Best Level 8 Warrior

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OK, I want to know what the best level 8 melee warrior character would be. I've chosen level 8 because that seems to be the general level I seem to spend most of my time in (maybe 5-9) and because I don't want to know about builds that are only good once you reach level 30 and have access to all sorts of great buffs and dragon strength etc. I want the character that is good DURING the game, not at the end when the game is over.

I'd prefer a character who doesn't use any spell buffs but if you can build a good level 8 warrior who can also self buff then go for it.

I'm after a melee fighter because, quite frankly, 95% of this game is melee and I'm sick of having characters that can't handle being in the thick of the fighting (my druid always dies and my ranger/rogue/shadowdancer has to keeping hiding)

 

Fighter/Champion of Torm/Weapon Master. The level 40 build is here, and he's perfectly simple to play at any level, as he's essentially a combination of the 3 most straightforward melee classes. I've tested him through most of SoU (my game keeps crashing in the Asabi camp ) and with Dorna as sidekick, he's really very effective, even before the epic feats kick in. He doesn't need buffs, really, but Dorna can help with that (useful for tougher stuff when you know it's coming), and he only has a couple of weak areas. One of which is the low base damage of kukris, which gives him issues with undead and other crit. immune types, the other is an absence of variety for dealing with spelly-types. Hence, I mostly levelled Dorna as a cleric, to have a bit more punch versus undead. You probably know about the amount of them you have to trawl through in the Interlude. Also, I changed the order in which I assigned some feats, giving him Two-Weapon Fighting and Ambidexterity early in exchange for delaying Power Attack and Cleave.

Still, I don't see how you couldn't take Deekin or Xanos, either, but I just find Dorna to be the most useful of the three henchmen. Even if Dwarven women are very oddly proportioned in this game...

At level 8, you'll basically be a fighter with 1 sole CoT level, but that's not too bad. Other low or no micromanagement builds would be Fighter/Barbarian or just plain Fighter. Paladin/Fighter/Blackguard is also good; just massacre the people in the inn in Hilltop to shift your alignment to CE from LG (or thieve from every grave in Ascalhorn, if you're feeling soft! ).

Basically, any build that's mostly Fighter is going to be quite easy to play as at early levels. I think this is doubly true in SoU, because they don't give you any proper tank henchmen, like Daelan or Grimgnaw.

I assume SoU is where you'll be taking him; I've been reading your thread about the adventures of your druid. And once is definitely enough for the OC, eh?

 

Once is probably enough for the OC because once I have done SoU and HotU, I might try some of those modules that Spellbound has been reviewing.

Also, my hypothetical level 8 warrior needs to not rely on sneak attacks or criticals for damage because the toughest opponents always seem to be immune to them anyway.

 

Well, I do not have hands-on experience, but I think any fighter -type would be satisfactory for you purposes (and quite straightforward to play). If you are feeling more adventurous, I would recomend a cleric, With the Expertise feat and good armor, it can tank pretty well; add the damage potential of spells, and the buffing posibilities, and you could get a pretty powerful character.

Note that you sacrifice some hit points, and attack bonuses - because you can't really maximize strength or CON - I'd really keep 14+ Dex, and you need 13+ INT for expertise - versus a fighter build. But then clerics have some nifty spells for increasing their attack power (you can also enchant weapons; darkfire is pretty good, adds quite substantial fire damage to any weapon). And I like using the 2nd level buff spells (bull's strength) with the extend spell feat; they can last easily for the full day. Picking certain domains for your cleric can also give you more options regarding combat. I like taking Trickery, for the Improved invisibility, and there is another domain which gives you stoneskin.

All in all, I had quite a lot of fun playing my cleric. But I am partial to spellcasting classes

 

I'd be opting for a pure Fighter class, with a view to making them a Weapon Master. The prerequisite feats mean that you'll be a Fighter until at least level 6, and if you wanted any real flexibility with choices, you'll need to be human. I'd recommend a tanking fighter with the WM feats, specialising in Long Sword as your WM weapon of choice and getting a shield bonus.

Those feats will also save you if you need to run from a fight, since you won't incur attacks of opportunity (and even when you do for using a potion or similar action, you'll get a Mobility bonus against it). At later levels, you can always get Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting to boost your melee capabilities, or stick with the tanking option.

 

Can you remind me why this character would not occur attacks of opportunity?

Also, what would this character do if he had been level-drained or similar, if he did not have a healer with him? Does he have to limp back to a temple?

Also, I'm a bit over longswords. I'd rather pick a different sort of weapon for once. Any advice there for something more interesting than a longsword?

 

Weapon Masters require the Spring Attack feat. The prerequisites for Spring Attack include the Mobility feat.

Spring Attack means that the character does not incur attacks of opportunity for moving around in combat. Mobility gives you a +4 bonus against attacks of opportunity, which you only incur if you use a potion (or the Stone of Recall) or perform a similar non-combat action. If you're really in that dire a situation where such action is necessary, those feats can be the difference between life and death, especially if you can put enough distance between your PC and the attackers to use a restorative/escape item without being attacked.

As for stuff that's more interesting than a longsword... well, just about anything, really. War hammers don't get much credit (well, except with my HHH-themed characters), nor do battle axes - do either of them suit your needs, HB?

 

I was pondering something radical like a scythe.

