Armiger Advice

[Rocky Williams 530]

Howdy! I'm playing an armiger in a campaign, and was wondering if anyone had any advice for a cool 'build' or idea for the character. RP wise, he's a large son of a smith who has always been the protective type. Looking out for the safety of his little friends more than bashing in the heads of the guys messing with them.

His stats are (we rolled, I got lucky)
Str 18
Dex 14
Con 20
Int 12
Wis 14
Cha 11

1st level feat Endurance (So he can sleep in medium armor. Our GM has caught us unarmored many times in past campaigns, so I'm paranoid now that I'm playing a heavy armor guy)

I gave up the first feat and skill point to have another +2 to stats, which I assigned to strength. I figured I was seriously looking at weapon focus as a feat, and a +2 to strength is superior to weapon focus, except where weapon focus is a pre-req for another feat you want. Might not have been the best choice, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to have a 18 str and 20 con.

I'd appreciate feat and talent ideas, as well as combat tactics. So far, in the one session I've played this character, I've just stood there and attacked. My biggest contribution has been the +4 to AC I've granted my adjacent allies.

I'm not the biggest min/maxer but, I feel I've already picked what some might decide is a sub-optimal class, and made a RP choice in giving up the extra feat and skill, and choosing endurance as his one feat. Now I want combat effectiveness :)

Thanks for any advice you can give!

[Joex The Pale]

I have a player in my group that chose this class. There was some learning curve, mainly my fault since I let him try out a new class AND race at the same time. What I've taken away from it is the following.

1) If allowed to prep the battlefield and party tactics, they can be incredibly tough nuts to crack. He had the party group around him while being peppered with aerial archers and just turtled. They couldn't touch him nor his teammates. The party just buffed and waited for the strafers to run out of arrows or patience, then slaughtered them on the ground.

2) Take the polearm or crossbow talent asap. (I'd say polearm with your stats.) It allows you to stay next to your squishy teammates and still get some licks in. Enlarge, Combat Patrol feat or protecting someone who casts Invoke Hostility can increase the likelihood of pounding someone into the ground while keeping your partner safe.

3) Try to get your party interested in teamwork feats. If the party gets a few and works with you in a coordinated fashion, you become a monster on the field. Swap Places, Paired Opportunist and Outflank are excellent choices for battlefield control and increasing damage output.

Hope that helps!

[Rocky Williams 530]

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on taking the polearm talent at second. There's a feat in the advanced feats guide (or something like it) that lets you use a reach weapon on adjacent foes. Figured that would be handy. Not sure if it's worth the feat. Maybe figure out something else to do with opponents who close inside my reach.

So far my party wizard loves my character. Not only does my guy improve his characters AC when they're next to each other, but if you have cover, you don't suffer AoO's. So, he can cast to his hearts content as long as my armiger is next to him and conscious. :)

[Joex The Pale]

Make sure your wizard buddy returns the favour and drops Enlarge on you whenever he can. ;)

Another idea; Spring Attack. If you can move before and after attacking, you can pop out, smack someone that needs it and still end your turn next to Squishy McCasterpants. Might provoke some AoO, but I doubt that will be a problem for you. :D