So not to beat the history vs. fantasy dead horse, but it seems that a man-at-arms ought to be good with a variety of weapons. A knight could fight with longsword and shield, sword and dagger, two handed sword, pollaxe, lance, and even be fairly skilled at archery.
I suppose this is demonstrated by proficiency with all martial weapons, but I wonder if there is an effective way to be more than proficient with multiple armaments, i.e.:
TWF with Shield Bash
THF with Power Attack, Vital Strike
Mounted Combat
Archery with PBS tree
And to boot, Unarmed combat.
With all that stated, is there a reason to be more than proficient with multiple armaments, when the game still caters to specialists, not generalists?
Thanks in advance for your input.
This is kind of what I had in mind, thanks again WAR for inspiring me to new heights of munchkinism.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6eLMiBPu80/TW6oO7LVg_I/AAAAAAAABEw/XCoXF1E8-BI/s 1600/ManatArms.jpg
Well since you really only need two feats for THF, Power Attack and Furious Focus, it's not hard to be great at it. Archery, grab PBS, Precise Shot and Deadly Aim and there you are good enough. Your TWF is more difficult, since it is pretty feat intensive. And Mounted Combat, just get Mounted Combat and Spirited Charge. It's not that bad. It's the Weapon Focus tree that really makes it hardest. However... you can reduce that.
The Bastard Sword or Dwarven Waraxe are great options for both THF and TWF. You can also use that while mounted. Grab a longbow and shield and you can cover all of it.
Go Human or Dwarf Fighter...
1st: Power Attack, Furious Focus (Exotic Weapon Proficiency if Human, don't need it if Dwarf)
2: Point Blank Shot
3: Precise Shot
4: Deadly Aim
5: Mounted Combat
6: Spirited Charge
7: Two-Weapon Fighting
8: Double Slice
9: Improved Shield Bash
10: Shield Slam
11: Shield Master
And at that point, you can handle any level of combat. However, the better option might be to delay Mounted Combat and Spirited Charge, since it doesn't come up as much. Precise Shot isn't necessary since you're better off going into melee, ranged only as a last resort when you cannot reach your enemies. And notice, you have no Weapon Focuses, no Specializations, and that doesn't count the sheer wealth requirements.
Honestly, there is a good reason specialization is the best way to go. Limited resources that are needed to maintain parity in a style of fighting means you can't spread them out enough.