The Crusader's Handbook

[Sinfire Titan]

Tips for Playing the Ultimate Tank

Table of Contents

Post 1: Introduction.
Post 2: Racial Choice.
Post 3: Class Features.
Post 4: Feats.
Post 5: Magic Items.
Post 6: Maneuvers and Stances.
Post 7: Sample Builds.

[Sinfire Titan]

Racial Choice

Racial optimization is very important for a Crusader. Picking the wrong race may cut off a number of options for you, some of which may prove vital. You have a ton of options available for you; this list will cover the best, touch on the worst, and the reasons behind each of them.

Core Races
[spoiler]
Human: Very rarely is Human a wrong choice for a build. The bonus feat and improved skill points alone are very valuable to you (you often have only a handful of feats to focus on, and the extra one never hurts). When in doubt, this should be your default.

Dwarf: Another decent choice, you get a bit of a double-edged sword here. The bonus to Con is always welcome (you may very well need it), but the lower land speed and hit to Cha is a bit of a nuisance. Still, you have access to a number of valuable PrCs due to racial choice alone, and the penalties can be mitigated.

Elf: I mark this race as a bad choice due to it's stat bonuses. Nevermind the fact that it has one of the best PrCs in the Bo9S behind it, which that PrC is actually more suited to Warblades than Crusaders due to Diamond Mind access, the fact is that you get a +2 Dex, at the cost of 2 points of Con. You don't want that unless you are really focusing on an AoO-focused build (which the Crusader can do, but not as efficiently as the Warblade or Fighter). If anything, the Dex bonus is easily ignored and the Con penalty hurts you by a minimum of 20 HP and a -1 penalty to Fort saves. You actually want the enemy to be able to deal damage to you, and you want to be able to soak up as much of it as possible. The Dex bonus boosts your AC (making it somewhat harder to hit you), and the Con penalty subtracts from your HP and Fort save (both of which can outright kill you). Furthermore, the Elf gets 5 bonus feats that are completely negated by the Crusader's weapon and armor profs.

Half Orc: Never worth it, as Full Orc is better. Water Orc is even better than Full Orc.

Halfling: Bit of a mixed blessing here. You can ignore what I said about the Elf's lower HP, as the Halfling gets the penalty to Str instead. This somewhat hurts, but the Small size makes up for it (but not much). Your AC will be decently better than the Elven version of this character, but at the same time you don't really care that much about AC. Strongheart Halfling is the obvious choice for any Halfling Crusader, but the basic one works too. Tallfellow (MM) also works.

Gnome: Somewhat better than Halfling because you get a number of additional benefits, such as extra HP in addition to the +1 Size bonus to AC. The downside? Lower Str score. Whisper Gnome is almost dirty to play; if the DM allows it, you should take it.

Half-Elf: Nothing bad, but nothing good either. You've got better options to pick from than this. Skip the race unless absolutely required.

Drow: No, I don't care what you say about them. The fact is, they have a -2 Con, bonuses to dump stats (except Cha), a +2 LA (which hurts because it doesn't add to your IL the way Racial HD do), and Spell Resistance. Never play a Drow Crusader. EVER!

Githyanki: Marginally better than most LA 2 races, they aren't a horrible option for certain builds (especially not if the DM allows LA buyback). The MM version gives you a constant +4 bonus to AC, which in and of itself is amazing (despite you not caring about it). The SR kind of hurts, as it doesn't actually help you due to the low value.

Githzerai: A 2 level dip into Swordsage may very well make this race the best one for you. It effectively gives you a +8 bonus to AC in Light armor (if you go by the MM one and not the XPH version). Again, you don't really care about AC, but that big of a bonus may be worth it if you build the Crusader right.

Kobolds: The Con penalty hurts, the Str hit hurts worse, but the race is known for being broken off the bat due to the sheer number of options available. If you intend to wreck a couch or four, this is the race to do it with.[/spoiler]

Non-core Races
[spoiler]Human Variants (Silverbrow, Azurin, Karsite, Kalashtar): When you have a specific build in mind, sometimes it's a good idea to step outside of the ordinary. Azurins are good for a number of Incarnum feats, Silverbrow opens up several tricks for a Dragonbloded character, and Karsite makes a better Drow than the Drow itself does (seriously)! Kalashtar make good Crusaders because of the open access to a number of Psionic Feats (such as Deep Impact or Greater Psionic Weapon).

Neanderthal (Frostburn): When full Orc or Water Orc are not allowed, this is the next best thing. The lower AC is negligible (if anything, it's a boon). The Int hit and Illiteracy are easily ignored outright (but the lower skill points do hurt). A Greatclub is a decent weapon for you to wield, but there are other options to work with.

Illumian: Mostly for Jade Phoenix Mage or Ruby Knight Vindicator. Otherwise you have better options.

Half-Ogre: Large size is a good thing! Too bad about the +2 LA.

Mongrelfolk: Good on it's own, better with Dragonborn. The Cha penalty is painful though.

Dragonborn: Speaking of... can you say "Best Race Ever"? The Dex penalty is ignored outright, Blindsight or a Fly speed is nuts, and the extra Con is amazing. Or you can have the Breath Weapon, and be an asshole to everyone you meet by spitting acid in their face.

Goliaths: Who doesn't like this race? Powerful Build is fun on it's own, but the Str bonus is amazing.

Raptorian: You'll actually find this works wonders when combine with Dragonborn (you keep the racial Glide speed and eventually get a Fly speed faster than the Dragonborn Aspect of Body). On it's own, it's ok.

Killoren: Decent, depending on which version you use each day. The Destroyer one is fairly good.

Darfellan: The bite attack makes this a great race to use with a reach weapon.

Warforged: This race is... awkward. Your healing maneuvers are invaluable to you, but your lower Cha sometimes weakens your defenses. The extra Con is amazing, and the fact that you retain so much when becoming a Dragonborn is gold unto itself. Debate this with yourself, they aren't a bad race for a Crusader at all.[/spoiler]

[Sinfire Titan]

Class Features

Let's look at what makes this class a unique class. Crusaders a known for their excellent HP values, ability to heal themselves, and for getting bonuses to attacks/damage when they take damage from anything.

