Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Master_Vega 01-17-08, 12:00 PM	In a game with my main group, I'm playing a Barbarian/Swashbuckler who uses a Spiked Chain... and thought taking a level in the class would be an excellent way to improve my tripping ability, not to mention I like the idea of getting another attack (I have Whirling Rage already, so that'll be nice). I found the class listed in the "Worst Prestige Class Ever" thread, though... so is it really that underpowered? Thanks!
GorunNova 01-17-08, 03:49 PM	In a game with my main group, I'm playing a Barbarian/Swashbuckler who uses a Spiked Chain... and thought taking a level in the class would be an excellent way to improve my tripping ability, not to mention I like the idea of getting another attack (I have Whirling Rage already, so that'll be nice). I found the class listed in the "Worst Prestige Class Ever" thread, though... so is it really that underpowered? Thanks! If you found a use that is good for your charakter the Prc it cant be so bad^^. i love to use it whit a Basdart Sword to get 2x Str/PowerAttack Bonus. Does anyone know if the Power Attack bonus also stacks whit the bonus from Leap Attack?
archerpwr 01-17-08, 03:55 PM	Worst PrC ever? Hardly. It's a decent dip, but it tends to be attractive to one trick ponies.
AtsuiShoto 01-17-08, 04:50 PM	Does anyone know if the Power Attack bonus also stacks with the bonus from Leap Attack?In so much as Leap Attack can have an effect on your Power Attack ratio at the same time that the exotic weapon master ability also has an effect, yes, they stack. I'm not entirely sure about the details, though. People tend to get up in arms with each other (including breaking out formulas and flow charts) when "discussing" how Leap Attack combines with other Power Attack multipliers.
Master_Vega 01-17-08, 05:02 PM	Thanks for the replies. I guess my character is kinda a one-trick-pony (ah, but what non-ToB/Caster isn't? j/k). He specializes in tripping, and will soon have Combat Reflexes so he can trip even more people. :P I already posted the following question on the CO board, but I'd like to know; what other classes are useful to a tripping specialist? Thanks!
JaronK 01-17-08, 05:06 PM	Exotic Weapon Master isn't bad at all. It's actually a quite nice little PrC... the OP in the other thread was simply wrong. If you want to work on tripping, nothing quite beats the Warhulk... JaronK
Master_Vega 01-17-08, 05:18 PM	Exotic Weapon Master isn't bad at all. It's actually a quite nice little PrC... the OP in the other thread was simply wrong. If you want to work on tripping, nothing quite beats the Warhulk... JaronK Which book is that? Heroes of Battle, perhaps? I only have the PHB, DMG, MM, CW, and ToB, though I do have access to plenty more if I drop by the GM's house. Thanks!
GorunNova 01-17-08, 05:19 PM	In so much as Leap Attack can have an effect on your Power Attack ratio at the same time that the exotic weapon master ability also has an effect, yes, they stack. I'm not entirely sure about the details, though. People tend to get up in arms with each other (including breaking out formulas and flow charts) when "discussing" how Leap Attack combines with other Power Attack multipliers. Wow that makes this combo pretty imba! it woul stack to a 6x bonus from powerattack... Imagen a level 10 Half-Dragon whit 26 Base Str and an +4 Str Item making 30. What means a +10 to hit and a +20 to dmg. now if you put all your BaB in to Power Attack and perfom a leap attack that would make +60 to DMG what makes a total of 1d10+80 DMG bye bye low AC monsters you wont survive ^^ And now let him Crit 2d10+160 dmg :D
JaronK 01-17-08, 05:27 PM	Which book is that? Heroes of Battle, perhaps? I only have the PHB, DMG, MM, CW, and ToB, though I do have access to plenty more if I drop by the GM's house. Thanks! Miniature's Handbook. JaronK
Master_Vega 01-17-08, 05:33 PM	Ah, I'm pretty sure that's one no one in my group has... Heh. Thank you, though.
JaronK 01-17-08, 05:36 PM	Wow that makes this combo pretty imba! it woul stack to a 6x bonus from powerattack... Imagen a level 10 Half-Dragon whit 26 Base Str and an +4 Str Item making 30. What means a +10 to hit and a +20 to dmg. now if you put all your BaB in to Power Attack and perfom a leap attack that would make +60 to DMG what makes a total of 1d10+80 DMG bye bye low AC monsters you wont survive ^^ And now let him Crit 2d10+160 dmg :D Wait, where does EWM improve power attack returns? JaronK
forrestfire15 01-18-08, 06:51 PM	War hulk is also found on this page (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20030914a).:)
archerpwr 01-18-08, 07:06 PM	Thanks for the replies. I guess my character is kinda a one-trick-pony (ah, but what non-ToB/Caster isn't? j/k). He specializes in tripping, and will soon have Combat Reflexes so he can trip even more people. :P I already posted the following question on the CO board, but I'd like to know; what other classes are useful to a tripping specialist? Thanks! Tripping is one of the better tricks to have though. I agree with the ToB/Caster=not a one trick pony. Versatility is hard to come by without sacrificing power without spells or maneuvers.
Cartigan 01-18-08, 08:30 PM	Considering it does the same thing at every level and each trick is pretty much mutually exclusive from any other, it is pointless to take more than one level in it. At most two.
