Complete Warrior, anybody got it? What's in it?

[MerricB]

Of course, not everyone will agree on what is in which category.

Indeed.

I give WotC a lot of credit for this passage in the start of the CW, though:

This book includes material from other sources, including Dragon magazine, web articles previously published on the Wizards of the Coast website, and earlier works like Sword and Fist. Much of this material has been picked up and revised based on feedback and commetnts from D&D players and DMs all around the world. We hope you like the changes we made to the prestige classes, feats, and other elements of the game as well as the large amount of brand-new material you'll find in these pages.

Remember, however, that Dungeons & Dragons is your game. If you've been playing with a particular prestige class or feat that we've picked up and revised, we hope you'll look at the new version and see why we made the changes - but you don't have to play with the revised material if you don't want to. The Dungeon Master, as always, should make the final call about what material belongs in his or her game, and if you've been playing with an older version of something that appears in this book and you're having fun doing it, don't worry aout making a change. We think all the changes we've made are for the best, but it's your game, after all.

Cheers!

 

[jayaint]

How behind am i... I just started on pg 8 of this thread..

Strange to anyone else that all the PrC's in CW are 5 levels only?

*shrug*

Also... i have only done the rude-five-minute-flip-thru @ barnes and noble, so i don't have the book in my grubby little hands.. is the warshaper better/worse than the shifter from MotW? I only caught a glimpse.

thanks.

 

[Silveras]

How behind am i... I just started on pg 8 of this thread..

Strange to anyone else that all the PrC's in CW are 5 levels only?

*shrug*

Also... i have only done the rude-five-minute-flip-thru @ barnes and noble, so i don't have the book in my grubby little hands.. is the warshaper better/worse than the shifter from MotW? I only caught a glimpse.

thanks.

Quickly looking at the PrCs in my copy... I see 15 that are 10 levels, 2 that are 5 levels, and 2 that are 3 levels; and I only looked at half or less of them.

No comment on the Warshaper vs. the Shifter; neither class' concept does much for me.

 

[Felon]

WotC have recently demonstrated in several products that they're beginning to break what we assumed were rules of design. e.g. In the MHb, several spell-casting classes have spell DCs dependent on one ability score and bonus spells dependent upon a different ability score.

Heck..new core classes for that matter show that they're starting to look at things differently.

I was going to say the same thing... If they worded it "you get a +2 bonus to your Constitution score for purpose of determining hit points", no one would object.

Don't kid yourself. Someone would object.

 

[jayaint]

apparently farther behind than i would care to think...

that many are 10 lvl... WOW... I apologize for my prior post then.. I guess my eyes just NOTICED the ones that weren't...

any comments from doppleganger folks out there on the pros/cons of warshaper would still be appreciated... thanks

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Can you tell me more about this?

For instance, what are the other benefits of the elusive target feat? And what are the requirements?

And perhaps you could post the prereqs for the spinning halberd feat.

It'd be nice to see what the chain looks like.

Now that I have a copy of the book, Psi, it may comfort (or at least interest) you to know that most of the Weapon Style feats require a pretty stringent chain of prerequisite feats. By the CW's definition, only a few characters manage to learn them.

The same can be said of many of the Tactical feats...and they look like just plain fun. For instance, one of the Raptor School tactics is to jump down on top of your foe, and you decide before hand what the DC of the jump check is. DC15 = +2 damage, DC25 = +4. If you fail the check--whoops! Thud!

And Giantbane has a tactic called "climb aboard". You make a Climb check to scramble up a larger opponent's back, and it takes a -4 to attack you while you're up there. It can shake you off by making a grapple check opposed by your Climb check.

Of course, against some monsters this stuff has to adjudicated properly...but that's what a DM's there for. Neat stuff.

 

[MerricB]

Can you tell me more about this?

For instance, what are the other benefits of the elusive target feat? And what are the requirements?

And perhaps you could post the prereqs for the spinning halberd feat.