Ability Scores
[spoiler]Str: Valuable. You want your Str score to be your second highest stat (or your highest, your choice). You can make up for a lower Str score by never picking maneuvers that have it as a DC setter.

Dex: Dump stat #2. You can afford a lower Dex than normal, but keeping it in the positive numbers is a good idea.

Con: Your bread and butter. The higher this is, the better you are. 16-20 is the best way to start off, and getting it to 24 at 1st level is easily possible (it just costs you a few other stats).

Int: Dump stat #3. You want at least a 10 in this, maybe a 12 if you can afford it. More if you have the option to put more into it.

Wis: Dump stat #1, unless you are a Ruby Knight Vindicator (then its Int). You can afford a low Wis.

Cha: You have several class features that key off of your Cha (Indomitable Spirit, Smite), but the truth is that this stat is tertiary at best. If you don't have room for it, dump it. If you do, try to keep it around 14 and above. Technically, the entire Devoted Spirit style is keyed off of this, but the number of maneuvers that offer a save are so low its laughable.[/spoiler]

Skills: 4+int modifier, but not that many skills to choose from. Max out Concentration, Intimidate, Diplomacy, Knowledge (Religion), Martial Lore, and Balance/Ride, in that order. They are your priorities.

HD: d10s. But you can take a lot more than just that, thanks to your high Con score and Steely Resolve.

Saves: You can ignore your Reflex save. Your Fort and Will are decent (Will is good because of your Indomitable Soul class feature).

Class Features
[spoiler]Furious Counterstrike: The second most important class feature you have. This little trinket is a dozy, allowing you to get a good number of hits in on your opponents. If they ignore you, you make them suffer. If they focus on you, you make them suffer even more.

Maneuvers, Stances, and Recovery Mechanic: The most important class features you have (they are tied). Your recovery mechanic is interesting in that its the only one that doesn't require an action to use. The problem with it is you have no control over what maneuvers are granted to you. You can't ready less than the listed number either, to cheat the system out of the action economy. Oh well. Many people consider the Crusader's mechanic to be the best one in the game, if a bit confusing when you first read it. Others say this title belongs to the Warblade. Its a good idea to back up your recovery mechanic with Adaptive Style.

Steely Resolve: Its a shame this is only goes up to 30 points/round. It really should scale better with the damage from encounters. Regardless, this is usually what draws people into the class. A little bit of Damage Reduction (such as from Cloak of the Obyrith, Adamantine body, or any other source) is wonderful with this, and the Stone Power feat is effectively DR 10/-. This is the other reason you want enemies to hit you in combat, which is why a high AC is generally considered a bad thing for a Crusader.

Indomitable Soul: Helpful. Not as useful as the Pally's version, but helpful none the less. It doesn't stack with the Paladin's, but it does stack with the Hexblade's and Divine feats.

Zealous Surge: Meh. Could be useful if it were usable each encounter.

Smite: Only two uses/day, so make them count. You don't get it until 6th either. It is possible to make a Smite-focused build that uses Smite on each Strike you make to get a huge bonus to the attacks/damage, but you need to spend a number of feats on it to make that build work (I'll show it later on).

Diehard: Man, they really fucked this up. They forgot to put in "you don't have to meet the requirements". Mention this to your DM. Or just ignore it, as Shape Soulmeld (Rage Claws) is vastly superior (and more useful). If the DM has house rules similar to 4E's HP system, then this actually is a decent feat to have on your character.

Mettle: One of the problems with this is that it comes so late in the game that you are all ready able to get immunity to most Save or Dies/Lose. Doesn't hurt you to have it, it just comes too late.[/spoiler]

[Sinfire Titan]

Feats

The Crusader is a very feat-starved class. You get the base 7+Die Hard (like that last one really matters, but oh well), and that's it. Flaws, level-dips, and Legacy Items can all provide valuable bonus feats to work with, and Evil Crusaders may want to look into Elder Evil devotion for 5 freebies.

Word of advice: Never take Vow of Poverty. Crusaders are as item-reliant as Warblades/Fighters, and most of those bonus feats are meaningless to you. Totemists/Druids make better choices for that feat (and the Unarmed Swordsage is capable of pulling it off, but won't be happy about doing so). You have more important feats to worry about.

Feats: Core+Bo9S

If you are playing a Crusader, the odds are high that you are allowed to take feats from these two sources at minimum. In the rare occasion that you are playing a Crusader and the feats from one of these two books are barred, do yourself a favor and punch the person responsible for that decision. In the even rarer instance that both books are being blocked, do me a favor and shoot someone. Tzeentch knows we need less idiots in the world...

[spoiler]Adaptive Style: One of the best feats for a Martial Adept, but only the Swordsage is required to take it. If you have a spare feat and don't known what to spend it on, this one should be the default answer. But Crusaders don't have a lot of feats to spare.

Avenging Strike: if you see the words "Expedition to Demonweb Pits" anywhere on the table, this is a nice (if a bit restrictive) feat to take. Others wise, you can avoid taking this and never miss it. It's Smite Evil, but much more limited. At the lower levels the damage isn't limited by your class level, but it doesn't scale. Uses/day is better than normal Smite. Exception: If the DM rules that this feat allows you to take feats that require Smite Evil, then this is actually an easy way to cheat a little. If so, then this feat is better than a dip into Paladin.

Blade Meditation: There's only a handful of maneuvers that offer a save, the extra point of damage is just a flat +1, and the skill bonus is lower than Skill Focus (oh, and you don't use maneuvers that require skill checks). It's like someone forced Spell Focus, Skill Focus, and Weapon Focus to all have a massive orgy and this is the forsaken child that resulted. Don't take this feat.

Devoted Bulwark: Kinda runs counter-intuitive to the whole point of this class. Talk to your DM though. If, and only if, he says the bonus stacks with itself, this becomes a good way to avoid being swarmed by mooks. Otherwise, it's like Dodge, but only marginally better.

