I am attempting to make a Warpriest of Erastil. I've chosen the animal and the community blessings. I also plan on using a reach weapon, likely the Fauchard using a Cracked Opalescent White Pyramid (so I don't have to waist a feat on it).
I found the feat Swift Aid to pair well with the Community blessing and saw that it took 13 INT as a prerequisite. Whirlwind also takes 13 INT to obtain (through feat prerequisites of its feat chain). This makes me want both for the build.
I will be a half-orc and use the "Orc Blood" racial ability that lets me count as a human to take the Favored Class bonus for humans giving me an additional feat every 6 levels. (I assume this works like this. Tell me if it doesn't.)
This... leaves me with a lot of feats. I find myself trying to fit a lot in there but I'm struggling with putting it all in, and in a good order. I currently have the following:
1(WP): Weapon Focus
1: Power Attack
3: Cleave
3(WP): Lunge
5: Scribe Scroll
6(WP): Furious Focus
6(FC): Combat Expertise
7: Swift Aid
9: Combat Reflexes
9(WP): Greater Weapon Focus
11: Quicken Blessing
12(WP): Dodge
12(FC): Mobility
13: Spring Attack, retrain Cleave to Whirlwind.
I also struggled with stats a bit with the fact that I need both INT and WIS for this as well as being a reach melee fighter. I ended up starting with: 17/13/14/13/14/7 with the Half-Orc +2 in STR and plans on adding +1 to STR and DEX at 4/8 respectively. It is a 20 point build, but I only ended up with 19 which is annoying.
I am attempting to make a Warpriest of Erastil. I've chosen the animal and the community domains.Maybe you didn't mean it like that, but Warpriests don't get Domains. Instead, they get Blessings.
The minor Animal Blessing grants you the ability to give any ally 2 Claw Attacks or a Bite Attack for 1 minute at level 1 or Summon a monster at level 10.
The minor Community Blessing grants you the ability to improve allies' and your own ability to Aid Another, raising the bonus from +2 to +4. At level 10, you grant your allies a +2 Insight Attack Bonus against any opponent you hit with a Ranged Attack.
Did you mean Blessings when you said "Domains?"
Yes, I meant blessings. Used the wrong word there.
I like the idea of carrying around a longbow, I'll probably do that. I'm not sure how much use it'll get but it couldn't hurt.
I want the Fauchard because of the crit range. I'll either get a keen weapon or use Sacred Weapon to give it keen. Saving space in my feats for other things.
I'd love to get Improved Trip and the like but I don't feel like I have the space necessary with all the other things I want. Plus, since I'm not full BAB tripping wouldn't be quite as good for me anyways.
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You can't pick Power Attack and Lunge at those levels, plus Scribe Scroll, Furious Focus, Swift Aid (as a Warpriest you won't have swift actions to spare to give one ally a puny +1 bonus to hit/AC) and a bunch of other feats you chose are pretty much useless, not that useful by the time you get them, or just a waste of bonus feats (which let you count as having BAB equal to your level and as a Fighter, so picking Dodge at level 12 is quite a waste).
If you want to build a melee Warpriest with reach, maybe this build is a bit better:
LN Half-orc, Sacred Tattoo, Dimdweller (you don't really need orc familarity. Get Fey Thoughts[Perception,Any] instead of Dimdweller if drawbacks are not allowed)
Stats: 16+2, 14, 12, 12, 14, 7
Traits: Fate's Favored, Tusked, [Seeker/Any drawback]
Feats (* = bonus feat)
1 Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus*
3 Dirty Fighting (same as Combat expertise for, but it does not require Int 13), Phalanx Formation*(because you can't do AoOs if your allies stand in front of you otherwise)
5 Improved Trip (this feat is not that important to you because at this level foes do not usually have reach, and you can trip them without causing AoO. However you need it for Greater Trip)
6 Weapon Specialization*, Greater Trip*
7 Power Attack (you'll be dealing damage with AoOs, so Power Attack is not a priority for you)
9 Lunge, Improved Critical* (Fauchard is a perfect crit-fishing weapon)
11 Quicken Blessing[Animal] (swift summoning)
12 Pin Down* (get +1 HP at this level instead of +1/6 bonus feat, so that you can get the feat next level)
13 Critical Focus, Staggering Critical*
If you don't like the trip route, you can improve your AoOs skills by picking Dodge, Mobility, Combat Patrol instead of Dirty Fighter and the trip feats. Otherwise, you might want to improve your defenses by picking Shield Focus and Shield Brace.
