# Help me make a spear fighter



## Klaus (Jul 28, 2009)

I was just watching Curse of the Ring, where Kristanna Loken plays a spear-wielding Brunnhild, and I got the idea of statting up a spear-wielding Fighter. Is Eladrin Soldier enough reason to make her eladrin? It does offer proficiency with the Greatspear (+3/1d10/reach). Help me stat this character up to 11th level (inculding choosing a PP)!


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Jul 28, 2009)

Hmm... Or mmmmh... Kristina Lokken. That was not what gave me an inspiration for a Spearfighter in 3.x. That was 300. But now, if we can combine these two... 

I will have to think about it. I wanted to do something like that, but I never did!


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Jul 28, 2009)

*Double Tap*


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## Klaus (Jul 28, 2009)

References:

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I'm looking at Eladrin + Greatspear + Polearm Master, with maybe a multiclassing into Warlord somewhere.


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## Klaus (Jul 28, 2009)

double


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## Mort_Q (Jul 28, 2009)

Only go Eladrin if you _want_ all of it.  

As an Eladrin, you'll be behind the curve for STR, so basically, you'll be breaking even with the Greatspear.


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## kerbarian (Jul 28, 2009)

An eladrin spear fighter actually works quite well.  If you're starting at 11, I'd go with:

Str 18, Con 10, Dex 15, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 10, so at 11:
Str 21, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10

Paragon Path:  Kensei (greatspear)

Feats:
Eladrin Soldier
Weapon Expertise (spears)
Polearm Momentum
Toughness
Power Attack
Polearm Gamble
Uncanny Dodge (retrained at 11)

At-wills:
Footwork Lure (can slide 2 and knock prone w/polearm momentum)
Brash Strike (no downside, since uncanny dodge protects against the CA)

For the rest of the powers, there's some flexibility.  Rain of Blows used to be amazing, but now it's just pretty good.  Perhaps something like:

1 Passing Attack
1 Tempest Dance
2 Shrewd Repositioning
3 Rain of Blows
5 Rain of Steel
6 Defensive Training
7 Come and Get It
9 Stop Thrust
10 Defensive Resurgence
11 Masterstroke

For gear -- aside from your favorite weapon, armor, and neck, some nice items are:
Iron Armbands of Power (+2 damage on all melee attacks)
Boots of the Fencing Master (shift 2 as a minor 1/enc, +1 AC/ref whenever you shift)
Strikebacks (+1 to OAs, free melee basic 1/enc when hit)

A few things for upcoming levels:
For feats, Reserve Maneuver (to swap out Masterstroke for a fighter power) and Armor Specialization (Scale) are both great.
At 13, Silverstep is pretty good, and at 15, Quicksilver Stance is amazing.


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## Erywin (Jul 28, 2009)

I was building up something similar to this and loved the look of Polearm Momentum and Footwork lure but, I don't believe they work together.  Polearm Momentum specifically states pushes, not slides or pulls and Footwork Lure is specifically a slide.  That was about the only flaw in the build I could see, otherwise you are very much a controller who gets to push people around knock'em prone all the time, could be fun.

Cheers,
E


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## Obryn (Jul 28, 2009)

That is correct.  If, however, you pick up Dragging Flail and use a Spiked Chain, Footwork Lure turns you into a trip-monkey.

I also just philosophically don't like throwing enough points into a score to make it an 18, but YMMV and probably will. 

-O


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## kerbarian (Jul 29, 2009)

Erywin said:


> I was building up something similar to this and loved the look of Polearm Momentum and Footwork lure but, I don't believe they work together.  Polearm Momentum specifically states pushes, not slides or pulls and Footwork Lure is specifically a slide.



Polearm Momentum says "Whenever you use a polearm or a spear attack to to push or slide a target 2 or more squares..."


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## Phaezen (Jul 29, 2009)

kerbarian said:


> Paragon Path:  Kensei (greatspear)



Draeven Marauder would also make a nice choice for PP


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## Klaus (Jul 29, 2009)

kerbarian said:


> Polearm Momentum says "Whenever you use a polearm or a spear attack to to push or slide a target 2 or more squares..."



... which a Fighter can't do until he goes Polearm Master (which adds 1 to every forced movement he makes with a polearm). So Polearm Momentum needs only be taken at 10th or retrained into at 11th.

Here's what I have so far:


Brunhild, level 11
Eladrin, Fighter, Polearm Master
Fighter Talents: Two-handed Weapon Talent
Background: Arcane Sentinel (Arcana class skill)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 11, Dex 17, Int 11, Wis 16, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 17, Con 10, Dex 13, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 10.


