skullcrusher ogre/ half copper dragon character

[gleith]

I was asked to make a monster character for myself to play in a lvl 15 campaign, however I have never made a monster character before. Upon looking through a few of the books I've come across the skullcrusher ogre which I decided I wanted to use as my base creature. I was also highly encouraged to be a half dragon by two of the other member of the party, and the dm has agreed to let me field most any character I would like. My question is what effective level would I be at with just the base creature and the half dragon template?

Also, I've decided to go fighter, and take fullblade proficiency as well as exotic armor proficiency in battle plate, and the neccessary feats to allow my creature to fly with heavy and medium armor. this is before adding class levels. any other tips on creating this character, and keeping it within the restriction of being "non-broken" would be welcome(example being, I've used my lowest rolled stat for strength to keep my strength at 30)

[Runestar]

Skullcrusher ogre has 8 giant HD and LA+3, for an ECL of 11. Add the +3LA from half-dragon, and you have an ECL14 character. Since your game starts at lv15, this gives you 1 more class lv to play around with.

I don't really recommend this, as you are stuck with a bunch of physical stat increases which don't really do much to contribute to the game (your bab sucks, you have just 2 attacks). Your relatively how HD also means you won't have a lot of hp for what is supposed to be a front-line bruiser.

My advice is to go for something with a lot fewer racial HD and lower LA overall, because monster PCs generally aren't worth their hefty ECL. Centaur isn't a bad choice. Even with half-dragon (if that's what you want), it is just ECL9, and you still have 6 class lvs to customise.

Anyways, your character is far from broken, because your high str is really your only saving grace. Even maxed out at 44 (assume base16, +14ogre, +8dragon, +6item), your attack rolls are more or less comparable to a typical fighter.

[gleith]

I see, I've also heard that there is a way to buy back some of your level adjustments at lv15, out of curiosity is that true?

If not, I will not be using this for my character and will be looking for another setup. What are some other suggestions?

also, is the fact that this is for 3.5 need to be noted?

[paddyfool]

If you do go with this, your final level should probably be either a ToB initiator, or War Hulk (if you can make the requirements). Bonus marks if you can think of creative uses for your insane strength (e.g. stealing things that should be too heavy to carry off, such as houses or ships; picking up your enemies and using them as improvised weapons against their allies; that kind of thing).

But yes, this won't be a powerful choice by any means (even if half-dragon does make your racial hit die a little less of a waste of space). It'd work far better in gestalt, but that's a tricky one to talk most DMs into...

EDIT: Ah, ninja'd. You're quite sensibly not going with this. If you want the same flavour much more cheaply, you could try a dragonborn half-ogre (LA 2).

[gleith]

If you do go with this, your final level should probably be either a ToB initiator, or War Hulk (if you can make the requirements). Bonus marks if you can think of creative uses for your insane strength (e.g. stealing things that should be too heavy to carry off, such as houses or ships; picking up your enemies and using them as improvised weapons against their allies; that kind of thing).

But yes, this won't be a powerful choice by any means (even if half-dragon does make your racial hit die a little less of a waste of space). It'd work far better in gestalt, but that's a tricky one to talk most DMs into...

EDIT: Ah, ninja'd. You're quite sensibly not going with this. If you want the same flavour much more cheaply, you could try a dragonborn half-ogre (LA 2).

Possibly, i'd like as many ideas as i can get, I've also got an idea for a Troll Halfdragon Werebear(natural lycanthrope), Monk any suggestions for that?

My main goal is to be a great front-line fighter and to be able to fly

[CTrees]

Anyone remember the LA on a half-black-dragon war troll? Because... do that, then cackle maniacally.


Monk

No.

[gleith]

Anyone remember the LA on a half-black-dragon war troll? Because... do that, then cackle maniacally.



No.

.... explain this troll you speak of...

[Runestar]

I see, I've also heard that there is a way to buy back some of your level adjustments at lv15, out of curiosity is that true?

The LA buy-off rules are in unearthed arcana, but they are quite convoluted and tricky to implement if you are not starting from lv1. Also, they were designed to be used on races with low LA (ie: +2 or +1), you can basically forget about using those rules for your character.

