For a campaign, I'm playing as a martial adept (warblade), but I'm not entirely sure how to build this. I don't want to be waaay too powerful, especially since nobody in my group is optimized in any way. The campaign is level 9, 36,000 starting gold, I have core books and the tome of battle available to me (my group has more, but I don't have access to them right now.) Things I want are:
-preferably not human, dwarf or any non-medium race
-access to magic, because our group could really use some
-a limit of 4 classes used, I only have so much room to list them (also for RP reasons)
-capable of taking hits without relying on magic, I REALLY hate relying on something that can be taken away really easily
-preferably access to ruby or diamond nightmare blade, for the sole purpose of insane leap attacks (the combination shall be called CALADBOLG...i probably mispelt that)
things listed are wanted, but I'm willing to sacrifice them all (except the class limit one, I don't like taking 2-3 levels in a bunch of classes for a slightly better performance.)
I MIGHT be able to access complete warrior, adventurer, divine and arcane, as well as both psionics books, but probably not.
also, when all is said and done, I'll need help choosing manouvers...and preferably not wizard or a divine class for magic, I hate those classes.
-preferably not human, dwarf or any non-medium race
So...a medium race that is not human or dwarf? Try Wood Elf from the Monster Manual or Fire Elf from Unearthed Arcana? They have normal Elf properties, but Wood Elf gets +2 str, -2 cha as well. Fire Elf gets +2 int (actually a useful stat for warblades, though str is more important), Fire resistance 5, and various other fire-race bonuses and penalties. Each race has -2 con, which hurts a bit. But you get d12 HD, so it balances out. I think both make good Warblades. A Warblade wants high strength, con, dex, and int.
www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#wood...
www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/element...
www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/element...
-access to magic, because our group could really use some
So you need to multiclass with a spellcaster? Simplest would probably be Warblade / Wizard / Jade Pheonix Mage (also in Tome of Battle). Does your group need magic, though? Items can go a long way to help. If anyone at all can reliably use wands of cure light wounds (or even better, lesser vigor), healing shouldn’t be too awful.
-a limit of 4 classes used, I only have so much room to list them (also for RP reasons)
Ideally, I’d just make you a Warblade 9 for simplciity’s sake (and straight Warblade is a completely viable build). If you absolutely need spellcasting, go with Warblade/Wizard/Jade Pheonix, as I mentioned above. If you got to very high levels and capped out Jade Pheonix Mage, Abjurant Champion (the better choice) or Eldritch Knight could carry you to epic levels. Afterwhich you’d continue in whatever Jade Pheonix Mage epic progression the DM makes up.
-capable of taking hits without relying on magic, I REALLY hate relying on something that can be taken away really easily
You get a d12 HD, you can take hits just fine. Stone Dragon has a lot of maneuvers and stances for damage reduction, but I don’t care for them, myself. Iron Heart has a level 2 counter called Wall of Blades that lets you parry a melee or ranged attack (even weapon-like spells like rays!) with an attack roll replacing your AC. That helps. The Dimaond Mind save replacers (use concentration instead) and Iron Heart maneuver to reroll a save also help. At level 11+ as a straight Warblade, you can nab Iron Heart Endurance, which is useful self-healing. Heals 2 x initiator level and only functions when below half max hp. BUT, it’s only a swift action to use, and could potentially be used many times in a grisly combat if you refresh maneuvers.
-preferably access to ruby or diamond nightmare blade, for the sole purpose of insane leap attacks (the combination shall be called CALADBOLG...i probably mispelt that)
Ummm…Tiger Claw is the one with all the crazy leaping attacks. Diamond Mind has the [insert rare gem name] Nightmare Blade line, which rely on concentration checks versu the target’s AC to do massive damage. Which did you mean? You have enough maneuvers known to specialize in both, of course.
I MIGHT be able to access complete warrior, adventurer, divine and arcane, as well as both psionics books, but probably not.
You can make a decent Warblade with Tome of Battle alone. C.Adventurer is mostly good for the Leap Attack feat. Psionics is only useful to use the Psionic Weapon feats and some devious psionic focus synergies with a diamond mind focused build, and even then you can get by without it. (Psionics also has the Stand Still feat, useful to Crusaders and anyone taking a feat for Thicket of Blades stance). C.Divine and Arcane might be useful if doing caster combo, otherwise not. C.Warrior is a bit of a loss. It has the tasty Shock Trooper tactical feat and many other good warrior feats. You should also look for Player’ Handbook 2. I has a lot of Fighter feats, which a Warblade qualifies for.
