Guisarme/Glaive-wielding character

[Eksar Lindisfar]

I´ve been looking for a class, class combination, race and/or PrC to make a character that uses a glaive or a guisarme like they do on martial arts/chinese movies, you know, jumping around, spinning, slashing many enemies... but althought I wander around some books, I fail to see how to make it...

can you help me with that? thanks a lot

[Frosty]

Which discipline in Bo9S has Guisarme as a preferred weapon?

[kamikasei]

What books do you have access to?

@Frosty: None of them do. Actually, unless I'm overlooking one, it looks like only Shadow Hand has a reach weapon among its associated weapons at all (the spiked chain). However, it's not particularly important for the weapon to be associated with a discipline unless you're a swordsage... and the OP's request suggests Iron Heart to me for the striking-multiple-enemies maneuvers.

[MeklorIlavator]

I'd try either swordsage or warblade, probably with a lot of tiger claw/diamond mind, or possibly the warmind, sweeping strike,(Expanded psionics handbook, SRD), thought the last one might take some work.

Edit: I don't believe that any discipline has a reach weapon(besides the spiked chain), but those only matter for a couple minor abilities/feats.

[Eksar Lindisfar]

3.5 mostly, dungeon master guide, player´s handbook, "complete" collection, "guide to" collection, some Faerun books...not that much

[kamikasei]

3.5 mostly, dungeon master guide, player´s handbook, "complete" collection, "guide to" collection, some Faerun books...not that much

You might try a build with Combat Reflexes to give you lots of attacks of opportunity. Then just describe the attacks as involving a lot of jumping, spinning, slashing etc... so long as you're getting the attacks in it doesn't make that much difference.

[streakster]

3.5 mostly, dungeon master guide, player´s handbook, "complete" collection, "guide to" collection, some Faerun books...not that much

Get TOB.

Yeah, "Buy a new book" is frowned upon, but there is no better way to make martial artist like you described than the Book of Nine Swords.

If you get it, I'd go with Tiger Claw, Setting Sun, and Iron heart myself.

[Kizara]

Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords is definately what you want to be looking at.

[Eksar Lindisfar]

ok, let me see if I someone I know has it

[Iku Rex]

I´ve been looking for a class, class combination, race and/or PrC to make a character that uses a glaive or a guisarme like they do on martial arts/chinese movies, you know, jumping around, spinning, slashing many enemies... but althought I wander around some books, I fail to see how to make it...

Sounds simple enough.

Monk/Fighter. Combat Reflexes (Monk 2), Whirlwind Attack. Tumble skill.

Cleave/Greater Cleave for more attacks, Improved Trip and guisarme for fancy tripping moves.

[Smiley_]

If I am not mistaken, the guisarme is commonly overlooked, but it does give a bonus on disarm attemps and it is a reach weapon, so you can theoretically use it untrained to disarm some opponents with a 5. ft reach without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Yeah, other than that, I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said.

[John Campbell]

If I am not mistaken, the guisarme is commonly overlooked, but it does give a bonus on disarm attemps and it is a reach weapon, so you can theoretically use it untrained to disarm some opponents with a 5. ft reach without provoking an attack of opportunity.

That's the ranseur. Guisarmes trip.

[Talic]

I like Guisarme with Armor spikes. You get reach, plus close in attacks, and you can make trip attempts without provoking.

[Bag_of_Holding]

Since Diamond Mind discipline has trident as its favoured weapon, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to extend it to Ranseur... which is an elongated trident.


p.s. Well, as discipline's preferred weapon does nothing but add flavour, I think you can safely ignore which one gives which. If it's about taking a level of swordsage then a level of warblade allows you to shift that weapon focus around to suit your needs! Yay

[Kantolin]

Um.

you know, jumping around,

Have ranks in jump? Possibly take leap attack? Personally, I'd just jump around frequently amidst doing things. The SRD also has the feat 'up the walls' (found here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm ) which may help, but most of that sounds like flavor.

spinning,

Spinning doesn't actually do anything even in animes where it occurs, so spin to your heart's content on your turn.

slashing many enemies...

Whirlwind attack? Cleave? Great Cleave? Possibly even having a high base attack bonus

Honestly, everything it seems like you're asking is just reflavoring of either standard melee attacks, or pretty basic PHB things. Just instead of saying "I swing at it!", say "I fade backwards, spinning my spear above my head to deflect their swings, then leap forward while shouting 'Spinning Cane!'"

[Lemur]

With only some minor flavor tweaking, or none at all, the Dervish (CW) could do a decent job at emulating this, I'd think. Although I've never played one myself, I've heard they can be made to work well with glaives, and you'll get the kind of fancy movements that you want in the event you can't access some of the more wuxia oriented splatbooks, like ToB.

[Tempest Fennac]

I agree with Kantolin's advice. Racewise, I'd go with Raptoran bue to their +10 to jump checks (they are mentioned on page 32 of http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules...g perspective). I'm not familiar with Complete Warrior, but from what I can gather, Warblade or Swordsage would work well class wise.

[FlyMolo]

Ahem. Up The Walls. Leap Attack. Thri-kreen race. War Mind prestige class. Cleave and great cleave for seasoning. Multiweapon fighting, too.