If you want to be a frontline fighter, I recommend the dragonkin (draconomicon). They have 7 monstrous humanoid HD, +2LA, and decent stat bonuses plus wings. This lets you add on another 6 class lvs.


Possibly, i'd like as many ideas as i can get, I've also got an idea for a Troll Halfdragon Werebear(natural lycanthrope), Monk any suggestions for that?

Such a character would be ECL20 at least, and way beyond the scope of your game, plus it would suck too much to be of any real use. As a general rule of thumb, I would not play a character with a HD:LA ratio of greater than 4:1. Meaning that for a ECL15 character, I would not opt for more than +3LA.

Or if you don't mind being less monstrous, goliath (races of stone, LA+1) is an excellent choice. Throw in dragonborn for wings, and you have an excellent bruiser.

Alternatively, if your party is not too optimised, a dragon disciple would nab you wings. At lv15, you can start with the prc fully filled out. Something like a barb1/battlesorc4/dragon disciple10 should work out. Use your 2nd lv slots for wraithstrike. :smallbiggrin:

[gleith]

The LA buy-off rules are in unearthed arcana, but they are quite convoluted and tricky to implement if you are not starting from lv1. Also, they were designed to be used on races with low LA (ie: +2 or +1), you can basically forget about using those rules for your character.

If you want to be a frontline fighter, I recommend the dragonkin (draconomicon). They have 7 monstrous humanoid HD, +2LA, and decent stat bonuses plus wings. This lets you add on another 6 class lvs.



Such a character would be ECL20 at least, and way beyond the scope of your game, plus it would suck too much to be of any real use. As a general rule of thumb, I would not play a character with a HD:LA ratio of greater than 4:1. Meaning that for a ECL15 character, I would not opt for more than +3LA.

Or if you don't mind being less monstrous, goliath (races of stone, LA+1) is an excellent choice. Throw in dragonborn for wings, and you have an excellent bruiser.

Alternatively, if your party is not too optimised, a dragon disciple would nab you wings. At lv15, you can start with the prc fully filled out. Something like a barb1/battlesorc4/dragon disciple10 should work out. Use your 2nd lv slots for wraithstrike. :smallbiggrin:

the last part of this interests me. I do not know what they play they did not tell me. None the less what race does this last section entail, also I must add Ive never played a character with magic spell lvl and caster lvl all confuse me... also what does prc mean? (I'm kinda newb i guess lol)

[Runestar]

Prestige classes are like normal classes, albeit with requirements. If you have the DMG, it is inside. Else, it can be seen here.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/dragonDisciple.htm

So basically, you would be a normal race like human, then take only class levels. However, the disciple would effectively add the half-dragon template after 10 lvs, making you seem draconic in appearance.

[Essence_of_War]

I've compiled a list of some of the relevant playable races with RHD. You can find it here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201501).

If you want a race with nice phyiscal stats, and only a little bit of LA, I'd highly recommend checking out:

Azer
Flind
Lumi


All of these guys have relatively low ECL, they have either outisder or monstrous humanoid RHD, and they pack either a number of useful abilities or impressive stat bonuses.

What requirements has your DM put on you, other than "must be ECL 15"?

[gleith]

I've compiled a list of some of the relevant playable races with RHD. You can find it here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201501).

If you want a race with nice phyiscal stats, and only a little bit of LA, I'd highly recommend checking out:

Azer
Flind
Lumi


All of these guys have relatively low ECL, they have either outisder or monstrous humanoid RHD, and they pack either a number of useful abilities or impressive stat bonuses.

What requirements has your DM put on you, other than "must be ECL 15"?

dont homebrew without her there to unsure its not broken and dont make a broken character.

[gleith]

Prestige classes are like normal classes, albeit with requirements. If you have the DMG, it is inside. Else, it can be seen here.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/dragonDisciple.htm

So basically, you would be a normal race like human, then take only class levels. However, the disciple would effectively add the half-dragon template after 10 lvs, making you seem draconic in appearance.

hmmm... the only thing is I dont want to be( and was discouraged from being) a core race

[Essence_of_War]

Subject to those very reasonable constraints, my general advice is to take as few racial hit die as possible that still allow you to build the feel of a monstrous character.

