Need Help: Best fighter builds at various levels?

[ashan]

High ac..from 2 things only! If you want a silly non armour ac

We started campaign at 3rd level. The following character build was done by a fellow player gone mad! I felt it to be a power gaming gimmick!

He had 0 armor but had the best ac Ive ever seen.
A llight weapon but some great damage per round.
Mobile fast & slick a player did this combo in a campaign I was playing in and he was a pain to hit...All you heard all gameplay "you were missed by a mile" "you moved out of the way" bla bla bla we got sick of it.

2nd level Psychic Warrior/1st monk is the way he started out
He then progressed 2 levels Monk 1 level Psi Warrior (I am off by +/- 1 level maybe)
3rd psi warrior/3rd Monk He used a Rapier & do to his life path it doubled as a Monk weapon.

this was working great. He then got an int ring of Cha (other players were always in the dark on the rings powers, but we all suspected something else was in that ring) Anyways it made him a show off...He all of a sudden had a 18 cha and was Arrow flynn, robin hood a muskateer kinda vibe.

He then went swashbucler (a puffter as we refer to them) for a couple of levels followed by duelist.

end result...
3rd or 4th swashbuckler / 3rd Monk / 3rd Duelist / 3rd Psychic Warrior....what a train wreck!

I am probably a number off here and there but the end result was
good bab a couple behind a fighter of same level but still up there
+1 or 2 d6 damage per strike rapier caused 1d8 as a monk of same level because with his life path it was excepted. 16wis = +3 to AC, 19(23)dex, & +3 ac from his 16int.
He had +4 bracers of armor
+3 Keen rapier of speed (+1 attack)
ring of jumping
gloves of dex +4
ear ring of DR 10/sonic vs Harpies, Bards any sound effect.
boots of striding and leaping
ring of protection +1
and 1 or two more magics I have forgotten (its been a while)

this pc had an awsome ac, caused good damage and would all but dance around his opponents.....an unarmored toe too toe'r.

and if you add on the unarmored variant-FORGET ABOUT IT you aint touching this guy.

Please respond in detail to what this player did here....power gaming for a AC from hell at the expense of bab and any 1 class high level ability...I want to share your opinions with the player.
ThornCrest

Played a Monk in a campaign recently...someone pointed me in the direction of book of exalted deeds. All i can say vow of poverty is very nice from high ac no armour. With all the bumps from the (specialist choice?) my AC was 31 by about 10th level and no magic items!

 

[Schmoe]

If you're looking for a simple, straightforward killer, try this:

Half-orc fighter 10 (25 point buy, core rules only)
HD: 10d10+20 (HP: 79.5)
AC: 23 (+10 armor, +1 Dex, +1 natural, +1 deflection)
Init: +1
BAB/Grapple: +10/+15
Spd: 20'
Attacks: Falchion +20/+15 melee (2d4+13+1d6 electric, 15-20/x2 +1d10 electric); Composite Longbow +12/+7 ranged (110', 1d8+6, 20/x3)
Special: Darkvision 60', Orc blood
Saves: Fort +12 Ref +5 Will +6
Abilities: Str 20 (24) Dx 13 Cn 14 Int 8 Wis 10 Ch 6
Skills (13 fighter): <irrelevant>
Feats (10): Power Attack, Cleave, Weapon Focus - Falchion, Greater Weapon Focus - Falchion, Weapon Spec. - Falchion, Improved Critical - Falchion, Blind-Fight, Iron Will, Great Fortitude, Quickdraw
Equipment (49000 gp): +1 Shocking Burst Falchion, Girdle of Strength +4, Full Plate armor +2, Ring of Protection +1, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, +1 Mighty (+5 bonus) composite longbow

Average damage per falchion hit: 21.5
Average damage per falchion critical: 45
Odds of a hit vs AC 25 opponent (first swing): 80%
Odds of a critical vs AC 25 opponent (first swing): 24%

Edit: stoopid html tags

 

[Schmoe]

If you're looking for a simple, straightforward tank, try this:

Dwarf fighter 10 (25 point buy, core rules only)
HD: 10d10+50 (HP: 109.5)
AC: 27 (+11 armor, +4 shield, +1 natural, +1 deflection)
Init: +1
BAB/Grapple: +10/+14
Spd: 20'
Attacks: Dwarven Waraxe +18/+13 melee (1d10+8, 20/x3); Throwing Hammer +12 ranged (20’, 1d4+5, 20/x2)
Special: Dwarf stuff (stability, darkvision, poison bonus, spell bonus, stonecunning, etc.)
Saves: Fort +13 Ref +5 Will +6
Abilities: Str 16 (18) Dx 13 Cn 18 (20) Int 10 Wis 10 Ch 6
Skills (26 fighter): <irrelevant>
Feats (10): Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Sunder, Weapon Focus – Dwarven Waraxe, Greater Weapon Focus – Dwarven Waraxe, Weapon Spec. – Dwarven Waraxe, Dodge, Mobility, Quickdraw, Iron Will
Equipment (49000 gp): +2 Dwarven Waraxe, Gauntlets of Strength +2, Belt of Health +2, Full Plate armor +3, Heavy Steel Shield +2, Ring of Protection +1, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Throwing Hammer of Returning +1

