So I'm in a campaign right now that started at 1st level and is planning on attaining 20th before the game is over. I'm currently playing a 3rd level Elf Fighter who's goal in life is to avenge his father (who was a sword-smith) by killing his murderer (yes, I stole that straight from the princess bride) as well as become the greatest swordsman in the world. The problem is I'm having trouble figuring out what feats I want to take and where to place my ability score bonuses at levels 4, 8, 12, etc. Below are my current ability scores and a feat progression. (B = Fighter Bonus Feat)
Str: 18
Dex: 16 (14+2)
Con: 12 (14-2)
Int: 12 (10+2)
Wis: 10
Cha: 10
1: Weapon Focus (Curve Blade)
B: Power Attack
B: Cleave
3: Great Cleave
B: Weapon Specialization (Curve Blade)
5: Improved Sunder (still debating on this)
B: Vital Stike (still debating on this)
7: Greater Sunder (still debating on this)
B: Improved Critical (Curve Blade)
9: Greater Weapon Focus (Curve Blade)
B: Crital Focus
11: Improved Vital Strike (still debating on this)
B: Greater Weapon Specialization (Curve Blade)
13: Bleeding Critical
B: Open
15: Open
B: Greater Vital Strike (still debating on this)
17: Open
B: Open
19: Open
20: Open
Stats for Curve Blade? Not all of us here have all the cool toys.
What are your thoughts on secondary weapons? Missile? Shield use? Riding? Skills? (son of a smith, after all)? Reinforcment feats (Toughness, Iron will, etc).
Preferred armor type? Dual weapons? Etc etc.
Need some details before recommendations.
==Aelryinth
Why are you going with the curve blade instead of the Greatsword? Also, Vital Strike are important feats as well as Disruptive & Spellbreaker (this is assuming you are going to be facing off against spellcasters).
Stats for Curve Blade? Not all of us here have all the cool toys.
What are your thoughts on secondary weapons? Missile? Shield use? Riding? Skills? (son of a smith, after all)? Reinforcment feats (Toughness, Iron will, etc).
Preferred armor type? Dual weapons? Etc etc.
Need some details before recommendations.
==Aelryinth
O, sorry by Curve Blade I meant the Elven Curve Blade from the core rule book (Exotic 2 handed weapon (Elves treat them as martial weapons), 1d10, 18-20x2). Right now I'm wearing a chain shirt but I'll probably be buying a breastplate now that I have the money, my plan is to stick to a type of armor until I can move my full base speed in it (so as of 3rd level I started wearing medium armor and at 7th I'll wear heavy). My secondary weapons right now are light hammers, daggers, and I think I have a magical spear with me that I got from a dungeon (I'll probably get rid of the throwing hammers and pick up a long bow and a short sword now that I have some more money). As far as skills go, since I only get 3 I have put ranks in Climb, Craft (weaponsmithing), and Swim I think (I'm thinking about asking the DM if I can "train" and change Swim to something else, perhaps Perception or Acrobatics).
Why are you going with the curve blade instead of the Greatsword? Also, Vital Strike are important feats as well as Disruptive & Spellbreaker (this is assuming you are going to be facing off against spellcasters).
The Greatsword may have a higher average damage but with the Curve Blade I have a better chance to crit (especially when I get Improved Critical). I've also already used weapon focus with the Curve Blade so I can't really change that now (not that I would). It's really more for flavor, I mean with the Greatsword I'm only dealing about 1 more damage on average (or something like that).
Why are you going with the curve blade instead of the Greatsword? Also, Vital Strike are important feats as well as Disruptive & Spellbreaker (this is assuming you are going to be facing off against spellcasters).The Greatsword may have a higher average damage but with the Curve Blade I have a better chance to crit (especially when I get Improved Critical). I've also already used weapon focus with the Curve Blade so I can't really change that now (not that I would). It's really more for flavor, I mean with the Greatsword I'm only dealing about 1 more damage on average (or something like that).
First of all, explain your reason for taking cleave and great cleave. Are they neccessary for your vision of a great swordsman?
Secondly, 20 levels of Fighter means some gaping holes in your defenses as far as saves go. Unless your DM lets you mix and match saves types with saves, you're going to Need Iron Will, and Toughness for more hit points never hurts. I'd also try and get the All Gnolls Must Die acheivement feat...more will saves.