Unless you want to be a bard, and are allowed to be a Gloura (see my link in the previous post), most races with racial hit die are nerf-batting your spellcasting pretty hard. Martial adepts are great, mid tier characters that work well on the, typically impressive, physical chasis of monsters.

[CTrees]

.... explain this troll you speak of...

After a quick search, it looks like it's going to be way above your level, because of racial hit dice. Ah, well.

Basically, war trolls are only weak to acid, not acid and fire like most trolls. The half-black-dragon template gives immunity to acid. Ta-da, you're immune to both things which would overcome your regeneration. Enjoy relative immortality, and watch out for energy/ability damage/drain. If you can find a way to be immune to non-lethal damage... you get the idea.

hat tip to the Emerald Legion

[gleith]

Or if you don't mind being less monstrous, goliath (races of stone, LA+1) is an excellent choice. Throw in dragonborn for wings, and you have an excellent bruiser.

ive decided to go with this, though would it be effective to use half dragon instead of dragon born/ I do not want to follow the codes of conduct for dragonborn... bahamut is a nazi when it comes to being lawfull and destroying all chromatic dragons

[Essence_of_War]

Enjoy relative immortality, and watch out for energy/ability damage/drain.

Also trollbane :smallbiggrin:

Edit: Goliath + Half-dragon seems pretty scary. Ask your DM if she would let the goliath's powerful build count as sufficiently large to gain access to the Half-dragon's flight modes.

If not, I'd recommend maybe the Half-Ogre (races of destiny) + half-dragon to make you large enough to get the wings also.

[gleith]

Also trollbane :smallbiggrin:

Edit: Goliath + Half-dragon seems pretty scary. Ask your DM if she would let the goliath's powerful build count as sufficiently large to gain access to the Half-dragon's flight modes.

If not, I'd recommend maybe the Half-Ogre (races of destiny) + half-dragon to make you large enough to get the wings also.

hmm... what about stone child i havent read much on it but what do you think? also half ogre was another of my thoughts

edit:
i dont have races of destiny nor can I download it my comps network card is dead, im using my television for the interwebz

[Essence_of_War]

from thurbane's guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189980)




Half-ogre – large giant (RoD) +6 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Cha, Barbarian


You get the large size, some impressive physical stats, and the giant type. Having the large size to get the dragon flight from half-dragon is a really good idea.

Edit: On the stonechild, it's got solid physical stats, it uses outsider RHD, which is always nice, but the LA is a bit high.

[Runestar]

from thurbane's guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189980)

You get the large size, some impressive physical stats, and the giant type. Having the large size to get the dragon flight from half-dragon is a really good idea.

But...but...LA+5!?!? :smallfrown::smalleek:

[gleith]

from thurbane's guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189980)




You get the large size, some impressive physical stats, and the giant type. Having the large size to get the dragon flight from half-dragon is a really good idea.

alright thanks. any other racial benefits with ogre that half dragon doesn't get? thanks for that info though i'll post an updat as i finish it

[Essence_of_War]

But...but...LA+5!?!?


Hmmm...admittedly, that is sort of a panic inducing amount of LA.

Perhaps I shouldn't have spoken so quickly.

[gleith]

But...but...LA+5!?!? :smallfrown::smalleek:

i can just apply the rules from unearthed decrease it too a +2 adj and explain it to my dm that thats what i did, or make it level 17 and the apply the removal the the levels and end up sitting at lvl 13, and explain that to my dm

i wont be the lowest level character in the group

[Runestar]

Would your DM be amendable to the anthropomorphic baleen whale from savage species? 3 monstrous humanoid HD, +0LA, better overall stats and is large, meaning you can still get wings from half-dragon and would be ECL6.

The reason why I can against so much LA is because they don't grant anything. No hp, saves, skills or bab, meaning too much can make your character too fragile.

[gleith]

Would your DM be amendable to the anthropomorphic baleen whale from savage species? 3 monstrous humanoid HD, +0LA, better overall stats and is large, meaning you can still get wings from half-dragon and would be ECL6.

The reason why I can against so much LA is because they don't grant anything. No hp, saves, skills or bab, meaning too much can make your character too fragile.

In racs of the dragon theres an alternative way to get half dragon, would taking it as 4 "class" levels be benificial?

