So I am wondering.
1) I have heard Whirlwind attack is basically not worth it because I end up taking feats (Such as dodge) which won't help me much. Also that I should be more of a "One enemy at a time" Type of fighter but we have a barbarian and another fighter built for that already. So is whirlwind attack worth it or no?
2) On weapons such as lances and glaives it says I get a 10 foot reach with the weapon but I can't hit adjacent targets. Does this also apply with whirlwind attack? If I can't hit adjacent foes for ANY reason it seems like whirlwind attack would be pretty useless. Or could I just use a spiked chain which can hit adjacent targets?
3) If I DO use whirlwind attack and kill one of the enemies I had attacked in the circle but only harm another does that mean I can cleave into him for another attack? Or no?
Still fairly new to D&D and I've really got nobody else to ask these questions at the moment.
Also if it turns out I can't do any of these things if you'd have any other suggestions that would be awesome :D
Thanks for the responses!
Whirlwind Attack requires Int 13, Dex 13, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack.
Int 13 isn't great for a Fighter, but it gives them an extra skill, and gives you permission (not that you should need it, but let's be real here) to play your fighters as more than a dullard.
Dex 13 is fine if you've decided you can spare the points. More Dex is always good, since it ties into so much in 3.5. Pick up some ranged feats down the road.
Combat Expertise is good for engaging a group, which is useful in the exact same situations Whirlwind Attack is good for. When you start your turn facing a group, turn it on and Whirlwind away. You'll probably still hit something, since you're making several attacks, and they're less likely to hit you.
Dodge gets a bad rap. In a fight against a single big enemy, it's as good as a +1 boost to AC, which is not nothing. Plus, it's a dodge bonus, which is good against the armored character's bane: touch attacks.
Mobility is good because it lets a fighter get into position. It's good in those large group situations in which you'd want to use Whirlwind Attack, because it lets you get in among them.
Spring Attack is good against a single target, for reasons that need I need not belabor here.
So, as I see it, reaching Whirlwind Attack means you're good on offense, defense and mobility against single targets (with Dodge, and Spring Attack) and good on offense, defense and mobility against groups (with Mobility, Combat Expertise, and Whirlwind Attack). Against a single target, turn on Dodge and use Spring Attack. Against groups, move into them with Mobility, attack a target to activate Combat Expertise for the turn you're in among them, and then Whirlwind Attack (with some Combat Expertise) on your turn. Add Improved Trip in there, while you're at it.
A lot can go wrong with this, of course. The creatures don't need to stand next to the Fighter, so he'll want Combat Reflexes (which gives him an extra opportunity attack due to the Dex he needed for Dodge), and anything else that can keep the enemies close for Whirlwind Attack.
Getting into the middle of a group probably serves to mess up the Wizard, who has Fireball by this time and doesn't need his allies mixed in with the enemies.
The Fighter who gets Whirlwind Attack early probably has not very good ranged capability. I think he might make just as many attacks on average, and not get in the Wizard's way, if he just took ranged feats.
And, at the end of the day (i.e. a few levels after getting Whirlwind Attack, if not sooner) the Fighter is overshadowed by pretty much every other class, no matter what feats he takes.
But good luck and have fun with it. Don't let anyone tell you not to take that feat.
Oh, to answer your other questions:
As I recall, there's a feat, or something, that allows for a 5' step in the middle of a full attack (or maybe that's automatically allowed). If you can do that, you can Whirlwind Attack with a reach weapon against targets 10' away, shift, and continue hitting the targets who were too close (or far) before, but are now in range.
I forget how Cleave works with Whirlwind Attack. Cleave is such a corner case that I wouldn't worry about it.
With that many melee characters on your team already I would say that you will see very little use from Whirlwind attack, it really only pays off if you are fighting a large number of opponents where you can get right into the middle of.. That being said, Spring Attack etc is not bad either. A fighter gets enough feats that he can build for multiple scenerios.
Personally I would start with the Weapon Focus, Specialization, Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, since the group is melee heavy I would focus on damage output to a single target, whirlewind spreads the damage to multiple targets. I would rather kill one and face 4 others then face 5, they can all be down to 1 hp each and still fighting, spreading the damage out isn't nearly as effective.
2) On weapons such as lances and glaives it says I get a 10 foot reach with the weapon but I can't hit adjacent targets. Does this also apply with whirlwind attack? If I can't hit adjacent foes for ANY reason it seems like whirlwind attack would be pretty useless. Or could I just use a spiked chain which can hit adjacent targets?
Yes, this would apply to Whirlwind attacks, you can't attack adjacent targets, mind you wil more likely be able to reach multiple targets, but if you are goign with reach weapons, I would forgo Whirlwind attack for Improved Trip and increasing my Attacks of Opportunity. Attack, Trip, AoO, 5-foot step, Attack, Trip....
3) If I DO use whirlwind attack and kill one of the enemies I had attacked in the circle but only harm another does that mean I can cleave into him for another attack? Or no?
Since you are spreading out your damage this really isn't ass effective with Cleave as it would be if you were concentrating on a single opponent, Since attacking 1 opponent with Power Attack multiple times with a 2-handed weapon is more likely to kill the target and allow for a cleave.
