Help me pick a style for my battle herald.

[Anger Nogar]

I am playing a lore warden 6/standard bearer 1/battle herald VMC bard and I can't make up my mind on the fighting style that my character should dedicate himself to. I'm mostly pondering over few main questions.

Is it worth spending a feat (shield brace) to use a shield/two handed weapon combo provided I am not using the shield for anything but AC(no shield bashing/etc.)? In other words - is a feat and 17 000 gold a fair cost for +6 shield AC or I should just invest in a wand of shield and UMD?

Provided I am order of the seal cavalier (free trip or disarm when making a full attack against challenged target) is that good enough to warrant taking the extra challenge feat?

Should I go with reach weapon (naginata) or close range one (nodachi)? We have two other melees in the group (skald and malefactor) so the reach will help me both flank (can you attack from behind an ally?) and stay out of the range of the malefactor aura of misfortune (penalty to saves for both allies and enemies within 10 ft.).

Can I trip with a weapon that does not have the trip property (like the nodachi)? Most of the discussions that I found seem to imply that I can, but there were A LOT of discussions on this matter so I want to know if there is some definite conclusion or a FAQ/Errata.

[Wise Old Man]

It's nice to see a character using some tactical advantage!

Yes, you can attack with a reach weapon behind an ally, however both you and your enemy gain the benefit of Partial Cover, which gives a +2 to AC and +1 to Reflex.
Your enemy also benefits from Concealment, in which that if you successfully attack, the defender (meaning your ally) has to roll percentile dice, and has a 20% chance to avoid getting hit. The Concealment would apply to you (again, your ally as the defender) if the enemy also has a ranged attack or is in Reach.

Unfortunately, monkey in the middle doesn't work much for your ally, unless your attack total is lower than your ally's AC, but also equal or higher than your enemy's AC.

Yes, you can Trip without a tripping weapon.

The only difference is,
Without Tripping Weapon: "If your attack exceeds the target's CMD, the target is knocked prone. If your attack fails by 10 or more, you are knocked prone instead."

With a Tripping weapon:
"If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped."

Weapon cords would help you here, as you can drop your Tripping weapon and Quick Draw as part a move action.

I think you should go with neither, and pick a tripping weapon.

Yes, the Extra Challenge feat for the Order of the Seal would be worth it if you have a tripping weapon.

[Zedorland]

Fun fact that caught me recently in game: there is no extra challenge feat. Nor extra smite.

[Anger Nogar]

There is no extra smite, but there is extra challenge feat.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/louis-porter-jr-design/genera l-feats---3rd-party---louis-porter-jr/extra-challenge
There is extra lay on hands that an order of vengeance paladin can use for extra smites.

[Torbyne]

Wise Old Man wrote:

It's nice to see a character using some tactical advantage!

Yes, you can attack with a reach weapon behind an ally, however both you and your enemy gain the benefit of Partial Cover, which gives a +2 to AC and +1 to Reflex.
Your enemy also benefits from Concealment, in which that if you successfully attack, the defender (meaning your ally) has to roll percentile dice, and has a 20% chance to avoid getting hit. The Concealment would apply to you (again, your ally as the defender) if the enemy also has a ranged attack or is in Reach.

Unfortunately, monkey in the middle doesn't work much for your ally, unless your attack total is lower than your ally's AC, but also equal or higher than your enemy's AC.

Yes, you can Trip without a tripping weapon.

The only difference is,
Without Tripping Weapon: "If your attack exceeds the target's CMD, the target is knocked prone. If your attack fails by 10 or more, you are knocked prone instead."

With a Tripping weapon:
"If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped."

Weapon cords would help you here, as you can drop your Tripping weapon and Quick Draw as part a move action.

I think you should go with neither, and pick a tripping weapon.

Yes, the Extra Challenge feat for the Order of the Seal would be worth it if you have a tripping weapon.

I am not sure having an ally inbetween you and your target automatically grants that target concealment against you... and if the GM did rule that, it wouldnt be your ally rolling percentile die as the ally isnt defending against your attack. I may be misreading what you wrote there but it looks like you are saying using a reach weapon while positioned behind your ally has a chance of hitting your ally as well which isnt a part of Pathfinder rules.

[Zedorland]

Anger Nogar wrote:

There is no extra smite, but there is extra challenge feat.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/louis-porter-jr-design/genera l-feats---3rd-party---louis-porter-jr/extra-challenge
There is extra lay on hands that an order of vengeance paladin can use for extra smites.

I should rephrase: there is no Paizo 1st party "Extra Challenge" feat. If this is for a home game, and your DM is fine with 3rd party stuff, then have at it.

Consider instead, if this is for PFS or your DM isn't as keen on third party, the chain challenge feat. At level 7, even with a negative Cha, it will give you three extra challenges a day (sort of)