Gruftzwerg
2023-01-19, 12:52 AM
Welcome to my newest build showcase. This time we'll optimize a single class Warblade to a degree that will make it look like you are the boss encounter and not your victims.
I recently discovered how broken the refresh ability of a Warblade is. It's not as broken as you can theoretically abuse the refresh method of a Crusader, but it comes out the box without any further build resources needed. Thus I wanted to showcase it. I also always wanted to make a warblade 20 build, due to the Dual Stance capstone. While it comes very late and will probably barely see any actual play time, I really like the idea of having 2 stances at the same time. And as it seems, now is the time to unleash this build.
Further note that this build is also optimized for UMD. And once you get the stuff you want, you will dominate most fights with lil room to fight you back.
I don't recommend to play such an optimized build, but if you insist pls check with your DM first.
Reptile, a Warblade of the Perfect Order
Jack's career started when he was doing military duty as a young man. A local organization calling themselves "the Perfect Order" always requites new members from those who do their military duty. Jack barely caught their interest, but somehow still ended up joining em. The crux is that "the Perfect Order" are perfectionist (lawful good organization) who all are exceptional in some way or another. They are kinda like special talent scouts. And while Jack was always good at most things in life (most ability scores 14), he was never really exceptional in anything. The sole thing exceptional was that he somehow managed to barely pass all test (you need to sole pass one category), while it would have been better if he would have just past a single text exceptional (e.g either exceptional swordsmanship talent, or to show exceptional talent for magic, or exceptional social skill..).
Everyone who joins "the Perfect Order" is expected to find a mentor (can also be someone outside the order) and begin an apprenticeship. It doesn't matter what kind of mentor you find/take. The sole requirement is that the mentor needs to be a "lawful good" person and inspire the apprentice to become the most perfect version of himself possible.
Well.. there is already a person who managed to do that. His uncle Mercul (spellcaster), one of the royal mages, always liked to spend some time with him when on family gatherings. He always told him that life is about learning more about yourself and that it is never to late to learn something new. Be it mental learning, or learning with your body or even your heart. Anything and everything is training & learning.
The other apprentices in the Perfect Order bully Jack for taking a mage as mentor when he barely manages to "Use Magic Items" and while having no magic at all by himself. And all that while still following a military career. But Jack is fine with his choices. He believes that his mentor will guide him to become the most perfect version of himself and that one day he will become a perfect soldier in the name of the Perfect Order.
Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
STR: 14
DEX: 14
CON: 14
INT: 12
WIS: 12
CHA: 14
Skills: As said, this is an UMD build and thus it gets the maximum ranks possible. Since we have 4+INT skillpoints we can max many skills. But sadly most of em will only see situational use in this build. Concentration is important since we can use it instead of Save rolls later on.
LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
Feats
Class Features
1st
Warblade
+1
+2
+0
+0
Balance: 4
Concentration: 4
Diplomacy: 4
Intimidate: 4
Jump: 4
Tumble: 4
UMD: 2 (points from Apprentice)
Martial Study:
Crusader's Strike
(Devoted Spirit)
Apprentice
Battle Clarity
(Reflex saves)
Weapon Aptitude
2nd
Warblade
+2
+3
+0
+0
Balance: 5
Concentration: 5
Intimidate: 5
Jump: 5
Tumble: 5
UMD: 3
Uncanny Dodge
3rd
Warblade
+3
+3
+1
+1
Balance: 6
Concentration: 6
Jump: 6
Tumble: 6
UMD: 5 (+2)
Martial Study:
Burning Blade
(Desert Wind)
Battle Ardor
(Critical Confirmation)
4th
Warblade
+4
+4
+1
+1
Balance: 7
Concentration: 7
Jump: 7
Tumble: 7
UMD: 7 (+2)
5th
Warblade
+5
+4
+1
+1
Balance: 8
Concentrate: 8
Intimidate: 6
Jump: 8
Tumble: 8
UMD: 8
Improved Initiative
Bonus Feat
6th
Warblade
+6
+5
+2
+2
Balance: 9
Concentrate: 9
Jump: 9
Tumble: 9
UMD: 9*
Martial Stance:
Flame's Blessing
(Desert Wind)
Improved Uncanny Dodge
7th
Warblade
+7
+5
+2
+2
Balance: 10
Concentrate: 10
Jump: 10
Tumble: 10
UMD: 10*
Battle Cunning
(Damage)
8th
Warblade
+8
+6
+2
+2
Balance: 11
Concentrate: 11
Jump: 11
Tumble: 11
UMD: 11*
9th
Warblade
+9
+6
+3
+3
Balance: 12
Concentrate: 12
Jump: 12
Tumble: 12
UMD: 12*
Martial Study:
Law Bearer
(Devoted Spirit)
Diehard
Bonus Feat
10th
Warblade
+10
+7
+3
+3
Balance: 13
Concentrate: 13
Jump: 13
Tumble: 13
UMD: 13*
11th
Warblade
+11
+7
+3
+3
Balance: 14
Concentrate: 14
Jump: 14
Tumble: 14
UMD: 14*
Battle Skill
(Opposed Checks)
12th
Warblade
+12
+8
+4
+4
Balance: 15
Concentrate: 15
Jump: 15
Tumble: 15
UMD: 15*
Martial Stance:
Aura of Perfect Order
(Devoted Spirit)
13th
Warblade
+13
+8
+4
+4
Balance: 16
Concentrate: 16
Jump: 16
Tumble: 16
UMD: 16*
Bonus Feat
14th
Warblade
+14
+9
+4
+4
Balance: 17
Concentrate: 17
Jump: 17
Tumble: 17
UMD: 17*
15th
Warblade
+15
+9
+5
+5
Balance: 18
Concentrate: 18
Jump: 18
Tumble: 18
UMD: 18*
Frozen Wild Shape
Battle Mastery
(Attacks of Opportunity)
16th
Warblade
+16
+10
+5
+5
Balance: 19
Concentrate: 19
Jump: 19
Tumble: 19
UMD: 19*
17th
Warblade
+17
+10
+5
+5
Balance: 20
Concentrate: 20
Jump: 20
Tumble: 20
UMD: 20*
Iron Will
Bonus Feat
18th
Warblade
+18
+11
+6
+6
Balance: 21
Concentrate: 21
Jump: 21
Tumble: 21
UMD: 21*
Martial Stance:
Immortal Fortitude
(Devoted Spirit)
19th
Warblade
+19
+11
+6
+6
Balance: 22
Concentrate: 22
Jump: 22
Tumble: 22
UMD: 22*
20th
Warblade
+20
+12
+6
+6
Balance: 23
Concentrate: 23
Jump: 23
Tumble: 23
UMD: 23*
Stance Mastery
Lets break down Warblade's refreshing method:
You can recover all expended maneuvers with a single swift action, which must be immediately followed in the same round with a melee attack or using a standard action to do nothing else in the round (such as executing a quick, harmless flourish with your weapon). You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance while you are recovering your expended maneuvers, but you can remain in a stance in which you began your turn.
