fracas
2011-01-22, 09:56 PM
This started off when I decided to build a Horizon Tripper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80415) as a backup character for my current game.
I started with a base build of Wolf Totem Barbarian2/Ranger3/Horizon Walker8, but wanted to mess with it a bit. One of the things I found in my research was that the Desert variant orc gets Endurance for free. Awesome! Not only does that mean I don't need Ranger3 for Endurance, but orc is a wonderful race for a tripper with its +4 Str bonus. That lead me to a bit stronger opening:
Warblade1/Wolf Barb2/Ranger2 (for Knowledge: Geography as a class skill). Not bad, and if I could somehow afford to put a 16 in Int, then have it knocked down to 14 for being an orc, I could even squeeze in a level of Fighter and get all 8 Geography ranks in one level of Ranger. Sweet.
We have a capable skill monkey either way: with Int <14 we have 12 skill points from two levels of ranger, and 4/lvl from our other classes. With Int >=14, we end up losing 4 skill points in the level of fighter, but gaining at least 1/lvl by our Int. Furthermore, the high Int build is desirable for Warblade synergy. And finally, with a +4 bonus to 3-5 skills from terrain mastery (depending on how important you think fatigue immunity and darkvision are), we can make a pretty potent focused skill monkey.
I have to wonder, though, if there's a way to work in another feat from Fighter2 (assuming an Int14 build). Dumping Warblade is an option, but then I'd lose Battle Clarity and Moment of Perfect Mind, leaving my Will and Ref saves wide open.
Trading a Fighter feat for Resolute (half BAB to Will as an immediate action) is of course a poor solution: I lose the feat I wanted Fighter for in the first place, and all the Warblade goodies too.
All that aside, the end build I'm working with right now has some important changes from Saph's:
Warblade1/Wolf Brb2/Fighter1/Ranger1/HW8/Warblade8
Base stats: 18 Str, 13 Dex, 14 Con, 16 Int, 10 Wis, 9 Cha
Modified: 23 Str (+1 lvl 8), 13 Dex (+1 lvl 4), 14 Con, 14 Int, 8 Wis, 7 Cha
As per Saph's post, I'd work with a suitably buffed guisarme+spiked gauntlets+longbow backup and some nice mithril chain.
A side benefit of the two-weapons approach is that in games where DR is a problem, you could optimize your three weapons to beat different DRs. Maybe a silver (or adamantine) guisarme and a cold iron gauntlet, plus a nice collection of aligned/elemental/alchemical arrows to be used as a catch-all when nothing else is working.
Terrain masteries and skills:
Saph's build uses Desert terrain mastery to avoid post-rage fatigue. In my experience combat very rarely breaks 10 rounds, and I'd expect this build to have at least 14 Con, meaning 7 round rages minimum (before buffing, and and item of Con boost should be pretty high on this guy's shopping list). Considering this build's place as a focused stat monkey, I'd say those +4 skill bonuses and possibly Darkvision (depending on the game world) are more valuable than being a bit sluggish in the closing rounds of a few extended battles here and there.
The terrain masteries I'd pick are Forest, Hills, Marsh, Plains (for a +4 to Hide, Move Silently, Spot, and Listen) for the first four. Mountains seem worthless since your climb will already be solid with >22 Str before buffing, so Cavernous for Darkvision or Aquatic for +4 Swim seem like the way to go for #5.
Feats:
1 Power Attack
Wolf Brb: Improved Trip
3 Knock-Down
Ftr1 Combat Reflexes
6 Leap Attack
9 Shock Trooper
12 Bull Rush
15 Knock Back
18 Battle Jump
EWP Spiked Chain (and maybe a level of Exotic Weaponmaster after HW8) would be cool, but fitting it in would be tough. Stand Still seems like a decent backup option - if I get an AoO on something and can't trip it, I can at least choose to keep it from moving, especially since things that are hard to trip generally don't have great Reflex saves. But again, I don't see where I'd work it in. Extra Rage would also be nice - my attempt to squeeze in some more fighter levels should make sense by now.
