Demoquin said:
I want to make an effective Axe thrower ( as i can go melee/ ranged) . What feats and or classes do you think would be essential. I am kind of partial for some levels of Ranger as the group doesnt have a reliable tracker or survival character. Any of the Core 3 books is acceptable and anything else would have to be approved of the DM ( i think C Adv and CW are ok)
Start at lvl 8 with minimal gear, nothing too extravagant. I ahvent rolled statsyet so assume away.
If it were me, I'd be a fighter, and put as much into Str as I possibly could, picking up Brutal Throw (CW) at the earliest opportunity. Get only enough Dex to give you access to Rapid Shot. Since Manyshot only works on arrows, it's not worth taking (and neither are any feats that require it). You'll need Quick Draw, and you should probably carry a shield since you only need one hand to draw and throw.
Being a fighter will let you get all the feats you'll need, which should include Weapon Specialization. Combined with Weapon Focus and Point Blank Shot, it'll ramp up your ability to do damage, which makes a bigger difference the more attacks you get. Since you'll have rapid shot, it works well. If you do decide to go with a Dex-based thrown weapon fighter, it's even more crucial since your Str is likely to be lower. However, if your Dex is high enough you can go the Two Weapon Fighting route and throw an axe with your off-hand in addition to Rapid Shot if you're willing to take the extra to-hit penalties. I don't see this as being a good trade-off, but it might be your cup of tea.
The high Str will let you carry lots of axes, which is good, since you'll need to carry at least two or three full-attacks worth of ammo. It'll also probably let you wear heavy armour, which you can't do if you're a ranger. Get full plate and a tower shield, then start hurling axes like crazy and switch to melee when they get close. This is another reason to not worry too much about Dex. On the other hand, if you can manage to get your Dex up to 15, while still not skimping on Str, try being a dwarf and take Throw Anything (CW) to be able to huck dwarven waraxes.
Of course, I must mention that thrown-weapon fighters get completely hosed compared to archers. It's almost impossible to fight creatures with DR with thrown weapons unless you happen to have a collection of 8-10 magical axes. As well, should you ever get hold of a returning weapon, it doesn't do away with the need for extra ammo, and it reduces your mobility significantly. If you want to get it back, you must begin the round in the same square as you threw the weapon from. A clever enemy will find ways to relocate you in the meantime, and your flexibility as a tactical fighter is diminished regardless. On top of all that, thrown weapons are terrible at ranges beyond 10 or 20 feet. Far Shot is almost a necessity, but that's one more feat on a list of must-haves. Eventually that gets pretty cumbersome to keep up with, especially if you're trying to fit in the Weapon Specialization tree somewhere along the way.