Divine Spirit: Hey, it's possible to take this feat and be a RKV at the same time! The damage you heal is like a Wand of Lesser Vigor, except 1 round's time and a Immediate action to use. Has potential to save your ass and your wallet, if you have the massive pool of Turn uses/day that a Cleric should have. Crusader 1/Cleric X/RKV 10 is a popular build(Paladin of Tyranny 3/Hexblade 2/Crusader 3/Ur-Priest 2/RKV 10 is a much better choice, as you can get this feat and Blessing of the Godless). If you know RKV is your ultimate destiny, then this feat is a good choice if you have the extra slot to spare (not likely, but you may).

Evasive Reflexes: No no no! Your job is to stand in front of the party and take it like a man! Normally, this feat is amazing. It sucks for a Crusader though, as you want to take the AoO and stop them dead in their tracks.

Extra Granted Maneuver: A must-have. Your recovery mechanic goes from happening once every 4 rounds to once every 3 rounds, and you get an extra granted maneuver each time it refreshes. This means you have the potential to draw the same maneuver more than once. It also means you never risk running out of options, something the normal method can easily do.

Martial Study/Stance: They are OK feats for everyone, but you have a lesser incentive to take them, as they cut into your maneuvers granted. Not that a bonus stance isn't helpful (it's downright required if you want the Stance of Immortal Fortitude without multiclassing), it's just that you don't have enough feats to spare.

Rapid Assault: No!

Snap Kick: if you have SuS all ready and are going to dip a few levels for bonus feats, this is a possible feat to take. RAW: It gives unlimited attacks, as long as you take the -2/attack (don't do this in an actual campaign, as this will get a book thrown at you).

Stone Power: The second most important feat for a Crusader to take, at least at the low levels. It doesn't scale well, but it is effectively DR 10/- against your Delayed Damage Pool. It also stacks with actual DR. Take it early, then use something like Psychic Reformation or Retraining to swap it for something more useful. Or hold onto it for a while, and be a little more resilient than normal. Beats the shit out of Toughness.

Sudden Recovery: 1) Your recovery mechanic is better if you are just a little lucky. 2) Obsolete due to Psychic Renewal being broken.

Superior Unarmed Strike: Meh. Useful if you all ready dipped into Unarmed Swordsage, but it isn't that good on its own.

Vital Recovery: If only it were usable more than once/encounter, this would be a must-have. It loses out to Blessing of the Godless and Divine Spirit, but it isn't a bad backup if you have extra feats for some reason (for one thing, your recovery mechanic triggers even when you are unconcious, so this can bring you back into the fight without wasting an action).

White Raven Defense: If the bonus were better, this would be a great feat to have (as it lets you protect your allies, which is your job).

Scribe Martial Script: Skip it, find an NPC to craft these items for you.

Psychic Renewal: Let me spell this out for you guys: At will, as a Swift action, I can expend up to 9pp and my Focus to recover any martial maneuver I have readied and subsequently expended. Ruby Knight Vindicators can get extra Swift actions/round at the cost of turn attempts, and the PP can be from any source you can normally manifest from (like a Cognizance Crystal, or your 20 free PP from being a Kalashtar). A Xeph is capable of spending Swift actions to take a Move action (and a Psion or PsiWar can do the same thing). The Psychic Meditation feat allows you to recover your Focus with a Move action and a DC 20 Concentration check. White Raven Tactics can be used to give someone else extra actions.

Basically, get a shit ton of Crystals, a War Mind/Ruby Knight Vindicator with White Raven Tactics, Hustle, and an ass load of Turn Undead, and you can allow your entire party to take an extra turn. Get two of those War Mind/RKVs in the same room, and they can turn loop each other. Or you can allow the party's Wizard 8 extra turns. Technically, anyone can do a limited version of this if they have the right setup.

Clarion Commander: Its an OK feat, but odds are you won't be able to spare one for it.

Faith Unswerving: Great feat if you can spare a slot, but requires a crappy one.

Shards of Granite: Considered a solid (pardon) feat for any adept, but you are free to pass it up.


Combat Expertise: Needed for Improved Trip (unless you dip into Wolf Totem Barbarian 2 to get Improved Trip for free, in which case this feat only serves as a requirement for Karmic Strike).

Combat Reflexes: Obviously, this is a good feat.

Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Any weapon will work (thanks to Aptitude), but the Spiked Chain is the one you want. Not a good feat, but practically required.

Extra Turning: RKVs only. One of the best feats in the book.

Power Attack: Partially replaced by Stone Power, but the original is still good.

Improved Feint: Odds are you won't have room for this, and the feat's a bit controversial anyway. No Stone Dragon or Devoted Spirit strikes are Full Round actions, and only three or four of the White Raven strikes are Full Rounds. It's a decent way to debuff the enemy, but Bluff isn't a class skill, the odds of your enemy failing get lower as your level improves, and the benefits are outweighed by Furious Counterstrike. I recommend avoiding it.

Whirlwind Attack: If you want this ability, take a few levels in Warblade and get Adamantine Hurricane or Mithral Tornado, or buy the enhancement from the MiC. Even in a Core+Bo9S environment, there are better ways to get this feat's benefit. Buy an Iron Heart item with Mithral Tornado in it, but do not waste the feats to take this.

Spring Attack: Sorry kid, this one sucks for you. 3 reasons. 1: Flyby Attack is better for you because it allows Strikes. 2: Your job is tanking. 3: Requirements suck. If you have this feat, your are not doing your job as a tank.

Improved Disarm/Trip/Bull Rush: A few Stone Dragon maneuvers have the Bull Rush and Trip ability, but these feats are fairly decent investments nonetheless. Well, Improved Trip is anyway (and you can get it for free if you take 2 levels of Wolf-Totem Barbarian). Disarm and Bull Rush provide very little benefit outside of a select few maneuvers.

Other Core feats: There's a lot of them you don't need. For a good idea of what to take, consult the other posters for their opinion on the feat in question. Most of the feats won't help you.[/spoiler]


Notable Others

These feats appear in sources outside of the Core rules and Bo9S. These feats are the major contributors, only the average ones and up are being posted.

[spoiler]Devotion Feats: Some of them are quite powerful. I'll list the best ones, and the reasons behind them.

