Building a Battle Herald - looking for advice

[Reknar]

Hello people,

I’m looking for advice on building a Battle Herald, at least I think that is what I am looking for :D

The concept revolves about a grizzled veteran that has gone through quite a lot in his life, having fought in the army, lost good friends, made some others but a few things he has learned to excel at – he leads men into battle, fights decently alongside them, he is their support and command voice – picture a rough sergeant on whom everyone can depend on.

I have read some things about the Battle Herald, and how to build him, and he looks like the perfect fit – I think I am settled on going Bard (Arcane Duelist probably) / Cavalier (Standard Bearer/Strategist) with Order of the Dragon. I don’t want him to be a frolicking or dancing bard at all – I want him to be a tough guy, who has learned things the hard way, does not fear standing at the forefront of combat. I picture his way to inspire and bolster others is more akin to barking orders and encouraging words amidst the battle, than actually reciting poetry or singing.

Thing is, I have never built a character like this, and am not sure how to go about it mechanically in the best way possible (which levels deserve a dip, perhaps Order of the Dragon is not the best, perhaps the stats and/or feats are not well thought out, etc.). So… Here’s what I have so far:

20 point buy means a stat spread like STR17, DEX14, CON14, INT10, WIS11, CHA14

Playing an Aasimar – Angelkin (+2 to STR and CHA)
Traits: Magical Knack (Bard) and Child of the Crusade (this is for a WotR game)
Feats and character level progression:
Level 1 (Cavalier – Standard Bearer/Strategist): Power Attack
Level 1 (Bonus Teamwork Feat): Paired Opportunist (not sure on this one to be honest)
Level 2 (Bard – Arcane Duelist) – Arcane Strike
Level 3 (Cavalier – Standard Bearer/Strategist) – Combat Reflexes
Level 4 (Bard – Arcane Duelist)
Level 5 (Bard – Arcane Duelist) – Furious Focus? Lingering Performance?

So… As you can see I am starting to stall at this point – I think I would like to take the four levels in Cavalier, and perhaps even the 6 levels in Bard – after all Bladethirst is not bad at all, and makes perfect sense for the character overall. Not sure however if I should go for Battle Herald as soon as I can, and then return to the other classes afterward.

Also, what feats would be useful for such a character? As I want to make him a melee combatant, my thoughts have been on a reach weapon and some hard damage, so perhaps follow the usual Furious Focus (would like combat expertise but don’t have the Int for it), maybe Dodge, Mobility, or going for stuff like lunge – not really sure, hence my request for advice :D

I have many more questions [like if it makes sense to actually use the Aasimar Favoured Class option on the character, or if perhaps hit points or skills make more sense - I just love skills :D], but let’s take it one step at a time – any advice is welcome.

[Reknar]

An ever so slight BUMP!

[kBro]

If you're allowed to use 3rd party stuff, I would take a look at the Inspiring Commander Cavalier archetype. It gets bardic performance in exchange for a mount, so you can go straight Inspiring Commander 5 into Battle Herald. Also, its bardic performance is Int based so you can grab combat expertise more easily, but Battle Herald is Cha based so that may hinder you.

If that doesn't work, I would suggest going Cavalier 4 / Bard 1 / Battle Herald X (using the archetypes you've already picked). Getting that second challenge, extra damage, other cavalier class features is better than getting some more bard spells or caster levels (which won't increase Arcane Strike damage until 5th bard level). You'll only have 2 1st level spells known and can cast them twice per day, but that's not an issue. I highly recommend Saving Finale as a spell, and any other spell that has a long duration or an instant lasting effect without a save (grease,silent image, clarion call for thematic reasons) or something that's useful outside combat.

As far as feats and weapons, I would definitely suggest a reach weapon combined with combat reflexes as your first feat. Stand Still is also a nice feat to get, along with a lot of the Combat Reflexes feat line. If you're worried about fighting up close, you can take a 1 level dip in Hungry Ghost Monk to be able to fight with your hands full, get combat reflexes as a feat, and get punishing kick (which works great with a reach weapon after kicking them away). Lingering Performance is a must for any class with bardic performance, just to allow your performance to continue even when you're unable to maintain it. If you wanted you could focus on debuffing as well if you went with weapon focus, dazzling display, spear dancer, and shatter defenses.

If you go with Order of the Dragon, I would suggest getting Gloves of Arcane Striking when you can, which adds your arcane strike bonus to aid another, among some other nice benefits. Also, if you take the Bodyguard feat, you can aid another using attacks of opportunity. Dragon fits the most thematically, but if you want to branch out a little, Order of the Cockatrice works well with the debuff strategy using dazzling display.

For action economy in combat, you likely won't be directly attacking often. Early on you'll be using your standard to start inspire courage and using lingering performance to get the most out of your few rounds (as in not maintaining it), followed with a move action to get into a good strategic position. Combat Reflexes will be where you get your attacks in, using arcane strike to get a small bonus, and possibly power attack if you have the BAB and Strength (which you should with mostly full BAB).

I would build like this :
Level 1 (Cavalier – Standard Bearer/Strategist): Combat Reflexes, [teamwork feat]
Level 2 (Bard – Arcane Duelist) – [Arcane Strike]
Level 3 (Cavalier – Standard Bearer/Strategist) – Lingering Performance
Level 4 (Cavalier – Standard Bearer/Strategist)
Level 5 (Cavalier – Standard Bearer/Strategist) – {Leadership?,PowerAttack,StandStill,etc}

[ChrisLKimball]

I think kBro has you well in hand, but if you had your heart on an early power attack, pushing assault is also good. Maybe look to Antagonize to draw in your foes, make the most of combat reflexes and battlefield control that way!