Good Fighter Feats?

[Galileo]

Okay, long story short, due to an argument I got into with my friend, I need help with feats and equipment for a level 10 Fighter. He's going to have to get through a dungeon either solo or with another Fighter. I'm using the Races of War version of the Fighter, and I have access to every Complete, Tome of Battle, Races of Destiny/Stone/Dragon, Dungeonscape, Cityscape and the PHB/DMG II. Standard WBL.
His stats are -
Str: 18 (+2 from level up)
Dex: 14
Con: 15
Int: 14
Wis: 12
Cha: 10
Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Eldariel]

Pick up a reach weapon. Spiked Chain, for example. Be a largeish race, such as Goliath with Level Adjustment buyoff. Take Dungeoncrasher ACF from Dungeonscape. Take Resolute ACF from Complete Champion. Take Zhentarim Fighter Substitutions from online. Is multiclassing ok? 'cause one-two levels in Barbarian would really help.

For feats:
Power Attack
Combat Reflexes
Improved Bull Rush
Knockback [Races of Stone]
Shock Trooper [Complete Warrior]
Leap Attack [Complete Warrior]
Mage Slayer [Complete Arcane]
Martial Study: Foehammer
Martial Stance: Thicket of Blades

If you can, pick up Imperious Command [Drow of the Underdark]. That gives you a whole new angle of attack

[Kaiyanwang]

Isn't leap attack Complete Adventurer?

[Galileo]

Wow, that's fantastic. Thanks a lot. I think I'll go with human and find another couple of feats, though. Any suggestions on how to use 49000 gold?

[Deepblue706]

Level 10, in a dungeon, maybe a Fighter buddy. Hmm.

Here are nine feats I suggest:

Power Attack
Improved Bull Rush
Shock Trooper
Combat Expertise
Improved Trip

Delay Potion (CMag)
Quick Reconnoiter (CAdv)
Combat Acrobat (PHB2)
Mage Slayer (CArc)

My advice:

I'd say use a Guisarme, since Spiked Chain will require proficiency. Shock Trooper provides you the means to deal impressive damage, Improved Trip allows you to make a free attack after a successful trip. Pretty simple stuff.

Delay Potion will let you store a single potion in your stomach for Con-mod hours (2, in this case), and any time within that duration you can activate it as a swift action. Get yourself some potions of Enlarge Person to get impressive reach and increased damage at the start of every fight. Haste also works well, but those get expensive quickly.

Quick Reconnoiter gives you a higher initiative and lets you make free a listen/spot check each round of combat, which tends to have its benefits. Having a high listen and spot also helps you to anticipate coming encounters, which can help with your potion-use, as well as give you a chance to gain some manner of tactical advantage before combat begins.

Combat Acrobat lets you make balance checks to just ignore anything that would make you fall prone, and also lets you ignore the impeding factor of Difficult Terrain for 4 squares at a time. You can now charge over a stream of Lava (although you still take damage).

Mage Slayer will help you in the close quarters of a dungeon environment, since nobody will be able to cast defensively within your reach. Enlarge Person helps with that.

As for equipment, I like Adamantine weapons because I enjoy sundering (although lacking Improved Sunder means you'll provoke AoOs from those within reach, being hit never actually ruins an attempt). But, I would say that Armor is much more important. If you feel you can manage, buy an Animated Shield and some nice Full Plate. But, be sure you have enough for a decent weapon, potions, and maybe a +2 STR item. If you can afford things that can provide you better mobility, go for it. Teleportation, Flying, +10 move speed, whatever fits into your budget.

Since you'll be alone, or with another Fighter, you want to make sure you can recover HP. And save HP wherever you can - that means staying alert, playing crafty, and never failing to exploit your enemy's weaknesses.

Edit: Ack. Short a Fighter Feat. I dunno, maybe take EWP after all. Or something else that suits your fancy.

Edit Again: And I just realized the Races of War Fighter has Weapons Training. Egads.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

You might also want to think about out-of-combat healing and other general utility that you'll be missing with just one or two fighters. I'm sure there's some way to get a good UMD score on a straight-classed fighter, which would cover most of your problems, but I'm AFB right now. If it's not possible, get a healing belt at least.

[Eldariel]

Isn't leap attack Complete Adventurer?

Yup. My bad.

Wow, that's fantastic. Thanks a lot. I think I'll go with human and find another couple of feats, though. Any suggestions on how to use 49000 gold?

Human doesn't qualify for Knockback without permanent Enlarge Person, which is something of a problem given Knockback really makes Dungeoncrasher shine, and if I were a Fighter going to solo a dungeon, I can't imagine not taking Dungeoncrasher ('cause bonuses to breaking stuff and vs. traps are useful in dungeon without a trapfinder, and it deals obscene damage). That said, if you can qualify on back of Enlarge Person, go ahead.

