Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Marcus Majarra 02-26-05, 02:49 PM	This can be accomplished with either a Human with the Jotunbrud regional feat or a Half-Giant. Here's the build: Fighter 8 / Psychic Warrior 2 / War Mind 10 Ftr 1 -> Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain), Power Attack, (Jotunbrud, if Human) Ftr 2 -> Improved Bull Rush Ftr 3 -> Knockback Ftr 4 -> Dodge Ftr 5 Ftr 6 -> Shock Trooper, Leap Attack Ftr 6 / PsyWar 1 -> Mobility Ftr 6 / PsyWar 2 -> Spring Attack Ftr 7 / PsyWar 2 -> Combat Expertise Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 -> Whirlwind Attack Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 1 Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 2 -> Speed of Thought Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 3 Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 4 Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 5 -> Close-Quarters Fighting Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 6 Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 7 Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 8 -> Improved Trip Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 9 Ftr 8 / PsyWar 2 / WarMind 10 The key powers to have for this build are: Expansion Psionic Lion's Charge Hustle Burst Biofeedback Psychofeedback The key ability scores required are Str 13, Dex 13, Int 13, and Wis 15. Having more Str helps, but it's not really required, since most of the damage bonus comes from the leaping trooper combo. Basically, you combine the awesome battlefield control of Whirlwind Attack with the massive damage and free bull rushes of the Leaping Knockback Trooper, with the added bonus of the War Mind's Sweeping Strike to extend your melee range to 20-35 feet. Equipment is mostly a loose matter, althought a Valorous Spiked Chain of any kind will make this build utterly monstrous. Opinions?
Kintara 02-26-05, 09:54 PM	Do you know about the Psychic Weapon Master (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827d)? You might find it interesting.... ;)
Shadow_Gryphon 02-26-05, 10:43 PM	I would suggest adding into the build, and early, to take greatest advantage of the AoOs that you will have due to your reach.
Marcus Majarra 02-27-05, 02:30 AM	Combat Reflexes is not worth it on account of this build reducing your Dex to increase your reach. By the time you get the worthwhile reach of 20-30 feet, your Dex will probably be around 10, making Combat Reflexes useless. A better deal would be Cleave and Greater Cleave (to deal with whatever survived your initial Leaping Trooper Whirlwind Attack). As for the Psychic Weapon Master, the only interesting ability is the Whirlwind for the ability to make a move and make a Whirlwind Attack. Still, this build is based on having a decent PP reserve at the higher levels (which can't be attained with the meager 7 manifester levels of Psy War that the PWM would contribute), and to charge (which doesn't combine with the PWM's Whirlwind). Come to think of it, if by growing in size through Expansion, your Dex falls beneath 13, do you lose all the benefits from the Whirlwind feat chain?
Tempest Stormwind 02-27-05, 02:44 AM	Combat Reflexes is not worth it on account of this build reducing your Dex to increase your reach. By the time you get the worthwhile reach of 20-30 feet, your Dex will probably be around 10, making Combat Reflexes useless. A better deal would be Cleave and Greater Cleave (to deal with whatever survived your initial Leaping Trooper Whirlwind Attack). As for the Psychic Weapon Master, the only interesting ability is the Whirlwind for the ability to make a move and make a Whirlwind Attack. Still, this build is based on having a decent PP reserve at the higher levels (which can't be attained with the meager 7 manifester levels of Psy War that the PWM would contribute), and to charge (which doesn't combine with the PWM's Whirlwind). Come to think of it, if by growing in size through Expansion, your Dex falls beneath 13, do you lose all the benefits from the Whirlwind feat chain? Depending on your ability score setup, it won't matter that much. You see, the Size bonuses (and to a lesser extent the added Strength bonuses) from Expansion give you absurd bonuses on Trip, so in that sense you can almost "dump" Strength as a tripper -- Snow Savant's iconic chaingun tripper is an example of a dex-heavy fighter that works. It might even be worthwhile here, as you get ungodlike damage from the infamous Leaping Trooper, while focusing on control (and hopefully, defense, to offset the use of Shock Trooper -- and a great defense is tripping them before they reach you). Agreed. Warmind 10 is the way to go here, even over the PWM. However, you might want to contact Bacris on the Psi boards (check the Not Overpowered link in my sig for a shortcut to his most-linked post). He might be able to find a way to get PWM working some magic here. Yes, you would lose the benefits. Another reason for suggesting a high dex in the end -- no loss of feats.
Marcus Majarra 02-27-05, 11:15 AM	High Dex build is less doable with a Half-Giant, though, especially with point-buy characters. I wanted to keep the MAD as minimal as possible. Anyway, there is one feasible solution for attaining a high Dex, but it's only at the higher levels: Psychofeedback. You can feedback your Cha and your Wis (you shouldn't reduce Wis below 12, just to be able to manifest Psionic Lion's Charge) into your Dex. Anyway, you need Dex 17 just to not lose your feats when manifesting an augmented Expansion at ML7th. Furthermore, I'm temped to remove the tripping aspect of this build, on account that the bonus attack from Improved Trip does not benefit from the Leap Attack for the triple BAB damage bonus. Of course, you could always decide whom to trip on your Whirlwind Attack (as in, not the Colossal Monstrous Scorpion). It's a matter of prone vs. extra damage. One way or the other, Knockback is always guaranteed, as long as the attack hits.
Nazzareth 02-27-05, 05:32 PM	There is a PRC called the Orc blademaster in a dragon magazine forgot which issue it is in, it allows for two whirlwind attacks per round when combined with the weapon master or psionic weapon masters whirlwind ability. It is a five level PRC, open to orc's and 1/2 orc only, I will dig up more details on it later if you want.
fatlosermatt 02-27-05, 05:58 PM	yeah, i'd like more details about that one.