It'd be nice to see what the chain looks like.

Elusive Target [Tactical]
Pre-reqs: Dodge, Mobility, BAB +6.
Allows use of 3 tactical manuevers:
Negate Power Attack: If the opponent you have nominated at the one you are dodging (per Dodge feat) attacks you with a Power Attack, the damage bonus is negated (but not the penalty to hit).
Diverting Defense: If you are flanked, the first time in a round the opponent you are dodging attacks you, he automatically misses and must make an attack roll against the other flanker instead.
Cause Overreach: If you move out of a threatened square, provoke an Attack of Opportunity and that attack misses, you may make a free trip attempt against that foe. The foe can't trip you if your attempt fails.

Spinning Halberd [Style]
Pre-reqs: Combat reflexes, Two weapon fighting, WF (Halberd)
When you make a Full Attack with the halberd, you get a +1 dodge AC and an additional attack with the halberd at a -5 penalty. This attack deal d6+1/2 Str bonus in bludgeoning damage.

Cheers!

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Elusive Target [Tactical]
Pre-reqs: Dodge, Mobility, BAB +6.
Allows use of 3 tactical manuevers:
Negate Power Attack:[/b] If the opponent you have nominated at the one you are dodging (per Dodge feat) attacks you with a Power Attack, the damage bonus is negated (but not the penalty to hit).
Diverting Defense:[/b] If you are flanked, the first time in a round the opponent you are dodging attacks you, he automatically misses and must make an attack roll against the other flanker instead.
Cause Overreach:[/b] If you move out of a threatened square, provoke an Attack of Opportunity and that attack misses, you may make a free trip attempt against that foe. The foe can't trip you if your attempt fails.

Nice. That really gives some teeth to dodge and mobility now doesn't it? A very nice feat for the spring attack or whirlwind attacking character. Also, a good reason for characters who wear heavy armor to take dodge and mobility.

Spinning Halberd [Style]
Pre-reqs: Combat reflexes, Two weapon fighting, WF (Halberd)
When you make a Full Attack with the halberd, you get a +1 dodge AC and an additional attack with the halberd at a -5 penalty. This attack deal d6+1/2 Str bonus in bludgeoning damage.

This one's a lot more dodgy since it requires two suboptimal feats for any halberd user (combat reflexes is suboptimal since he doesn't have reach and TWF because it's a two-handed, non double weapon). The extra attack is spiffy but not too impressive (since it deals a lot less damage) and the +1 dodge bonus to AC is nice but not too significant either (since you're giving up the AC of a shield and incremental AC bonusses are more significant the higher your AC is to begin with.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Elusive Target [Tactical]
Pre-reqs: Dodge, Mobility, BAB +6.
Allows use of 3 tactical manuevers:
Negate Power Attack: If the opponent you have nominated at the one you are dodging (per Dodge feat) attacks you with a Power Attack, the damage bonus is negated (but not the penalty to hit).
Diverting Defense: If you are flanked, the first time in a round the opponent you are dodging attacks you, he automatically misses and must make an attack roll against the other flanker instead.
Cause Overreach: If you move out of a threatened square, provoke an Attack of Opportunity and that attack misses, you may make a free trip attempt against that foe. The foe can't trip you if your attempt fails.

Cheers!

I like the first combat maneuver, but not the other two. Oh well, I'll just steal the first bit

 

[MerricB]

This one's a lot more dodgy since it requires two suboptimal feats for any halberd user (combat reflexes is suboptimal since he doesn't have reach and TWF because it's a two-handed, non double weapon). The extra attack is spiffy but not too impressive (since it deals a lot less damage) and the +1 dodge bonus to AC is nice but not too significant either (since you're giving up the AC of a shield and incremental AC bonusses are more significant the higher your AC is to begin with.

Combat Reflexes looks a lot better when you realise its the pre-req for Hold The Line (You get an AoO on anyone who charges you).

Though I agree in general - it's a weaker style feat than some of the others.

Cheers!