Knight's Bulwark of Defense, AoOs, & Reach Weapons

[Joe Eskimo]

Planning on making a 5th level human knight. I've got no experience playing one so any tips or advice would help. I've read a couple handbooks and it says knights are great at AoOs, also mage slaying and tripping. So lets focus on the AoO. How exactly do I get AoOs from Bulwark of defense? All it does is make my threatened squares difficult terrain. So if an adjacent foe decides to stand and fight he suffers nothing? And I only get AoOs when my foe decides to move instead of fight? So what about if i'm 10 ft away with a reach weapon? I heard they're even better with reach weapons. The feats I'm considering are combat reflexes, stand still and improved trip. And maybe short haft. Also what are the advantages of tripping my foe on difficult terrain?

[Gwendol]

I suggest using a spiked chain, that way you threaten all squares within reach.

BoD is neat because once terrain is difficult, foes can't make 5' steps without proviking AoO's. So you want to combine this with the Test of Mettle ability to draw your enemies toward you. Test of Mettle is unfortunately not the most powerful ability, but it has long range and no upper limit on how many it can affect, so there's that.
Mage slayer makes casters risk an AoO if they cast in your threatened area (they can't cast defensively), and they can't move and cast either without provoking.
Tripping is actually not necessary for this build, and combat expertise (required feat) forces you to put points in INT.

For a 5th level knight I suggest the following:

(With flaws)
EWP spiked chain (flaw)
Stand still (flaw)
Combat reflexes (human bonus)
level 1: Power attack
level 3: Mage slayer
(class) Mounted combat
(knight 5 bonus) Ride-by-attack

Get bracers of opportunity (MiC).

[Shining Wrath]

When wealth allows, pick up an Animated Shield. Also, consider putting skill points into 5 ranks of Tumble. When you use Test of Mettle and it works, you'll be swarmed. The best thing you can do may be to fight with total defense, and Tumble(5) changes your bonus from +4 to +6. The +3 to AC from the Animated Shield is helpful in that situation as well.

In D&D 4e terms, you are a Defender / Controller, not a Defender / Striker. You just want to tie the enemy down for as long as possible while your friends kill them. Killing them yourself is a lower priority.

Second the Spiked Chain. Spiked Chain is full of win.

[Gwendol]

Yeah, tumble for the win. At level five you carry medium armor with no penalty to speed, which means you can tumble and jump quite well. Also don't forget five ranks in Balance once you can afford it to not get caught flat-footed while balancing (flatfooted = no AoO).

[Darrin]

I suggest using a spiked chain, that way you threaten all squares within reach.


Use a Duom instead. This is a reach weapon, but by RAW it can attack adjacent targets as well. Also, when it was reprinted in the Dragon Compendium, it was listed as a martial weapon. So no need for EWP.

[Shining Wrath]

Use a Duom instead. This is a reach weapon, but by RAW it can attack adjacent targets as well. Also, when it was reprinted in the Dragon Compendium, it was listed as a martial weapon. So no need for EWP.

There's another weapon with reach and adjacent besides spiked chain? Sweet. No EWP needed? Uber-sweet.

[Joe Eskimo]

you guys are awesome. Haha. Everything here is gold.

[Deaxsa]

Use a Duom instead. This is a reach weapon, but by RAW it can attack adjacent targets as well. Also, when it was reprinted in the Dragon Compendium, it was listed as a martial weapon. So no need for EWP.

ermmm that is up for debate.(some sources list it as martial, some as exotic). and that's besides the fact that it would take a lenient DM to allow a spiked chain as a martial weapon. also, it only has a 5-foot reach if you have already attacked someone at 10 feet that turn.(i'm pretty sure that's how it works)

[Curmudgeon]

also, it only has a 5-foot reach if you have already attacked someone at 10 feet that turn.(i'm pretty sure that's how it works)
No, that's not right. Instead, any attacks against adjacent targets after the first one in the round take a -2 attack penalty. That means your AoOs can get penalized as well. Note also that a duom isn't a tripping weapon, so it loses out on versatility versus a spiked chain.

[Darrin]

That means your AoOs can get penalized as well.

No penalty if the AoO is on your original target.



Note also that a duom isn't a tripping weapon, so it loses out on versatility versus a spiked chain.

That was kind of odd... most of the pole-arms with a "reverse hook" get the trip clause, except the Duom has *two* hook-type blades, but no trip clause.

I was going to say, if you want to trip with it, you can add the Sweeping ability from MIC (+1 enhancement), except the text makes no mention of whether or not the weapon can be used to make trip attacks. By RAW, even if you added Sweeping, it's still not a weapon you can trip with.

[Joe Eskimo]

Here's a crazy thought. Say I'm mounted. I wield a lance in one hand and a longsword in the other. I don't plan to fight with both weapons, I'm just holding one on either hand. Do I get penalties to attack for wielding two weapons even though I'm just holding them? Since there ain't no handedness in 3.5 and everybody's ambidexterous I could attack with my right hand this turn and with my left hand the next. Also doing this I threaten squares from 5' to 10' right?

EDIT: Ok, let's say change the longsword to a heavy shield. More believable. I poke them with me lance this turn at ten feet and bash em in the face next turn at five feet.

[TuggyNE]

Here's a crazy thought. Say I'm mounted. I wield a lance in one hand and a longsword in the other. I don't plan to fight with both weapons, I'm just holding one on either hand. Do I get penalties to attack for wielding two weapons even though I'm just holding them? Since there ain't no handedness in 3.5 and everybody's ambidexterous I could attack with my right hand this turn and with my left hand the next.

There is some dispute about this; some people consider that you take penalties whenever you happen to have two weapons in hand, whether or not you're attacking with them (but this falls down to shields, bootblades, armor spikes, and so on and so forth); some consider that you take penalties only when you attack with two or more weapons, whether or not you get extra attacks from them (but this is belied by examples of longsword and torch fighting); and finally some consider that you only take penalties when actually gaining extra TWF attacks with weapons, which, so far as I know, has no particular problems.

Note, though, that you can only attack a given target with a weapon that threatens that target.

[Joe Eskimo]

Note, though, that you can only attack a given target with a weapon that threatens that target.

Noted. What I meant was if I hold a lance on my right and a shield on my left, this turn I attack a foe at using my lance at ten feet and next turn if and when he does close in, I bash him with my shield. So I threaten 5' & 10' and have a choice which weapon to use when necessary.

P.S. Also, is shield bashing still considered an off hand attack even though it's the only attack you make for the round?

[TuggyNE]

P.S. Also, is shield bashing still considered an off hand attack even though it's the only attack you make for the round?

It's not entirely clear. Probably? It shouldn't be, but the description makes it sound like it is. Ask your DM for a bit of applied common sense here.

[Gwendol]

Noted. What I meant was if I hold a lance on my right and a shield on my left, this turn I attack a foe at using my lance at ten feet and next turn if and when he does close in, I bash him with my shield. So I threaten 5' & 10' and have a choice which weapon to use when necessary.

P.S. Also, is shield bashing still considered an off hand attack even though it's the only attack you make for the round?

Yes, that's perfectly viable. But you are still better off wielding the lance 2-handed and hope your mount can cover attacks inside your reach. If you need to attack something closer next round pull out a back-up weapon and use that.