Good Prestige Classes for a Leg Breaker

[nick_crenshaw]

What are some good prestige classes for a leg breaker style thug? All sources are open.

[Inevitability]

A bit more detail would help us help you.

Do you have any mechanical preferences? I'd assume ranks in Intimidate, solid melee ability, perhaps the ability to inflict debuffs with melee hits (look towards ambush feats for that) - but anything beyond that?

Are you okay with the character obtaining casting or significant supernatural abilities, or do you want it to stay a 'pure' martial build?

Do you have any preferences for race? Orc is the go-to for melee, or human if you're feat-intensive, but something like goliath offers a lot of value if you're focusing on grappling/tripping instead.

[Biggus]

Not sure what you mean by a leg breaker style thug, but if you mean it literally you'll want the Hamstring Feat from Complete Warrior...

[nick_crenshaw]

I mean exactly what I said, A brutish leg breaking enforcer type who collects money for crime bosses.

I'm not a power gamer so my build may not be the most powerful but I'm planning on make a half-orc with the sneak attack thug fighter variant form Unearthed Arcana.

[Maat Mons]

Just looking at things with full base attack bonus and Sneak Attack, I’m seeing:
Justiciar (Complete Warrior, p47)
Menacing Brute (Races of Destiny, p123)
Nightsong Enforcer (Complete Adventurer, p60)
Oppressor (Dragon 312, p42)
Ronin (Complete Warrior, p77)

I’m not sure how to work in leg breaking. In real life, that’s terrifying not just for the extreme pain, but also the medical bills and potentially being unable to work for an extended time. I guess if the NPCs you’re shaking down have difficulty affording magical healing, those last two things could be a factor. But if they don’t have very much money, it’s weird that a high-level character would be wasting his time on them. By the time you’re level 6 or so, when prestige classes start being common, you should be able to command a good price for your services. It wouldn’t make sense to send you to collect chump change.

[Biggus]

I mean exactly what I said, A brutish leg breaking enforcer type who collects money for crime bosses.


You knew that by "leg breaker style thug" you meant "enforcer type who collects money for crime bosses". I didn't.

It only has 3/4 BAB, but Thayan Slaver (Unapproachable East p.37) has abilities which fit the theme well. It's human-only though so might not be any good if you're set on playing a half-orc unless your DM is flexible about that kind of thing.



Oppressor (Dragon 312, p42)

Ooh, that's a good one, not heard of it before.

[Inevitability]

A straightforward build:

Half-Orc Paragon 2 / Sneak Attack Thug Fighter 3 / Ranger 2 / Menacing Brute 5 / Justiciar 8 is easy enough, needs to be Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil but gets a good amount of sneak attack damage, full BAB, a big bonus to intimidate (+4 from half-orc paragon, +5 from menacing brute, make sure to take bluff ranks for the +2 synergy bonus), and some utility abilities related to finding things and people.

Ranger gets you free Two-Weapon Fighting without requiring you to boost dexterity to 15, which is really nice on a strength-based sneak attack build, and Complete Champion lets you trade Wild Empathy for 3/day Speak With Animals.

You can Rage without being lawful thanks to half-orc paragon, which lets you grab Extra Rage and Intimidating Rage to get free action intimidate checks a few times per day.

The Menacing Demeanor feat from Races of Destiny gives you a +4 bonus to intimidate checks as well, so that's better than Skill Focus. You arguably could get Skill Focus for free by joining the Zhentarim and taking the Zhentarim Soldier fighter substitution level (http://www.tsrarchive.com/3f/champions_of_valor.pdf), but ask your DM about that. If so, it might be worth taking more fighter levels to get the higher-level abilities also.

If your table isn't very high-optimization I'd shy away from the Craven feat (add your level to the damage every time you sneak attack, take -2 on saving throws against fear) as well as the Imperious Command feat (intimidated creatures must immediately cower a round). That said, look at the Never Outnumbered Skill Trick from Complete Scoundrel to intimidate everyone on the field 1/battle.




It only has 3/4 BAB, but Thayan Slaver (Unapproachable East p.37) has abilities which fit the theme well. It's human-only though so might not be any good if you're set on playing a half-orc unless your DM is flexible about that kind of thing.

There's a sidebar in Races of Destiny that suggests making half-orcs and half-elves count as human for prerequisites: it's worth bringing the possibility up with your DM, given how those races are otherwise considered to be a bit underpowered.

Alternatively, you could take Human Heritage from the same book to qualify anyway.

[ShurikVch]

All the best suggestions were already made, but still:

How about some levels in Yakuza from Oriental Adventures? (Probably up to 3rd - for Yakuza Knowledge)

Also, a bit literal, but still - Bone Crusher from Horde Player's Guide (WoW d20)

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Are there any options for actually breaking body parts (legs included) or even ripping/tearing/slicing them off? Other than the vorpal magic weapon ability or the sunder rules for hydras, anyway.

Doesn't seem like regeneration does much aside from being weaker fast healing, otherwise.

[ShurikVch]

Are there any options for actually breaking body parts (legs included) or even ripping/tearing/slicing them off? Other than the vorpal magic weapon ability or the sunder rules for hydras, anyway.

Doesn't seem like regeneration does much aside from being weaker fast healing, otherwise.
AFAIK, broken bones in 3.5 are mechanically just some Con damage - no way to break anything specific...

Also:
How do you lose limbs? (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?267045-How-do-you-lose-limbs)
When do you need the spell Regenerate? (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?326601-When-do-you-need-the-spell-Regenerate)
Yer arms off!! Things that make you lose limbs (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?643677-Yer-arms-off!!-Things-that-make-you-lose-limbs)
List of ways to sever your own body parts in exchange for a discrete, in-game effect (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?555250-List-of-ways-to-sever-your-own-body-parts-in-exchange-for-a-discrete-in-game-effect)
[3.5] Losing a Limb (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?570555-3-5-Losing-a-Limb)

[Nihilarian]

The Stone Dragon martial school has a nice selection of maneuvers with names like Bonecrusher and Bonesplitting Strike