Hi all making a 7th lvl fighter for a game need a bit of help with feats what to be good with thrown weapons mainly spear and javelin any thoughts
Ps don't suggest other classes as im sticking to a fighter
In a game I am running the Barbarian was surprised to discover the max range of thrown weapons to be 5 range increments. Core p. 182. For spear that means 100ft maximum range at a minus 2 to hit per range increment. If you prefer the Javelin you can extend that but should equip a side arm to avoid attacks of opportunity. The build you describe is cool but gives up some att. bonus at range. Just be aware.
Recommended for throwing:
Quick Draw
Distance Thrower
Close Quarters Thrower
Clustered Shots
Charging Hurler (and Improved Charging Hurler)
Two-Handed Thrower
Shot on the Run
some of these feats need some other prerequisites like Dodge, Mobility etc... so make sure you check them out.
Consider the Feat False Opening. It's expensive, but it might be just the thing for a spearman.
The prereqs:
Weapon focus (spear)
Dodge
Close Quarters Thrower
Close Quarters Thrower lets you throw your spear from melee without provoking Attacks of Opporutnity, so you could do something like attack a wizard protected by a line of skeletons by engaging the line directly and throwing the spear at the wizard without provoking from the skeletons. Then every round you could throw another spear at the wizard and shield bash the skeletons. You'll want that as a spearman.
With False Opening, you can allow those AoOs, but you get a +4 AC, and for the rest of the round, the ones who took that AoO are Flatfooted. I was thinking that would go well in conjunction with an AoO trigger like Broken Wing Gambit or Snake Fang, especially if you (or your allies) get precision damage, too.
You probably want the Returning enchantment on your spear.
You probably want the Returning enchantment on your spear.
Actually, I think returning is a bit of a trap. Returning comes back to your hand just before your next turn. This means you can't full attack OR make AoOs with it when you throw it.
You probably want the Returning enchantment on your spear.
Actually, I think returning is a bit of a trap. Returning comes back to your hand just before your next turn. This means you can't full attack OR make AoOs with it when you throw it.
The better option is to have a blinkback belt.
That does sound like it might be a problem, depending on the build. If it were my character, I would take a 2 level dip in Monk and/or a 3 level dip in Inquisitor and use Snake Fang, Broken Wing Gambit, and/or Precise Strike and get bonus attacks and damage with every spear throw. Dipping out of Fighter seems like something the OP doesn't want to do, but the principle is sound. I also envisioned using the spear just for throwing and do the melee damage with the shield bash.
But I'm describing a melee build with some ability to throw spears, not a spear thrower. A returning spear does not lend itself to multiple attacks by throwing spears. You still can do it. You need Quick Draw and several spears, and one of them will return to you at the start of your next round. The rest of them would be nonmagical, and some of them would be made of mithril, cold iron, or adamantine to give yourself a spread of DR bypassing ability.
Another feat that seems awesome for a spearman: Opening Volley. Throw your spear, then your following melee attack is at +4.
One could dispute the viability of having a bunch of spears strapped to a belt... I think the Belt only works with one handed weapons, or at least items that can realistically be strapped to a belt, so Javelin is the largest sort of item I would allow a player to strap to a blinkback belt.
Blinkback Belt is cool. I think it's better than the Returning enchantment. I might want to save my Belt Slot for Giant Strength or something, but the Blinkback Belt is a VERY VIABLE option.
If you're making a 7th-level Fighter, why not purchase a Belt of Mighty Hurling? The Lesser version grants +2 Strength, increases the range increment of thrown weapons by 10', and allows you to use your Strength modifier in place of Dexterity when using thrown weapons. This would allow you to focus Strength instead of splitting your focus between it and Dexterity. The Greater version grants an additional +2 Strength and gives your thrown weapons the Returning property for free on top of the bonuses provided by the Lesser version.
The Quick Draw feat is essential for thrown-weapon builds, so take that ASAP. If you're going with Strength as your main stat and using the belt listed above, I suggest taking the Two-Handed Hurler feat. With this feat your thrown weapons would gain the two-hand Strength bonus and you can full-attack with thrown two-handed weapons (Spears, usually).
Using these options together you'd have a 30' range increment and deal 1d8 + (1.5 x Strength modifier) damage with each attack. Unfortunately you won't get 1.5x Deadly Aim damage, but them's the breaks.
Strength vs Dexterity:
The Strength route has less attacks without Two-Weapon Fighting and probably won't deal critical hits as often, but it has a higher base damage (and likely a higher attack bonus) due to needing only one ability score to function. It also has more feats than the Dexterity route and a better range increment due to the belt. Paradoxically the Dex build only needs one weapon and the Strength build needs multiple due to the lack of a Blinkback Belt and the wording of the Returning weapon property.
See if your GM will allow you to custom-order a Belt of Hurling with the Blinkback Belt's properties tacked on. If I'm reading this correctly, the cost of such an item would be 1/2 of the most expensive magic item + 1.5 times the market price of the second magic item. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
If that's right, the Lesser + Blinkback version should cost 14,500 gp to craft (14,000/2 + 5000*1.5) and the Greater + Blinkback version should cost 28,500 gp (42,000/2 + 5000*1.5). It hurts your wallet, but the benefits of needing only one weapon far outweigh the initial cost.
You could also make something like a lance & javelins build. The idea behind this is to make full attacks throwing javelins with Quick Draw while holding your lance in the other hand then to put your hand back on the lance and make AoOs with Combat Reflexes. Very feat intensive, but a Dragoon archetype Fighter should be able to pull this off and be able to use mounted combat when outside as an added bonus.
