Intelligence Fighter

[Human Paragon 3]

Back in the halcyon days of 2nd edition, it was possible to make a fighter with INT as his primary stat, since fighters could dump non-weapon profs into weapon profs (and hence gain specializations and fighting techniques for having a high INT). I actually had a decent martial-arts style warrior who bought new fighting techniques and gained sword mastery with a 17 INT as his highest stat. Clearly, this build doesn't make sense in 3.5 since Feats are the currency of combat and they cannot be gained by anything but leveling up.

My question is, through using feats, PrCs, or whatever else, would it be possible to make a 3.5 warrior who owns the battlefield with his superior intellect? Note that I'm not talking about supernatural powers or psionics, but rather shrewdness, guile and tactical genius.

[ClericofPhwarrr]

Warblade, perhaps? With all their bonuses from Int (including damage), they might fit the ticket.

[Omnipotent_One]

Well, you could use the swashbuckler, which gets it's int bonus as a bonus to damage. Maybe go combat expertise....

Other than that, I'm lost. If you want to play a smart character with a sword, i'd recommend a fighter/mage.

[TheOOB]

Swashbuckler/Duelist comes to mind, swashbuckler gets int to damage, duelist gets int to armor (though with a max equal to their class level), sounds like a good combo to me. Perhaps through some fighter levels in their to capitilize on the combat expertise feat chain.

Int can be important to your character, but remember, all warrior types should have a good con, and decent str and/or dex.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

My question is, through using feats, PrCs, or whatever else, would it be possible to make a 3.5 warrior who owns the battlefield with his superior intellect? Note that I'm not talking about supernatural powers of psionics, but rather shrewdness, guile and tactical genius.
Well, find some Fighter feats that have Intelligence as a key ability. Unfortunately, the highest Int that appears to be used in such feats is 13, as represented by the Combat Expertise tree.

For tactical genius, I'd suggest using Amber Scott's suggestion (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/paBcfg1YaEccDMQACfu.html) to use Knowledge skills to grant combat bonuses. You'll want to use the Jack of All Trades or Education feats (from Complete Adventurer and Eberron Campaign Setting, respectively) or multiclass to help use that.

A few levels of Swashbuckler are good, as you get Insightful Strike (Int bonus to damage) at 3rd level.

You might also want to look for variant fighters or class features, such as the Thug (a more rouge-like fighter from Unearthed Arcana). Dragon #310 (I think, I'll have to check when I have time) had a bunch of variant fighters. There might be one or two that fill your needs.

I once created an Int-based captain of the guard for a campaign I run. She only appeared in one session, but I remain rather fond of her. She was a Renessaince Lady type. Fighter/Rogue/Streetfighter (Streetfighter is a PrC from Complete Adventurer). Also had the Prodigy feature from DMG2 applied to her Intelligence. Of course, her Intelligence was geared more towards her investigative work than actual combat use. So I don't know how well her build can apply to what you want. Just be sure not to overlook any interesting concepts.

[Human Paragon 3]

Swashbuckler/Duelist comes to mind, swashbuckler gets int to damage, duelist gets int to armor (though with a max equal to their class level), sounds like a good combo to me. Perhaps through some fighter levels in their to capitilize on the combat expertise feat chain.

Int can be important to your character, but remember, all warrior types should have a good con, and decent str and/or dex.

Which book is Swash in?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Which book is Swash in?
Complete Warrior

[Human Paragon 3]

Swash/Fighter/Dualist looks pretty good. Thanks for your help guys.

[Penguinsushi]

In addition to what's already been said, I'd also suggest looking at the tactical and weapon style feats in complete warrior, as they might give you some conceptual flavor for a fighter who relies more on intelligence and cunning than brute force.

Also, a level or two of rogue or something similar might help you in that regard as well (thinking, some ranks in bluff w/ improved feint, etc)

~PS

[The Prince of Cats]

If you have the high int anyway, probably with good dex and cha as a swashbuckler, why not drop some points into Bluff (feint, leaves your opponent flat-footed), Intimidate (demoralise opponent, -2 to attack, skill and saving throw rolls), Sleight of Hand (not so direct, but good for getting a surprise attack) and Tumble (synergy bonus to AC when fighting defensively)

Perhaps not all class-skills, but certainly good for ruining someone's day...

[Indon]

If you have high int, you'll have a lot of skill points to throw around, thus I recommend at least glancing at the skill tricks in Complete Scoundrel. They're like feat-lite, though they generally have skill rank requirements.

[elliott20]

don't forget, all the martial classes from Tome of Battle have their abilities hinged on their class skill rank. So in that case, having a high INT definitely can help since you get extra skill points for it.

[Person_Man]

I would say Warblade is your best bet.

You could also play a Scout. As Skill Monkeys they need a high Int. With their Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Flawless Stride, Fast Movement, etc., they tend to play as "smart" and tactical on the battlefield, instead of brute force meat shields. In particular, a Scout with Flawless Stride working with spellcasters using battlefield control magic is an insanely useful combo. The only downside is that your damage output is going to be mediocre at best.

Also, as a house rule I allow my players to make a single relevant Knowledge check at the start of a battle. Depending on what it is and what they roll, I'll describe what they know about about that particular enemy. This is very handy for things like immunities, damage reduction, regeneration, etc.

[Penguinsushi]

Also, as a house rule I allow my players to make a single relevant Knowledge check at the start of a battle. Depending on what it is and what they roll, I'll describe what they know about about that particular enemy. This is very handy for things like immunities, damage reduction, regeneration, etc.

Not really a house rule. Several different knowledge skills relate to certain monster types, and the newer monster manuals even have the DC's to see what the players know about them specifically.

~PS

[Were-Sandwich]

See if you can get your DM t let you port a few Iron Heroes feats. One of the lets you replace your Str mod with your Int mod for melee attacks. Like weapon finesse, for your brain!

[Piccamo]

You could also look at this list:
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=320889

It shows how to gain any given stat to a number of abilities. It is updated regularly (the last one was today :smallwink: )