Make my warblade more anime

[Ducklord]

What the title says. Stats:

Zangrief Alucard

Human Warblade 4
str 17
dex 14
con 14
int 12
wis 8
cha 10

age: 16, main weapon: +1 fullblade with a lesser lifedrinking crystal

So I've got a teenager with a fancy name and a huge sword, that shouts the names of his attacks, but can I make him any more anime? I'm looking for both mechanics and fluff here, though of course fluff is the bigger issue.

[Yora]

Is there a way to make hair into a piercing weapon?

Also, you need abilities that get you extra actions. So you can make a 30 second monolog during your turn. You don't use your extra action for anything but yelling.

[TroubleBrewing]

Ack... Buh... Grr... Hkkk... Tell me this is intended for a comedy-heavy game, or I may be forced to kill you.

[Ducklord]

Well, the campaign will be kinda silly, and the DM has completely approved of my character being anime based, so there shouldn't be any problems with him being too silly.

@ yora: spiky hair and lots of shouting in other words? seems to fit :smallsmile:

[TroubleBrewing]

Well, in the interest of helping out, here's a relevant link. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimeTropes)

[Amnestic]

He needs to not wear any armour. Armour is for pansies. The only armour allowed is that of your own pilotable Iron Golem (i.e. mech suit). Also there needs to be gratuitous clothes ripping, but it always covers his crotch area no matter how much should have been blown off. Hot-Bloodedness is a definite necessity. If you're not hot-blooded, you're not worthy!



Also, you need abilities that get you extra actions. So you can make a 30 second monolog during your turn. You don't use your extra action for anything but yelling.

Isn't speaking a free action already? :smallamused:

[Arbitrarious]

First in edition to a cool name, he needs an even cooler nickname/title for his enemies to whisper about while. Not the one he's fighting of course; the 5 or 6 others standing on the sidelines with the party making commentary on the fight.

Classics include
Harbinger of Woe
Blade of Destruction
The Cursed One
Slayer of XXX (insert impressive sounding thing there)

Of course you can also go for a hat trick and have all of them.

Second where is the weboo fighting magics?!?!?! :smallfrown:

I'd say swordsage that [expletive] up, but honestly swordsage is too tame just from ToB. Really you get a little fire and some sneaky stuff, but no real oomph. I suggest gishing.... hard. Really wizards have some excellent spells for melee classes and a little duskblade wouldn't be bad either. Don't forget to theme it. Your arcane focus of the eldricth runes on your sword that you hold out and run your hand over as they glow while chanting you spell in your choice of English, Japanese, and now German! Remember the spell name is always appended to the end since the audience usually has poor spellcraft. Divine magic can also be good and I am a psionics man myself. It's all about theme. Don't forget the glowing particle effects and spell circles. Those are important. I would suggest a triggered item of silent image + darkness to fade the screen to black while glowing circles with runes and scripture that require craft DCs in the 40s swirl around you in about 30ft when you use your big stuff. Unfortunately triggered time stop so that you can spend several minutes on each action is prohibitively expensive. However if you go into enough description every time I assure you to your fellow players it will seem like you have time stop.

I'll see if I can think of more later.

[Kaeso]

Maybe you need some sort of rage, so you can suddenly become twice as strong when the villain threatens your friends/way of the ninja.

[McSmack]

In times like this I find wisdom in my father's advice - "Son, shut up and go watch Strongbad."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zch69ZwGQ-4

This should answer all your questions about anime.

Seriously though....ya gotta have blue hair!

[Jarian]

Weaboo fightan magic. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180366) You need more of this. Sadly unfinished, however.

[Telonius]

Be sure there are exactly four other members of your party besides yourself. One of these should be a precocious teenage girl. Somebody must have a talking animal companion/familiar.

[T.G. Oskar]

Bluff and Intimidate. Intimidate is likely a class skill, but Bluff you should take even if cross-class, mostly so that you use it as a boast outside of battle. That way, you can convince everyone that you're an awesome swordsman, plus it works with the "glory hound" theme of the Warblade.

Have a minor quirk that every armor you wear looks exactly the same as the one you wore before, and the one you'll eventually wear. If the armor looks different, you discard it because "it cramps my style". Bonus points if your armor is glamered. In fact, the best way to work this out is having glamered armor so that it looks exactly the same as your outfit, but grant increased benefits. And by that I mean every single one of your suits of armor. No exceptions.

