In my party there is a level 4 fighter that chose the twf style fighter,but with a double bladed sword,an exotic weapon.
He is currently walking through any encounter like it isn't even there;when he has to move, while reaching his target he changes grip from two weapons fighter to two handed,landing a heavy blow.He then changes back to two weapons and takes a full round attack finishing off the (poor) foe.
My doubt comes from the rules for double weapons;yes, you can change grip and with a +1 min. BaB you can change a weapon for free during a move action,but how it works for a double sword? Can you really change from twf to two handed as a free action when you are already in melee? I also know changing weapons doesn't give AoO.
male human fighter 4
traits (anatomist) (adopted-elven reflexes)
Str 16 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 8
HP 38; BaB +4; CMB +7; CMD 20; AC 22
initiative +5
fort +6 ref +4 will +2 (bravery +1)
handle animals +3; ride +7; knowledge dungeoneering +4; intimidate +5
linguistic +1; swim +8; perception +1; climb +8; survival +8
lvl 1 feat-exotic weapon profic. two bladed sword
fighter bonus feat-dodge
human bonus feat-two weapons fighting
lvl 2 fighter bonus feat-weapon focus two bladed sword
lvl 3 feat-two weapons defense
lvl 4 fighter bonus feat-weapon specialization two bladed sword
(one hand) mw two bladed sword +9 (1d8+5 19-20 x2)
(two handed) mw two bladed sword +9 (1d8+6 19-20 x2)
(two weapons) mw two bladed sword +7/+7 (1d8+5/1d8+3 19-20 x2)
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If you mean 'can he..:
Round 1 - move to/charge target and take a single, two-handed attack
Round 2 - full attack with both ends of the double weapon'
Then yes, he can.
If you mean 'can he..:
Round 1 - move to/charge target and full attack this round'
...then no...
and if you mean 'can he..:
Round 1 - move to/charge target and take a single two-handed attack
Round 2 - make his first attack two-handed and then switch to two-weapon fighting for his remaining attacks'
then no.
If it's the first, legal scenario, I wouldn't worry about it too much - he's a fighter, he's good at fighting. It'll start to drop off a bit as he levels, anyway.
If you mean 'can he..:
Round 1 - move to/charge target and take a single, two-handed attack
Round 2 - full attack with both ends of the double weapon'If it's the first, legal scenario, I wouldn't worry about it too much - he's a fighter, he's good at fighting. It'll start to drop off a bit as he levels, anyway.
Yes, the first scenario is what is happening.Ok then, i'll start changing tactics.
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To be honest, at level 4 he's kind of in the 'sweet spot' for his combat style. Nobody else has a second attack yet, he's just picked up Weapon Specialisation, and enemies don't have so many hit points that Power Attack becomes a serious necessity. Furthermore, enemies with 10 ft. (or greater!) reach are still uncommon.
My advice? Let him enjoy the moment. He gets to be the badass now because the wizard doesn't have fireball yet.
It's basically all downhill from here. :P
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With those stats, feats, and tactics, I am not seeing the "walk through" potential when it come to encounters.
Sure, it seems to be a strong, good build, but nothing game-breaking.
The fact that a well built fighter, using decent tactics, is doing decent damage, is well, what should happen.
It seems just a decent build, a summoner is probably more terrifying without even trying. It seems legal to me and honestly it is a non-optimized build.
Avoid the kneejerk reaction, it is unwarranted in this case as far as I can see typical encounters give him enough trouble, maybe he made some good rolls or gets party support ?
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With those stats, feats, and tactics, I am not seeing the "walk through" potential when it come to encounters.
Sure, it seems to be a strong, good build, but nothing game-breaking.
The fact that a well built fighter, using decent tactics, is doing decent damage, is well, what should happen.
This + ninjaiguana's "sweet spot" post. Also to add...he spent a feat for proficiency and for TWFing. He has paid for his effectiveness with the feat tax, picked a very average weapon and is mildly effective because he has 2 attacks right now. Why does that require a GM's "I'll have to change tactics to make the player's choices invalid" type of response?
If you are gonna start tossing around the nerf hammer at this then you have a crap-ton of nerfing to do in a couple of levels with just about everyone....This isn't even close to game-breaking or munchkinish at all.
Not that i need to change tactics, ok, that was a bit exagerated.But the party also has a paladin, a magus, a rogue, a draconic sorcerer and a cleric, all 4rth (six members, APL+1).
I'll surely need to adjust encounter CR and to use mixed CRs.
So, CR 5, XP budget 1,600...
2x Skeletal Champion
4x Skeleton
You're under budget for the encounter, there are a number of enemies to fight, he can wipe a normal skeleton out with every hit, but those champions will take quite a bit more effort. The cleric will do more work than the fighter.
1x Large Earth Elemental.
2x Medium Earth Elementals (Burrow is amazing for avoiding attacks).
1x Barghest
3x Goblin
That player's damage output is nowhere near as insane as it could be, and while he can annihilate numerous low-hp targets, he's less effective at dealing with single hard targets.
Frankly, that's a decent build, but not as optimized as some of the two-weapon builds that are out there: weapon/spiked shield (two attacks and a shield bonus to AC) and half-orc (Toothy) with orc double-axe/bite (three attacks on a full-attack), for instance. As others have stated, doing damage well is normal for a fighter; also, with a large group (six PCs), single foes rarely pose much of a challenge.
If you want to make things more "interesting" without "invalidating" the player's choices (i.e., denying him chances to get in close and full attack), then just add more enemies to each encounter rather than upping the CR of each creature; usually, it will take longer to disable multiple opponents than one tougher opponent. Also, start using tactics and teamwork; even something as simple as a pair of opponents with shields fighting defensively (to raise AC) in front of a third with a polearm or other reach weapon can make a big difference. A fighter is best against a single foe or a small number of opponents (no more than two or three usually, possibly up to four or five ranged), where they can concentrate their damage; against larger numbers, spellcasters are much more efficient.
Second or third that this is not an overpowered build.
The only reason you should change your tactics is if the bad guys have been watching from afar and have learned the characters tactics.
Bad guys don't know which adventurer will be knocking next so not sure building to thwart your players is the best choice?
That character looks like a pretty standard 'cuisinart' fighter. He's a 23 point build, which gives him a slight bump. As others have pointed out, he isn't particularly optimized. He'll need to be careful when choosing his equipment, lest foes with hardness or DR give him a tough time.
In his shoes, my next feats would include Double Slice, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, and Power Attack.