• Air: I know I said you don't care about AC, but the ability to make even Siege Engines have a 50% miss chance is a nice side effect. Ignoring Ranged attacks 50% of the time helps too, seeing as you want to stay alive long enough to kill every enemy in sight.
• Animal Devotion: Hello! +8 Str, or Flight at a good speed, and a decent Speed bonus using either the Cheetah or Eagle. The Snake one is OK at the lowest levels, but loses value to the Str bonus.
• Chaos Devotion: Kinda iffy, but flavorful and worth-while. If you get the AC bonus one round, switch stances into something like Iron Guard's Glare. If you get the attack bonus, sink it into Stone Power and smack away.
• Death Devotion: Useful, but not that powerful. At the lowest levels, it sucks. At the highest, it isn't that useful. But in PvP, or against humanoid enemies, this gets fairly nasty.
• Destruction Devotion: I need not tell you why this is good. Lowering AC speaks for itself.
• Earth Devotion: A stance duplicates it's basic effects, but its worth mentioning because it can affect up to 6 spaces out to a 30ft range. Its fairly decent.
• Evil Devotion: I point this out because it's normally a bad feat. Normally, the DR/Alignments are very bad. This may very well be an exception due to Elder Evils (see below). For one, this feat makes you a Team Player^TM. Two, this feat improves your tanking ability, if only by 5 points/attack. Only a couple of creatures are Good-aligned for DR, considerably less than the ones who are Evil. Not much, but decent. If you have a spare feat, here's a choice one for the Vile Crusader.
• Healing Devotion: Fastest access to Fast Healing in the game. Every tank likes Fast Healing. Especially considering you can share. Get Turn Undead, and have a blast.
• Knowledge Devotion: I'd be an idiot if I didn't point this out. It stacks with Furious Counterstrike, it's a skill-reliant ability (easily boosted), and it adds a class skill. Nothing wrong with this feat.
• Law Devotion: The brother to Chaos Devotion, and by default just as powerful. RAW, this feat's bonus can switch every time you take an action. Swing 4 times as a Full Round action, then take a Swift action to switch stances and switch the bonus!
• Luck Devotion: Meh. If you suck at rolling lots of dice, this is a nice way to get decent damage.
• Plant Devotion: Immunity to Crits. Saves armor slots on Fortification. +2 AC isn't too bad.
• Protection Devotion: This feat basically says: Kill me now or the others will be even harder to kill. Hell, not even! As long as your corpse is within 30ft, and you can convince your DM that you are still considered X level even while dead, this feat still functions because it is an SLA's effect.
• Strength Devotion: The Slam attack is excellent, and the ability to overcome hardness and damage reduction is always welcome. Warforged want!
• Travel Devotion: Double standard here! Spring Attack sucks, but this feat doesn't? That's because this feat has 2 less problems. It has no requirements other than Deity, it allows Strikes and even full attacks, and it allows you to turn your Swift action into an emergency Move action for closing the gap or repositioning for Flanking and such.
• Trickery Devotion: This feat is mixed. If the DM ignores CC's Errata, this can turn you into a Double-Tank. It acts like a mini-version of Astral Projection as written. If the errata is in effect, the duplicate isn't that good. It's a great way to give the casters emergency support, but if they're in trouble odds are they can easily deal with the threat. If they can't, you have bigger problems to worry about.
• Water Devotion: Decent. Worth mentioning because it's whirlpool ability is situationally good, and because it acts like a panic button in situations. If the squishy ones are in trouble, this guy can get to them fairly quick and cover your ass while you deal with the rest of the enemies/close in on the threats. It also provides easy flanking, and acts like a Life Preserver if you ever fall in the ocean in Adamantine Full Plate.

Elder Evils
This portion is devoted (pardon) to the darkest forces in existence. Devoting yourself to an Elder Evil provides an immediate Bonus Vile Feat from a set list, plus an additional feat for every 5 HD you have. Total benefit is 5 free feats, at the cost of your soul (but that's not as bad as it sounds, seeing as you can still be rezzed). Hands down, this book is the best supplement for a Crusader. Why? 5 free feats, many of which are nothing but gravy for you. Also, easy access to difficult feats such as Willing Deformity: Tall or Obese. Finally, the Elder Evil Sertrous grants every single domain in existence. Even the exalted ones. This couples nicely with the Devotion feats above. A level-dip or so into Cleric is well worth this, and the Vile Crusader is one of the most powerful builds for a Crusader character (only Lockdown exceeds its sheer power).

• Apostate: Ur-Priests get a similar ability. The bad news? You can't receive healing spells from Divine casters. Oh well, you can heal yourself. Also, see Blessing of the Godless below.
• Chosen of Evil: Con damage hurts, but the payout is decent. Find a way to heal it and you're set. Prerequisite feat for the most part. Emergency button otherwise.
• Master's Will: Hello! It seems like a trap. It isn't. This feat is more of a Double-Edged Sword, but that helps you. As an Immediate action, roll 1d20. If the result is odd, +8 to the next d20 roll of your choice for one round. Not a bad benefit. If even, however, you take damage equal to your level. This fuels Furious Counterstrike. At 20th level, this feat becomes: Immediate action for a +8 to one roll or a +4 to attack and damage rolls this round. Nothing whatsoever wrong with this. Intense on the Immediate action though...
• Evil's Blessing: Dark One's Own Luck for 5 rounds. Odds are, as a Crusader, you have a decent Cha. It stacks with Indomitable Will. If you have a Surprise action this encounter, use this and activate Travel Devotion (or some other Swift/Immediate action ability).
• Insane Defiance: The requirements for this feat are fairly high, but a Cleric/Crusader/RKV will have the ability to take it. 1 point of Wisdom damage to redirect any effect that targets Will to another target, legal or otherwise. The new target takes a -4 to their save. The party's Beguiler will love you.

The Deformity feats: The important two aren't on the list. But the ones that are have their uses.

• Deformity: Eyes: We've all fought one of those annoying Rogues with Improved Invisibility or the Gish with Quicken: Invis. This is your answer to that problem.
• Deformity: Madness!: -4 Wis for immunity to Mind-Affecting abilities. Blanket immunity. Not a +2 bonus, not a Cha to saves against, blanket-fucking-immunity. Hard to get more powerful than that. Oh, and 1/2 character level to one Will save 1/day. The hit to Wis hurts, no doubt about it. But unless you are an RKV, you won't care!
• Reflexive Psychosis: Immediate action for DR 5/-. No drawback other than the -4 Wis from the requirement. What's that? Confusion? Mind-Affecting, thus you are immune. Ha!

