D&D 3E/3.5 Ideas for a 3.5->4e conversion of a Fighter PC

[MacMathan]

Soon I will get a chance to play one of my favorite fighter characters again. The thing is last time I played him it was 3.5 so I need some help to bring him up to 4e with similar flavor and effectiveness. Here is what I have to work with:

Sir Dain Rowan, The Ivory Boar
Level 11, Human Fighter

Key elements from the 3.5 incarnation:
Uses a magical two-handed sword,
Wears magical Full Plate
Charges a lot very offensive minded strategically
Bull-rushes
Sunders (not really possible in 4e)
Power attacks a lot.
Used the threat of high melee damage to keep foes away from fellow party members.


The DM is letting us recreate our stats using 4e standard point build. We also have access to any of the books except for Eberron and FR specific ones. I have not played a fighter in 4e yet so I am looking for any ideas.

Thanks,

 

[UltimaGabe]

Seeing as how the Fighter has changed quite a bit (mainly due to the fact that they've actually made mechanics to force enemies to target you instead of your allies), you may want to consider the prospect of recreating the character as a Barbarian. They're high-damage-dealing, they are pretty much built for charging, and they are built for using two-handed weapons. Also, from the sounds of it, your character has a sort of feral flavor to him, which is exactly what Barbarians are.

 

[MacMathan]

Actually I may not have done a good job of describing Dain. He is knight in a GRRM-type world (w/ a little more magic). He serves the feudal structure and is loyal to his Duke. He was quite lawful-neutral (leaning towards good) with a chivalric code of honor. His personality was partially based on Lucius Vorenus from the series Rome.

 

[Mort_Q]

Are you allowed to use any of the online Dragon magazine stuff?

 

[CovertOps]

Key elements from the 3.5 incarnation:
Uses a magical two-handed sword,
Wears magical Full Plate
Charges a lot very offensive minded strategically
Bull-rushes
Sunders (not really possible in 4e)
Power attacks a lot.
Used the threat of high melee damage to keep foes away from fellow party members.

2-Handed weapon:
This pretty much rules out Ranger and Rogue. Rangers want 2 weapons and Rogues want light blades. Avenger, Paladin, Fighter, Barbarian all work for this.

Plate:
Paladins start with it and Fighters only need one feat and the stats to get it. Any class other than Fighter or Paladin are going to give you MAD issues if you try to keep the plate. It also rules out Avenger pretty much as they start with cloth plus lose their bonus to AC if they wear heavy armor. Paladin, Fighter work for this.

Charge/Bull Rush:
anyone

Sunder:
I think one class has a sunder like power (encounter or daily) IIRC.

Power Attack:
I don't know about others here, but I view the 4e version of this feat to be a trap. Bonuses to hit are near impossible to come by in 4e and trading to hit for damage I don't think is going to turn out well. You'd have to get the number crunchers to run down the math on it.

I think for the most part your choices are going to be Fighter or Paladin, but Barbarian and Avenger are both possible depending on how important the plate is to keep. Flavor is also another consideration.

 

[Dalzig]

One thing you have to learn about 4e is that it is very easy to separate fluff from mechanics. When you are a Barbarian, you don't necessarily have to be an "Uncivilized brute who wears a loin cloth and can't read."

So, apart from the fluff, what kind of mechanics are you most looking for? Do you want to play up the charging and high damage (Barbarian), or be a linchpin of defense on the party's front line (Fighter)?

Once you decide the mechanics you think help define the character, then you can layer your character's specifics on top. Describe your "barbarian" as being the great knight that he is. Describe your "leather/hide" armor as gleaming metallic plates. Describe your "walking forward and calmly attacking" as charging forward with fury on your face!

Whatever you do, don't be afraid to describe your character however you want.

 

[MacMathan]

Are you allowed to use any of the online Dragon magazine stuff?

AFAIK if it is in the Character Builder we can use it other than the Ebberon and FR stuff.

Also I realize Dain will not be completely optimal or maximized, I am more concerned with reasonably effective while keeping as much of the old flavor as possible.

 

[Jhaelen]

Also I realize Dain will not be completely optimal or maximized, I am more concerned with reasonably effective while keeping as much of the old flavor as possible.

Flavor is easy and doesn't have much impact on game mechanics or vice versa.

I think the first question you should ask yourself is what role most represents the way you played your old character? Was it closer to a defender or a striker?

After making that decision you may want to multiclass or make it a hybrid (if required).

How mobile was your 3E character, anyway?

In my 3E campaign, wearing full-plate often meant it was difficult for a character to stay close to the action. Charging was rarely an option because of the environment, unless you had ways to ignore difficult terrain, etc. Then again, it may have been a specific problem since I mostly used outdoor encounters.

At the level 11 range all of the non-martial characters were flying/teleporting (almost) all the time making it extra-difficult for the martial characters to keep up unless they focused on being extremely mobile and/or specialized in ranged weapons.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

Was your character 11th level in 3.5, or are you planning on making a 4E 11th level character?

It's not the same, you know?

Now, back to the tips, I would model this as a straight-up, great weapon fighter with plate armor proficiency.

Now, for the powers, I would pick some options that, narratively speaking, evoke the "charge, power-attack, bull-rush, sunder" strategies of third edition.

Brute Strike, Rhino Strike, Crack the Shell, Jackal Strike, etc.

 

[monboesen]

Here is a pretty straightforward fighter build that might serve as inspiration. It is definately not an optimized build.


The paragon path allows charging with your at-will powers, the horned helmet adds +1d6 damage to charge attacks and the powerful charge + fast runner feats adds +2 to damage and movement on charge attacks.

All that combines to a total of +18 to hit and 1d12+1d6+12 damage on charge at-will atttacks with a range of 7 (14 if you take a move action before charging).


The rushing cleats and the powerfull charge feat combine for bull rush attempts at +12 (+14 if charging) and the target is pushed 2 squares.


There is also an encounter and a daily charge attack power included in the build that gives the occasional extra damage on a charge.


Berserkers fury and/or Fast runner could be exchanged for other feats, like for example Heavy blade opportunity that combined with Knockdown strike will stop enemies from moving past you.


====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 11
Human, Fighter, Swordmaster
Fighter Talents: Two-handed Weapon Talent

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 21, Con 16, Dex 15, Int 9, Wis 15, Cha 11.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 13, Dex 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 10.


AC: 28 Fort: 26 Reflex: 21 Will: 21
HP: 91 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 22

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +12, Intimidate +10, Athletics +13, Endurance +11, Perception +12

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +5, Arcana +4, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +7, History +4, Insight +7, Nature +7, Religion +4, Stealth +5, Streetwise +5, Thievery +5

FEATS
Human: Action Surge
Level 1: Human Perseverance
Level 2: Powerful Charge
Level 4: Berserker's Fury
Level 6: Weapon Proficiency (Fullblade)
Level 8: Armor Proficiency (Plate)
Level 10: Weapon Focus (Heavy Blade)
Level 11: Fast Runner

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Knockdown Assault
Fighter at-will 1: Reaping Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Cleave
Fighter encounter 1: Steel Serpent Strike
Fighter daily 1: Lasting Threat
Fighter utility 2: Boundless Endurance
Fighter encounter 3: Rhino Strike
Fighter daily 5: Cometfall Charge
Fighter utility 6: Unbreakable
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Thicket of Blades
Fighter utility 10: Strength From Pain

ITEMS
Magic Gith Plate Armor +3, Magic Fullblade +3, Amulet of Protection +3, Horned Helm (heroic tier), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier)
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