ToB is an awesome book, but many DMs ban it for no real reason. So, I've decided to make a good melee character without ToB. Now, this sort of thing has been done before, but I feel most of them, like the
Horizon tripper, while having power similar to ToB, lack the options and feel of ToB. So, here's my attempt to create a Martial Adept-ish character, without ToB:
THE BUILD(Since people were unable to locate it without bold caps)
Books used: Core, Complete Warrior, Complete Champion, Unearthed Arcana, Player's Handbook II, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Races of the Wild
Isaac(What? When I hear Adept, this is the first thing I think of)
Human
1:Barbarian([
Lion Spirit Wolf Totem Crafty Hunter) 1)Dodge H)Mobility F)Power Attack F)Improved bull Rush
2:Barbarian B)Improved Trip B)Rapidshot
3:Fighter 3)Roofwalker B)Improved Sunder
4:Fighter B)Combat Expertise
5:Fighter
6:Fighter B)Shock Trooper 6)Roof Jumper
7:Psychic Warrior B)Combat Brute
8:Psychic Warrior B)Karmic Strike
9:Feat Rogue B)EWP:Bastard Sword 9)Einhander
10:Feat Rogue B)Combat Reflexes
11)Feat Rogue
12)Feat Rogue B)Combat Cloak Expert 12)Karmic Strike
13)Feat Rogue
14)Feat Rogue B)Elusive Target
15)Feat Rogue 15)Robilar’s Gambit
16)Feat Rogue B)Giantbane
17)Feat Rogue
18)Feat Rogue B)Point Blank Shot 18)Practiced Manifester
19)Feat Rogue
20)Feat Rogue B)Woodland Archer
ADAPTION:The easiest thing to do is cur PBS and Woodland Archer. They were put in there because I was running out of ideas. You could replace two fighter levels, or the barbarian levels, with Ranger Levels. TWF could be useful, and the skills are nice.Crafty Hunter was added because I felt to ability to pick up a bow would be useful, but it is totally unnecessary. Giantbane was added because I felt things like Dragons are threatening at high levels, and it seemed a useful way to handle them. The AC feats are also easy to cut, but I quite like them, mostly for the aesthetics, and bastard sword was chosen because of its synergy with the charging feats, but they can be changed. Plus, of course, any ToB additions are helpful, but kinda defeat the purpose of the build. The Mageslayer line would be useful, as long as transparency is not in place. Basically, everything after level 8 is flexible, though Karmic Strike and Robilar's Gambit are highly recommended.
If flaws aren't okay, I recommend simply pushing everything back and cutting the archery feats, which were mostly filler.
Now, this build isn't as directly powerful as a lot of melee builds, but it's quite flexible. It can charge very well, though not as well as a dedicated charger. It can trip reasonably well, with Expansion, Robilar's Gambit, and Karmic Strike, though not as well as a Jack build, and it ain't a terrible archer. It can get quite decent AC, too. Overall, it'd be quite rare for situations to occur that it wouldn't be relatively useful in, and it has enough options that it captures the ToB feel relatively well. This build's real weakness, beyond saves, is a real lack of hard power. To remedy this, I recommend using rogue levels to max UMD, grab a bunch of wands, and use a haversack and utility belt. WBL-Mancy is your friend.
So thoughts? Improvements? This is still quite rough, so any input will be greatly appreciated.
