Warblade with Mediocre Stats

[genericwit]

So I'm rolling up a character for a game that's starting in a few weeks, and I'm wondering whether or not it's worth it to play a Warblade. The campaign is low magic (where magic basically lost a war to technology, and has been replaced by steampunk technology and is completely outlawed). The stats I rolled, using roll 4d6 drop lowest and reroll 1s, were 14 13 13 12 10 9. The DM stated there's no point buy, but I could take an elite array, which sounds like a better option (marginally). Anyway, my stats would probably be:

Str 15
Con 14
Dex 12 (or 14)
Int 13
Wis 10
Cha 8 (or 6).

I'm planning on going either Human or Snow Elf, but I'm not sure whether I'd rather have the Dex bonus (given Warblade's medium armor and opening up attack of opportunity builds) or extra feat.

If I go Human, I figure charging based is pretty much the only way to go, maybe building up more of a Dragoon type, whereas the extra Dex might be nice for a tripper/lockdown build.

Any suggestions? Or would I just be better off playing another class entirely, with these roles? Casters are allowed, but initial role play might be difficult keeping it under wraps.

[Marthinwurer]

Those are pretty much the exact same rolls I have in my current game as a warblade. Whether you should switch to another class depends on how the rest of the players in your group are set up.

[Snowbluff]

15 str is playable on a warblade. Just don't expect to roflstomp your enemies. I would try for the snow elf.

Dragon Fire Adept is pretty NAD, and warlock can work on bad stats as well. A buffing based caster doesn't need any stats, save for the minimum to cast spells.

[genericwit]

Ok, so here's the feats/flaws I'm thinking:

Snow Elf Spirit Lion Totem Barb 1 /Fighter 1/Warblade 18
Human:
1: Power Attack
1: Weapon Focus
1: Combat Expertise
Ftr 2: Improved Bull Rush
3: Improved Trip
6: Shock Trooper
WB 7: Combat Reflexes
9: Leap Attack
WB 11: Improved Initiative
12: Knockdown
15: Weapon Specialization
WB 15: Iron Will
18: Melee Weapon Mastery
WB 19:

Flaws: Murky Eyed, Shaky

Or Human Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Warblade 19

Feats:
1: Power Attack
1: Weapon Focus
1: Improved Bullrush
1: Cleave
3: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Steampunk Campaign allows for the use of powered chain weapons which are basically much better, and Warblade allows to retrain what weapons weapon specific feats apply to)
6: Leap Attack
WB 7: Improved Initiative
9: Shock Trooper
WB 11: Iron Will
12: Weapon Spec
15: Melee Weapon Mastery
WB 15: Blind Fight
18:

Same Flaws

[Snowbluff]

If you are going shocktrooper, I would get it before leap attack. Your attack bonus is suffering from your lousy stats, and is worth more, IMO.

[Telok]

Eh, I played a warblade with a 10, 16, 14, 14, 10, 12 array and it worked just fine up through level 14 or so. A focus on AC (with Combat Expertise and Shield Ward) and counters/mobility kept me relevant when simple damage wasn't the answer. True, Insughtful Strike was not as much damage as a charge build but I could do more than just charge. Because I had the highest AC, mostly, I intentionally provokes AoOs as much as I could to make movement safer for my allies.

One time, using my silly high jump checks and the Hearing the Air stance, I chased an invisible flying wizard around the map trying to stab him with arrows of dispelling. Beecause of my harassment he only got spells off about one round in three, most of which were aimed at me. Which was good because none of the fools in my party had any way to see invisible of fly, including the charger build fighter who would have been easy prey for a flying invisible mage packing Will save spells.

[genericwit]

If you are going shocktrooper, I would get it before leap attack. Your attack bonus is suffering from your lousy stats, and is worth more, IMO.

Yeah that's how I had it spec'd on my snow elf, I guess I'd probably change it up with the Human too.

[genericwit]

Wooo Christmas came early and I got to reroll my stats, as the DM slightly changed up his rolling scheme!

My new stats (after racial adjustment) are:

18
14
16
14
10
7

Now, I have two dilemmas. First, whirling frenzy or vanilla rage? This will likely only matter for the first couple levels, as it'll be my once a day get the hell out of dodge trick.

The other dilemma I have is thus: given the party has another Warblade, it would probably be a good idea to specialize a bit, right? Would it be a better idea to specialize a little more as a charger or a tripper? If I would go for a tripper, I might restat as a Crusader and go full lockdown build.

The rest of the party so far is: me, another Warblade, a Psion (I'm not sure how they plan to play, but control is probably the way they'll go), and an Artificer (mad team player, taking care of heals and buffing).

[Madwand99]

Anytime a DM specifies "low magic", that to me immediately suggests I should make the most magical PC I can. Why? Because in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. That is to say... martial PCs, who are heavily reliant on magical items, tend to suck in low-magic games, while spellcasters tend to be awesome because cleverly chosen spells can make up for the lack.

In the party you've specified and the melee role you seem to prefer, either a Cleric or Druid could be awesome. The latter really doesn't need magic items at all, and will probably be a lot more effective in melee through most levels given the likely lack of magic items.

[genericwit]

I'm not super worried about the low magic aspect; there's gonna be lots of technological stuff to replace it, and the DM has stated that there still is magic, it's just that after a war between magic and technology, magic users have largely gone into hiding. Plus, our Artificer has stated he plans to act as the party's magic item mart.