Secondly, unless you can get ahold of Pounce, you NEED the Vital Strike feat to make your standard actions worthwhile.
Kindly note that Spring Attack and the Vital Strike feats play very well together.
Are you allowed 3rd Party feats, or Paizo only? There's some wicked stuff we can bring into play if you are allowed to dip Tome of 9 Swords. Thicket of Blades and Stand Still means nobody EVER gets past you or away from you...
For secondary weapon, you should only have a morningstar, takes care of both blud and pierce. Where's your ranged weapon?
If you can get Robilar's Gambit at higher level, grab that and Combat Reflexes. Fighters are best when given many, many attacks. Furthermore, Close-Quarter Fighting punishes anything that tries to grapple or grab you, which is a LOT of higher level monsters.
The above notes about spellcasters also apply.
For thematics, I suggest Magical Artisan...make your own weaponry! (and at low level, too...you might need Skill Focus to make the checks, however).
The Critical Feats at late levels are your own call.
==Aelryinth
if you could get a 13 int: Lunge, Combat Expertise, Dodge, mobility, spring attack, whirlwind
Ditch cleave and greater cleave then at high end pick up. Staggering Critical, stunning critical
Some casts enlarge person on you. You attack everything without 15' 15+ to crit and stun them, at the very least stagger them.
Or ditch the elven curved blade. To dual wield with scimitar(same crit range) max out the two weapon fighting tree. In then end you get
4 primary hand, and 3 off hand attacks all needing a 15+ to crit. Each critical staggers someone minimum or stuns them for 1d4+1 rounds! (unless they are immune to crits, then you let other party members shine).
Protect yourself with armor with greater fortification. So a one trick pony like yourself won't pwn you as easy as you will pwn it.
Fighting big nasty dragon: You delay till after spell caster can go. Spell caster comes over and dim doors you adjacent to dragon, you take your turn. Dragon staggered = dead dragon.
Eh... Cleave and Great Cleave weren't exactly necessary I just took them in case I get caught in a large group (which has happened twice now and I'm only 3rd level). I can't really ditch Cleave and Great Cleave as I've already taken them (remember I'm 3rd level) nor can I change to Two-Weapon Fighting with scimitars (which I don't really like doing unless I'm a Dervish because of the -4 on all attacks). As far as Combat Expertise goes I'll never use it (as I'm focusing more on power than AC and I don't want to take a -4 on all attacks). As far as secondary sources go we're using Pathfinder only so no Robilar's Gambit or 9 Swords. Also with the feat selection I have I don't really have room for Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack until later levels (unless I don't take the Sunder feats but I kind of want them to show I can cut through anything being the worlds greatest swordsman and all). I honestly don't feel that Disruptive and Spellbreaker are necessary, what spell caster is going to stay near me? I can take most of them out in 1 attack, that might not always be the case but I don't have to worry about killing everyone, that's why there's other people in the party. One last thing, my ranged weapon at the moment is just light hammers (I can throw them 20ft.) but I plan on buying a composite longbow now that I have more money (I only started with 150gp or so, so I couldn't afford a better ranged weapon at 1st or 2nd level).
Str: 18 (+1 lv4, +1 lv8, +1 lv 12, +1 lv16, +1 lv20)
Dex: 16 (14+2)
Con: 12 (14-2)
Int: 12 (10+2)
Wis: 10
Cha: 10
And by 20, buy a manual of fitness and get a +1 or +3 to strength to even that score out. Genius!
1: Weapon Focus (Curve Blade)
B: Power Attack
B: Cleave
3: Great Cleave
B: Weapon Specialization (Curve Blade)
5: Step-Up
- If your DM 5-foot-steps a lot, this is great. Keeps you in formation with the enemies and allows you to hunt down enemy spellcasters. Very solid. If your DM never 5-foot-steps or thinks he's General Patton and has enemies 5-foot-step to have you follow them away before the others that were surrounding you you run the other direction around to get back to the rest of the party, this feat may not be worth it.
B: Vital Strike
- Vital Strike is one of the more necessary feats, in my opinion. Double up on damage dice on standard actions? Decent. Solidly decent.
7: Lunge
- You have Great Cleave. Lunge for 10ft reach and cleave all who dare stand adjacent to their friends. The -4 AC combined from both is kind of rough, but remember that nobody will be able to retaliate if they are dead. Wipe them out!
