Pure fighter build questions

Hi all, I do not like multiclassing, I have a party with, so far:

1. Human Paladin (Longsword specialization)
2. Orc Barb/Fighter (no weapon specialization so far but using reach wepons, now using the holy Ranseur i found in the 2nd level of the temple, i plan to go whirlwind)
3. Human Cleric (good and sun) Healer and off tank
4. Rogue dual wielder
5. Wood elf Pure ranger
6. Elf pure Wizard

I would like to add another pure fighter, going with great cleave and whirlwind too. I read here i should spec on bastard sword. But i hate having to take weapon specialization and weapon focus.
Because i love the loot in DnD and in ToEE, and i hate when i find a juicy weapon which is not my specialty.

Can anyone suggest a build that does not require specializing in any weapon? I also would like him to be a dwarf, if possible. But human is fine too.

Probably not a wise thing since i would lose many bonuses to hit and to damage anyway, but at least i would be flexible in what weapon to use according to loot.

Or maybe i was thinking to add also a bard to compensate for the lack of weapon specialization/focus with his songs.

I rolled a dwarf who has STR 17, DEX 17, CON 18, INT 15, WIS 15, CHA 10 (gave hime power attack and cleave at creation).

I rolled also a human with STR 18, DEX 16, CON 17, INT 13, WIS 15, CHA 9 (gave him Weapon specialization Bastard sword, power attack and cleave). He is not losing anything compared to the dwarf with the weapon specialization as i used the human bonus feat for that.

I need to decide which one of the two to keep, based on the advices i could get here, if any.

Any advice/comment is welcome, thanks

 

Well, the dwarf can get a very nice Greathammer in the Earth Node and has Dwaven Waraxe as a martial proficiency.

Doe you mean Weapon Focus at first level?

 

I mean in general. I do not like the fact that then i have to stick only with that weapon. And if i find a wonderful magic weapon which is not my specialty (highly probable), i get disappointed. But i repeat, i know that usually that's the way to go, if you want to be the most effective in melee.

I noticed there is also a "melee specialist" where you can choose slashing, blunt or piercing weapons, that would widen the choice. But i still need to take weapon spec/focus, and the bonus would be limited if I use other "slashing/blunt/pierce" weapons other than my exact specialty

 

A full Cleric can solo the game, especially with a longspear, Combat Reflexes, and Improved Initiative at the start.

 

i prefer many characters so i can use more loot

 

Ok i went with the dwarf, no weapon proficiency yet. I will see how much i can go on without specializing on one particular weapon.
I am also tempted to give him a reach weapon as the orc barbarian, i see with great cleave he gets a lot of free attacks of opportunity

 

I've never been that impressed by Weapon Specialization. While +2 to damage with a weapon (along with +1 to hit for requisite Weapon Focus) isn't to be sniffed at at fourth level, but I think that the Cleave/ Great Cleave line is better value and if you go for that first, adding Weapon Specialization later, you're getting your +2 about the time that casters are getting their real powerhouse spells and rogue-types are getting their third or fourth dice of sneak attack.

 

Well focus and specialization all add up, and then you can also take imrpoved critical which doubles the treat range which means also 10% more criticals (on 19x20 crit weapons. 20% on 17-20 ones). I am doing as you said anyway, going first for great cleave. Then i think i will have one with longsword, one with bastard and the third one (ranged melee), probably spiked chain

 

Improved Critical is pretty good, but I don't think it has any prerequisites except a certain level of BAB (so it's not reason to take Weapon Focus or Weapon Specialization). On point against it is that it costs a feat, and feats are strictly limited in this game, whereas a Keen weapon only costs money and XP, and there's more money than you can spend beyond a certain point, and losing XP eventually ends up with you gaining it quicker, to catch up. Plus, despite the best (and amazing) efforts of people in this community, there aren't many high-level spells that are absolutely essential in the game, so it's not a massive loss to me if my party finish around 17th level for the mundane and only 16th for the wizard. So, I like to craft, with Keen, Holy and some elemental damage being the favorite combo.
My favorite mundane build, since the advent of Temple+, has been Rogue3/SwashbucklerX, with the Daring Outlaw feat taken at 6 level. Sneak Attack advancement as per pure rogue, BAB one point behind a pure fighter. Improved Invisibility as a pre-fight buff (late-game) or things like Glitterdust, and good, old-fashioned flanking (early-game) are really effectively damage-dealing spells for a Wizard, Sorceror or Bard to cast with this set-up. I'm of the opinion that Sneak Attack damage is the most reliable source of bonus damage in this game (I'm aware that this isn't the case in PnP D&D, but in TOEE there aren't really any undead that are powerful enough to threaten if you have a cleric, or simply a good selection of holy weaponry, and nor really are the plants and oozes, full stop).
TBH, when I have advanced characters all the way as fighters, I've found the high level feats pretty underwhelming. I think I once got a fighter all the way through to having Whirlwind Attack, and it was actually pretty meh. There aren't many times when being surrounded by enough enemies to make this impressive is wise, unless they are also weak enough that actually, Great Cleave is enough to drop them all anyway. I think there was a variant Sneak Attack fighter in the PnP rule book Unearthed Arcana that sacrificed some feats for Sneak Attack progression. I'd love to see a stackable 'Sneak Attack +d6' as a stackable feat; for fighters, unless you want to try out something particular at the top of a feat chain, I think a 3-level dip into rogue (or, if you have the skills, one level of each of rogue and assassin) is worth it for a fighter.
I also like Quick Draw and an enchanted Composite Longbow: it costs Dumathoin-knows how many feats to move in the middle of a full attack because you've run out of victims, but only one to switch to your bow.

 

This gave me an idea for my 'old school fixes to 3.5' list.

Weapon Specialization: gives a bonus attack every other round
Greater Weapon Specialization: either makes the above every round, or just adds another bonus attack