Whatever your choice is, consider picking the Tusked trait so that you can threaten also your adjacent squared with a primary natural attack (1.5x Str to hit). Since this is a reactive build, going first (and thus the Reactionary trait) is not a priority.
As per the equipment: get a +1 Fortuitous weapon asap, a (eventually mithral) Breastplate, and remember to improve Dex together with Str and Wis.
You can't pick Power Attack and Lunge at those levels, plus Scribe Scroll, Furious Focus, Swift Aid and a bunch of other feats you chose are pretty much useless, not that useful by the time you get them, or just a waste of bonus feats (which let you count as having BAB equal to your level and as a Fighter, so picking Dodge at level 12 is quite a waste).
If you want to build a melee Warpriest with reach, maybe this build is a bit better (* = bonus feats):
Stats: 16+2, 14, 12, 12, 14, 7
1 Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus*
3 Dirty Fighting (same as Combat expertise, but it does not require Int 13), Phalanx Formation*(because you can't do AoOs if your allies stand in front of you otherwise)
5 Improved Trip (this feat is not that important to you because at this level foes do not usually have reach, and you can trip them without causing AoO. However you need it for Greater Trip)
6 Weapon Specialization*, Greater Trip*
7 Power Attack (you'll be dealing damage with AoOs, so Power Attack is not a priority for you)
9 Lunge, Improved Critical* (Fauchard is a perfect crit-fishing weapon)
11 Quicken Blessing[Animal] (swift summoning)
12 Pin Down* (get +1 HP at this level instead of +1/6 bonus feat, so that you can get the feat next level)
13 Critical Focus, Staggering Critical*If you don't like the trip route, you can improve your AoOs skills by picking Dodge, Mobility, Combat Patrol instead of Dirty Fighter and the trip feats. Otherwise, you might want to improve your defenses by picking Shield Focus and Shield Brace.
Whatever your choice is, consider picking the Tusked trait so that you can threaten also your adjacent squared with a primary natural attack (1.5x Str to hit). Also, get a +1 Fortuitous weapon asap.
Good call on Lunge, I must have forgotten the prerequisites while switching feats around. Shouldn't I be able to use Power Attack at Lvl 1 because of the Warpriest ability to count their level in place of their BAB for feat prerequisites?
I have never heard of Dirty Fighting! I will certainly be looking into that.
Certainly a good build and good advice all around. It is appreciated! I'll probably be willing to give up Furious Focus pretty easy, I guess it doesn't make too much sense in this type of build. Losing Scribe Scroll isn't too bad, I can just buy them. Swift Aid however... I plan on keeping that. If I use your build maybe instead of Weapon Specialization. How important is +2 damage anyways?
How viable do you think tripping without full BAB is? I know there are some pretty ridiculous CMD monsters out there.
Also, why push off critical focus for one level? No reason not to get it sooner imo.
Also, Gray Warden, how would you extend your build past level 13? More critical feats?
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Shouldn't I be able to use Power Attack at Lvl 1 because of the Warpriest ability to count their level in place of their BAB for feat prerequisites?
This is true only for bonus feats, not regular feats. So for the regular feat that you get at level 3 you count as having BAB +2, while for the bonus feat you get at the same level, you count also as a 3rd level Fighter with BAB +3.
I have never heard of Dirty Fighting! I will certainly be looking into that.
It is not really the same as Combat Expertise. It counts as Dex 13, Int 13 and Combat Expertise for the purpose of Improved X feats having it as prerequisite. So it's fine for Improved Trip, but not for Swift Aid (which therefore needs both Combat Expertise and Int 13).
Swift Aid however... I plan on keeping that. If I use your build maybe instead of Weapon Specialization. How important is +2 damage anyways?
