Did I screw up? (fighter feat selction)

[Al'Kelhar]

As a DM, I love Caster NPCs vs. Archers.

Warp Wood, Control Winds, Protection from Arrows, Control Weather, Fog Cloud, Solid Fog, Wall of XXXX, Obscuring Mist, Shield, Web, Bigby's Various Hands, Blindness, Wind Wall, Gust of Wind, Solid Fog, Otiluke's Various Spheres...

Every cleric and every evoker of 3rd level or above should carry a shatter spell. Doesn't work on magical weapons, but if that bow is an ordinary masterwork mighty, it'll say bye-bye very quickly. And it can become non-magical fairly quickly with a targeted dispel magic. Remember that rangers have pretty crap Will saves.

My perception is that you've been somewhat dudded on the magic. Ask your cleric to cast greater magic weapon on your waraxe instead of the ranger's arrows once-in-a-while. If your party cleric won't give you the GMW, ask for the bull's strength instead and/or the magic vestment - fair's fair. You might consider a level of barbarian to gain rage and - very important for a dwarf - bonus movement. Finally, with slow movement, a Dex of 17 and a Strength of 18, you might consider taking the Quick Draw feat and hurling darts at your opponents as they close on you. If your archer is a good as you say he is, your opponents will probably be trying to close the distance rather than hang back being pincushioned.

Cheers, AK

 

[Victim]

The problem is probably in the unequal distribution of spells and magic items.

Heck, your equipment sucks in general if you're still in normal banded. Get some Magic Vestments if you can't get real magic armor. Also, normal banded probably isn't the best armor type for you. Then your AC won't be so awful, and the cleric won't need to heal you as much. He might come out ahead by using magic vestments. With a Bull's STR, all your attacks are effected. Don't expect a GMW except in emergencies, though - IMHO, it's rather inefficient for 2 weapon guys. For archers, it's great.

I wouldn't worry about your feats. The shield bashing expert combines the best features of the weapon and shield style and the 2 weapon style.

 

[Wolfwood]

Your feat selection is fine. I tend to agree with the fact you have been shafted when it comes to magic items and the such. As a ninth level character you should at least have your weapon, armor, and shield enchanted. Maybe even a wonderous item or ring to help boost your AC or raise your strength to do more damage.

 

[Deset Gled]

While I agree with others that a big problem you have is your DM not challenging the archer and the fact that he has better equipment in addition to sleeping with the cleric, there is one thing I would have done differently with your character regarding feats. I would have taken 1 level in ranger rather than spending 2 feats on Ambidexterity and Two Weapon fighting. As long as you're a human (and don't face the XP penalty), its a more efficient way to get those abilities.

 

[Thanee]

I think he's a dwarf, but that would work too (Fighter is favored).

Bye
Thanee

 

[celtonline]

I would have taken 1 level in ranger rather than spending 2 feats on Ambidexterity and Two Weapon fighting. As long as you're a human (and don't face the XP penalty), its a more efficient way to get those abilities.

I'm a dwarf but one level of ranger wouldn't affect me xp-wise. However PHB rangers can only use the two-weapon/ambidexterity ability when wearing light or no armor. The MC ranger does not get this ability at all, but rather has expanded bonus feats instead. This ability is good if you don't plan on wearing heavy armor but if one's main course is fighter it isn't as effective.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

First, take power attack at the next opportunity. It's the feat to have.

Then, you must buy a big d20 and target the DM with it. Frequently.

It's really his fault that you have 2300 gp worth of magic stuff, and the other one has 15000 gp worth of items. Gee, you're the one who takes all the hits but he has the better magical melee weapon and the magical armor?

If the other player has somehow influenced the DM to favor him that way (they aren't wed, are they?), I'd even consider quitting that campaign. If not, talk to the DM that he makes it fair for everyone.

Don't tell the DM to make the other one weaker: noone likes being stripped of his power (and it's probably not his fault that he's so strong). Rather, I'd suggest that the weaker party members get buffed up so they're all about equally powerful - and then the enemies get stronger as well. So it's fair again and noone loses his powers, and everyone is happy. Of course, if magic stuff is rare in your campaign, the DM might not want to buff you up, so you might just try to get a magic armor, and ask the ranger to give up his +2 sword, so you can excange that and your +1 axe for a +2 axe (it doesn't add up exacly if you go by the rule of half value at selling, but I think the DM will make en exception).

If they can't reason them into balancing things out, and if you find that the game's not fun anymore, I can only advice you to quit the campaign. (if you're the vindictive type, you could slaughter them in their sleep, break the bow and so on, but if you want to be friends with the others afterwards, that might not be the thing to do).

 

[demon_jr]

how did you end up with such a small amount of magic items compared to the other members of your party? you even had to buy your only magical weapon, which is only +1 to boot? and your 9th level?

and i thought my DM was being stingy when we tried to buy magical items from the Red Wizards of Thay...

 

[celtonline]

To be fair the +2 Studded Leather and +2 Longsword were just gotten by the other character so it's not like he's had a chance to use them either. We've just become ninth level also. As for the game world it's standard Greyhawk. We've been jabbing at the GM in general that our magic count is low, especially with dragons, demons and devils as our foes. We've been playing above our heads a lot, which goes to explain why I seem to take so much damage. Power Attack might be nice but may remove me from the 'able to hit at all' cushion. Also I never know when it might be applicable as I don't study monster ACs. Cleave doesn't help much if all of our combats are against a few high hitpoint monsters.

The archer is as surprised as I at the effectiveness of his character compared to mine. He's suggested way to balance things all of which nerf his character. However other than using the MC ranger and Improved Rapid Shot from Dragon mag everything else is straight from the book.

I asked the GM if I was wrong in taking this two-weapon chain and he said he didn't know. He didn't have any suggestions as to what direction I might move in either.

Thanks all. My main concern is wondering whether my thinking on the axe'n'shield style was completely wrong-headed. Your reactions lead me to think that it isn't.

 

[Iku Rex]

Did I paint myself into a corner? Anyone have ideas how I can catch up.

It's not a perfect build damage wise, but it looks solid enough. The main reason you're not doing as well as the archer is that you're underequipped.

Try to get a few buff spells from the cleric to compensate. (Make him buy a necklace of prayer beads: karma.) Magic vestment and greater magic weapon are the obvious choices. A +1 weapon is simply not good enough for a 9th level character in a standard campaign. Too many creatures will have better damage reduction. At least get a bull's strength out of him.

Don't take power attack. In most cases using it will decrease your average damage.