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Bull Rush Build?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
5m4llp0x
Mar 17, 2010 1:17:19 I like to play support-combat characters. The idea of causing havoc on the field and allowing my allies to mop people up, quickly, is always appealed to me far more then just going in with a high damage build and entirely wiping out the opposition on round 1. Now if I'm forced to play that sort of character Im not going to object, but at just means my party members are all playing skill builds and we're gonna get TPKed if I don't.
For a while, now, I've been playing a Goliath who heavily speced himself in Bull Rushing.
I went with Barbarian 2, Fighter 4, and I'm now classing into Champion of Gwynharwyf for combat buffs and the intimidation to prevent opponents from resisting my bull rush.
The feats I have ended up taking are:
Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Knock Back, Rampaging Bull Rush, Righteous Wrath, Knight of the Stars, and Exotic Weapon Prof. (Duom).
Can any of you think of a better suited prestige class that would allow me to have a better chance on successfully bull rushing and/or shutting down the opposition so my party can make more effective use of their abilities?
#2
NiteCyper
Mar 17, 2010 4:05:09 Dungeon crasher variant Fighter, Large size (Half-Minotaur template, Jotunbrud feat) or +1 Brutal Surge weapon enhancement bonus (MIC), Knockback feat (you've got that). Rebuilding lets you switch multiple stuff out at once. There's also Dark Chaos Feat Swap, retraining, and Psychic Reformation. Spiked Chain?
#3
5m4llp0x
Mar 17, 2010 10:15:34 Cool ideas, thanks!
I don't know if my GM would even allow the DC variant since she's horribly against anything combat-oriented. She's made massive rule changes in favor of cloth-casters and skill builds (Dragon Shaman getting rogue sneak attack and skill points?!) but has denied me the chance to play a Primeval or even a Bear Warrior without "nerfing it". I could also rant for a good 5 pages on her issue with rings of sustanance being "broken", but I already proved to her that D&D's economy system is jacked up (Did you know you can over-size a crossbow bolt to 17 times and it'll still be lighter then a tree, but larger then most trees? Just cut down a tree, add fletching, and a tip and you've saved several hundred pounds of weight and it only ocupies 5 feet!) and she needed to reconscider her stance on the item.
As for the Dark Chaos glitch, they're 8th level spells and we're only level 9. And I know, for a fact, that she would pull the whole "No caster in town has these spells". So this idea is out.
She also doesn't allow psionics in her campaign. Not because Psionics deat the ever-loving tar out of her beloved fragile cloth casters, but because she hasn't read the rules on psionics and doesn't feel comfortable adding them into the game (I can respect that).
Goliath also has Powerful build which allows the same things as Jotunbrud, so I don't really need it since it doesn't add a "size catagory" ir just makes them Large for those intents and purposes.
Now, a question about Brutal Surge. If I'm reading this correctly: Do I get a Bull rush attempt from Knock back AND this or is it Knockback OR this? I'm asking if I get 2 chances at knocking someone to the ground or am I stuck with just the one and I can chose to add the +2 bonus whenever I want to blow a use?
#4
Maat_Mons
Mar 17, 2010 10:23:18 If you're going to dip barbarian, the lion totem variant (Complete Champion), the whirling frenzy variant, and the extra rage feat (Complete Warrior) are the way to go.
#5
5m4llp0x
Mar 17, 2010 10:38:13 We're already too far into the game to be allowed any of these. But they are great ideas. The only issue I could see with the Lion variant and whilrling frenzy is that she is against most all of UA (Because it's horrible powergamer blather!), and she doesn't like variants on classes (Unless it's a skill build or cloth caster).
