swordsage handbook?

[LTwerewolf]

Is there a complete one anywhere? Only seen ones that were rather incomplete.

[eggs]

Between the race/feat/multiclass discussion in Tome of Battle For Dummies (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2030) and the maneuver breakdown in the normal SS handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181705), there's about a full handbook of material.

I'm not sure of anything else, unless you have some specific questions like gear or specific builds.

[LTwerewolf]

I planned on creating a new pc character for one of our players. His fighter just died and we're too low of a level to be able to afford to resurrect him, so now he wants something a bit different. The feel he wants is that of a samurai (I was going to give him 1 level in OA samurai and then go into swordsage).

The only feat i'm 100% sure on is adaptive style, because seriously.

[BowStreetRunner]

Honestly, I would not use Swordsage for a Samurai build. Ninja, maybe, but Samurai, not really. Warblade or Crusader would be a better bet.

Edit: If he is going to use a Katana (bastard sword) then Diamond Mind and Iron Heart are the related disciplines. Warblade gets both of these.

[LTwerewolf]

I showed him the three and he was most interested in the swordsage. The crusader was too religious and the warblade was too "out for himself."

[Endelehia]

Regardless of what the name implies,crusaders are not necessarily tied to a deity.They can instead devote themselves to a cause,and noone is more honor-bound than a samurai.

[LTwerewolf]

All the fluff and even part of the mechanics of the crusader include divine inspiration. The granted maneuvers being off of divine inspiration is what really turned him off.

[eggs]

If he wants to play up the OA samurai side, OA Samurai 1/Swordsage 7/Iajitsu Master 5/Swordsage X would get IM's crazy damage bonuses, would get to use the SS finesse element and would still be on track for high-level maneuvers. If he ignored Int and Wis-based class features, he could also play up the Intimidate element with some fear effects like Dreadful Wrath and Imperious Command. That would take care of most of his feats.

If he wants to play to Swordsage's strengths, he could specialize in wakazishis with Shadow Blade/Weapon Finesse/Two Weapon Fighting, filling in other feats with Sneak Attack spinoffs like Staggering Strike or Magic in the Blood+Silencing Strike on a Whisper Gnome. Instead of follow-up feats in the TWF line, some Gloves of the Balanced Hand are usually more worthwhile.

On a two-handed sword-user with a wisdom focus, it would be difficult to get power attack to work well, but he could probably get by with damage from Diamond Mind and Tiger claw strikes, despite the low attack bonus. Maybe also Robilar's gambit, if he feels secure with his defensive abilities/endurance. I'd be tempted to also try to throw in some rider effects like a Powerful Build race and 2-level Fighter dip for Dungeoncrasher+Knockback on top of normal strike effects, or Master of Poisons+Wild Cohort+craft ranks to poison things he strikes. Or at worst, he could grab some defensive feats like Elusive Target or Dutiful Guardian.

Or if going for the "mounted archer" take on Samurai, probably focus on Diamond Mind counters and Tiger claw boosts and grab Wild Cohort for a somewhat sturdy (or at least self-replacing) mount, before filling in the rest of the feat slots with all the demands that shooting arrows and sitting on something put on them (between Rapid Shot/Improved Precise Shot/Woodland Archer/Mounted Archery and all their prerequisites and add-ons, there should be no shortage of good options).

And Extra Readied Maneuver + Darkstalker are always safe filler feats on a Swordsage; Able Learner too, if you can fit it in early (or retrain it in "early").

[Jeff the Green]

I showed him the three and he was most interested in the swordsage. The crusader was too religious and the warblade was too "out for himself."

Remember that you can ditch the fluff. Honestly, almost nobody plays with the default fluff for warblade because it's so crappy. Just treat it the same way you would a fighter.