Need help with a heavy hitting fist character with high defense.

[Skygrassface]

Many of my mates in game are these rapid fire type. specialized monks that can land a ton of hits and with a lot of dodge, or fighters with multiple attacks, etc.

I want to be the polar opposite of them. I want to be a character that does singular attacks, for heavy damage, and can just sponge up attacks, all the while being this gentlemanly figure of manliness.

Ideas?

[ZamielVanWeber]

Taking hits is hard in DnD. AC does not scale properly and hit points should not be your only defense. Would use concealment be fine? A smoking weapon is extremely inexpensive for what it does (Partial Concealment all the time).

My instinct would be a small mounted character focused on mounted charges. Take PA and all the things that multiply damage on a charge. You would need to back up to go crazy again but you would hit like a truck when you charge.

[Skygrassface]

Taking hits is hard in DnD. AC does not scale properly and hit points should not be your only defense. Would use concealment be fine? A smoking weapon is extremely inexpensive for what it does (Partial Concealment all the time).

My instinct would be a small mounted character focused on mounted charges. Take PA and all the things that multiply damage on a charge. You would need to back up to go crazy again but you would hit like a truck when you charge.

Unfortunately, that sort of ruins the fist-fighter aspect i'm trying to go for. Maybe he doesn't need to be an hp sponge, but high ac could be an option?

[Skygrassface]

Taking hits is hard in DnD. AC does not scale properly and hit points should not be your only defense. Would use concealment be fine?

You think i might be able to applly that to a fist weapon, like knuckles or something?

[Troacctid]

Initiators are good at singular attacks for tons of damage. There are a lot of "Make a melee weapon attack with a +XdY bonus to damage"-type maneuvers. Unarmed strikes are also a discipline weapon for the Stone Dragon and Shadow Hand schools, so punching people's faces in is not an unreasonable strategy.

Conveniently, Crusaders are an initiator class and also happen to be arguably the #1 best damage sponges in the game. I'd recommend playing a Crusader.

[tiercel]

Whatever your exact build, if you have even a dip in Monk it sounds like the Decisive Strike ACF (PHB II) -- trade flurry of blows for a full-round double-damage single attack -- is one of the things you're looking for.

You may want to check out one of the Fistbeard Beardfist (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6062.0) builds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?116838-Fistbeard-Beardfist&p=6401766#post6401766) either for its own sake or for components you can loot. They are a bit more barbarian-y than civilized pugilistic master, though; you might want to build something more like an unarmed gish character (see, e.g. discussion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?211809-quot-But-Daddy-I-want-to-punch-stuff!-quot-Unarmed-Gish-question)).

[Skygrassface]

Whatever your exact build, if you have even a dip in Monk it sounds like the Decisive Strike ACF (PHB II) -- trade flurry of blows for a full-round double-damage single attack -- is one of the things you're looking for.

You may want to check out one of the Fistbeard Beardfist (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6062.0) builds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?116838-Fistbeard-Beardfist&p=6401766#post6401766) either for its own sake or for components you can loot. They are a bit more barbarian-y than civilized pugilistic master, though; you might want to build something more like an unarmed gish character (see, e.g. discussion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?211809-quot-But-Daddy-I-want-to-punch-stuff!-quot-Unarmed-Gish-question)).

Thanks for that, I'll look into it and see if i can deconstruct it.

[Skygrassface]

Initiators are good at singular attacks for tons of damage. There are a lot of "Make a melee weapon attack with a +XdY bonus to damage"-type maneuvers. Unarmed strikes are also a discipline weapon for the Stone Dragon and Shadow Hand schools, so punching people's faces in is not an unreasonable strategy.

Conveniently, Crusaders are an initiator class and also happen to be arguably the #1 best damage sponges in the game. I'd recommend playing a Crusader.

Looking into crusader now, any ideas for feats and gear that could help make this even better?

[Troacctid]

Looking into crusader now, any ideas for feats and gear that could help make this even better?

Warforged would work very well with this concept. Their natural slam attack removes the need for Improved Unarmed Strike, and it can do massive amounts of damage with the Shocking Fist racial feat, which also combos well with Stone Power. Adamantine Body gives you a great armor bonus at level 1, plus damage reduction to soak up hits better, which makes you nice and tanky right out of the gates (although it drops off a bit at later levels).

[Ursus Spelaeus]

Looking into crusader now, any ideas for feats and gear that could help make this even better?

Take the feat Shape Soulmeld: Astral Vambraces for the damage reduction.

