Help...Better Combat?

[Lord Pendragon]

I have gone from being the back-up scout to the back-up scout/fighter...

So, yes I need to be more combat effective...

Polearms, eh? Suggestions? What about Shortspear?

Well, since you already have the proficiencies, I'd suggest you pick up a Guisarme. This has several advantages. It's a reach weapon, so you can use it in conjunction with Combat Reflexes for some extra attacks. Plus, if you need to do damage on the front line at the same time as your main fighter, you can attack from behind him. (Make liberal use of Aid Another and Trip.)

If you have the money, I'd also suggest a suit of +1 Called Full Plate. For 7k, you get a suit of full plate armor that you can call to yourself as a standard action from up to a mile away. Keep it stowed on your horse, then if you find yourself needed on the front line, call it to you.

 

[djrdjmsqrd]

What about the Halbard?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

What about the Halbard?

Not a reach weapon. E-B is correct about the glaive, though I tend to like the tripping angle of the guisarme, even without Improved Trip.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Shortspears It has the biggest damage dice of any reach weapon and since you don't have the feats to properly use the special abilities of a guisarme or ranseur, that's the angle you should be going for.

Why would he not be able to effectively use the Guisarme and Ranseur without feats?

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

For the following reasons:

Tripping isn't a particularly good tactic when you've only got a +2 bonus on the trip check and it costs you an attack. The +4 bonus to the trip check and removal of the opportunity cost granted by Improved Trip are what make it worthwhile. The fact that tripping will rarely be a good gamble for him means he doesn't get much out of the guisarme.

He'd have a bit of a better time with a Ranseur but disarming is a much lower utility strategy than trip (it's only effective against weapon using creatures who are heavily invested in a single weapon and wouldn't otherwise go down with one or two hits). Furthermore, as a multiclass fighter with a relatively low strength and no weapon focus, his odds of successfully disarming foes aren't great. They'd be decent against foes with one-handed weapons since he'd make the opposed attack roll at +12 with a masterwork weapon (+5 BAB, +2 str, +1 masterwork, +2 two handed weapon vs. one-handed, +2 ranseur bonus) and the typical CR 4 NPC has a +9 attack bonus or so (+4 BAB, +3 str, +1 weapon focus, +1 masterwork). However, against a bad guy who isn't part of a swarm or one using a two-handed weapon, he would be no more likely to win than to lose and would risk being disarmed himself.

So, he could get some use out of the Ranseur's special abilities but not too much. IMO, he's better off just using a glaive for the extra damage. He can still disarm most of the people he could disarm with the Ranseur since all he sacrifices is the Ranseur's +2 bonus.

Why would he not be able to effectively use the Guisarme and Ranseur without feats?