AC: 24 Fort: 22 Reflex: 18 Will: 19
HP: 86 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 21

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +13, Endurance +10, Arcana +12, Athletics +15

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +8, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Dungeoneering +8, History +7, Insight +8, Intimidate +6, Nature +8, Perception +8, Religion +5, Stealth +8, Streetwise +6, Thievery +8

FEATS
Level 1: Eladrin Soldier (+2 damage with spears, greatspear prof)
Level 2: Exotic Fighting Style (when using Sure Strike, add prof bonus to damage)
Level 4: Weapon Expertise (Spear) 
Level 6: Ritual Caster
Level 8: Moon Elf Resilience (if no allies within 5 square and fey step when bloodied, spend surge)
Level 10: Polearm Momentum
Level 11: Fey Charge (reliable fey step when charging)

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Reaping Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Sure Strike
Fighter encounter 1: Lunging Strike (+1 reach)
Fighter daily 1: Brute Strike
Fighter utility 2: Pass Forward (at will)
Fighter encounter 3: Armor-Piercing Thrust
Fighter daily 5: Nimble Bladestorm
Fighter utility 6: Defensive Training
Fighter encounter 7: Trip Up
Fighter daily 9: Shift the Battlefield
Fighter utility 10: Into the Fray

ITEMS
Eladrin Finemail +2 (+1 square to all teleports), Greatspear of Myrdroon's Shard +2 (make basic attack with +1 reach and lightning damage at will), Bracers of Escape (heroic tier) (teleport when grab/restrain/immob, stacks with Eladrin Finemail)


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## Obryn (Jul 29, 2009)

Oh good!  I love Exotic Fighting Style.  It turns Sure Strike from one of the lower-tier At-Wills to one of the top-tier ones, IMO - at least with a +3 Proficiency weapon.

He looks like a very workable character.  I also love how you threw Ritual Caster in there, and gave him Arcana.  That presents a lot of great characterization, IMO.

About the only change I would make is to Reaping Strike.  I'd take Footwork Lure instead.  

Footwork Lure allows you to slide a target two squares right away.  Just hit someone at reach with it, shift backwards, and they slide 2 into your space.  Also, you probably won't miss too often with Sure Strike as your other At-Will...  Both are essentially ways to make sure your damage is reliable, so they kind of overlap.  Also, it's good to have some variety, I think...  Footwork Lure gives you some battlefield control, whereas Reaping Strike just makes sure you do some small damage to your target.

Anyway, that's just IMO. 

-O


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## Estlor (Jul 29, 2009)

Let me suggest a different path - Tratnyr.

Polearms seem great on paper.  Reach, Polearm Momentum, opportunity attacks that can shut down movement.  It seems like it would make a fighter into a controlling machine.  But it's a trap.  By the time you've boosted your polearm control monsters will decide they can just walk around you.  You're a fighter, you want them _next_ to you, not 1 square away.

Enter tratnyr and shield fighting style.  Know it.  Love it.

Tratnyr is a heavy thrown weapon with a range of 10/20 that deals 1d8 points of damage on a hit.  That's like the illegitimate love child of a long sword and a javelin.  Fighters - especially polearm-wielding fighters - are crippled by monsters that stay just out of reach.  Not tratnyr fighter.  Once he gets a magic weapon, he can just haul off and hurl his weapon if needed.

But wait, it gets better.  Add Deft Hurler Style, Spear and Shield Style, Polearm Momentum, and a pair of Rushing Cleats.  Now you have a fighter with a good ranged weapon that can use Cleave to hit (and mark) an adjacent target with then throw his weapon at (and mark) another target within 10.  He's got reach when he uses Tide of Iron and, if he chooses, it knocks the target prone.  Good for peeling baddies off the strikers and controllers.  The rest of your powers focus on mobility and multi-marking.  Think a pretty-boy King Leonidis on steroids.

Assuming you stuck with Eladrin, here's what this fighter would look like:

level 11
Eladrin, Fighter, Kensei
Build: Guardian Fighter
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Kensei Focus: Kensei Focus Tratnyr
Background: Arcane Sentinel (Arcana class skill)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 19, Con 14, Dex 18, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 13, Dex 13, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 9.


AC: 27 Fort: 23 Reflex: 23 Will: 20
HP: 89 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 22

TRAINED SKILLS
Athletics +12, Arcana +14, Heal +12, Endurance +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +7, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +7, History +9, Insight +7, Intimidate +5, Nature +7, Perception +7, Religion +7, Stealth +7, Streetwise +5, Thievery +7

FEATS
Level 1: Eladrin Soldier
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Spear)
Level 4: Deft Hurler Style
Level 6: Spear and Shield Style
Level 8: Moon Elf Resilience
Level 10: Shield Push
Level 11: Polearm Momentum

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Cleave
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter encounter 1: Passing Attack
Fighter daily 1: Tempest Dance
Fighter utility 2: Pass Forward
Fighter encounter 3: Rain of Blows
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Agile Approach
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Thicket of Blades
Fighter utility 10: Defensive Resurgence

