Add the Cruel Weapon Enhancement to your sword. When you get a chance, Arcane Strike, Blooded Arcane Strike, and Riving Strike can really round out your intimidate debuff ability. You'll be applying a -6 penalty to saves. Any SoS Wizards will love to have you around.
A reach weapon isn't particularly helpful to hit build since he has come and get me active. If they make it past his initial hit he will have no way to defend against their attack. Pushing Assault can help with this, but he's sacrificing damage and if he misses they get past him. He's better off just sticking with Come and Get and a non-reach weapon. He will get enough AoO from Come and Get Me, so the reach weapon isn't necessary. Displacement + Mirror Image makes sure he isn't taking much damage.
You might consider retraining pushing assault to one of the feats I mentioned above.
Edit: Noticed you already have two of the three I mentioned. I would retrain Pushing Assault to Riving Strike.
I basically built this same character for a one shot and it was very effective. Also, being able to use wands of Infernal Healing on yourself made sure I was always topped off on healing.
With Riving Strike, Intimidate, and the Cruel weapon enhancement it's a -6 penalty to saves overall. It means your witch can do things other than slumber and have it work. Slumber is an effective single target debuff. But you're not always in range (30ft) and sometimes they save. Or you have to set it up with things like Misfortune first. You're -6 penalty to saves means he doesn't really need to misfortune first.
And pushing assault doesn't make you impervious to melee enemies. Enemies with reach weapons (when you don't have it) are still troublesome. Enemies who are large size and larger are immune to pushing assault. Depending on the campaign these thigns are common.
More importantly you're defeating yourself by using it. With Come and Get Me you generate more AoOs. More AoOs means more damage. You are protected by Displacement, Mirror Image, and AC (although your AC is probably very weak). You want the enemy to attack you as much as possible because you have a big ol' pool o' hit points and strong ways to mitigate damage. Remember, every attack they make provokes from Come and Get Me and you get to resolve your attack first. You want to deal them as much damage as possible as quickly as possibly. Pushing Assault causes the opposite to happen.
Very nice idea, I've been toying with something similar myself. Couple of small points/suggestions.
Your damage and to hit numbers seem off. I see your attack breakdown as
Bab: 12
Strength while raging and enlarged (32): 11
Enhancement while raging with GMW: 5
Penalty for being large: -1
Total: 27
Damage breakdown
Weapon while enlarged: 3d6
Strength while raging and enlarged: 16
Power attack: 12
Arcane strike: 3
Enhancement while raging with GMW: 5
Total: 3d6+36 <-----This one seems big, something I'm missing?
Attack sequence 27/22/17 <-----Remember that second iterative!
Damage 3d6+36
Swapping the arcane strike feats for improved crit will increase your DPR and open up a feat. Obviously changing from a greatsword to a falchion will also help.
Also this bit of clarification on courageous will likely be of interest you:
http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=46128
Apparently according to Sean Reynolds courageous only adds to saves. Not an official errata though, so consult with your DM.
I think you may be placing a little too much emphasis on defense with Pushing Assault. Bloodrager's have big hit point pools, really only topped by Barbarians. But Arcane bloodrager's have much better damage mitigation with displacement and the ability to cast Mirror Image.
It just isn't necessary I think, to use Pushing Assault.
And MightyK brings up a good point, that you've spent 2 feats to add 3 damage with Arcane Strike and Blooded Arcane Strike. And Blooded Arcane Strike just saves you a swift action. What I am suggesting builds on it further by granting you Riving Strike.
Between Riving Strike, Shaken from Intimidate, and Sickened from Cruel.
Cruel (weapon special ability): A cruel weapon feeds on fear and suffering. When the wielder strikes a creature that is frightened, shaken, or panicked with a cruel weapon, that creature becomes sickened for 1 round. When the wielder uses the weapon to knock unconscious or kill a creature, he gains 5 temporary hit points that last for 10 minutes.
Sickened: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Shaken: A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened or panicked.
Riving Strike (Combat)
Benefit: If you have a weapon that is augmented by your Arcane Strike feat, when you damage a creature with an attack made with that weapon, that creature takes a –2 penalty on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities. This effect lasts for 1 round.
Your enemies take a -6 to saves, a -4 to hit, a -2 to weapon damage rolls. If you have a save or suck caster its an awesome combo. Heck, with this combo you can even manage to use some of your spells offensively and successfully.
