I was wondering what people think about a Bard that uses polearms (specifically the Guisarme for the trip quality) and Pushing Assault to be a support character?
The feats I have chose so far are:
Martial Weapon Prof (Guisarme)
Power Attack
Pushing Assault
Combat Reflexes (I'd get 3 AoOs with this)
Combat Patrol
The idea is to keep enemies away from me and the witch in our group, all while helping the melees out with trips. Is this feasible?
I don't know what Pushing Assault does, but this looks like a splendid idea. A variation on the whip armed bard with the ability to do damage. Can still cast spells because the two handed weapon can be held with only one hand.
You know, I think I might take 'martial weapon proficiency, ranseur' to complement my combat expertise/improved disarm bard.
I don't know what Pushing Assault does, but this looks like a splendid idea. A variation on the whip armed bard with the ability to do damage. Can still cast spells because the two handed weapon can be held with only one hand.You know, I think I might take 'martial weapon proficiency, ranseur' to complement my combat expertise/improved disarm bard.
Pushing Assault lets you trade your bonus damage from power attack to push enemies 5' directly away from you. My idea is to use this to keep keep enemies away from me by hitting them with an AoO and then pushing them out of my range. So they step back in and...AoO.
So, the idea is great, and that feat is nasty. However, why bard? I guess the support comes in many forms that way. I just wonder what happens when someone breaches your perimeter. As a Bard your CMD will be low most likely making for easy Acrobatics checks. You may need to ditch Cha to 12 and rely on items to pump to castable levels. That way you can keep a good STR and DEX. Again awesome feat mix, perhaps not the best execution.
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Pushing Assault lets you trade your bonus damage from power attack to push enemies 5' directly away from you. My idea is to use this to keep keep enemies away from me by hitting them with an AoO and then pushing them out of my range. So they step back in and...AoO.
Probably worth checking your DM's call on that first...
'... Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn't count as more than one opportunity for that opponent...' (Core book, page 180)
... so, RAW, the guy moves out of your reach-threatened area (as he closes), you take an AoO (interrupting his action) to push him back, then he continues his action, walking up to you and smacking you in the face with impunity... Unless that 5ft push caused him to run out of move for his turn, you're out of luck...
Pushing Assault lets you trade your bonus damage from power attack to push enemies 5' directly away from you. My idea is to use this to keep keep enemies away from me by hitting them with an AoO and then pushing them out of my range. So they step back in and...AoO.Probably worth checking your DM's call on that first...
'... Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn't count as more than one opportunity for that opponent...' (Core book, page 180)
... so, RAW, the guy moves out of your reach-threatened area (as he closes), you take an AoO (interrupting his action) to push him back, then he continues his action, walking up to you and smacking you in the face with impunity... Unless that 5ft push caused him to run out of move for his turn, you're out of luck...
Drat! You can use Trip attempts from your weapon with AoOs, right? He gets within my range, I trip him. He gets up, provokes an AoO, and I whack him, pushing him back. I should probably search the forums to see if this is legal.
Also, the requirement of Bard is because my character I'm thinking of rebuilding must be a Bard. Plus, Haste/Good Hope/Inspire Courage is an awesome combo.
Add Stand Still in and your golden.
That only works against adjacent enemies...which I want to avoid!
Combat Patrol with bardic performance is really neat, but Shizzle69 raises some good points.
It's one of the rare cases I would recommand a prestige class and tell you to take a look at the Battle Herald. A one level dip in cavalier gives you the weapon proficiency, a horse you can replace for free, a teamwork feat you can grant to your allies (you'll get more because BH levels stack for this, nice.) and a small challenge/order bonus. Then go Bard 4 (Arcane duelist?) and Battle Herald.
Just from the top of my head, I did no number crunching, but you'd get a better BAB and the Inspiring Command feature is nice and would mesh well with Combat manoeuvres (Inspired tactics to help you trip/etc.)
If you are there to protect the spellcasters,you get some good options too.
Just realized that Combat Patrol needs Dodge and Mobility, which makes it too feat intensive.
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Drat! You can use Trip attempts from your weapon with AoOs, right? He gets within my range, I trip him. He gets up, provokes an AoO, and I whack him, pushing him back. I should probably search the forums to see if this is legal.
That looks legal, yes.
Get yourself Greater Trip and it should go something like this...
1. Bad guy tries to get within your reach and provokes as he tries to move from a square you're threatening. You use the AoO to trip him.
2. Since you tripping him causes him to provoke (thanks to Greater Trip) you use the AoO to hack at him (with the bonus for him being prone).
3. If still alive, the bad guy stands up, again provoking you. This time you use Pushing Assault with the AoO to push him back.
... seems like a pretty neat combo since the bad guy is provoking three different opportunities.
Drat! You can use Trip attempts from your weapon with AoOs, right? He gets within my range, I trip him. He gets up, provokes an AoO, and I whack him, pushing him back. I should probably search the forums to see if this is legal.That looks legal, yes.
Get yourself Greater Trip and it should go something like this...
1. Bad guy tries to get within your reach and provokes as he tries to move from a square you're threatening. You use the AoO to trip him.
2. Since you tripping him causes him to provoke (thanks to Greater Trip) you use the AoO to hack at him (with the bonus for him being prone).
3. If still alive, the bad guy stands up, again provoking you. This time you use Pushing Assault with the AoO to push him back.
... seems like a pretty neat combo since the bad guy is provoking three different opportunities.
It'd be awesome to do, but I'd have to give up Toughness and Defensive Combat Training to get that. I'm not too keen on that.
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Greater Trip is pretty much the big 'payoff' reason to get into a trip-build in the first place - whenever you trip a guy he provokes... and not just you, but everyone who's threatening him... the front-line guys in your team will thank you for providing them with extra AoO against the bad guys, trust me...
I'd also take a look at the Fury's Fall Feat from the Cheliax book (page 26) if you have it - it allows you to add your Dex bonus as well as your Str bonus to your trip CMB.