I'll start with the second sentence here for a better explanation.
"You cannot initiate a maneuver/stance while you are recovering your maneuvers."
Note that the limitation is not generally set on your entire turn or even the entire round. The limitation is sole for the duration of the "recovery". Which brings us to the question:
"When does the refreshing start, and when does it end?"
We initiate the "recovery" by using the required "swift" action. And it ends by an immediately followed "melee attack". (Alternatively you can end it by taking a standard action to do nothing, but we don't care for that here.)
Outside from that, we are still free to initiate maneuvers within our turn.
Lets check the options we have:
Swift Action Maneuvers:
Not possible since we already need the swift action for refreshing.
Standard Action Maneuvers:
Here it depends what your standard action does. Generally speaking, for most "normal" standard action attacks it doesn't work. While we are free to use "free/swift actions" at any point during the turn and within other action, imho there is a limit to that.
Take casting a standard action spell and a swift action spell as an example where I think that you can't use the swift action spell while casting the standard action spell. It would break the flow of the standard action spell's cast. Using a swift spell before or after the standard action spell should be no problem.
To get back to Warblade's recovery, imho you can't use a swift action within a single attack (standard action != an attack). And since most standard action attacks are sole a single attack, most don't work.
Interestingly, there are standard action maneuvers that allow for multiple attacks, bypassing the normal rules for multiple attacks and full attack (Specific Trumps General). These maneuvers on the other hand should work. "Steel Wind" a 1st lvl maneuver strike is one of em as example. It lets you do 2 attacks on an standard action. Here we have 2 attacks within a standard action an can argue that between those attacks we activate the crusader's recovery method by using the required swift action. Then we can proceed with the required immediate melee attack to finish the recovery. So it's a case by case basis for standard action abilities, but let me say that most of em don't work imho.
Move Action Maneuvers: (there are only 2: Shadow Stride and Order Forged from Chaos; both not part of this build)
These work, since you can use your swift action between your movement action (for your maneuver) and your standard action (for the recovery attack or to do nothing). But there are sole 2 options here as said (and those are not part of this build), but I wanted to mention it for completenesses sake.
Full-Round Action Maneuvers:
Here we hit the Jackpot^^. A full-round action is initiated at the beginning of your turn and allows you to take a swift action at any point during your turn. If you have multiple attacks, use the swift action before the last attack. Since we didn't "initiate" any maneuvers while recovering, this interaction should be legal. We sole profited from a maneuver and didn't initiate it while recovering.
As it seems, as long as we can squeeze in a swift action before an "Attack", but after initiating a maneuver, we can refresh it within the same turn. Note that this also blocks the option to take any other swift action. And if we should use any Immediate action (the build has a few), we can't refresh the next turn due to the lack of a Swift Action.
It's not as flexible as the so called "Idiot Crusader" in his maneuver choices, but it comes out of the box and without any special build investments.
Thus the build tries to focus on maneuvers that allows this special interaction (to squeeze in legally a swift action before an attack).
Name of the Maneuver or Stance (* = Martial Study/Stance)
gained @LVL
Maneuver or Stance
Name
@LVL
M
S
School
Maneuver Lvl & Details
*Crusader's Strike*
1
X
Devoted Spirit
1st; strike that heals an ally for 1d6 +1/Initiatorlvl
Leading the Charge
1
X
White Raven
1st; aura that increases charge dmg by +1/Initiatorlvl
Sudden Leap
1
X
Tiger Claw
1st; swift action jump/movement
Moment of Perfect Mind
1
X
Diamond Mind
1st; Concentration check instead of a Will save
Steel Wind
1
X
Iron Heart
1st; standard action to make 2 attacks
Leading the Attack
2
X
White Raven
1st; if you hit the foe, allies get a +4 bonus to hit until next turn
Battle Leader's Charge
3
X
White Raven
2nd; +10 dmg on a charge
*Burning Blade*
3
X
Desert Wind
1st; +1d6 +1/Initiatorlvl fire dmg to a weapons attacks until end of turn.
Bolstring Voice
4
X
White Raven
1st; +2 will save and +4 against Fear
Leading the Attack
Action Before Thought
4
X
Diamond Mind
2nd; Concentration check instead of Reflex save
Soaring Raptor Strike
5
X
Tiger Claw
3rd; Attack larger foe from above for extra damage
*Flame's Blessing*
6
X
Desert Wind
1st: gives fire resistance based on Tumble ranks. and even Immunity after reaching 19+ ranks.
