Notes from DA's Build Guide
- A variant of the True Weapon Master with slightly more robust saving throws at the cost of -1 AB, -3 Damage, -1 Devastating Critical DC, and -80 HP. Slightly more dueling ability due to the better saving throws, but still not a true duelist build. Good for CTF and Open World PvP. Decent for PvE Farming and Shard Runs.
- Compared to the True Weapon Master, the Dark Knight has a slightly better edge against spellcasters due to the increased damage from Divine Might and the higher saving throws. If you roll this build, my advice is to treat it more like a skirmisher and hit targets of opportunity instead of face-tanking enemies while you tear them up (some Weapon Masters can face-tank simply because they outdamage their enemies and have a decent amount of HP rather than being strong defensively).
- This build has Divine Might for +6 Divine damage for 1 minute (with +9 CHA), so its spike damage is higher than the True Weapon Master. +7 if you spring for +12 CHA.
- Blackguard also gives a +1 BAB bonus, keeping you at 66 AB (a True Weapon Master has 67 AB).
- Blackguard gives you +1d6 Sneak Attack damage. Nothing spectacular, but damage is damage.
- Blackguard gives you access to Taunt. Your Taunt is not very high, but you can potentially catch enemies who did not fortify their Concentration.
- You will occasionally see Paladin variants of this build. The difference? Blackguard requires an investment of 10 skillpoints to achieve 5 Hide and gives you +1 BAB, +1d6 Sneak Attack Damage, and a self-cast Bull's Strength for a short duration. Paladin gives you Immunity to Fear and a very weak Lay on Hands. The AB alone is what what makes the Blackguard variant better. Additionally, Smite Good is probably going to be more useful than Smite Evil in PvP since it's much more rare and people are less likely to protect against it.
- You can receive as much as a +5 bonus to saving throws from Dark Blessing. Your saving throws are mediocre (but better than that of most Weapon Masters) at 32/26/20 Fortitude/Reflex/Will.
- Neither you nor a True Weapon Master can land a Devastating Critical on each other due with maxed Fortitude, so it will come down to raw damage and lucky rolls in a toe-to-toe fight (the True Weapon Master's HP advantage will ultimately give it a slight advantage).
- You have the option of taking Spellcraft instead of Taunt for a +4 saving throw bonus against direct spells. Personally, this is what I would do with this build since the Taunt is too weak to hurt mages, Clerics, and Druids (who are MUCH bigger threats than almost anything else you will encounter). Additionally, since you don't need Taunt, you can take Fighter 6/Blackguard 4 pre-epic instead of Fighter 7/Blackguard 3, and this will net you an additional +1 Fortitude (your cap will now be 53).
- I chose to dump the remaining 32 points into Heal since there's nothing else useful that can be done them.
- One of the big drawbacks to this build compared to the True Weapon Master is the -80 HP hit (660 HP total).
- Gear: +12 STR/CON, +5 Armor/Natural/Deflection/Dodge, Haste, Fortitude. You have a choice between +9 and +12 CHA, but +12 will only give you +1 more Divine Damage and 1 use per day in comparison due to the 13 base CHA (an odd number). +7/# DR if you can afford it (you are very tight on PP with this build).
- Special thanks to Soubrette for catching an error in the level progression!
Level 1
| Race | Class | Abilities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Dexterity | Constitution | Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma | ||
| Human | Fighter | 17 | 13 | 10 | 13 | Min | 13 |
Level Progression
| Level | Class | Ability Increase | Feat | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fighter | Power Attack, Dodge, Cleave | N/A | |
| 2 | Fighter | Weapon Focus | Tumble, Discipline, Hide | |
| 3 | Fighter | Mobility | Tumble, Discipline, Hide | |
| 4 | Fighter | Strength | Weapon Specialization | Tumble, Discipline, Hide |
| 5 | Fighter | Tumble, Discipline, Hide | ||
| 6 | Fighter | Expertise, Spring Attack | Tumble, Discipline, Hide | |
| 7 | Fighter | Tumble, Discipline, Hide | ||
| 8 | Blackguard | Strength | Tumble, Discipline, Intimidate (4), Taunt | |
| 9 | Blackguard | Whirlwind Attack | Tumble, Discipline, Taunt | |
| 10 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 11 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 12 | Blackguard | Strength | Divine Might | Tumble, Discipline, Heal, Taunt |
| 13 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 14 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 15 | Weapon Master | Great Cleave | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 16 | Weapon Master | Strength | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 17 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 18 | Weapon Master | Improved Critical | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 19 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 20 | Weapon Master | Strength | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 21 | Weapon Master | Great Strength I | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 22 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 23 | Weapon Master | Epic Weapon Focus | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 24 | Fighter | Strength | Great Strength II, Epic Weapon Specialization | Tumble, Discipline, Heal |
| 25 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 26 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | ||
| 27 | Weapon Master | Great Strength III, Epic Prowess | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 28 | Weapon Master | Strength | Tumble, Discipline, Heal | |
| 29 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline, Heal (32) | ||
| 30 | Weapon Master | Great Strength IV, Overwhelming Critical | Tumble, Discipline | |
| 31 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline | ||
| 32 | Weapon Master | Strength | Tumble, Discipline | |
| 33 | Weapon Master | Great Strength V, Devastating Critical | Tumble, Discipline | |
| 34 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline | ||
| 35 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline | ||
| 36 | Weapon Master | Strength | Great Strength VI, Armor Skin | Tumble, Discipline |
| 37 | Weapon Master | Tumble, Discipline | ||
| 38 | Weapon Master | Discipline | ||
| 39 | Weapon Master | Great Strength VII, Epic Toughness | Discipline | |
| 40 | Blackguard | Strength | Discipline, Taunt |