Fighter weapon dilemma

[zmanerism]

I am trying to build a fighter and like the two handed weapon fighting for more dmg but it looses ac of a shield. One way around this is the use of a bastard sword which can be used one or two handed as needed. I could use a curved elven sword for crits as a pure two handed but would have lower ac over all. My ac without a shield is 29 for a 9th level warrior and I have amulet of natural armor +2, dodge, +4 full plate and +3 dex. any suggestions would be great. I am using weapon specialization so one specific weapon is great.

thank you much,
z

[HalfOrcHeavyMetal]

May I suggest taking a 2 feat dip into Two Weapon Fighting and Two Weapon Defence and use Armor Spikes? This will grant you the ability to add +1 to your Armor, and the feat doesn't state you have to make use of both weapon to take advantage of the Two Weapon Defence feat.

"When wielding a double weapon or two weapons (Not including natural weapons or unarmed strikes) you gain a +1 shield bonus to your AC. When fighting defensively or using the Total Defense action, the shield bonus inceases to +2"

Now, enchant those armor spikes with the Defending Enchantment and get them up to +5 Defending Armor Spikes. It's cheesy, but it works.

[Lazarus Yeithgox]

One possibility, especially at 9th level, would be the bastard sword plus an animated shield. That way you can switch from sword and shield to two handed sword plus animated shield 4 rounds out of 8.

[Big Stupid Fighter]

Get your wizard friend to make you a Ring of Protection, or buy one. That should raise your AC to the low thirties.

Apart from that, the best advice is probably from Sgt. Barnes in Platoon... "Shut up! Shut up and take the pain, TAKE THE PAIN!" Don't worry too much about getting hit, take your licks and beat them down.

I recommend using a Falchion, adamantine if you can get it. Use Sunder and critical feats to stop your opponents from hurting you, while smashing them to pieces.