I'm contemplating a character for a game that I will soon be returning to and rather than the magic/support/ranged builds I usually do, this time I want to make a fighter and hit things hard.
Very hard.
If possible, I'd like to be able to hit things hard enough to move them a bit if I so wish. I realize that keeping enemies close enough to continue getting full attacks is what fighters benefit the most from but sometimes you just really wanna hit a homerun (particularly if it's possible to move them towards the other fighter in the team).
I haven't rolled stats for the guy yet but I know I'll be going strength over dex, and I'm looking at the tactician fighter archetype because I like the flavor; race is also already picked... but aside from that, does anyone have any fun ideas on how to hit someone hard enough to send them flying a bit? I've looked at the bull rush strike feat a bit but my crit range will probably be very limited since I've been dying to play with the earth breaker hammer and hammers in general have bad crit ranges.
You've basically defined Awesome Blow, normally a monster feat. Brawlers get it at 16th level and improve it at 20th.
Obviously it's considered very powerful for PCs, so I doubt you'll find a way to get it at low levels.
We'll be level 13 or 14 when this character join the fray, but the brawler isn't really what I'm looking for and yeah I don't think there's any way I can get awesome blow as a feat outright.
Shield slam gets you a free bull rush on every shield bash, but you have to use a shield not a hammer for that.
Oh, there's also the Brother of the Seal prestige class, which gets Awesome Blow at 4th. If you don't mind taking one level of monk you could get into that right away. I don't think you'll be able to use it with your hammer, though, only UAS. Maybe you could convince the GM to let you use it from there with a ki focus weapon?
The "Driving" magic weapon ability (ranged weapons only, +1) allows you to do an trip or bull rush attack within the first range increment. It is from the weapon masters handbook.
Pushing assault or punishing kick will do a little of what you want. With ascetic style you could use punishing kick with a weapon.
If you are interested in playing a dwarf, the foehammer archetype might be perfect for you.
The foehammer looks pretty neat and I'll keep it in mind for whenever I play a dwarf in the future, but this character is already decided to be a drow. It's a cool archetype though, so thanks for pointing that out.
As for my search so far... most of the things mentioned here requires classes or weapon types that I don't really use, but thanks for trying to help. My GM also pointed out the quick bull rush feat to me about half an hour ago which I think I'll go with if nothing better crops up, so I'm not completely out of luck either way.
I do hope I'm not too late, but I have a neat build you might like.
The Siegebreaker Fighter allows you to apply your Strength+2+Your Shield/Armor Enchantment bonus as damage when you bullrush someone. In addition to Quick Bullrush there is also Bull Rush Strike, which is easy to apply if you rock a Keen 18-20 weapon. Spiked Destroyer allows you to take a swift action to attack anyone you successfully Bullrush which is basically an extra attack. Merciless Rush (appropriate for a Drow) also allows you to apply your Strength (AGAIN!) to a successful Bullrush if you do it well. That means on a successful Bullrush you deal 2x Strength+2+Enchantment Bonus+A free attack with your Armor Spikes which deals 1d6+1x strength+Enchantment Bonus+Power Attack. If you Crit, you get a free Bullrush. If you attack, you can swap out an attack for a Bullrush.
Keep in mind, whenever you succeed at a Bullrush you can attempt an Overrun combat maneuver for free thanks to the Siegebreaker archetype. At a minimum this is another opportunity for Strength+2+Enchantment bonus as damage, however you can also force them Prone. If you have Greater Overrun you get a free AoO from this and so do all of your allies within reach just like as if you had Bullrushed them.
Other important feats include Breaker of Barriers for another free +2 to your CMB for Bull Rush and Overrun and Bulette Style. Bulette Style grants you another +4 to overrun, Bulette leap is a bit of a feat tax since you'll be opening up with Bullrushes 9/10 times, and then Bulette Rampage which gives you 1d8+Half your armor bonus to AC+1 and 1/2 your strength. Not to mention that, as a Siegebreaker, you force opponents to save or take -2 to hit, caster checks, and skills for 1 round every time you hit them with a maneuver.
Against a single foe at high levels (say 13) you can attempt a Bullrush in place of your primary attack, if successful you deal damage and can make a free attack with your armor spikes, your allies get to make an AoO, and try to overrun your target. If you over-run your target you deal damage, get a free AoO, and so do your allies.
Then you get to make 2 additional attacks, if either of them crit you can make another free Bullrush maneuver, which will also deal damage, which will give your allies an AoO, and give you a free Overrun. If your overrun is successful you deal damage plus you and your allies gain yet another AoO.
Note: You can only bullrush/over-run creatures Large sized or smaller without going up a size catagory so getting someone to cast Enlarge Person on you (Or grabbing a wand/potions of it) will allow you to use your maneuvers on Huge targets.
Note 2: Bulette style is awesome but takes 3 feats to come fully online activate, so its up to you when you choose to invest.
Note 3: You have access to advanced weapon and armor training, take advantage of that.
My build, regarding the above post, would be: In no particular Order
Dirty Fighting, Power Attack, Improved Bullrush, Greater Bull rush, Improved Overrun, Greater Overrun, Spiked Destroyer, Combat Reflexes, Quick Bullrush, Bullrush Strike, Breaker of Barriers, Bulette Charge Style, Bulette Leap, Bulette Rampage, Penetrating Strike, Penetrating Strike Greater, and Pin Down
That would take all of your feats and honestly I do not think that Penetrating Strike is optional. A lot of your damage is little bits and pieces, which can be stopped by DR. Being a fighter allows you to crucially ignore up to 10 points of DR, which does a lot for your damage outout.