Dire charge and battle howl: worth it?

[Hrafnar]

I'm trying to utilize the charge feats in a barb/FB build. I've taken furious charger and powerful charge so far. It seems pretty good (although occasionally seems to get bugged and give me a 4 hour cool down after charging if I've used my rage). So battle howl: is it worth the feat for potentially -2 to attack rolls for 1-4 rounds? And also: I need to take Imp Initiative to get dire charge which puts me off + it's an epic feat, yet I can see charge becoming less useful as my apr goes up otherwise.

[AlfarinIcebreaker]

IMO, a big majority of the custom feats aren't worth it from a mechanical perspective. There are only so many feats you can take and opportunity cost of it is just too big. Regarding Dire Charge, it has it's uses as it allows you to close down enemies in melee more quickly, but I hate the AC penalty, and you have to pick Dire Charge in order to maximise it's potential.

[chad878262]

The bug is the same for expose weakness bard son's and other activated feats. Selecting it from drop down will still work.

Can't comment on the effectiveness of battle howl or dire charge as I haven't used them, but reducing your opponents AB is as good as increasing your AC and the attack bonus could somewhat mitigate loss of AB from IPA. So theoretically your charge helps you hit, IPA makes those his hurt and then battle howl helps you stay up longer... I doubt any if this is better than great strength though.

[V'rass]

Prob not worth it...

[Hrafnar]

Thanks! I kind of had that feeling. Especially when I'm sacrificing things like extra rage and Ice Troll etc. RCR...

[chad878262]

Thanks! I kind of had that feeling. Especially when I'm sacrificing things like extra rage and Ice Troll etc. RCR...

Yep...Barb/fb should definitely have all the extended rages it can get and extra rage isn't a bad idea either (though might be able to get extra rage on an item, not certain...)

[Side]

I know there's at least an amulet, Primal Rage, that has Extra Rage on it. It also has Extended Rage and +3 natural AC.

[Darradarljod]

My main character, Boris, is built around the charging feats and shield feats - including Dire Charge. Shield fets and charge feats seem to work well together. Mechanically, I'm satisfied with how he's turned out at level 29. He's by no means one of the best fighters on the server, however. If you're looking for a powerbuild these guys are probably right - you may need to look elsewhere on the feat list if you want to maximize your warrior's potency.

[Theodore01]

Battle Howl
Once per turn, you may let out a battle cry during a charge action. The target of the charge makes a Will save of DC 10 + your CHA modifier + 1 for every five ranks in the Intimidate skill. If they fail, they get -2 to hit for 1d4 rounds.

A CHA-check really ? There comes that charming guy - i shudder in fear.

Wouldn't a STR or CON check be more appropriate ?

And what about the taunt skill, that could fit in here too.
Like affecting more than one nearby target.

If you made a CHA Barbarian - take it

[Hrafnar]

Battle Howl
Once per turn, you may let out a battle cry during a charge action. The target of the charge makes a Will save of DC 10 + your CHA modifier + 1 for every five ranks in the Intimidate skill. If they fail, they get -2 to hit for 1d4 rounds.

A CHA-check really ? There comes that charming guy - i shudder in fear.

Wouldn't a STR or CON check be more appropriate ?

And what about the taunt skill, that could fit in here too.
Like affecting more than one nearby target.

If you made a CHA Barbarian - take it

Yikes! I did not read the fine print. So I need 25 intimidate just for DC 15, assuming no negative CHA modifier? No thanks...

My main character, Boris, is built around the charging feats and shield feats - including Dire Charge. Shield fets and charge feats seem to work well together. Mechanically, I'm satisfied with how he's turned out at level 29. He's by no means one of the best fighters on the server, however. If you're looking for a powerbuild these guys are probably right - you may need to look elsewhere on the feat list if you want to maximize your warrior's potency.

I noticed the synergy with the shield feats and thought that looked interesting. If I was more of a fighter I might go down that path but the plan here is to hit things hard with big weapons until they fall over plus I'm a bit feat-starved.

[aaron22]

If I was more of a fighter I might go down that path but the plan here is to hit things hard with big weapons until they fall over plus I'm a bit feat-starved.

Barb20/FB5/F5=extra feats, same principle, access to WS/GWS/EWS. depending on race could envoke an xp penalty though.

FYI all PC's ever rolled are feat starved.

[Hrafnar]

FYI all PC's ever rolled are feat starved.

Yup!

[chad878262]

If I was more of a fighter I might go down that path but the plan here is to hit things hard with big weapons until they fall over plus I'm a bit feat-starved.

Barb20/FB5/F5=extra feats, same principle, access to WS/GWS/EWS. depending on race could envoke an xp penalty though.

FYI all PC's ever rolled are feat starved.

b21/fb5/f4 is better... Fighter 5 gets you nothing, B21 gains 2 more HP and I think Trap Sense (not much, but more than F5)... It should also be noted that while F4 gets you Weapon Specialization and one other pre-epic feat, Going to B25 gets you DR 7/- (vs 5 at B21), an extra use of Rage each day, more HP and a bonus Epic Feat... So strictly speaking, adding those 4 levels of Fighter is not necessarily a better option... Going FB on a Two-Hander max STR/Damage build is a good option for Enhanced Power Attack, but bonus feats at Barbarian 24, 28 and 30 make it a tougher choice than it used to be, now that it is possible to qualify for Epic/Thunderous Rage as well as Epic DR and/or Fast Healing.

[Hrafnar]

*goes back to the drawing board muttering about how life was simple in 2nd ED*

[Hrafnar]

So strictly speaking, adding those 4 levels of Fighter is not necessarily a better option... Going FB on a Two-Hander max STR/Damage build is a good option for Enhanced Power Attack, but bonus feats at Barbarian 24, 28 and 30 make it a tougher choice than it used to be, now that it is possible to qualify for Epic/Thunderous Rage as well as Epic DR and/or Fast Healing.

So something like this? http://nwn2db.com/build/?260948