The Infamous Spiked Chain Madness

[Nifft]

Okay, so I figured out that Exotic Weapon Master comes from Masters of the Wild (thank you Wikipedia!).

Actually, Complete Warrior.

I have no idea where Weapon Mastery comes from.

PHB-II, same place as the Knight.

-- N

 

[sjmiller]

Okay, so I figured out that Exotic Weapon Master comes from Masters of the Wild (thank you Wikipedia!).

Actually, Complete Warrior.

Which is probably quite different than the one from Masters of the Wild, as that one is much more tailored to the Barbarian than the Fighter.

I have no idea where Weapon Mastery comes from.

PHB-II, same place as the Knight.

Well, that explains why I have never heard of it. I really don't own a lot of D&D books, and I don't find many of them all that necessary, to be perfectly honest. I got a good deal on the 3.0 class books, but outside those and some of the monster books, I have very few D&D books. I know, that puts me outside the norm, but I kind of like it here.

 

[Kaisoku]

As a side note, I do not find this build to be that particularly powerful, compared to other well thought out fighter builds. It is amazing against humanoids, but against monstrous foes it loses much of its umph.

This is why you pick up the Stand Still feat (in the SRD for 3.5, expanded psionic handbook). Forego damage on your AoO, and instead the target needs to roll Reflex save vs DC 10 + your damage roll or stop movement.

Useful for when fighting extremely large, four-legged, and strong creatures. That can be a massive Reflex save to beat and it stops them from closing as long as your reach beats theirs.

 

[moritheil]

This is why you pick up the Stand Still feat (in the SRD for 3.5, expanded psionic handbook). Forego damage on your AoO, and instead the target needs to roll Reflex save vs DC 10 + your damage roll or stop movement.

Useful for when fighting extremely large, four-legged, and strong creatures. That can be a massive Reflex save to beat and it stops them from closing as long as your reach beats theirs.

The classic combo is Hold the Line + Stand Still + reach weapon + Combat Reflexes.

 

[VanRichten]

I will come up with something. If you like I will use the 3.0 but I think the 3.5 Core books would do better. I won't hit on anything outside that.

 

[Deset Gled]

As a side note, I do not find this build to be that particularly powerful, compared to other well thought out fighter builds. It is amazing against humanoids, but against monstrous foes it loses much of its umph.

My opinion exactly. Any spiked chain build is ridiculously heavy on feats, turning the fighter into a one trick pony that just ain't that great against mosters.

Also, almost every "broken" build is based on the assumption that you will have Enlarge Person on continuously. IME, keeping a 1 min/level buff from the party wizard on 24/7 just isn't feasible. Also, people sometimes forget that EP has a -2 Dex penalty, which limits the use of Combat Reflexes.

On the subject of ability scores, you also need godly stats to pull the build off. High stength (since spiked chain damage sucks, and for tripping), high dex (for Combat Reflexes, remembering the EP penalty), high int (for Improved Trip/Disarm), and high con (which every fighter needs). Having these stats basically means you're playing in a high powered game anyway, where the spiked chain wielder is no more powerful that your twinked archer or two-handed power attacker.

 

[Rugult]

One of my players is currently going with this build and has a belt that permanently casts Enlarge Person. (Yes, he is a Apache Chief).

I didn't think this was too overpowered until I saw the stand still feat. Now I am really having problems seeing how to get past this without spell casters getting involved.

 

[sjmiller]

I will come up with something. If you like I will use the 3.0 but I think the 3.5 Core books would do better. I won't hit on anything outside that.

Well, considering the fact that we are playing a 3.0 game (we never felt the need to change to 3.5), I think using the 3.0 core books would be best. It is most kind of you to do this, and I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Set]

It's an interesting take on building a Fighter character. I might build a couple to use in an encounter with my overly cocky (and overly large) gaming group. Perhaps with someone to deflect missile weapons or lightning bolts & fireballs.

At least one of the Spiked Chain builds linked to above involves a couple levels of Monk, which would give the character Evasion and possibly missile deflection.

There are various ways to get Large size or Reach 10 ft. without Expansion or Enlarge Person, such as designing the NPCs as a Large race. An Ogre Magi Sorcerer who has trained his Ogre minions to use this style (to keep people away from him, while he uses his spell-likes and spells) could be one variation.

 

[sjmiller]

Any spiked chain build is ridiculously heavy on feats, turning the fighter into a one trick pony that just ain't that great against mosters.

The funny thing is, I am planning on using this as a monster! It's mostly to show the players that wicked creatures do exist and can counter a lot of their "one trick pony" characters.