B: Improved Critical (Curve Blade)
9: Greater Weapon Focus (Curve Blade)
B: Crital Focus
11: Improved Vital Strike
- Triple damage dice on a standard? Who would say no to upping their average standard-action damage by a 5.5? That's better than weapon specialization.
B: Greater Weapon Specialization (Curve Blade)
13: Bleeding Critical
B: Critical Mastery
- For two critical effects every critical.
15: Staggering Critical
B: Greater Vital Strike
- More damage dice! I would be up in the air about this. The extra d10 at this point matters less, but is still fun to roll.
17: Stunning Critical
- Excellent choice if you critical on the first attack-- 2d6 bleed and they're stunned. -2 to their normal AC and minus their Dex-- awesome. If they succeed the save, they're staggered for 1d4 rounds, rendering staggering critical a completely invalid choice, but by god, stunning on a critical is rough business. And the DC is 10+your BAB, so 26 fort save at 16 when you get it-- not bad at all.
B: Blinding Critical
- Why not? Crit them, stun them, blind them, then crit them, bleed them, stun them again. How dare they make their fortitude saves!? This all leads up to a juncture at 20th when you auto-confirm criticals with your 15-20 threat range Curve Blade and enemies all across the world suddenly feel as if they should buy regeneration scrolls.
I've no idea what you should take after this, but I'm amused with the idea of you criticalling someone three times in one round and rendering them invalid for the rest of their life.
19: Tiring Critical
20: Exhausting Critical
- Give them -6 strength and dexterity on a crit. You can see where this would lead, right? At 20, 15-20 autoconfirms, so stun and exhaust them at a DC30 fort save. If they fail, they lose AC, making it easier for you to hit them if you miss, and crit them if you roll 15. Keep stunning or exhausting them until both stick, and if one sticks, bleeding critical them. After stunning and exhausting, they should have a -6 penalty to their dexterity while being denied any of their bonuses, giving them a -3 dex mod and a -2 penalty to AC for being stunned. Then blind them for another -4 to strength and dexterity and another -2 penalty to AC. In total, they'd have no dex mod to AC and a -10 penalty to their dex score, -4 to AC on top of that, and a -10 penalty to their strength score. You also have full concealment unless they have blindsight or tremorsense. And they're just constantly being railed with 2d6 stacking bleed damage.
In short, you obliterate them.
Str: 18 (+1 lv4, +1 lv8, +1 lv 12, +1 lv16, +1 lv20)
Dex: 16 (14+2)
Con: 12 (14-2)
Int: 12 (10+2)
Wis: 10
Cha: 10
And by 20, buy a manual of fitness and get a +1 or +3 to strength to even that score out. Genius!
** spoiler omitted **...
The only problem with your build (although I like it) is that critical mastery can't be taken until I have at least 2 critical feats. If my DM says I can retrain my skills I may put ranks into intimidate (rather than swim) and take Dazzling Display at 5th, Shatter Defenses at 7th and then try and fit Deadly Stroke in somewhere. Then I have to fit in Staggering and Stunning Critical (along with Bleeding Critical). So at 20th level I'll confirm any critical hit and deal 3d10 (because my crit goes up to 18-20x3 at 20th level)+crap loads from strength and power attack+2d6 bleed damage+they'll be staggered or stunned+if they become stunned they take 1 point of con damage and another d10.
I think this is what I'm going to go with. I don't have feats for 18th, 19th, and 20th, but I can figure those out when I get there. *The sunder feats are more for flavor although I'm sure using them against other people like my character will be quite fun.
1: Weapon Focus (Curve Blade)
B: Power Attack
B: Cleave
3: Great Cleave
B: Weapon Specialization (Curve Blade)
5: Improved Sunder
B: Vital Stike
7: Greater Sunder
B: Improved Critical (Curve Blade)
9: Greater Weapon Focus (Curve Blade)
B: Critical Focus
11: Improved Vital Strike
B: Greater Weapon Specialization (Curve Blade)
13: Bleeding Critical
B: Staggering Critical
15: Critical Mastery
B: Greater Vital Strike
17: Stunning Critical
Not sure why you'd want more then 2, maybe 3 criticals. The enemy is going to be dead before you get two full attack combos off, not sure why you'd want to stack the effects...pick one and stick with it is far more likely.
No save booster feats? Your will save is going to get you killed.
No spring attack and no movement flexibility other then charge and hack. Mmm. well, it's your character.
==Aelryinth