Incidentally, the psionic handbook is freely available online, so you should be able to access that: www.d20srd.org/index.htm
also, when all is said and done, I'll need help choosing manouvers...and preferably not wizard or a divine class for magic, I hate those classes.
That’s fine. Again, if you want, Warblade 9 works. Only if you insist on casting will I insist you use Wizard or some other int-based casting class. Charisma and Wisdom are the least important stats for a warblade, int actually adds to a lot of stuff. It’d dilute your ability scores tremendously to pump cha or wis high just for some spellcasting multiclass. Psion class is int-based, but has far less flexibility than a wizard. Psionic powers also tend to have FAR less party buffs, most of them self-only. If the “party” needs a caster, I think psion wouldn’t be nearly as good as wizard in that case. Another interesting option: Beguiler (PH2) is int-based casting, and focuses on spells that don’t do damage. So, you could have Beguiler spells for out of combat and scouting, and Warblade for beating stuff over the head.
Iron Heart Surge (IH level 3, 1 maneuver required): Shake off basically ANY status abnormality or annoyance, so long as you are capable of moving and acting on your own accord. You can even get poison out of your system before it can deal secondary damage. Any effect with a duration is up for grabs. Best of all, it destroys the effect entirely, making it great as an area dispel with no chance of failure. You can punch through a Web spell, acid fog, even an anti-magic field with one standard action.
To acquire: Just get an Iron Heart stance or Wall of Blades and you meet the pre-reqs.
White Raven Tactics (WR level 3, 1 maneuver required): Swift action boost, one ally within 10 ft (as far as I know, you can use a swift action during another action, like a charge, as you move within range of someone). Makes the ally's initiative equal to yours -1. In other words, their turn in the order jumps to right after you, even if they had just acted immediately preceding you. Needless to say, this can be devastating. According to customer service, you can target yourself with this and get two turns in a row. I would advise you not do this, however, because it will likely just make the group angry at how broken you are. They shouldn't mind it solely as a buff for other people, though.
To acquire: Unfortunately, low level WR maneuvers kind of suck. Battle Leader's Charge is nice, but requires a maneuver itself. I like to take a level 1 WR stance (Leading the Charge is almost always better than Bolstering Voice, and scales with level) to qualify.
Those two maneuvers alone will go a long ways towards making you less reliant on magic.
The nightmare blade leaping thing was considered leaping because of leap attack being used to empower it further.
our party consists of a half fiend rogue, gnome bard, unembodied telepath and thri kreen (keen?) ranger. I'm reasonably sure that the rogue is going to steal all the healing stuff we need (he's evil. VERY evil), but its good to be safe, so i considered the option.
this topic has reminded me NOT to leave my stuff at a friends house. Damn PHB2 is out of my reach...anywhere I can find the beguiler spell list? (though I'd prefer the rip the target a gateway to hell aspect of magic)
and the phoenix mage is considerable, though I don't really like the disciplines it grants me, desert storm seems all flash and no substance to me, and I fail to see why devoted spirit is considered one of the stronger disciplines (explanation would be nice...?)
I've also been considering the master of nine class, the requirements are really bothering me though, seeing as I have to spend the better half of my feats to get there.
anything else I should note? also, what would happen if I took a class like eldritch knight when leveling the theoretical mage aspect of this? would I stop gaining initiator levels?
The durability issue was because I was thinking of the mage aspect I might include, which would lower the durability of the class.
Still don't know what you meant. Sounds like your party has enough casting, though. Don't bother trying to multi with spellcaster, it complicates things more than I think you want.
The nightmare blade leaping thing was considered leaping because of leap attack being used to empower it further.
Leap Attack only works on charge attacks. None of the nightmare Blade strikes are charge attacks. There is only one Diamond Mind maneuver at all that is considered a charge, and all it does is remove the -2 AC penalty and requirement ot move in a straight line. Again, Tiger Claw does work well with Dimaond Mind at higher levels. Namely, the boosts to get extra attacks or rend damage + Time Stands Still. Tiger Claw does have Pouncing Charge, which will let you apply leap attack feat to your full attack.
our party consists of a half fiend rogue, gnome bard, unembodied telepath and thri kreen (keen?) ranger. I'm reasonably sure that the rogue is going to steal all the healing stuff we need (he's evil. VERY evil), but its good to be safe, so i considered the option.