Also: I'm going to end up with 4 rages by finishing out CoG and Barbarian. If I needed more I could dip a few more levels of Barbarian and get another use. Right now, the Rage is only needed if I need to ground control an enemy that is causing us too much trouble. I've also found that pushing people into groups for an ally to fireball is quite effective.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 5m4llp0x Mar 17, 2010 1:17:19	I like to play support-combat characters. The idea of causing havoc on the field and allowing my allies to mop people up, quickly, is always appealed to me far more then just going in with a high damage build and entirely wiping out the opposition on round 1. Now if I'm forced to play that sort of character Im not going to object, but at just means my party members are all playing skill builds and we're gonna get TPKed if I don't. For a while, now, I've been playing a Goliath who heavily speced himself in Bull Rushing. I went with Barbarian 2, Fighter 4, and I'm now classing into Champion of Gwynharwyf for combat buffs and the intimidation to prevent opponents from resisting my bull rush. The feats I have ended up taking are: Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Knock Back, Rampaging Bull Rush, Righteous Wrath, Knight of the Stars, and Exotic Weapon Prof. (Duom). Can any of you think of a better suited prestige class that would allow me to have a better chance on successfully bull rushing and/or shutting down the opposition so my party can make more effective use of their abilities?
#2 NiteCyper Mar 17, 2010 4:05:09	Dungeon crasher variant Fighter, Large size (Half-Minotaur template, Jotunbrud feat) or +1 Brutal Surge weapon enhancement bonus (MIC), Knockback feat (you've got that). Rebuilding lets you switch multiple stuff out at once. There's also Dark Chaos Feat Swap, retraining, and Psychic Reformation. Spiked Chain?
#3 5m4llp0x Mar 17, 2010 10:15:34	Cool ideas, thanks! I don't know if my GM would even allow the DC variant since she's horribly against anything combat-oriented. She's made massive rule changes in favor of cloth-casters and skill builds (Dragon Shaman getting rogue sneak attack and skill points?!) but has denied me the chance to play a Primeval or even a Bear Warrior without "nerfing it". I could also rant for a good 5 pages on her issue with rings of sustanance being "broken", but I already proved to her that D&D's economy system is jacked up (Did you know you can over-size a crossbow bolt to 17 times and it'll still be lighter then a tree, but larger then most trees? Just cut down a tree, add fletching, and a tip and you've saved several hundred pounds of weight and it only ocupies 5 feet!) and she needed to reconscider her stance on the item. As for the Dark Chaos glitch, they're 8th level spells and we're only level 9. And I know, for a fact, that she would pull the whole "No caster in town has these spells". So this idea is out. She also doesn't allow psionics in her campaign. Not because Psionics deat the ever-loving tar out of her beloved fragile cloth casters, but because she hasn't read the rules on psionics and doesn't feel comfortable adding them into the game (I can respect that). Goliath also has Powerful build which allows the same things as Jotunbrud, so I don't really need it since it doesn't add a "size catagory" ir just makes them Large for those intents and purposes. Now, a question about Brutal Surge. If I'm reading this correctly: Do I get a Bull rush attempt from Knock back AND this or is it Knockback OR this? I'm asking if I get 2 chances at knocking someone to the ground or am I stuck with just the one and I can chose to add the +2 bonus whenever I want to blow a use?
#4 Maat_Mons Mar 17, 2010 10:23:18	If you're going to dip barbarian, the lion totem variant (Complete Champion), the whirling frenzy variant, and the extra rage feat (Complete Warrior) are the way to go.
#5 5m4llp0x Mar 17, 2010 10:38:13	We're already too far into the game to be allowed any of these. But they are great ideas. The only issue I could see with the Lion variant and whilrling frenzy is that she is against most all of UA (Because it's horrible powergamer blather!), and she doesn't like variants on classes (Unless it's a skill build or cloth caster). Also: I'm going to end up with 4 rages by finishing out CoG and Barbarian. If I needed more I could dip a few more levels of Barbarian and get another use. Right now, the Rage is only needed if I need to ground control an enemy that is causing us too much trouble. I've also found that pushing people into groups for an ally to fireball is quite effective.