Looking for suggestions for a tiny warrior.

[LionOfComarre]

So I got the urge recently to look back at one of my first characters from when we running fast and loose with the rules, and see if he's still in any way viable. He was a brownie barbarian who lived in the samurai's helmet, rode a badger into combat, and climbed his enemies and fought them shadow of the colossus style.

I can't find the homebrew brownie I used, and I can't find an official version that's flightless, I'm thinking of making him a Jermlaine, and taking the Giantsbane feat for the climb onto enemies manoeuvre.

Do any of you have any suggestions for classes, feats or tricks to help fighting bigger enemies, climb onto them and do some decent damage once I'm dingling on their earlobe?

[Hiro Quester]

The Blade Bravo PrC is designed for gnomes, and has some excellent features for a tiny warrior. The description says:

A straightforward change would involve broadening the racial requirement to allow halflings and perhaps some Small or smaller fey into this prestige class.

For Iron Chef XI (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?166539-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-XI) the special ingredient was blade bravo. There will be lots of good ideas for a tiny warrior there.

[Red Fel]

Do any of you have any suggestions for classes, feats or tricks to help fighting bigger enemies, climb onto them and do some decent damage once I'm dingling on their earlobe?

Well, Races of the Wild had some good choices, namely Underfoot Combat and Confound the Big Folk.

Underfoot Combat lets you move into the space of a creature two sizes larger than you without provoking AoOs. Doing so grants you soft cover, even against attacks by the creature whose space you occupy. It's also a prerequisite for Confound the Big Folk.

Confound is a tactical feat like Giantbane. It lets you treat an enemy whose space you occupy as automatically flat-footed (and gives you a bonus to confirm crits), gives attacks against you a chance to instead hit the creature whose space you occupy when you take a Total Defense action, and lets you attempt a trip attack without provoking an AoO and using the better of your Str or Dex. It's a really great feat for a small or smaller combatant who wants to get up in somebody's grill.

On a related note, the Pebble Underfoot feat (Dragon Compendium) is great for a trip-oriented little guy. It gives you a bonus to trip opponents two or more sizes larger than you, and prevents counter-tripping.

If you used these methods, and went with a source of precision damage (as opposed to flat damage), you would be less dependent on your Str (which, being tiny, wouldn't be great) and more dependent on making multiple attacks (to which you could add loads of bonus damage). Towards that end, if you're going with Barbarian, you could take the Whirling Frenzy ACF (UA), which replaces your Rage with Whirling Frenzy, granting you an extra attack and a dodge bonus to AC, among other things. You could also take the Wolf Totem ACF (UA), swapping Uncanny Dodge for Improved Trip, and the Spirit Lion Totem (Complete Champion), swapping Fast Movement for Pounce. With that combination, you can quickly get into an enemy's space and unload on them. You could then multiclass into something like Rogue or Scout, which would give you precision damage to each hit. Rogue (or other SA class) would be great, because with Confound the Big Folk, a creature whose space you occupy is always flat-footed, meaning Sneak Attack is always online.

[Flickerdart]

I would recommend a dip into pyrokineticist for the Flame Lash. It has 15ft reach independent of your size, making it a fantastic option for a character with no reach. It's technically a ranged touch attack, but explicitly allows the use* of any feats that can be used with a whip, which includes Power Attack. It also deals fire damage, which bypasses DR but is subject to energy resistance, so have a backup weapon.


*Some people may wish to point out that the ability says "take" and not "use" when referring to feat compatibility with the flame lash, but at most tables this distinction is a purely academic one.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Three words for you: Hammer and Piton. It's a Dungeonscape feat that literally lets you jam spikes into larger enemies and hang onto their back. Wild Cohort (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) can give you a badger mount if you don't go for a normal animal companion/familiar option.

[Darrin]

Three words for you: Hammer and Piton. It's a Dungeonscape feat that literally lets you jam spikes into larger enemies and hang onto their back.

Str 15 on a tiny character might be a bit tricky.

I've never really understood what exactly the designers thought this feat was supposed to do. You have to give up your entire turn to attach yourself to a large creature, and then... what exactly does it do after that, other than allow you to move along with your target? You lose your Dex bonus, so it makes you easier to hit... and then what? There aren't any offensive or defensive benefits. It doesn't treat your target as grappled or cause them to lose their Dex bonus. Even odder... it doesn't restrict any of your actions, and it doesn't require you to "hold on" with one hand on the piton (presumably this is a requirement for using the Climb skill, but it would be nice if the feat mentioned this).

I suppose if we assume one hand is busy holding on to the piton, you could still TWF with unarmed strike or armor spikes as your offhand weapon. This would allow you to TWF the same target round after round, but you're easier to hit and you don't really gain any advantage on attacking (I'm guessing using your opponent's movement doesn't count for Skirmish). The only advantage I can see is if you add Underfoot Combat (+4 AC bonus for soft cover) and Confound the Big Folk (knee striker, target is flat-footed). But due to the idiot who set the prereq to Tumble 10 ranks, it's difficult to get this combo working before ECL 12.

[ShurikVch]

2 level dip in CE Soulborn will grant you same Str as average Medium-sized humanoid

[Red Fel]

2 level dip in CE Soulborn will grant you same Str as average Medium-sized humanoid

Incorrect.

CE Soulborn makes you immune to Str penalties. It does not directly increase or alter your Str.

Most Small and smaller races don't have a Str penalty; rather, the Str is simply less than that of a Medium race. (It's not a penalty because it's not called a penalty. It's just a modification. Don't ask.)

This particular class is frequently cited with respect to the Tibbit, which explicitly takes a Str penalty when it assumes ittybittykitty form. CE Soulborn neutralizes the explicit penalty. But this isn't true of most other modifications to the Str stat; if based on size, it's generally just a modification, not a penalty, and thus Soulborn doesn't impact it.

[ShurikVch]

Most Small and smaller races don't have a Str penalty; rather, the Str is simply less than that of a Medium race. (It's not a penalty because it's not called a penalty. It's just a modification. Don't ask.)O RLY?
Let's see...
ABILITY MODIFIERS
Each ability, after changes made because of race, has a modifier ranging from -5 to +5. Table 1-1: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells (on the next page) shows the modifier for each score. It also shows bonus spells, which you’ll need to know about if your character is a spellcaster.
The modifier is the number you apply to the die roll when your character tries to do something related to that ability. For instance, you apply your character's Strength modifier to your roll when he or she tries to hit someone with a sword. You also use the modifier with some numbers that aren't die rolls - for example, you apply your character's Dexterity modifier to his or her Armor Class (AC). A positive modifier is called a bonus, and a negative modifier is called a penalty.

[Barstro]

It looks like you agree, then.

Changing a negative modifier into a "0" still "does not directly increase or alter your Str."

[ShurikVch]

Changing a negative modifier into a "0" still "does not directly increase or alter your Str."Yes.
But only if unmodified Str is 10 or less - otherwise it will be higher