Other Feats
Generous Sacrifice: Got a Wizard nearby? Does he know how to cast Animate Dead? Get him to Animate a frog. Keep it in your pocket. Give it negative levels during post-combat healing. Or to the party's Lich Dread Necromancer. Or any undead ally. Exemplars of Evil.

Blessing of the Godless: Take a look at the first ability. That's the only one that really matters. If the other two come up enough, use them too. But in general you will only need the first one. Turn a bottle of Holy Water into healing for the entire party. 25gp heals a total of your Level*X, where X is the number of other participants+1. There's a cap of 6 people total (yourself counted), so that equals roughly 120hp. Everyone has to take their Character Level's worth if they use it, but odds are you are the only one who will really need it. That's the equivalent of a Heal Spell, CL 12th, for 25gp and 6 minutes. Exemplars of Evil. Vile feat.

Fell Conspiracy: The other Ritual feat in EoE. This one's weakest ability is Message At Will to anyone in the group. That's a short range telepathy ability. Perfect for spying. Or just gathering information. The second two abilities are effectively Hive-Minding the entire party. 100ft radius Telepathy and none of you can be Flanked unless everyone is. +2 Spot and Listen. Best utility feat I've ever seen. Combine this with Blessing of the Godless, above, and you've effectively got a powerhouse party with just you! 1 hour, 6 minutes every day at 9th level and higher, costing a total of 527gp/day, and can be done while everyone else is preparing spells and such. Vile Feat, Exemplars of Evil.

Willing Deformity: Obese: Dragonborn for the Vile characters. Sort of. +2 Con, -2 Dex. Nothing bad about that! BoVD.

Willing Deformity: Tall: Effectively turns you Large. Shame you have to be humanoid. Heroes of Horror.

Leadership: Because everyone has it. The Minions it provides can be used to fuel the party's HP supply if you find a way to store them somewhere safe. Hint: Warforged Adepts can live inside a Portable Hole. DMG.

Abyssal Heritor feats: While not as powerful as the Elder Evils ability, they have some good feats in here. Of note, Cloak of the Obyrith, Keeper of Forbidden Lore, Eyes of the Abyss, and Primordal Scion all have decent uses for a Chaotic Crusader. Cloak is arguably the best, seeing as it is free DR/Lawful (a rare ability). Better off taking it and a few others, then finding another feat to bolster your DR instead of spamming these ones. Interesting, but not particularly effective.

Shape Soulmeld: For those of you who haven't realized it yet, I am in love with Incarnum. For a Crusader, there's several melds that will prove useful. Airstep Sandals gives you a somewhat limited Fly speed at will. Impulse Boots=Bonus to Reflex, Uncanny Dodge, and Evasion (if you can get it bound to your Feet chakra). Rage Claws=Diehard+. Take a look at the Incarnum Handbook for more ideas.

• Notable Soulmeld: This is a bit tricky, but the Theraputic Mantle allows you to heal at a much higher rate with stances and strikes. The Mantle makes it so you can heal yourself an additional Hit Point with each attack when using Martial Spirit. If you have an Essentia Pool, you can heal even more.
  
  The tricky part? The wording on the Soulmeld is poor. Most DMs will overlook the fact that it says "Whenever you are the target of a spell or effect that heals hit point damage", and think it only works on Spells (then again, it says spells a lot more than it should). This can be solved relatively easily, as Supernatural Abilities and SLAs have a level equal to 1/2 the creature's HD, and your maneuvers have levels built into them.
  
  Alternatively, just invest a point of Essentia or two and have the party's Rogue activate a Wand of Lesser Vigor on you. You now have Fast Healing 1+(1+2/Essentia invested). Fast Healing 4 at level 2 is really good I hear.

Standstill: Another part of the Lockdown build, and very good even without the build. XPH.[/spoiler]

[Sinfire Titan]

Magic Items

Weapons
[spoiler]

• Mundane Weapons

Light Weapons: 90% of the time you will want a two-handed weapon, especially at the low levels. There are two notable exceptions: The Kusari-Gama (a one-handed Spiked Chain), and your Unarmed Strike (when coupled with a Reach weapon like a Guisarme).
One-Handed: Crusaders have a few abilities that let them take advantage of a Shield, but you'd be better off just using the shield as a weapon. A trident is a solid weapon for this category, as it is both ranged and melee-compatible.
Two-Handed: The Guisarme is the best here but the Greatsword/Falchion is a decent choice too if you aren't going for Lockdown for some reason. The Lasso (Book of Exalted Deeds) is like a reusable Tanglefoot Bag, so that's a good choice if you need it (just throw and forget).
Exotic: Most of these suck, but the good ones are the Spiked Chain variants, the Greathammer (MM4, only if the DM allows the x4 multiplier), and the net (which you don't need proficiency to use).
Ranged: Backup weapons like a Composite Longbow will go a long way, but most of your maneuvers don't work with Ranged attacks. Tiger Claw maneuvers do, but you don't have access to them (and prereqs are a bitch).

