Argus The Slayer
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Cleaving Dwarven Bloodrager / Weapon Master:
Here's a build that I designed explicitly for the Dwarven Cleaving feats.
Cleaving through very medium sized creature that is within your 20' reach at level 6 is crazy fun!
S:17 D: 13 C: 18 I:10 W:10 C:5
Cleaving Dwarven Bloodrager / Weapon Master
Yes, dump CHA: you are only dipping Bloodrager for 4 levels, so you aren't going to get many spells anyway.
Favored Cass: Fighter (Extra HP)
Weapon of choice: Dwarven Dorn Dergar
Parens indicate available number of rage rounds per day.
1) BR1 - Power Attack (11)
2) BR2 (13)
3) BR3 - Cleave (15)
4) BR 4 - Enlarged Bloodraging [STR+1=18] (17)
5) WM1 - Goblin Cleaver, Raging Vitality(17)
6) WM2 - Great Cleave (17)
7)WM3 - Orc Hewer; WT (17)
8) MW4 - Combat Reflexes [DEX+1=14] (17)
9) MW5 -Iron Will (17)
10) MW6 - Improved Critical (17)
11) MW7 - Improved Iron Will; WT: +2/+2 (17)
After playing the character for 7 levels, I would say that the Dwarven Cleaving feats are not very cost effective (it comes together late because of the number of required feats, and usage is always pretty situational), but they are a whole lot of fun (clearing a room of mooks with a standard action attack is made of awesome)!
| Alex Mack |
I was working on something similar recently. Here's some random thoughts:
I don't see why you would want to spend 10 points on CON. 16 is enough for raging vitality and allows you to pump STR to 18 and not have a forgettable WIL Save in the process. I'd go for the following and swap Combat Reflexes for Steel Soul as your saves are crud:
STR 18 DEX 12 CON 16 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 5
I actually agree with dumping CHA as if you don't dump CHA you have to dump INT or sell yourself short on your physical stats.
Also you can achieve the same reach for your Cleave attacks if you substitute the Dorn Degar with the combination of Boulder Helmet and Longhammer.
I'd trade out your first level bloodline ability for the familiar. A Hedgehog gives you a much needed boost to wil saves. The protector archetype helps your AC.
Also as a Dwarf there is no real reason not to take the Steelblood archetype and wear heavy armor.
I also like Cleaving Finish for such a build.
Also you might not need Bloodrager 4 at all. Potion Glutton provides swift action enlarge and accelerated drinker does it as a move action (which you can then combine with a 5 foot step to hit stuff 30 feet away).
Argus The Slayer
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Great post, Alex Mack: I enjoyed the suggestions. You have clearly put some thought into a similar build.
The CON is all about survival: the character is for PFS where I never know if there is going to be a healer at eh table, much less a capable healer. Having 97 hitpoints (raging @ level 7, where the character currently sits) gets him through most combats without requiring healing.
18 STR (after the level 4 bump) is a sweet spot for this character: 18+2(belt)+6(enlarged raging) gets him to 26 STR (+8) raging at whatever level he can afford the belt, which is a great breaking point for two-handed weapon damage. Starting with a DEX of 13 was also important, as he will get more mileage out of Combat Reflexes than he would out of Cleaving Finish, based on my experience. Getting 2 attacks of opportunity when enlarged (14-2=12 DEX at level 8) is important to his ability to control the battlefield. Having said that, Cleaving Finish was in my original build plan, but I felt the need to shore up Will saves with Iron Will. Your build would end up with 2 more points of STR and WIS, with 2 less points of DEX and CON. Personal preference?
Enlarged raging synergizes extremely well with Weapon Training, too. At level 7 with just a +1 Dorn Dergar, his attack is +14/+11 (unbuffed while raging), hitting for 2d8+20 (with Power Attack). That can be augmented by both a Furious Weapon and Gloves of Dueling.
Protector archetype and Potion Glutton weren't available options when the character was created. The familiar sounds useful, but I'll take the extra 4 points of STR bonus from Bloodrager over quaffing potions any day: enlargement is only part of that deal.
As Plaid mentioned, Steelblood isn't needed for this build. I just bought a very expensive suit of Mithral Full Plate for this character, which may sound a little counter-intuitive for a Dwarf, until you realize that Mithral allows him to maintain 30' of movement (Barbarian bonus works with Medium Armor) and gives an extra point of DEX to AC @ level 8 - plus making it possible to have a decent (definitely not GOOD!) Acrobatics skill. Have you ever seen a Dwarf tumble through a square with full plate? Priceless!