You run up the wall. Then you jump off using you +30 racial bonus to jump checks. Then you land on someone, quite heavily, hitting them with lots of attack because you have 4 arms. All of those attacks deal double damage. Then you use cleave to hit their friends. Sweeping strike just makes it practically a certainty. Most of that can be done by ECL 15, tops. Wield a pair of glaives and generally lay down some serious smack. Or a gythka and a glaive, for three weapon attacks.

Meet something you can't beat by using your special move 'Falling Cuisinart'? Manifest at it until it goes away.

Seriously, for 6 feats and a +4 ECL race, this is pretty awesome. Fighter will help with the feats you need for War Mind, and Psywar might be needed to fill in some skills.

[Leon]

Dungeon Crasher will help with falling on a foe

[AslanCross]

I like Guisarme with Armor spikes. You get reach, plus close in attacks, and you can make trip attempts without provoking.

Same here. Guisarme + Armor Spikes basically allows you to strike all enemies within 10 feet instead of just enemies 10 feet away. If you have 2WF, you could make an offhand attack with the armor spikes in the same turn you make an attack with the Guisarme.

Fighter really works best so you can get feats, but Tome of Battle does give you a whole bunch of combat options that improves your melee skills far beyond the fighter.

[Talic]

TWF is optional, as you'll likely not need them both in the same round. (using one means you're usually at a range that the other cannot be used at)

Both are martial weapons, so any melee class will get the proficiencies.

You don't need imp. trip, as you're using a weapon to trip.

In other words, if you DO decide to take 2 wpn fighting, then go with a spiked gauntlet as well. That way, if something closes to 5 feet, you can use spikes in the first round, then hold the guisarme in one hand, and go Gauntlet/Armor spikes for close combat. If they back out to 10 feet or farther, switch grip back to 2 handed grip, and go to town with guisarme.

[Darrin]

Monk/Fighter. Combat Reflexes (Monk 2), Whirlwind Attack. Tumble skill.

Cleave/Greater Cleave for more attacks, Improved Trip and guisarme for fancy tripping moves.

There's a feat in the Dragon Compendium, "Pole Fighter", that allows you to flurry with a polearm:

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-...le_Fighter,DC1

Unfortunately, it means being a monk, unless you can go into Shou Disciple and pick up Martial Flurry.

Improved Trip + Knockdown (in the Divine section of the SRD) would be a good start. While Whirlwind attack can be fun, it's not worth the half-dozen nearly useless feats it needs as prerequisites. If you really want Whirlwind Attack, then go Warblade and pick up some Iron Heart maneuvers (I think Adamantine Hurricane is the one you want).

Cleave is good, but avoid Great Cleave. The odds you'll ever be able to use it are just astronomical.

[Bierhoff]

Without TOB, I might suggest a scout for class as you'd get a damage bonus when you move, so it encourages a dynamic fighting style, like the one you want. Plus, with a reach weapon you will probably be moving frequently to stay at range.

[Talya]

Without TOB, go dervish (Complete Warrior) with a guisarme or glaive, which perfectly fits what you are looking for.

[Leon]

A alternate to the spikes is to go Unarmed for up close - Superior Unarmed strike scales as you level.

or combine Reach, spikes and Hand to hand

[Pirate_King]

"I fade backwards, spinning my spear above my head to deflect their swings, then leap forward while shouting 'Spinning Cane!'"

Thank you, Lavitz/Albert

Why is up the walls a psionic ability? I mean, that's actually possible, it should be a fighter or monk bonus feat. Okay, I guess you couldn't really maintain it for a 30 ft move action, but a friend of mine can actually get 3 or 4 steps along a wall after he's built up speed.

[Talic]

A alternate to the spikes is to go Unarmed for up close - Superior Unarmed strike scales as you level.

or combine Reach, spikes and Hand to hand

The potential to enchant a weapon outweighs the potential for increased damage.

However, if you want the best of both worlds, go gauntlet. The written text is that it turns unarmed strike damage lethal. Most sources (including the Sage and FAQ) consider written descriptions to trump table information, which would mean gauntlets would scale with unarmed damage.

Now you can enhance your gauntlet, and get unarmed strike. However, I go with spikes because only the monk's description of unarmed strikes states you can use things other than hands. Some DM's may interpret this to mean that you can't make unarmed strikes while wielding a Guisarme 2 handed.

[Pirate_King]

However, I go with spikes because only the monk's description of unarmed strikes states you can use things other than hands. Some DM's may interpret this to mean that you can't make unarmed strikes while wielding a Guisarme 2 handed.

That's not entirely accurate; the PHB's entry for unarmed strike in the equipment section (ironic that it's there, since it implies a lack of equipment states the following:

Strike, Unarmed: A Medium character deals 1d3 points of nonlethal damage with an unarmed strike, which may be a punch, kick, headbutt, or other type of attack.

of course, the semantics of this does all kinds of messy things when figuring out multiple attacks, but that's a different argument.

[Pirate_King]

There's a spinning halberd weapon style feat in complete warrior. stumbled across it while looking for specialist variants. does anyone remember what book the school specialization variants are in? Specifically, the one that lets transmuters learn other spells as transmutation spells at the cost of a wizards bonus feats?

edit: found it in UA, sheesh, so many books. You'd think I'd be better at research papers for all this.