Arctic or Earth Dwarf for Crusader

[Darth_Versity]

So a friend of mine is about to start up a 3.5 game which looks to be a complete rail road (see below). As such I've decided to treat it more like an MMO and play a fairly optimised tank, which of course points me to Crusader. Dwarf looks to be the best option and now i'm stuck between two variants, Arctic or Earth?

Arctic has a lower DEX and thus AC, but Earth loses out on the save bonus against spells. What does the playground think, or can you offer a better dwarven option?

The game has us of members of 'The Warriors of Light', a goody goody save the world organisation. Prior to joining we have our memories raped wiped so we require no background for the characters. We are just obedient servants to our overseers.

Also, we are not allowed any race that appears to be 'monstrous'. Only things that are allowed are mild variations of human, anything else is 'evilTM'! This includes all forms of dragons, giants, goblinoids, outsiders, dyads, sprites, etc etc... Hells, these guys are so over zealous they'd probably attack an angel sent from their own god because its 'evil'.

[Darrin]

I'd go with Earth Dwarf. They're like a normal dwarf doubled: Double bonus on noticing stonework, double bonus on trips/bull rush, double bonus on Appraise and Craft checks. Better stats, too: Str +2/Dex -2, while the Arctic Dwarf pays for that Str +2 with Dex -4.

Gold Dwarf might fit the "destroy everything unnatural" theme of the campaign a bit better, but you don't get much for it: +1 attack bonus on Aberrations, and -2 Dex instead of -2 Cha.

Consider swapping weapon familiarities to to Dwarven Warpike and Dwarven Buckler-Axe. The Buckler-Axe is a bit of an oddity... it offers a shield bonus, but the text doesn't say if it leaves a hand free to wield weapons, or incur any of the penalties associated with bucklers (but in the absense of specific text, I think by RAW there are no penalties). It looks like it would allow you to two-hand your warpike, use your buckler for shield-related maneuvers, and make offhand attacks in a pinch.

You could also ask about swapping your Tower Shield proficiency for an Extreme Shield/Rider's Shield. The Extreme Shield can't shield bash, but the +3 AC is almost worth it.

[Fouredged Sword]

I would go with the Arctic dwarf, and even consider dwarf paragon for 3 levels (+1 to the save bonus, +2 con!). You won't miss the AC as you are going to wear the heaviest armor you can get your hands on anyway. You want your dex at 12 even after stat boosting gear, so assume a +6 glove and accept the -4 to your base 10 dex. You actually want to get hit a little, as you get bonuses for taking damage and can self heal. The +2-3 to all saves is a major deal, and helps make up for your lack of great charisma. Damage MAY take you out of a fight, but loosing a save vs a spell WILL take you out of a fight.

I would consider getting the shield and pike style feat. That + armor spikes + dwarven war pike = reach all squared within 10ft, two handed str bonus to damage at 10ft, and a shield bonus to AC.