multiclassing advice

[ShiningCrusader]

Hi Everyone,

so i currently playing a lv1 inspired swashbuckler. i was wondering if i would be missing out if i left the class at lv5 and continued as a weapon master fighter. the reason why is that i would like to take advance weapon training for focus weapon to boost my damage.

my build so far.
1 (swashbuckler 1), weapon finesse, weapon focus (rapier) fencing grace. combat reflexs(human)
2 (swashbuckler 2)none
3 (swashbuckler 3) weapon trick (one handed)
4 (swashbuckler 4) power attack
5 (swashbuckler 5) Steadfast Personality
6 (fighter 1) Disruptive
7 (fighter 2) weapon specialization
8 (fighter 3)
9 (fighter 4) advance weapon training (focus weapon) cut from the ski,
10 (fighter 5)
11 (fighter 6) spell breaker, smash from the ski
12 (fighter 7)
13 (fighter 8) spell cut.

note: i know i only have 4 fighter lvs instead of 5 for advance weapon training. but i think it's okay because my swashbuckler lvs count as fighter lvs for combat feats which advance weapon training is.

the flavor i'm going for is a sword master that is somewhat of a treat to spellcasters. my main concern is that i'll miss out on precise strike and its other abilities, but is that a reason to stay swashbuckler?

edit: i changed lunge or dazzling display with weapon specialization to boost damage. might take greater weapon specialization later on.

[Secret Wizard]

I'd say it's a fairly bad idea. Focused Weapon is not too much bonus damage - 15 levels of Fighter would make your 1d6 rapier into a 2d6 weapon, meaning you'd take your damage from 3.5 average per hit to 7 damage per hit. So that's +3.5 extra damage at level 20. Do you think +3.5 damage is better than Swashbuckler Weapon Mastery?

Not only that, but also moving away from Buckler removes your chance to get the Evasive and Subtle Blade deeds and actually play a good class. Before those deeds, Swashbucklers are pretty trashy and I'd say worse than a Fighter at what they do, if maybe a bit better in touch AC. After those deeds roll in, they stand their ground as a fully fledged class. Stepping away from that seems like a bad choice.

[Extra Anchovies]

You only need to dip three levels into Weapon Master Fighter to get Weapon Training as a class feature. From there, you can take AWT with normal feats once per 5 [fighter+swashbuckler] levels, and because you're a Weapon Master, you can ignore the per-5-levels limit when you spend your bonus feats on it.


Special: This feat can be taken more than once, but at most once per 5 fighter levels.

Special: Fighters that have the weapon master archetype can select this feat beginning at 4th level. The benefits of a weapon master's advanced weapon training options apply only to his selected weapon rather than all weapons in the same fighter weapon group, and he can't select the weapon specialist advanced weapon training option. A weapon master can select this feat as a bonus feat; if he does so, it doesn't count for the purpose of the requirement that it can be taken at most once per 5 fighter levels.

You're a weapon master, so you can select Advanced Weapon Training as a bonus feat without it counting for the purpose of the requirement that it can be taken at most once per 5 fighter levels.

Edit: be sure to pick up Gloves of Dueling to bring your Weapon Training up to +3.

[Secret Wizard]

That doesn't allow him to get scaling with the focused weapon AWT though.