Finally, I already have (what I think is) a really awesome backstory that I worked up, and it mainly goes for the concept I have statted out. I'm not going for hyper-optimized.

If you're in for a read:

He finally turned to the gawking garrison barkeep, exasperated. Sick of hearing the same old questions.

"You wanna know why my face looks like this? I'm not much for talking, but some stories need telling."

He grinned wide, bone and teeth showing through where his left cheek used to be in the wavering gaslight.

"I'm not from a city or a town. I lived in a forest far to the north your kind never knew the name of. You'd sneer and call us primitive, of that I have no doubt, for we did not rush to write all our thoughts on paper. Our life was simple, in balance.

My life was one born for glory. I was chosen by the white lion, the quiet fury, to be a warrior among warriors. I led war bands against our rivals, and my ferocity struck fear into their hearts. I was on the path to being our War Leader, as was my right as the white lion's chosen.

That is, until you came. Until you came with your machinery. With your iron men and your polished steel and your cloying fire. Our bonecasters, who had escaped your cull hidden away in our insignificant icy fastness, swore it was just another kind of magic and thus could be defeated. They swore our ancestors would guide us in defending our lands. They were wrong.

We fought, and we died. We died badly. Many young soldiers were unblooded, and their open veins painted the snow red. I led so many to their deaths. Even our bonecaster's most potent magic faltered--you have long since learned the way of dealing with spellcasters. Our bonecasters had no hope of countering your..." He paused a moment, a grimace twisting what remained of his face as if tasting something bitter, before spitting out the word. "...technology."

"We were broken. We fought on, but after that first battle when you brought thunder out of the heavens to pierce our breasts, we were broken.

I did not have the heart to lead the resistance, but I would follow. I was as broken as our tribe. In the last sortie I joined against the interlopers, my face was taken, as my brothers fell, by a cacophony of sound and heat and pain. That, friend, is why my face looks like this."

He stopped a moment, briefly gauging the look in the barkeep's face, before shrugging and taking a sip from his mug. He made sure the barkeep saw where the beer trickled through his teeth and down his chin.

"That wasn't the end, though. For my brothers, but not for me. I awoke in chains. An oddity, a freak, a captive... A slave. The armies that had rolled over us like a raging storm left, but the miners and their pet guards staid, and they kept me for entertainment. Bear baiting, fighting other captives in a ring of fire. Always with one hand tied back, our feet hobbled. As if they still feared anything in us but the loss of their pleasure at our misery.

One night, though, they slept too well. The mining fort woke to a siege. There were other tribes and other beasts in that forest, you see, and if you leave a corpse to rot it will eventually attract predators. No brothers of mine, but their howls were sweet nonetheless.

The miners must have been desperate or stupid or some crazy-canny. A guard put a sword in my hand and cut my bonds and told me if I fought and they lived, he swore he'd see me freed. I thought to kill him, but instead, I nodded. Some part of me still wanted to live.

The beasts that came over the walls of that fort were hideous. I, and a few miners and their hired guards, lived til morning. The howls retreated with the dawn. The camp was struck fast, and we headed south. Somewhere along the way between here and there, I met a band of hard, bitter men who told me if I killed for them, with them, I might be able to make some gold. I'd learned the uses for gold on the way south, so I bid the miners a frigid day in hell and left. Killin's worked out well enough for me, so far. Nice enough, I'd say, my soul now matches my face."

He took another sip of his beer before continuing, taking pains to hide his delight in the barkeeps unease at the beer dribbling from his face.

"I've learned a lot of things since then. I'm still as savage, but I'm no uncultured barbarian. I can read your letters. I know now why you came to my home, and destroyed my people. For your damned ore. To build your machines. To expand. To progress. Too bad you couldn't keep it. But you'll go back, soon enough. I've also learned there's no keeping you from something you want, not for long. You'll go back with more of your machines and guns and constructs, with your alchemist fire and your entitlement. There's nothing a people like mine can do to stop you. You might as well have *killed magic.*
But I've learned something else, as well. When the night is dark, when your gaslights are dimmed, when you've unwound your moving suits of armor and terrible swords, you're still vulnerable. And in the half light of the moon, there are hideous, old, *dangerous* things that want you dead, and they *terrify* you.

There's something I have known since before you came to take my land in the name of science. Something you forgot when you killed your wisest men along with the charlatans and tyrant sorcerers. Those things that terrify you in the night, they are just the tip of the ice hill. There are powers far more deadly, far more dangerous, far more ineffable, in this world and those beyond, and those things won't sleep forever.

One day, they will come for you and yours, and the forces they wield will be as unknowable as your thunder and men of metal were to us. When that day comes, what will your technology be worth?

Will your gaslights' illuminating the faces of terror and madness give you solace? Will your metal men be so terrifying when they're rusted to dust? Will you bottle the rage of every ghost torn from their ancestral mounds? I wonder, though, can ghosts laugh?"

And at that thought, he let loose his own laugh. A horrid thing it was, something between a croak and a rasp escaping his ravaged vocal chords. He tossed back the dregs of his beer, and let the tankard fall to the bar heavily.

"Until that day, though, fill up my tankard again. And don't ever stop. As long as there's someone to slip a coin in my hand and point and say, 'Kill those men,' I'll make sure you don't starve."