min/maxers Come one, Come all!!!

[Elder-Basilisk]

The great thing about those incredible stats is that every single front line fighter plan is open to you. You have access to all the relevant feats and no real discernable weaknesses that aren't inherent to the class (such as will and reflex saves).

Here are a few more options to get the ideas turning:

Human
Ftr 2/Clr 3 (Mayaheine--domains: War, Good)
Feats: EWP: Bastard Sword, Weapon Focus: Bastard Sword (War domain), Power Attack, Cleave, Divine Might, Endurance.

You're all set to take Templar as your next level. Set yourself up to use a bastard sword and large shield. Then you can prepare to smite evil with the best of them. You can take Sunder (and possibly later Improved Sunder) as well for extra versatility.

Human Ftr 4/Bbn 1 or Ftr 5 (if you don't want to min-max one level for hit points, skills and rage)
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Power Attack, Cleave, Weapon Focus and specialization: Glaive.

You'll be moving a fair amount to keep enemies at the ten foot reach range, but you'll often get AoOs when your foes close. Use those for disarm attempts on one-handed weapons and sunders on bladed and wood hafted two handed weapons. Wear spiked armor so you can take AoOs in the event that your opponent five foot steps and tries to grapple or something.

Another option for the front line: Ftr 5
Weapon focus and specialization: light flail, expertise, improved trip, improved disarm, knockdown.

You can trip your enemies and attack them while prone, disarm them, and if neither of those works, knockdown gives you a risk free trip attempt (although no improved trip follow up) when you deal more than average damage. Sixth level options would include Power attack and cleave, or Combat reflexes and Hold the Line (Sword and Fist) if you want to get AoOs to use for trips and disarms.

 

[nsruf]

Desired/Probable Equipment: Chainmail +X, Longsword +X, Large Shield +X. Dispite the Ranger level, resiste the urge to dual-wield.

Which is moot anyway, if you are wearing chainmail instead of a a chain shirt (I suppose you meant that), because the Ranger's dual wielding works only with light or no armor. If you are going to min/max, there are basically only two types of armor worth taking: chain shirt (because of speed) and full plate...

Oh, and Azazu, if you are playing RttToEE, don't get attached too much to your PC

 

[dazm]

I am playing in RttToEE at the moment with a fighter and have just reached 8th level after starting the temple at 4th. My best advice would be to take the route to great cleave. Proved very useful to me.

dazm

 

[Forrester]

IMO if you aren't going to use two-weapon fighting, it might be best to take a level of barbarian instead of ranger. Rage is good. A 40' move is even better.

Or, if you want to be the ultimate cheese-monster, take a level of ranger, a level of barbarian, and then three levels of fighter. You'll get Weapon Specialization soon enough.

Of course, this is the Ultimate Cheese, but I understand that RttToH is quite a combat-happy module, something to make powergamers smile and not feel guilty abou tit. So there you go.

(Personally, I'd go with a Meat-Shield cleric if I were you. You have the stats for it. 16 Str and Wis, 14 Dex and Con, 13 Int and Chr. Maybe go Dwarf? Meat-shield clerics are a lot of fun, and very flexible. Screw that standing in the back ready to cast Cure spells stuff -- after you Bull's Strength and Endurance yourself up, you'll be almost as good as a Fighter. Make sure you take the War domain if you can -- if not, Strength is good.)

EDIT -- I noticed someone above posted a suggestion to maybe go F2/C3. I think this is, no offense, silly silly silly, especially if you've found a god that gives you Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword and Weapon Focus: Bastard sword. Two free feats and three extra hit points are *not* worth losing 3rd level spells. Cleric all the way . . . can you say Persistent Divine Favor? (I don't allow Persistent Power in my campaign, and in general dissuade this kind of powergaming, but hell, if it's being encouraged, knock yourself out!)

 

[mikebr99]

Melee heavy/lite casting cleric:

4th Cleric/2nd Fighter/xth Warpriest

All the BAB goodness, and some spells too!!

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

EDIT -- I noticed someone above posted a suggestion to maybe go F2/C3. I think this is, no offense, silly silly silly, especially if you've found a god that gives you Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword and Weapon Focus: Bastard sword. Two free feats and three extra hit points are *not* worth losing 3rd level spells. Cleric all the way . . . can you say Persistent Divine Favor? (I don't allow Persistent Power in my campaign, and in general dissuade this kind of powergaming, but hell, if it's being encouraged, knock yourself out!)