Get Power Attack and call it as an attack. State at that moment you're "getting serious".

Take a single high-level maneuver and treat it as your "special attack". If you find a move that you use a lot (for example, Mountain Hammer), treat that as your "signature move". Then, when you learn new techniques, don't use it until a special situation, in which you can unfold it as the "new technique of the day". Of course, when you reach 9th level maneuvers (if any), you clearly treat that as your ougi, your "ultimate killer move", which you either build up or use indiscriminately against your worst enemies. In that sense, take a page from Rurouni Kenshin. Also, apply a variant to the move; for example, if using Time Stands Still and you're built for tripping, make sure your first or last move is a trip, so that it becomes a unique technique. Or, in the case of something like Strike of Perfect Clarity, limit yourself to use it with only one weapon. This is because 9th level maneuvers are pretty similar between each character, and if you become a warblade, chances are you'll find a master of equal skill and potentially built similar to you. Oh, and regarding signature attacks; if that attack has an upgrade (such as Mountain Hammer or Mithral Tornado or [Gemstone] Nightmare Blade), if you replace it, state that you've trained enough with your technique to master it. And, of course, never call your maneuvers anything other than techniques.

On your backstory, state you're part of an ancient and secret sect of warriors trained in a specific subset of techniques. When the story demands it, state your name and the name of your clan, and speak something heroic or make a brutal boast. Likely, you should do this alongside a Bluff or Intimidate check, so that the enemy believes it or gets demoralized because of it.

This would work well for shonen anime, but remember there's seinen (which is for a more mature male viewership), which isn't that "over the top". You'd do slightly better being an improbable weapon user (although a fullblade is quite improbable, owing largely to its size); going the way of improvised weapons and asking your DM to houserule proficiency with them would allow you to wield impossible weapons such as wagon wheels, dried tree trunks and whatnot (the latter with Powerful Build, tho, or MAAAAAYBE Monkey Grip).

[TroubleBrewing]

Be sure there are exactly four other members of your party besides yourself. One of these should be a precocious teenage girl. Somebody must have a talking animal companion/familiar.

This, but you also have to have defeated each of them in single combat and in this way earned their trust, loyalty, and respect.

Also, you must have plot armor. This is non-negotiable.

[Kommisar Engel]

I would have suggested a Teenage Evoker Wizard with Item Familiar who befriends others with Pink Barrage of Lasers.

But here's a better idea.

Get a Big-ass sword, preferrably a Full-blade.
Get Epic Sunglasses and Red Cloak with Flaming Skull design
DO NOT WEAR A SHIRT, AND ESPECIALLY DO NOT WEAR ARMOR
Read This short Fanfic for lessons on Hot-bloodedness and being a Shonen Hero (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5768105/1/Idiocy_Training)
Beg you DM to allow this homebrew disciple. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5569037)
Get Leadership Feat, have a young boy as a cohort. Also obtain an ragtag bunch of misfits willing and able to fight against a superior enemy and win.

Now, scream about how you full of hot-blooded spirit you are, of how you'll pierce the heavens, and of who the hell you think you are. :cool:

[Zaq]

You'd do slightly better being an improbable weapon user (although a fullblade is quite improbable, owing largely to its size); going the way of improvised weapons and asking your DM to houserule proficiency with them would allow you to wield impossible weapons such as wagon wheels, dried tree trunks and whatnot (the latter with Powerful Build, tho, or MAAAAAYBE Monkey Grip).

I agree. Your weapon isn't nearly stupidly large enough.

[Prime32]

Also, you must have plot armor. This is non-negotiable.So... paladin then? (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10832.msg369941#msg369941)

[Telonius]

If a hero wielding a stupidly-oversized sword was prophesied by the High Muckitymuck a thousand years ago, maybe sprinkle a little bit of Kensai or Ancestral weapon. After all, this is your sword.

[AmberVael]

Is there a way to make hair into a piercing weapon?

Also, you need abilities that get you extra actions. So you can make a 30 second monolog during your turn. You don't use your extra action for anything but yelling.

Monks can innately use any part of their body as an unarmed strike. Take a monk dip.

Take the Versatile Strike feat, from PHB II.

You now have a pointy hair attack.

