Warblade Help.

[RUMBLETiGER]

Tell us Character level please.

 

[xigbar]

1-20. Starting at 1st. No LA+X, please. And, sorry, should always post more details.

 

[Wyvernhand]

Human

1st Mage Slayer
Human Exotic Weapon: Spiked Chain
3rd Standstill
5th Blind Fighting
6th Pierce Magical Concealment
8th Combat Reflexes
9th Martial Study: Crusader Strike (or similar)
12th Martial Stance: Thicket of Blades
15th Robilar's Gambit
18th Defensive Sweep

I left out a couple of Warblade bonus feats in there, but most of the options left are kinda crappy. Grab Imp Intiative with one of them and you should be fine.

At low levels, you have great AoO capabilities with your 10' reach. Mage Slayer keeps foes from casting defensively while they are near you without getting smacked, and Standstill keeps them from walking away. By the level where Mirror Image starts becoming a PitA, you have Pierce Magical Concealment, which foils that, Blinking, Displacement, etc. If the mage was smart and picked up ranks in Tumble, you'll have Thicket of Blades by the time he can reliably make the DC15 check crossclass.

Manuevers, don't really matter THAT much, but I'd keep Moment of Perfect Mind and Wall of Blades prepped at all times. That shores up your weak will save and defends your Touch AC against incoming orbs and rays. Recover maneuvers as soon as possible after using either.

Its not perfect, but it gets the job done. If you want, a dip in Crusader would help you at mid levels to get Thicket, but causes you to miss out on your capstone at 20. While strong, it also has no way to personally deal with things like Fly or Contingency without investing in magical gear. Regardless of build, you still don't have a way of dealing with Astral Projection, but thats something you'll just have to live with given that you AREN'T a caster and HE is.

 

[xigbar]

Human

1st Mage Slayer
Human Exotic Weapon: Spiked Chain
3rd Standstill
5th Blind Fighting
6th Pierce Magical Concealment
8th Combat Reflexes
9th Martial Study: Crusader Strike (or similar)
12th Martial Stance: Thicket of Blades
15th Robilar's Gambit
18th Defensive Sweep

I left out a couple of Warblade bonus feats in there, but most of the options left are kinda crappy. Grab Imp Intiative with one of them and you should be fine.

At low levels, you have great AoO capabilities with your 10' reach. Mage Slayer keeps foes from casting defensively while they are near you without getting smacked, and Standstill keeps them from walking away. By the level where Mirror Image starts becoming a PitA, you have Pierce Magical Concealment, which foils that, Blinking, Displacement, etc. If the mage was smart and picked up ranks in Tumble, you'll have Thicket of Blades by the time he can reliably make the DC15 check crossclass.

Manuevers, don't really matter THAT much, but I'd keep Moment of Perfect Mind and Wall of Blades prepped at all times. That shores up your weak will save and defends your Touch AC against incoming orbs and rays. Recover maneuvers as soon as possible after using either.

Its not perfect, but it gets the job done. If you want, a dip in Crusader would help you at mid levels to get Thicket, but causes you to miss out on your capstone at 20. While strong, it also has no way to personally deal with things like Fly or Contingency without investing in magical gear. Regardless of build, you still don't have a way of dealing with Astral Projection, but thats something you'll just have to live with given that you AREN'T a caster and HE is.

Hey, that's a lot of help! Is there any PrC that could help imrpove the build? Mage Slayer will have to wait, I don't meet Prerequisites at first.

 

[emoplato]

Hey, that's a lot of help! Is there any PrC that could help imrpove the build? Mage Slayer will have to wait, I don't meet Prerequisites at first.

Well you could take a level one swordsage dip declare shadowhand as chosen discipline netting you the requirements for Exotic weapon master. There you could take two levels and still get the final bonus feat for Warblade. I would take uncanny blow and Exotic reach to enhance your stand still capability. Uncanny Blow, I think as you know bumps up your str. damage to double your mod., however exotic reach allows you to make attacks of opportunity even past cover. You will lose the ability to do dual stance, but that is a level 20 ability.

 

[Wyvernhand]

You aren't an elf, so that rules out Eternal Blade. Honestly, I wouldn't. MCing eats into your maneuver progression. Higher level manevuers are better than lower level ones. Sure, you only lose 1 IL per 2 non-IL levels you take, but even that eats into your Maneuvers readed and Known a bit harder than I'm comfortable with. Everyone's experience varys, but I'm of the opinion that Warblade20 is a perfectly fine and viable build. You get 4 9th level maneuvers that way (Time Stands Still, Mountain TOMBSTONE Strike, and Warmastah's Charge at the minimum...Strike of Perfect Clarity is kinda meh but not bad with a high crit rate weapon).

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Warblade15 + 5 levels of Swordsage and Crusader combos still gets you level 9 Warblade maneuvers. This is because all non-class levels count as half a level. As long as Warblade is your level 20, you count as Warblade level 17 as maneuvers go.

Taking a single level of Swordsage at level 17, for example, gets you level 5 maneuvers from the Swordsage class. This is because, with a single level dip at 17, it's as if you're a level 9 Swordsage.

Be creative.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Wouldn't it be better to do 14/6 than 15/5?

 

[xigbar]

What about a few levels of Swordsage, and slipping in to Master of Nine, to still sort of pick up the dual stance ability?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Master of Nine isn't worth the massive list of (often bad) feats required to enter. The deigners themselves thought so, as if you look at the sample Mo9, he doesn't actually have all of the pre-req feats himself!