Swordsage Multiple Attack Benefits

[kardar233]

Few questions:

Firstly, what abilities could I get that would benefit greatly from a fair-sized bucket of attacks? I already see the Desert Wind Burning/Searing Blade maneuvers, but I'd rather ones that didn't take up my precious swift actions. Assume I already have a source (or two) of precision damage.

Secondly, do any of you know a way to get Pounce without an action, without taking class levels to do so. My build is extremely tight on levels so I can't spare dips. I'm thinking of using Searing Charge with Raging Mongoose, so I can't use any actions as I'm using my swift and a full already.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Pouncing Charge (TC 5 or 6, can't remember) is a strike wich allows you to make a pouce, pretty nasty when you combine Insightful strike (class feature) and dancing/raging mongoose. 5 or 6 attacks with Wis in addition to str and Dex (possibly)to damage, can pile up rather quickly.

Edit: For the first part, you could try weapons that do some kind of effect on a hit, keen enfeebling kukris can add str damage rather quickly and with a huge number of attacks the possibilities of managing a crit increase

[Darrin]

Firstly, what abilities could I get that would benefit greatly from a fair-sized bucket of attacks? I already see the Desert Wind Burning/Searing Blade maneuvers, but I'd rather ones that didn't take up my precious swift actions.


If you take Assassin's Stance at Swordsage 5, you qualify for Craven (Champions of Ruin) and Staggering Strike (Complete Adventurer). Also dovetales quite nicely with Shadow Blade. The downside is you have to spend most (if not all) of your time in Assassin's Stance... but on the gripping hand, Assassin's Stance is still a pretty darned good stance to spend most of your time in.

Other than that, you'll probably want to focus on:

Ability Damage: Buy some Wounding weapons. Simple, old-school, and extremely effective until you realize your DM is only sending constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, and undead at you.

Crit-Fishing: This is difficult to combine with Shadow Blade, unless your DM allows an Aptitude weapon to work with Shadow Blade, in which case you then need to get your hands on a pair of keen aptitude kukris or scimitars or whatever. Kaorti resin (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031014a) upgrades your crit multiplier to x4, but requires taking EWP. Pitspawned is nice (DMGII). Avoid the urge to pick up Telling Blow. Your pocketbook is already going to be hemorrhaging GPs like arterial bleeding is going out of style, but look for weapon upgrades that add flat damage (such as Collision) so they multiply on a crit or cheaper crit-effects that are more likely to happen because you're attacking more often. Slow Burst (+5000 GP, MIC) is a great bargain, but still depends on a failed Will save. Prismatic burst (+30000 GP, MIC) is stupendously expensive, but much more satisfying. Enfeebling (1d6+2 Str damage on crit, BoED) is probalby the most cost-effective of the +1 "crit" enhancements.

"Save or Die/Suck" effects: Weapons made out of Gehennan Morghuth-Iron have a -1 penalty on attack/damage, but they're naturally poisonous: Fort save DC 12, primary 1 Dex damage, secondary 1d4 Dex damage. Save DC is way too low, but with enough attacks the math says some poor bastard is eventually going to roll a 1. Poison Spikes (+1 enhancement, BoVD) don't work with Shadow Blade, but as armor spikes they make a very nice off-hand weapon, and the poison effect is somewhat decent: Fort save DC 16, primary/secondary 1d3 Str damage. The poison applies itself and has an infinite supply, although you still risk poisoning yourself on an attack roll of "1". Almost all of the SoS/SoD weapon enhancements got nerfed in the MIC so they now have a limited uses per day, but there's still at least one that they missed: Torturous (Ghostwalk p. 64). As a +1 enhancement, every hit means your target has to make a Fort save DC 12 or is stunned for 1 round, which doesn't sound all that impressive, but you can upgrade it to a +2 enhancement and the Fort save goes up to a much more respectable DC 17.



Secondly, do any of you know a way to get Pounce without an action, without taking class levels to do so. My build is extremely tight on levels so I can't spare dips. I'm thinking of using Searing Charge with Raging Mongoose, so I can't use any actions as I'm using my swift and a full already.

First, check Person_Man's guide on Ways to get Pounce or Free Movement (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103358).

The easiest way to do this via feats is usually Travel Devotion, but unless you have access to Turn Undead, you're limited to 10 rounds per day.

Snow Tiger Berserker (Unapproachable East p. 45) only works with light weapons, but requires the ability to rage, which is pointless if you can already dip one level of Barbarian for the Spirit Lion Totem ACF.

Lion Tribe Warrior (Shining South p. 20) is similar to Snow Tiger Berserker (light weapon only), but is a regional feat and has some racial/fluff requirements. It's also gets somewhat quirky with the TWF rules, which says you only get one attack with each weapon, but then references the "normal rules for two-weapon fighting", which would normally allow multiple attacks with each weapon.

The best method to get pounce via feats is probably Shape Soulmeld: Sphynx Claws + Open Least Chakra: Hands, but this only works with natural weapons. Unarmed Swordsage variant is the obvious go-to here, but unarmed strikes have more than a few downsides: low base damage, difficult to enchant, no PA multipliers, etc. Unless you enjoy tedious bloodymindedness, it's probably a good idea to avoid any arguments about whether unarmed strikes can be off-hand, used on both sides of TWF, can combined with claws/flurry/basket-weaving, etc. Take Snap Kick for more fist-smashing LULZ, grab a few more natural weapons via soulmelds/grafts/Hunger domain/etc., pick up Mutliattack and go to town.