Feats for my kensai

[noce]

Hello playground!

My character is almost level 12 and I've just no idea what feat I should take.
He's an earth dwarf Warblade 1 / Fighter 4 / Exotic Weapon Master 1 / Kensai 6, will cap kensai eventually.
Full build is listed at the bottom of this post.

He has three party roles: damage dealer, tripper, ask-me-anything knowledge man (15-20 in every knowledge skill).
He's quite a meat shield, too.

I'm looking for feats improving either one of his fields of expertise, or his survivability.
Feats that allow me to full attack more easily would be great, obviously.
Even feats that make me "dwarfier" or that have earth subtype as a prerequisite are welcome, I would love to have a burrow speed.

Feats I've considered are:
- Knock Down: my first bet, but my DM didn't allow it
- Sand Snare: nice, but this is an urban campaign so this feat will come up almost never (city streets are quite clean in this setting)
- Law Devotion: nice, although just 1/day and I have many things competing for swift/immediate actions (Belt of Battle, Mantle of Second Chances, Moment of Perfect Mind, Gloves of Fortunate Striking)
- Steady Concentration: it applies to my Ref (kensai) and Will (maneuver) saves, but taking 10 is overkilling, since with items I already have 28 concentration
- Skewer Foe: adding a couple d6 damage is just too little, considering I deal 150 damage on average on a full attack (more than 200 at level 13), so I won't even notice the difference
- Draconic Aura: +1 to all knowledge is too little for a feat
- Iron Will: in order to take Divine Denial at 15, but no save divine spells are not so common for two feats

I think I'll go with Law Devotion, even though AC is worthless and I really don't have problems hitting enemies. My DM only puts at most two encounters per day, so limited uses per day are not a big problem.

Is there anything else of interest? Any help is much appreciated :)


The BUILD at 12 will be as follows:
STATS 22 10 18 16 9 6
TRIP DC from 16+d20 to 20+d20 depending on power surge
SKILLS ranks in diplomacy, concentration and every knowledge skill (not maxed, from 15 to 20 total modifiers)
FEATS e.w.proficiency(dire pick), w.focus(d.pick), w.specialization(d.pick), melee weapon mastery, combat expertise, improved trip, education, knowledge devotion, power attack
PICK ENHANCEMENTS keen, earthbound, martial discipline, speed
ATTACK BONUS ranging from +30/+30/+25 to +36/+36/+31 depending on knowledge devotion and power surge (not counting power attack)

[noce]

Bump?

I'll be thankfull to anyone that will suggest me anything useful to the build, even generally useful feats like Improved Toughness.
I tought about Martial Study to grab White Raven Tactics, but I don't have the prerequisite maneuver :smallfrown:

I'm sure the right feat for me is out there, I just don't know it yet or didn't think about it!

[Darrin]

Feats that allow me to full attack more easily would be great, obviously.


Travel Devotion. 1/day 10 rounds of move + full attack.



Even feats that make me "dwarfier" or that have earth subtype as a prerequisite are welcome, I would love to have a burrow speed.


Gah. Burrow speed is tough... easiest way to do it is probably the Mineral Warrior template, which can be added via a spell (FR Underdark book). Cost is going to be in the neighborhood of 2000 GP, but you'll have to serve the spellcaster for a year.



Is there anything else of interest? Any help is much appreciated :)


Hmm. To start with, there's not much to be done with a dire pick. It has the same damage as a battleaxe, only with a slightly better damage multiplier. Improved Critical would increase the number of times you get to roll that x4.

What's in your other hand? Shield? I'm having a hard time picturing your preferred combat style... you're not two-handing, so Power Attack doesn't really work here. You're not TWFing or shield bashing. You mentioned tripping, but none of the picks are "tripping" weapons (although they should be, because they have a "hook" shape).

If this is a sword-&-board style build, then maybe I'd look at some shield-related feats... however, unless you're looking at something like Shield Charge (to do more tripping), then all the shield options are kinda outclassed by Law Devotion.

