Troll the Warblade

[Spuddles]

We're wrapping up the summer session and I get to play a troll for the last session. I don't know the specifics, but I'm guessing I'll either get the wartroll from MM3 or the troll ranger from MM1 as a chassis to work with.

Obviously the best thing to add to all those HD are martial maneuvers. Warblade for the Wartroll.

However, I don't play that much ToB. What should I be looking at? Iron Heart Surge is a given. What else? Tiger Claw? Or go tricksier with Swordsage for assassin-troll?

[kardar233]

wumwumwumwumwumwumwumwum

Ka-Warblade Handbook! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176968)

Neeeeooooowwww


Another drive-by handbook-ing by Kardar Industries. Slogan: "Doing absolutely no work of our own".

[Eldariel]

We're wrapping up the summer session and I get to play a troll for the last session. I don't know the specifics, but I'm guessing I'll either get the wartroll from MM3 or the troll ranger from MM1 as a chassis to work with.

Obviously the best thing to add to all those HD are martial maneuvers. Warblade for the Wartroll.

However, I don't play that much ToB. What should I be looking at? Iron Heart Surge is a given. What else? Tiger Claw? Or go tricksier with Swordsage for assassin-troll?

So what level maneuvers would we be talking here; how many HDs worth of Initiator Levels are you starting with? Are you looking to fight armed or with natural weapons?

White Raven Tactics is pretty awesome given targets, if it's available you'll probably want Pouncing Charge and Diamond Mind shores up saves and gets you some mobility. Wall of Blades will also probably be useful. Disrupting Blow with a War Troll's strength would be fairly damn strong.


How many levels do you get to add? There's plenty you can work around with but need the exact parameters first.

[JeminiZero]

MUST... RESIST... URGE... TO RECOMMEND... VOIDMIND...


Disrupting Blow with a War Troll's strength would be fairly damn strong.

An alternate startegy would be to make full use of Dazing Blow. Pump your Con, and maximize your attacks per round. Go for a Mouthpick weapon, and get a Full Attack + 2 Secondary Claw attack routine.

[Novawurmson]

Also note that the Core troll gets -4 to INT and CHA while only a -2 to WIS (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/troll.htm), potentially making Swordsage a better option.

[Fouredged Sword]

Warblade CAN ignore int if he wishes. Swordsage has a much harder time ignore wis. Plus that d12 HD helps make up for LA. Skill focus concentration and diamond mind save replacements can counteract lost saves due to LA. I say warblade is a much stronger choice here.

[Spuddles]

Unfotunately I won't know the exact parameters until just before we game. I think I'll probably have 12HD before levels, but I'm not entirely sure. I anticipate having at least 4th level maneuvers, though. Magic items will be exceptionally basic.

I kind of like the idea of swordsage troll instead of ranger troll. Troll + 8 levels of swordsage. Using a weapon will probably be superior to claw claw bite, but rend is kinda nice.

We're a group of pretty decent optimizers, so a troll chassis without worrying about LA or HD isn't that big a deal, given planar binding and polymorph shenanigans.

One other thing: we're on an expedition to hell. We're going to have to fight lots of devils. Probably pretty nasty ones.

[Fouredged Sword]

Oh, you are ignoring LA. That may work then as ether swordsage or warblade.

I would try to dip warblade at one point to get all the save replacements able to refresh every time you make a normal attack. They are too good to have them usable once per combat. Besides, things tend to test the same save multiple times per combat.

[Spuddles]

I went swordsage, then I died. Beholder turned me into stone. :(

[Silva Stormrage]

Allies can't restore you? Stone to flesh should work. And also isn't there a maneuver that lets you replace a fort save with a concentration check? You should get that one if you get reformed/revived.

[DMVerdandi]

We're wrapping up the summer session and I get to play a troll for the last session. I don't know the specifics, but I'm guessing I'll either get the wartroll from MM3 or the troll ranger from MM1 as a chassis to work with.

Obviously the best thing to add to all those HD are martial maneuvers. Warblade for the Wartroll.

However, I don't play that much ToB. What should I be looking at? Iron Heart Surge is a given. What else? Tiger Claw? Or go tricksier with Swordsage for assassin-troll?

Warblade has higher BAB (As if you need it with diamond mind...), so I would go with that. A lot of the things that make it awesome are tied to INT, so being a troll is going to stink... Know what? Maybe scrap the warblade?

CRUSADER! Yeah. Everyone is like where is the black knight, and a 10 foot knight with a fullblade walks in and is like :smallcool: Sup dudes.
Make it happen. Hippy crusader of chaos. Pick up other schools with feats.

Everyone expects stone dragon.
Nah. Iron heart and devoted spirit.

[Fouredged Sword]

Well as a crusader you will be very hard to kill.

Ok, I will go off on a wild idea, but take desert wind with feats, at least to get the flames blessing stance.

Fire immunity on a troll....

Nobody will see it coming!

[GreenSerpent]

Well as a crusader you will be very hard to kill.

Ok, I will go off on a wild idea, but take desert wind with feats, at least to get the flames blessing stance.

Fire immunity on a troll....

Nobody will see it coming!

Or go a Fire Troll (Dragon Compendium)! Completely immune to fire and acid - in fact fire heals them faster than normal (vulnerable to cold but still regenerate it, regeneration is bypassed by electricity).

Watch them throw fire on you and just laugh it off!

10 RHD and a +12 LA though...

[Spuddles]

Beholder wiped the party. We ended with two piles of dust, two statues, and a cerebremancer that bailed via teleport.

Beholders are brutal.

[Gnome Alone]

a cerebremancer that bailed via teleport.



Achievement unlocked: Acquire Tragic Backstory.

[The Viscount]

Sorry to hear that. If you want to try the concept again, perhaps a Forest Troll. It doesn't have regeneration, only fast healing, but it is lower HD, so you can get more levels.