[faceroll]

Make sure you yell the names of your attacks, or have a follower that will yell your attacks for you.

[Kaeso]

This really needs a link to that classic thread about the guy wanting to play Cloud.

[zmasterofjersey]

I would have suggested a Teenage Evoker Wizard with Item Familiar who befriends others with Pink Barrage of Lasers.

But here's a better idea.

Get a Big-ass sword, preferrably a Full-blade.
Get Epic Sunglasses and Red Cloak with Flaming Skull design
DO NOT WEAR A SHIRT, AND ESPECIALLY DO NOT WEAR ARMOR
Read This short Fanfic for lessons on Hot-bloodedness and being a Shonen Hero (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5768105/1/Idiocy_Training)
Beg you DM to allow this homebrew disciple. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5569037)
Get Leadership Feat, have a young boy as a cohort. Also obtain an ragtag bunch of misfits willing and able to fight against a superior enemy and win.

Now, scream about how you full of hot-blooded spirit you are, of how you'll pierce the heavens, and of who the hell you think you are. :cool:

Also find out how to throw galaxies as shuriken, and thats not a typo.:smallwink:

[Zanzanar]

Give her ranks in Perform: Guitar and start a band with the other PCs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzSDIVVjK4&feature=related)

[Nidogg]

tiger claw. All of it. Claw at the moon=braver, dancing mongoose or time stands still= OMNISLASH!! And get ranks in ride. Carry more swords than humanly possible...

[Zombimode]

Speak in very simple and bland speach patterns that make you sound like, I dunno, like badly translated. Bonus points if you can somehow diconect your speach from your lip movements :smallamused:

[SartheKobold]

We will place Goblin in this bag where he will perish or thrive based on his nature, oooooh! Kobolds cannot be trained in this way, they have not the heart for such endeavors, ooooouh?

[sovin_ndore]

I agree. Your weapon isn't nearly stupidly large enough.

Monkey Grip!

I also would say you should get Celerity and shadowpouncing... nothing says limit break like that combo.

Note: Please don't do this combo if the game is low powered, it will make people cry.

[sovin_ndore]

Also, you must have plot armor. This is non-negotiable.

You could burn for the feats to get the Sazdek's Armor binding... then you can literally have a magical tranformation to your fullplate a'la Ronin Warriors

[Tokuhara]

There's an enchantment in MIC that lets you armor disappear and look like the clothes you are wearing, then all of the sudden, a la Saint Seiya, it's back. Maybe you could yell a catch-phrase to activate the armor. And have a sizing weapon, so your Fullblade can go from big to Masamune fricken' huge

[Nero24200]

Get a sword that can cut abstract conceapts.

[Eldan]

Also find out how to throw galaxies as shuriken, and thats not a typo.:smallwink:

Hulking Hurler. The moon's been done, now it's just a question of scale.

[RaginChangeling]

Hulking Hurler. The moon's been done, now it's just a question of scale.

I thought the Centaur version of the build with everything stacked on had the ability to throw things heavier than the entire universe. So, you'd just need some way of grabbing them.

[Tokuhara]

I thought the Centaur version of the build with everything stacked on had the ability to throw things heavier than the entire universe. So, you'd just need some way of grabbing them.

You could always do a:

Obad-Hai-blessed Lolth Touched Centaur, or perhaps a Tauric Insectile Thri-Kreen/Monsterous Centepede. Thousands of legs and 8 Arms makes you strong like bull

[Hand_of_Vecna]

You need armor with the template from dmg II I think it's called valorborn. It's cheap like 350 gp and it makes the armor look basically however you want with exposed bodyparts with no ill effects. Personally I'd have Plate that was an over sized pauldron and one stylized plate sleeve with chainmail covering half your chest. Maybe a big belt and definatly big plate boots.

Also a swordsage dip wouldn't hurt ask for a lightning based desert wind.

[cfalcon]

Is it at all possible to run a swordsage? All 9swords is pretty anime fight scene inspired, but the swordsage moves lend themselves to over the top interpretations much easier, and have the flashy visual effects you would expect out of a DBZ.

Definitely grab the weapon enchants that make your weapons all glowy and zappy. Consider brilliant energy late game.

There are skill tricks and if you can invest in some of the more acrobaticy skills you could do some pretty cool stuff that way, but that's even further from the warblade.

