Half-Orc Two-Weapon Fighter: Is There Any Point?

[Jdvn1]

As soon as the half-orc straps on anything other than light armor, he's the same speed as a dwarf.

Yes, though if you're TWFing anyway, you'll likely have a very high Dex and want to only wear light armors.

 

[Voadam]

Alternately make the HO a samurai and you get the TWF feats free without the dex prereq.

 

[pawsplay]

If you want to be a dirty bastard, use two adamantine weapons and take Improved Sunder. Ordinarily, sundering is a risky business, but there's a good chance that with some decent rolls, you could whittle a +3 weapon down to a coat hanger in one round.

 

[Vrecknidj]

Don't discount the possibility of taking a few Rogue levels. If you space them out right, you can end up with a lot of skill ranks in Tumble, add evasion, and a nice bit of extra damage on sneak attacks--which, when fighting with two weapons, could add up. If you're going the high Dex route, this is especially advantageous.

Dave

 

[Patlin]

I think half orc would be a sub-optimal choice, but I've never felt barred from making sub-optimal choices when they seem like fun.

Neither straight fighter nor fighter/barbarian make much of a two weapon fighter IMO. A different favored class would help. Perhaps a wood elf? As I recall, they get the strength bonus, low light vision instead of darkvision, and favored class ranger.

 

[Felon]

Essentially, here's what I've been looking at in terms of feats:

Lvl 1 = Two-Weapon Fighting
Ftr 1 = EWP: Bastard sword or Waraxe (any other hand-and-a-half weapons out there?)
Ftr 2 = Oversized 2WF (CV)
Lvl 3 = Power Attack
Lvl 4 = Cleave
Ftr 6 = Improved 2WF
Lvl 6 = 2W Pounce (PHB II)
Ftr 8 = Leap Attack

Even after that, I still haven't touched Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, GWF, or GWS. Then there's Dodge, Mobiliy, and Spring Attack for Dervish or Tempest. And Monkey Grip drives 1d10 up to 2d8.

I don't get what all the ripping is on 2WF. Two-handed weapons are the strongest attack with a low entry cost, but a good 2WF build outstrips it. You really gotta get a grasp the "delivery system" concept before the quantity-over-quality approach to attacks sinks in (play a rogue for a while heh).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My favorite 1/2Orc 2WF build was a sword & board with a Flail and a spiked shield.

Because he was a bounty hunter concept, he was a Ranger/Fighter. On top of 2WF, his feats were Improved Shield Bash, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Improved Disarm.

Discovery: 2WF is much easier against prone or disarmed opponents.

He died before reaching his full potential, though. It was not because of ineffectiveness, but because when he charged through a door he intended to break down, another PC managed to open it just as he got there. There was only a narrow ledge next to a deep underground chasm behind that door, and he failed his Dex roll (Die roll: 2).

 

[Felon]

Another option I've considered is going with a 1.5H weapon with armored spikes. That would grant some freedom to alternate freely between 2WF and 2H weapon. Then go into Exotic Weapon Master PrC at 7th lvl and take Uncanny Blow (Str bonus to damage is x2 when wielding a 1.5H weapon).

 

[Patlin]

If you are good aligned, one cool thing about bastard swords: If you get your hands on a sun blade, you can wield one in each hand and get double use from weapon specific feats.

 

[moritheil]

True, though this is alleviated by the Sense Weakness feat from the Draconomicon. Bypass 5 points of all DRs and hardnesses.

Somewhat. I dislike relying on Sense Weakness because it requires Combat Expertise, which of course has an int prerequisite.