Using Funds as a Low Level Melee Class

[Snownine]

I am a dwarven fighter 2/ barbarian 1, I took the barbarian dip for rage and to get rid of the 20 ft movement speed that has plagued me this entire game. I plan on continuing as a fighter/ barbarian for the remainder of the campaign. I received a magic weapon from a boss encounter that should tide me over for a fairly long time so the question of what to do with my money has opened up. I am the front-line warrior of the party, getting up close and personal with the enemy and taking hits and dealing damage, and was wondering what I could acquire to help me out in this roll. Should I be looking at armor upgrades/ enchantments (I currently wear full plate) or magic items to boost my ability to deal damage or take punishment? I would appreciate suggestions that take into account the kind of wealth I will likely have over the next few levels.

Edit: I currently have 2000 gp.

[Kazudo]

to get rid of the 20 ft movement speed that has plagued me this entire game


I currently wear full plate



This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load.


House rule or misread?

[Demonic Spoon]

EDIT: Woops, didn't read

[dextercorvia]

In that case, maybe an enchanted breastplate?

[Kazudo]

Yup, a +1 Breastplate so that you can actually take advantage of that Fast Movement.

[Ferronach]

Or Mithral Full Plate :)

I would look into the augment crystals from MIC, there are some that are fairly affordable at lower levels and allow you increace/enhance your damage. There is also a very nice one that allows you to sleep in your armour without any detriments (very beneficial if your DM enforces the donning rules and sleeping in armour rules while throwing midnight encounters your way).

[Snownine]

House rule or misread?

House rule, the logic being that a dwarf's speed is not normally hindered by wearing heavy armor so it does not affect fast movement.

[Twilightwyrm]

If you are on the front line and expect to be taking hits, get a Healing Belt asap. Even if you have out of combat healing covered, being able to burst heal yourself after a particularly nasty blow can be invaluable. Your cleric will thank you.

[Kazudo]

House rule, the logic being that a dwarf's speed is not normally hindered by wearing heavy armor so it does not affect fast movement.

Well, that's a nifty house rule to say the least. In that case, I'd second the Healing Belt.

[Snownine]

That house rule isn't too broken is it? I was told it was okay so I just went with it since it seemed to make sense. Are there any other benefits to getting mithral armor or was that pretty much it?

[Renen]

Houserule is fine. Thougb I would recommend you not continue taking fighter, and probably not even barb.
If you want more feats, go take psychic warrior or feat rogue, each gives 2 feats for taking 2 lvls. (But you lose some BAB)
If you want some damage and being useful out of combat, go take a level (or 17 :-) ) of warblade.

[Snownine]

I am trying to understand the rules on the augment crystals. If I had, for example, a greataxe of speed; I would be unable to use a lesser augment crystal because it would require a +1 (or higher) greataxe of speed. Is that correct? Does the +3 enhancement that is the speed enchantment not count at all?

[Glimbur]

Your weapon has to be +1 before you can put any other enchantments on it. This makes speed much more expensive, which is sad for you.

[Snownine]

Your weapon has to be +1 before you can put any other enchantments on it. This makes speed much more expensive, which is sad for you.

So the masterwork quality counts as the +1?

[Karnith]

So the masterwork quality counts as the +1?
Nope. A weapon needs to have at least a +1 enhancement bonus put on it (which itself requires the weapon to be masterwork, of course) before it can have special abilities applied to it.

Additionally, weapon special abilities (such as speed) do not count towards the weapon's enhancement bonus for the purposes of augment crystals.

[Snownine]

Nope. A weapon needs to have at least a +1 enhancement bonus put on it (which itself requires the weapon to be masterwork, of course) before it can have special abilities applied to it. Additionally, weapon special abilities (such as speed) do not count towards the weapon's enhancement bonus for the purposes of augment crystals.

So a speed weapon would have a +4 enhancement bonus overall for purposes of price? So I would need 32k?

[Azoth]

Chrocharm of the Horizon Walker is a godsend when you absolutely need to get to an enemy.

[DeltaEmil]

So a speed weapon would have a +4 enhancement bonus overall for purposes of price? So I would need 32k?That is correct. That, plus the cost for a masterwork weapon.

So, the +1 speed longsword (sized for a Medium creature) costs a total of 32,315 gold pieces.

[Ferronach]

But AFAIK augment crystals can be attached to ANY weapon that you want. You are not enchanting the weapon, merely adding a magical item to it, much like a necklace of natural armour +2 will increase your AC without really changing anything.

But just as with your character, your weapon/shield/armour can only have a specific number of crystals (usually one).

