Building Two Handed Shield Fighter

[Rapanuii]

Looking for advice building a character for an upcoming campaign. These are what I was told for building my character and what I'm looking to build from:

Starting at level 8
32 points for spending on creating a character
Given level equivalent gold of 33k
Can spend as much as 5.5k on items for starting out
Given an extra feat at level 1
Human Fighter (Brawler Archetype) the entire campaign
Using a spiked Heavy Shield as main weapon, and using it two handed
Allowed to not take Two Weapon Fighting feats to meet feat reqs

So obviously I want to get the bashing enhancement on my shield and I want to figure out how to make the use of Shield Slamming/Bull Rushing. I think that Mithral Breast Plate would be the best option, and I am not sure what material to make my shield, but have been looking into Glassteel.

Advice on what to invest beyond the character creation is appreciated too. I've read that Step Up feats are recommended while at the same time people say they're downright useless.

[Ogadim]

Rapanuii wrote:

32 points for spending on creating a character

Given an extra feat at level 1

When you say you have 32 points, do you mean in the normal equivalent where a 10 score = 0 points and an 18 score = 17 points? Is this extra feat a part of the campaign that can be used on any level 1 eligible feat?

[Rapanuii]

I've never dealt with point buy, but we were told to use the pathfinder one on this website in order to help figure it out.

http://tools.digitalightbulb.com/pbcalc.html

The extra feat is conditional on it being in order of being taken at the very first level.

[Ogadim]

For feats this is the skeleton I would go with to concentrate on shield bashing and bull rushing:

H Power Attack
1 Improved Shield Bash
F1 Weapon Focus (Shield Bash)
B1
F2 Improved Bull Rush
3
F4 Weapon Specialization (Shield Bash)
5
F6 Shield Slam
7 Greater Bull Rush
F8

If your bonus feat at level 1 can be anything you're eligible for, that leaves you with 4 more feats to select. The Step Up line can be nice, Combat Reflexes can be good getting free bull rushes with each AoO, Disruptive can be put in the 8th level feat to make caster have a bad day, Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack is always an option, Improved Inititive/Iron Will are classic standbys, Furious Focus to make that Power Attack even better, and some other defensive oriented choices if that's what you're looking to focus on.

[Ogadim]

Rapanuii wrote:

I've never dealt with point buy, but we were told to use the pathfinder one on this website in order to help figure it out.

http://tools.digitalightbulb.com/pbcalc.html

The extra feat is conditional on it being in order of being taken at the very first level.

Yeah, that's the standard point buy system. 32 is pretty darn strong considering 25 is usually considered "epic" in terms of strength. Given that, I would go with this:

Str 16 (10)
Dex 15 (7)
Con 16 (10)
Int 12 (2)
Wis 14 (5)
Cha 8 (-2)

You have 2 points to put in a stat for being a Human and 2 individual points from reaching level 4 and 8. I would suggest 1 in Dex to bump up your armor class another notch and the rest being dumped into Str (you are a Fighter after all).

For items:
+1 Mithral Breastplate 5,200g
+1 Heavy Shield of Bashing 4,020g
+2 Cloak of Resistance 4,000g
Belt of Giant's Strength +2 4,000g
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 2,000g
Ring of Protection +1 2,000g
Boots of Striding and Springing 5,500g

That leaves you with 6,280g for whatever else you might want (potions, CLW wands, etc.). Hope that helps get you started. :)

[Rapanuii]

I don't really know how to make the most use of it. I think the strategy would be to bull rush others into a wall making them fall prone, and just forcing them to fight while and only being able to take standard actions, or they could full attack while they're prone.

Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack has always seemed to be very awful, so I don't think I'd ever go that route.

1. Power Attack, Improved Shield Bash, Weapon Focus, Combat Reflexes
2. Improved Bull Rush
3. Step Up
4. Following Step
5. Weapon Specialization
6. Shield Slam
7. Step Up and Strike
8. Greater Bull Rush
9. Greater Weapon Focus
10. Combat Expertise
11. Shield Master
12. Greater Weapon Specialization

That is what I mapped out so far to consider, but I'm unsure about the order and the Step up feats being useful or not. An entire map out of a possible character would help out greatly, but any advice helps.

The items seem to be pretty great suggestions, and they are almost all what I had in mind already. The Boots would give me more movement for Bull Rushing too. I am also trying to figure what to invest after the start out of a character too.

[Rapanuii]

Any tips on items that help increase bull rush skill?

[ArmouredMonk13]

If you went dwarf, there is an alternate racial trait that gives a +2 to bull rush combat maneuvers.

[Rapanuii]

I am really invested in being a Human, and the extra feat is what is so appealing to me.