Shame the Rogue's going to play like that, good thing Warblade has Uncanny Dodge if things go wrong.
this topic has reminded me NOT to leave my stuff at a friends house. Damn PHB2 is out of my reach...anywhere I can find the beguiler spell list? (though I'd prefer the rip the target a gateway to hell aspect of magic)
Try the Beguiler Handbook on these forums? Actually, Crystalkeep's databases have it, it's just not pleasant on the eyes to read.
Beguiler class itself is here, p. 148, and spell list on p. 174: www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Inde...
and the phoenix mage is considerable, though I don't really like the disciplines it grants me, desert storm seems all flash and no substance to me, and I fail to see why devoted spirit is considered one of the stronger disciplines (explanation would be nice...?)
Yeah, Jade doesn't get disciplines that mesh well with what you want, which is why I was reluctant to recommend it. But, it's basically the only game in town for adept/arcanist multiclassing.
Desert Wind (not storm
) is pretty weak, yes. It does offer some nice feautres if you look deep for them, though. Distracting Ember is a solid buff to get flanking (even without sneak attack, warblade gets bonus int to damage on flanked foes later on, so it's not awful). Leaping Flame is a pretty awesome counter to close the distance on a ranged attacker or creature with massively longer reach than you. Searing Charge lets you go after flying monsters with melee. Just some examples.Devoted Spirit is considered good because (among other things): a) being able to fight and heal up the party is useful, especially if you're abusing Martial Spirit and a prisoner for unlimited out of combat healing; b) Divine Surge really, really is crazy damage at mid levels; c) the shield counters are actually very reliable ways to disrupt enemy attacks; d) the level 6 law and chaos stances (whichever one you can take) are possibly the best stances in the book -- lawful one basically allows you to never miss a strike maneuver and chaotic can lead to obscene damage if you keep rolling well; e) the Thicket of Blades stance is lockdown in a box, to the point that any lockdown build written post-ToB basically requires the build to obtain it. it's not the best discipline by any stretch, but it has more than enough good portions to make it desirable to have.
I've also been considering the master of nine class, the requirements are really bothering me though, seeing as I have to spend the better half of my feats to get there.
Mo9 has very stupid pre-reqs. If you look at the sample the book lists, he couldn't have actually had all of those feats by the time he started in the class. IME, asking the DM to drop the Imp. Unarmed Strike pre-req is considered reasonable.
anything else I should note? also, what would happen if I took a class like eldritch knight when leveling the theoretical mage aspect of this? would I stop gaining initiator levels?
Levels in non-adept classes add half to initator levels. If you had 3 Wizard levels and 4 Eldritch Knight levels, that would add 3 to your Warblade's initiator level (fractions round down, as normal for 3E). However, you do NOT gain new maneuvers or stances with any of those levels. Maneuvers dependent on IL (like Leading the Charge, which adds IL damage to charges, or IH Endurance, which heals twice your IL in damage) for calculations will increase accordingly. If you were to later go back into Warblade, you could apply the IL gained and possibly skip to a higher level of maneuvers that you qualify for. For example, a Warblade 6 has IL 6, can use 3rd level maneuvers. Go Wizard 3 and EK 4 as above, and IL is now 9. If you went back into Warblade next level, your IL would be 10 (7 WB and 3 from the other classes). Even though you left WB only able to take level 3 maneuvers, you can now take maneuvers and stances up to level 5.
Note, Warblades annoyingly get their second stance at WB 4, one stinking level before they could get 3rd level maneuvers. There are no 2nd level stances available to a Warblade, only 1st and 3rd level. To avoid getting another 1st level stance, a common tactic is to multiclass out of Warblade for 2 levels (half of which count for IL, so +1 IL) before Warblade 4 is reached. Then at Warblade 4, your IL is 5 (4 from WB +1 multiclassing) and you can get a level 3 stance, like god intended.
(A lot of DMs, once they understand how ToB works, will be reasonable if you ask and allow you to get the 2nd stance at level 5 or higher, so you don't need to multiclass like that.)