Mithral Tornado
7
X
Iron Heart
4th; Attack all adjacent enemies, make separate attacks at full BAB+2
Steel Wind
Bounding Assault
8
X
Diamond Mind
4th; Double move (doesn't need to be straight) + attack; counts as Charge
*Law Bearer*
9
X
Devoted Spirit
charge a "chaotic" foe to get +8 attack and +4d6 dmg. Further get +5 to AC and Saves for 1 round
Pouncing Charge
9
X
Tiger Claw
5h; Pounce
Press the Advantage
10
X
White Raven
5th; stance that gives +5ft when taking a 5ft step
Sudden Leap
Iron Heart Focus
10
X
Iron Heart
5th; Reroll a save
War Leader's Charge
11
X
White Raven
6th; Charge attack gets +35 dmg
*Aura of Perfect Order*
12
X
Devoted Spirit
6th; treat D20 rolls as 11.
Battle Leader's Charge
Iron Heart Endurance
12
X
Iron Heart
Heal twice your character lvl as swift action. Can be abused in downimes to heal every other turn (1st turn - heal; 2nd turn - revover with standard action and do nothing; 3rd turn - repeat 1st turn;...). Healing caps at half max HP.
Iron Heart Surge
13
X
Iron Heart
3rd; cancel any effect with a duration longer than 1 round that annoys you
Diamond Defense
15
X
Diamond Mind
8th; Initiatorlevel as bonus on a single save
Stance of Aclarity
16
X
Diamond Mind
8th; free "Counter" maneuver each round! Important to be able to use one of the Panic-button maneuvers and still have your "swift action" when its our turn and we want to refresh all maneuvers.
Mithral Tornado
Adamantine Hurricane
16
X
Iron Heart
8th; Attack all adjecent enemies twice with +4 bonus on attack each
War Master's Charge
17
X
White Raven
9th; charge with +50 bonus dmg, allies get a free charge on the same target; stunned for 1 round if at least another ally hits together with you; no save
*Immortal Fortitude*
18
X
Devoted Spirit
8th; If damage would drop you to zero or below, you can instead make a Fortitude save against the negative HP you would theoretically have, to prevent any damage that would drop you below 1HP.
Pouncing Charge
Mind over Body
18
X
Diamond Mind
3rd; Concentration check instead of Fortitude save
Time Stands Still
19
X
Diamond Mind
9th; make 2 Full-Attacks
Soaring Raptor Strike
White Raven Hammer
20
X
White Raven
8th; make a single attack; +6d6 dmg and automatically stuns without save
Starting from lvl 1 we can abuse warblade's recovery with Steel Wind. Due to its 2 attacks we can use the swift action recovery between those attacks.
Leading the Charge is an aura that enhances the charge dmg of all allies, which should ensure the upper hand for your party in most fights. Combined with Battle Leader's Charge, which adds another +10 charge dmg, we get a devastating charge once per encounter.
Burning Blade adds some fire dmg on our attacks, which can be used situational when fire/elemental dmg is needed (e.g. foe with regeneration).
Moment of Perfect Mind helps with our low Will saves if the situation demands it.
Action before Tought does the same for our low Reflex saves.
Crusader Strike provides healing to recover from chip damage and stay at high/full HP.
Improved Initiative ensures together with DEX 14 that we should often be at the top of the Initiative chain.
Apprentice gives Jack access to UMD which he will keep at max ranks, since he doesn't have any other option to access magic. This is in preparation for the later levels.
Mithral Tornado is basically a Whirlwind Attack at +2BAB as a standard action! Thus we can move before/after it and it can be abused with warblade's recovery method every turn. A good option if we can't charge and/or have multiple enemies that we want to attack.
Bounding Assault allows Jack to use a double move and lets the attack at the end count as charge. This allows to charge from any position. Even if your target is already in your face (run back and forth).
Law Bearer is a special charge against chaotic foes. It provides a bonus to attack and damage and if it hits +5 to AC and Saves for 1 round. A niche option but still kinda interesting.
And while we are at "Saves", Iron Heart Focus lets you reroll one! This is pure gold since it's basically a free "get out of jail" joker against magic, trap and special abilities that you have to face. Out of combat it is almost always ready, since you can refresh it always the next round by using a swift and standard action to do nothing. Perfect for a dungeon full of traps^^.
"Aura of Perfect Order" is an important key for our ability to UMD. Remind you that I allways say that normally sole Warlocks can abuse "magic items with ongoing effects" (due to Take-10), because those items require a UMD roll 1/hour. And on a natural rolled 1, we can't UMD the item for the next 24h! Well... Aura of Perfect Order lets you treat any D20 roll as a rolled 11. With this, we can also UMD with ongoing effects without any issues. You can find more detailes in the UMD Magic Items section.
The most important/interesting item to get is a Wild Shape Amulet. This gives Jack access to the Fleshraker form which earns him the nickname "Reptile". In this form we get "Pounce", which enables Jack to refresh maneuvers on any "charge maneuver" he uses. Perfect to abuse War Leader's Charge which provides charge/pounce attacks each with a flat +35 dmg bonus (effectively a 2h PA at -17BAB)! Jack's career as Ubercharger has now begun.
Diamond Defense gives a hefty boost (+Initiatorlvl) to a single save, which further improves our already good magical defenses (and is important for a lategame combo. see 16-20).
If we should still somehow should get caught by an annoying effect, Iron Heart Surge will get rid of it as long as it has a duration of more than 1 round (and you have a standard action for the maneuver).
