[3.5] +3 lvl adjastment crusader ?

[NekoSan]

Hello everyone.
I am new here and English not my native, please dont punch me too hard.

Trying to create pretty Strong character with next rules:
max +3 lvl adjastment ( race+template)
All boocks
not good

whant to make ultimate tank, but damage & battlefield control will be good too.
buy 32
Thincking about make Crucian with Mineral warrior template
My thoughts about build:
1 Crusader
2 Despot(paladin variant)
3 Despot( all this for Devine Grace )
4 Cleric
5 Crusader
6 Ruby Knight Vendicator
...
15 Ruby Knight Vendicator
16 Crusader
...
20 Crusader

Not shure about Divine Grace,weapon ( Spiked chain? ) and ... actually not shure about everything so will be greatfull for any advice ( race,class template etc ).
PS: Usually our battles really tough, so min/max it but without breaking the game please.
Regards Neko.

[Rebel7284]

I assume by Despot you mean Paladin of Tyranny?  Or is this a different class I do not know about?

Ruby Knight Vindicators indeed make some of the best tanks in the game.  However, cleric spells really help maximize that, so I am not sure if taking more levels of crusader or the paladin of tyranny dip is worth it.

Also, are the three LA you are getting free or at least can be removed with buyoff?  Typically LA is not worth it.

Crucian start with 3 humanoid HD in addition to the LA, further slowing your progression.

Here is a pretty stand RKV tank:
Cleric 4/Crusader 1/RKV 7/Anything, but divine casting is best.
For feats:
Planning Domain to give you Extend Spell
Persistent Spell
Divine Metamagic: Persistent Spell
Combat Reflexes
Standstill

With the ability to have your buffs last all day, and with Crusader's ability to deal nice damage and heal a little all day, you are a wonderful tank.  Using Combat Reflexes, Standstill, and Thicket of Blades stance you can stop opponents from just moving around you to hit your squishier party members.

Mineral Warrior is indeed a very nice template for a tank.  Good damage reduction that will matter for many levels.  However, it gives a penalty to charisma which you need for more turning attempts.

Half Minotaur from Dragon Magazine is also LA+1 and makes you bigger by one category (up to large) this is useful for extra reach so you can stop your opponents from further away.  I suggest ignoring the text about getting MORE attribute scores due to getting bigger because that part makes the template overpowered.

Draconic Template is unexceptional, but it gives bonuses to Str, Con, and Cha which are all stats you need.  Also +1 LA.

Human is probably the best base to put these templates on.  Extra feat is very useful.

Also note that because your non-initiator classes count as half initiator level, taking levels of crusader level may allow you to start with higher level maneuvers.  In the cleric 4/Crusader 1 entry I mentioned before, your crusader starts with ability to pick second level maneuvers.

[Jackinthegreen]

Nope, the Despot is in Dragon 312.  They have some different abilities.  For example, Despot gets Slippery Mind at 2nd level instead of the Deadly Touch a paladin of tyranny gets.  Despots also get Smite Chaos instead of Smite Good.

But it's probably better to go cleric and then get into Prestige Paladin or something, perhaps with some slightly changed prereqs because Mounted Combat is annoying and not fitting for all paladins after all.

[NekoSan]

Our DM ban possobility make large creature -(
yeah human + mineral warrior draconic and something else, was second choice.
extra turning's i will get via elemental domains.
dip inti crusader for lvl 8 stone dragon ( +6d8 + 2d8 for each sacraficed CON ) and lvl 9 devoted spirit (attack + heal) maneuver .
Becouse using unlimitted heal ( 150 HP ) while attacking pretty nice I thinck .
And getting paladin like prestige class sounds good, but I am still not shure am I need high save roll's ? Never play character better than 8 lvl ( never survive ) but this time DM promise that we have good chances become epic  .

[Jackinthegreen]

If you can't get a large creature it might be possible to get something with Powerful Build.  The three options there are half-giant in Expanded Psionics Handbook, goliath in Races of Stone, and eneko in Secrets of Sarlona.  Half-giant and goliath are likely the best here since they don't have a cha penalty like eneko has.  Half-giant also gains access to the LA +0 Primordial Giant template in Secrets of Xen'drik which boosts int and cha by 4, but it also lowers str by 4 and con by 2.

Alternately, clerics can get access to a couple spells that can boost someone to large.  If you have the strength domain then Enlarge Person is a 1st level spell.  Righteous Might is a 5th level spell on the cleric and strength domain lists that also increases your size.

Crucian are probably a bad choice because the racial HD will hold you back in spellcasting and a bit in maneuvers.  The LA will also hurt you a lot since you won't get class features or save bonuses.  It also has a cha penalty which means stuff depending on that won't be so good.

Armor class is rarely something to really strive for in later levels because it costs a lot of effort to improve it enough to matter.  Basically you would need to look at the attack bonus the enemies have and then you'd need 10 more AC than that for it to be noticeable over other methods of avoiding hits.  The crucian's +8 natural armor -might- help on that front, but you'll be hurting in other ways.

There is a paladin feat called Serenity that makes all the paladin's charisma-related class features key off wisdom instead.  There are some easier ways to boost wisdom than charisma when it comes to base races.

http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1281.0 and http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=342.0 might help you with some race choice.

Something to note is "tanking" in D&D is different than other games.  In other games you're basically guaranteed to keep threat against something, but in D&D you aren't because there are so incredibly few worthwhile taunt mechanics.  What you end up having to do is either do the most damage to be the biggest threat and then have defenses to withstand the hits, or you do battlefield control and essentially force the opponents to kill or disable you if they want to get at your team mates.  Lockdown builds are typically the way that's done for melee.

http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=13426.0 has some information on playing lockdown.