Unorthodox Build: Potential DS Problems?

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time]

Allllright, so I'm thinking about making a warrior that would utilize (unarmed) brawling. His main offense would consist of Voln Fu, minor physical cmans such as Haymaker, Headbutt, Coup de Grace---, and a suprise light crossbow now and then when needed.

A glaring issue there would be his DS, as he wouldn't have the parry DS from a weapon in hand at any given time (aside from his early run with brawling weapons to build favor). How (outside of DBs) could I recover some of this DS, if at all? To cut off the seventeen obvious replies, I do not intend to use a shield.

[Gelston]

dodging

[Danical]

You get DS in your right hand if you're training in brawling and nothing is in it. You won't have to worry about parry DS.

It looks like you're making a boxer/pugilist.

I'm not sure if Haymaker or Headbutt work on non-corp undead.

Since you aren't going with a shield, I'd consider a rogue for 3x Dodge.

[Danical]

wait . . . IS THIS A MONK?

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time]

I guess you can SORT of call it that, though much less passive, and much less efficient. I just love my unarmed coup de grace, and figured the extra ranged support would be useful.

Two problems with going rogue:
1) No Haymaker. This is my primary setup tool for Coup de Grace, and functions as a GREAT knockdown.
2) Takes longer to get into the chain/plate I'll likely need to cover my obvious defensive problems, and the redux is less amazing. I'll probably 3x armor and PT if I can manage it with everything else, though dropping PT to 2x in favor of added dodge (likely 2x there) is pretty appealing too...

I'm coming off of a melee wizard, so I fear I may have spoiled myself by getting used to 1 and 2RT swings with a naginata... Here's hoping I don't find the non-speedy melee too boring (though I was thinking about a bard, aswell, but the lack of cool maneuvers pushed me off of that).

[Danical]

I would ditch Haymaker personally.

If you're going to have both hands open go with Throw via Voln Fu.

Wait . . . why are you going with Haymaker if you have the option of TWIN HAMMERFIST? That might be better for you! Although, I would think Throw would still be best. With FU you can stun unstunnable creatures which is necessary for Coup, right?

[Danical]

Go with a Rogue, get Coup, and use Throw/Kick.

You're DS will still suck, but not as bad with 3x dodge.

[SolitareConfinement]

according to the website warriors can 3x dodge?

[Jaimaltz]

You could think of him as a mixed martial artist. In that case, a rogue would work well as you could pick up cheapshots through the guild. Footstomp, Nosetweak, Templeshot, Kneebash, Eyepoke, Throatchop, and Swiftkick stylistically make for some great dirty boxing. Your Voln Fu punches, kicks, and a feint maneuver or two serve as your Muay Thai standup game. Coup is of course your ground n' pound finishing move, with voln throw and guild learned sweep as your takedown maneuvers. You could also use crowd press to get yourself into the clinch, while using Combat mobility to get back on your feet.

Of course, without tackle you can forget about being like Matt Hughes, without haymaker you won't be a Chris Leben, and without Twin Hammerfist you're no Brock Lesnar, but you might be able to pull off a Forest Griffin or a Thiago Silva. Just make sure to get some combat toughness or you might end up like a Kimbo Slice.

[Baelog]

Yes, Warriors can 3x Dodge, but it's damn expensive.

For fighting non-undead, you could use a pair of Cestus, which are ancient boxing gloves, keeping with the "unarmed" thing while increases your DS against non-undead

I'd suggest getting Arcane Language and MIU to boost your DS with only self-cast spells like 905, 913, 507, 120, etc

Don't forget that 102 will not affect Voln-Fu numbers nearly as much as it affects AS

And that other CMAN that increases DS...CMAN Movement?

That's about all I got.

[Moist Happenings]

I've done this before. It worked out moderately well, but keep in mind I was only level 35 or so, and it was years ago so mechanically things almost certainly have changed in the important areas somewhat.

This was before dodge was a large factor, so I 3x'd armor to wear plate, which as you surely know really hinders your fu, but it wasn't too terrible. Beyond that I did everything possible to maximize redux. Massively overtraining PT (Don't know if PT works like that anymore, as the primary skill anyway), and putting every available point into SOMETHING that helped it.

Yeah, he got hit a lot, and in a swarm he'd get pinged to death, but very few things could actually hurt him significantly enough to be a threat.

My suggestion is lots of redux, lots of dodge, heaviest armor possible, even though it'll hurt your voln fu a lot. It helps a lot if you're giantman with a massive amount of blood, too.

[Gnomad]

My old warrior used to fight like this a lot, even though he was also trained in two-handers. It's not very effective, but that shouldn't surprise you. Voln Fu is Voln Fu and shouldn't be a surprise, I didn't like headbutt RP wise, and haymaker was okay.

IMO, one of the most satisfying way to kill something was to pummel it stupid, use Carn's Cry to scare it's balls off, and then rip its trachea out with an unarmed Coup de Grace.

edit: This was "effective" through the mid-50s, although I did use my maul when I got annoyed and just wanted to bang out some levels. 2HW and open-handed brawling have a lot of synnergy in support skills (lots of armor and fast, no shield, lots of dogding), and I'd recommend you pick it up . It's cheap enough, and you can use it when nobody's looking.

Or, if you're a masochist like me, you can integrate your quarterstaves into your "pseudo-monk" routine! It's even less effective than Voln Fu, but you can use the TRIP verb! Hooray!

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time]

I'm all for the quarterstaff idea, really. If I could find a reasonably priced vultite-alloy or near-equivalent, I'd be all over it.

[Belnia]

Even the masterful crit weighting doesn't make up for quarterstaff suckiness. Rogues get sucker punch, which is about as martial arts as it gets for combat maneuvers right now.

You could also carry a bow/crossbow in your left hand. It would add directly to your defense as well. Honestly, it would be an easy trip up through 65 or so, when soul golems/wind wraiths stop being an instant fry. You could hunt them to 72 if you're patient. After that, though, it's tough times.

[Gnomad]

Even the masterful crit weighting doesn't make up for quarterstaff suckiness.

belnia i think you're forgetting about TRIP hmmmmmm

how to balance quarterstaves by gnomad

lower the base speed to 3