Iron Heart Endurance is basically healing at will (use the standard action recovery every 2nd turn) outside of combat and ensures that we start every combat at least with half of our max HP.
Finally we get to the sole item dependent feat of the build: Frozen Wild Shape
This enables Reptile to turn into a Cyro-Hydra (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/hydra.htm). If there is enough space for it, this is the ultimate combat form. 12 head that can always attack, even after moving! Who needs "pounce" if you can have Hydra heads/bites. This form also allows for easy maneuver recovery as long as we don't spend the swift action for something else. Combine with War Leader's Charge (+35dmg on charge) and kill just anything in reach. Use a wand of "Enhance Wild Shape" to also get all EX and SU abilities. This gives Reptile 22 fasthealing! As said at the beginning, "who is the real boss encounter here?"^^
With hitting 19 ranks in Tumble, the "Flame's Blessing" stance now provides Fire Immunity. This can be important for the Cyro-Hydra form due to its fire vulnerability.
Immortal Fortitude is a stance that enables Jack to ignore death from HP dmg, if he manages a save roll against his "theoretical negative HP" as "Toughness DC". Remind you of all the Save boost, Mind over Body to make concentration checks instead, reroll saves... and not to forget the 22 Fast Healing (as cyro-hydra) together with Diehard. Reptile is really though to bring down.
Adamantine Hurricane is basically a double Whirlwind Attack at +4 BAB. Maybe not so interesting for thy cyro-hydra, but nice for the Fleshraker if the space is really tight and you have lots of enemies to attack.
War Master's Charge gives a flat +50 dmg bonus on a charge and provides nearby allies with a free charge on the same target. This will end most fights after a single charge from Reptile (and his allies).
Time Stands Still gives you 2 Full-Attacks for the price of one! If that ain't a big deal I dunno^^. Sole downside is that it blocks charge/pounce. Thus it depends on the situation (and gear as Ubercharger) what will be more beneficial.
When we reach the final level of Warblade, we finally get to use 2 stances at the same time. Depending on the situation, there are many options. Let me name the most interesting combos imho:
Leading the Charge + Stance of Alacrity: Extra dmg for charging/pouncing and free "counter" to boost saves. This imho the base combination that will be used most. Consistent high damage and the "free counters" (to boost saves mostly) is a good mix between offense and defense. And with the free counters we can still recover our maneuvers with our regular swift action every turn.
Flame's Blessing + Immortal Fortitude: When at low HP in cyro-hydra form and the enemy has (potentiually) fire dmg.
Aura of Perfect Order + Immortal Fortitude: To always roll an 11 for the Fortitude saves. No 5% chance to fail and fixed results: (@lvl 20 in Cyro-Hydra form)"rolled 11" +12 base Fort. + 5 CON = 28
Dmg that would bring him down to -28HP would sole reduce him to 1.
If we add Diamond Defense on top (+20 to a save), he could drop theoretically to -48HP and still come out with 1 HP.
Which means in conclusion: If you can't do 50+ dmg (in 3.5 terms: "Massive Damage") in a single instance/attack, you have no chance to bring him down with HP dmg. And that assumes that you bring him down 1 before that attack. Reminding you of the +22 Fast Healing the Cyro-Hydra has. This set the minimum damage needed for the "final round" to kill him to "72". Nothing impossible at lvl 20 (especially for PC), but not every NPC/Monster can deal that amount of damage in a single round.
I'll sole mention some build specific items here. For a general magic item guide pls look elsewhere. Assume the normal stuff (mainstat boosts, saves, option to fly, mind blank, true sight..) for this build to counter the normal downsides of mundane characters.
Wild Shape Amulet + Necklace of Natural Attack (+ 5 + valorous)
As said in the build, this is the most important item of the build and should be bought at lvl 12 when it becomes legal due to wealth balance. While the build can work without it, it greatly enhances it.
With UMD we can get both effects of the amulet since they don't exclude it other. With UMD we can pretend to be a druid of X.th lvl (UMD roll -20) and get the +4 effective lvls on top.
We will mostly use this to be in Fleshraker form for the most time until we unlock the Cyro-Hydra form. The other options are more situational (consult a wild shape handbook for that, if you are interested).
Later add the effect of a Necklace of Natural attacks to get "valorous" which gives double dmg on a charge/pounce. If your DM doesn't allow to combine items, get a permanent Greater Magic Fang at least.
Wand: Enhance Wild Shape
This enables EX and SU abilities for Wild Shape and is a must have after we get the amulet.
Monk's Tattoo
Another ongoing magic item that I have already often showcased in my warlock builds. We use it mainly for the extra movement speed (the Hyda sole has a base speed of 20ft..).
(Armor of your choice) +X; +2 Energy Immunity; + 4 Soulfire Armor
Death Ward is always important for a melee character and the bracers are a good option to get it (since we can't wear normal armor).
With "Flame's Blessing" we can be immune to Fire . Cyro-Hydra provides Cold immunity. And our armor special ability (energy Immunity) can give another type of energy (e.g. acid to ensure that the Hydra heads will always grow back).
If you are wealthy, you can also invest into specifc resistances on your armor (those have a flat price).
We reached the end of the build. We are looking at a single class Warblade that will dominate most encounters with ease. Finally Jack has become "exceptional" I guess^^. Over the top dmg and defenses should ensure that we survive even the hardest encounters.
I checked for errors, but as always I hope for your keen eyes to double check it^^
Imho there shouldn't be any big errors, but since I had to adjust several parts of the build multiple times, I can't be sure if something broke along the way..
