3rd level: fighter/scout or fighter/rogue?

[kooshlord]

Hi all,

I'm apparently going to be involved in two campaigns, which will more or less alternate weeks. So, I find myself needing a 3rd level character for an Ebberon campaign. From the TINY bit I know of it, it sounds kinda final-fantasy-esque, so I wanted to make a fast character with a greatsword. I also wanted to build the character around mobility: charging, tumbling, leaping, slashing with the sword, etc. And I'm looking towards the dervish prestige class as I level.

DM approved (ridiculously high-powered) stats: 18, 18, 17, 14, 14, 14

I'm thinking fighter 2/ scout 1.
str 18, dex 17, int 18, others 14.
feats: wpn focus (greatsword), power attack, dodge, mobility, combat expertise. This will give me the ability to do some pretty decent damage, and have an array of options to increase my AC, or tumble/move out of the way of counter-attacks. At 6th level I'd pick up spring attack as the 4th level scout bonus feat, and grab leap attack. Then at 7th level I'd pick up PrC dervish.

Are there other combinations which would be better for a skirmishing fighter? Would rogue be a better choice? I like the increased sneak attack damage and evasion, but I dislike losing the incentive to move between attacks, the extra speed, and the lower hit dice.

Are there better feats available?

Thanks!
-Koosh

 

[Rhun]

I am a big fan of the fighter/rogue combination, but Fighter/Scout sounds like a promising build for the PC concept you have...I would stick with that.

 

[rowport]

Given your tactical plans (big hit, then run) adding Scout is a great idea. The Scout gives most of the benefits of the Rogue, but with better hit points. Skirmish is generally less effective than Sneak Attack (harder to use, and therefore less often), but if you want a hit-and-run character, the fit is perfect.

You might want to take a look at Ranger/Scout with the Swift Hunter feat, unless you are really set on Fighter. With the Holy Warrior Ranger variant from Complete Champion you could even retain many bonus feats.

Another consideration is that Greatsword cannot be used with Dervish's main ability; I think you have to use Scimitar (although you might be able to stretch to Falchion with a forgiving DM).

 

[the_mighty_agrippa]

Fighter/Scout would be an ideal build for a Dervish. With those stats, a Dervish with Skirmish ability is very nasty.

 

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

I've made some surprisingly effective scout/fighter builds using Spring Attack. Both skirmish and Spring Attack have the same basic flaw -- they limit you to one attack a round. Using both actually helps offset that limitation.

I'd ditch Weapon Focus in favor of taking Spring Attack now. You're already ging to have a +6 attack bonus, and being able to hit-and-run is a big help for a scout build. You can take Quickdraw or Improved Initiative at 4th, both of which can help get in an early attack to put you one up on the enemy. Since you get evasion eventually as a scout, I would wait and not pick up any rogue levels. You also might consider taking Dash eventually, to get that little extra boost of speed.

Otherwise, it looks like a strong build to me.

 

[kooshlord]

Thanks for the mostly confirmations so far: Good to know I'm not too far off track.

@ rowport: I'll see if I can't borrow complete champion from someone and take a look at that ranger variant. I'll also take another look at the rules for the dervish, but I'm pretty sure dervish abilities work with any slashing weapon, and just provide the ability to use scimitars as light weapons. So I'll take that as a freebie in case I get swallowed by some monster, and stick with my greatsword for the primary (If I'm reading it correctly, I'll check).

@ OStephens: If I had the option to take spring attack now, I'd jump on it (ha), but AFAIK it still requires BAB +4 (revised in a FAQ?). Between starting at 3rd lvl and multiclassing with scout, I only have BAB +2. Weapon focus seemed the other logical choice, as it is a prereq for the dervish PrC (assuming that greatsword actually works with Dervish abilities...) Improved Init. and Quickdraw are on the list for future feat progression, especially if I can talk my DM into swapping the spring attack granted by dervish for something else (I'll probably have taken spring attack before then).

Thanks all!
-Koosh

 

[Slaved]

You could take 3 levels of Swordsage.

Strength 18, Dexterity 18, Constitution 14, Wisdom 17, Intelligence 14, Charisma 14

With the Shadow blade feat and the Child of Shadows stance you will want to be moving continuously and do a hefty amount of damage plus have concealement.

All that you are missing is the speed bonus but Boots of Speed fix that problem eventually.

Swordsage also gives 6 skill points a level and has tumble as a class skill.

 

[the_mighty_agrippa]

Oooh, good call.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Or you could do Ranger/Scout as well...

 

[Darklone]

I miss Cleave for the raging barbarian scout imp skirmish build with powerful charge and imp powerful charge. Ah and leap attack. And Great Cleave.