[Essence_of_War]

If the class levels have hit die that contribute to your saves/BAB and such. Yes, certainly.

[gleith]

could one forgo the racial hd and skills and simply take the abilities, size and nothing else?

because ogres get prof simple and martial weapons, lt and med armor and got nat armor and what not, but say i did not take those from it and only took the size bonus abilities and reach and only a +t1 lvl adj would that be fair?

[MesiDoomstalker]

could one forgo the racial hd and skills and simply take the abilities, size and nothing else?

because ogres get prof simple and martial weapons, lt and med armor and got nat armor and what not, but say i did not take those from it and only took the size bonus abilities and reach and only a +t1 lvl adj would that be fair?

Yes and no. Savage Species says that you could do this but it would require your DM to agree what is contributing how much LA/RHD and then letting you pick and choose what you keep and what you don't. It gets really sticky and fickle and I'd advise against it.

And a note about Dragonborn, your not forced into a paladin-esque code of conduct for becoming a Dragonborn. You don't need to be LG just Good. And since when do Good PC's not kill chromatic dragons on site anyways? I don't know of any way Bahamaut it going to penalize you for not being "ZOMG! I HATZ CHROMATIC DRAGONZ!:smallfurious:" Just a general distaste of and hostility towards them.

The Dragonborn Goliath would be LA +2 1 and you can ask your DM to allow LA buyoff and start off at 14 class levels (haven't done the calculations but the XP cost won't drop you more than a single level by 15th ECL). I might suggest starting with Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6 (Dungeoneering)/Warblade X (Tome of Battle) focusing on Stone Dragon (asking to ignore must be on the ground requirment) and Diamond Mind with a smattering of White Raven Tatics. Take Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Shock Trooper, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Knock-down and Knockback. The typical tripper/charger build with ToB goodness.

[gleith]

Yes and no. Savage Species says that you could do this but it would require your DM to agree what is contributing how much LA/RHD and then letting you pick and choose what you keep and what you don't. It gets really sticky and fickle and I'd advise against it.

And a note about Dragonborn, your not forced into a paladin-esque code of conduct for becoming a Dragonborn. You don't need to be LG just Good. And since when do Good PC's not kill chromatic dragons on site anyways? I don't know of any way Bahamaut it going to penalize you for not being "ZOMG! I HATZ CHROMATIC DRAGONZ!:smallfurious:" Just a general distaste of and hostility towards them.

The Dragonborn Goliath would be LA +2 and you can ask your DM to allow LA buyoff and start off at 14 class levels (haven't done the calculations but the XP cost won't drop you more than a single level by 15th ECL). I might suggest starting with Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6 (Dungeoneering)/Warblade X (Tome of Battle) focusing on Stone Dragon (asking to ignore must be on the ground requirment) and Diamond Mind with a smattering of White Raven Tatics. Take Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Shock Trooper, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Knock-down and Knockback. The typical tripper/charger build with ToB goodness.

interesting. as a dm would you allow a large creature to wield a full blade a size category larger than normal in two hands following its rules for medium characters?
just curious, it seems to me that it would work since its a huge weap and with exotic weap prof fullblade a large character can wield it one handed instead of two handed...

[MesiDoomstalker]

interesting. as a dm would you allow a large creature to wield a full blade a size category larger than normal in two hands following its rules for medium characters?
just curious, it seems to me that it would work since its a huge weap and with exotic weap prof fullblade a large character can wield it one handed instead of two handed...

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever waste a feat to use a weapon 1-handed when you don't have to waste a feat to use it at all. 2-handed fighting is far superior to 1-handed fighitng. 2-handed get 1.5xstr to damage and 2xPA penalty. 1-handed is 1xstr and 1xPA penalty. You'll want a Glaive and gauntlet. You'll have 10 ft. reach, threaten adjacent and 10 ft. out, bonus to tripping (the point of the build I suggested) plus all the benefits of 2-handed weapon (Glaive only).

But to directly answer your question, no. A medium Fullblade (a medium Goliath is effectivly Large or Medium for using different sized weapons) would require the feat to use one handed because to a large character, it is a oddly weighted, smaller Fullblade, not neccisarily easier to use. But like I said, just stick 2-handed weapons.

