[3.5] Commanding the Party

[Stratovarius]

So, I'm joining a new/old PbP as a 2nd level Commander. It's a homebrew class of my own that's basically a combination of a Marshal and a Chameleon, and what I'm most interested in is focusing on his ability to boost his allies and cohorts, while his personal fighting abilities are mostly backup.

Houserules for the campaign are here. Because homebrew is allowed/encouraged, there's a lot more material to work with. However, none of my own feats actually qualify, given the low level.

Weapon plan is a reach polearm, using it to stay at a distance. Debating going down the tripper line, but would prefer to focus on boosting allies first. There's 4 feats to work with (1st, Human, Flaw, Flaw). Skills will be focused on Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate (that's all there's room for).

Mostly looking for advice on feats and gear - the rest is pretty much sorted. Do need to equip both my PC and my cohort partner, which might spread the money a little thin. Assume the commoner will be a melee combatant. Gear is picked out, but I'm open to better suggestions.

Current plan is as follows:

(click to show/hide)

Tr'Bon Karlat, 2nd level Commander

Human
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex, +4 Armour)
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: +2 Masterwork Guisarme (2d4) or +3 Light Crossbow (1d8)
Full Attack: +2 Masterwork Guisarme (2d4) or +3 Light Crossbow (1d8)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./10 ft. (Guisarme)
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Commander Aura, Warden, Aid Them All
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +3
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff 9 (+4 Cha, +5 Skills), Diplomacy 11 (+2 Mwk, +4 Cha, +5 Skills), Intimidate 11 (+2 Mwk, +4 Cha, +5 Skills)
Feats: TBD
Flaws: Inattentive, Murky-Eyed
Traits: Polite
Environment: Campaign
Organization: The Party
Treasure: WBL 900gp.
Armor (200gp): 2 chain shirts (200gp).
Clothing (36gp): 2 explorer’s outfits (20gp), 2 cold weather outfits (16gp).
Weapons (448gp): mwk guisarme (309gp), guisarme (9gp), 2 light crossbows (70gp), bolts x60 (60gp)
Other (100gp): mwk tool of diplomacy (50gp), mwk tool of intimidate (50gp).
Misc (70gp): Assorted basics (food, sleeping supplies, etc.)
Coin (46gp): 46gp in loose coinage
Alignment: LN
Advancement: Commander

(click to show/hide)

Bob, 1st level Commoner

Human
Hit Dice: 1d4+2 (4 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex, +4 Armour)
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/+1
Attack: +1 Guisarme (2d4) or +2 Light Crossbow (1d8)
Full Attack: +1 Guisarme (2d4) or +2 Light Crossbow (1d8)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./10 ft. (Guisarme)
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: -
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +1
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +3, Spot +3
Feats: TBD
Environment: Campaign
Organization: The Party
Treasure: From Commander
Alignment: LN
Advancement: Commoner

[Dr_emperor]

You are missing the synergy bonus for having 5 ranks in bluff to intimidate.  And thus you have a better intimidate score than I do .  I got sense motive covered for you though.  Why is the commoner using a Guisarme doesn't Commander give him exotic weapons?

What do you want to do with your feats?  The binding feat chain could be grabbed to give diversification of abilities.  You could focus on ranged fighting you have a decent dexterity.