As for if you can use Cleave with Whirlwind, Cleave grants an extra attack (or attacks with Great Cleave) and it states under Whirlwind attack "When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities" so the answer is no, they do not stack.
That means Whirlwind Attack does not stack with Cleave, Haste, Two Weapon Fighting's extra attack with the off hand, etc.
I would start out with Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Weapon Specialization and Weapon Focus and go from there
Of course, if the DM favors throwing single powerful monsters at you, the whirlwind isn't particularly useful, but the dodge and mobility and spring attack are still deadly. So I'd give it a YES if you have opportunities to fight multiple opponents AND you and your allies work well as a team. I'd say NO if your encounters typically involve Shadow of the Colossus type combat with one big monster.
2 - I think there is a close-quarters fighting feat or something like that if you want to burn a feat, but I think the point of the reach weapon is to NOT let them get that close. You could also go the Quickdraw route...
3 - MrCustomer answered this one well... I might add that this feat is particularly effective if you have the ability to stack on some damage, be it by weapon specialization, power attack, sneak attack or a flaming weapon.
SIDE NOTE, BUT RELATED...
There has been discussion in my group as to whether a whirlwind attack means that you make a single dice roll and that counts as the attack roll for ALL the opponents, or if you are 'supposed to' roll multiple dice (one for each opponent). As it reads, I believe it could be taken either way... I'm just curious what others think about the that. Should the Whirlwinder roll a single d20 (meaning epic success or epic failure are quite possible) or roll multiple d20 (meaning that you're likely to have some success and some failure, but epic success or failure still possible)?
SIDE NOTE, BUT RELATED...
There has been discussion in my group as to whether a whirlwind attack means that you make a single dice roll and that counts as the attack roll for ALL the opponents, or if you are 'supposed to' roll multiple dice (one for each opponent). As it reads, I believe it could be taken either way... I'm just curious what others think about the that. Should the Whirlwinder roll a single d20 (meaning epic success or epic failure are quite possible) or roll multiple d20 (meaning that you're likely to have some success and some failure, but epic success or failure still possible)?
To answer that question "instead make one melee attack at your full base attack bonus against each opponent within reach."
You 1 attack against "each", not one attack against "all" so you roll seperately for each opponent. You could also rearrange the sentence to make it clearer "for each opponent within reach you make one melee attack"
The benifit to this is that there is no 1-shot, miss everything, which would be a major weakness, but also there is a seperate chance of a critical hit one each target.
Also, as a quick note, you can make your one 5 foot step between attacks while doing a Whirlwind Attack, it's important to keep that in mind since it will help you reach multiple targets to make the feat worth it,( ie attack three opponents, make 5 foot step and attack two more.)
SIDE NOTE, BUT RELATED...
There has been discussion in my group as to whether a whirlwind attack means that you make a single dice roll and that counts as the attack roll for ALL the opponents, or if you are 'supposed to' roll multiple dice (one for each opponent). As it reads, I believe it could be taken either way... I'm just curious what others think about the that. Should the Whirlwinder roll a single d20 (meaning epic success or epic failure are quite possible) or roll multiple d20 (meaning that you're likely to have some success and some failure, but epic success or failure still possible)?
To answer that question "instead make one melee attack at your full base attack bonus against each opponent within reach."
You 1 attack against "each", not one attack against "all" so you roll seperately for each opponent. You could also rearrange the sentence to make it clearer "for each opponent within reach you make one melee attack"
The benifit to this is that there is no 1-shot, miss everything, which would be a major weakness, but also there is a seperate chance of a critical hit one each target.
Also, as a quick note, you can make your one 5 foot step between attacks while doing a Whirlwind Attack, it's important to keep that in mind since it will help you reach multiple targets to make the feat worth it,( ie attack three opponents, make 5 foot step and attack two more.)
As you describe it, that's actually how I thought it worked also, but every one of my players thought otherwise.
As far as the quick note... I thought the 5 foot step had to come either before or after a full round attack and whirlwind is considered a full attack action so the 5 foot step would have to come before or after the dice rolling begins. My group tends to play without a grid (TOM) so it's not quite as relevant usually, but occasionally we have a battle that warrants a grid, in which case the 5 foot step would make WWind significantly more powerful.
If I'm wrong, no one's complained and it's not a gamebreaker either way, really, but I'll have to check on that. Even if it's not RAW, it sounds like it should work, so if a player decided to try that in a battle it won't hurt my feelings none.
Whirlwind is used with the Full Attack Action, the rules for Full Attack state: "The only movement you can take during a full attack is a 5-foot step. You may take the step before, after, or between your attacks."
Also, you don't need to decide to do a Full Attack (or the Whirlwind) until after your first attack. After you've made the first attack you can decide to continue doing a Full Attack (or Whirlwind) or instead do a move action, so if you miss the first one you can decide it isn't worth it and and instead continue to do a full attack on the one target (instead of Whirlwind) or to make a move action.
This and the 5-foot step rule both support the seperate attack role for each target.
And when it comes down to it, melee classes need everything they can get vs casters, I see no reason to restrict them so while allowing a Wizard to drop Meteor Swarms