That rather depends upon what you're going for. The poster stated that he wanted a front line fighter type character. A character who is primarily a fighter (in this case, the recommendation was in preparation for Templar levels) can benefit a lot from three or four levels of cleric--especially a cleric with the war domain. Such a character ends up losing one point of BAB and three hit points for spells (Protection from evil, divine favor, bless, Bull's Strength, Endurance), a feat (weapon focus in this case), +2 to fortitude and will saves, and the ability to turn undead which can be used to power divine feats like Divine Might.

Ftr 2/Clr 3/Pal2/Templar x (Ftr 3/Clr 4/Templar X works as well) is a very effective melee fighter and you'll be hard pressed to make a single classed cleric who is as effective in melee.

In general terms, I agree with you though. Clerics are a very powerful class and are very effective without multiclassing at all. IMO, a single classed cleric would probably be a more effective character than the multiclassed holy fighter I described above. The cleric would not be a more effective front line fighter though. The cleric's effectiveness would show up in the use of his spells more than the use of his weapons (although I'm well aware of the Persistent points of intersection between those two).

 

[Macbrea]

You could play the silly character for the campaign.

Biran, M Human Ranger1 Barbarian1 Fighter1 Forsaker2 CR 5 Size:M Type Humanoid; HD (1d10)+(1d12)+(1d10)+(2d12)+15
hp 52
Init +2 (+2 Dex, +0 Misc)
Spd Walk 40'
AC 18 (flatfooted 16, touch 12), *Glaive +7 0'/S (1d10+6 20/x3 Both L )
SA: Favored Enemy(Aberration),Rage 1/day,Fast healing 1 (10),Forsake magic,Spell resistance 12,Ability bonus +2,Damage reduction 3/+1,Magic destruction

Vision: Normal AL: CG;
Sv: Fort +14, Ref +4, Will +6

Str 18, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 14

Skills and Feats: Climb +5, Diplomacy +4, Hide +2, Intuit Direction +2, Jump +7, Listen +5, Move Silently +2, Search +5, Sense Motive +6, Spot +5, Swim +-2, Tumble +5, Wilderness Lore +6; Ambidexterity,Armor Proficiency (Heavy) (1x),Armor Proficiency (Light) (1x),Armor Proficiency (Medium) (1x),Dodge,Great Fortitude,Iron Will,Lightning Reflexes,Martial Weapon Proficiency,Shield Proficiency,Simple Weapon Proficiency,Track,Two-Weapon Fighting

Possessions: 1 Glaive, 0 Outfit (Explorer's), 1 Chain Shirt, 1 Dastana, 1 Chahar-aina

 

[Forrester]

Ftr 2/Clr 3/Pal2/Templar x (Ftr 3/Clr 4/Templar X works as well) is a very effective melee fighter and you'll be hard pressed to make a single classed cleric who is as effective in melee.

In general terms, I agree with you though. Clerics are a very powerful class and are very effective without multiclassing at all. IMO, a single classed cleric would probably be a more effective character than the multiclassed holy fighter I described above. The cleric would not be a more effective front line fighter though. The cleric's effectiveness would show up in the use of his spells more than the use of his weapons (although I'm well aware of the Persistent points of intersection between those two).

At middling levels I agree that your mix would be more effective in melee than the meat-shield cleric, but eventually, if the DM allows Persistent Power, and the campaign goes on long enough (I think RttToEE brings characters from 5th level to 12th or 13th, doesn't it?), the cleric, I think, catches up w/the Pers. Divine Favor, empowered Bull's Strength/Endurances, and so on. *Even on the front line* . . . at least, as long as the foes don't throw targeted Dispel Magics at him .

But that is a while to have to wait for equality if you want to maximizing head-bashing from the very beginning. It's just that he's got great scores to pull it off -- he can have an above average wisdom AND strength AND Con AND Dex. Of course, having good stats in all of those things helps him do the Templar thing you've described, too.

 

[Stormwynd]

Which is moot anyway, if you are wearing chainmail instead of a a chain shirt (I suppose you meant that), because the Ranger's dual wielding works only with light or no armor. If you are going to min/max, there are basically only two types of armor worth taking: chain shirt (because of speed) and full plate...

Oh, and Azazu, if you are playing RttToEE, don't get attached too much to your PC

I believe mithral chainmail aka elven chainmail is considered light armor, so ranger dual-wielding would work with it.

 

[Nish]

I believe mithral chainmail aka elven chainmail is considered light armor, so ranger dual-wielding would work with it.

Yes, but a mithril breastplate is even better.