D&D 3.5: Oh the Conan-ity!

[Gligarman2]

So, I just heard some of Rhapsody of Fire's stuff. I also have D&D games every Wednesday. I was wondering, is there any way to create a martial character in 3.5 that could go toe-to-toe with spellcasters? I'm looking for straight-up awesome Arnold-esque, Aragorn from the movies, music playing, awesome. Is there a fight-y class that isn't a generic sucky fighter, and rewards risky stunts and maneuvers every so often?

PS: Hopefully quick. I've got some Rhapsody to play. :-)

[Amidus Drexel]

If you're looking for a bunch of fancy fighting moves and such, look at Tome of Battle. All three classes in there match the sort of thing you're talking about, to some degree, but the best fit is probably the Warblade.

As far as toe-to-toe with spellcasters, there isn't much that you can do against a superiorly-played wizard past level 11 or so. I remember there being a thread about that a while ago; I'll try and find it.

Edit: Here it is. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254630)

[Gligarman2]

Thanks! The warblade should do nicely. I wonder if I can think of a way to get to wizards to chop them down. Time for awesome! Hell, I might name my guy after you.

[Answerer]

Make sure to take Iron Heart Surge, but remember to use the correct version:

Iron Heart Surge
Iron Heart
Level: Warblade 3
Prerequisite: One Iron Heart maneuver
Initiation Action: Standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: See text

"BY CROOOMM!!"

BY CROOOMM!!

You also gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls until the end of your next turn.

[Bakkan]

There are a few things you can do if you're specifically looking to shut down spellcasters.

First, take a look at the Mage Slayer line of feats in Complete Arcane. As long as you don't have any spells or spell-like abilities, they give significant bonuses against mages. The first one makes it impossible for casters you threaten to cast defensively. Pick up a reach weapon + armor spikes or just a spiked chain and as long as you're standing next to a caster there's no way their (non-quickened) spell won't provoke an attack of opportunity. The Pierce Magical Protection feat is strong, and some DMs might take issue with just how thoroughly it hoses certain types of spellcasters. Make sure you run it by your DM before building around it.

Second, consider either a level or two of Crusader or the Martial Study + Martial Stance feats to puck up Thicket of Blades. This stance makes any movement in your threatened area, including 5-ft steps, provoke attacks of opportunity from you. This + Mage Slayer + Stand Still (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#standStill) + Combat Reflexes ruins a spellcaster's day.

Note that even this last combo is avoidable with a common level 1 ACF (Abrupt Jaunt). It's nearly impossible to impossible to make a mundane character capable of taking out every type of spellcaster, but you can at least make life difficult for them.