Combat expertise + Power attack

[NightCrawler]

Can a fighter (lets say lvl 10) make full power attack and full combat expertise?
What will be the penalty on the attack roll if both can happen?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Can a fighter (lets say lvl 10) make full power attack and full combat expertise?
What will be the penalty on the attack roll if both can happen?

Yup. The penalty will be -15; the maximum penalty he can take on Power Attack is his BAB (10), and the maximum penalty he can take on Combat Expertise is his BAB or 5, whichever is lower.

So he takes a -10 penalty from Power Attack, and a -5 penalty from Combat Expertise, for a total penalty of -15. He gains a +10 (or +20) to damage, and a +5 to AC.

-Hyp.

 

[akbearfoot]

You can use them both. The penalty to attack rolls stacks.

If your BaB was +10, you could use combat expertise for 5 points and power attack for 10, making all of your attacks at -15. You're probably not hitting anything at that point except on 20s, but you yourself are very hard to hit, and IF you connect, you connect like a train.


Of course you dont usually see builds with the 2-handed raging power attacking types taking combat expertise, since they cant use it while raging.

Combat expertise = great on a sword and board or dex class so they can become difficult to hit if they get targeted.

Power attack...well everyone already knows how insane it and its related feats are. (except great cleave -puke)

 

[Stalker0]

You can use them both. The penalty to attack rolls stacks.

If your BaB was +10, you could use combat expertise for 5 points and power attack for 10, making all of your attacks at -15. You're probably not hitting anything at that point except on 20s, but you yourself are very hard to hit, and IF you connect, you connect like a train.

I ran this with a monk awhile back. I have superior combat expertise and power attack. I would use combat expertise to my full BAB, throw in fighting defensively for another +3, and then full power attack. I would use any abilities and items that increased my number of hits (such as haste). I would only hit on a 20, but I hit pretty hard when I did, and I was actually damn good tank. Really high AC + really high monk saves meant there wasn't a lot that was touching me.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I usually make Warblades with Combat Expertise (high int's useful anyway, so why not?). The round you're attacking to recovermaneuvers is IME "garbage time." Even if it hits, unless you crit or something, who cares? I've got a Greater Insightful Strike for 2d20 +50 damage coming up next round, b ! So yeah, full PA, full CE, AND fight defensively (with tumble ranks, yay!) yields +8 AC and a fairly painful attack, if it miraculously hits. If it doesn't, oh well. That's one of the few occasions of doing both fully = good idea that I can think of. That and using it with Emerald Razor/Find the Gap/Impaling Weapon/those psionic weapon feats/Wraithstrike, with the last one hopefully banned.

 

[VanRichten]

Doesn't Combat Expertise say that you give up BAB up to 5 points to gain a Dodge Bonus on your AC? Or am I wrong.

 

[Folly]

Combat Expertise - When you use the attack action or the full attack action in melee, you can take a penalty of as much as –5 on your attack roll and add the same number (+5 or less) as a dodge bonus to your Armor Class. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The changes to attack rolls and Armor Class last until your next action.

Power Attack - On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus.

Both are penalties to hit, and not a reduction to bab. So as Hyp said, you can use any combination of the two feats.

 

[Kmart Kommando]

I've used the 'all-or-nothing' of that combo before, but it was on a character that wasn't a caster, so no adding of the true strike/wraith strike/deep impact..