General AC: 27
Flat-footed AC: 26
Touch AC: 12
AC vs. single opponent: 28
AC vs. attacks of opportunity: 31 or 32

Edit: math is hard

 

[Schmoe]

If you're looking for a simple, straightforward archer, try this:

Elf fighter 10 (25 point buy, core rules only)
HD: 10d10+10 (HP: 69.5)
AC: 24 (+5 armor, +3 shield, +6 dexterity)
Init: +6
BAB/Grapple: +10/+12
Spd: 30'
Attacks: Longbow +21/+16 or +19/+19/+14 or +17/+17 ranged (110’, 1d8+7, 19-20/x3); Rapier +13/+8 melee (1d6+3, 18-20/x2)
Special: Elf stuff (low-light vision, enchantment bonus, sleep immunity, enhanced senses, etc)
Saves: Fort +9 Ref +11 Will +5
Abilities: Str 14 Dx 20 (22) Cn 12 Int 9 Wis 10 Ch 8
Skills (26 fighter): <irrelevant>
Feats (10): Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Many Shot, Weapon Focus – Longbow, Greater Weapon Focus – Longbow, Weapon Spec. – Longbow, Improved Critical – Longbow, Dodge, Mobility
Equipment (49000 gp): Gloves of Dexterity +2, Leather Armor +3, Buckler +2, Mighty (+2 bonus) Composite Longbow +3, Ring of Protection +1, Amulet of Armor +1, Rapier +1, Cloak of Resistance +2


The mobility helps him move out of melee without getting hit and still attack with Manyshot.

Add arrows of various flavors (materials, energy types, etc) as money allows.

 

[Sir ThornCrest]

Whats the piont buy thing anyways? Ive never heard of such a thing.

Is it 3.5 rules or just a different pc generation method?

Thorncrest

Yip, that's the one. I think the 80 points over six stats worked out to 32 or 34 point buy once I'd assigned the abilities. Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 10, followed by adjustments for dwarf. What does that make it? Yowser, 36 points! A bit on the powerful side!

Pinotage

 

[Pinotage]

Is it 3.5 rules or just a different pc generation method?

Thorncrest

They're just different character generation methods, both I believe which are supported by the 3.5e rules.

Point Buy is normally based of 28 points. Ability scores start at 8, and it costs 1 point to raise a score by one point until it reaches 14. From 14 to 16 it costs two points per ability point increase to raise the score and from 16 to 18 it costs 3 points to raise the ability score by one point. So to get 10 costs 2 points, 12 costs 4 points, 14 costs 6 points, 16 costs 10 points and 18 costs 16 points.

The 80 point method assigns abilities on a point-by-point basis. You have 80 points to buy your abilities, starting at 0 and costing 1 point per ability point. So with 80 points you can buy 13 in 4 ability scores and 14 in two, for example.

Pinotage

 

[Schmoe]

If you're looking for a simple, straightforward tactical fighter, try this:

Human fighter 10 (25 point buy, core rules only)
HD: 10d10+20 (HP: 79.5)
AC: 27 (+11 armor, +3 shield, +1 dexterity, +1 natural, +1 deflection)
Init: +1
BAB/Grapple: +10/+15
Spd: 30'
Attacks: Longsword +18/+13 melee (1d8+9, 19-20/x2); Glaive +15/+10* melee (10’ reach, 1d10+8, 20/x3); Longbow +12/+7 ranged (165’, 1d8+5, 20/x3)
Special: He’s a human fighter, eh?
Saves: Fort +11 Ref +6 Will +5
Abilities: Str 18 (20) Dx 12 Cn 12 (14) Int 13 Wis 10 Ch 8
Skills (52 fighter): <irrelevant>
Feats (11): Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, Quickdraw, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Combat Reflexes, Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Weapon Focus – Longsword, Weapon Specialization - Longsword
Equipment (49000 gp): Gauntlets of Ogre Power +2, Belt of Health +2, +2 Cold-iron Longsword, Full Plate Armor +3, Buckler +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Ring of Protection +1, Glaive +1, Mighty (+4 bonus) Composite Longbow +1, Cloak of Resistance +2

* - The attack bonus for the glaive includes a –1 penalty for wearing the buckler.

He can tank up close with his longsword and combat expertise, achieving AC of up to 32 (34 with the fighting defensively option).

He can perform area-control with the glaive, combat reflexes, and improved trip.

He can deal solid damage by wielding his longsword two-handed and using power attack (damage = 1d8+11+(2*Power Attack))

He has a reasonable ranged attack with a range increment of 165’.

He can disarm, trip, and bull rush to gain a tactical advantage.

He can switch weapons quickly if the tactical situation changes.

 

[MeiRen]

I'd actually hope, that the classes were rather playtested and balanced at various ability power levels.

Bye
Thanee

Given that Monte Cook was one of the leads on the project, I imagine they did! That guy is a playtesting fiend.

 

[Schmoe]

Given that Monte Cook was one of the leads on the project, I imagine they did! That guy is a playtesting fiend.

Speaking of playtesting, are these examples helpful? Are you planning on using any of them in testing your homebrew class?