Need Help with new PC

[Kuhntar]

One of the other members of my group is starting a new campaign and it looks like there is only going to be 2 players. The other guy is playing a rouge, I plan on playing a tank and the DM is going to give us a Druid that quietly follows along and helps out as he sees fit.

In an effort to keep things simple I know I really ought to be a cleric but thats what I am already playing in our other game. That and I like being a Big Stupid Fighter. So I thought I would try and put together a Warblade. I am not a power gamer or anything and I don't like taking 4 or 5 different classes. I just want a character than can be useful character in as few classes as possible. As for points, our NEW DM is using some odd point system, our abilities can add up to 87 with nothing more than 18 in a stat. So I could do 18,18,18,11,11,11. If anyone wants to kind of guide me along I would be grateful.

Forgot All books are fair game but I would like to keep it to a minimum.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What level PC?

Besides that, as a Big Stupid Fighter, the basic recipe is bid weapon + Power Att and the best armor you can get- where do you want to go from there?

 

[Fajita McJones]

I'm not going to try to persuade you to not play a Warblade, but if I was going to be in a two-person party and the other PC was a Rogue... I'd play a Paladin. Not to be a dick, but because it's the original odd couple and it'd be fun. And surprisingly, those two characters can compliment each other quite well (I played in a three person party that actually was made up of a Rogue, Druid and Paladin).

I ran with Power Attack, Goad (from complete adventurer I believe, great feat for letting the squishy Rogue flank enemies and also has a very Paladin feel to it), some divine feats (Divine Vigor is my favorite) and I took the Charging Smite alternate class feature because screw horses.

Is this "new dm" as in brand new to DMing, or just replacing your old DM? Remember that you don't have to cover all areas of tactics with only two PCs, nor should you be expected to. Simply building a two person party that works well together and can take care of each other out of combat (which is completely possible with Rogue and Paladin, but I'm not 100% sure how the Warblade works) should be enough. You're not going to be able to face enemies in the same way a 4 person party could and your DM knows that (hopefully).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not going to try to persuade you to not play a Warblade, but if I was going to be in a two-person party and the other PC was a Rogue... I'd play a Paladin.

FWIW, I'd go Battle Sorcerer or Duskblade.

Or a PsyWar.

 

[Persiflage]

For a single melee-focussed character playing alongside a Rogue? Cleric/Crusader/Ruby Knight Vindicator, definitely.

You're a tank. You can heal your own damage and that of your allies just by beating the crap out of people. You can lock them down in melee so the Rogue can get his stabby goodness on. You'll get Armored Stealth so you're not a total liability to his sneaking skills. You'll have enough Cleric progression to make you a worthy spellcaster in your own right and enough martial prowess to wipe the floor with any standard melee foe. You get to play a Paladin-a-like character if you want to, but without their ludicrously arbitrary Code. You have crazy options for Divine feats, including Divine Metamagic/Persistent Spell buffs and you can pull off some outrageous stunts with Divine Impetus, which range from "wow-that's-pretty-powerful" good to "that-burning-you-smell-is-my-campaign" ridiculous.

If you really want to complement the Rogue, you can even get into RKV via Swordsage 2/Cleric 2/Crusader 1/RKV 10/Whatever 5, giving you sneaky class skills and optional complementary combat maneuvers that'll help the two of you get the most out of each other's styles.

You said you wanted to avoid mixing it up too much, so I won't go into the various types of madness you can get out of combos like adding Archivist into the mix, or going Cloistered Cleric 1/Crusader 3/Ordained Champ 1/RKV 7/Ordained Champion +4/Contemplative 4... that's probably a higher level of crazy than you're comfortable with.

Paladin 4/Crusader 1 is a simpler way of getting into the class if you really want to cut down on spells. There's probably something heinous you could achieve by throwing Prestige Paladin in the mix, but I'm in a hurry and don't have the time to think about it: I'm sure someone will point it out!

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Warblade works fine as a tank in this case. The squishy rogue I assume is going to be flanking with you for sneak attack? What better way to protect him than to MAKE enemies want to smash your face in? Don't turtle behind a tower shield, go straight Warblade (or dip somewhere else for 2 levels so your second stance can be level 3; wish they hadn't done that), get some good damage maneuvers and White Raven abilities to help the rogue. Pick up Combat Reflexes as your first Warblade bonus feat, and get Backstab feat (from Dragon magazine, listed on crystalkeep's feat database). That feat says whenever you're flanking someone and they don't attack you, you get an AoO against them.

Also, Warblade has tumble as a class skill, unlike Crusader, so it's not all on the rogue to set up flanks. In fact, since you have strike maneuvers as standard actions and he greatly benefits from full attacking, it might even be useful if an enemy reaches melee with him, for him to delay for your turn so you can move into a flank.

EDIT: With your DM's system, I'd go Str 18, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10. If you need a 13 in wis or charisma for some feat, drop dex by 2 and con by 1. If you need wis AND cha 13 for feats...you're spreading yourself way too thin. Alternatively, it sounds like you could cheese the system for a very low charisma and make your str, dex, con, int all 18, but I figure you don't want to do that.

 

[Dandu]

If anyone wants to kind of guide me along I would be grateful.

Ok.

 

[Kuhntar]

Okay a little more info, we will be starting at level 3 since the rouge is going to be a Half Vampire (LA +2).

So what makes the best combo with a rouge?

 

[Dandu]

Someone who flanks and draws fire?

 

[Fajita McJones]

Okay a little more info, we will be starting at level 3 since the rouge is going to be a Half Vampire (LA +2).

So what makes the best combo with a rouge?

Am I the only one who seriously thinks a Paladin is perfect for this?