I hope you all enjoyed this build and as always I would appreciate any kind of feedback. Just leave a comment any tell me what is on your mind^^
I recently discovered how broken the refresh ability of a Warblade is. It's not as broken as you can theoretically abuse the refresh method of a Crusader, but it comes out the box without any further build resources needed. Thus I wanted to showcase it. I also always wanted to make a warblade 20 build, due to the Dual Stance capstone. While it comes very late and will probably barely see any actual play time, I really like the idea of having 2 stances at the same time. And as it seems, now is the time to unleash this build.
Further note that this build is also optimized for UMD. And once you get the stuff you want, you will dominate most fights with lil room to fight you back.
I don't recommend to play such an optimized build, but if you insist pls check with your DM first.
Reptile, a Warblade of the Perfect Order
Jack's career started when he was doing military duty as a young man. A local organization calling themselves "the Perfect Order" always requites new members from those who do their military duty. Jack barely caught their interest, but somehow still ended up joining em. The crux is that "the Perfect Order" are perfectionist (lawful good organization) who all are exceptional in some way or another. They are kinda like special talent scouts. And while Jack was always good at most things in life (most ability scores 14), he was never really exceptional in anything. The sole thing exceptional was that he somehow managed to barely pass all test (you need to sole pass one category), while it would have been better if he would have just past a single text exceptional (e.g either exceptional swordsmanship talent, or to show exceptional talent for magic, or exceptional social skill..).
Everyone who joins "the Perfect Order" is expected to find a mentor (can also be someone outside the order) and begin an apprenticeship. It doesn't matter what kind of mentor you find/take. The sole requirement is that the mentor needs to be a "lawful good" person and inspire the apprentice to become the most perfect version of himself possible.
Well.. there is already a person who managed to do that. His uncle Mercul (spellcaster), one of the royal mages, always liked to spend some time with him when on family gatherings. He always told him that life is about learning more about yourself and that it is never to late to learn something new. Be it mental learning, or learning with your body or even your heart. Anything and everything is training & learning.
The other apprentices in the Perfect Order bully Jack for taking a mage as mentor when he barely manages to "Use Magic Items" and while having no magic at all by himself. And all that while still following a military career. But Jack is fine with his choices. He believes that his mentor will guide him to become the most perfect version of himself and that one day he will become a perfect soldier in the name of the Perfect Order.
Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
STR: 14
DEX: 14
CON: 14
INT: 12
WIS: 12
CHA: 14
Skills: As said, this is an UMD build and thus it gets the maximum ranks possible. Since we have 4+INT skillpoints we can max many skills. But sadly most of em will only see situational use in this build. Concentration is important since we can use it instead of Save rolls later on.
LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
Feats
Class Features
1st
Warblade
+1
+2
+0
+0
Balance: 4
Concentration: 4
Diplomacy: 4
Intimidate: 4
Jump: 4
Tumble: 4
UMD: 2 (points from Apprentice)
Martial Study:
Crusader's Strike
(Devoted Spirit)
Apprentice
Battle Clarity
(Reflex saves)
Weapon Aptitude
2nd
Warblade
+2
+3
+0
+0
Balance: 5
Concentration: 5
Intimidate: 5
Jump: 5
Tumble: 5
UMD: 3
Uncanny Dodge
3rd
Warblade
+3
+3
+1
+1
Balance: 6
Concentration: 6
Jump: 6
Tumble: 6
UMD: 5 (+2)
Martial Study:
Burning Blade
(Desert Wind)
Battle Ardor
(Critical Confirmation)
4th
Warblade
+4
+4
+1
+1
Balance: 7
Concentration: 7
Jump: 7
Tumble: 7
UMD: 7 (+2)
5th
Warblade
+5
+4
+1
+1
Balance: 8
Concentrate: 8
Intimidate: 6
Jump: 8
Tumble: 8
UMD: 8
Improved Initiative
Bonus Feat
6th
Warblade
+6
+5
+2
+2
Balance: 9
Concentrate: 9
Jump: 9
Tumble: 9
UMD: 9*
Martial Stance:
Flame's Blessing
(Desert Wind)
Improved Uncanny Dodge
7th
Warblade
+7
+5
+2
+2
Balance: 10
Concentrate: 10
Jump: 10
Tumble: 10
UMD: 10*
Battle Cunning
(Damage)
8th
Warblade
+8
+6
+2
+2
Balance: 11
Concentrate: 11
Jump: 11
Tumble: 11
UMD: 11*
9th
Warblade
+9
+6
+3
+3
Balance: 12
Concentrate: 12
Jump: 12
Tumble: 12
UMD: 12*
Martial Study:
Law Bearer
(Devoted Spirit)
Diehard
Bonus Feat
10th
Warblade
+10
+7
+3
+3
Balance: 13
Concentrate: 13
Jump: 13
Tumble: 13
UMD: 13*
11th
Warblade
+11
+7
+3
+3
Balance: 14
Concentrate: 14
Jump: 14
Tumble: 14
UMD: 14*
Battle Skill
(Opposed Checks)
12th
Warblade
+12
+8
+4
+4
Balance: 15
Concentrate: 15
Jump: 15
Tumble: 15
UMD: 15*
Martial Stance:
Aura of Perfect Order
(Devoted Spirit)
13th
Warblade
+13
+8
+4
+4
Balance: 16
Concentrate: 16
Jump: 16
Tumble: 16
UMD: 16*
Bonus Feat
14th
Warblade
+14
+9
+4
+4
Balance: 17
Concentrate: 17
Jump: 17
Tumble: 17
UMD: 17*
15th
Warblade
+15
+9
+5
+5
Balance: 18
Concentrate: 18
Jump: 18
Tumble: 18
UMD: 18*
Frozen Wild Shape
Battle Mastery
(Attacks of Opportunity)
16th
Warblade
+16
+10
+5
+5
Balance: 19
Concentrate: 19
Jump: 19
Tumble: 19
UMD: 19*
17th
Warblade
+17
+10
+5
+5
Balance: 20
Concentrate: 20
Jump: 20
Tumble: 20
UMD: 20*
Iron Will
Bonus Feat
18th
Warblade
+18
+11
+6
+6
Balance: 21
Concentrate: 21
Jump: 21
Tumble: 21
UMD: 21*
Martial Stance:
Immortal Fortitude
(Devoted Spirit)
19th
Warblade
+19
+11
+6
+6
Balance: 22
Concentrate: 22
Jump: 22
Tumble: 22
UMD: 22*
20th
Warblade
+20
+12
+6
+6
Balance: 23
Concentrate: 23
Jump: 23
Tumble: 23
UMD: 23*
Stance Mastery
Lets break down Warblade's refreshing method:
You can recover all expended maneuvers with a single swift action, which must be immediately followed in the same round with a melee attack or using a standard action to do nothing else in the round (such as executing a quick, harmless flourish with your weapon). You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance while you are recovering your expended maneuvers, but you can remain in a stance in which you began your turn.