How does damage reduction work with the Crusader's Steely Resolve feature, by the way?
Here's the way I understand it:
You take damage from an attack.
The Astral Vambraces reduces the damage by 2.
The remaining damage goes to your delayed damage pool instead of subtracting from your hit point total.
Your delayed damage pool empties at the end of your next turn. You take that much hit point damage, but your Astral Vambraces reduces the damage by 2.

Am I correct in assuming that Steely Resolve double dips on damage reduction? You put a point of essentia into the Astral Vambraces, and you're cutting 8 damage out from every attack that hits you. Am I missing something?

[nedz]

Thanks for that, I'll look into it and see if i can deconstruct it.

The thing to note about Decisive Strike is that it's quite good for AoO builds since all your AoOs do double damage as well — though only on rounds after you have made your full-attack. Haste is quite good with this also.

[Platymus Pus]

There is an augment stone that steals life every time you attack, perhaps you can get some gauntlets that life steal on top of it.
That'd make you rather healthy.
Also if you want to be a heavy hitting fist character. (https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Muscle_Wizard)

[MisterKaws]

I feel like I'm posting this really frequently, but a kalashtar monk2/psychic warrrior 18 with tashalatora, ectoplasmic fist shard, fanged ring, mighty arms, and battlefists using expansion deals damage as a colossal+ monk, which means 16d8 damage per fist, and you still get easy fist enchancements, and a slam attack to add to your fist damage just in case your DM allows you to get beast strike.

[Red Fel]

Looking into crusader now, any ideas for feats and gear that could help make this even better?

Well, first things first. Do you just want to be able to take heavy hits, and deliver singular heavy hits? Or do you want to be an untouchable blur of fists?

The former is easy. Go straight Crusader, take IUS and SUS, and you now have an unarmed progression. Take Stone Dragon feats like Mountain Hammer, and deliver powerful punishment with single attacks. Grab a Necklace of Natural Weapons and you can enhance your fists as if they were weapons. If you do get hit, your Crusader class features will add even more power to your blows due to your delayed damage pool.

The latter is more complicated. There are two angles you could pursue - proactive and reactive. A proactive blur of fists would likely involve a Barbarian dip with Spirit Lion totem to replace Fast Movement with Pounce. It would also replace Rage with Whirling Frenzy. This means you can now perform a full attack on a charge, and can perform an extra attack each round at the cost of taking -2 to all attack rolls. If you want to pile on more punishment, take the Snap Kick feat for an additional attack, and an additional -2 to all attacks. This build basically charges headfirst into combat, and proceeds to maul everything within reach.

The reactive build is tricky with an unarmed fighter, because of his lack of reach. If you're willing to be Evil, the Willing Deformity (Tall) feat gives you bonus reach, which is useful. At that point, you want to maximize your AoOs. Robilar's Gambit/Karmic Strike ensures that anyone who hits you will regret it. Thicket of Blades and Defensive Rebuke ensure that anyone who doesn't hit you will regret it. At this point, your combat strategy boils down to "If it's my turn, I will punch you, and if it's not my turn, I will still punch you."

[ExLibrisMortis]

You can do some fun things with Decisive Strike + initiator levels + Deep Impact.

1) Decisive Strike allows you to make a single attack - as a full-round action - that deals double damage. All your other melee attacks that turn also deal double damage.
2) Deep Impact allows you to resolve a single melee attack as a touch attack, if you expend your psionic focus.
3) Initiator levels allow you to use swift-action boosts to add bonus effects to your attack.

Trouble is, it takes a move action to get your focus back, and you can't use a strike maneuver as part of Decisive Strike. So you're essentially alternating DS turns with refocussing + strike turns, which is a bit annoying (not to mention the lack of mobility). It's probably good if you can get reliable bonus actions, for example by being a 9th-level swiftblade or shapechanged into a choker, but at that point you're playing a high-power game that's not very well suited to monks.

[TheMooch]

Looking into crusader now, any ideas for feats and gear that could help make this even better?

I would go crusader 10/ eternal blade 10

as for feats take extra granted manuever, knowledge devotion, stone power, weapon focus, combat reflexes, martial study (greater divine surge), improved initiative

your end goal is to delay your turn to the end of the order then use greater divine surge dumping your entire consitution but 1 into the strike (you gain +1 to hit and 2d8 dmg per point) so youll hit and do lots of damage. Then you use moment of alacrity to gain +20 initiative which should put you first in the order, you basically go again and use strike of righteous vitality to heal all the CON damage and deal more damage.

plus you have all the normal fun crusader and eternal blade tricks