubles as a lock-pick.

[Kifo]

What about a Dwarven Warpike, it's the Halberds bigger meaner cousin with a dwarven prison record. It deals 2d6es, can be sett against a charge and can tripp up your foe.

But keep in mind that it's an exotic weapon and it's from Races of Stone.

/off topic: isn't the Warpike a Fullblade version of the Halberd?

Edit: You might wanna look in to Strongarm Bracers (Magic item compendium). They give you "Power-full build" and thus would bump the Warpike from 2 to 3 d6es.

[Cieyrin]

Isn't the Warpike a Fullblade version of the Halberd?

not really, since 1d10 would go to 2d8, not 2d6. Plus the Fullblade doesn't have reach. If anything, it's more like a Sugliin version of the Halberd without the full round swing.

[Kifo]

not really, since 1d10 would go to 2d8, not 2d6. Plus the Fullblade doesn't have reach. If anything, it's more like a Sugliin version of the Halberd without the full round swing.

You are correct :smallsmile: in that a true "Fullbred" would deal more damage then the Warpike cause.

But the two are alike in that they both are Deluxe version of vanilla two-handers. Seems to me like the Warpike is a bigger upgrade in that it deals more damage and gains reach.

[Cieyrin]

You are correct :smallsmile: in that a true "Fullbred" would deal more damage then the Warpike cause.

But the two are alike in that they both are Deluxe version of vanilla two-handers. Seems to me like the Warpike is a bigger upgrade in that it deals more damage and gains reach.

Fullblades are also old 3.0, compared to the Sugliin. More thought and experience were put forth for it in what's worth a feat in terms of Exotic Weapons.