Race: Tiefling (savage progression, so LA 0)
Class: Warblade (duh) 9
Deity: Fharla...er, guy of roads, N
Alignment: CG
(yes, these were my rolls)
Str: 22 (18 base, level +2 Ogre strength +2)
Dex: 16
Con: 18
Int: 14
Wis: 14
Cha: 10
weapon: +2 ghost touch falchion (Dygan Stehl)
armor: +3 breastplate
other gear: cloak of res +1, ring of protection +1, ogre gauntlets +2
Skills: max tumble, intimidate, concentration, jump and balance, 6 ranks in climb and swim
language: common infernal, sylvan, undercommon
feats (in no particular order0
power attack, leap attack, blind fight, adaptive style, improved initiative, dodge
racial abilities: 2 resistance to cold fire and electricity, 60ft. darkvision and lesser darkness (think darkness but only in 5ft.)
I have chosen no manouvers as of yet.
any improvements you could suggest?
Choose which discipline's stances you plan on being in most of the time. If you picked Tiger Claw, for example... In the magic items section, there is a +1 weapon enhancement, I think it's just called "discipline weapon." You get it in the name of a discipline, and whenever you are in a stance of that discipline or use one of its strike maneuvers, you gain +3 on your attack roll. In all other cases, you get +1 attack instead.
Now, some math. If you are constantly getting the +3 attack (by being in a stance), compare that to the +1 attack/damage of a regular enhancement bonus. With Power Attack and a 2H weapon, you can turn that into +1 attack / +4 damage, or just +6 damage. With Leap attack, those damage numbers double.
In short: Get an appropriate [discipline name] enhancement and reduce the sword to +1. Important to note: the discipline you choose does NOT need to have falchion as one of its favored weapons to qualify for the enhancement.
Reduce the armor to +2, saves you 5000 gp. Get natural armor +1 (2000 gp) item and bank the extra 3000 gp. Or for the same cost of 5000 gp, get a dusty rose iuon stone for +1 insight AC, which will apply against all attacks (armor bonus does not on touch attacks).
Other items: I like Boots of Agile Leaping (MIC -- Magic Item Compendium). Only 600 gp, or 900 at +505 cost to add to striding and springing. Lets you stand from prone w/o an AoO as a swift action with 5 balance ranks. Strongarm Bracers (MIC) are 6000 gp and let you use weapons one size larger at no penalty. Best to get it early so you don't have problems trading out your medium sized falchion for a large one later in the game. I also love Belt of Ultimate Athleticism (MIC) for 3600 gp. Lets you unlimited times/day take 10 on tumble, jump, and other movement skills. Once/day, you can take 20. If you can get an MIC weapon augment crystal, ghost shroud, or gauntlets of ghost fighting, you can get ghost touch via that instead of on the weapon itself. With a falchion I think Keen would be a nice special property to have instead.
Skills: Balance is only good past 5 ranks if you plan on getting C.Scoundrel skill tricks or using the C.Adventurer rule to make Balance at -10 to resist being tripped instead of str or dex check. Otherwise, 5 ranks is typically enough (5 ranks means you aren't denied dex to AC while balancing).
Maneuvers: I told you the two ones you should get no matter what. Beyond that, it's up to you to decide which disciplines to focus on. In general, a Warblade gets enough known to focus strongly on two different disciplines, possibly picking up 1-3 maneuvers from a third as well. So...start by picking 2 disciplines you really like. If you're doing Master of Nine, I STRONGLY suggest dipping Swordsage for 2 levels. Either do it before Warblade 4 so you can get a level 3 stance at Warblade 4, or do it at level 9+, so you can get level 3 maneuvers or lower with Swordsage. That will also work well with Adaptive Style. One full round action lets you reformat/refresh your maneuvers from both classes.
hm...from what I can tell, the main manouvers I want are iron heart surge (requires 1 other iron heart), feral death leap (ultimate tiger, so I need 3 tiger claw moves) rightious vitality (I think that means 2 devoted spirit) and raven tactics (1 other raven) thats about half my total manouvers, I'll probably get martial study to learn burning brand, because on-demand reach attacks are useful whcih also gets the last requirement for master of nine out of the way.
I guess I'll focus in Tiger fang (once I get the insta-kill move, I'll probably spam it like no tomorrow), any good manouvers there that don't rely on two weapon fighting? I'd rather keep my oversized sword instead of two tiny ones.
If you're talking about feral death blow and strike of righteous vitality, those are 9th level maneuvers, so you need initiator level 17 to learn them. Also, a maneuver doesn't help fulfill its own prerequisites.
