If you are to make a Dwarf in heavy armor with a Halberd at Heroic Tier

Shin Okada

Explorer
I have some lovely dwarf minis which wear chain or plate and with halberd.

If you are to make a Dwarf in heavy armor with a Halberd at Heroic Tier, what kind of build will you make?

In Paragon Tier, Polearm Master is just fine. But at Heroic tier, I cannot find much advantage on polearm using fighter.

If a dwarf is not wearing heavy armor, warden may work.

Melee cleric or Warlord? Maybe. But they are leaders. Thus attack bonus is even more important comparing to those of defenders or strikers. Dwarf can't have maxed-out strength, and Halberd has proficiency bonus of +2.

Any thought?
 
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A halberd *does* count as an axe, so Dwarven Weapon Training helps make up for the lack of STR bonus.

Yes, but only for damage. The problem is the to hit bonus. However, if you want to play a dwarf with halberd I think warlord would be excellent. A -2 to hit isn't such an issue when you can grant attacks without being adjacent to the target..
 


You probably want a dwarf greatweapon fighter. Fighter weapon talent makes up for the deficiency in attack bonus.

You can use Footwork Lure with a Controlling Weapon and Polearm Momentum to knock the target down (or you can use a Lightning Weapon with Mark of Storm to do the same a bit earlier, though it costs an extra feat).

At the end of Heroic, you might have something that looks like this:

[sblock=Dwarf Fighter 10]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 10
Dwarf, Fighter
Build: Great Weapon Fighter
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: Two-handed Weapon Talent

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 16, Dex 15, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 14, Dex 14, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 10.


AC: 25 Fort: 24 Reflex: 20 Will: 21
HP: 85 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 21

TRAINED SKILLS
Streetwise +10, Endurance +13, Athletics +12, Intimidate +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +5, Arcana +4, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +10, Heal +8, History +4, Insight +8, Nature +8, Perception +8, Religion +4, Stealth +5, Thievery +5

FEATS
Level 1: Armor Proficiency (Plate)
Level 2: Dwarven Weapon Training
Level 4: Weapon Expertise (Axe)
Level 6: Polearm Momentum
Level 8: Redoubled Efforts
Level 10: Bravo

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter at-will 1: Threatening Rush
Fighter encounter 1: Hack and Hew
Fighter daily 1: Villain's Menace
Fighter utility 2: Full Extension
Fighter encounter 3: Dance of Steel
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Unbreakable
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
Fighter daily 9: Staggering Blow
Fighter utility 10: Mighty Surge

ITEMS
Controlling Halberd +2, Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier), Magnetic Rimefire Plate Armor +2, Amulet of Protection +3, Challenge-Seeking Handaxe +1
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======[/sblock]

You'll be able to knock things down with a number of powers. You have a few multi-marking powers. You have some accuracy boosts through Redoubled Efforts, Bravo, Villain's Menace, Mighty Surge. When you use Come and Get It, targets will sometimes just be prone at your feet for your attack. It's also a good power to use the encounter power of the Controlling weapon on, so you can gather more targets around you. Magnetic Armor can also help you set it up. Staggering Blow leaves a target prone, dazed, 4-5 squares away, marked by you, and unhappy. Your stats are already lined up nicely for any future polearm or axe feats you may want, and you're good to go for plate specialization as well.

I didn't pick many damage boosting options, but if you wanted to go that route, Hewing Charge or Brash Strike can give you some extra punch in that department, with extra accuracy and damage. Or if you're concerned about marked targets away from you (since you will occasionally miss), Mark of Warding could be a good option to increase the mark penalty.
 

I'd go with Fighter or Barbarian.

The big Dwarf advantage is his Minor action second wind, and effectively it means he gets a bonus Standard action every encounter in which he would have needed to use his second wind. Take advantage of this via:
- Reliable daily powers (you miss with your daily? oh well, just do it again); or
- Encounter powers which hit hard, but leave you vulnerable.