I'll start with the second sentence here for a better explanation.
"You cannot initiate a maneuver/stance while you are recovering your maneuvers."
Note that the limitation is not generally set on your entire turn or even the entire round. The limitation is sole for the duration of the "recovery". Which brings us to the question:
"When does the refreshing start, and when does it end?"
We initiate the "recovery" by using the required "swift" action. And it ends by an immediately followed "melee attack". (Alternatively you can end it by taking a standard action to do nothing, but we don't care for that here.)
Outside from that, we are still free to initiate maneuvers within our turn.
Lets check the options we have:
Swift Action Maneuvers:
Not possible since we already need the swift action for refreshing.
Standard Action Maneuvers:
Here it depends what your standard action does. Generally speaking, for most "normal" standard action attacks it doesn't work. While we are free to use "free/swift actions" at any point during the turn and within other action, imho there is a limit to that.
Take casting a standard action spell and a swift action spell as an example where I think that you can't use the swift action spell while casting the standard action spell. It would break the flow of the standard action spell's cast. Using a swift spell before or after the standard action spell should be no problem.
To get back to Warblade's recovery, imho you can't use a swift action within a single attack (standard action != an attack). And since most standard action attacks are sole a single attack, most don't work.
Interestingly, there are standard action maneuvers that allow for multiple attacks, bypassing the normal rules for multiple attacks and full attack (Specific Trumps General). These maneuvers on the other hand should work. "Steel Wind" a 1st lvl maneuver strike is one of em as example. It lets you do 2 attacks on an standard action. Here we have 2 attacks within a standard action an can argue that between those attacks we activate the crusader's recovery method by using the required swift action. Then we can proceed with the required immediate melee attack to finish the recovery. So it's a case by case basis for standard action abilities, but let me say that most of em don't work imho.
Move Action Maneuvers: (there are only 2: Shadow Stride and Order Forged from Chaos; both not part of this build)
These work, since you can use your swift action between your movement action (for your maneuver) and your standard action (for the recovery attack or to do nothing). But there are sole 2 options here as said (and those are not part of this build), but I wanted to mention it for completenesses sake.
Full-Round Action Maneuvers:
Here we hit the Jackpot^^. A full-round action is initiated at the beginning of your turn and allows you to take a swift action at any point during your turn. If you have multiple attacks, use the swift action before the last attack. Since we didn't "initiate" any maneuvers while recovering, this interaction should be legal. We sole profited from a maneuver and didn't initiate it while recovering.
As it seems, as long as we can squeeze in a swift action before an "Attack", but after initiating a maneuver, we can refresh it within the same turn. Note that this also blocks the option to take any other swift action. And if we should use any Immediate action (the build has a few), we can't refresh the next turn due to the lack of a Swift Action.
It's not as flexible as the so called "Idiot Crusader" in his maneuver choices, but it comes out of the box and without any special build investments.
Thus the build tries to focus on maneuvers that allows this special interaction (to squeeze in legally a swift action before an attack).
Name of the Maneuver or Stance (* = Martial Study/Stance)
gained @LVL
Maneuver or Stance
Name
@LVL
M
S
School
Maneuver Lvl & Details
*Crusader's Strike*
1
X
Devoted Spirit
1st; strike that heals an ally for 1d6 +1/Initiatorlvl
Leading the Charge
1
X
White Raven
1st; aura that increases charge dmg by +1/Initiatorlvl
Sudden Leap
1
X
Tiger Claw
1st; swift action jump/movement
Moment of Perfect Mind
1
X
Diamond Mind
1st; Concentration check instead of a Will save
Steel Wind
1
X
Iron Heart
1st; standard action to make 2 attacks
Leading the Attack
2
X
White Raven
1st; if you hit the foe, allies get a +4 bonus to hit until next turn
Battle Leader's Charge
3
X
White Raven
2nd; +10 dmg on a charge
*Burning Blade*
3
X
Desert Wind
1st; +1d6 +1/Initiatorlvl fire dmg to a weapons attacks until end of turn.
Bolstring Voice
4
X
White Raven
1st; +2 will save and +4 against Fear
Leading the Attack
Action Before Thought
4
X
Diamond Mind
2nd; Concentration check instead of Reflex save
Soaring Raptor Strike
5
X
Tiger Claw
3rd; Attack larger foe from above for extra damage
*Flame's Blessing*
6
X
Desert Wind
1st: gives fire resistance based on Tumble ranks. and even Immunity after reaching 19+ ranks.