[Karnith]

But AFAIK augment crystals can be attached to ANY weapon that you want.
It depends on the augment crystal; least ACs work when used with masterwork-quality weapons, lesser ACs with weapons that have at least a +1 enhancement bonus, and greater ACs with weapons that have at least a +3 enhancement bonus (and mind that special abilities don't count).

[DeltaEmil]

But AFAIK augment crystals can be attached to ANY weapon that you want. You are not enchanting the weapon, merely adding a magical item to it, much like a necklace of natural armour +2 will increase your AC without really changing anything.

But just as with your character, your weapon/shield/armour can only have a specific number of crystals (usually one).It depends. Greater augment crystals can only be put on +3 or better equipment. Normal augment crystals must be put on an item with at least a +1 enhancement. Lesser augment crystals must be put on an equipment item that is at least masterwork.

[Ferronach]

It depends on the augment crystal; least ACs work when used with masterwork-quality weapons, lesser ACs with weapons that have at least a +1 enhancement bonus, and greater ACs with weapons that have at least a +3 enhancement bonus (and mind that special abilities don't count).

Ah OK, thanks :) I wondered about that...
This is why I love GITP forums! you always learn something new :)

[Snownine]

Thanks a lot for clearing that up, I think I have it now. I also really appreciate the magic item recommendations, I am open to any suggestions you guys have.

[Ferronach]

before I forget again XD ...
Mithral will also increase the max dex bonus of your armour while decreasing the weight :)

[Snownine]

I was looking at the mithral full plate of speed (way out of my current means) and it led me to another question. Does the haste affect not stack at all with a speed weapon or would you still get the one extra attack?

[DeltaEmil]

I was looking at the mithral full plate of speed (way out of my current means) and it led me to another question. Does the haste affect not stack at all with a speed weapon or would you still get the one extra attack?No. It's explicitly stated in the speed weapon special ability that it doesn't.

Mithral Full Plate of Speed
As a free action, the wearer of this fine set of +1 mithral full plate can activate it, enabling her to act as though affected by a haste spell for up to 10 rounds each day. The duration of the haste effect need not be consecutive rounds.
Speed while wearing a suit of mithral full plate is 20 feet for Medium creatures, or 15 feet for Small. The armor has an arcane spell failure chance of 25%, a maximum Dexterity bonus of +3, and an armor check penalty of -3. It is considered medium armor and weighs 25 pounds.


Speed
When making a full attack action, the wielder of a speed weapon may make one extra attack with it. The attack uses the wielder’s full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation. (This benefit is not cumulative with similar effects, such as a haste spell.)

[Snownine]

Are the items that boost attributes worth the money at this level since the only one I would be able to afford in the near future only add a +1 or +2?

[Kazudo]

That would depend. The best example are skill monkeys and casters, since increasing your casting stat could get you bonus spells. Boosting your DEX would get you better DEX skill checks and attack bonuses with ranged and finessed weapons (assuming you have the Weapon Finesse feat), better INT means better knowledge checks (which helps if you're using, say, Knowledge Devotion) and such of that nature. But it only really works if you're either applying a +2, or a +1 onto an odd number, since anything else won't really affect anything (unless it's STR and carrying capacity).

[holywhippet]

Adding a bit more strength does help a fighter since it increases attack bonus and damage by a little bit. Since hitting things is your main skill every bit can help.

You could also consider buying a small bag of holding as it's quite easy to go over your weight limit in D&D.

[Kazudo]

In addition, if you're carrying things with odd weight that you'll have to get quickly, a Handy Haversack can sometimes be more efficient.

[Skevvix]

Adding a bit more strength does help a fighter since it increases attack bonus and damage by a little bit. Since hitting things is your main skill every bit can help.

You could also consider buying a small bag of holding as it's quite easy to go over your weight limit in D&D.


Kazudo

Re: Using Funds as a Low Level Melee Class
In addition, if you're carrying things with odd weight that you'll have to get quickly, a Handy Haversack can sometimes be more efficient.




A haversack is the first thing I buy for every PC, no matter what role. But, that is not to say that a BoH is not also needed. You just use one of your HHS pouches to hold the BoH, and only pull that out to clean out the store rooms. Mind your max weight though!

[holywhippet]

A haversack is the first thing I buy for every PC, no matter what role. But, that is not to say that a BoH is not also needed. You just use one of your HHS pouches to hold the BoH, and only pull that out to clean out the store rooms. Mind your max weight though!

It is strange that works since portable holes and bags of holding don't mix. I think in earlier versions of D&D it was more strict on being not able to have dimensional magical items work together and possibly with other dimension based magic.