So... thoughts? :)
I started with a base build of Wolf Totem Barbarian2/Ranger3/Horizon Walker8, but wanted to mess with it a bit. One of the things I found in my research was that the Desert variant orc gets Endurance for free. Awesome! Not only does that mean I don't need Ranger3 for Endurance, but orc is a wonderful race for a tripper with its +4 Str bonus. That lead me to a bit stronger opening:
Warblade1/Wolf Barb2/Ranger2 (for Knowledge: Geography as a class skill). Not bad, and if I could somehow afford to put a 16 in Int, then have it knocked down to 14 for being an orc, I could even squeeze in a level of Fighter and get all 8 Geography ranks in one level of Ranger. Sweet.
We have a capable skill monkey either way: with Int <14 we have 12 skill points from two levels of ranger, and 4/lvl from our other classes. With Int >=14, we end up losing 4 skill points in the level of fighter, but gaining at least 1/lvl by our Int. Furthermore, the high Int build is desirable for Warblade synergy. And finally, with a +4 bonus to 3-5 skills from terrain mastery (depending on how important you think fatigue immunity and darkvision are), we can make a pretty potent focused skill monkey.
I have to wonder, though, if there's a way to work in another feat from Fighter2 (assuming an Int14 build). Dumping Warblade is an option, but then I'd lose Battle Clarity and Moment of Perfect Mind, leaving my Will and Ref saves wide open.
Trading a Fighter feat for Resolute (half BAB to Will as an immediate action) is of course a poor solution: I lose the feat I wanted Fighter for in the first place, and all the Warblade goodies too.
All that aside, the end build I'm working with right now has some important changes from Saph's:
Warblade1/Wolf Brb2/Fighter1/Ranger1/HW8/Warblade8
Base stats: 18 Str, 13 Dex, 14 Con, 16 Int, 10 Wis, 9 Cha
Modified: 23 Str (+1 lvl 8), 13 Dex (+1 lvl 4), 14 Con, 14 Int, 8 Wis, 7 Cha
As per Saph's post, I'd work with a suitably buffed guisarme+spiked gauntlets+longbow backup and some nice mithril chain.
A side benefit of the two-weapons approach is that in games where DR is a problem, you could optimize your three weapons to beat different DRs. Maybe a silver (or adamantine) guisarme and a cold iron gauntlet, plus a nice collection of aligned/elemental/alchemical arrows to be used as a catch-all when nothing else is working.
Terrain masteries and skills:
Saph's build uses Desert terrain mastery to avoid post-rage fatigue. In my experience combat very rarely breaks 10 rounds, and I'd expect this build to have at least 14 Con, meaning 7 round rages minimum (before buffing, and and item of Con boost should be pretty high on this guy's shopping list). Considering this build's place as a focused stat monkey, I'd say those +4 skill bonuses and possibly Darkvision (depending on the game world) are more valuable than being a bit sluggish in the closing rounds of a few extended battles here and there.
The terrain masteries I'd pick are Forest, Hills, Marsh, Plains (for a +4 to Hide, Move Silently, Spot, and Listen) for the first four. Mountains seem worthless since your climb will already be solid with >22 Str before buffing, so Cavernous for Darkvision or Aquatic for +4 Swim seem like the way to go for #5.
Feats:
1 Power Attack
Wolf Brb: Improved Trip
3 Knock-Down
Ftr1 Combat Reflexes
6 Leap Attack
9 Shock Trooper
12 Bull Rush
15 Knock Back
18 Battle Jump
EWP Spiked Chain (and maybe a level of Exotic Weaponmaster after HW8) would be cool, but fitting it in would be tough. Stand Still seems like a decent backup option - if I get an AoO on something and can't trip it, I can at least choose to keep it from moving, especially since things that are hard to trip generally don't have great Reflex saves. But again, I don't see where I'd work it in. Extra Rage would also be nice - my attempt to squeeze in some more fighter levels should make sense by now.
So... thoughts? :)