Help with build & per level feat distribution

[Soultpp]

Hello, I'm new around here but I thought this place looked like a good place for advice.

It looks like our group might be moving to D&D 3.5 for our next campaign and I was hoping to use a character I had previously made but remade from Lv1 (Was made at 16th lvl)

My main concern is deciding the most logical progression for the feats from lvl to lvl as the program I use doesn't do that. Here are the feats I have selected on the Lv16 version (Human Fighter):
Regional feat from PGtoFR
Dreadful Wrath
Others:
Combat Reflexes
Death Blow
Greater Weapon Focus(Scythe)
Improved Critical(Scythe)
Improved Trip
Monkey Grip
Cleave
Combat Expertise
Great Cleave
Greater weapon Specialization (Scythe)
Improved Buckler Defense
Improved Initiative
Power Attack
Weapon Focus(Scythe)
Weapon Specialization (Scythe)

I'm also open to suggestions for replacement feats here or there. The books I have available are:
Arms & Equipment Guide
City of Splendors:Waterdeep
Complete Adventurer
Complete Arcane
Complete Divine
Complete Warrior
Draconomicon
DMG
Expanded Psionics Handbook
Magic of Faerun
MM
Player's Guide to Forgotten Realms
PHB
Races of Destiny
Races of Faerun
Savage Species
Shining South

Some of the books may technically not be 3.5 but for the most part all are used with 3.5 rules as best as possible. As I said I'm open to a few minor replacements for optimization though it may not be as essential as flavor. This could include an alternate class to level in 1 or 2 lvls if it is worth more than the feats I might lose. Also where to go from here if I reach Lv16 again would help.

 

[Grogg of the North]

First, this should be in the Char Op forum. Hopefully a helpful mod will move it to the right place.

I'm going to assume straight fighter and keep it to what you listed. I'll add comments after the level by level suggestions.

Human - Dreadful Wrath
1 - Combat Expertise¹
F1 - Power Attack (From which all goodness flows)
F2 - Improved Trip
3 - WF (Scythe)
F4 - WS (Scythe)
6 - Improved Init
F6 - Combat Reflexes²
F8 - GWF (Scythe)
9 - Improved Critical (Scythe)³
F10 - IBD⁴
12 - Monkey Grip⁵
F12 - GWS (Scythe)
F14 - Death Blow⁶
15 - Cleave⁷
F16 - Great Cleave⁸

1 - I assume you're taking this because you need it for Improved Trip and not to boost your AC.
2 - A good feat. Would be better if you had reach. Spiked Chain would let you keep the tripping and gives you reach.
3 - This feat is debatable. What kind of magic level are you working with within the world? Is it worth spending a feat on this versus buying a Keen enhancement or similar magic item? If you do spend the feat on it, maybe pick up Power Critical later?
4 - This is the start of you taking several penalties to hit, especially if you're power attacking. Again, is it worth a feat? Can you get an animated heavy shield?
5 - Another -2 to hit (-3 total before Power Attack) for a small increase in damage. At this level you hopefully have a magic item of enlarge person. Or you bought the wizard a wand of it. The feat does definitely has flair and style though.
6 - Goes well with a reaper feel with the scythe. However, I don't know how often you're going to come across helpless opponents. This is one I would probably pass on.
7 & 8 - Cleave is ... a trap. There really isn't a better way to put it. Unless you're fighting lots of low level guys that you can one shot just avoid these. You know your DM better than I do, though. Maybe at high levels you still randomly come across low HD opponents for you to wade through?

As for other feats to suggest, can you tell us more about what you want to do?

 

[Soultpp]

First, sorry about posting in the wrong forum. I should have looked at that more carefully.

As for what I want to do, mechanically I'm not sure beyond 'be strong' or 'have fancy fighting tricks'. The character concept is a quiet/taciturn but intimidating 'death-like' fighter or bounty hunter. Doesn't care about taking prisoners, but isn't evil. Wears the 'scary' black hooded cloak, etc. Probably not an original concept, but one I haven't tried before. The weapon is part and parcel of the concept though, so spiked chain won't work. Other then that, again, I'm not sure.

Edit: So as to cleave, I can see what you are saying, especially after reading other topics on the subject. Those were some of the feats (Gr cleave especially) that I was looking at as most replace-worthy. Cleave I could consider keeping as much for the 'visual fluff' behind the feat as the mechanical application of it though. The rest, well most of it is negotiable if something else was pointed out to me that fit.

 

[Grogg of the North]

No worries! I just mentioned it since your post may get more visibility on the Char Op board.

Some thoughts:

Dreadful Wrath gives you an AoE Shaken effect. Stack this with Intimidate to make your opponent frightened. You can either use the skill straight up, grab the Fearsome armor enhancement (MIC), or see if you can wrangle Intimidating Strike (PHB2) into triggering Dreadful Wrath. Grabbing the skill trick Never Outnumbered (CSco) will help, too.

If you're going to go for a bounty hunter, grab Able Learner (RoD; all skills are class skills) and then Track and/or Urban Tracking. You've gotta find your quarry.

For tripping, maybe consider Prone Attack. More of an "Oh no!" insurance policy in case you get tripped in return. This is a moot point if you get a bunch of ranks in tumble, though. Knock-down is debatable. Originally it was in Sword and Fist but then errata to not work with Improved Trip and then republished in Deities and Demigods which was worded to only work if you had divine rank. Ask your DM if you can use it and how it will interact with Improved Trip.