As for 49000, get Healing Belt. That's a must. Then, get Belt of Battle [Magic Item Compendium] and Boots of Speed. Then get +4 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con & +2 Wis items, along with a Cloak of Resistance and since you're alone, Eyes of the Eagle. Also, Scout's Headband [Magic Item Compendium]. If Magic Item Compendium isn't allowed, you'll have much tougher time detecting things. Meh.

Then get a slightly enhanced weapon (e.g. +1 Ghost Touch or so), and you're done. You could also try to pimp out your AC, but that's pretty expensive. Cloak of Minor Displacement is the other option.


You could also cross-class 6 ranks into Use Magic Device, get Circlet of Persuasion and purchase some Wands of Lesser Vigor to try and heal out-of-combat. It's not very reliable to make the checks (50/50) and if you roll a 1, you'll need to switch Wands so get multiples. 3 or so should keep you healthy between encounters.

[Galileo]

Oh yeah, I can get Magic Item Compendium off my DM. Once again, thanks a lot for this.

[Schylerwalker]

Okay, I'm gonna show off and play it old-school by ONLY selecting feats from the Player's Handbook. And still make an interesting, powerful character! Sho nuff.

So, human fighter. Lessee.

Level 1: Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (guisarme)
Level 2: Combat Expertise
Level 3: Improved Trip
Level 4: Weapon Specialization (guisarme)
Level 6: Dodge, Mobility
Level 8: Greater Weapon Focus (guisarme)
Level 9: Spring Attack
Level 10: Whirlwind Attack

Woohoo! That sounds fun just looking at it.

Ohoh, even better idea.

Level 1: Point Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (throwing axe)
Level 2: Rapid Shot
Level 3: Improved Initiative
Level 4: Weapon Specialization (throwing axe)
Level 6: Far Shot, Iron Will
Level 8: Improved Critical (throwing axe)
Level 9: Blind-Fight
Level 10: Greater Weapon Focus (throwing axe)

Just for giggles!

[Person_Man]

Obligatory link.

Stock Fighter Advice

Spoiler

Show

Fighter is actually quite a respectable choice up to ECL 12ish if you know what you're doing. The keys are alternate class features and careful feat selection (see combos above).

At level 1, Fighters get the Tower Shield for free. This in itself is useful. Races of Stone also lets you trade it away for Exotic Shield Proficiency, which has several uses. I suggest using it for a Gnome Battle Cloak, which is essentially a shield you wear on your back, which is essentially a free Animated shield. Or you can take the Extreme Shield if you want +3 AC without a To-Hit penalty (but don't care about making shield bash attacks). If you want a mounted build (which is one of your best core-ish options) then I suggest a Riding Shield.

At levels 2 and 6, Dungonscape lets you trade away feats for the Dungeoncrasher ability, which gives you massive damage when you Bull Rush an enemy into a wall or solid object. As others have opined, the easiest way to abuse this is through the Knockback feat. Check out Flaming Homer and the King of Pong. If you want to be less abusive and/or don't want to be a Goliath, then I suggest you be a Raptorian or Dragonborn for free flight (though it doesn't kick in until ECL 12). This lets you move above enemies, so that you can Bull Rush them into the floor. You can also get free Bull Rush attempts from the Shield of the Severed Hand (Complete Divine pg 102 or MIC) and/or Brutal Surge weapons (MIC). It's also worth mentioning that Dungeoncrasher damage is so high that even a single mundane Bull Rush per turn can kill most enemies.

At 2nd level or higher you can give up a Fighter bonus feat to gain the Resolute ability (Complete Champion). It allows you to immediately shift 1/2 your BAB to your Will Save. Hugely useful at mid to high levels, as Will Saves are often Save or Lose. Once you get to level 10 or higher I would definitely pick this one up, unless you can find some other form of mental protection.

A nifty web ad on gives you various buffs to your ability to Demoralize. The most important kicks in at 11th level, which lets you Demoralize as a Swift Action. This can be a powerful tool, especially when combined with the Imperious Command feat (Drow of the Underdark) which makes Demoralized enemies Cower.

Put that together, and you get respectable defense, strong offense, and two forms of battlefield control (Bull Rush and Fear). Pretty solid for any low to mid level melee build.

Also, the Fighter you linked to is crazy powerful. All strong Saves, 6 Skill points per level from a huge list, a Haberdash combo ability at 1st level, a free reroll pretty much every turn as a Swift Action at 1st level, the ability to choose any Combat feat (whatever that means) as a Swift Action, and a lot of other utterly ridiculous abilities. Can you give us some background on this game world?