Ridiculously overpowered fighter races/builds?

[bengosha]

Does anyone know of any insanely overpowered fighter races and/or builds? I know of the trip monkey, but I'm looking for a more damage-output oriented build. Any level adjustment is fine, but please explain why you chose it. It must be up to level 12 though, sorry for being so picky.

I already made a Fire Giant fighter. My Dm changed the la from +4 to +8 because it is pretty much the strongest character in the group now, along with an Ilithid lvl 5 monk, a human wizard, a flesh golem cohort and a satyr rogue.

We can use anything we find as long as we have the book or the source with the rule on it. No homebrewed creatures, but homebrewed feats are a possibility as long as they aren't completely game breaking.

We are playing Rappan Athuk if that changes anything.

Thanks,
Bengosha

[PinkysBrain]

Are you guys ignoring racial HD or something? (Common mistake.) Firegiant with LA+8 is equivalent to a level 23 character (without character levels). The normal way monstrous races are handled is broken ... but the other way, you always end up underpowered.

I'm guessing you are playing core?

In core there is nothing really very powerful melee characters can do with their own abilities apart from tripping ... the only really good things there are for melee characters in core are magic weapons. Majorly wounding weapons and the Life-drinker great axe (you need death ward cast on you before you can use it though).

Polymorph abuse helps too of course, but you need a little help for that.

[Tavar]

Standard damage dealer is as follows: Power attack+two handed weapon+ Shocktrooper+leap attack. Shocktrooper changes PA's penalty from Attack bonus to AC, Leap attack increases damage dealt by 100%. Charge, then watch them die.

[Narazil]

I already made a Fire Giant fighter. My Dm changed the la from +4 to +8 because it is pretty much the strongest character in the group now, along with an Ilithid lvl 5 monk, a human wizard, a flesh golem cohort and a satyr rogue.

Wait, what?

[Bayar]

Hulking Hurler builds that throw planets ?

[Tavar]

Wizards can be among the best, but if you go standard evoker route they aren't all that great. The problem is that that's just one out of several ways you can take the class.

[Zaydos]

I'd say 1 level of lion spirit totem barbarian for pounce (Complete Champion) and Tavar's standard fighter listed above. It can be fun. Through in water orc for +4 Str and +2 Con and no LA, and go to town. Never tried it with race included, but I made a human warblade who did this without pounce and could still 2 hit a CR higher dragon (needed a crit with the second attack).

[Tengu_temp]

As 4chan says it:

>Ridiculously overpowered
>Fighter

[Tavar]

If you're doing water orc, be dragonborn(races of the dragon) as well: otherwise you take penalties for light sensitivity. It also scores you +2 con, -2 dex, and your choice of a breathe weapon, flight, or some extra senses.

[Flickerdart]

Thri-Kreen Tauric Monstrous Crab is where it's at, if you're going to go with monstrous races. There's only a single point of LA on that sucker, the hit die isn't the worst and you get more attacks than your mother can handle along with beefy scores.

[PinkysBrain]

Assuming you are playing core and you are allowed to use leadership I'd go for dwarf barbarian 11/fighter 1 (fighter level thrown in because it had to be a fighter) with a wizard specialist transmuter cohort.

The cohort is there mostly to buff you (polymorph/death ward/etc).

[Flickerdart]

You might as well go Fighter 2, then, for that other bonus feat. And if you're taking a Wizard cohort, then that's a character more powerful than you already.

[Sploosh]

Thri-Kreen Tauric Monstrous Crab is where it's at, if you're going to go with monstrous races. There's only a single point of LA on that sucker, the hit die isn't the worst and you get more attacks than your mother can handle along with beefy scores.

Just dont let them flip you over.

[Person_Man]

Here is my stock Fighter advice:

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.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

A wizard of 9th or more level, with the proper selection of spells (divination, transmutation, conjuration and enchantment mainly) will ruin any campaign.

[Ryumaru]

Lest your historically accurate Japanese giant crab is exposed to MASSIVE DAMAGE.

[FatR]

Does anyone know of any insanely overpowered fighter races and/or builds?

There aren't any. Unless by "fighter" you mean "someone who swords things", as opposed to a chacter of Fighter class. It is possible to make adequate fighters, but it is not possible to overpower them, as everything they do is possible to counter and often easy to counter. Even if you can do over 9000 damage on a charge, it is of no use, if there is no unobstructed charge line between you and your enemy, and so on.

[PinkysBrain]

You might as well go Fighter 2, then, for that other bonus feat.

Not if you start play at level 12, the upgrade to greater rage beats anything a feat can give.

And if you're taking a Wizard cohort, then that's a character more powerful than you already.

A core only level 10 transmuter specialist with evocation and conjuration banned? Not all the time, sometimes you still need plain old damage.

[Coidzor]

Thri-Kreen Tauric Monstrous Crab is where it's at, if you're going to go with monstrous races. There's only a single point of LA on that sucker, the hit die isn't the worst and you get more attacks than your mother can handle along with beefy scores.

Wait... What do you get from being Tauric That Damn Crab?

[Drogorn]

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).

You should check your links.

[Aldizog]

Not if you start play at level 12, the upgrade to greater rage beats anything a feat can give.