If you can gain access to Complete Adventurer, ghostblight capsules cost 100 gp a pop, are a swift action to use, and grant a weapon the ghost touch property for 3 rounds. If you're not fighting a lot of incorporeal enemies, it's the most cost-effective option.
I think you should spring for mithral full-plate. It has the same armor bonus, max dex bonus, and armor check penalty as a +3 breastplate and costs 1,150 gp more, but +1 mithral full-plate is cheeper than a +4 breastplate (and so on).
If you can go with ghostblight capsules over ghost touch, consider putting the saved 10,000 gp into a +1 animated heavy darkwood shield. It costs 9,107 gp, provides +3 to AC, and doesn't require a hand.
I think dancing blade form (IH 5) would serve you better than burning brand, since it can function constantly.
Master of nine is a trap. Martial adept prestige classes don't allow you to trade a low level maneuver for a high level maneuver every-other level the way the base classes do, so you're only really gaining 3 maneuvers known. Taking 5 crappy feats to gain 3 maneuvers is a worse deal than taking martial study 3 times.
Since high level maneuvers require you to know a certain number of maneuvers from the same discipline, you can't just grab high level maneuvers from any discipline with master of nine. You need to expend maneuvers known on lower level maneuvers first.
The extra maneuvers readied are nice, but not worth the prerequisites. As a warblade, you can refresh your maneuvers easily, so you're not going to run out. A smaller number of maneuvers means fewer options, but good maneuver selection can mitigate that.
I guess I'll focus in Tiger fang (once I get the insta-kill move, I'll probably spam it like no tomorrow), any good manouvers there that don't rely on two weapon fighting? I'd rather keep my oversized sword instead of two tiny ones.
Sudden Leap is awesome at level 1, but sadly requires a maneuver known. Actually, Wolf Fang Strike (level 1), Claw at the Moon (level 2), and Rabid...something Strike (level 2) are the only maneuvers/stances in all of TC without a maneuver required. Which means you need one of them as your starting point. Two options:
1) Warblade will let you re-train and trade up old maneuvers starting at level 4. So, pick up Wolf Fang Strike at level 1 to qualify for Sudden Leap, then immediately swap it at level 4 for Claw at the Moon, which uses a jump check to do extra damage. CatM will be your "base" maneuver.
2) You can never ready all of your known maneuvers anyway (Warblade 1 being the exception), some are bound to just sit there idly. So, may as well just take Wolf Fang Strike and just never bother to ready it after level 1. This is probably the better option.
Other good non-TWF oriented TC maneuvers, starting with the jump-based ones: Soaring Raptor Strike (excellent damage but only works on foes larger than you; use adaptive style to ready it when you can use it), Death from Above, Swooping Dragon Strike, Feral Death Blow. Not jump related, but still great: Pouncing Charge and Girallon Windmill Flesh Rip. For stances, the level 8 is very good, Hunter's Sense is a cool side ability to have but won't help combat optimization. Leaping Dragon Stance is a fine main-stay for a leaping-focused build.
To get WR Tactics, just use your level 1 stance for Leading the Charge. Bam, you now qualify once you reach IL 5.
I'll suggest this build: Warblade 3 / Swordsage 2 / Warblade 4-7, going into Mo9 once you qualify. I'll put when the maneuvers were gained, if it helps to follow the build by level. "R" is for readied, it's how I denote the maneuvers and stance you'll probably want active most often. Just a sample build for level 9.
Warblade maneuvers (IL 8, 4 readied):
1 Wolf Fang Strike (TC, Strike) [WB 1]
1 Sudden Leap (TC, Boost) [WB 2] R
2 Wall of Blades (IH, Counter) [WB 3] R
3 Soaring Raptor Strike (TC, Strike) [Swapped from a level 1 @ WB 4]
3 WR Tactics (WR, Boost) [WB 5] R
4 Death from Above (TC, Strike) [Swapped from a level 1 @ WB 6] R
4 Lightning Recovery (IH, Counter) [WB 7]
Warblade Stances
1 Leading the Charge (WR; +8 charge damage to all allies within 60 ft)
3 Leaping Dragon Stance (TC; +10 ft bonus on jump, no penalty on standing jumps) R
Swordsage Maneuvers (IL 5, 4 readied):
1 Charging Minotaur (SD, Strike) R
1 Distracting Ember (DW, Boost)
1 Counter Charge (SS, Counter) R
1 Shadow Blade Technique (SH, Strike)
1 Saphire Nightmare Blade (DM, Strike) R
1 Moment of Perfect Mind (DM, Counter)
2 Emerald Razor (DM, Strike) R
Swordsage Stances
1 (open)
1 (open)
Notes: If you got mithral breastplate to make it light armor (this will also be a big help with your jump checks), you can benefit from Swordsage's wisdom to AC for an extra +2 AC. You can't also benefit from a shield and that class feature, but until an animated shield becomes affordable, it's not bad to make use of.