Is Damage Reduction bothering you any? Since you already took Combat Expertise, Sense Weakness (Draconomicon) might be worth a look.

[noce]

Hmm. To start with, there's not much to be done with a dire pick. It has the same damage as a battleaxe, only with a slightly better damage multiplier. Improved Critical would increase the number of times you get to roll that x4.

What's in your other hand? Shield? I'm having a hard time picturing your preferred combat style... you're not two-handing, so Power Attack doesn't really work here. You're not TWFing or shield bashing. You mentioned tripping, but none of the picks are "tripping" weapons (although they should be, because they have a "hook" shape).

My style is Two handed fighting :smallsmile:
I took Exotic Weapon Proficiency to be able to wield the pick one-handed, but I instead wield it two-handed and qualify for Uncanny Blow from Exotic Weapon Master. Basically I wield the pick two handed and add twice my STR bonus to damage, my STR score being 34 for a +24 damage.

Obviously Power Attack is doubled since I wield it two-handed. I know it's still sub optimal, but it was a fluff choice (I was a miner/archaeologist in the background). In our game, I can make trip attacks using my Dire Pick.

Since the weapon is my kensai preferred weapon, I can really put pretty much anything on it, and keen is already there and has already ended a couple of BBEG encounters, so I don't need Improved Critical.

I don't need 5 DR bypassing so much, since I already do 3-4 hits per round in the 60 range, so things are going to ground already, but it could be a nice and well thought suggestion.
Most enemies I encountered have DR, and I'm the main damage dealer in the party, so let's say I'll strongly consider Sense Weakness if I don't find anything else :smallsmile:

Personally I was thinking about Law Devotion since it fits the character, but AC is worthless without decent investment, and I already have a satisfying attack bonus. Unfortunately Travel Devotion doesn't fit the concept.

So for now Sense Weakness seems the best pick :smallwink:

[Ithandor]

It's not flashy, but Combat Reflexes seems a very strong choice, particularly if you spread full attacks to trip multiple opponents. Can further progress to Robilar's Gambit.

[Waker]

How about Stand Still? Even if you aren't using reach weapons like most people would prefer, it's a handy feat to have. It's especially good when dealing with enemies who are resistant to your Tripping attempts, since a lot of big monsters tend to have crappy Reflex saves.

[noce]

It's not flashy, but Combat Reflexes seems a very strong choice, particularly if you spread full attacks to trip multiple opponents. Can further progress to Robilar's Gambit.

Tipically we face a single strong enemy, or several weak enemies. In the latter case, other party members usually kill them before they can stand up.


How about Stand Still? Even if you aren't using reach weapons like most people would prefer, it's a handy feat to have. It's especially good when dealing with enemies who are resistant to your Tripping attempts, since a lot of big monsters tend to have crappy Reflex saves.

The party sorcerer flies all the time, so either my enemies won't be able to reach him, or I won't be able to reach them.

I know guys I'm rejecting all your suggestions, I don't want to sound rude since I really appreciate your help :smallsmile:
It's a tough choice indeed.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

You've got kensai to enhance a weapon. How about Ancestral Relic for a second one? (Or you could use an elvencraft longbow for your kensai weapon and use Ancestral Relic for armor or something.)

[Waker]

Well, if survivability is one of the things you want, how about Quick Recovery from Lords of Madness? If something manages to stun or daze you, each round you can make a save against the original DC, if there was no save involved you can still make a Will save to end the effect.

[J-H]

I would pick up a martial study feat to get more warblade maneuvers, since you now qualify as a warblade 8 or 9 and can get a 3rd or 4th level maneuver.

[Troacctid]

I'm guessing Leadership is off the table.

You could take Blind-Fight to get past concealment, Mage Slayer for those pesky spellcasters, Combat Reflexes for possible extra attacks. Stone Power would be a good one for improving your tankiness (and thematic!). Shape Soulmeld could set up for Open Lesser Chakra as your next feat.