Brb1/Ftr11 is going to be a lot stronger than Brb11/Ftr1, with access to PHB2 feats. Rage+WF/WS/GWF already beats Greater Rage (and those aren't even the best feats to take), then you have Melee Weapon Mastery which may or may not stack depending on your DM. Not to mention all of the other options that feats give you.

Barbarian is a nice one-level dip for a fighter.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Brb1/Ftr11 is going to be a lot stronger than Brb11/Ftr1, with access to PHB2 feats. Rage+WF/WS/GWF already beats Greater Rage (and those aren't even the best feats to take), then you have Melee Weapon Mastery which may or may not stack depending on your DM. Not to mention all of the other options that feats give you.

Barbarian is a nice one-level dip for a fighter.

And Barbarian 1/Fighter 1/Warblade 11 is better than both. Though shalt not take odd levels in Fighter, and all.

[Aldizog]

And Barbarian 1/Fighter 1/Warblade 11 is better than both. Though shalt not take odd levels in Fighter, and all.

Well it's not like he's going to be level 12 forever... soon he'd be Brb1/Ftr12. And if the game goes long enough, and he's actually interested in making a powerful fighter, then Weapon Supremacy is a nice reward for sticking with the class. Plus, going non-core, there might be a lot of feats that he wants to take. Does Brb1/Warblade1/Ftr18 work well?

[taltamir]

Are you guys ignoring racial HD or something? (Common mistake.) Firegiant with LA+8 is equivalent to a level 23 character (without character levels). The normal way monstrous races are handled is broken ... but the other way, you always end up underpowered.

That... OP, I think your group has missed something about the rules of level adjustment.
ECL = Effective Character Level.
ECL = LA (level adjustment) + HD (hit die).
A creature with 1 racial HD replaces that HD with their class HD on their first level, creatures with more HD than 1, add their class HD to their racial HD...

So a level 0 fire giant has an effective character level of 19. (15 racial HD + 4 LA).
At level 1, your fire giant is now level 20 (15 racial HD + 4 LA + 1 class HD).

Making your fire giant LA 8 and ignoring the racial HD component of the effective level means that you are indeed vastly overpowered compared to the poor human / elf / gnome / etc characters with a significantly lower level...

Everyone is the party should be the same ECL...
So a level 1 fire giant should play with a level 20 human fighter.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Well it's not like he's going to be level 12 forever... soon he'd be Brb1/Ftr12. And if the game goes long enough, and he's actually interested in making a powerful fighter, then Weapon Supremacy is a nice reward for sticking with the class. Plus, going non-core, there might be a lot of feats that he wants to take. Does Brb1/Warblade1/Ftr18 work well?

Now, you see fighter and think the mechanical class "Fighter." I see "fighter" and think "Dude who uses primarily nonmagical means to kill things dead, thus, Barbarian/Warblade.

[SurlySeraph]

There aren't any. Unless by "fighter" you mean "someone who swords things", as opposed to a chacter of Fighter class. It is possible to make adequate fighters, but it is not possible to overpower them, as everything they do is possible to counter and often easy to counter. Even if you can do over 9000 damage on a charge, it is of no use, if there is no unobstructed charge line between you and your enemy, and so on.

That's like saying a Batman wizard isn't overpowered if he's in an antimagic field. Even if it's conditional overpowered that can be shut down without too much difficulty, it's still overpowered.

Besides, once you can fly you don't have to worry about difficult terrain or unobstructed charge lines much.

[tyckspoon]

Well it's not like he's going to be level 12 forever... soon he'd be Brb1/Ftr12. And if the game goes long enough, and he's actually interested in making a powerful fighter, then Weapon Supremacy is a nice reward for sticking with the class. Plus, going non-core, there might be a lot of feats that he wants to take. Does Brb1/Warblade1/Ftr18 work well?

If you want Fighter-restricted feats, you still go Warblade; they count as a Fighter-2 for qualifying for those feats. So something like Barb 1/ Fighter 1/Warblade X/Fighter 2/Warblade y; grab Weapon Focus with your first Fighter Bonus Feat and Melee Weapon Mastery with the other.

[Aldizog]

If you want Fighter-restricted feats, you still go Warblade; they count as a Fighter-2 for qualifying for those feats. So something like Barb 1/ Fighter 1/Warblade X/Fighter 2/Warblade y; grab Weapon Focus with your first Fighter Bonus Feat and Melee Weapon Mastery with the other.

Wow, that's harsh... did they have to take everything away from the Fighter like that? It wasn't much, but the fighter-only feats were something...

[Eldariel]

Wow, that's harsh... did they have to take everything away from the Fighter like that? It wasn't much, but the fighter-only feats were something...

Well, as I understand the idea was that players can replace the Fighter with the Warblade if they so desire. They work just fine side-by-side (especially with all the Fighter ACFs later printed) but the Warblade is "expected" to be able to used in the same niché as the Fighter hence the abilities.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Wow, that's harsh... did they have to take everything away from the Fighter like that? It wasn't much, but the fighter-only feats were something...

Wait, Fighter-only feats were something? This is news to me, considering what Knowledge Devotion does by comparison to most of the Weapon Focus line.