• Enhancements

Corrosive: 1d6 extra acid damage, one of the three least common resistances. Stacks with the Augment Crystal version (not explicitly, but they aren't the same thing). Solid choice if you want a little more damage.
Bane: This is somewhat decent, but it isn't that worth it unless you really know what your DM likes to throw. Undead, Outsiders, and aberrations are common enough, but just make sure the DM is being nice.
Defending: Not worth it for you. Sure, the extra AC is helpful, but you want to be hit more, not less.
Desiccating: Very little resists this, even if it is only 1d4. Unless your DM is holding Sandstorm behind the screen, this enhancement will provide extra damage against everything.
Energy Surge: First introduced in DMG2, this ability was reprinted in the MiC. 1+Con mod/day, your energy weapon deals an extra 3d6. Very fun for your Strikes. As with everything related to the 4 major energy types, Acid is the way to go.
Fiercebane: If you all ready have Bane, this is a decent addition.
Ghost Touch: Try to get the augment crystal or a wand with the spell's effect.
Lucky: For those who hate missing with a Strike.
Magebane: If you can get the original version of this, do it. This one isn't too bad, but much less versatile than the CArc version.
Merciful: Another 1d6 damage, and you can shut it off against things immune to it.
Morphing: Versatile, but not essential.
Profane: Are you Evil? If so, this is your new toy.
Psychokinetic: 1d4 Force damage. less than a dozen creatures resist it, and it guarantees 1d4 damage against incorporeal creatures.
Resounding: Boost your allies attack rolls. White Raven-themed, and somewhat useful.
Revealing: Dunno if you know this or not, but Faerie Fire is a decent spell.
Screaming: 1d4 Sonic damage. A whopping 2 creatures resist this.
Shattermantle: Got a blaster in the party? Or anyone who needs to bypass SR? Here's a way to make yourself their best friend.
Shock/Flaming/Frost: Meh, pass these up.
Spellstrike: The better version of Defending. Up to a +5 bonus against saving throws against spells/SLAs.
Vicious: If you don't have it all ready, grab it ASAP!
Warning: Good, but put it on a gauntlet.
Blindsighted: 3 minutes of Blindsight for you. If you can't grab the Blindfold of True Darkness, this is the next best thing.
Blurstrike: Strike-friendly.
Collision: Naturally.
Consumptive: Evil again. Fairly good too.
Holy/Unholy/Etc: Again, know your DM.
Vampiric: Very good!
Wounding: Ok, you've got a Stone Dragon Strike that does it better though.
Bodyfeeder: Somewhat overpriced. Useful, but overpriced.
Ethereal Reaver: Constant See Invisibilty, and built-in Ghost Touch. Works great if you are the party's watchdog.
Implacable: Takes too long to work, and works better with a Tiger Claw adept anyway.
Speed: Avoid this.
Brilliant Energy: Situationally useful. Not worth the price though.
Dancing: Decent.
Spell Storing: Only if you are a JPM or RKV, or if your party's caster wants it.
Transmuting: If you can't use Mountain Hammers for some reason, grab this too.

[/spoiler]

Armor
[spoiler]

Bluring: A +1 bonus that gives you 20% concealment for 15 rounds/day. While you want to get hit, getting hit too much can kill even you. This helps stop that from happening, and prevents Sneak Attacks.
Ghost Ward: Plan on facing a lot of spellcasters? Here's a nice defense against Touch spells and Rays.
Speed: 6K for 3 rounds of Haste each day. Get this if you need more than just what the Boots of Speed provide.
Greater Bluring: As above, but at will. The problem is you are using up a +3 slot, so this is less attractive.
Retaliation: Most enemies in the MM have multiple natural attacks, and this punishes them for using them. So either they attack you and hurt themselves even more, or they ignore you while you wail on them with Divine Surge/Elder Mountain Hammer. Lose/Lose for them. It isn't much damage, but it adds up fast.
Greater Healing: If you keep the 1/day use of the lesser version, this isn't too bad. 3d8+15 in emergencies can be a life-saver.

[/spoiler]

Shield
[spoiler]

Bashing: Overpriced garbage. Just get shield spikes and enhance those as though they were a normal weapon.
Fortification: Put it here instead of on your armor.
Ranged: For style purposes only.
Animated: If you don't plan on using one as a weapon, this is the way to go.

[/spoiler]

Clothing
[spoiler]

• Arms:

Armbands of Might (MiC): If you are seriously this starved for damage, you need to rethink your maneuvers and feats.
Bracers of Opportunity (MiC): Solid for lockdown builds (attack bonuses are nice, and it lets you neglect Dex a little).
Bracers of Armor (DMG): Your AC really isn't too important, but it never hurts to have it at a decent level. These provide for your Touch AC, which is important.
Greatreach Bracers (MiC): If only they worked for a full round, but these are nonetheless good.
Inquisitor's Bracers (MiC): As powerful as the Healing Belt, just slightly more expensive, and works with Martial Spirit. And the image of pimp-slapping someone while healing them is just too funny to pass up.
Reciprocal Bracers (MiC): Not too shabby. 3/day, and cheap. The requirements limit it, but against assassins and opponents with multiple attacks, it should come in handy.
Bracers of Blinding Strike (MiC, Fleet Warrior's Array): Bonus to Init, and an extra attack 3/day. Not bad, especially for 5K.
Bracers of Archery (DMG): You are the only class in the book with Ranged weapon proficiencies, and have the option to take advantage of it. This will help, if only a little bit at a time.
Bands of Blood Rage (MiC, Instruments of the Blood Gift): Holy hell! 3/day, +5 on melee damage, and you take 5 damage/attack? That's incredible for a Crusader (your HP should be able to handle it). Hell, 2/3s of this collection is worth using (take everything if you are a Jade Phoenix Mage).
Strongarm Bracers (MiC): For those of you who want to wield a buster sword, but don't want to take LA.

• Body:

Armor goes here. Sorry.

• Face:

Lenses of Revelation (MiC, Vestments of Divinity): Crusaders are the only Paladin-esque class with no Detect ability. These (fairly cheap) lenses give you a moderately useful one, and it doesn't take 3 rounds to use. Not bad.
Blindfold of True Darkness: Blindsight 30ft for 9K. You are blind while wearing it, but you can just lift it up as a Standard action, or just go where the party directs you. Or get a familiar, or...
Crystal Mask of Mind Armor: You get Cha to Will saves all ready, but this is another +4 and relatively cheap.
Eyes of Truth True Seeing 1/day for one round. Worth having 2 or 3 of them.

• Feet:

Sandals of the Light Step (MiC, Fleet Warrior's Array): More for the speed bonus than the Water Walking, but that can come in handy too.
Cloudwalker Anklets (MiC, Raiment of the Storm Walker): 50k ain't cheap, but Wind Walk at will is very potent. Beats the Boots of Levitation when you can afford this. And if you somehow gain Wild Shape you can still use these.
Steadfast Boots (MiC): Deters anything trying to charge you, regardless of what type of two-handed weapon you are wielding. Spiked Chain trippers will love this.
Boots of the Battle Charger: You can probably all ready do this, but if you have Pounce these boots are probably better than your Stone Dragon/White Raven maneuvers that do the same.
Dimension Stride Boots: 20ft teleportation is handy, but inferior to the Boots of Swift Passage. Mentioned for the cheaper price and Chain Trippers might not care about the activation time.
Quicksilver Boots: A Diamond Mind maneuver has the same effect, but it is 6th level and costs feats. These just cost 3,500gp and your Feet slot, and provide concealment while you take the movement. Bargain? I think so.
Boots of Levitation: Cheaper than the Anklets, but less effective for melee combat.
Boots of Speed: There's nothing wrong with free attacks. Ever.
Boots of Swift Passage: MOVE ACTION TELEPORTATION!? Buy a pair.