I really think you want some Desert Wind or Shadow Hand in there. You could definitely just describe your Diamond Mind moves as LIKE stuff you'd see in an anime- hell, maybe it's how they were intended.


Good luck, that sounds hilarious and fun!

edit:
Oh, oh, Monkey Grip. I ban nonsense like that, but I sure wouldn't if I was trying to run an anime game! Make Cloud wish he had a sword your size!

[Tvtyrant]

...Why would anyone ban monkey grip? Its hardly OP.

[Retech]

I think he/she was referring to the celerity combo.

[Prime32]

...Why would anyone ban monkey grip? Its hardly OP.It actually reduces your damage, by being an inferior version of Power Attack you can't turn off.

[ffone]

Get a sword that can cut abstract conceapts.

Occam's (gnomish quick)razor?

*makes note for a gnomish philosopher NPC* "Hey there, bigbritches. Killing you is the simplest solution to my problems..ergo, ceteris paribus, it's probably the correct one."

[Maho-Tsukai]

Also, you, somehow, must convince the DM to have a BBEG that is either one of these two things:

A guy with long, flowing, sephiroth-like hair that is either silver, black, white, blond, white-gray or that weird greenish-black color that some villains(like Naraku) have. He must also be wicked cultured/have a sophisticated side, drink red wine, have some tragic backstory/Freudian excuse for his otherwise cliche' plans and possess some unusual form of immortality. Oh, and while not necessary a nice addition would be for him to come back after being seemingly killed/defeated at least once.

OR

Your older brother.

Oh, and another thing you need your DM to provide you is a rich, agensty, jerk rival with a big ego who is constantly making your life miserable with his attempts at trying to prove he's stronger/better then you. This is a must. Bonus points if you beat him and make him have a change of heart which leads to him becoming the party's main NPC ally.

[ffone]

Also, you, somehow, must convince the DM to have a BBEG that is either one of these two things:

A guy with long, flowing, sephiroth-like hair that is either silver, black, white, blond, white-gray or that weird greenish-black color that some villains(like Naraku) have. He must also be wicked cultured/have a sophisticated side, drink red wine, have some tragic backstory/Freudian excuse for his otherwise cliche' plans and possess some unusual form of immortality. Oh, and while not necessary a nice addition would be for him to come back after being seemingly killed/defeated at least once.

OR

Your older brother.

Oh, and another thing you need your DM to provide you is a rich, agensty, jerk rival with a big ego who is constantly making your life miserable with his attempts at trying to prove he's stronger/better then you. This is a must. Bonus points if you beat him and make him have a change of heart which leads to him becoming the party's main NPC ally.

lulz. The party also needs a Sara / Rosa / Lenna / Aeris / Garnet / Yuna / Ashe:

White mage (cloistered cleric) gal who is (secretly) a princess, very polite and sweet and reserved at first, but becomes stronger-willed (and possibly warms up romantically) as the quest progresses.

Her melee weapon should be a random bludgeoning implement, like a broom, badmitton racquet, rod with a flower-like head, giant hammer which she somehow wields delicately despite not being very strong, etc.

Bonus points if she gives cutesy names to what her Summon Monster / Planar Ally spells spit out and seems to have a rapport with some of them.

[dspeyer]

Get an unlimited word-activated item of silent image to change the background appropriately whenever you call an attack. By SRD rules, it's only 1800gp.

[Amnestic]

lulz. The party also needs a Sara / Rosa / Lenna / Aeris / Garnet / Yuna / Ashe:

White mage (cloistered cleric) gal who is (secretly) a princess, very polite and sweet and reserved at first, but becomes stronger-willed (and possibly warms up romantically) as the quest progresses.

Her melee weapon should be a random bludgeoning implement, like a broom, badmitton racquet, rod with a flower-like head, giant hammer which she somehow wields delicately despite not being very strong, etc.


One of these things is not like the other. Ashe wasn't polite, sweet or reserved, and a sword was her 'standard' weapon.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Cloistered Cleric with the War domain granting proficency in Warhammer, using Monkey Grip to wield a Large sized hammer, and use of Divine Power? The Baka Hammer lives again!

[cfalcon]

...Why would anyone ban monkey grip? Its hardly OP.

Because it doesn't make physical or historical sense, and I don't run an anime game. Huge swords don't deal huge damage, they are just unwieldable slabs of metal.

