Help with a Warforged Juggernaught build.

[lonewulf]

Hello all, thanks for stopping in (even if you don't have any advice to give)! My group is about to start a new campaign (3.5 D&D, Eberron) and i'm looking to play a Warforged character. This will only be my second campaign so i'm still kinda new to the game. My plan is to be a 'Charger' build and Prestige my way into the Warforged Juggernaught class. I know some of the basic feats I want to get:

EWP, Spiked Chain (not necessary but sounds fun)
Power Attack
Cleave
Great Cleave
Improved Bull Rush
Leap Attack
Shock Trooper

The DM is still deciding whether he's going to allow me to take the Lion Spirit Totem class feature or not (if not i'll be full Fighter). The problem is, i've never played a 'charger' build before so I don't know what to do with my feats after I get the ones above. I know i'll be taking massive damage after I butcher my own AC with Heedless Charge, so the question is...

Should I focus more on to-hit and damage (Weapon Focus/Specialization)?
Or Should I go for more defense (Improved Toughness/Improved Damage Reduction)?
Or a little bit of both? Any other suggestions are welcome!

Thanks again for stopping in and thanks even more if you offer advice!

P.S. All official WotC 3.5 books are fair game EXCEPT for the Forgotten Realms books (no Valorous enhancement :smallfrown: )

[GilesTheCleric]

There's other ways to get pounce beyond lion totem. Look here (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19871954/Lists_of_Stuff).

After you've taken all of the charger feats, you can really do whatever you want. I recommend increasing your versatility, by taking things like Indomitable Will, Animal Devotion, Mage Slayer, or the like. UA has some really neat feats with the [spelltouched] descriptor that you might check out, and if any of them are available to you, [reserve] feats can be useful.

PrCing into something with useful abilities is another great way to increase your versatility - all you really need once you have your charging stuff is full BAB, decent saves (prioritize will and fort), and hopefully d8 or bigger HD. Try the Bear Warrior class for giggles.

The Weapon Focus/Specialization lines won't do much for you - static bonuses becomes increasingly less useful the higher you go, and you won't be taking these until you're already pretty high. Similarly, Imp Toughness and Imp DR aren't going to help too much.

[Fouredged Sword]

Improved DR isn't a great feat. Instead look at roll with it if you have a con of 20+.

You get DR2/- that stacks with everything.

Then open up the magic item compendium and look at those shiny magic armor crystals. Specifically the ones that add DR1,3,or 5/-, and expressly stack with everything, even each other. When they run out of charge, simply carry spared and swap them out.

Now focus on combat using your armor spikes. Grab two heavy shield with armor spikes. Stick a DR adding crystal in each shield and in your plating.

Without too much investment, you can prevent a large amount of damage in them mid levels.

[Ignominia]

We recently played a campaign up to level 14, and I played a Warforged Juggernaut / Fighter named The Pillar of Karnath, who just so happened to focus on charging. For feats I had:
-Adamantine Body
-Power Attack
-Imp. Bull Rush
-Improved Sunder
-Weapon Focus (Maul)
-Weapon Spec. (Maul)
-Knockback
-Combat Brute (tactical)
-Brute Fighting (tactical)

Also, and this made a BIG difference (no pun intended), I had a permanency'd Enlarge cast on me. The extra bonuses for size REALLY made a difference for my character. One note though, Enlarge "technically" doesn't function on warforged (it only effects humanoids and warforged are constructs) So you may have to get your dm to bend the rules a bit.

The character ended up being the saviour of the party more than once. There were times (via use of tactical feats) that I was swinging for 2d8+30. I hope your warforged was as much fun as mine was to play!

[lonewulf]

Thanks for the responses! Roll With It sounds great but i'll have to check with the DM since it's 3.0 and not 3.5. I'm looking around for useful PrC's now!

[Waker]

You may want to consider levels in Crusader or Martial Study to grab some Devoted Spirit maneuvers. Specifically the ones that heal you whenever you hit an enemy, like Crusader's Strike. The effect isn't from the Healing subschool, so it gets around your healing immunity from taking the PrC. Never a bad idea to get some healing, especially since you'll otherwise have to rely on Repair spells afterwards.

[Piggy Knowles]

Robo Tackle (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/29801997/) is a fun take on Warforged Juggernaut. Fairly straightforward, but different enough from your standard ubercharger or dungeoncrasher build that it feels all its own.