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Building a frontline control fighter using the Shield Brace feat and a Bill (polearm)
So far the build looks like this:
Human STR 17 DEX 16 CON 14 INT 10 WIS 10 CHR 8
1st lvl
Multiweapon Fighting
Shield Focus
Shield Brace
So he walks onto the field with a large steel shield and a Bill wielded in 1 hand braced against his shield (if you ever wondered what that little notch in the Shield is for, that's what it's for).
He takes the Shield ACP -2 to his attack roles with the polearm and he takes the two weapon fighting penalties if he decides to bash with his shield and attack with the Bill -2/-4
His backup weapon is a Scimitar And/Or Kukri
2nd lvl
Combat Reflexes
This his primary battlefield control element. He now has 4 attacks of op at reach.
3rd lvl
Improved Shield Bash
Armor Training I reduces his ACP by 1. He now only has a -1 to hit with the Bill.
4th lvl
Weapon Focus: Bill
Now he has no penalty with the Bill
5th lvl
Stand Still
Successful Op attacks stop movement
Weapon Training I: Polearms
Now he's +1 to hit with the Bill
6th lvl
Shield Slam
Pushing people back out to range for the Bill
7th lvl
Iron Will
A little sustain at this level now that spells are flying around a lot more.
Armor Training II. I'll skip the Advanced Training this time around because the reduced ACP also increases my attack. Bill attack is now +2
At this point the primary build is complete. I was thinking of adding Improved Critical to the Bill. Or going for Greater Two Weapon Fighting or Specialization with the Bill. I could also keep stacking Shield tree feats.
I'd like to improve damage output but I'm not sure what the best way to do that is.
Possibilities
8th lvl
Defended Movement
9th lvl
Vital Strike
10th lvl
Weapon Speclization: Bill
11th lvl
Shield Master
Any suggestions Would be appreciated.
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1- You don't have 3 or more arms, so you don't qualify for Multiweapon Fighting. If anything, you need Two Weapon Fighting
2- Even so, you can't TWF with a 2H weapon and a shield. Shield brace doesn't change the handedness of the polearm, which means that you're using 2 hands to wield and attack with it, which means that you can't use your "off hand" to do anything else.
I suggest you build a standard reach fighter (Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Pushing Assault, Lunge), while benefiting from the shield bonus via Shield Brace.
Good catch on Shield Brace not letting you shield bash. I was working on a similar concept using Outslug Style for the shield, and that pokes a hole right in it.
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I'm not seeing that in the text. "You’ve mastered the art of balancing a polearm’s weight against a shield’s stability". This is essentially using your shield as your 2nd hand. Its why phallax shields have the recesses in the sides. You set the shaft into the recess thrust and bash thrust and bash. That's how you move forward.
Cole, I definitely agree with that as the inspiration for the feat. Mechanically, however, that's not how it reads.
It says "You can use a two-handed weapon sized appropriately for you from the polearm or spears weapon group while also using a light, heavy, or tower shield with which you are proficient. The shield’s armor check penalty (if any) applies to attacks made with the weapon."
If it had instead said "You may wield a polearm/spear in one hand while using a shield" or something to that effect, it'd be a different story. Trust me, I want it to work just as much as you do, but that's not how it reads, so you'd end up with some table variation.
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That's just silly.
So you have a two handed polearm in your hands and your shield is strapped to your arm and you get the shield bonus. You couldn't control the polearm or the Shield properly like that.
No, you are using your Shield as your 2nd hand to stabalize the polearm. That would be the way I would read this. You're not changing the handedness of the polearm. You're using your shield as a hand.
A darkwood heavy shield loses the ACP at a cost you can afford at 2nd level.
The Pathfinder Society house rules for shield brace have you use the polearm as a 1H weapon which supports your position.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Shield brace was designed to provide extra AC, not allow a two handed weapon be wielded in one hand. Otherwise it might specify that you are now only applying 1x strength mod to damage as opposed to 1.5x.
The Pathfinder Society house rules for shield brace have you use the polearm as a 1H weapon which supports your position.
avr, could you explain to me what PFS house rules are?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Shield brace was designed to provide extra AC, not allow a two handed weapon be wielded in one hand. Otherwise it might specify that you are now only applying 1x strength mod to damage as opposed to 1.5x.
The Pathfinder Society house rules for shield brace have you use the polearm as a 1H weapon which supports your position.avr, could you explain to me what PFS house rules are?
They're called campaign clarifications and if you search the linked page for shield brace you'll find this there:
Page 18—When using the Shield Brace feat, treat the polearm or spear as a one-handed weapon. More specifically, when calculating the damage the weapon deals, it uses your Strength bonus instead of 1.5 times your Strength bonus, and it counts as a one- handed weapon when determining extra damage from the Power Attack feat. You may use Two- Weapon Fighting and other feats as if the polearm were a one handed weapon.
If that doesn't answer you I'm not sure what you want of me here?
Tho' I admit it doesn't back you up - I think I misread your post before.
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The point to pole-arm and shield is battlefield control. The reach from the pole-arm give you a greater threat range. The Shield bash gives you a close in attack.
You thrust then step forward and bash. Or you bash and then thrust. Once you have bull rush on your bash you can step into the vacated space after a bash to push the battle wear you want. Or hold the line and thrust.
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The point to pole-arm and shield is battlefield control. The reach from the pole-arm give you a greater threat range. The Shield bash gives you a close in attack.
You thrust then step forward and bash. Or you bash and then thrust. Once you have bull rush on your bash you can step into the vacated space after a bash to push the battle wear you want. Or hold the line and thrust.
But you don't need to bull rush to attack adjacent targets, you can just 5ft step back and attack them at reach. The damage would be the same, saving you feats and money. In the rare cases you can't 5ft step, you can still attack adjacent targets with the shield (or armor spikes or, better, a primary natural attack)
About advancing, the point of reach builds is to stay in place and keep enemies away, so that they have to move, rather than 5ft step, to get close to you, triggering AoO. This is why they usually include feats like Pushing Assault and Lunge.