I never said it was OP, it's not. It's rather on the low side of power. I just don't want someone one-handing what is essentially a greatsword (or worse, two of them).

[olentu]

Because it doesn't make physical or historical sense, and I don't run an anime game. Huge swords don't deal huge damage, they are just unwieldable slabs of metal.

I never said it was OP, it's not. It's rather on the low side of power. I just don't want someone one-handing what is essentially a greatsword (or worse, two of them).

Interestingly enough said swords don't actually necessarily deal more "damage" if one is using damage to mean real life damage. What they do do is sap the magical hit point barrier faster than smaller swords. I assume that their larger size makes them a better antenna for the anti-HP wave broadcast.

[Zaq]

Because it doesn't make physical or historical sense, and I don't run an anime game. Huge swords don't deal huge damage, they are just unwieldable slabs of metal.

I never said it was OP, it's not. It's rather on the low side of power. I just don't want someone one-handing what is essentially a greatsword (or worse, two of them).

. . . Which is represented by the feat making you weaker.

Anyway, if I were a GM, I would ban Monkey Grip, but only because I care about my players and don't want to see them fall into that sort of trap.

[TroubleBrewing]

I just don't want someone one-handing what is essentially a greatsword (or worse, two of them).

*Sigh*... Melee never gets nice things, even when those nice things are obvious traps. :smallfrown:

This reminds me of an old GM I had who banned Great Cleave, on the grounds that "you can kill, like, 8 kobolds per round."

[cfalcon]

I also ban great cleave, because you can kill a long enough line of kobolds and exceed the speed of light. Also greatcleave really sucks.

I would recommend Pathfinder's fix for Cleave, or what I did (I consolidated cleave into power attack: you take power attack, you also have cleave).


I've consolidated other physical feats as well (and even a couple of the bad caster ones), but by and large the physical feats are the taxxiest and needed the most help. How many feats do you need to not suck at a horse? To wield two weapons? This number can and should be brought down.

[Cog]

I also ban great cleave, because you can kill a long enough line of kobolds and exceed the speed of light.
Great Cleave, by working like Cleave, specifically disallows movement taken between attacks, even 5' steps.

[Dr.Epic]

Is there a way to make hair into a piercing weapon?

Also, you need abilities that get you extra actions. So you can make a 30 second monolog during your turn. You don't use your extra action for anything but yelling.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Let's no forget the cat ears too.

[Comet]

This all needs more exotic, mystical foreign words and catchphrases. German is preferred, though mangled Latin can work in a pinch.

Also, more musing of a spiritual or religious nature, either in your backstory or as your motivation. The deeper the better.

[chainer1216]

you sir, need strongarm bracers(from the MIC), make that full blade one size bigger!

a simple prestidigitation spell is all you need to dye you're hair any fantastic color you want.

keep max ranks in jump, but you're a warblade, so that probably wont be a problem.

and to get those spikes in you;re hair to stay there, get an ounce or two of sovereign glue, and some salve of slipperiness. coat you're hands in the salve, and then quickly spike up that hair with the glue.

[Prime32]

I also ban great cleave, because you can kill a long enough line of kobolds and exceed the speed of light.That's Supreme Cleave, which is a class feature not a feat.

[Spiryt]

I also ban great cleave, because you can kill a long enough line of kobolds and exceed the speed of light.

Doesn't time start moving backwards for you then, and in results you don't kill any kobolds?

Then problem would be no more, at least until quantum kick in for what is their? :smallwink:

[Cog]

That's Supreme Cleave, which is a class feature not a feat.
That's limited to one 5' step per round as well, so not even that pulls it off.

[TroubleBrewing]

Yeah. The epic feat Supreme Cleave, IIRC, does not have such a limit. But again, you're at least level 21, so moving faster than the speed of light while killing kobolds is way, way more tame than whatever the Wizard is doing.

Again, melee just can't have nice things with some people. :smallfrown:

[Veyr]

Doesn't time start moving backwards for you then, and in results you don't kill any kobolds?
Sort of? I mean, yes, the limit of the time to travel between any two points as your velocity goes to infinity (that is, once it's past c) is negative infinity, but that's a limit and you've already gone beyond the domain of the function, which makes it... sort of like mathematical masturbation at that point? I mean, there's some quasi-physics/philosophy musings regarding tachyons, but to the best of our knowledge, they don't exist.

