Reach fighter tactics

[Hypersmurf]

Soft cover will give your opponent +4 on AC rather often this way because using a melee weapon to attack a creature in a non-adjacent square uses the rules for ranged combat to determine who has cover.

Plus denying you AoOs.

-Hyp.

 

[Thurbane]

Thanks all for the good suggestions.

My DM is a little dubious of spiked chains, so I might go with guisarme. A polearm is more the weapon I imagined for my character rather than a spiked chain, but if he OKs it, I might give the spiked chain a try.

 

[moritheil]

There is another feat called Shorten Grip that lets you retain reach while attacking an adjacent square (at a penalty.)

 

[silentspace]

theres an exotic weapon master ability that allows you to take aoos for foes moving through threatened spaced even when they have cover

 

[pawsplay]

For feats, I would be recommending spring attack, combat reflexes, hold the line, and power attack. As much as possible, you want extra attacks. Whirlwind attack is difficult to use effectively with reach; your opponents would have to be spaced out just so, and many of them would have cover. Spiked gauntlets and armor spikes are great, but using them as more than a fallback means delving into things like Two Weapon Fighting and Quick Draw.

 

[moritheil]

Stand Still is very nice, but it is only situationally useful, since you don't deal damage with your stopping attacks. Still, amusing tricks are possible (like the party mage throwing up an evocation wall and you stopping someone in the middle of it.)

 

[Moon-Lancer]

like i said shorten grip can allow you to whirlwind and attack everything around you within your reach. Only downfall is you take a -2 on attacks that your normaly couldent make with a reach weapon (adjecent squares for a med creature)

I think dervish is a good way to go becuse it gives you spring attack and you qualify for whirlwind attack with the feats you used to get into dervish.

 

[javcs]

For feats, I would be recommending spring attack, combat reflexes, hold the line, and power attack. As much as possible, you want extra attacks. Whirlwind attack is difficult to use effectively with reach; your opponents would have to be spaced out just so, and many of them would have cover. Spiked gauntlets and armor spikes are great, but using them as more than a fallback means delving into things like Two Weapon Fighting and Quick Draw.

Combat Reflexes and Hold the Line are an absolute must, get them, and possibly Improved Trip, as soon as possible. Then to get Spring Attack you'll also need to get Dodge and Mobility.

Power Attack isn't that much use at very low levels, because you're only adding a few points of damage at most.

Whirlwind, as pawsplay noted, isn't going to be that useful. Great Cleave isn't going to be that useful either unless your DM is fond of throwing hordes of weak fodder at you, or you're spreading your attacks out on multiple foes as opposed to concentrating on dropping one at a time.

Stand Still, though situationally useful, can be handy when somebody's trying to charge past you to hit your party casters.

Myself, I'd use Human as my race for a build like this (for the extra feat).
1 - Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain) (Human Bonus), Combat Expertise (Fighter Bonus), Combat Reflexes (Starting)
2 - Hold the Line (Fighter Bonus)
3 - Improved Trip/Dodge
4 - Dodge/Improved Trip (Fighter Bonus)
5 -
6 - Mobility, Spring Attack/Stand Still (Fighter Bonus)
7 -
8 - Stand Still/Spring Attack (Fighter Bonus)
9 - Power Attack

Alternatively, if your DM disapproves of the Spiked Chain, go with Quick Draw instead of EWP(Spiked Chain) to get your secondary weapon in use faster - or get Dodge at 1 and Mobility at 3 or 4 then Spring Attack and Stand Still at 6, then Power Attack at 8.
Alternatively, pick up a level or two of monk - lose one or two fighter bonus feats, but you'd pick up two of the Monk bonus feats, plus you wouldn't need to burn a feat to hit people inside of your reach.