ITEMS
Determined Tratnyr +2 (add 4 squares to its range), Agile Drakescale Armor +2 (+1 to AC when not bloodied), Cloak of the Walking Wounded +2 (can spend 2 surges from second wind if bloodied), Rushing Cleats (heroic tier) (+1 square to pushes), Shield of Eyes Heavy Shield (heroic tier) (+2 to AC against opportunity attacks)


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## Eric Finley (Jul 29, 2009)

For reference, Polearm Momentum works fine with Footwork Lure plus a Staggering Spear if you take the feat Cat's Paw Style to modify Footwork Lure.  So you can still go trip-monkeyish that way.

Interestingly, I suppose that you could also use your inherent reach plus the Staggering property to sometimes do this without the feat.  Staggering turns the second half of Footwork Lure into "slide 2 into the space you just left."  Which will reasonably often be true.  [If the DM allows meandering paths for slide-to-square-X designations then it becomes always possible, but I don't, I allow only commonsense paths.]


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## Rechan (Jul 30, 2009)

Eladrin is fine and dandy, but I think Half Orc (With their +2 to Str AND Dex) make a fine spear fighter.


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## Estlor (Jul 30, 2009)

I agree about half-orcs; they certainly make it much easier to qualify for Polearm Momentum and Spear Mastery without as heavily an investment in Dex.  Plus you can get an 18 in Strength at 1st level, and I rarely build a PC without at least that in their primary attack stat.  The advantage of Eladrin is you trade a +1 to hit for an extra +1 of damage in heroic tier and an extra feat since you won't be taking Weapon Focus *and* Eladrin Soldier.

Personally, if I was building a spear fighter that used heavy armor I'd go with a Str/Con race (Warforged or Goliath) so I could get into plate in heroic tier.  Otherwise I'd use a Str/Dex race and stick with scale since it's Armor Specialization feat dovetails nicely with my higher Dex.  If reach and Polearm Momentum is something I'd want, I think I'd just avoid Kensai at paragon and pick up Eternal Defender as my epic destiny.  At 24th level I _should_ be able to wield that greatspear one-handed.  (Not sure if this works; it _seems_ right reading the ability, but I'd have to see how the character builder handles it.)  I'd just be a mobile spear/shield multi-marker until epic when I'd turn into all-out, silly reach spear/shield controller.


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## Obryn (Jul 30, 2009)

Depending on the length of the campaign, it could be pointless to start with an 18 in Strength instead of a 17.  (Also, odd-numbered off-stats start to rock.)  If your game is running from 11th to 13th, for example, you will never see another stat bump.  Might as well min-max in that case.  That's how I'd game it for a one-shot anyway - and, as I mentioned, I never want to _buy_ an 18.

Eladrin is a perfectly good choice for this character, IMO.  You save a feat and get a teleport.  You also get an extra skill, and Klaus wants to dabble in Arcana.  So, all things considered, it's completely workable.

-O


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## Klaus (Jul 31, 2009)

Here's an optional take, multiclassing into Warden for a couple of powers and the 1/encounter burst 1 mark:

Brunhild, level 11
Eladrin, Fighter, Polearm Master
Fighter Talents: Two-handed Weapon Talent
Background: Arcane Sentinel (Arcana class skill)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 11, Dex 17, Int 11, Wis 16, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 17, Con 10, Dex 13, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 10.


AC: 24 Fort: 22 Reflex: 18 Will: 19
HP: 86 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 21

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +13, Endurance +10, Arcana +12, Athletics +15, Nature +13

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +8, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Dungeoneering +8, History +7, Insight +8, Intimidate +6, Perception +8, Religion +5, Stealth +8, Streetwise +6, Thievery +8

FEATS
Level 1: Eladrin Soldier
Level 2: Exotic Fighting Style
Level 4: Weapon Expertise (Spear)
Level 6: Defender of the Wild
Level 8: Novice Power
Level 10: Acolyte Power
Level 11: Polearm Momentum

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Reaping Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Sure Strike
Fighter encounter 1: Lunging Strike (retrained to Thunder Ram Assault at Novice Power)
Fighter daily 1: Brute Strike
Fighter utility 2: Pass Forward
Fighter encounter 3: Armor-Piercing Thrust
Fighter daily 5: Nimble Bladestorm
Fighter utility 6: Defensive Training (retrained to Bear's Endurance at Acolyte Power)
Fighter encounter 7: Trip Up
Fighter daily 9: Shift the Battlefield
Fighter utility 10: Into the Fray

ITEMS
Eladrin Finemail +2, Greatspear of Myrdroon's Shard +2, Bracers of Escape (heroic tier)


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