Photons, on the other hand, do, and the interesting thing about them is that the limit of the time to travel between two points while your velocity approaches c (from the left) is 0. Now, the domain here is still [0, c) (or, I suppose, (-c, c)), which does not include c, but this is exactly the sort of thing limits are used for. This would seem to me that from a photon's perspective it is everywhere it has ever been or will ever be all at the same time, since all travel (in a vacuum) takes 0 time.

Of course, that sort of thing implies that time itself is no longer a functional concept for a photon (or for a tachyon, for that matter, since tachyons not only have to deal with negative time but also break causality), which makes trying to make D&D rules based on the concept... very difficult.

[ffone]

One of these things is not like the other. Ashe wasn't polite, sweet or reserved, and a sword was her 'standard' weapon.

True. She was actually more like the typical 'main hero' (usually a male) of Final Fantasy, or more general fantasy or fiction, specifically the 'royal heir in hiding' archetype like Theseus, Arthur, etc. Once she permanently joins the party, she feels more like the protaganist than the the PoV-character Vaan.

I guess that would make the more feminine Penelo, or even the effeminate anime-boy Vaan, the requisite 'girly white mage' for FFXII :smallbiggrin:

Although Ashe has a few typical Princess moments, like the 'rescue from the airship cell' scene which strongly smells like the Princess Leia rescue in Star Wars, almost down to her jail cell design.

[Crow]

Can Warblade take that one maneuver...Nightmare Dragon Creeping Waterfall Iced Tea Enervation Strike? Or whatever it's called.

Also, love the idea with the "poorly translated" speech, and the disconnected lip movements. The lip movements, I guess you could just explain that your character is doing it. Probably would make for some interesting NPC reactions.

[Grendus]

I'd go either ruby knight windicator or jade phoenix mage. Something like Swordsage 1/Wizard 5/Jade Phoenix Mage 10/Abjurant Champion 4 would have some serious gish power, that'd be a +17 BAB and 17th level wizard spellcasting and 15th level initiator. Plus it has that whole "chosen one" thing, with the initiation by a bunch of other mages ninjas.

Only downside is, I can't find a good way to let you channel touch based spells into your melee attacks. You could do that with a RKW (Cleric 5/Ordained Champion 3/RKW 10/X 2 taking Martial Study and Martial Stance to get Devoted Spirit maneuvers), though you'd have to go through some serious shenanigans to do so. Either you'd have to convince your DM to refluff one or both of the PrC's(easier in Ebberon, since all the gods are different anyways) or you'd have to convert to Wee Jas at 8th level and convince your DM that since the rules for losing PrC benefits aren't in the DMG or Complete Champion, you get to keep the Ordained Champion benefits after the conversion - true by RAW, but a very hard sell.

[cfalcon]

Oh, my bad, that is correct about supreme cleave.

In that case, great cleave is merely banned because it is awful.

[TroubleBrewing]

So, you ban Monks too, right? Also, Endurance, Toughness, Dodge, any of the other Ackbar feats, most of the class variants from UA, most Exotic weapons that aren't race-specific, any PrC that progresses spellcasting less than about 9/10 or 4/5, taking your 20th level of Rogue, any template over LA +3, most templates of +3 LA, and some templates of the +2 LA or +1 LA variety, most monster races with racial HD, a TON of spells, most martial PrCs, and the entirety of Elder Evils?

All of those things are bad, too. But sometimes? I want to be a Great Cleave-using Lycanthrope.

Banning things because they are bad leads down a long, slippery, dangerous slope where, at the end of it, waits a Tier 1-only game. Frankly, the game needs those bad decisions. There's a learning curve in D&D. Some people fall under it. They don't need handholding, they need to learn why certain things are bad. The best way to teach them is by letting them screw up once or twice.

[cfalcon]

So, you ban Monks too, right?

No, I buff monks.


Also, Endurance

Buffed to be combined with Run. Still bad, but at least someone could use it, maybe. Endurance is mostly a class feature of Ranger that you can take if for some reason you don't want to be a Ranger. Besides, sleeping in Mithril Full Plate isn't trash, at least. Prevents you from keeping that second set of armor around when you have to sleep in the actual woods instead of an extradimensional puppy-pile.


