I ran a support character for the (rather small) party in Rise of the Runelords - Valeros with Beta boosts, feats from other sources (PHB2, CW, BOXM2), same ability score power level as the other characters (32 PB), and the trial house rule that TWF just grants you as many extra attacks as you get from high BAB.
He was quite devastating, and his AC could only be described as "untouchable". +17 from a mithral full plate AND the ability to still put +6 from dex into it, combined with dodge and other protective gear and AC 40 isn't that far off.
Even with only beta, I think he'd do quite well - he'd lose some of those nice feats, and had to use up the freed feats for short swords (I used oversized TWF and two bastard swords), but it would still be a nice "build"
Other than that, A mix of strength and dexterity is good now, as a fighter can almost always benefit from decent dex.
I've done Captain America as a level 11 fighter using 3.P two weapon fighting (with weapon swap), shield mastery and vital strike, that was a lot of fun. 4d6 + 20ish damage some six times.
|
My favorite Build is Axe and shield.
I use Power Attack often and 3.5 version of Improved Trip.
In essence in combat he strikes out from behind his massive Tower Shield to Trip the opponent then using Power Attack chops the opponent to pieces. If things get too rough, a few rounds defensive behind the Tower Shield allows me to suck down some healing potions to get me back into the fight.
It sacrafices damage for some versitility. Also I just like playing that style.
My next fighter, however, will be a two-handed fighter, with everything optimized for damage. I already picture him like a kind of Conan in plate armor, leaping into the fray, hacking at anything that moves and coming up drenched in blood, his own and his enemies!
I like the swashbuckler or light armored, rapier wielding fighter from cinema and literature. However, I have never found a build I was happy with.
I once played a Barbarian 2/Fighter 2 with Power Attack, Cleave, Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack. It was a nice combo of speed and damage. But then in actual practice, I ended up doing a lot of mounted combat, and then died falling down a pit when unnecessarily wounded. Also, we had started at 4th level, and I had no idea where to go with that build, since it did everything I wanted it to do at 4th level.
EDIT:
I also played a dwarf ranger 5/fighter 2 or 4 or 6 with 2 waraxes that tried to keep up with a swashbuckling rapier & whip fellow, and eventually just gave up and went full plate and shield with 1 waraxe. I think he took some of those anti-wizard feats, too. Even 1 level of ranger is a great addition to a fighter: Track, boost to Reflex saves, access to CLW wands, lots of extra skills.