Dwarven Defender

[DeathOfRats]

Is this build any good? I figured that having the ability to withstand loads of punishment would far outweigh the benefits of cleave and greater specialization etc.

Lvl 10 Figher/10 Dwarven Defender								

Level	Class			DR	Fort	Reflex	Will	Feats	
1	Warrior				2			Toughness	
2	Warrior				3			Power Attack	
3	Warrior					1	1	Dodge	
4	Warrior				4			Endurance	
5	Warrior								
6	Warrior			2/-	5	2	2	Roll with it, Weapon Focus	
7	Warrior								
8	Warrior				6			Weapon Specialization	
9	Warrior			4/-		3	3	Roll with it	
10	Warrior				7			Combat Expertise	
11	Dwarven Defender		9		5		
12	Dwarven Defender		10		6	Iron Will	
13	Dwarven Defender			4			
14	Dwarven Defender		11		7		
15	Dwarven Defender	6/-				Roll with it	
16	Dwarven Defender	9/-	12	5	8		
17	Dwarven Defender						
18	Dwarven Defender	11/-	13		9	Roll with it	
19	Dwarven Defender			6			
20	Dwarven Defender	14/-	14		10

 

[Darklone]

Uhm. If you think it's fun to play a character that can only stand somewhere and keep standing there...

I'd think at least about Superior Weapon Focus. And take a reach weapon.

 

[hong]

Also note that all the DR in the world won't help if you keep getting fireballed.

 

[DeathOfRats]

Well, both points are valid...I guess I didn't envisage using the defensive stance too often tbh.
As for fireballs, well the uncanny dodge helps out a lot at higher levels...even if the character does fail his saves he takes half damage, and with the insane hitpoints he should have it will take a damn lot of fireballs to stop him.
I didn't expect the character to be able to survive all things, his weakness is anything reflex related...but not much reflex related is a huge killer unlike fort/will stuff, which I tried to shore up with Iron Will.
Gear is an important part, and I was initially thinking of DD with reach weapon and improved trip but the prospect of being able to shrug off a massive amount of melee damage was exciting. A cloak of resistance +5, luckstone and other stuff that helps with resisting spell effects is the most important thing as eventually he should be able to chip away at most things.

 

[Darklone]

Uhm, Uncanny Dodge don't help with Reflex saves, you speak about Evasion and Improved Evasion... something the DD does not have and would probably not be able to use with heavy armour.

 

[DeathOfRats]

Oops Well anyway, I guess at 10th level he will have nigh on 120hp so it will take a fair few fireballs to knock him out. Plus hey, he has a group of party members who can do other stuff to take out the wizards.

 

[Shadeus]

A few comments:

- You should get 2 feats at level 1, not 1 (I assume warrior meant fighter)
- Endurance isn't on the fighter feat list so you can't take it at level 4.
- I've never heard of the Roll with It feat. There's one in MotW called Greater Resilence that allows you to increase it by 1 after you have DR...and even then you can only take the feat once. This feats sounds rather powerful to me. If your DM allows it, go for it.

Dwarven Defenders of 8th-level or higher can take a 5'-step while in defensive stance. And if you are smart about when to use the stance, you won't need to move. And your enemies won't ever know you are in it. You don't need a reach weapon, but it sure couldn't hurt to have one.

A note on DR: It's a real pain. I'm playing a DD now and I have to remind the DM almost every combat that he needs to apply DR to each attack.

 

[Darklone]

Savage Species... the Roll with it feat.

 

[Endur]

Here is my suggested build. I've been playing a DD since the beginning of 2000. If you really want to make your DD tough, I would mix in some Paladin levels instead of Fighter levels. Saving throws are the only weakness a DD might have, you'll usually have tons of hit points.

Combat expertise is useless for a DD. Do not overlook the benefits of cleave and great cleave, especially at high level. On occassion your DD is going to be surrounded by 8 or more monsters. Great Cleave is also very nice when you encounter Evard's Black Tentacles or a mirror imaged opponent.

My recommendation is to not even think about a reach weapon. You want dwarven waraxe and large shield (or maybe tower shield).

If you are using MOTW, power critical is a great feat for the dwarven waraxe.

I recommend spending a lot of feats on offensive stuff, because you want your character to be more than a turtle. You want the enemy to fear your character.

Lvl 10 Figher/10 Dwarven Defender								

Level	Class			DR	Fort	Reflex	Will	Feats	
1	Fighter				2			Toughness, Dodge	
2	Fighter				3			Power Attack	
3	Fighter					1	1        Cleave	
4	Fighter				4			Weapon Focus	
5	Fighter								
6	Fighter				5	2	2	Endurance, Weapon Specialization	
7	Fighter								
8	DD				7				
9	DD				8	3	3	Improved Critical	
10	DD				8				
11	Dwarven Defender		9		5		
12	Dwarven Defender		9		6	Power Critical	
13	Dwarven Defender	    3/-	  4			
14	Dwarven Defender		11		7		
15	Dwarven Defender	     				Great Cleave	
16	Dwarven Defender		12	5	8		
17	Dwarven Defender	   6/-					
18	Fighter	          8/-	13		9	Greater Weapon Focus, Roll with it	
19	Fighter			6			
20	Fighter	         	14		10	Fighter feat

 

[DeathOfRats]

Need weapon focus before specialization right?