You can grab a novice Iron Heart Vest for only 3000 gp to use Iron Heart Surge. Alternatively, just sack one of the level 3 or 4 WB maneuvers I put down to replace with it.
I think you should spring for mithral full-plate. It has the same armor bonus, max dex bonus, and armor check penalty as a +3 breastplate and costs 1,150 gp more, but +1 mithral full-plate is cheeper than a +4 breastplate (and so on).Master of nine is a trap. Martial adept prestige classes don't allow you to trade a low level maneuver for a high level maneuver every-other level the way the base classes do, so you're only really gaining 3 maneuvers known. Taking 5 crappy feats to gain 3 maneuvers is a worse deal than taking martial study 3 times.
Either that or mithral breastplate so it's light armor. And yeah, even without requiring Imp. Unarmed Strike, Mo9 is a large cost for little gain. I've been pushing straight (or with a 2 level dip to fix stances) Warblade, but the OP wants Mo9, so may as well help him with it.
Is there a better option for a prestige class you can recommend if not master of nine? I know the prerequisites suck (I lack a term for the degree of this) but are feats really THAT valuable? I'm aware that I'm nowhere near good at optimizing characters, but I've never really found any feats to be that useful (aside from power attack with a 2handed weapon) Maybe its my being a noob talking, but I see the supernatural casting of heal whenever I smack something/one as more valueble than feats I've never seen a value in. Although if I;m wrong then PLEASE disprove me, I hate being ignorant.
You said you don't have acess to many books. You also said you didn't care about being as optimized as possible. So you don't really *need* feats very badly in this case, and the ones you picked starting out are far from underpowered.
And I don't know of a good PrC for you. That's the point; the lack of swapping maneuvers makes the adept PrCs inherently a poor choice for a primarily one class adept. You're better off just staying in warblade. The only time the PrCs can be "optimal" is if you're doing a hodgepodge of 2 or all 3 adept base classes, because of the fact that adept PrCs give full iniator level advancement to all adept base classes you have levels in.
Generally it's better to keep the maneuver progression coming, because high level maneuvers are truly awesome/ If you wanted to branch out, though, there are some fun non-adept PrC combos you can do. Just one example...I'm fond of "thrower" builds that sprinkle a little in Warblade, then some in Barbarian or Fighter, go 4 or more levels into Bloodstorm Blade (in ToB, but no maneuver advancement), and Master Thrower (C.Warrior). Especially with a good int score, 3 levels in Factotem for int to all combat maneuver (trip, bull rush, etc...) checks with that kind of mix could be a really fun ranged combat artist, tripping and disarming people from the other side of the room and such. Again, that's not so much a powerful build as a quirky one.
in that case, I'll stick with the build you suggested. How would the progression go? so I can figure out how to set this up? or would it be a simple knock off a point of BAB, 8hp (we start with maximized hit dice) and add in the pile of manouvers? Also, won't I get a multiclass penalty from this? Tieflings still have rogue as favored class, after all.
Ah, then yes....multiclass penalty. Sorry, forgot your race, there. Hmm...martial (feat) rogue instead of Swordsage at least gives you bonus feats to work with... What do you want to do?
Progression i start first 3 levels in Warblade. So the first d12 is maxed. Then you were going to go into Swordsage for 2 levels. You assign maneuvers just as if you had been acquiring them since level 1. I put in brackets when you received each of the warblade maneuvers. All of the Swordsage maneuvers except for the last were from Swordsage 1. At Swordsage 1, you have an IL of 2 (1 SS + 1 from half WB levels). At Swordsage 2, you gained a Swordsage IL of 3 total. Hence, you can take a level 2 maneuver there.
For Warblade, you got 4 maneuvers the first two levels and they had to be level 1. At WB 3, you had IL 3 and could get a level 2 maneuver. When you hopped back into WB after the multiclass, you were now IL 5 (4 WB +1 from the swordsage levels) and could learn 3rd level maneuvers. So, you used the level 4 swap out to trade a level 1 maneuver for a level 3. Then at WB 5 you gained a new level 3 maneuver. At WB 6, you swapped a level 1 maneuver for a level 4, and at WB 7 you gained a new level 4 maneuver.