And an edit to my previous post, Dragonborn Goliath is LA +1, not +2. But you could throw in Draconic template (Races of Dragon, I think) for more Str and Con for +1 LA which you can be bought off pre-game.

[gleith]

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever waste a feat to use a weapon 1-handed when you don't have to waste a feat to use it at all. 2-handed fighting is far superior to 1-handed fighitng. 2-handed get 1.5xstr to damage and 2xPA penalty. 1-handed is 1xstr and 1xPA penalty. You'll want a Glaive and gauntlet. You'll have 10 ft. reach, threaten adjacent and 10 ft. out, bonus to tripping (the point of the build I suggested) plus all the benefits of 2-handed weapon (Glaive only).

But to directly answer your question, no. A medium Fullblade (a medium Goliath is effectivly Large or Medium for using different sized weapons) would require the feat to use one handed because to a large character, it is a oddly weighted, smaller Fullblade, not neccisarily easier to use. But like I said, just stick 2-handed weapons.

And an edit to my previous post, Dragonborn Goliath is LA +1, not +2. But you could throw in Draconic template (Races of Dragon, I think) for more Str and Con for +1 LA which you can be bought off pre-game.

in arms and equipment guide, the fullblade is a huge weapon(no other size is listed for it), and a medium character can only wield it two handed if he takes the feat(based on the huge sized weapon, not a medium sized variant). but a large character can wield it two handed without it, treating it as a martial weapon, and one handed with the feat. by that logic you could theoretically wield a size category larger full blade(gargantuan) two handed with no penalty if you had the feat, correct?

[MesiDoomstalker]

in arms and equipment guide, the fullblade is a huge weapon(no other size is listed for it), and a medium character can only wield it two handed if he takes the feat(based on the huge sized weapon, not a medium sized variant). but a large character can wield it two handed without it, treating it as a martial weapon, and one handed with the feat. by that logic you could theoretically wield a size category larger full blade(gargantuan) two handed with no penalty if you had the feat, correct?

Arms and Equipment Guide is a 3.0 book that was never updated and weapon sizes were thrown out in the conversion. So its not clear cut. BUT! you can do that reasonably in my opinion. BUT! your blowing a feat for a small increase in damage. Its simply not worth it. Period. Your looking at about extra 1 damage on average. For one of your very few feats you get. It just doesn't add up.

[gleith]

Arms and Equipment Guide is a 3.0 book that was never updated and weapon sizes were thrown out in the conversion. So its not clear cut. BUT! you can do that reasonably in my opinion. BUT! your blowing a feat for a small increase in damage. Its simply not worth it. Period. Your looking at about extra 1 damage on average. For one of your very few feats you get. It just doesn't add up.

mkay thanks

however say i wanted to take weapons focus and whatnot, could i still take it seeing as its a martial weapon in two hands and i am proficient with them or would I have to take the proficency with it?

[Abaddon87]

I thought Goliaths have the Powerful Build trait anyways? Maybe I'm thinking of Half-Giants (a good alternative to Goliaths if I'm wrong). If they have Powerful Build then they can wield said "Huge" Fullblade as if they were a large creature with two hands without a need for the feat.

If the Goliaths dont have Powerful Build, I really would look at Half-Giant and talk to your DM about the whole psionics thing if its something you dont want to get into. Maybe see if he/she would let you trade out the psionics stuff for a boost in the stats or something?

[MesiDoomstalker]

mkay thanks

however say i wanted to take weapons focus and whatnot, could i still take it seeing as its a martial weapon in two hands and i am proficient with them or would I have to take the proficency with it?

You are proficient (albeit only 2-handed) and you could take Weapon Focus/Specialization/etc. BUT! don't. Just don't. Your spending a single feat for a extra 5% chance to hit, 1 extra damage and so forth. The numbers don't add up very fast or much at all for that matter.


I thought Goliaths have the Powerful Build trait anyways? Maybe I'm thinking of Half-Giants (a good alternative to Goliaths if I'm wrong). If they have Powerful Build then they can wield said "Huge" Fullblade as if they were a large creature with two hands without a need for the feat.

If the Goliaths dont have Powerful Build, I really would look at Half-Giant and talk to your DM about the whole psionics thing if its something you dont want to get into. Maybe see if he/she would let you trade out the psionics stuff for a boost in the stats or something?

