Okay as GM who always wants to give his Party memorable adventures I looked at the Titan Mauler Archetype again. An Archetype I really liked when I first saw it (even if I misinterpreted the RAW a bit) but looks for me really horrible now.
Jotun Grip: Basically similar to monkey grip, but for a straightforward damage barbarian (and you want a berserker to do damage) rather unfortunate. As I see it it enables to wield a shield for a -2 attack penalty when using a two handed weapon - if you want to use 2 thw you get the horrible penalty of -4 on both hands for a minimum of additional damage
So as I see it rather take a thw oder twf and strap a buckler for an penalty of only -1
a bit of an waste if you consider that the feat is on later level most likely irrelevant either way
Massive Weapons:
while it is pretty cool to wield weapons one size category larger you have either to take a one handed weapon ans use it as two handed weapons a bit easier - which is nice but you could rather just take a thw right away, or get a penalty from additional -4 which needs level 12 to go away, then you still got the standard penalty for oversized weapons which goes away at lvl 18
so while you got the hammer the size of an oak you cant hit the mountain you are walking on with it for the most of the campaign...
While researching I also stumbled on the titan fighter which seemed to be a bit better worked out but again there was something that didnt just work for me
Incredible Heft: while it works really well with giant weapon wielder from lvl 1 it still does nothing about having to use oversized 1h weapons as thw or light as 1h, so the idea of a fighter using twf to wield an oversized falcata in one hand and an overzized kukri in the offhand (as example and i just realized how ridiculus that might look) crumbled in an instant
So the only really viable use for this archetype is if you want to use 2h weapons that are one size category larger...
at least the additional penalty goes away on level 7 and 'only' lvl 15 till it is completely gone
and unstoppable momentum is a rather lame tradeoff for the usual weapon training (even though it probably reduces the chance of getting insanely broken amounts of damage)
Actually the damage is lower for the most part I mean your losing out on +5/+5 to get a die increase eventually you loss the penalties. even if you stack a bunch of size buffing spells and go a vital strike build you would still struggle getting damage close to what that straight +5/+5 from weapon training gives you.
personally I just let players have monkey grip as a feat.
If the titan fighter wouldn't exchange weapon training I think he might be viable but like this...
I REALLY like the idea of going for oversized Weapons weapons but both archetypes just give up way to much...
I agree i had concept similar and thought i could work with these and just no the best route i found was start barb till jotungrip then switch to fighter (standard fighter or two handed weapon if you want)
best route imo is use the monkey grip feat from 3.5 complete warrior works just like jotungrip.
Jotungrip (Ex): At 2nd level, a titan mauler may choose to wield a two-handed weapon in one hand with a –2 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. The weapon must be appropriately sized for her, and it is treated as one-handed when determining the effect of Power Attack, Strength bonus to damage, and the like. This ability replaces uncanny dodge.
The bit about "the weapon must be appropriately sized for her," means that Jotungrip does not allow a Medium titan mauler to wield (for example) a Large falcata in one hand. It also does not work with Giant Weapon Wielder:
Giant Weapon Wielder (Ex): At 1st level, a titan fighter can wield two-handed melee weapons intended for creatures one size category larger than himself, treating them as two-handed weapons. He takes an additional –2 penalty on attack rolls when using an over-sized two-handed weapon.
This ability replaces the fighter's 1st level bonus feat.
Jotungrip allows a character to wield a two-handed weapon sized for the titan mauler in one hand. That's it. It does not allow the character to wield oversized weapons that would require two hands in one hand.
Now, it can be useful if you want to use Two-Weapon Fighting (or Multiweapon Fighting! A titan mauler marilith...) with elven curve blades, falchions, etc. to do a bit more base weapon damage and can deal with the penalty on attack rolls; or if you want a barbarian to use a reach weapon with a shield (without dipping phalanx soldier). Other than that, it's pretty meh.
I thought it was erratad o well just have to use monkey grip then.
I find the most viable route to take 1 level of fighter and then some barb levels of your favorite barb.
This way you only take a -4 instead of -6, and you get rage to boost your accuracy. Then go into something with lots of accuracy boosters. Like arsenal chaplain warpriest.
Still probably isn't a worth it option, but if you're wanting to do it this is good.
Awesome characters ideas, but so impractical. I actually dont like Power Attack or Deadly Aim because they trade accuracy for damage. The one class that makes it worthwhile is the Vigilante with Shield of Blades to give a melee Shield Bonus equal to your hit penalty, so really your total gain is damage as the Hit gain/loss is equal.
Melee is very practical by itself but any kind of improvement is either minor or comes with major tradeoffs. a +1 hit to one weapon is a feat.
Personally Id just get high strength, a nodachi, and magic buffs like Divine Favor or Haste. CLass features are really the ticket.
Jotungrip (Ex): At 2nd level, a titan mauler may choose to wield a two-handed weapon in one hand with a –2 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. The weapon must be appropriately sized for her, and it is treated as one-handed when determining the effect of Power Attack, Strength bonus to damage, and the like. This ability replaces uncanny dodge.The bit about "the weapon must be appropriately sized for her," means that Jotungrip does not allow a Medium titan mauler to wield (for example) a Large falcata in one hand. It also does not work with Giant Weapon Wielder:
Giant Weapon Wielder (Ex): At 1st level, a titan fighter can wield two-handed melee weapons intended for creatures one size category larger than himself, treating them as two-handed weapons. He takes an additional –2 penalty on attack rolls when using an over-sized two-handed weapon.
This ability replaces the fighter's 1st level bonus feat.
Jotungrip allows a character to wield a two-handed weapon sized for the titan mauler in one hand. That's it. It does not allow the character to wield oversized weapons that would require two hands in one hand.
Now, it can be useful if you want to use Two-Weapon Fighting (or Multiweapon Fighting! A titan mauler marilith...) with elven curve blades, falchions, etc. to do a bit more base weapon damage and can deal with the penalty on attack rolls; or if you want a barbarian to use a reach weapon with a shield (without dipping phalanx soldier). Other than that, it's pretty meh.
they reprinted the titan mauler so they gain
At 3rd level, a titan mauler becomes skilled in the use of massive weapons looted from her titanic foes.
She can use two-handed weapons meant for creatures one size category larger, but the penalty for doing so is increased by 4. However, the attack roll penalty for using weapons too large for her size is reduced by 1, and this reduction increases by 1 for every three levels beyond 3rd (to a minimum of 0).
This ability replaces trap sense.
There is specifically an errata now that says you can wield a large 2h weapon withe titan mauled now. Would link it but am on mobile.
it's not so much an errata as a reprint, they changed the class abilities wording to allow it.