Greetings Fellow Gamers,
I'm currently splitting my time between being a DM (Rise of the Runelords) and being a Player (Shattered Star).
My back-up character is a dwarf, who is questing for the Axe of Dwarvish Lords (or another powerful artifact) to return to the 5 Kings Mountain to solidify his father's claim as king.
Anyhow...
I want to make a character in the heaviest armor I can find.
I'm trying to decide between Phalanx Fighter, Tower Shield Specialist, or Armor Master archetypes (or no archetype).
Eventually he would get Dwarven Full Plate and an adamantine shield (large or tower), and 'weapon' (battle axe, warhammer, OR halberd, lucerne hammer).
Though the idea of a 'defending' battle axe to up my defenses would be pretty nice.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
armored hulk barbarian.
Or Like I have,
Phalanx Soldier Fighter/ Armored hulk barbarian with Fiend Totem rage powers.
You get close and you get the horns.
A player in one of my games used a dwarven Shielded fighter to great effect.
Not only was he nearly un-hitable he also lended a great deal of defense to adjacent allies, magnifying the impact on the battlefield his high defense provided.
I suggest reading up on that archetype and the shield-based feats as you design this.
One of my more recent characters was a barbarian, so even though they would be different, I want to avoid playing the same class within such close proximity to each other.
But, I might re-examine the Armored Hulk barbarian. I don't want to close out my options
Dwarven longhammer phalanx fighter with shield master. ... sounds interesting.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
Armored Hulk with the speed bonus, on a dwarf, seems pretty nice. It's just like having fast movement...just later.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
Stonelord paladin you say?
Your ideas intrigue me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Tell me more.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
Stonelord paladin you say?
Your ideas intrigue me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Tell me more.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
From the Advanced Race Guide you can find it Here
Greetings Fellow Gamers,
I'm currently splitting my time between being a DM (Rise of the Runelords) and being a Player (Shattered Star).
My back-up character is a dwarf, who is questing for the Axe of Dwarvish Lords (or another powerful artifact) to return to the 5 Kings Mountain to solidify his father's claim as king.
Anyhow...
I want to make a character in the heaviest armor I can find.
I'm trying to decide between Phalanx Fighter, Tower Shield Specialist, or Armor Master archetypes (or no archetype).Eventually he would get Dwarven Full Plate and an adamantine shield (large or tower), and 'weapon' (battle axe, warhammer, OR halberd, lucerne hammer).
Though the idea of a 'defending' battle axe to up my defenses would be pretty nice.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
Does it have to be super high AC only? Can it instead be 'just' high AC and then super high saves and out of this world DR?
In the long run, you need layered defenses to be truly survivable and I have just the build for that.
The Stonelord, and Stalwart defender seem interesting.
Super High AC is good, but 'just' high AC and saves and DR would be viable as well.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
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The Stonelord, and Stalwart defender seem interesting.
Super High AC is good, but 'just' high AC and saves and DR would be viable as well.
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
like I said, AC over time actually means very little. Much better to have high saves and high DR in addition to a good AC.
Short version - Dwarven Invulnerable Rager & Urban Barbarian with a dip in Unbreakable Fighter (at 4th and then at 20th) and a melee focus:
Feats:
1st - Power Attack
2nd - Superstition
3rd - Combat Expertise
4th - Lesser Beast Totem
5th - Stalwart
5th - Diehard
5th - Endurance
7th - Extra RP: Beast Totem
7th - Reckless Abandon
9th - Extra RP: Extra DR
9th - Extra DR
11th - Improved Stalwart
11th - Greater Beast Totem
13th - Combat Reflexes
13th - Come and Get Me
15th - Dazing Assault or Raging Brutality
15th - Extra DR
17th - Extra RP: Flesh Wound
17th - Witch Hunter
19th - Extra RP: Eater of Magic
19th - Strength Surge
20th - Toughness
DR 15/- by 12th level. That's insane. Superstition plus the Dwarf's natural resistance to spells and high Constitution and Wisdom makes saves just sick. From 4th level on he can wear heavy armor and use any shield you want, Urban Barbarian doesn't take the AC hit most Barbs do and Beast Totem bumps that up even further. Plus you get more skills as a little bonus. Let me know if you're interested in the full build.
Wouldn't the dip in 'Unbreakable' give me the Endurance and Diehard feats? Or is that what is indicated at 5th level? Is that where I should take the dip?
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
Wouldn't the dip in 'Unbreakable' give me the Endurance and Diehard feats? Or is that what is indicated at 5th level? Is that where I should take the dip?
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
That's it exactly. I kept saying 4th level but I meant 5th.
Wouldn't the dip in 'Unbreakable' give me the Endurance and Diehard feats? Or is that what is indicated at 5th level? Is that where I should take the dip?
Very Respectfully,
--Bacon
BTW - your traits for that build should be 'Threatening Defender' and 'Glory of Old'.
Are you worried about vulnerability to spells too? Two wacky ideas for you.....
1- Magic Resistant alternate racial trait. you lose the +2 on saves but gain SR 5+level. Glory of Old trait can make up for some of the loss if the saves are a concern.
2- Dip Inquisitor using the Spellbreaker archetype and the Spellkiller inquisition. The archetype lets you roll Will saves twice and take the best result. The inquisition gives you Disruptive as a bonus feat and added AC bonuses in combat when you defeat enemies. Also lets you cast CLW on yourself to get thru your own SR.
AC and DR make the hits roll off you, the race trait makes spells wash over you, and the dip gives you all kind of cool toys for punishing that mage that dared cast at you.
(I said they were wacky, right?)
what about a warpriest (from Advanced Class Guide)? they have full BAB with any weapon they have focus for, and are proficient with all simple and martial weapons (including all the tasty "dwarven" exotic weapons), and all armor and shields (except tower shields). so you can tromp around in heavy armor with a shield, and they have the 'sacred armor' ability which lets them augment armor (similar to how a pally or magus augments their weapon). plus you get 6/9 casting, so it should be significantly different than your barb.
the other ideas are good as well, just thought i'd toss out another option.
Take a look at the 3PP class Arminger. It might have a lot of what you're looking for.