[3.5] Bloodclaw Master

[rmg22893]

Thoughts on this PrC? I'm making a critfishing kukri Warblade, and was considering dipping two levels into Bloodclaw Master, but giving up a point of BAB and the Warblade's capstone seems extremely detrimental.

[Ernir]

I'm not sure I'd take this class "just because I qualify".

The -2 BAB is offset somewhat by the removal of the TWF penalties. You also get +2 strength, and an eventual +1 on your Tiger Claw strike attack rolls, so the to-hit math might actually come out ahead. And you get a teensy bit of extra damage.

But I don't think it's worth delaying/losing the Warblade class features, or the school access (really, I've never built a ToB character that pure on the maneuver selection, discipline-wise).

Maybe it's better if you're a Shifter? I've never really taken a hard look at the race.

Or maybe if I just have a huge, huge Strength score that I want to make better use of, a negligible Int score, and/or expect the campaign not to last beyond the Bloodclaw Master levels.

[rmg22893]

I'm not sure I'd take this class "just because I qualify".

The -2 BAB is offset somewhat by the removal of the TWF penalties. You also get +2 strength, and an eventual +1 on your Tiger Claw strike attack rolls, so the to-hit math might actually come out ahead. And you get a teensy bit of extra damage.

But I don't think it's worth delaying/losing the Warblade class features, or the school access (really, I've never built a ToB character that pure on the maneuver selection, discipline-wise).

Maybe it's better if you're a Shifter? I've never really taken a hard look at the race.

Or maybe if I just have a huge, huge Strength score that I want to make better use of, a negligible Int score, and/or expect the campaign not to last beyond the Bloodclaw Master levels.

I'm only taking a two-level dip; that gives me a 1/day shift, full STR bonus to my off-hand, negates TWF penalties altogether when using kukris, and gives me either a +10ft speed bonus or +1 deflection to AC when in a Tiger Claw Stance (which I will basically always be in) for one point lost to BAB. But I may not get the Warblade capstone if we don't go to epic levels.

[eggs]

Thoughts on this PrC? I'm making a critfishing kukri Warblade, and was considering going into Bloodclaw Master, but giving up two points of BAB and the Warblade's capstone seems extremely detrimental.
If you play at levels 20 and 21 exactly, replacing the capstone hurts, and BCM isn't worth touching. Otherwise, the delayed capstone isn't something that you'll notice, so despite its general dryness, a 1-3 level dip in BCM is often worthwhile.

The first two levels of BCM give TWFers +2 attack, +10ft speed and +1/2 Str to damage at the cost of a point of base attack and a crummy feat (or Battle X ability... basically a crummy feat). It's not a great deal - you don't get a lot and you do lose something for it - but taking that dip often means a tiny bump in the expected damage of a TWF-user.

The third level is also okay (more for the maneuver recovered and minor strength boost than the class ability - you'll want real pounce from another source), but the fourth and fifth levels interfere with a TWFer's feat progression, along with being generally terrible.

Regarding the BA loss, Bloodclaw Master won't slow down BA +6 (the one that's really important for various prerequisites) because it can't be entered before ECL 7, and won't drop an epic build below BA 16 (the one that really matters for Epic damage output), so while the BA delay can be obnoxious for a level or two, it's not crippling in the long run.

It's a slightly better dip for Swordsages, due to the BA opportunity cost and Swordsage's wonky high-level stance progression, but still not great there either.

Overall, most levels, taking the BCM dip is worth the investment in the class. But it's still occasionally obnoxious and generally dry.
I wouldn't go as far as recommending it, but it wouldn't hurt to take.

[Cieyrin]

Maybe it's better if you're a Shifter? I've never really taken a hard look at the race.

It's definitely nice for Shifters, since that nets them a free shifter trait without having to bother spending feats, provided they wanted Razorclaw and didn't already have it. Beats having to go Druid to pick up a 3rd trait.

[Person_Man]

My opinion is that it's a cruddy PrC. You get minor bonuses to-hit, damage, and AC and some nerfed Two Weapon attacks (which are generally worse then making a full attack action), plus Tiger Claw maneuver progression. It is in every way worse then standard Warblade or Swordsage progression.