Goliaths do get Powerful Build and is pretty much the only reason why they have an LA. And in regards to Psionics, my group usually says if your not using the extra PP, you loose that the Psionic subtype and -1 LA (assuming it had LA and we didn't do it for all cases.) Mainly that was for Blues (psionic goblins).

[Fouredged Sword]

I would suggest half minotaur lizardman.

You are a large lizard with horns on your head.

You get
2 RDH, not great, but not bad
2 LA, this is within buyoff range
+8 or so str, natural armor, and some nice natural weapons.
Large size

Wield a longspear (for reach, your natural weapons can be used to strike anyone who gets close to you)

Now go a nice melee class like whirling frenzy barbarian, get the pounce ACF at first level.

Warhulk is a nice option, with the ability to strike all around you (but you become completely useless out of combat)

Psi-war could be used for expansion (and even more size!)

[Runestar]

In racs of the dragon theres an alternative way to get half dragon, would taking it as 4 "class" levels be benificial?

It's the same as just slapping on the half-dragon template, except races of dragon "forces" you to take the draconic template as well, so it is actually worse! :smallmad:

[hex0]

My advice? Play a Half-Copper Dragon/Half-Ogre (4 RHD + 5 LA) Pounce Barbarian Build (maybe go into Champion of Gwnharmwyf?).

1. Take the Improved Breath Weapon feat so you can use your breath weapon every 1d4 rounds.
2. Take Entangling Exhalation and other breath feats.
3. Your Breath Weapon DC is based on your CON so when you rage it goes up. Rage and entangle your opponent(s), charge and go to town.
4. If things get tough, you can fly.

On the other hand, as a dragon type you can get into the powerful Dragon Mystic PRC, so if you make a caster just apply Half-Dragon to a LA 0 race. :smallwink:

[gleith]

my dm allowed me to remove the 4 racial hit die, the feats the ogre gets for them and skills as well as the natural armor from both the ogre and half dragon, the half dragon's hit die adjustment and the skill point adjustment away and keep everything else for a lvl 3 adjustment, and I am going to remove one of those as soon as I lvl up for free so I effectively get two levels

so all in all now Im looking at 12 lvls for classes and 3 lvls of adjustment

[MesiDoomstalker]

my dm allowed me to remove the 4 racial hit die, the feats the ogre gets for them and skills as well as the natural armor from both the ogre and half dragon, the half dragon's hit die adjustment and the skill point adjustment away and keep everything else for a lvl 3 adjustment, and I am going to remove one of those as soon as I lvl up for free so I effectively get two levels

so all in all now Im looking at 12 lvls for classes and 3 lvls of adjustment

That's pretty good. Afb right now but it sounds like large str/con bonuses, reach, wings, and a 1/day breath weapon all for +3 LA and dex/mental penalties. Not the greatest but far far better than taking RHD and full LA. When I get bAck to books I can suggest a build but I believe the build I posted earlier would still function well if not even better on that racial base.

[gleith]

The only thing I can find for that build is the dungeoncrasher fighter. for the rest I am at a loss. so far I've gone into fighter and ranger and I am planning on going into the prc dread commando from hero's of battle because of my inability to find the others. Ive also talked my dm out of another lvl of adj so I have 13 lvls for class by agreeing to remain at lvl 19 for half a lvl when we get there. I was also told that I could honestly do anything I wanted as long as I could figure it out.

[MesiDoomstalker]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psychicWarrior.htm
The only thing I can find for that build is the dungeoncrasher fighter. for the rest I am at a loss. so far I've gone into fighter and ranger and I am planning on going into the prc dread commando from hero's of battle because of my inability to find the others. Ive also talked my dm out of another lvl of adj so I have 13 lvls for class by agreeing to remain at lvl 19 for half a lvl when we get there. I was also told that I could honestly do anything I wanted as long as I could figure it out.

Well if you don't have Tome of Battle your melee isn't going to be too great. But you gotta work with what you got. Anyways, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Combat Expertise, and Improved Trip are all in Players Handbook/SRD. Knock-Down (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown) can be found here or in Deities and Demigods (I think thats 3.0) Note that even though its in the Dieties section of SRD and a book about dieties, nothing prevents you from taking it as non of the pre-reqs mention a divine rank. Knockback can be found in Races of Stone, same as Goliath. You need to be large size but I'm pretty sure you are. Shock Trooper is Complete Warrior I believe. All of those are feats which as a fighter, you'll have a few extra to throw around. I think Knock-back and Knockdown are the only ones that aren't fighter feats.

