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How would the spell "Desperate Weapon" interact with Shikigami Manipulation? Would the object conjured provide the enhancement bonus described in the feat? For instance, if I cast Desperate Weapon as an 8th level caster, does my caster level provide a +2 enhancement bonus while wielding the conjured object?

Shikigami Manipulation:
"While using Shikigami Style, you can treat any magical item you’re using as an improvised weapon as if it granted an enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls equal to the item’s caster level divided by 4 (minimum +1), to a maximum bonus of +5."

Desperate Weapon:
"You create a one-handed object that you might expect to see in your current surroundings, which you can then use as an improvised weapon. The spell conjures such an object near your hand such that you can retrieve it as you complete the spell.

No matter what sort of object you picked, it functions as a one-handed improvised weapon appropriate for your size and that deals 1d6 points of damage for a Medium creature (1d4 for Small creatures). The item deals the type of damage you choose (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing) when casting the spell, though the object you request must conform to the damage type.

The spell ends prematurely if the improvised weapon leaves your grasp. The object has no value and can’t be used for other functions other than as an improvised weapon (for instance, this spell doesn’t allow you to conjure an expensive spyglass and sell it or use its other abilities, but you could still use it to beat someone over the head). The conjured object can’t already be a manufactured weapon, even in a location where you might expect to see manufactured weapons. It can be an object that would normally make for an unusual improvised weapon, like a herring at a fish market, and it still deals its full damage."

TIA.

So far, I'm sitting at 11th level and I think I'm pretty happy with the way the build is playing out. Here's a few aspects of the build to look at:

Angel-blooded Aasimar
25 point buy, current ability scores look like this:
Asterisk and number denote level stat bumps
STR 16, +2 racial, +2 Large, +6 enhancement, final 24 (*8, 12, 16, and 20)
DEX 14, -2 large, final 12
CON 14
INT 13, final 14 (*4)
WIS 10
CHA 12, +2 racial, final 14

Traits:
Dangerously Curious for UMD
Heirloom Weapon for Fauchard proficiency
Bloody-Minded for Init and Intimidate
Power Hungry Drawback

Straight Fighter
Two-handed Archetype (2x strength and power attack damage)
Opting for Advanced Weapon Training
Group: Polearms
9th: Warrior Spirit for extra enchanting capabilities depending on circumstances and foes (DR, etc.)
13th: Defensive Weapon Training for tankyness
17th: Focused Weapon for Warpriest damage dice bumps to boost Vital Strike
20th: Weapon Mastery in Fauchard for 15-20 crit and x3 damage

Feats:
1 Weapon Trick (Cleaving Smash for Vital Strikes on Cleave, Two-Handed Menace for Cornugon Smash/Hurtful, and Haft Bash for Polearm)
1 Shield Focus
2 Combat Reflexes
3 Power Attack
4 Shield Brace
5 Weapon Focus: Fauchard
6 Cornugon Smash
7 Hurtful
8 Vital Strike
8 Furious Focus (Campaign bonus feat)
9 Cleave
10 Cleaving Finish
11 Improved Vital Strike *current level*
12 Critical Focus
13 Great Cleave
14 Improved Cleaving Finish
15 Lunge
16 Greater Vital Strike
17 Monkey Lunge
18 Critical Feat
19 Critical Feat
20 Critical Feat

At this point, I'm not sure what feats I should be looking at to augment my build profile. The tactic is for my caster to soften them up with a blast or two, run in, Imp. Vital Strike, Cleave+Vital Strike or Imp. Vital Strike at 16th, Cornugon Smash and trigger Hurtful, hopefully crit at some point, kill something at some point, and Cleaving Finish with more Imp. Vital Strikes. I'll be perma-large, and with lunge should have a 20' reach.

Critical Feats seem to make the most sense, and aside from Greater Vital Strike at 16 and feat prereqs like BAB, the order of the feats taken doesn't matter much after 14th level... but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to which feats might best fit the bill for the direction I'm headed so far.

As far as equipment goes, is there anything outside of the obvious I be looking for?
Some essentials I know of so far are:
Mithril shield to reduce ACP and attack penalty from Shield Brace
Charisma for Cornugon Smash/Hurtful
Gloves of Dueling to bump Weapon Training
Boots of Striding/Springing
Keen/Impact on Fauchard

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

As the title...

Tripping Strike:
Prerequisites: Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, base attack bonus +9.

Benefit: Whenever you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can trip your opponent, in addition to the normal damage dealt by the attack. If your confirmation roll exceeds your opponent’s CMD, you may knock your opponent prone as if from the trip combat maneuver. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop your weapon to avoid being tripped.

In this case, what does normal damage constitute? Is it still a critical in terms of damage multiplier if the confirmation roll hits, or does one forego the critical damage in order to trip their target?

Ladies/Gents,

Curious how the masses might interpret Warpriest/Fighter multiclassing interacting with the "Advanced Armor Training" feat, specifically for the "Armor Specialization" ability.

Advanced Armor Training: You are specially trained to use your armor proficiencies in new ways.
Prerequisite(s): Armor Training class feature, fighter level 3rd.
Benefit(s): Select one advanced armor training option.

The option I'm looking at is Armor Specialization:

Armor Specialization: Armor Specialization (Ex): The fighter selects one specific type of armor with which he is proficient, such as chain shirts or scale mail. While wearing the selected type of armor, the fighter adds one-quarter of his fighter level to the armor’s armor bonus, up to a maximum bonus of +3 for light armor, +4 for medium armor, or +5 for heavy armor.

My character has 4 levels in Fighter... the rest is Warpriest. If I take this feat and select Armor Specialization, do my Fighter levels exclusively provide me bonuses from this feat (+1)? Or do my Warpriest levels also apply to the bonuses from the feat/armor training option?

My interpretation of this conundrum:

From the Warpriest class description:
Bonus Feats: ...Finally, for the purposes of these feats, the warpriest can select feats that have a minimum number of fighter levels as a prerequisite, treating his warpriest level as his fighter level.

RAW indicates that, in this instance, for the purpose of calculating the bonus received from the selected armor training option, I would use my Warpriest level to determine the bonus received from the feat.

Anyone disagree?

TIA
Celeborne