Possible Warblade Help

[EsstotheTee]

Good evening, everyone. After an absence from the game, I'll be joining a brand new group in a few weeks. I want to go slightly outside of my norm and try a Warblade.

I've read the Warblade handbook and the entry on ToB, but I still have a few questions.

The DM is very open to just about anything, even LA+1 races, any book I can find, no limits on starting equipment within good reason (no magical items, one masterwork only, everything else is up for grabs).

The stats I've rolled are 12, 12, 15, 13, 17, 15. I'm open to whatever race.

The premise of the character will be basically a Jack Sparrow/any unnamed fast talking swashbuckling type/dare I say Drizzt type. Fast talking, agile, sort of a skill monkey, preferably two weapon fighting though I understand the feats are intensive.

If Warblade isn't the best option and say Swordsage is better, I'm totally fine with that. I'm not dead set on Warblade but I keep hearing they make half decent swashbuckling types.

I appreciate any and all input.

[Sleven]

Warblades make great swashbuckling/pirate types, and even go well with 3 levels of Swashbuckler (if that's your thing) because of all the intelligence synergy. It sounds to me like you want to be more finesse/intelligence focused, which is very do-able. My personal favorite class combination for "fast talking, agile, sort of a skill monkey" includes 3 levels of Factotum to get Brains Over Brawn and utilize combat maneuvers like tripping. Spiked Chains are finesse weapons and work with the Swashbuckler's Insightful Strike ability. So something with Swash 3 / Factotum 3 / Warblade X could work really well for you (with Factotum and Able Learner taken at first level). If you get bored of Spiked Chains and tripping, there's always the Quickrazor, and you're only 1 hour of practice away from acquiring the ability to use Iaijutsu Focus with a wrist blade.

Don't forget to make your main weapon an omniweapon (morphing + sizing) with a single shuriken base.

[Fouredged Sword]

If you want something simple, just go straight warblade. No need to be complicated. I would even consider going master of nine and picking up some choice shadow hand and setting sun things to be more free wheeling in combat, but that is up to you. Tiger claw makes for excellent reckless strikes of a fencing lunge, while diamond mind makes for piercing strikes, and iron heart is a wild swinging swashbuckling barrage.

[EsstotheTee]

Thanks for the input, but let's do a little bumpity bump.

[Eldariel]

Warblade doesn't really do unarmored since they get no stats to AC. You could combine a couple of levels of Unarmed Swordsage with Warblade and eventually enter Master of the Nine to this end: that would get you Wis + Dex to AC (with your stats, you could easily afford Weapon Finesse + Shadow Blade making for Dex-focus) enabling no-armor play (you can eventually get Mage Armor or Bracers of Armor). Something like Unarmed Swordsage 2/Warblade 8/Master of the Nine 5 could work just fine. Alternatively, Factotum 3/Warblade 17 works just fine with Int-focus, but to use Shadow Blade you do need Shadow Hand stances. Factotum/Warblade feels more like Swashbuckler though, but you might run low on Inspiration pretty fast. Perhaps even Factotum 3/Swordsage 2/Warblade X if you want to use Shadow Blade and get Wis to AC.

Far as stats go, you have a couple of options. You can be Middle-Aged to improve your mentals significantly (-1 physicals, +1 mentals); you have enough odd numbers that it's probably worth it.

17 Dex - no question, you want Dex-focus
15 Int OR 15 Wis - if you pick up Wis to AC, get 15 Wis; if you use Factotum, 15 Int
15 Str OR 15 Con - HP is always great on a frontliner; 15 Str if you wish to use Factotum's Brain over Brawn for lots of combat maneuvers though (though Setting Sun throws can also be done with Dex; Improved Trip > Knock-Down is Str-based though)
13 Wis OR Con
12 Str/Cha/Wis

Basically, Factotum 3/Warblade 17 probably functions with 17 Str, 15 Int, 15 Dex, 13 Con, 12 Wis/Cha (here I'd pick up Improved Trip and Knock-Down (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown) and wear at least light armor, eventually Mithril Breastplate)
Warblade 20 with 17 Str, 15 Dex, 15 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis/Cha (no Trip-feats but the same equipment consideratoins)
UA Swordsage 2/Warblade 8/MotN 5 might want 17 Dex, 15 Wis, 15 Con, 13 Int, 12 Str/Cha
UA Swordsage 2/Warblade 8/MotN 5 might want 17 Dex, 15 Wis, 15 Int, 13 Con, 12 Str/Cha

All those lines look much better with middle-aged: 16/16/14/12/13/13, 16/14/14/14/13/13, 16/16/14/14/11/13, 16/16/16/12/11/13

Your stats are definitely good enough for this kind of a build; just figure out how you wish to go about it. You could even go Factotum 4/Warblade 4/Factotum +4/Warblade +8, which would have you investing heavily in Font of Inspiration (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070606) (generally you need to take the feat at least 5 times for it to be worth it; this gives you +15 Inspiration Points but requires 20 Int - you could go 18 Int for this build).

[StreamOfTheSky]

Warblade's the stronger class, but has mediocre skill points and class skills, and nothing for unarmed (except maybe the Insightful Strike and Greater Insightful Strike maneuvers...since that just outright replaces your normal damage).
Swordsage gets more skill points and class skills, plus has the unarmed variant.

A Swordsage 2 / Warblade (all other levels) build is fine, might want to consider Adaptive Style if doing that and you can spare the feat, otherwise don't worry about it.
I'd suggest taking one level of Swordsage first, to get the x4 skill points on the 6 + int that it gets, and start off with Imp. Unarmed Strike for free (plus you can get free weapon focus with Shadow Hand weapons, which includes unarmed). Pick up a Shadow Hand stance (I prefer Child of Shadow, but Island of Blades is good, too) and you'll qualify for the Shadow Blade feat whenever you want to pick it up, to add dex to damage on top of strength with Shadow Hand weapons (which includes unarmed). May or may not also want Weapon Finesse depending on how you arrange stats.
Go Warblade for 6 levels after that, then hop back into Swordsage at character level 8 (Swordsage 1 --> Warblade 6 --> Swordsage 2 --> Warblade 7-18). You'll have an Initiator Level of 5 for Swordsage then (6 Warblade levels count as half, so 2 + 3) and can grab a 3rd level maneuver and stance. You want Assassin's Stance for some sneak attack damage (and still works with Shadow Blade feat). Having some sneak attack fits for a swashbuckler type I think, and opens up sneak attack feats. I rather like Staggering Strike (Complete Adventurer); Craven (Champions of Ruin) is also very good...though usually I find that it's banned and ban it myself. Just mentioning it for completeness sake.

EDIT: You also get Wis to AC from Swordsage 2. I think it's a bit overrated...doesn't stack with a shield bonus and if you're fighting with cutlass or unarmed, or even TWF (unarmed can be your off-hand weapon), you can probably just equip a shield and be fine, and then by mid-levels you can just get an animated shield and have both hands free...but it's there.