Dread Commando is eh. Okay for stealthy types who want to wear heavy armor and....ya good for stealthy types in heavy armor. Which is like no one.

You could do Psychic Warrior (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psychicWarrior.htm) either 13 levels by themself or 7 levels after Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6. If you take both you'll get more bonus feats to pull off the above feat combination (assuming you can find all the feats) plus have awesome powers to buff yourself. You definatly want the expansion power as you can increase your size up to Huge or Gargatuan(!). Which gives you 15 and 20 ft reach accordingly. Throw in Combat Reflexes, a decent Dex score (I know this would be more difficult) and a Spiked Chain and you can trip lockdown a VERY large area. Note that you can't spend more power points on a single power (like Expansion) greater than your Manifester Level (ML) which if you Fighter 6/Psy War 7 means you can just barely activate Expansion and grow to Gargatuan. CAUTION: gargatuan creatures take a penalty to AC and to hit and are very big. Don't do this if your in a confined space.

EDIT: I was going to post a level by level build plus tatics and suggested equipment but I must go to class. I'll be back in about 2 hours with a in-depth build

[MesiDoomstalker]

Ok your racial stats are looking like this: +18 Str, -2 Dex, +6 Con, -2 Int, and -2 Cha. 40 base land speed with 80 base Fly speed (Average). Large size with 10 ft natural reach for +2 LA. For your stats I've taken the liberty to provide a sample spread using a 32 point buy.

10-Str
14-Dex
14-Con
15-Int
16-Wis
8-Cha

which gives the results after racial modifiers of:

28-Str
12-Dex
20-Con
13-Int
16-Wis
6-Cha

If your not using point-buy (or using a lower point buy) you should prioritize your stats in this order: Wis>Con>Dex>Str>Cha. I excluded Int because you MUST get put 15+ before racial modifiers into Int to get the pre-req for Improved Trip. You don't need any more but you do need at least a 13 after racial modifiers.

For classes we have Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Psychic Warrior 7/LA 2 for an ECL of 15 as per your starting level.

Level breakdown is as follows:


Fighter 1, Power Attack (B), Combat Expertise
Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2
Fighter 3, Improved Bull Rush
Fighter 4, Improved Trip (B)
Fighter 5
Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6, Knockdown
Psychic Warrior 1, Shock Trooper (B)
Psychic Warrior 2, Knock-back (B)
Psychic Warrior 3, Open Feat
Psychic Warrior 4
Psychic Warrior 5, Practiced Manifester (B)
Psychic Warrior 6, Open Feat
Psychic Warrior 7


Those last two open slots I'm not sure what to do with and should be up to you. I might suggest Psionic Meditation to become Psionically focused as a move action and Extend Power. There is another metapsionic feat that I can't seem to find that lets you manifest 2 powers at once with 1 action but the second power doesn't come into effect till the next turn. If you can find that metapsionic feat or someone else can point it out, I would definatly take those feats.

For powers known, you get 7 at 7th level. 3 1st leve, 3 2nd level and 1 3rd level. You definatly want Expansion (1st), Hustle (2nd). Those are really the only powers that make this build work better. Expansion makes you either Huge or Gargatuan with the appropriate reach and Hustle lets you take a move action as a swift action. Beyond those its up to personal preference. (Greater) Concealing Amorpha gives you a miss chance which is always nice. Thicken Skin gives you boost to AC but doesn't stack with magical armor's bonus. Vigor gives you free HP in a sense. Animal Affinity is the animal line of spells all in one and you can spend extra to apply it to more than one stat. Body Adjustment heals you for real (unlike vigor) but it can get expensive. Psionic Lion's Charge gives you Pounce or in other words you can full attack on a charge. Dissolving Weapon gives you a one time 4d6 damage boost with your weapon. Strength of My Enemy is a buff and debuff in one dealing Str damage and giveing you the same back. Makes your ridiculous strength stupidly high while weakening your enemies. Empathetic Feedback means enemies hurt themselves just as much they hurt you if you spend enough PP on it. Hostile Empathetic Transfer lets you give an enemy 50 damage while you heal the same amount or even to all enemies in a 20-ft. radius. Those are the gems I see on the SRD at your level.