• Hands:

Reach Gauntlets (MiC): Are you a Kalashtar? Do you find yourself with 3pp to spare each and every day? Do you have 500gp? If you answered yes to those questions, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, BUY THESE DAMN THINGS!!!!
Gloves of Fortunate Striking (MiC): Dunno about you, but I hate whiffing on a Strike.
True Strike Gauntlets (MiC): Again, a Strike-friendly item. Not as useful except in multiples. Great for Power Attack.
Barbs of Retribution (MiC, Instruments of the Blood Gift): If you are Dragonblooded or have Sorcerer spells, these are amazing for your party's caster. And you get to trigger Furious Counterstrike if you use your HP for this.

• Head:

Helm of Glorious Recovery (MiC): Cure Serious 1/day. Not that powerful, but it helps in a pinch. Fairly cheap too.

• Shoulders:

Cloak of Resistance (DMG): Never hurt to have one.
Transposer Cloak (MiC): Save your party's caster's ass 3/day. Works wonderfully if they get a higher Init and decide to try a Touch spell for some insane reason.
Cloak of Charisma (DMG): Mainly used to pump your Will save. Not entirely worth it though.
Minor Cloak of Displacement (DMG):  Buy one ASAP.
Phoenix Cloak (MiC, Regalia of the Phoenix): Cheaper than Winds of Flying, Perfect maneuverability, same price as the Cloudwalker Anklet.
Cloak of Etherealness (DMG): HOLY CRAP! Buy one if you aren't all ready using your shoulder slot.

• Throat:

Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker (MiC): A cheap, swift-action movement 1/day. Rather meh.
Amulet of Natural Armor (DMG): AC isn't your priority, but it can save your life every now and again.
Amulet of Tears (MiC): The temp HP stack with Stone Power and other sources. Use this wisely, replace it later.
Heartseeking Amulet (MiC): Divine Surge loves this item.
Amulet of Health (DMG): Obviously vital (pardon).
Amulet of Fortune Prevailing (MiC): Yes please!
Vampiric Torc (MiC): Useful.
Hand of Glory (DMG): You probably have use for your Throat slot, but this is also useful.
Blood Claw Choker (MiC Instruments of the Blood Gift): Going into Jade Phoenix Mage? Grab one of these.
Scarab of Invulnerability (MiC): It seems counterintuitive to gain immunity to HP damage when your goal is to take it, but sometimes even you need to withstand something you wouldn't be able to otherwise. It also negates the End of Turn damage dealt to you by your Steely Resolve's pool, improving this item's worth. Fairly expensive though.
Amulet of Second Chances (MiC): 1/day reset time. Seriously useful.

• Torso:

Vest of Resistance (MiC): As with the cloak, this is good.

• Waist:

Healing Belt (MiC): Worth every penny. Grab a few of them if you have the cash.
Belt of Growth (MiC): Get two or three of these. Large size is very good.
Belt of Priestly Might (MiC): See if you can enhance these effects ala the Amulet of Natural Armor and the Belt of Giant's Strength. If so, this is better than the latter.
Belt of Giant's Strength (DMG): If not, oh well.
Belt of Battle (MiC): This may well be the best item on your character sheet.
Monk's Belt (DMG): Expensive, and increases MAD, but it can be good in its own right.

• Rings:

Communication (MiC): Group telepathy. Never a bad thing.
Darkhidden (MiC): Potentially game-breaking. Anything without Blindsight or similar abilities cannot detect you with vision. 90% of the MM has Darkvision.
Four Winds (MiC): +2 AC or featherfall 4/day. 200gp cheaper than the actual Ring of Feather Falling, but limited in uses/day. The marginal difference in price is up to you.
Protection (DMG): Again, more AC isn't vital, but can be handy.
Arming (MiC): Remember that scene from Iron man, where he first dons the armor? Same idea, more portable.
Spell-Battle (MiC): Unexpected from you, this could actually save your hide every now and then.
Force Armor (MiC): Yeah, I know, more AC. But this deals damage to anything attacking you so it has another use. Not much damage, but still.
Nine Lives: Auto-Succeed on a failed save. And 9 heals.
Friend Shield (DMG): Got another melee-member in the party? Link up!
Universal Energy Resistance (MiC): Good to have, not required.

[/spoiler]

Tools
[spoiler]

Potions and Oils: 99.9999% of the time, you will want to just sell these off as soon as you get them. The  .0001% of the time is when you have a Philosipher's Stone and need the True Rez that effing badly.
Quaal's Feather Token (Tree, Anchor, Whip): The Anchor is somewhat useful to screw pirates over. The Tree is arguably the best of the lot, and the Whip is cheap and useful at the low levels against Incorporeals (who can't wear armor and have no natural armor to speak of). The fan is somewhat useful for a one-shot boating trip or for emergencies during a seafaring campaign.
Scrolls: As with potions, avoid these. The exception is when the party Wizard asks nicely.
Unguent of Timelessness: Good for preserving things, but not all that important (put it on a torch).
Wand (any level): No UMD+Low level wands=Garbage to you. Give them to a spellcaster whne you get them.
Hammersphere: Incredible at the low levels, tappers off around 6th.
Heward's Handy Haversack: Standard gear for any traveler.
Rod of Viscid Globs: Tanglefoot Bags are usually useful even at the mid-levels, but this is a bit expensive. Unless you use one every encounter, skip this thing (not your strong-suit either).
Sovereign Glue: For when you need it.
Bag of Tricks: Don't buy the Gray one.
Survival Pouch: Can't use an Enveloping Pit? Buy one of these.
Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments: Broken like you wouldn't believe. Got an active imagination? Then this will serve you perfectly. Bit of a headache to keep track of.
Diamondskin Decanter: Its a low amount of DR that is overcome by a common type, but look at your MM for a minute. See something strange? Only a handful of enemies even carry manufactured weapons, and even less of those have Adamantine by default, so most DMs won't take the time to give them an adamatine weapon. While DR 4/Adamantine may not seem like much, it goes a long way for you. The errata changed nothing on this, BTW (literally one word difference).
Psychoactive Skin of Ectoplasmic Armor: Full Plate without the armor slot. And it doesn't have the 7 round restriction of other skins.
Horn of Plenty: Heroes' Feast is an excellent spell.
Scabbard of Keen Edges: Cheaper in the long run than the Keen enhancement.

