I was messing around, thinking about a character for PFS and kinda stumbled onto this combo but it needs to be fleshed out more. I'm just kinda brainstorming here.
Take 2 levels of Ranger or Slayer to get Shield Slam, then grab Spiked Destroyer and Vicious Stomp. You would also need combat reflexes and Improved Unarmed Strike. If you are human and take a Fighter level at level 3 you can get all the feats then. You could also take a class that give Improved unarmed strike for free at level 3 instead of Fighter, Brawler maybe.
You get to hit them with your shield, bull rush for free, take another attack (as a swift action) with armor spikes, and if you can find a wall to knock them prone then you get an unarmed attack as well.
None of the attacks are all that scary, but you get to put your full strength on them, so you might wanna take some Barbarian or Bloodrager levels for more strength.
All 3 weapons fall into the close weapons group, so maybe Brawler (fighter archetype) would be nice for more damage as well.
You could throw Merciless Rush onto the combo as well, for some more free damage.
You should be able to run the combo with cleave and great cleave, which will be really nice when you can fly and shield slam people into the ground.
Are there any ways to get more triggering attacks off bull rush?
How can I grab more damage without hurting my to-hit on the first attack?
Benefit: Any opponents hit by your shield bash are also hit with a free bull rush attack, substituting your attack roll for the combat maneuver check (see Combat). This bull rush does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Opponents who cannot move back due to a wall or other surface are knocked prone after moving the maximum possible distance. You may choose to move with your target if you are able to take a 5-foot step or to spend an action to move this turn.
Benefit: Whenever an opponent falls prone adjacent to you, that opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you. This attack must be an unarmed strike.
Benefit: When you succeed at a bull rush or overrun combat maneuver, you may automatically make an attack roll with your armor spikes against the target of the maneuver as a swift action, using your highest attack bonus.
Benefit: When you bull rush a creature and your check exceeds the target’s CMD by 5 or more, you deal damage equal to your Strength modifier to that target.
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I don't think you can count on having a wall nearby to provide the ability to make them prone: there are going to be a lot of times when that just won't happen.
Here's something that might interest you, along the same general idea: at level 3 this Flowing Monk / Lore Warden can perform an unarmed trip that results in him placing his victim in any square that he threatens (Ki Throw), getting an extra attack on him when he hits the ground (Vicious Stomp) and initiating a Grapple as a swift action (Binding Throw).
Human Flowing Monk / Lore Warden
S:18 D:14 C:14 I:13 W:11 C:7 [All bumps to DEX]
1) FM1 Improved Trip (FM); Combat Reflexes(1st); IUS (Monk); Vicious Stomp (H)
2) LW1 - Ki Throw
3) LW2 Combat Expertise; Improved Grapple; Binding Throw
4) FM2 Unbalancing Counter; Evasion
5) LW3 Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike; Binding Throw; (+2 to CMB/CMD)
6)LW4 - Weapon Specialization: Unarmed Strike;
7) LW5 Greater Trip (WT: +1/+1)
8) LW6 Greater Grapple
9) LW7 Iron Will (+4 to CMB/CMD)
10) LW8 Rapid Grappler
11) LW9 GWF: Unarmed Strike; (WT: +2/+2)
It's a neat idea. It just requires so many feats...
I'm counting... 5 prerequisite feats on top of the 4 in question
I suppose as a fighter, it isn't too bad, but it's still a little feat-intensive. And, too be fair, barbarians can't even get pounce until level 10, so I guess that's reasonable.
Wouldn't you want enough monk levels to get some Ki, seeing that Ki Throw only works on enemies larger than you if you spend Ki?
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Poor Man's Pounce suggests landing a full attack 30'. That's a pretty nifty combo, but requires a lot of feats. What's the tactical objective here?
What can you do to make that melee combatant formidable from level one onward? That way you can be awesome levels 1-7, then get super-awesome around level 8 ...
The objective was to get multiple attacks along with a move, and get to be more a mobile combatant.
Shield Slam and Spiked Destroyer don't take all that much to get, but Vicious Stomp kind of does, and it's a bit situational. Merciless Rush also takes feats that I might not need as well.
I wonder if just grabbing Shield Slam and Spiked Destroyer wouldn't be better, take your first two levels as a ranger, grabbing Power Attack and Spiked Destroyer at level one, ranger style shield slam at 2. Now if you can stack up small damage bonuses, you should still be a decent threat.
Argus, your build is cool, but its more of a bad touch build then a mobile striker.
I'm making something fairly similar in PFS as a fighter, but it only really starts getting in its grove as a mobile tripper at level 6.
Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Improved Feint
Furious Focus
Weapon Focus
Combat Reflexes
Improved Trip
Felling Smash
Greater Trip
Greater Feint
(Monk MOMS) Viscous Stomp, Dragon Style
(Monk MOMS) Monkey Style or Dragon Ferocity
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Hawktitan shows us one quick and dirty way to both move and get multiple attacks: combat reflexes and a reach weapon. Here's how that works:
Move to a choke point and threaten the largest area you can. This forces foes to come to you. You need not attack on your turn, but can if you want. You may get multiple AoOs when foes move up to the chokepoint. This doesn't always work, but it works often enough that it's a viable approach. The greatest threat to this approach is your own tactically-challenged allies, who will often spoil things by being over-eager and unaware. Here's one way this sort of build can theoretically inflict 300+ HP in a round at 5th level.
Here's another way to do something similar:
A character with the cleric domain Plant(Growth) can full attack (with a reach weapon) a foe that starts the round 30' away. That's also a sort of "poor man's pounce".This is a very powerful fighting style with several subtle advantages that are not obvious at first glance. For example, the whole 'reach donut' issue resolves itself, in-combat maneuverability is greatly enhanced, and the 50' diameter threat zone often provokes more AoOs than you can take.
Shield Slam + Spiked Destroyer + Martial Versatility= You're welcome
I've been playing a TWF sword and board ranger for quite some time and while it's not super optimized it can hold it's own. Shield Slam makes for some nice crowd control and Shield master at level 6 is a killer feat.
I've debated spiked destroyer for this build before but always thought of it as not adding enough damage to my full attack. What I wasn't considering however was the pseudo pounce ability it provides. I'm thinking this trick is better used with the slayer however as he has the ability to add SA damage to his pounce. With a dual Talented Human you could do the following Stat Array and TWF while picking up the TWF chain with your level feats and Slayer Talents.
STR 18 DEX 16 CON 14 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 8
Feats
1 TWF
2 Shield Slam
3 Spiked Destroyed
4 PA
5 ???/Iron Will
6 Shield Master
7 ITWF
8 ???
9 ???
10 ???
11 ???
A level of Shield Champion will get you Improved Unarmed Strike and proficiency with most shields. Also, martial flexibility, which could free at least one of those feat slots up.
Course, that costs a move action, which you probably don't want to cough up if you're trying for a pounce build.
