Zedicius
2012-05-11, 07:51 AM
Right, I normally play casters though I've had my eye on the tome of battle for quite some time and since a group of people are planning on starting again, I figured I might as well try out one of our Martial Adepts.
It's a friendly, fairly basic game of D&D, so I'm not looking for a build that uses flaws, races with LAs or other tricky ways to get a thousand damage in one round, though I'd still like him to be effective at what he does, which at least what I have in mind, is a decent mix between melee and ranged combat. So... I thought about making a charge / bloodstorm blade hybrid, although I'm not sure if it's actually any good.
Doing some google-fu I bumped in to the Neraph race, which actually looks pretty decent. Outsider means no eating or sleeping and can be useful if we have a caster in the party. The camouflage ability, combined with the bonus to jump could be interesting. The AC bonus is handy and the annulat seems like a decent ranged back-up weapon. Nothing really stands out, which is good for a friendly game plus I get to be a frog monster. Awesome.
So, here's my current scheme, up to level 12.
Warblade 5 / Bloodstorm Blade 4 / Warblade +3
(Focus on Iron Heart & Diamond Mind)
Feats:
Warblade 1 - Power Attack
Warblade 3 - Point Blank Shot
Warblade 5 - Bonus Feat [Ironheart Aura]
WB 5 / BSB 1 - Leap Attack
WB 5 / BSB 3 - Bonus Feat [Combat Reflexes]
WB 6 / BSB 4 - Stormguard Warrior
WB 8 / BSB 4 - Robilar's Bambit
We will roll for stats, though for now I am using 32 point buy stats, which gives me:
Average HP: 89
Average AC: 17 (with leather armor)
Fort +10 | Ref +8 | Will +3
Melee: +14/+9
Ranged: +13/+8
These are pretty decent, I think. As I said, I usually play casters.
Diamond mind will help me with my will saves. Better armor and a few Iron Heart maneuvers will increase my AC, and the rest of my maneuvers should help me do some consistent damage.
Now, my concerns:
The channel the storm / Robilar's Gambit combo looks good, at first glance. But the character's no tank so might it be a bit too risky?
Leap Attack, is it worth it? Since I don't have many maneuvers to learn, I opted to pass on Tiger Claw which is a bit of a shame if you consider the high jump skill I will have at that level. I was thinking to make Leap Attack something like a Tiger Claw Lite for my opening charge, though if I read the feat correctly, only the extra damage caused by power attack is multiplied which doesn't seem all that impressive. Also, that makes me wonder, can I use thunderous throw to make ranged charge attacks? Or does a charge attack strictly work against targets that you threaten?
EDIT: Hmm, Perhaps hurling charge is a better alternative?
Speaking of the thunderous throw ability, it allows you to treat ranged attacks as melee attacks, though I'm wondering if bonuses from feats for ranged attacks still apply, like Point Blank Shot and Far Shot. Since the ability specifically states that penalties for ranged attacks still apply, I assume bonuses from feats do as well.
Finally, I'm looking for decent primary weapon. I was thinking about using the not-so-subtle greataxe, though I'm wondering if there are any better non-exotic choices around. I also considered dual-wielding the annulat as main weapon, though I'm not sure if the extra attack is worth the damage loss. Then again, it would probably benefit from Stormguard Warrior... but then the bloodstorm blade levels seem a bit useless. I would also need master thrower levels to make it effective, and I would have to get rid of the whole melee side. Blah, too many details.
It's a friendly, fairly basic game of D&D, so I'm not looking for a build that uses flaws, races with LAs or other tricky ways to get a thousand damage in one round, though I'd still like him to be effective at what he does, which at least what I have in mind, is a decent mix between melee and ranged combat. So... I thought about making a charge / bloodstorm blade hybrid, although I'm not sure if it's actually any good.
Doing some google-fu I bumped in to the Neraph race, which actually looks pretty decent. Outsider means no eating or sleeping and can be useful if we have a caster in the party. The camouflage ability, combined with the bonus to jump could be interesting. The AC bonus is handy and the annulat seems like a decent ranged back-up weapon. Nothing really stands out, which is good for a friendly game plus I get to be a frog monster. Awesome.
So, here's my current scheme, up to level 12.
Warblade 5 / Bloodstorm Blade 4 / Warblade +3
(Focus on Iron Heart & Diamond Mind)
Feats:
Warblade 1 - Power Attack
Warblade 3 - Point Blank Shot
Warblade 5 - Bonus Feat [Ironheart Aura]
WB 5 / BSB 1 - Leap Attack
WB 5 / BSB 3 - Bonus Feat [Combat Reflexes]
WB 6 / BSB 4 - Stormguard Warrior
WB 8 / BSB 4 - Robilar's Bambit
We will roll for stats, though for now I am using 32 point buy stats, which gives me:
Average HP: 89
Average AC: 17 (with leather armor)
Fort +10 | Ref +8 | Will +3
Melee: +14/+9
Ranged: +13/+8
These are pretty decent, I think. As I said, I usually play casters.
Diamond mind will help me with my will saves. Better armor and a few Iron Heart maneuvers will increase my AC, and the rest of my maneuvers should help me do some consistent damage.
Now, my concerns:
The channel the storm / Robilar's Gambit combo looks good, at first glance. But the character's no tank so might it be a bit too risky?
Leap Attack, is it worth it? Since I don't have many maneuvers to learn, I opted to pass on Tiger Claw which is a bit of a shame if you consider the high jump skill I will have at that level. I was thinking to make Leap Attack something like a Tiger Claw Lite for my opening charge, though if I read the feat correctly, only the extra damage caused by power attack is multiplied which doesn't seem all that impressive. Also, that makes me wonder, can I use thunderous throw to make ranged charge attacks? Or does a charge attack strictly work against targets that you threaten?
EDIT: Hmm, Perhaps hurling charge is a better alternative?
Speaking of the thunderous throw ability, it allows you to treat ranged attacks as melee attacks, though I'm wondering if bonuses from feats for ranged attacks still apply, like Point Blank Shot and Far Shot. Since the ability specifically states that penalties for ranged attacks still apply, I assume bonuses from feats do as well.
Finally, I'm looking for decent primary weapon. I was thinking about using the not-so-subtle greataxe, though I'm wondering if there are any better non-exotic choices around. I also considered dual-wielding the annulat as main weapon, though I'm not sure if the extra attack is worth the damage loss. Then again, it would probably benefit from Stormguard Warrior... but then the bloodstorm blade levels seem a bit useless. I would also need master thrower levels to make it effective, and I would have to get rid of the whole melee side. Blah, too many details.