For equipment, +6 (or the highest you can afford) items of Con, Str, and Wis are very useful giving you bonus PP, increasing accuracy, damage output, and HP. A Pectoral of Maneuverabilty (Draconomicon or Races of Dragon, I forget which) or better yet Greater Pectoral of maneuverability. They will increase your maneuverability to good or perfect so you can hover. A at least +1 Glaive, a +1 Mithral Chainshirt, and a +1 Animated Mithral Buckler should be your basic weapon and armor. Adding Soulfire (Book of Exalted Deeds, +4 armor enhancment) to your chainshirt or buckler will make you immune to death and negative energy effects which is a huge boon. Ask your DM if you can have a custom item that gives you Pounce. I made one based off a Druid spell in SpC, I can't remember which, which came out to 34k based on custom magic item creation guidelines. Beyond that, its up to you.

Your tatics should go as follows. Buff your self with Expansion, growing to the size neccesary. Use Hustle to move in close, easy with your 80 ft. movement, and full attack against the nearest enemy. Iniate a bull rush and use Dungeoncrasher to not have to follow the opponent, use Shock Trooper's Directed Bull Rush option to direct bull rushed enemy toward other enemies, then use Domino Rush from Shock Trooper to make free trip attacks against all of them. If they are still in your reach, use Improved Trip's free attack against any that you knock over. Alternativly, you can charge, using full power attack penalty using Shock Trooper's Heedless Charge to apply the penalty to AC instead of to-hit. Remember anytime you deal 10+ damage, which is trivially easy as your strength bonus to your damage is already above 10, gets you a free trip and another free attack if you suceed due to Improved Trip. Don't forget that with your glaive you only threaten and attack 10 ft. beyond your natural reach but your bite attack can still threaten your natural reach. If someone is stupid enough to bite a AoO from your glaive and get within your natural reach, I suggest using Hustle to move back into Glaive range and Full-Attacking the dummy. And thats just a smattering of what you can do. In any case, your going to make a lot of enemies take huge damage and waster their actions standing back up and moving back into position.

[gleith]

Interesting... (=

[Gwendol]

I suggest switching knockdown and knock-back around. You want knock-back before you get shock trooper, in order to make the most of your tactical feat. That way you get the automatic bull rush attempt when power attacking (which you should do always), and can take full advantage of both dungeoncrasher and shock trooper.

For open feats I would suggest some battlefield control, like combat reflexes (more AoO's and can make AoO's even when flat-footed), stand still, large and in charge, defensive sweep, and the likes.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Unless I'm misunderstanding your statment, it doesn't matter WHEN he takes the feats (besides meeting pre-reqs) because he'll be starting high enough to have both already. But if you mean how and when to activate them, then ya ignore that part.

The sample build I presented took into account the fact it was already slightly MAD (though massive boosts to Con and Str alieviate that) and adding Dex would make him MADer. If the rolls are good enough, by all means. If your Dex isn't at least 14, your not getting the full potential of Combat Reflexes and the like.

[gleith]

Another question... MAD means??? From my past knowledge its mutually assured destruction, if that is correct yay me if not, well ****

[flumphy]

Another question... MAD means??? From my past knowledge its mutually assured destruction, if that is correct yay me if not, well ****

Outside of D&D, you'd be correct. Char-op boards use the acronym to mean "Multiple Attribute Dependence." A melee character that relies on combat reflexes needs to have high STR, DEX, and CON scores in order to function (and a decent INT on top of that if you want combat expertise), as opposed to a SAD (single-attritubute-dependent) character like a dragonfire adept, who only needs a high CON.

Obviously, you want to try and avoid MAD, especially if you don't roll well or you use low point-buy.

[Gwendol]

Quite right; I was talking about feat progression.

As for Combat reflexes, as long as you end up with 12 or more DEX it is still totally worth it. More than 14 DEX will rarely be used anyway (wrt AoO's) and does seem to be a little over the top unless you have other uses for that high DEX.