Whirlwind attack is bugged in my opinion, some say otherwise but the 5 times i used it bugged and i could not attack afterward which meant relogging. so I would not take improved whirlwind later levels, Its unfortunate you have to take it at all your AB is so high and your attack per round are enough coupled with Cleave and great cleave it renders whilrwind obsolete IMO.
I also didnt see any Knockdown feat, its an excellent addition to a fighters arsenal. Being how your strength based which is what KD is based off. I choose a rogue split for the ability of trap finding and sneak attacks works great with KD's. Your not much good if you trip over the traps and get ponded by spawns, and having a good sneak means you can sometimes avoid fighting or kill the mage first before he gets off any spells then melee the rest while spamming KD which adds +4 to your to hit while their prone. Improved KD means you can KD giants that much easier.
Improved whirlwind requires Dex of 23. So if your strength based no sense in high dex. Also they upped the min req. Str for Devistating critical IF you go that route required 30 strength. Starting at 16 stregth means all points in strength up to lvl 40 = +10 str = 26 menas you need to choose 4 great strength feats during Epic progression. Or choose more Great strength so you dont have to wait for lvl 40 to get it.
Nice choice IMO on bullheaded, Luck, you Will saves will stink as a fighter. Also dont be afraid to run away if you get surrounded which will happen alot. They wont get an attack of opportunity if you run, ( provided you have, Spring Attack). then turn and fight again which gives you your full base attack against that enemy which is when you want to do KD which lowers your attack by -4. after their KD'd dont use again their already knocked down. Enemy will get up the next round then KD again. You can time it at lower levels but higher levels you hit so fast its near impossible.
An often overlooked feat is Blind Fight makes for an extra attack if you miss hitting an invisible creatures (50% chance to miss), and they dont get bonus to hit you. Being as you cant cast True Seeing and a party is a scarce thing here I recommend it.
recommend Toughness, a fighter with low HP is kinda uselsss.. You will need all the Hitpoints you can get as your at a disadvantage already because you wont have a shield and you will get hit alot.
Might play with Disarm since your Int. req. is met and you have a large weapon.
At starting 16 strength you will need to be lvl 28 to get the 7 points in strength necessary ( at 1 pt every 4 lvls.) for the 23 strength for Overwelming Critical ( you have Overpowering Crirical). You will need a Great Strength Feat in there somewhere if you want it sooner. You will need Cleave Great Cleave and obviously Power attack to get the Overwelming. Drop the Improved Power attack, you will be doing so much damage by the time you can afford a -10 to your attack it makes it useless.
As for Skills theirs few a fighter gets thats useful.
dont wast any points in Tumble your check penalty with heavy armor will basically negate 8 points of it. As its outside your chosen skills makes it harder to select it.
Heal is your friend, every point you can get put in it. you will get pounded. You will buy alot of Heal Kits, potions. You will save money if you start to learn to make your own potions. Very difficult if your check stats for that craft are low but not impossible. If you have the money you can buy the jewelry to assist, or ask a friendly mage to help you out with a buff or two. the first levels are the hardest. I had a tough time with my Wizard.
Parry, its Dex based skill but my rogue lvl 3/ fighter 6 with Dex 15 and2 points in Parry is able to Parry arrows ocassionally without even having this skill running. Great when your charging that platoon of bugbears armed with heavy X-bows. Ive never used it during melee. I get more use from Expertise if I need an AC boost. Since its a fighter skill your not at a disadvantage with points. Might even select Improved Parry Feat if you like it. It does grant a counter attack if successful while Expertise does not.
Fighting pointers...
as above mentioned with KD use and possible Parry feat even used during Melee you can toggle Expertise if your fighting tougher creatures. ( very difficult, Overpowering Red and Orange when ID'd) to give you a nice +5 to AC which helps since your running shieldless, Might as well get some use from it since it s required for Weapon masters. . Use Power attack only with effortless/ Easy creatures or farming trees and Ores, the -5 to your to hit means you miss more and they have a chance to hit you more. If you have the HP during battle you can sacrifice the chance for the additional damage added into your multiplier and get better damage but not recommended using all the time.
the Knight class looks like an RP class.. and those Feats look like their more focused for party play which disappointly is no longer the case here. Going thru a CDQ to gain Knight.. not sure its worth the trouble for what your getting also the necessary wasted skill points required to get it. (intimidate, persuade, while listen may be good against Invis.) these are not fighter class skills ony Weapon master skills so you will have to choose these when leveling in WM not fighter, or use twice as many points to get it.
Rallying Cry...+1 to hit and 20%run faster, you will be using this to run away or travel faster through transitions.
heroic Shield..+4 AC to someone else for only one round.. Meh..
Knights Fear..The DC determination for this is too low IMO. My wizard has a tough time planting fear with a DC of 26 unless their low level or fighters.
Oath of wrath.. +2 to attack.. whats the point. your a fighter. your AB is high already. +2 wont make a bit of difference with BASE +20 to hit and 4 attacks per round (at lvl 20). combined with cleave and great cleave you will be a blender..throw in some +3 grear and a 30+ strength modified with gear..Hello!!.. +35 to hit!!
Final stand.. Charisma based. also party based.. useless without a party. and your Charisma is too low to make it useful..
All based around a party which makes this a RP class not melee class. I can see more use going Barbarian if you want to stick to Fighter levels, this would give you to additional HP you need because of no shield. combined with Barbarian Rage effects and faster speed and Bonus will saves and Reflex saves vs traps since you cant see them..decent combo.
Rogue for me opens up so many more possibilities then strictly meatshield. Rogue is best taken at first Lvl. because of the insane skill points you get. Also the Evasion skill (rogue lvl 2) is excellent .. Wizards and their spells... Pfft.. evade!! O dmg from fireball..time to die wizard.. evade my Greatsword .. Cleave... *blood spaltters* . did I just cut that wizard in half..? yup..
*rogue sneaks into room backstab/ sneak attacks wizard then proceeds to Frappe the remaining spawns. steps over bodies and begins to loot*
OR
*rogue draws the retard fighters around the corner where he systimatically cuts them down with sneak attacks and KD.'s. then takes out the wizard left wondering where all his meatshields went.
Hope that helps.
