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View Full Version : Sending a call out for Fighter Optimization!



Frosty
2008-02-06, 06:51 PM
This thread has two purposes. The first is to provide good fighter builds for those who want to contribute to the party, but isn't that good at cheesing out the last iota of effectiveness out of a fighter. The second is to test how much better off Fighters would be under a simple change. You would submit builds taking 20 levels using the alternate Fighter class I provide, and see how much more versatile and powerful they are compared to the standard Fighter.

General rules:

*No Leadership unless it's to attract a tough Mount to use with a Mounted combat style

*No UMD cheese

*You can use Diplomacy, but we're using Rich Burlew's revised Diplomacy rules

*Max LA of +1. No Racial HD. No Half-ogres or half-minotaurs or any cheesy race. We want things DMs will *approve* This is a practical optimization exercise, not a theoretical one.

*32 point buy.

*No 3.0 material. Nothing from Dragon Magazine

The alternate Fighter class I have is the same as the standard fighter except for the following: add Spot, Listen, Sense Motive, Tumble, and any one Knowledge Skill to the list of Class skills; 4+int skills per level; Starting at level 3 and every odd numbered level after (5, 7, 9, etc), the Fighter gains a bonus feat that can be any feat he qualifies to take.

Here's my submission for a standard fighter. I think it does the job of "protecting the casters" very well, while still able to do respectable damage via charging if you need to. It is the same as the lock-charger from earleir but I removed the Tripping feats so I freed up room to do some other things.

If I have time later today, I'll try to make the alternate version of it using the alternate Fighter.

Human Fighter
1 Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain), Stand Still, Combat Reflexes
2 Power Attack
3 Mage Slayer
4 Improved Bullrush
5
6 Shock Trooper, Martial Study (a maneuver from Devoted Spirit Discipline)
7
8 Martial Study (Thicket of Blades)
9 Blind-Fight
10 Leap Attack
11
12 Pierce Magical Concealment
13
14 Robilar's Gambit
15 Iron Will or Dodge
16 Hold the Line
17
18 Endurance or Mobility, Indomitable Will or Elusive Target
19
20 <open feat. Perhaps the third martial study?>

Anyone who provokes from you can't move if you hit them and they can't make a reflex save of 10 + damage dealt. Casters can't cast defensively. Nobody can 5-ft step without provoking from you. Tumble also provokes. You can protect your casters for a looong time with this build.

For offense, you can dump your AC to damage with Power Attack, Shock trooper, and Power Attack, and deal about 80 bonus damage on the charge. Get a Valorous weapon for 160 bonus damage on a sinlge charge. If you dip one level into Barbarian instead, you've got all the offense you'll need.

You need to find some way to fly to do anything to flyers, but otherwise you're pretty much good to go to contribute and stop enemies dead in their tracks while your buddies save-or-die the enemies to death. An animated shield is nice, but not strictly necessary.