Slayer Lord
2019-01-16, 10:48 PM
I've been binge-reading the manga for the dark fantasy Berserk and gotten a really bad itch to build the Black Swordsman himself. Looking at some other stuff online, I went with a Two-Handed Fighter 5/Titan Mauler Barbarian 15 with emphasis on Power Attack and Vital Strike in order to splatter bad guys across the landscape. I rather like how it's turn out, but I'm having trouble choosing some later level feats, and I'd just like the Playground's feedback on the build' effectiveness in general.
Guts
Race- Human
Class- Fighter (Two-Handed) 5, Barbarian (Titan Mauler) 15
Traits- Giant-blooded, Hard to Kill, Killer
Drawback- Loner
Ability Scores (on a 27 point build)
Str-18 > 20 (Human)
Dex- 13
Con- 15
Int- 10
Wis-12
Cha- 9
Skill Priorities: Climb, Intimidate, Perception, Sense Motive, Survival
Feats:
1. Power Attack
1. Weapon Focus (Human)
1. Toughness (Fighter)
2. Cleave
3. Iron Will
4. Improved Sunder
5. Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Firearms
7. Vital Strike
9. Furious Focus
11. Combat Reflexes
15. Lunge
17. Greater Vital Strike
19. ?
Rage Powers:
7. Accurate Stance
9. Powerful Stance
11. Intimidating Glare
13. Terrifying Howl
15. Flesh Wound
17. Fearless Rage
19. Mighty Swing
Special equipment:
Dragonslayer- Large greatsword. Enchanted with Impact, Bane: Outsiders (Evil) and Ghost Touch. Also add Keen and Bane: Dragon if money allows.
Prosthetic cannon arm- Clockwork arm with pistol attachment. See notes below.
Berserker Armor- Still under construction.
The main draw for Guts is his ability to wield a massive sword and smack guys around for massive damage, combining Power Attack with Vital the Vital Strike line. Guts is also known for being able to tear through armor like tissue paper when he swings the Dragonslayer, and smash up the environment to create openings for attack, so I also invested a bit in sundering.
I actually don't intend for this build to start using oversized weapons right away, but rather start out using a regular greatsword, then switching over to the Dragonslayer on reaching level 8 and getting Massive Weapons. With Giant-blooded, the first penalty reduction from Massive Weapons, and using Irongrip Gauntlets, the attack penalty for wielding it should be reduced from -6 to -1. Impact seemed like the perfect choice to enchant it with, allowing Guts to hit as if his weapon were another size larger perfectly captures the feel of the Dragonslayer as this massive chunk of iron.
There really isn't anything that I could find in either official or third-party material for Guts' cannon arm, so I had to get bit creative. His prosthetic arm isn't really mechanical, but the clockwork arm seemed like the best fit and still allow Guts to use two-handed weapons at all. Combining it with the rules for the crossbow arm seemed the best fit, substituting a crossbow for a pistol. I know that Guts also uses a Repeating Crossbow attached to his arm, but I didn't want to spend two feats on two different ranged weapons. The cannon feels a bit more iconic to Guts than the crossbow, being his ace in the hole.
I'm still trying to figure out the best way to implement the Berserker Armor.
Guts
Race- Human
Class- Fighter (Two-Handed) 5, Barbarian (Titan Mauler) 15
Traits- Giant-blooded, Hard to Kill, Killer
Drawback- Loner
Ability Scores (on a 27 point build)
Str-18 > 20 (Human)
Dex- 13
Con- 15
Int- 10
Wis-12
Cha- 9
Skill Priorities: Climb, Intimidate, Perception, Sense Motive, Survival
Feats:
1. Power Attack
1. Weapon Focus (Human)
1. Toughness (Fighter)
2. Cleave
3. Iron Will
4. Improved Sunder
5. Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Firearms
7. Vital Strike
9. Furious Focus
11. Combat Reflexes
15. Lunge
17. Greater Vital Strike
19. ?
Rage Powers:
7. Accurate Stance
9. Powerful Stance
11. Intimidating Glare
13. Terrifying Howl
15. Flesh Wound
17. Fearless Rage
19. Mighty Swing
Special equipment:
Dragonslayer- Large greatsword. Enchanted with Impact, Bane: Outsiders (Evil) and Ghost Touch. Also add Keen and Bane: Dragon if money allows.
Prosthetic cannon arm- Clockwork arm with pistol attachment. See notes below.
Berserker Armor- Still under construction.
The main draw for Guts is his ability to wield a massive sword and smack guys around for massive damage, combining Power Attack with Vital the Vital Strike line. Guts is also known for being able to tear through armor like tissue paper when he swings the Dragonslayer, and smash up the environment to create openings for attack, so I also invested a bit in sundering.
I actually don't intend for this build to start using oversized weapons right away, but rather start out using a regular greatsword, then switching over to the Dragonslayer on reaching level 8 and getting Massive Weapons. With Giant-blooded, the first penalty reduction from Massive Weapons, and using Irongrip Gauntlets, the attack penalty for wielding it should be reduced from -6 to -1. Impact seemed like the perfect choice to enchant it with, allowing Guts to hit as if his weapon were another size larger perfectly captures the feel of the Dragonslayer as this massive chunk of iron.
There really isn't anything that I could find in either official or third-party material for Guts' cannon arm, so I had to get bit creative. His prosthetic arm isn't really mechanical, but the clockwork arm seemed like the best fit and still allow Guts to use two-handed weapons at all. Combining it with the rules for the crossbow arm seemed the best fit, substituting a crossbow for a pistol. I know that Guts also uses a Repeating Crossbow attached to his arm, but I didn't want to spend two feats on two different ranged weapons. The cannon feels a bit more iconic to Guts than the crossbow, being his ace in the hole.
I'm still trying to figure out the best way to implement the Berserker Armor.