D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5]Need help with a character concept/idea -- QUARTERSTAFF

[krunchyfrogg]

I want to make a quarterstaff master character.

I'd like the character to not only deal a decent amount of damage out, but to also be able to do a lot of trip (and other special) attacks, and I'd like to have the character not wear cumbersome armor (if any at all).


I don't even know where to go with this guy in class selection, so all ideas are welcome.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

What level are you starting at? 1st? 20th?

To have lots of fancy moves, you're going to need a lot of feats. That means fighter. Take fighter levels and get yourself some Bracers of Armor +8. Then take all the weapon feats (Focus, Specialization, Greater Focus, Greater Specialization, Improved Critical,) for a quarterstaff. On top of that, consider taking all the TWF feats (TWF, ITWF, GTWF). Lastly, pick up the maneuver feats (Expertise, Improved Trip, Improved Disarm.)

 

[krunchyfrogg]

I'm currently not in any game, so I guess I want to see a low level character idea.

I'd also like to see a higher level version.

With the Monk class adding the staff as one of it's speacial monk weapons, I thought this class might be the way to go, but I really don't know.

 

[Spatula]

I think there are three good choices for a staff fighter:

* Monk: since staves are now monk weapons, you can flurry with them which basically works like a better version of two-weapon fighting. You can also get Combat Reflexes and Improved Trip as bonus feats, without worrying about the prereqs (Int 13+ and Combat Expertise in the case of Improved Trip). If you get a magic staff with the ki focus ability, you can use your special monk attacks through it.

* Rangers with the two-weapon fighting combat style: ranger 2WF now works just like the feat, and you get Improved 2WF and Greater 2WF without having to worry about the prereqs (which are fairly strict for a double weapon user).

* Fighter: no brainer.

For Trip attacks, you'll want Improved Trip, possibly Combat Reflexes, and a high Strength. The staff itself can't actually be used to trip with, though.

For Disarm attacks you'll want Improved Disarm and a high attack bonus. The staff is quite good here since it's a two-handed weapon.

I can't think of any other maneuvers that can be performed with weapons.

 

[Jai Kel]

Don't forget to grab at least one level of Druid so you can dish out 2d6+1 (Shillelagh) on each end of that quarterstaff...

 

[Darklone]

Yeah, I'd start with 3 levels druid and go monk from there. Monk gets Improved Trip...

 

[mooby]

Don't forget to grab at least one level of Druid so you can dish out 2d6+1 (Shillelagh) on each end of that quarterstaff...

Was there ever an official answer to the "Do you have to cast shillelagh once or twice" for the whole quarterstaff to be enchanted?


I'd think the answer would be some combination of fighter/monk/druid, but I don't know how BAB works with the new flurry of blows exactly.

 

[Spatula]

Was there ever an official answer to the "Do you have to cast shillelagh once or twice" for the whole quarterstaff to be enchanted?

"(A quarterstaff gains this enhancement for both ends of the weapon.)"

 

[Benben]

From the SRD:
Your own nonmagical club or quarterstaff becomes a weapon with a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls. (A quarterstaff gains this enhancement for both ends of the weapon.)

So only one cast in necessary and you don't need to be very high level druid to worry about duration.

And also from the SRD a quick bit about Monks and flurry with staves:
In the case of the quarterstaff, each end counts as a separate weapon for the purpose of using the flurry of blows ability. Even though the quarterstaff requires two hands to use, a monk may still intersperse unarmed strikes with quarterstaff strikes, assuming that she has enough attacks in her flurry of blows routine to do so.

From this it looks like two-weapon fighting and flurry of blows are totally equal in mechanics so flurry with a staff won't add that many attacks.

Personally, I would shoot to get that BAB as high as possible so a focus on ranger or fighter would work well. The ranger is already a light armor fighter and has a lot of skill overlap with druid so a Ranger 17/Druid 3 multiclass would be optimal. That gives you massive stealth potential in natural settings. Another combo tha could be nice would be Fighter 4/Druid 3-4/Ranger 13-12. This gives the specialization damage of the fighter and a few extra combat oriented feats.

 

[Spatula]

From this it looks like two-weapon fighting and flurry of blows are totally equal in mechanics so flurry with a staff won't add that many attacks.

IF you already have the two-weapon fighting feats. Flurrying with a staff bascially gives you two-weapon fighting for free at 1st level. The -2/-2 penalty disappears by 9th, and at 11th you get another attack at your full BAB. You also get full strength damage on the extra attacks.