Cheers, -- N
 

Ah, I see. Footwork Lure can slide an opponent two squares if using a reach weapon. That at least makes a halberd's reach useful from the 1st level.
 

Ah, I see. Footwork Lure can slide an opponent two squares if using a reach weapon. That at least makes a halberd's reach useful from the 1st level.
Unfortunately not, since the errata clarified the slide as only one square. You might be able to convince your DM to allow two with a reach weapon as a house-rule, though.

-Dan'L
 

Ah, I see. Footwork Lure can slide an opponent two squares if using a reach weapon. That at least makes a halberd's reach useful from the 1st level.

First, a clarification. The errata on footwork lure limits it to one square unless you have some bonus (polearm master, rushing cleats, staggering weapon, etc.).

But fighter is still a great option. I'd recommend starting stats of Str 17, Con 16, Dex 13, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 10 after racial bonuses and boost str and con at every opportunity. Two-handed weapon talent is a solid choice, but battlerage vigor could give you some solid hardiness when you need it. Crushing surge with dwarf stoneblood would net you 8 temp hit points, which would go a long way towards making up for your lack of shield. Plus, the invigorating encounter powers from MP2 are drastically less stupid than the ones from MP.

For at-wills, I recommend Crushing Surge and Weaponmaster's Strike (Class Acts: Fighter, Dragon 382). With a halberd, you'll be adding your con to damage and gaining an OA if your target shifts away from you, stopping them in their tracks.

At encounter 1, Hack and Hew (MP2) works wonderfully. I don't have MP handy to check the text of invigorating, but I think you get the temporary hit points as long as you hit with one of the attacks, even if you miss with the primary. That makes it a more reliable way to get temp hps, as well as mark two targets. Depending on your style, Spinning Sweep and Steel Serpent Strike are solid choices. Your encounter 3 options boil down to Crushing Blow, Sweeping Blow, and Bull Charge. Encounter 7 is a hard choice. Come and Get It is unparalleled in defender utility, but if you want to branch out, Bloody the Field (MP2), Echoing Assault (also MP2), Trip Up, or Weapon Master's Gambit can work.

At Daily 1, Lasting Threat is a fabulous choice for all around utility, but Comeback Strike is useful for healing purposes. Kneebreaker can work out since it's invigorating, but it falls somewhat flat if you miss. If you have someone in the party with a slowing encounter power or something, it starts to look up. You have a number of options at daily 5: Brazen Assault (resist 5= tanktastic), Cometfall Charge (awesome charge damage), Hounding Longarm (Combat Challenge at reach for the encounter), Pinning Smash (for dragons and other solos who have delusions of getting away), or Rain of Steel for continuing damage. There also a number of great options at daily 9, but if you want survivability, go with Victorious Surge.

Utilities: At level 2, Boundless endurance is ridiculawesome for you and will only get better as you level. An excellent choice. However, if you're good on survival effects (i.e. there's a second defender or 1.5 to 2 leaders), you may look to some of these options: Battle Fury Stance, Pass Forward (a melee rogue in the party will love you for this one), Mighty Leap, or one of the skill powers: Bounding Leap, Scrambling Climb. At level 6, Unbreakable is fantastic. Settling the Score, Ready to Retaliate, or one of the movement skill powers from level 2 are good alternatives.

For feats, should start with Weapon Expertise and Dwarf Stoneblood. Dwarven Weapon Training for damage and Devoted Challenge, which will help your combat challenge attack bonus ought to your next few feats. You could also move up to plate armor, but I don't really like that armor check penalty.

But that's how I'd build a dwarf in heavy armor with a halberd. :)
 

Yes, but only for damage. The problem is the to hit bonus. However, if you want to play a dwarf with halberd I think warlord would be excellent. A -2 to hit isn't such an issue when you can grant attacks without being adjacent to the target..

It's only a -1 to hit.

And DWT -still- makes up for it, in heroic tier anyways.
 

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