I just feel like this gives you much more to contribute to combat, than managing to avoid a little extra damage round. Because honestly, so long as you survive combat you'll be healed up to full hit points afterwards (in most cases).
Also, I'm not sure on your math for your damage.
Assuming 20 strength 5+(5/2) = 7, 10 while bloodraging. A bit more with courageous. + 12 Power attack that gets you to ~24. Arcane Strike gets you 27. Magic weapon damage will get you probably +3. You other assorted bonus maybe another +5. That gets you to 35. I don't see how you're reaching 43 though. Maybe I'm really missing something.
Also, you seem to have multiple things that give morale bonuses. But those don't stack. You only take the best bonus from any typed source. Courageous will apply to the best morale bonus, and you'll get to apply that to your total.
just gonna note: destined bloodline also aids in defensive power (scaling luck bonus to AC/saves, great accuracy). you can actually crossblood with arcane and get arcanes' tasty autobuffs alongside them, too.
example:
1 - destined (1 - destined strike)
4 - destined (4 - fated bloodrager)
8 - arcane ((4 - arcane bloodrage (or) 8 - greater arcane bloodrage)
12 - arcane (4 - arcane bloodrage (or) 8 - greater arcane bloodrage)
16 - arcane (16 - true arcane bloodrage)
20 - destined (16 - unstoppable (or) 20 - victory or death)
of course that doesnt play nice with trading out abilities for rage powers for CaGM
|
I can cast Enlarge or Long Arms freely (free buff when raging) or with a swift action (metarage quicken spell), so Pushing Assault usually works.
But it's true not always, and you're right when you say it may defeat the purpose of Come and Get Me, eventhough I'm not forced to use Pushing Assault on every attack (I can use it on my last attack, so I don't feel dumb with Come and Get Me activated but no more AoO and an opponent with attacks left). Also when you're the target of an AoO yourself (when moving to charge the wizard for example), using Pushing Assault may cancel it if you were at the limit of the ennemy threatened area (which is usually the case).
I may be too much on the defensive side though :/
You cannot cast Enlarge Person as a free buff while raging. Long Arms yes, Enlarge Person no.
At 11th level, when a bloodrager enters a bloodrage, the morale bonus to his Strength and Constitution increases to +6 and the morale bonus on his Will saves increases to +3. In addition, upon entering a bloodrage, the bloodrager can apply the effects a bloodrager spell he knows of 2nd level or lower to himself. The spell must have a range of touch or personal. If the spell’s duration is greater than 1 round, it instead lasts for the duration of the bloodrage. This use consumes a bloodrager spell slot, as if he had cast the spell; he must have the spell slot available to take advantage of this effect.
Effect
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one humanoid creature
Duration 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
I made a halfling destined Primalist bloodrager with adabtable luck, Fates favored, the beast totem bloodline powers and both power attack and risky striker. He is strong both on offense and defense.
But i guess you want a Big guy:)
Level 8 and 12. The beast Line and CaGM.
just gonna note: destined bloodline also aids in defensive power (scaling luck bonus to AC/saves, great accuracy). you can actually crossblood with arcane and get arcanes' tasty autobuffs alongside them, too.
example:
1 - destined (1 - destined strike)
4 - destined (4 - fated bloodrager)
8 - arcane ((4 - arcane bloodrage (or) 8 - greater arcane bloodrage)
12 - arcane (4 - arcane bloodrage (or) 8 - greater arcane bloodrage)
16 - arcane (16 - true arcane bloodrage)
20 - destined (16 - unstoppable (or) 20 - victory or death)of course that doesnt play nice with trading out abilities for rage powers for CaGM
I was actually looking into this build earlier today, out of curiosity. You look like you skipped both bloodline's level 12 abilities, as well as the arcane bloodline's 1st level ability. Your progression looks fantastic, but is it legal? I don't know enough about the class, so I'm just wondering.
|
The Crossblooded archetype does not treat lower level bloodline powers as pre-requisites to the higher level ones. The only limitation is that you can only select powers available to a bloodrager at your level. It's perfectly legal to take the 8th level arcane power at level 12 and then jump to the 16th level arcane power at level 16 without ever taking the level 12 power.
Awesome, thanks for the clarification!