help needed for friends 2handed fighter

[amalthia]

My friend will be joining our group and hs the idea they want to be the in your face 2 handed fighter type.
they have race done, and so they are Medium with powerful build.
this will be a level 1 character, the classes they are on the fence with are Barbarian, Fighter, Crusader, Warblade - so thinking down the road here build wise what are good choices class wise.
Last is Weapon they have decided to go with 2 handed sword vs. axe, hammer or bow. obvious choices here are greatsword, fullblade - any other decent ones?

[Abaddona]

Lion Totem Barbarian -> you have normal speed but gain pounce ability on 1st level
Whirliwind Frenzy -> during rage you have normal con but higher dex, also you gain additional attack with -2 penalty (which means that with pounce you can charge and deal two attacks at level 1).
For additional options -> Wolf Totem Barbarian -> at level 2 you get Improved Trip.
So 2 levels of barbarian are pretty much standard for melee.
Then you can take 1 level of Cloistered Cleric for travel devotion and knowledge devotion.
Fighter is pretty much useless unless he wants to go dungeoncrasher route or optimize intimidate (Zhentarim Fighter ACF), so classes from ToB are better.

Decent weapons - well, definetely ever popular Spiked Chain, or Minotaur Great Hammer, Fullblade is just Large Bastard Sword so better go with Large Greatsword (3d6 versus 2d8) (unless he wants to take exotic weapon proficiency for fullblade and alternate between sword&board and twohanded fighthing - but then dungeoncrasher ACF will be good choice).

[Gwendol]

Fighter is far from useless. It depends on what you want to do.

Until you hit level 6, full attacking on a charge means nothing, so if your game is unlikely to go far beyond level 6, don't bother with the lion spirit totem barbarian.

In general, for a powerful build melee combatant, you want to make sure you use your assets well. The Large weapons are mostly irrelevant.

Reach weapons offer a lot of advantage, suggest going with guisarme over greatsword.

Powerful build:
Offers advantage when

Grappling
Bull rushing
Disarming
Sundering
Demoralizing (intimidating)


Suggested feats: Power attack, Imp Bull rush, Knockback, Imp trip (may require combat expertise, but can be gained as bonus feat through Wolf totem Barbarian 2), Knockdown, Combat reflexes (if using a reach weapon)

[eggynack]

Lion Totem Barbarian -> you have normal speed but gain pounce ability on 1st level
Whirliwind Frenzy -> during rage you have normal con but higher dex, also you gain additional attack with -2 penalty (which means that with pounce you can charge and deal two attacks at level 1).
Few mistakes here. First, it's spirit lion totem and whirling frenzy. Not the biggest problem, but still. Second, you get +2 AC and reflex saves, rather than higher dexterity. Come to think of it, those two things are quite a bit more similar than I thought, but they're different, and it affects stuff.

[Firechanter]

Second, you get +2 AC and reflex saves, rather than higher dexterity. Come to think of it, those two things are quite a bit more similar than I thought, but they're different, and it affects stuff.

For instance, a Combat Reflexes character doesn't get additional AoOs. On the plus side, you don't risk exceeding your armour's max Dex bonus.

[Abaddona]

Eggynack -> sorry, I had to go to doctor so I was in hurry and didn't check (also I was pretty sure that one of Barbarian rage acf increases his dex, well it's not important now). Important thing is that Whirling frenzy allows barbarian to make additional attack so even on 1st level he has some use for pounce (well, actually with 18 str and during rage barbarian should one hit KO almost all CR1 oponents as long as he hits them, but extra attack is still nice thing, after all there is no kill like overkill).

Gwendol is right about reach weapons: guisarme (or spiked chain) + armor spikes is a great combo (especially on low levels - you basically can kill oponents on your turn and then by making AoO), but you should remember about Enlarge Person spell (well, reach weapon + Enlarge Person = even more reach, and it's stacking nicely with large weapons giving you even larger weapons). Basic fighter is good only if you need feats but some of it's ACF are really solid (Dungeoncrasher for sword and board, Zhentarim for Intimidation, still - even then it's probably 6 levels at most which he should take).

As for large weapons -> Gwendol again is right in that they only look awesome, but mechanical benefit between greatsword and large greatsword is only 3,5 damage average per attack, which is probably less than barbarian strength bonus during rage. But if you can wield large weapons then it means that it's easier for you to stack effective size increases which will eventually add up.

For suggested feats - in addition to those listed by Gwendol: Shock trooper, leap attack, Combat brute.

[eggynack]

Also I was pretty sure that one of Barbarian rage acf increases his dex.
You are thinking of ferocity from the Cityscape web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a).

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

My friend will be joining our group and hs the idea they want to be the in your face 2 handed fighter type.
they have race done, and so they are Medium with powerful build.
this will be a level 1 character, the classes they are on the fence with are Barbarian, Fighter, Crusader, Warblade - so thinking down the road here build wise what are good choices class wise.
Last is Weapon they have decided to go with 2 handed sword vs. axe, hammer or bow. obvious choices here are greatsword, fullblade - any other decent ones?

Take at least six levels of Fighter, using the Dungeoncrasher ACF in Dungeonscape, and take the feat Knock-Back from Races of Stone asap. I'd also use the Zhentarim Soldier (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060327a) substitution levels (reflavored to a bully archetype not specific to any organization) and free bonuses (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a), get the Never Outnumbered skill trick in Complete Scoundrel, the feat Imperious Command in Drow of the Underdark, and start with the regional feat Dreadful Wrath in Player's Guide to Faerun if available. Go Fighter 9/ Warblade 10/ Fighter 1, if it goes that far you can get Weapon Supremacy in PHB2 with that Fighter 10 bonus feat at 20th level.

Edit: If spending a feat on an exotic weapon, make it a Greathorn Minotaur Greathammer from Monster Manual IV, page 101. It deals 1d12 base damage medium or 3d6 large, with a natural 19-20/x4 crit.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Don't worry about those dip-happy Barbarian-fighter-blah-blah-blah builds; just run a Warblade. You'll rock ALL the face, even just picking whatever maneuvers have cool names. Plus, you can still take the Power Attack/Leap Attack/Shock Trooper combo, if you so desire.