AlterFrom 01-18-08, 09:02 PM	Wow that makes this combo pretty imba! it woul stack to a 6x bonus from powerattack... Imagen a level 10 Half-Dragon whit 26 Base Str and an +4 Str Item making 30. What means a +10 to hit and a +20 to dmg. now if you put all your BaB in to Power Attack and perfom a leap attack that would make +60 to DMG what makes a total of 1d10+80 DMG bye bye low AC monsters you wont survive ^^ And now let him Crit 2d10+160 dmg :D If you really want ridiculous cheese, add in Shock Trooper to that. Now your Hit Penalty becomes your AC Penalty. Oh noes.
archerpwr 01-18-08, 09:06 PM	If you really want ridiculous cheese, add in Shock Trooper to that. Now your Hit Penalty becomes your AC Penalty. Oh noes. You forgot to mention wall of blades. I wonder what this guy would think of [post=14859012]Elrock[/url].
JaronK 01-18-08, 09:18 PM	Considering it does the same thing at every level and each trick is pretty much mutually exclusive from any other, it is pointless to take more than one level in it. At most two. Well, yeah. It's intended as a dip class, and it shows. That said, I think you can get three tricks that apply to the Spiked Chain if you really wanted (trip, flurry, and no cover penalties). JaronK
zacnn 01-19-08, 04:58 PM	On the subject of war hulk, Doesn't depened on race and size?
Jaxgaret 01-19-08, 05:01 PM	You forgot to mention wall of blades. I wonder what this guy would think of [post=14859012]Elrock[/url]. Elrock
Bopple 01-19-08, 07:40 PM	It's one of the best dipping classes out there. Don't worry.
CryoSilver 01-20-08, 02:43 AM	now if you put all your BaB in to Power Attack and perfom a leap attack that would make +60 to DMG what makes a total of 1d10+80 DMG bye bye low AC monsters you wont survive ^^ And now let him Crit 2d10+160 dmg :D Unimpressed. A level 10 1/2dragon is a level 13 character, and while you do 81-90 damage as a full round action, your wizard buddy simply points his finger and says "Die" (Finger of Death) or fires off an Empowered Maximized Scorching Ray that does 90-108 damage, either spell followed by a Quickened Scorching Ray that does 12-72 damage with touch attacks.
war_thog 01-20-08, 07:33 AM	Wow that makes this combo pretty imba! it woul stack to a 6x bonus from powerattack... Imagen a level 10 Half-Dragon whit 26 Base Str and an +4 Str Item making 30. What means a +10 to hit and a +20 to dmg. now if you put all your BaB in to Power Attack and perfom a leap attack that would make +60 to DMG what makes a total of 1d10+80 DMG bye bye low AC monsters you wont survive ^^ And now let him Crit 2d10+160 dmg :D You better have been taking the **** there. Why would you take half dragon? where does the 26 base Str come from? A half dragon with a greatsword would deal more dmg than this guy w/o needing EWM. A frenzied berserker would pwn him to pieces and back. And just to throw in my 2c regarding leap, it doesnt do 1:6 PA on a 2h wep. It's 1:3. Need frenzied for 1:6. You want PA cheese? go to that class.
JaronK 01-20-08, 05:10 PM	On the subject of war hulk, Doesn't depened on race and size? You need to be large or larger. Half Minotaur should work quite nicely. JaronK
SkipSandwich 01-21-08, 11:09 PM	Goliath with Mountain Rage may also qualify, but he'd only gain the benifits while raging (kind of like the Incredible Hulk).
Neraagile 01-30-08, 09:31 PM	You better have been taking the **** there. Why would you take half dragon? where does the 26 base Str come from? A half dragon with a greatsword would deal more dmg than this guy w/o needing EWM. A frenzied berserker would pwn him to pieces and back. And just to throw in my 2c regarding leap, it doesnt do 1:6 PA on a 2h wep. It's 1:3. Need frenzied for 1:6. You want PA cheese? go to that class. Frenzied Berzerker is quite honestly one of the most annoing classes (and one of the worst prestige classes) to have in your party, as well as the greatest fun smasher's (class wise) I've seen so far in D&D (almost worse than Mordenkainen's Disjunction and Anti-Magic Field), look at Frenzy very closely. Lemme quote: A Frenzied Berzerker can enter a frenzy during combat. While frenzied, she gains a +6 bonus to Strength and, if she makes a full attack action, gains a single extra attack each round at her highest bonus. This is really good ... but look further down. In addition, if she takes damage from an attack, spell, trap, or any other source, she automatically enters frenzy at the start of her next action. Well thats not to bad either, but here comes the bomb. During a frenzy, the frenzied berzerker must attack thoese she perceive as a foe to the best of her ability. Should she run out of enemies before her frenzy expires, her rampage continues. She must attack the nearest creature (determined randomly if several potential foes are equidistant) and fight that opponent without regard to frendship, innocence, or health (the target's or her own). its aboslutly horrible .... and after level 4 it gets WORSE, deathless frenzy... now she won't die untill she's maimed every single party member or her frenzy expires.... but then again the party wizard could turn her into a pile of ash (hopefully, bearing in mind that she can achieve this party slaying abomination at 10th level....) and call it a day.... Absolutly horrible PrC and may whoever came up with the idear be violently sexually abused with a pineapple (I apolegise for any vivid images this comment may cause)
archerpwr 01-30-08, 09:40 PM	Frenzied Berserker is fine. It just requires a bit of planning. I've seen a couple of very party friendly FBs out there. Important elements are the pride domain and a high will save.
JaronK 01-31-08, 12:08 AM	Grease will also nuetralize any frenzied berserker (they can't make dex based check when frenzied). As long as you know how to contain the FB, they can be a lot of fun. JaronK