Spartacus - Human Battlemind that starts mass lockdown at level 8

[GPuzzle]

Level 8:

Race: Human (PHB)
Class: Battlemind (PHB3)
Racial Choice: Heroic Effort
Psionic Study: Persistent Harrier

Ability Scores:
Strength: 13
Constitution: 20
Dexteritry: 15
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 10

Defenses:

AC: 26
Fortitude: 26
Reflex: 21
Will: 21

Health Points and Surges:
HP: 79
Bloodied: 34
Surge Value: 17
Surges per day: 14

Feats:
L1-Melee Training: Constitution (PHB2)
L1-Blurred Step (PsP)
L2-Battle Awareness (MP)
L4-Swift Spear (D379)
L6-Battering Shield (PHB3)
L8-Polearm Momentum (MP)

At-Wills:
L1-Twisted Eye (PHB3)
L3-Lodestone Lure (PsP)
L7-Forceful Reversal (DSCS)

Daily Powers:
L1-Aspect of Bitter Ice (PsP)
L5-Nightmare Vortex (PHB3)

Utility Powers:
L2-Telepathic Challenge (PHB3)
L6-Winged Weapon (PHB3)

Items:
+2 Amulet of Protection
+2 Magic Drakescale Armor
+2 Magic Trident


What this build does is simple:

Offer constant punishment against enemies for both trying to get away and trying to stick with you. It can lock down up to two targets at once, which is very strong, by using Lodestone Lure on one of them, sliding him two squares into prone, and locking the other down by always staying adjacent.

If the defenses seem a little low, at level 11 it pretty much gains a constant bonus equal to +2 to AC and +2 to NADs permanently. The UA is capable of proning enemies at pretty much all times, and gets even better at Level 12 when it can start hitting Reflex.

Simply put, this build might not deal much damage, but it's sticky as hell.

[Tafkam Hokie]

Have you given any thought to lightning flail/Mark of Storm instead of spear/Polearm Momentum?

If the campaign would give you reasonably assured access to a level-appropriate lighting flail at all times, it would give you even more flexibility (all your attacks would slide or knock prone, not just your opportunity attacks and Lodestone Lure). Also, the Dex requirement for Polearm Momentum for a Battlemind is brutal. The Mark of Storm lets you have a bit more advantageous stat distribution.

But if you have almost no control over you magic items, then your build is certainly more item-neutral.

As a couple other random thoughts, I'd really think hard about taking the extra at-will power for being human instead of heroic effort. With battleminds getting so few attack powers, getting one more is a pretty big advantage. Also, I personally got a lot more mileage out of Whirling Defense as the L1 at-will over Twisted Eye. An extra mark and a Close Burst 1 attack tended to do me more good when I was running a battlemind. But I guess mileage can vary based on the party makeup and the DM's style.

[GPuzzle]

Twisted Eye's main advantage is that it's a nasty UA.

Also, this build was made to be setting and item neutral. A better choice at Level 11 is Half-Elf for extra stats, and Eldritch Strike.

Plus, IIRC Flail Expertise only works on slides.

[Tafkam Hokie]

Plus, IIRC Flail Expertise only works on slides.

Yes, but Mark of Storm adds a slide 1 to any lightning attack, and Flail Expertise lets you replace a slide with prone. So every single weapon attack made would either slide 1 (or more, that isn't too hard to augment with items and feats) or knock prone.

[GPuzzle]

Most DMs forbid Mark of the Storm.

[Tafkam Hokie]

Most DMs forbid Mark of the Storm.

Interesting. I've not met one who did yet.

But I have met quite a few (myself included) who forbid Dragon Magazine feats and magic items, and the OP's build includes one of those.

Bottom line is optimizing a character can be a bit campaign and DM-dependent. I was just proposing an alternative the OP may not have considered.

[masteraleph]

I'm pretty sure that the Dragon Magazine vs. MoS are from two different directions-

DMs who forbid Dragon Magazine tend to be people who either had significant experience with 3.5e, where there was a lot less oversight and a lot more overpowered stuff than in 4e, or else who objected to the whole idea of needing to pay the subscription to get access (the most overpowered stuff in 4e is found in print books, actually, even after errata).

DMs who forbid Mark of Storm are likely to either be avoiding stuff from campaign setting books in general, or to have DMed Living Forgotten Realms (where Dragonmarks were by far the most significant thing disallowed).

Folks who tend to be involved in charop also were likely involved in organized play, and so are more likely to run into the latter than the former.