 

Well, scythes work; it's just that they're two-handed weapons, and don't do massive damage unless you land a critical hit. With an axe or war hammer, you can generally do comparable damage while not sacrificing a shield bonus.

If only there was a voice set for Death from Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life, you'd be set, HB.

 

Good point. I don't want to have to rely on critical hits because all the tough boys are immune to that.

 

Cleric 8. With a Full Plate, Longsword and a Tower Shield.

Or Cleric7/Monk1, wearing some robes and a kama.

 

I have to agree with Taza.

Clerics all the way, their AC is at least comparable to a fighter's, but in fact better cause of all the buffs. Pretty much the only drawback compared to fighters are:
1: Fewer feats
2: Lower BAB - only affects attacks/round and prerequisites for feats, since buffs take care of AB

That's pretty much it. There's wisdom, that a warrior does not need that much, but in return you get high WILL saving throws and the buffs take care of the lower physical stats. You can easily take those high enough to meet the prerequisites for any feats (power attack, dodge,...) you might want to have.


Besides, i'd get bored of just swinging a weapon around... with this you can also have some fun with spells

 

How much better is a Cleric than a Druid then? My Druid is such hard work.

 

You could try multiclassing with fighter and Champion of Torm, as well, if you want more melee power. Clerics are very buff dependent (generally, dispel = death), but will get a bonus to XPs at low level.

Clerics are generally easier to melee than druids due to the lower AC from being able to wear heavy armour, and a very nice selection of buffs, especially from domains (try Strength and Healing for melee characters). I'd still say you're looking more for a fighter-based character; have you considered a Paladin? If bosses are a problem, Smite Evil will probably be right up your street. As most of the big bad guys are evil, you can drop them very quickly with Smite attacks. Wielding either two-handed swords or longswords is probably best, depending on whether you think AC or damage will be most important. And you can Persuade effectively, too.

 

OK, I'm trying an unconventional Barbarian 1 / Cleric 1. So far at level 2, she's pretty cool. With Strength domain, War domain, and Rage, she can carve through hordes of kobolds and has plenty of hit points. But I had to sacrifice Charisma so she's pretty useless in quest related conversations. Oh well, you can't have everything.

 

It will always depend on the campaign setting. For example, having opponents with damage reduction (e.g. NWN OC) will hamper Finessed builds. Having opponents with high AC will probably benefit those rapier-wielding Finesse stingers who also have a high AC of their own. A high magic world will favour fighters, while a radical low-magic setting will make paladins extremely significant.

Myself, I'd go with paladin for the skills I like to have -- Persuade and Lore, some others. There's some chance of having 18 CHA (+4) at this point, which doesn't hurt added to saves or damage (Divine Might) or AC (Divine Shield). The ability to turn undead might be useful in some settings, while the Divine Shield/Might feats will make sure the slots aren't wasted.

The other strong candidate is a cleric. At level 8, you will be 2 BAB behind a fighter and won't have Weapon Specialisation. However, you will have many spells to make up for this, including level 4 spells, which are quite powerful. Especially against a level 8 fighter with a crappy will save.

If you aren't much into micromanagement, perhaps a fighter(4)/barbarian(4) could do the job for you. At level 8, you can also have one level of CoT with any warrior pool character.

Another important factor is that if you keep receiving fighter BAB (i.e. you don't take levels as cleric, wizard, rogue etc), you can have Improved Criticals at level 8, if you're getting a feat. As a fighter(6)/barbarian(2) or fighter (8), you can have Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialisation and Improved Criticals for greatswords, along with Cleave. Alternatively, instead of Improved Criticals, you can take Great Cleave.

 

You can't make much of a character with 8 levels but...

I'd go with fighter8 (feats, feats, feats) or a cleric6/monk2 (kama galore!).

The first mentioned has better BAB, better hp, more feats.

While...

The latter has better damage, more attacks, better AC, better AB, but(!) requires buffing.

 

I guess a monk/fighter/champion of torm (CoT)character would be good. Start as monk, choose next 6 levels as fighter, then again 1 level of monk, followed by CoT levels. Choose more monk levels at level 12 & 17.
At level 8, your character would be Monk(2), Fighter(6) with 3 attacks of kama (A regular fighter will have of 2) as well as weapon specialization in kama.
CoT will improve your saving throws significantly. At level 20, your character would be Monk(4), Fighter (6), CoT(10), with BAB 19, having 7 attacks with main hand, 2 with off hand, +4 AC becasue of 20 points in tumble.
After level 20, continue taking monk levels to get nice immunities, take a few more fighter levels to get improved weapon specialization.
This character is strong throughout the game as well as end of the game.

 

Interesting stuff. My experimental tank is currently Barbarian 1 / Cleric 2 and doing nicely with no henchmen or other allies. With 14 Con she has loads of hit points which helps and I like the 10% extra movement speed because that helps with all the backtracking you need to do in the game. Having 8 CHA is funny because we seem to be getting different dialog options and less people like her. Finally, Cleave is a great feat. It makes those long boring melee battles (e.g. vs a crowd of kobolds) so much faster.

 

OK - I gave up on that character and started a new one which is currently Bard 2 / Fighter 2. Inspired by characters in the Liveship Traders books, this one will focus on becoming a Red Dragon Disciple.

This one won't be a pure powergaming melee fighter because, in a nod to the character's inspiration, points have been put into Charisma, Appraise, and Silvery Palm to represent Bingtown Trader origins.