Mithral Tornado
7
X
Iron Heart
4th; Attack all adjacent enemies, make separate attacks at full BAB+2
Steel Wind
Bounding Assault
8
X
Diamond Mind
4th; Double move (doesn't need to be straight) + attack; counts as Charge
*Law Bearer*
9
X
Devoted Spirit
charge a "chaotic" foe to get +8 attack and +4d6 dmg. Further get +5 to AC and Saves for 1 round
Pouncing Charge
9
X
Tiger Claw
5h; Pounce
Press the Advantage
10
X
White Raven
5th; stance that gives +5ft when taking a 5ft step
Sudden Leap
Iron Heart Focus
10
X
Iron Heart
5th; Reroll a save
War Leader's Charge
11
X
White Raven
6th; Charge attack gets +35 dmg
*Aura of Perfect Order*
12
X
Devoted Spirit
6th; treat D20 rolls as 11.
Battle Leader's Charge
Iron Heart Endurance
12
X
Iron Heart
Heal twice your character lvl as swift action. Can be abused in downimes to heal every other turn (1st turn - heal; 2nd turn - revover with standard action and do nothing; 3rd turn - repeat 1st turn;...). Healing caps at half max HP.
Iron Heart Surge
13
X
Iron Heart
3rd; cancel any effect with a duration longer than 1 round that annoys you
Diamond Defense
15
X
Diamond Mind
8th; Initiatorlevel as bonus on a single save
Stance of Aclarity
16
X
Diamond Mind
8th; free "Counter" maneuver each round! Important to be able to use one of the Panic-button maneuvers and still have your "swift action" when its our turn and we want to refresh all maneuvers.
Mithral Tornado
Adamantine Hurricane
16
X
Iron Heart
8th; Attack all adjecent enemies twice with +4 bonus on attack each
War Master's Charge
17
X
White Raven
9th; charge with +50 bonus dmg, allies get a free charge on the same target; stunned for 1 round if at least another ally hits together with you; no save
*Immortal Fortitude*
18
X
Devoted Spirit
8th; If damage would drop you to zero or below, you can instead make a Fortitude save against the negative HP you would theoretically have, to prevent any damage that would drop you below 1HP.
Pouncing Charge
Mind over Body
18
X
Diamond Mind
3rd; Concentration check instead of Fortitude save
Time Stands Still
19
X
Diamond Mind
9th; make 2 Full-Attacks
Soaring Raptor Strike
White Raven Hammer
20
X
White Raven
8th; make a single attack; +6d6 dmg and automatically stuns without save
Starting from lvl 1 we can abuse warblade's recovery with Steel Wind. Due to its 2 attacks we can use the swift action recovery between those attacks.
Leading the Charge is an aura that enhances the charge dmg of all allies, which should ensure the upper hand for your party in most fights. Combined with Battle Leader's Charge, which adds another +10 charge dmg, we get a devastating charge once per encounter.
Burning Blade adds some fire dmg on our attacks, which can be used situational when fire/elemental dmg is needed (e.g. foe with regeneration).
Moment of Perfect Mind helps with our low Will saves if the situation demands it.
Action before Tought does the same for our low Reflex saves.
Crusader Strike provides healing to recover from chip damage and stay at high/full HP.
Improved Initiative ensures together with DEX 14 that we should often be at the top of the Initiative chain.
Apprentice gives Jack access to UMD which he will keep at max ranks, since he doesn't have any other option to access magic. This is in preparation for the later levels.
Mithral Tornado is basically a Whirlwind Attack at +2BAB as a standard action! Thus we can move before/after it and it can be abused with warblade's recovery method every turn. A good option if we can't charge and/or have multiple enemies that we want to attack.
Bounding Assault allows Jack to use a double move and lets the attack at the end count as charge. This allows to charge from any position. Even if your target is already in your face (run back and forth).
Law Bearer is a special charge against chaotic foes. It provides a bonus to attack and damage and if it hits +5 to AC and Saves for 1 round. A niche option but still kinda interesting.
And while we are at "Saves", Iron Heart Focus lets you reroll one! This is pure gold since it's basically a free "get out of jail" joker against magic, trap and special abilities that you have to face. Out of combat it is almost always ready, since you can refresh it always the next round by using a swift and standard action to do nothing. Perfect for a dungeon full of traps^^.
"Aura of Perfect Order" is an important key for our ability to UMD. Remind you that I allways say that normally sole Warlocks can abuse "magic items with ongoing effects" (due to Take-10), because those items require a UMD roll 1/hour. And on a natural rolled 1, we can't UMD the item for the next 24h! Well... Aura of Perfect Order lets you treat any D20 roll as a rolled 11. With this, we can also UMD with ongoing effects without any issues. You can find more detailes in the UMD Magic Items section.
The most important/interesting item to get is a Wild Shape Amulet. This gives Jack access to the Fleshraker form which earns him the nickname "Reptile". In this form we get "Pounce", which enables Jack to refresh maneuvers on any "charge maneuver" he uses. Perfect to abuse War Leader's Charge which provides charge/pounce attacks each with a flat +35 dmg bonus (effectively a 2h PA at -17BAB)! Jack's career as Ubercharger has now begun.
Diamond Defense gives a hefty boost (+Initiatorlvl) to a single save, which further improves our already good magical defenses (and is important for a lategame combo. see 16-20).
If we should still somehow should get caught by an annoying effect, Iron Heart Surge will get rid of it as long as it has a duration of more than 1 round (and you have a standard action for the maneuver).