Toughness, Dodge,

I use the Pathfinder version of Toughness, which is +1 per HD, min of 3. It's still not great.

Dodge I folded Mobility into, and it's just a +1 Dodge AC (you don't have to declare a target).


any of the other Ackbar feats,

Banned or buffed, the ones not done are oversights.


most of the class variants from UA

All of them, they are either bad or OP or not what I want the class to be doing.


, most Exotic weapons that aren't race-specific

I removed the most ludicrous ones, like that gnomish self impaler. Mostly, I allow these, because you end up with a unique character- the feat is not "supposed" to be that good, and the weapons really do offer something special. Basically, you aren't supposed to feel like you *need* XWP. Because I put the magic item qualities into gems you can switch around, you never run into the issue where you haven't seen *anyone* with a $rare_ass_weapon in just *forever*.


, any PrC that progresses spellcasting less than about 9/10 or 4/5,

I just add the levels back if it's that close to being a good choice, or leave it be in some cases. The 1/2 casting things I remove or buff in some way, because they pretty much are all universally bad.


taking your 20th level of Rogue
Pathfinder capstone and something similar to the advanced talent.


, any template over LA +3, most templates of +3 LA, and some templates of the +2 LA or +1 LA variety

Monsters should not be compelling as character choices or I end up running a zoo, so I'm fine with most of these being subpar. I don't allow PCs to pick just any monster. I do offer mitigation at the higher levels for this: past about level 10, I knock off one one of the LAs. However, I haven't had a monster PC for some time (current game has a pixie), so I don't know exactly *what* level is best for this.


, most monster races with racial HD,

Yes.


a TON of spells,

Yes, but many I leave in there because they still have some purpose. Others that players should at least consider casting I buff (ex: Lightning Bolt) by giving them a save penalty. Many of the "save or meh" spells at the same level as a "save or URDED" spells just need a -1 to -4 to rocket up in consideration. But there's more spells than I have time.


most martial PrCs

No, many of them are perfectly fine additions to the game.


, and the entirety of Elder Evils?

Definitely.


All of those things are bad, too. But sometimes? I want to be a Great Cleave-using Lycanthrope.

Then those times wouldn't be in my games :P


Banning things because they are bad leads down a long, slippery, dangerous slope where, at the end of it, waits a Tier 1-only game.

That's not the only reason to ban things! Or rather, that's not the only reason to disallow things. Expansion material is a "check with me" kind of thing.


Frankly, the game needs those bad decisions. There's a learning curve in D&D. Some people fall under it. They don't need handholding, they need to learn why certain things are bad. The best way to teach them is by letting them screw up once or twice.

I'd prefer a game where if you build one of the many supported character choices, the only trap feats are obviously ones where you are not gaining prowess except in some niche area. For instance, Endurance (merged with Run) is still not useful that often. But Rangers just get it , and others can take it if they like the concept.

[Maho-Tsukai]

I find it amusing how a thread on how to make a person's warblade character more anime-like can devolve(or evolve, depending on your perspective) into a debate about how certain feats/character options suck and whether or not one should ban said options. Now that's not a bad thing, though, as this has been an interesting read despite being off-topic.

[ffone]

I find it amusing how a thread on how to make a person's warblade character more anime-like can devolve(or evolve, depending on your perspective) into a debate about how certain feats/character options suck and whether or not one should ban said options. Now that's not a bad thing, though, as this has been an interesting read despite being off-topic.

GitP has its own Godwin's Law: as the length of the thread approaches - well, not even infinity, just 1-2 pages - the probability approaches 1 that it will become a guisarme*-measuring contest on who can optimize the best, while pretending that they don't try / work at it and it's just natural/obvious and anything suboptimal is ridiculously underpowered and Doesn't Work as Intended and Why Can't Melee Have Nice Things and if I Can't Do 8000 Damage Per Charge That's Unfair Because Timestop Solargating.

* preferably wielded by a water orc whirlpouncebarian frenzied berserker fearmancing tripmancing leap attacking shock trooper with the more optimistic interpretation of multiplier / +100% stacking.

Back on topic, I feel this anime character needs some sort of Iron Golem mount (i.e. battlearmor / battlebot / Magitek Armor). Edit: suggested by someone else 2 pages ago (I would say 'ninja'ed' but since I just got done making fun of certain GitP cliche-phrases...)