Help me build a trippin' shield-bashing dwarf fighter

[StreamOfTheSky]

Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting to reduce your rediculous TWF penalty to -2.

I personally wouldn't invest in double Weapon Specialization. Your feats are already taken care for until fighter 8 - better to go for Weapon Specialization (flail) and Melee Weapon Mastery (piercing) - will give you +2 to hit/damage with the shield & +3/+4 with the flail.

What are your stats? You already need a 13 Int & 15 Dex for the build, and tripping calls for high Strength scores.

My group lets darkwood/mithral heavy shields count as "light" for the purposes of shield bash. I thought that was an actual rule, but I guess we just made it up!

 

[Feldspar]

For my next character, I'd like to make a dawrf fighter that specializes in tripping and shield bashing (for when he's disarmed).
So, what I expect to need, feat-wise, is this:
Two-Weapon Fighting

Well, if shield bashing is for when you're disarmed, you don't actually need two-weapon fighting since you'll no longer have two weapons in your hands

I hope, my good stable Dwarf friend, that you're not thinking you'll be disarmed because you'll have *dropped* your flail like some silly elf. But if you have, simply wearing a spiked gauntlet ensures that you're never truly disarmed.

If you're worried about the counter trip, there are some boots (Steadfast Boots) in the Arms and Equipment Guide which, among other things, prevent you from ever being tripped. But if I were you I'd do my best to pretend that they don't exist. Why? Because their ridiculously low price of 6,000 gp may be too hard for your *DM* to resist. You could end up with a portable hole full of 'em looted off of untripable foes.

All kidding aside, I agree that Agile Shield Fighter is the best way to add in an offhand attack. Agrippa already mentioned the other feats that are most interesting.

Okay, if it was me, I'd probably end up with something like this:
L1: Combat Expertise
F1: Improved Trip
F2: Shield Specialization
L3: Improved Shield Bash
F4: Agile Shield Fighter
L6: Shield Ward
F6: Shield Charge

Going forward, Power Attack is something that should definately get picked. But in the short term I'd be taking whatever gets me into a useful PRC:
1) Power Attack, Cleave and Combat Reflexes giving entry to Tactical Soldier (from Miniatures Handbook) for 11-20
2) Dodge, Endurance and Toughness giving entry to Dwarven Defender for 11-20
3) one lvl of sorcerer (enlarge person! true strike power attacks!) before going into Dragon Disciple (str bonus nice for tripping)


I tend to shy away from weapon specific feats; I don't like to get locked in and want to have the flexibility to use whatever good gear we happen to find. And in this particular case, the truth is that a flail's not really going to help you be a better tripper - the reasons to use a tripping weapon are

• tripping at range - flail doesn't have reach so no benefit
• avoiding AoO - you have Improved Trip so no benefit
• get weapon bonus on touch attack - even an unarmed touch attack is going to be a gimme
• dropping to avoid counter trip - with Dwarven stability and Shield Ward, counter trips seem pretty unlikely

So, if you were thinking that you needed to use a flail all the time because you're a tripper, and therefore you might as well specialize, you might have more flexilbility and options than you thought.

 

[werk]

Personally I'd go dwarven waraxe over flail, then take a couple of levels of exotic weapon master for the bonus to trip and bonus to one-handed damage. I don't think you can get those anywhere else and it would increase your damage a good deal with your primary.

 

[Elethiomel]

Personally I'd go dwarven waraxe over flail, then take a couple of levels of exotic weapon master for the bonus to trip and bonus to one-handed damage. I don't think you can get those anywhere else and it would increase your damage a good deal with your primary.

You mean bonus to damage when a one-handed exotic weapon is wielded two-handed, right?

And can you trip with a dwarven waraxe?

 

[werk]

You mean bonus to damage when a one-handed exotic weapon is wielded two-handed, right?

And can you trip with a dwarven waraxe?

Exotic Weapon Master - Trip Attack
Use a one or two handed exotic weapon to make trip attacks.
If the exotic weapon already allows trip, add +2 to attempts.

Exotic Weapon Master - Uncanny Blow
When weilding a one handed exotic weapon in two hands, use 2xStr bonus to damage.

So, yeah, uncanny blow isn't very useful for sword and board, you're right...must have remembered that wrong.

 

[Mighty Halfling]

No, you can't trip with a Dwarven Waraxe. Just checked!

 

[werk]

No, you can't trip with a Dwarven Waraxe. Just checked!

You could with one level of exotic weapon master

 

[starwed]

Or you could just trip with your body; it won't provoke an AoO when you have improved trip. And being a dwarf, it's hard to trip you back, so that's less of an advantage.

Make sure to pick up armbands of might (CAdv); I'm pretty sure the +2 they give to strength checks applies to the one you use to trip.

If it's allowed in your campaign, consider spending feats on ToB maneuvers and maybe a stance; there's probably one somewhere which gives you a good trip attack.

 

[Mighty Halfling]

Here, by the way, are my stats -- with Racial modifiers applied:

STR 17
DEX 15
CON 12
INT 15
WIS 12
CHA 4 (I was doing good until I rolled that one!)

My first feats:
1st -- Combat Expertise (PH)
1F -- Improved Trip (PH)

Question: Agile Shield Fighter (PHII) essentially gives you the 2-W Fighting feat. Is the benefit here that you can use a large shield, rather than a small shield? The feat doesn't specify a shield size. Is there any errata?

Without knowing the answer to that question above, here's my current idea for feat progression ...
Beyond first:
2F -- 2-W Fighting (PH)
3rd -- Improved Shield Bash (PH)
4F -- Shield Specialization (PHII) -- Extra to shield bonus, feat-tree starter
6th -- Shield Ward (PHII) -- Apply Shield bonus to touch AC
6F -- Improved 2-W fighting (PH)
8F -- Combat Reflexes (PH) -- Feat-tree requirement for 12F
9th -- Shield Sling (PHII) -- Use Shield for trip attacks
10F -- ???
12th -- 2-W Rend (PHII) -- extra 1d6+(Str x1.5) when both weapons hit
12F -- Double Hit (MiniH) -- Make AoO with your off-hand weapon too.

I also have Complete Warrior, but I lent it out, so pardon me if I've skipped one of those feats.

I am not particularly attached to having a flail, but I do want to do a tripmaster/shieldmaster combo.

 

[Mighty Halfling]

Or you could just trip with your body; it won't provoke an AoO when you have improved trip. And being a dwarf, it's hard to trip you back, so that's less of an advantage.

But I want to be able to offer some decent damage. A flail ain't great, but it's better than a kick. I will remember that if I ever get disarmed, though. Thanks!

Make sure to pick up armbands of might (CAdv); I'm pretty sure the +2 they give to strength checks applies to the one you use to trip.

Will check that out.

If it's allowed in your campaign, consider spending feats on ToB maneuvers and maybe a stance; there's probably one somewhere which gives you a good trip attack.

ToB? Tome of Battle? Haven't got that one yet.