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Firechanter
2013-08-19, 02:38 AM
I've got a Warblade there who's pretty good already, being primary melee / damage dealer and having some melee support tricks up the sleeve.

As we play with PF feat progression (1 every odd level), the build matured relatively quickly, and now I have some more feats to allocate, starting at level 13. I want to keep him single-classed all the way to 20, to enjoy the benefits of Dual Stance.

So far he has the following feats:

EWP (using Meteor Hammer, blunt version of Spiked Chain; Human Bonus feat)
Power Attack
Improved Bull Rush
Adaptive Style
Shock Trooper
Leap Attack
Stand Still
Combat Reflexes (Warblade Bonus feat)
Improved Initiative (Warblade Bonus feat)

And the following maneuvers:

Moment of Perfect Mind
Emerald Razor
Wall of Blades
White Raven Tactics
Iron Heart Surge [Saph's fix]
Mithral Tornado
Pouncing Charge
Dancing Mongoose
Order Forged From Chaos
[and Mountain Hammer from an item]

I already got the rest of the maneuvers planned through:

Greater Insightful Strike
White Raven Hammer
Raging Mongoose
Time Stands Still
War Master's Charge
SoPC

and his stances are:

Leading the Charge
Leaping Dragon Stance [fixed Stance progression]
Dancing Blade Form

and planned for 15: Stance of Alacrity

I made this build specifically to include as many Gold and Cyan maneuver picks as possible, as per the Warblade Handbook; however a small number of picks are just to fill prerequisites for higher maneuvers of a discipline.

So as you can see, this guy is primarily a Charger, and can knock pretty much everything out of its socks with the Shock Trooper/Leap Attack/Pouncing Charge/Dancing Mongoose combo; especially when Hasted. Raging Mongoose will further increase damage potential, so there's little to ask for in that department.
He doesn't have any Ranged attack, but since he has decent movement, can jump over most obstacles and has 20ft Reach on his turn (in Iron Heart stance), he's rarely useless.

--

So, back to the question: with what feats should I proceed?

So for the record, for levels 13+ I have 4 more character feats, plus 2 more bonus feats. I was thinking maybe pick up some Martial Study and Martial Stance feats. The interesting candidates there being Shadow Hand (especially Shadow Blink), or maybe some Devoted Spirit stuff.

Or something else entirely?

Keen to hear your suggestions. =)

Waker
2013-08-19, 02:52 AM
If your shtick is being a charger, you might like the combo of Shape Soulmeld (Phase Cloak)+ Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders). The result is that when you move at least 5ft, you go ethereal which would let you bypass a lot of annoying BFC effects and ignore mooks while you focus on the boss.
Getting Elusive Target (which sadly requires Dodge+Mobility) wouldn't be a terrible idea, since Negate Power Attack is an excellent tactic. Diverting Defense is also rather comical.

DMVerdandi
2013-08-19, 05:30 AM
Item familiar:smallcool:
And you could get started on some archery feats. Cop yourself a quick loading light crossbow, and see what archery feats go well with it.

if not that, you could get started on combat focus feats, or perhaps picking some thematic, fluff feats.
That would be interesting. If you are reaching the top of your power level, why not pick some feats just for fun and flavor?

Blueiji
2013-08-19, 05:39 AM
You could dabble in truenaming using the Truename Training feat and some extra skill points.

It wouldn't be any good, but it would be hilarious.

In all seriousness, Endurance and then Steadfast Determination could help with will saves.

Or if you have a dex of at least 13 you could branch out ino grappling with Improved Grapple. You might not end up usin it often, but it can be a good single person lockdown tactic.

icks
2013-08-19, 05:53 AM
Stormguard Warrior (ToB) is nice. With your high reach, you probably has multiple occasions to score an Attack of Opportunity and you have Combat Reflex. So you get +4 att/dmg at your next attack you pass on AoO.

Prerequisite 1 feat Iron Aura.

Firechanter
2013-08-19, 08:20 AM
Oh nice, feedback so quickly. =)

- Soulmeld: this looks tempting, but unfortunately we're not using Incarnum... yet. However, a 1 in 5 chance to stir up something on the Ethereal Plane also seems to spell complication. (Besides, I only have a native Con 14, and Enhancement bonuses don't count for feat prereqs in our games)

- Elusive Target: yeah that's a very sweet feat, if it just weren't for those crappy pre-reqs... I considered it before, but I think I'll reserve that for a future character, who gets Dodge/Mobility and then various stuff that requires it, such as Elusive Target, Karmic Strike etc.

- Item Familiar: thanks for the hint, I never really looked at it before, but it has some very sweet benefits. I'll keep that in mind.

- Ranged Feats: unfortunately, the Warblade as class is not proficient in any Ranged weapons. If anything, I might take Throw Anything and Brutal Throw (although my Dex isn't all too shabby).

- the good thing about Steadfast Determination or Stormguard Warrior would be that I can get the prereqs as bonus feats, and I don't really need the bonus feats for anything else. However, for Will saves I typically have Moment of Perfect Mind (which works as long as the DM doesn't spam me with Will effects), so the former one is not so urgent.

Well, I'll consider all that and more; keep it coming if you have more ideas. =)

Keld Denar
2013-08-19, 10:27 AM
If you can swing the cross class skill points, Mage Slayer is a solid pickup. Blind Fighting is a Warblade bonus feat which opens up Pierce Magic Concealment which makes miss chance a thing of the past for the most part.

My favorite filler feat is Quick Recovery from Lords of Madness. It's one of the best ways to defeat Blasphemy other than being evil, among other things. Does beg a high Will save, but Moment of Perfect Mind is applicable.

Firechanter
2013-08-19, 10:43 AM
More good advice! Yeah thanks for reminding me of that; Mage Slayer+ is really not a bad choice. *sigh* Isn't getting easier =D

Quick Recovery won't be necessary; the fixed Iron Heart Surge allows me to shrug off this kind of stun/daze/mind control effect even when I don't get an action. ^^
Only problem is that my Counters currently take up 3 of my 5 maneuver slots, gonna get better at level 15 or so. Too bad Warblades can't take Extra Readied Maneuver; I'd take that and not look back.

Firechanter
2013-08-20, 01:01 PM
I'm also thinking about picking up Knowledge Devotion; maybe taking Knowledge(Nature) as added skill because Giants and Monstrous Humanoids are common enemies in our setting (but so are Fiends).
Might add that we don't roll Knowledge checks for every type at every encounter because that bogs the game down too much, we just Take 10 for purposes of Knowledge Devotion. So with some moderate skill investment, I could get a solid +2 to hit and damage against quite a few creature types, including Humanoids.

On the other hand, I don't really have a good way anymore to get more Knowledge skills... so maybe KDev would be a bit of a waste. :/

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Mage Slayer and Pierce Mag Conceal is an option, and not a dumb one. Would have to pay the full 4 points for crossclass skill, but I could afford that.

But I think my next pick (level 13) is gonna be Shadow Blink. Unlimited free Swift Action short-range teleports, what's not to love? ^^

Anyway, still open to more suggestions. Thanks for the great input again!