You have Power Attack, grab Leap Attack (CAdv). Shock Trooper (CW) works great with those two.

I mentioned tumble earlier. Depending on your DM, see if you can trade Ride for Tumble (Cityscape I think) or grab Able Learner as I mentioned above. Tumble is a great skill. You can avoid AoO's and, if you're tripped, can stand back up as a free action with a high enough check. However, you'll need dex and you can't use it if you're ever encumbered. So that limits you to light armor.

 

[Dandu]

Drop Monkey Grip. The benefit is slightly subpar at best and you can do better. Get that belt from the MIC that allows you to cast Enlarge Person on yourself.

Feats that allow you more options in combat are, after a certain point, better than raw numbers because the DM will put you in a variety of combat situations and smashing things will not be the most effective solution in all of them.

I would suggest Power Attack, Combat Expertise, and Improved Trip for some good options right off the bat.

If you want to charge, add Leap Attack, Shock Trooper, and Combat Brute.

If you prefer a more control oriented build, Combat Reflexes, Stand Still, Knock Down, and Robiliar's Gambit.

The Mage Slayer feats from the Complete Arcane might be useful if you think you'll be fighting spellcasters often.

If you want a versatile melee weapon, consider Exotic Weapon Proficiency for a Spiked Chain. Failing that, a reach weapon that offers something useful, like tripping (guisarme) or disarming (ranseur) is a good choice.

 

[Soultpp]

Dreadful Wrath was there as much for flavor as effect. "Quiet off the battlefield, terrifying on it" kinda thing.

I don't have access to MIC, PHB2, or CSco sadly so I can't really expand in that fashion, but I might be able to get those books in the future, I'll look into it.

Changing things is a bit harder for our group, half of them barely know the rules as is (I'm the group's "book"), so trading ride for tumble may not work, but able learner could work.

Bounty Hunting in this case is less about "catching criminals for money" and more about "killing monsters for ear price" so those skills are less necessary, though I may still look in that direction.

Prone Attack is an interesting insurance policy, probably better than "drop your godweapon" as a counter against bad dice luck, though Tumble could work there too if I got Able Learner.

Shock Trooper might be good but I would need to give something up for Improved Bull Rush.

Leap Attack really works with the picture of the character I have in my head, so I like that.

Intimidate is one of the skills I plan on maxing every lvl, My dump stat is Wis in this build at 12, everything else is 15+ (I rolled high.)

As far as Tumble goes, the light armor thing is not an issue, I rarely make characters with heavy armor unless the concept specifically calls for it, I just prefer a balance of dex bonus vs armor bonus so there are less vulnerabilities in a bad situation (losing Dex bonus, touch attacks, etc). My favorite armors are chain shirt, mythril shirt, and celestial armor.

Even in this situation, I'm looking as much for mobility as I am shear overwhelming force.

Note: I wrote this yesterday afternoon but forgot to hit post.

Dandu: Some of those feats I don't recognize but I'll look into if they are within my available material. Monkey Grip is as much for intimidation as for mechanics, character is short for a medium size human, but I can look at losing it in favor of better options.

As I said above (which being that I forgot to post this yesterday you wouldn't have seen) I don't have access to MIC so said belt is unavailable. Then again I'm not sure abusing enlarge would fit with the concept. We'll see.

The weapon can't change, its core to the concept, but some of the feat suggestions are worth looking at. I have at least 3 feats that are replaceable (cleaves+MG)

I'll definitely look around for some of the suggestions and see if they will fit the character.

 

[Dandu]

Dandu: Some of those feats I don't recognize but I'll look into if they are within my available material. Monkey Grip is as much for intimidation as for mechanics.

Use the weapon in your pants for that.

If you want to intimidate well, you should consider the Zhentarim Soldier substitution levels. Good fear focused abilities.

If you want to focus on mobility, look at the Hit and Run Fighter ACF from Drow of the Underdark, which grants +2 to initiative and the ability to deal + dex mod damage on a hit against a flatfooted opponent in exchange for your heavy armor proficiency, iirc.

Feats that are useful are Improved Initiative, Expeditious Dodge, and Elusive Attack.

 

[Soultpp]

Its a female character my new friend. She has no 'weapon in her pants'. Hence the compensation with the over-sized weapon.

As for the feat suggestions, Zhentarim is probably not something she would be associated with. She's a badass and not too merciful, but she is still technically good. (Kinda like Riddick: mostly badass but with a personal code of honor)

The other problem with the Zhentarim feat and Expeditious Dodge is lack of access to the source material.

We do all our character creation in a char generator for simplicity's sake and so the only things we have access to are the data sets that were bought for it, hence the list I gave at the start... Of course the program is long dead (eTools) so if anyone had access to more data sets for the last release version (1.666) I'd be willing to accept them I guess.

Oh I definitely like the look of Elusive Attack though. I think I will have to try to integrate that in to the feat list, earlier the better too.

 

[Dandu]

The other problem with the Zhentarim feat and Expeditious Dodge is lack of access to the source material.

Ask the DM to allow them. And to refluff Zhentarim Soldier to fit his setting, for that matter.

 

[Grogg of the North]

Ask the DM to allow them. And to refluff Zhentarim Soldier to fit his setting, for that matter.

I think it is more that the group does not have access to the source books.