The Dwarven Defender - Is it worth it?

[kanithardm]

They're quite good if the Defender is underground in narrow tunnels, keeping enemies from coming past them (where movement isn't necessary).

Well where else would you find a dwarf?

 

[Victim]

Even if you never use defensive stance, the increased HD, large amount of DR, increased Will save, and class AC bonus make the Dwarven Defender a pretty decent class, especially if your only point of comparison is other core stuff. One thing to remember is that the class doesn't mandate total tanking - even without an Animated Shield, your defense won't suffer compared to a normal sword and board guy if you use a two hander.

 

[IndyPendant]

DD is a *great* class if all your options are the SRD. If you have access to splat books, the DD decreases in effectiveness with each splat book added.

The AC bonus, d12 HD, DR, and good Will saves all add up. Barbs are awesome for offense, but have a HUGE glass jaw in magic. You won't use the Defensive Stance very often, but keep in mind--nowhere does it say you're limited to once per encounter. Just X/day. So you go into a Defensive Stance, and need to move? Do so. And go into a Defensive Stance again. The 'winded' -2 penalty to Str doesn't stack with itself, so no worries there.

One thing no one has really touched on: get the crappy prereq feats--Dodge, Endurance, and Toughness are just about the *worst* combat feats in the game--and then concentrate your feat selection on the offensive. That will help mitigate the central defensive aspect of the DD.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Nah, not worth it. After all, you have to play a dwarf in order to do this class.

 

[noeuphoria]

No one ever mentions one of my personal favorite melee classes, Occult Slayer. It seems like you always hear about how high-level magic users just own tanks due to their low will saves and powerful spells. Occult slayer has

1.) Full BAB
2.) Good Will Save (and bonuses to all saves vs spells)
3.) Deals extra damage to arcane casters
4.) Eventually can turn spells in reaction to them being cast on him.
5.) Oh yeah, at 5th level basically gets permanet mind blank for mind affecting spells.

Not so powerful on the offensive side, but definitely a nice class for any character that has to deal with mages. Plus, tack on a few mage-slaying feats from CoA, get a magebane weapon, and your guy will carve through spellcasters.

 

[Nightfall]

Nah, not worth it. After all, you have to play a dwarf in order to do this class.

Yeah and that's another reason I shied away from this class. It and Arcane Archer. *bleh*