What would you do with Justiciar of Taiia

[Surzt and Gurzt]

So on a whim I was browsing through Deities and Demigods tonight and ran into the Justiciar of Taiia class again.
Although at first it looks great; large bonuses to hit and AC, sneak attack, minor spell casting, exotic weapon proficiency and super easy pre-reqs. But after some fiddling with it I couldn't come up with any build that makes good use of this class.
Does anyone have any ideas when it comes to this oddball class? It should be noted that while Justiciar of Taiia is 3.0, the 3.5 update for Deities and Demigods didn't address it.

[limejuicepowder]

Well the first thing that caught my eye was the bonus weapon prof feat. It's not great, but a free exotic weapon is kind of nice. Spiked chain is probably the best weapon in the game, so there's that, but a more niche build is also possible.

Combat sense is also pretty strong - those aren't insignificant bonuses after all, and the attack bonus can be converted in to damage or more AC with the right feat.

I would probably try to go for a tanky, commando-type build, and try to take advantage of each of the features. Free feat to get spiked chain prof, some fighter levels to grab lots of the tasty trip stuff. Combat sense looks like the key feature to me - with power attack and combat expertise, you can pump up your AC or damage as necessary.

I don't know if there's a way to do it, but getting some way to add sneak attack against enemies that are prone would be really good. Craven is a possibility. If not, just look at it as a bonus for flanking situations. Being invisible would do it.

Out of combat, you have your skills and occasional divination spell. Should be solid but not spectacular. Divine power is a great buff, but it's limited duration and frequency means it's going to be boss-only.

I'm pretty terrible at making 20-level builds, as I've never played past 9th, but let's see....fighter 2 barb 1 ninja 2 JoT 10 would be my start. Last 5 levels would be a ToB class (yay for maneuvers) or maybe PW for some extra combat tricks and feats, if needed (though probably not that late in the game).

feats (in no particular order): combat expertise, improved trip, combat reflexes, craven, expand ki pool, and darkstalker.

Basic tactic would be to use ghost step then pounce-charge at trip as many different enemies as possible. Put some extra hurt on them with the free attack, and since you're invisible sneak attack will apply (and sudden strike). Set combat sense against the strongest foe for the extra AC, and go to town with power attack. Ghost step can be used mid-combat for some additional damage, if needed. Against larger groups, tripping combined with combat expertise should keep you nice and safe.