...Do you follow that? Basically, after the multiclassing, your Warblade initiator level became Warblade level +1.
also, a mithral full plate costs over 10,000 gold, thats more expensive than my +3 breastplate (unless the MIC has lied to me, heavy mithral armor costs an extra 9,000)
Mithral full-plate costs 10,500 gp and +3 breastplate costs 9,500 gp. However, +1 mithral full-plate costs 11,500 gp, a +4 breastplate costs 16,500, +2 mithral full-plate costs 14,500 gp, a +5 breastplate costs 25,500, and the breastplate stalls out after that.
You can spend 1,000 gp now to avoid losing 4,750 gp when you inevitably would have traded in the breastplate. You may even be able to afford +1 mithral full-plate now.
ah, so net worth is increased. Since I'll be using tiger claw as a primary discipline though, I doubt I'll get much use out of mithral full plate, as awesome as it is. One more question though, do you think it would be worth using two weapon fighting/a tiger eye weapon on this character isntead of my falchion, since I'll be specialized in tiger claw? plus, falchion wastes the weapon focus from swordsage. Unless I can change it once I get Master of Nine, but thats happening around 15-16 level. Also, I'll be getting access to Races of dragon, Dragonimicon, monster manual 2 and 4, the four mentioned complete books, the psionics books, the dungeonscape the cityscape, dmg 2 and phb2 once the campaign starts. Are there any feats I should look into later on?
You absolutely do not need TWF to make a TC fighter. They key point is, the 9th level maneuvers typically only require 3-5 other maneuvers known, and stances count. You really don't need to find more than a handful of good maneuvers in any one discipline, there are plenty of good ones in TC that have nothing to do with TWF. I listed more than enough to qualify for Feral Death Blow. All of the Rabid animal ones do good damage, I just dislike the AC penalty they give. The two boosts that give extra attacks are much more useful for TWF, but not terrible with one weapon. Girallon Windmill Fleshrip works fine with one weapon; the rend damage starts out high with just 2 hits and then advances by small amounts for each extra hit, so even if you only land two hits it's good. If I were using it, I'd probably switch to a new target after landing every two hits (unless I only had one attack left and it was impossible to rend a new person), to spread the pain around.
For other feats, Shock Trooper from C.Warrior is a staple for charge builds. Take full PA and assign it as an AC penalty, instead of attack penalty (Wall of Blades providing a nice save from an attack until the penalty goes away on your next turn).
Weapon Supremacy is nice if you were staying Warblade. Slashing Fury isn't that bad.
Since I'll be using tiger claw as a primary discipline though, I doubt I'll get much use out of mithral full plate, as awesome as it is.
I don't follow that connection.
One more question though, do you think it would be worth using two weapon fighting/a tiger eye weapon on this character isntead of my falchion, since I'll be specialized in tiger claw?
Stormguard warrior (page 36) is good for two-weapon fighting warblades. Read the combat rhythm option. Now, imagine you make 4 successful touch attacks in round 1 and use dancing mongoose to make 6 successful attacks in round 2. That's 120 extra damage the second round.
That's at level 9. For level 17, imaging you use dancing mongoose to make 9 successful touch attacks in round 1 and use raging mongoose to make 11 successful attacks in round 2. That's 495 extra damage the second round.
The (soon to be mithral) breastplate gives a lower armor check penalty than mithral fullplate, and since my instant death move will need a good jump check, I want the smallest penalty I can get.
The (soon to be mithral) breastplate gives a lower armor check penalty than mithral fullplate, and since my instant death move will need a good jump check, I want the smallest penalty I can get.
More notably, medium armor reduces speed, light armor does not. That's going to be worth at least 4 points of jump (10 ft speed difference), possibly more.
And I was trying to avoid the Combat Rhythm abuse.
Much like using WR Tactics on yourself, cheesing Combat Rhythm is a sure-fire way to get the DM to ban your character.
Also, Hood.
Anyway, I'll Start recording the new moves I have now. Thanks for the help.
Mithral medium armor is light armor for all purposes. This was clarified somewhere.
Yes, I've recommended Mithral Breastplate several times now. Another poster was saying to get mithral full plate, which would still have movement penalties (and armor check penalties galore).