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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nittanytbone" data-source="post: 3434039" data-attributes="member: 35709">A very high individual AC means that (A) you get nuked with Will save spells or (B) you get ignored and just happen to be the last one to fall.  You want to be a battlefield controller to really help out your team on defense.Spiked Chain fighters make ideal battlefield controllers. You need several things to make such a spiked chain fighter effective.- AoO.  Lots of them!  Combat Reflexes and 14+ DEX.- Making your AoO count to stop foes in their tracks. Combat Expertise --> Improved Trip. Plus you need decent STR (I'd say 14+) so that your trip checks don't suck.- Area Control. This is best done by being Large size, extending your reach and your trip check. Enlarge Person.- Damage Output. You need to do enough damage that your foes can't ignore you to go after the squishier targets. Power Attack and 14+ STR works. Alternatively, you can use TWF combined with armor spikes and some precision damage (rogue SA works nicely).  Power attack is especially nice as you can easily scale it up or down (for example, cranking it up vs. a prone for)- Will saves. Fighters always struggle with poor Will Saves. Plan for Iron Will.Putting all that together, you need:STR: 14+ (For damage output and trip checks)DEX: 14+ (For AoO with Combat Reflexes)CON: 14 (You're a primary melee warrior, you need the HP)INT: 13+ (To qualify for improved trip)Lots of feats -- at least 4 (EWP, Comb Exp-->Imp Trip, Comb Reflexes), plus either Power Attack or TWF, plus Iron Will.As you can see, you'll have some MAD here. You'll be dumping either WIS or CHA.Interestingly, BAB is not as important as you might think -- you just need to make touch attacks to trip folks, which are pretty easy to hit on.This is what I get when I put all that info together.RACE - Human. You need lots of feats and have tough ability score requirements. Half-Orc is tempting for the STR boost, but the cost to INT hurts too much in this build. Elf is tempting for the DEX boost but probably isn't worth the CON hit. Dwarf is tempting for the stability, con boost, etc, but feats are awfully tight to make this work, especially at lower levels. Also, the movement rate penalty hurts your ability to stay mobile on the battlefield. Half-elf: Meh, don't bother. Don't even think about the small races.CLASS - Fighter. Obviously you'll need a 2 or 4 level fighter dip to pick up feats in a hurry. However, fighter is kind of sucky -- you want to avoid more than a 4 level dip if you can avoid it. Also, you want to avoid front-loading the class because your skill points will be so poor.OTHER CLASSES - There are some options here. Multiclassing should help you quite a bit.Rogue: A 1, 2, or 4 level rogue multiclass can work nicely. There is good synergy with your intelligence and skills, letting you be the skill monkey. The BAB hit doesn't hurt so bad with touch attacks. Evasion and Uncanny Dodge are nice benefits. Sneak Attack works with TWF and armor spikes to improve damage output.Ranger: A 2 level ranger dip gets you decent skills and TWF for free, as well as a favored enemy. Best if combined with rogue levels. Light armor has synergy with high dexterity.Wizard: INT synergy makes this a viable gish build. It also gives you easy access to Enlarge Person. HP will be weak but False Life or the Toad Familiar can compensate. Truestrike can help to offset poor BAB in critical situations. The hidden benefit of wizard levels is that your Will save gets fixed, saving you a feat (or allowing you to take Improved Toughness instead of Iron Will).  Sorcerer is less appealing because CHA is one of your few dump stats.  The HP situation isn't THAT bad:  If you do a 4 level wizard dip (to max out your BAB and Save advantages) with a toad familiar and Improved Toughness, you are effectively getting D8 HD.  Throw in false life and you actually have MORE HP than you would have as a straight fighter with D10s.Cleric: If you can afford 12 or 14 WIS, I'd strongly suggest a 4 level cleric dip. It'll help your will save tremendously, give you a good smattering of spells, and if you get the strength domain you can cast your own enlarge person. MAD makes this a problem, though -- you might not be able to afford a high WIS score.Monk: Good saves, fair skills, and pick up Improved Trip for free (at level 6) and Combat Reflexes for free.  Same MAD issues, however.</blockquote>

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