So, I'm playing a rather succesful reach trip character and at this point I'm not certain how should I evolve him best!
He's a Dwarven Fighter 4 (Polearm Master) / Barbarian 2 (Brutal Pugilist / Urban Barbarian) / Alchemist 4 (Vivisectionist / Internal Alchemist). Obviously I'm all for having options, so... give me options! :)
Featwise he's got Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Greater Trip, Combat Reflexes, Felling Smash, Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Critical and Steel Soul.
The campaign (Kingmaker) will (most probably) last till the 15th lvl and I'm thinking on continuing with Fighter levels, therefore I'm looking at 5 more feats (any reason to continue otherwise?).
So... what feats would you suggest I go for? I'm thinking of...
... the Vital Strike line which could lead to 12d6 damage standard attacks with VS and IVS (using an Enlarged Dwarven Longhammer of Impact) possibly maximised with Furious Finish.
... raising my attack bonus with Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, Fury's Fall and even Furious Focus.
... getting generic feats such as Improved Initiative, Lunge, Improved Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, etc.
... ???
As always, your insight is appreciated!
-Get the fortuitous weapon enhancement to get an extra AoO
-Vicious stomp feat will get you an extra attack that is NOT an AoO
-Lunge is always a good idea
-Find ways to boost your DEX to get more AoOs
If mythic
-take mythic combat reflexes (and disregard the "boost your dex" comment above) to make your DM regret ever being born
-retributive reach in the Guardian tree is perfect for you
Unfortunately Vicious Stomp does not work for me as you have to be adjacent to the enemy in order to benefit from the feat and I'm playing with a reach weapon.
Fortuitous sounds interesting though, didn't know about it! Enhancing my weapon with it probably gets a higher priority than a Dex belt!
Thanks!
I agree that you might get less mileage out of vicious stomp than your other trip feats, I am playing a trip fighter myself, but having improved unarmed strike and vicious stomp is perfect for when the enemy WILL get to all the way to you.
Think about it, since you can kick, knee, elbow, headbutt, etc. you can use IUS while still being armed with your longhammer, thus you can still AoO any other enemies that come into reach while you trip the guy who got to you, vicious stomp him (+AoO from greater trip), then move 5ft back to get him back in your polearm reach.
You will never have to drop your weapon again or switch to another one. (In your case, you use pole fighting to trip him and then AoO+vicious stomp)
Fury's Fall is always good, but honestly, with a reach weapon I think you would get a lot more trip optimization out of Cleave, then Cleaving Finish or Surprise Follow Through (for the Viv sneak attacks).
Or failing that, Improved Overrun and Greater Overrun, then later Spiked Destroyer, for the super maneuver controller thing.
The Menacing and Mighty Cleaving enchantments are worth a look as optimizers.
Also, Shield extract. If you aren't using it, get it!
Also, there's no net penalty, but will you GM let you can wear this (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/armor/quilted-cloth) with this (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/special-materials#TOC-Silk-Arane a)?
Hmmm... interesting suggestions, even though they probably won't work with my playstyle!
Unless we're facing archers / spellcasters I prefer to let the enemies come to me. I'm almost always fighting Enlarged so wielding a reach weapon gives me an effective reach of 15' / 20'. This creates a control zone around me through which almost no enemy may pass through (given the fact that fully buffed my trip is more than +30).
Against spellcasters or dangerous archers I can use a Quickrunner's Shirt which allows me to move and full attack. Thus the Cleave line of fears becomes largely irrelevant as I'm mostly using full attacks rather than standard ones.
Why should I use Overrun and / or Bull Rush when I can use Trip with better results (higher efficiency plus extra attack from Greater Trip)?
The Menacing enhancement sounds interesting but unfortunately requires me to be adjacent to the enemy and this is something that I tend to avoid (due to the use of a reach weapon)! :)
Shield extract is a must indeed, it's my main buff along with Enlarge!
Thanks for all the tips!
Nessus_9th wrote: I agree that you might get less mileage out of vicious stomp than your other trip feats, I am playing a trip fighter myself, but having improved unarmed strike and vicious stomp is perfect for when the enemy WILL get to all the way to you.
Think about it, since you can kick, knee, elbow, headbutt, etc. you can use IUS while still being armed with your longhammer, thus you can still AoO any other enemies that come into reach while you trip the guy who got to you, vicious stomp him (+AoO from greater trip), then move 5ft back to get him back in your polearm reach.
You will never have to drop your weapon again or switch to another one. (In your case, you use pole fighting to trip him and then AoO+vicious stomp)
Hmmm... when facing multiple attackers and need to threaten all possible distances I guess IUS is a rather cheap way to trip those that come through my polearm's reach while simultaneously keeping the reach on my polearm so that I don't allow others to come near me (as opposed to using Pole Fighting to attack the ones who got near me since doing so would deny reach from my polearm).
It seems a bit situational but on the other hand it's a single feat so it wouldn't tax my character at all.
Vicious Stomp seems to be an overkill though as it will eat up one AoO while dealing 1d6+Str damage only (but, of course, if one's got feats to spare why not? And when having 5 AoOs / round...).
In fact IUS is extremely relevant thematically as my character has a Monk "protege" (and is supposed to be a wrestler! Damn! Should have already taken the feat!).
So, once again, great ideas!
Thanks!
Since you are already taking IUS, that opens some other options in Style Feats, Belier's Bite, or the new Status Fist feats in the ACG.
Weapon spikes. Better than unarmed strikes, and at your level enchanting them won't cost very much.
Imbicatus wrote: Since you are already taking IUS, that opens some other options in Style Feats, Belier's Bite, or the new Status Fist feats in the ACG. I must admit I never saw this route coming! Combat Style does indeed open several new options!
Thanks!
tonyz wrote: Weapon spikes. Better than unarmed strikes, and at your level enchanting them won't cost very much. Weapon Spikes? What are these?
Did you mean Armor Spikes?
Yes, armor spikes. My bad. Skies on your armor you can use as weapons :)
There's a Guide to Trip Builds that I found incredibly helpful when building a trippy oracle. You may want to look at it for ideas.
Hmm
Ring of Rat Fangs is another good option. There's been some question on whether Armor Spikes work. Bite definitely works, and you get 1-1/2 Str to damage since it's your only natural attack. It doesn't open up styles, but it's cheap and saves a feat or dip.
Not that dipping a level or two of Brawler would hurt that much. Martial versatility, IUS, Bonus Feat, Flurry, etc.
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