It's not just the damage, is that you'll end up never using it because you'll never have a spare swift action. Warpriests use their swift actions for a lot of things: casting spells (Fervor), self-heal (Fervor), enhance their weapons (Sacred Weapon), cast blessings (Quicken Blessing). Just imagine a normal fight at level 6: round 1, swift cast Divine Favor; round 2, swift-add Keen to your Fauchard; round 3, swift cast Ironskin/Cure Moderate Wounds because you've been hitting your enemies hard and they've started attacking you instead of your allies; round 4, MAYBE swift-aid a single ally to get +1 to hit even if the fight is pretty much over, and that +1 is useless because it doesn't scale with level. What's the point? +2 to damage from Weapon Specialization is always on instead, and this is its perk more than the damage itself. You can roleplay to be a helpful guy, you don't need a feat to back it up. And I'm talking from experience since I have played 2 Warpriests, and one of them was quite similar to this one.
However, if you really want a "helpful" feat, maybe Bodyguard is better, since at least it lets you help multiple allies if the enemies are positioned in a way that doesn't trigger AoOs, although it's difficult to fit it into the build. A +1 Training weapon maybe? Or instead of Phalanx Formation if your teammates are smart enough to position themselves in a clever way on the battlefield.
How viable do you think tripping without full BAB is? I know there are some pretty ridiculous CMD monsters out there.
BAB is not a problem for you because with spells you'll end up having a even higher attack bonus than the fighter (again, true story). The problem of trip at higher levels is not the BAB but the fact that enemies at a certain point start to fly or being just flat-out immune to trip. Now, if you're starting at level 1, I'd say go for it. Trip builds are super fun, and it doesn't matter if at level 12 it will start being subpar: you'd still have had a blast playing it so far, and if it's really a problem just retrain. Plus remember: just because you have trip feats it doesn't mean you have to use them constantly. If in one fight you face a bunch of centipedes, just cut them.
Also, why push off critical focus for one level? No reason not to get it sooner imo.
I'm not pushing Critical Focus, which is picked as a normal feat, but Staggering Critical, which requires BAB +13. So you need the bonus feat to be taken at level 13 rather than at level 12.
Also, Gray Warden, how would you extend your build past level 13? More critical feats?
I don't know, I've never played such high levels. I guess that by that point your build is more or less done. You might get some of the other options that I've said already (Combat Patrol, or Shield Brace), maybe invest a bit into ranged combat, or the Greater Blind-Fight chain, or you might want as well to continue with the critical feats, something on the line:
15 Bleeding Critical, Critical Mastery*
17 Any
18 Stunning Critical*
19 Any, *Stunning Assault
...heck, you can even get Craft Item feats if it turns out that in the final part of the campaign there are no high-level vendors. In other words, wait to get there. First because it's not granted that you'll get there, second because you need to see which aspects of your character need to be improved given the party, the GM and the adventure path.
Great advice once again! The fact that the level to BAB bonus only applies to the bonus feats completely went over my head. Good to know.
The reason I want to do the swift action aid another is because of the community blessing which changes it to a +4. I also plan on taking the trait 'Fools for Friends' to make it a +5 (Assuming my DM allows it.). I feel like that is high enough to be relevant aid at most levels. The sheer amount of swift-actions I have is a good point however. I'll have to see how it feels.
I was also considering befriending animals then giving them aid another with handle animal. Then with a communal blessing they can be some impressive little buffers. Even use a spiritual squire. Probably harder than it sounds. I was also planning on trying to ride my summons into battle or into the sky since I don't have fly (Unless I use Air Walk).
Scott, while some good advice, it seems to be too far away from my initial idea for me. I'm sure it's a good build though.
Gray Warden, you mentioned you had played two different Warpriests. How'd they both play and which type would you recommend?
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Warpriest don't need to spend a feat for a fauchard they can just buy a 1500gp ioun stone. And any of the other weapons can be carried as back up. That 1500 for a better crit range even if you lose 1 damage is a good trade.
Lunge does not allow you to use reach for aoo, the primary reason for reach. So you give up some powerful attacks to get other less powerful attacks. So your not really gaining much.
Freebooter delays spell progressions and access to fervor which a lot of people don't want to do when playing a class. Delaying divine power is a pretty significant loss.
The best way for a warpriest to support is emergency healing and keeping spell slots open for important our of combat needs.