Iron Heart Endurance is basically healing at will (use the standard action recovery every 2nd turn) outside of combat and ensures that we start every combat at least with half of our max HP.
Finally we get to the sole item dependent feat of the build: Frozen Wild Shape
This enables Reptile to turn into a Cyro-Hydra (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/hydra.htm). If there is enough space for it, this is the ultimate combat form. 12 head that can always attack, even after moving! Who needs "pounce" if you can have Hydra heads/bites. This form also allows for easy maneuver recovery as long as we don't spend the swift action for something else. Combine with War Leader's Charge (+35dmg on charge) and kill just anything in reach. Use a wand of "Enhance Wild Shape" to also get all EX and SU abilities. This gives Reptile 22 fasthealing! As said at the beginning, "who is the real boss encounter here?"^^
With hitting 19 ranks in Tumble, the "Flame's Blessing" stance now provides Fire Immunity. This can be important for the Cyro-Hydra form due to its fire vulnerability.
Immortal Fortitude is a stance that enables Jack to ignore death from HP dmg, if he manages a save roll against his "theoretical negative HP" as "Toughness DC". Remind you of all the Save boost, Mind over Body to make concentration checks instead, reroll saves... and not to forget the 22 Fast Healing (as cyro-hydra) together with Diehard. Reptile is really though to bring down.
Adamantine Hurricane is basically a double Whirlwind Attack at +4 BAB. Maybe not so interesting for thy cyro-hydra, but nice for the Fleshraker if the space is really tight and you have lots of enemies to attack.
War Master's Charge gives a flat +50 dmg bonus on a charge and provides nearby allies with a free charge on the same target. This will end most fights after a single charge from Reptile (and his allies).
Time Stands Still gives you 2 Full-Attacks for the price of one! If that ain't a big deal I dunno^^. Sole downside is that it blocks charge/pounce. Thus it depends on the situation (and gear as Ubercharger) what will be more beneficial.
When we reach the final level of Warblade, we finally get to use 2 stances at the same time. Depending on the situation, there are many options. Let me name the most interesting combos imho:
Leading the Charge + Stance of Alacrity: Extra dmg for charging/pouncing and free "counter" to boost saves. This imho the base combination that will be used most. Consistent high damage and the "free counters" (to boost saves mostly) is a good mix between offense and defense. And with the free counters we can still recover our maneuvers with our regular swift action every turn.
Flame's Blessing + Immortal Fortitude: When at low HP in cyro-hydra form and the enemy has (potentiually) fire dmg.
Aura of Perfect Order + Immortal Fortitude: To always roll an 11 for the Fortitude saves. No 5% chance to fail and fixed results: (@lvl 20 in Cyro-Hydra form)"rolled 11" +12 base Fort. + 5 CON = 28
Dmg that would bring him down to -28HP would sole reduce him to 1.
If we add Diamond Defense on top (+20 to a save), he could drop theoretically to -48HP and still come out with 1 HP.
Which means in conclusion: If you can't do 50+ dmg (in 3.5 terms: "Massive Damage") in a single instance/attack, you have no chance to bring him down with HP dmg. And that assumes that you bring him down 1 before that attack. Reminding you of the +22 Fast Healing the Cyro-Hydra has. This set the minimum damage needed for the "final round" to kill him to "72". Nothing impossible at lvl 20 (especially for PC), but not every NPC/Monster can deal that amount of damage in a single round.
I'll sole mention some build specific items here. For a general magic item guide pls look elsewhere. Assume the normal stuff (mainstat boosts, saves, option to fly, mind blank, true sight..) for this build to counter the normal downsides of mundane characters.
Wild Shape Amulet + Necklace of Natural Attack (+ 5 + valorous)
As said in the build, this is the most important item of the build and should be bought at lvl 12 when it becomes legal due to wealth balance. While the build can work without it, it greatly enhances it.
With UMD we can get both effects of the amulet since they don't exclude it other. With UMD we can pretend to be a druid of X.th lvl (UMD roll -20) and get the +4 effective lvls on top.
We will mostly use this to be in Fleshraker form for the most time until we unlock the Cyro-Hydra form. The other options are more situational (consult a wild shape handbook for that, if you are interested).
Later add the effect of a Necklace of Natural attacks to get "valorous" which gives double dmg on a charge/pounce. If your DM doesn't allow to combine items, get a permanent Greater Magic Fang at least.
Wand: Enhance Wild Shape
This enables EX and SU abilities for Wild Shape and is a must have after we get the amulet.
Monk's Tattoo
Another ongoing magic item that I have already often showcased in my warlock builds. We use it mainly for the extra movement speed (the Hyda sole has a base speed of 20ft..).
(Armor of your choice) +X; +2 Energy Immunity; + 4 Soulfire Armor
Death Ward is always important for a melee character and the bracers are a good option to get it (since we can't wear normal armor).
With "Flame's Blessing" we can be immune to Fire . Cyro-Hydra provides Cold immunity. And our armor special ability (energy Immunity) can give another type of energy (e.g. acid to ensure that the Hydra heads will always grow back).
If you are wealthy, you can also invest into specifc resistances on your armor (those have a flat price).
We reached the end of the build. We are looking at a single class Warblade that will dominate most encounters with ease. Finally Jack has become "exceptional" I guess^^. Over the top dmg and defenses should ensure that we survive even the hardest encounters.
I checked for errors, but as always I hope for your keen eyes to double check it^^
Imho there shouldn't be any big errors, but since I had to adjust several parts of the build multiple times, I can't be sure if something broke along the way..
I hope you all enjoyed this build and as always I would appreciate any kind of feedback. Just leave a comment any tell me what is on your mind^^