Help Needed Building a lvl 3 Centaur Warblade

[frozenxdreamer]

I'm planning on building a centaur warblade PC for our new campaign, but I have a bunch of questions. Our GM has told us to stay away from homebrew stuff, but we can use anything else.

EDIT: We will be using D&D 3.5e.
EDIT 2: Just heard from the GM that we'll actually be starting at level three

1. We're starting as level 1 characters, so do the racial hit dice/skills/feats not apply as I cannot take a level in 'centaur'? How exactly does this work? Do I still get the +8 STR racial bonus (as well as the others)?

2. What kind of armor can I wear? I know it's x4 cost if I want to wear armor all over, but if I just bought some for my upper body is there a penalty? As in would it be less effective? Is there any armor I could wear just on my arms? I was picturing something like: http://fav.me/d4pu40h but couldn't find anything in the rulebook/player's guide (whatever you want to call it).

3. If I have a lance in one hand and a sword in the other, is it possible to charge in using the lance then switch to the sword next round; I'd be close to my opponent making the lance now useless. I wouldn't switch hands between rounds so the sword would be in my off-hand, but I'm not planning on using both at the same time. How would this work? Are there any penalties? If this can't work- which weapon would you recommend? I was considering wielding a large bastard sword with two hands until I came across the fact that a lance can do extra damage.

4. What feat do I choose? Can I take feats as if I already have/know mounted combat? Which feat is most recommended for a level 1 Warblade? I have picked the maneuvers: steel wind, wolf fang strike, and charging minotaur and the stance: punishing stance.

5. Does a height of 7'7" and a weight of 993 lb sound reasonable? I used these formulas to come up with these numbers: height=(human height/2)+(horse height at withers) weight=(human weight/2)+(horse weight), using the random tables for human height/weight and then choosing a horse breed (Andalusian) and using its average height/weight. And what do I do about age? How old is the average centaur? This question isn't as important, but I would appreciate an answer.

6. How would another PC be able to ride me? I only know about one other member of the party who wishes to be a dread necromancer. I guess he would ride me in order to get close enough to use his touch attack? How would this work exactly? Does he need certain feats? Ranks in the ride skill? Do I need certain feats? Are there maneuvers or feats that would be recommended for this?

Thank you everyone!

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Centaur (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/centaur.htm) as a PC is a 6th level character before it even takes its first class level, due to its +2 LA and four racial HD which are not optional. If you want its benefits, you have to take its drawbacks as well. Starting at 1st level, you can still use it as long as you have Savage Species, which details a six-level racial class for it on page 161. You have to take all six levels of Centaur before you gain even a single level of any other class, so you wouldn't be able to start taking Warblade until 7th level regardless.

[Troacctid]

Centaurs have an ECL of 6 (LA +2 and 4 racial hit dice) which means you simply cannot play them at level 1 without special progression rules, which can found in Races of the Wild, page 98. (It was originally published in Savage Species, but that's 3.0; Races of the Wild is the 3.5 update, and should be used instead.) You'll have to take all 6 levels of the progression before you can take any class levels, so you can't be a Warblade until 7th level. Note that the feats listed in the progression are your normal feats for gaining hit dice, not bonus feats. Also note that you start at medium size and only grow to large at 6th level.
Armor for a large nonhumanoid creature (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/armor.htm#armorForUnusualCreatures) is the same, but costs 4x as much. Centaurs are not proficient with any armor, however, so bear that in mind.
There are no penalties as long as your DM rules that you count as mounted for the purposes of wielding a lance with one hand--IIRC, normally centaurs only count as mounted for the purposes of dealing additional damage on a charge. However, you could just wield the lance two-handed and use spiked gauntlets as your secondary weapon.
You are not mounted for the purposes of mounted combat. I mean, unless you're riding a mount somehow, but that is really weird to imagine.
Height and weight for centaurs can be found in Races of the Wild, page 106. The average male centaur is 7' tall and weighs 2,150 lbs; the average female centaur is 6'9" tall and weighs 2,000 lbs.
The mounted combat rules are complicated and annoying, but yes, a PC can ride another PC. You can wear a saddle and stuff, and you can move to get the Dread Necromancer close enough to use his touch attack and he'll still have his move action, although he can't just jump off and move his speed after you've moved unless he makes a DC 20 ride check to dismount as a free action. He'll need to make Concentration checks to cast spells while mounted, he'll need a DC 5 Ride check to avoid falling out of the saddle if he takes damage, he can roll a ride check in place of your AC once per round if he has the Mounted Combat feat, and so on.

[frozenxdreamer]

The GM said it would be ok to nerf the centaur LA to 0 so the ECL would be 0 centaur + 0 monstrous humanoid + 3 warblade = 3. The bonuses would be: +2 STR -2 INT, +1 Fort/Will, 50 ft speed, and large size.

[Keld Denar]

Required Reading (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?207928-Urpriest-s-Monstrous-Monster-Handbook)

Also look up some of the homebrew racial progressions for centaurs. They are a lot more playable than the one from Races of the Wild or Savage Species. You'll want the racial HD, unless your DM allows you to be large without them. IMO, its kinda a balance thing. Being large is awesome, though.