[/spoiler]

Utility
[spoiler]In all honesty, most utility items aren't going to be very useful for you. Small tools like Tanglefoot Bags, marbles, caltrops, and other semi-useful mundane tricks will be the priority here. Purchasing wands and staves with your gold is a good idea (this goes double for Crusaders planning on taking Jade Phoenix Mage or Ruby Knight Vindicator levels).[/spoiler]

[Sinfire Titan]

Maneuvers and Stances

This section is dedicated to a recommended Maneuver+Stances list. In addition, I shall annotate each maneuver with a recommended exchange. In other words, I show you which maneuvers are worth keeping, and which ones you should take and swap out later.

1st Level
[spoiler]A note about 1st level maneuvers: Crusaders have NO variety here. You have 5 maneuvers to learn, and only 6 options. It's going to be the same every single time too.

Crusader's Strike: A required choice for a 1st level character. ^{*Exchange for Revitalizing Strike at 6th level.}
Vanguard Strike: It's really just a toss-up between this and Leading the Attack.
Charging Minotaur: Small damage strikes like this can end CR1 encounters. ^{*Exchange for Mountain Hammer at 4th level}.
Stones Bones: Meh. If there were more choices, I'd be 50/50 on this. It can help against mooks, but it really doesn't last that long, and it isn't reliable. ^{*Exchange for Elder Mountain Hammer at 10th level.}
Douse the Flames: If you have highly mobile allies, or casters who like using Touch spells, this is a decent option. ^{*Exchange for White Raven Tactics at 6th or 8th level.}
Leading the Attack: As I said above, it's a toss up between this and Vanguard Strike. If your party is melee-heavy, you may want to choose both this and Vanguard Strike (replacing Stone Bones or Charging Minotaur). If you plan on focusing on White Raven, select this over Vanguard Strike. ^{*Exchange for White Raven Tactics at 6th or 8th level.}

Stances

Iron Guard's Glare: If you are playing up this style, go ahead. But Martial Spirit is likely going to be the only stance you use at these levels.
Martial Spirit: 2HP/Attack you make, to any ally in 30ft. Hard to beat this at this level.
Stonefoot Stance: Pass on this.
Bolstering Voice: Not really worth it unless the whole party has low Will saves.
Leading the Charge: For Shock Trooper builds.[/spoiler]

2nd Level
[spoiler]Foehammer: The strange thing about Crusaders is that redundancy is a good thing. This maneuver is almost identical to the Mountain Hammer, so it is worth considering. ^{*Exchange for Rallying Strike at 12th level, or Castigating Strike at 14th if focusing on Devoted Spirit.}
Shield Block: If you are using a Shield at all, this is a decent maneuver for you. JaronK did a rather solid Captain America build using Crusader as a base. You'll be keeping this one if you do.
Mountain Hammer: The Fighter's Lockpick. ^{*Exchange for Irresistible Mountain Strike at 12th if focusing on Stone Dragon.}
Stone Vise: Don't bother.
Battle Leader's Charge: Not bad. Consider it if you are focusing on White Raven. ^{*Exchange for War Leader's Charge at 12th level if focusing on White Raven.}
Tactical Strike: Remember that redundancy thing I mentioned? Here's another example. It doesn't overcome DR though. ^{*Exchange for White Raven Strike at 8th level if focusing on White Raven.}[/spoiler]

3rd Level
[spoiler]Defensive Rebuke: One of those times where Whirlwind Attack is decent (but just use Mithral Tornado, if you can get your hands on it). This is a great maneuver for Crusaders, as it lets you draw fire towards yourself while punishing those who don't focus on you. Against singular enemies, you can force their hand while you use a Strike to lay on the hurt. The best part is it applies to any melee attack, including their AoOs. Keep this one if you are focusing on Devoted Spirit.
Revitalizing Strike: A natural upgrade. The average healing it does when you get it is about 17 points, which is really good for something that can be used so often. It tappers out quickly though. ^{*Exchange for Rallying Strike at 14th.}
Bone Crusher: Stone Dragon is really good about keeping up with your ECL in damage. Unless you are very crit-focused, the second half isn't that important to you.
Stone Dragon's Fury: One of the few maneuvers that can be used with a combat option. But don't bother, it's weaker than Bone Crusher (doesn't matter against Constructs).
Lion's Roar: Not that good. While it affects any damage they deal, it only adds 5 points and doesn't scale. It's possible that it applies to Ability Damage they deal though, so it does have a possible redeeming quality. Still, the requirements are too steep for it to be useful.
White Raven Tactics: If you don't have this, you are either soloing the enemy  or it's expended. If you don't fall into one of those two, you are an idiot. Never trade it. EVER.

Stances

Thicket of Blades: A huge benefit for a Lockdown Crusader. Really, this is the best stance for you at this level.
Crushing Weight of the Mountain: Not as good as Thicket of Blades, but Constrict is really damn good (especially for 2d6+1.5*Str). It's very easy to force a grapple check once you have them, so this is a decent stance if you are focusing on that kind of fighting.
Roots of the Mountain: The DR it provides is tiny, but the stance itself is OK. If you aren't focusing on Grappling or Lockdown, this stance can provide a lot of HP.
Tactics of the Wolf: Got a Druid, Rogue, and Cleric, all of whom love being in melee? This is your new stance. Very easy to get the requirements going, and it makes the rest of the party better, so it gets teamwork bonuses.[/spoiler]

4th Level
[spoiler]Divine Surge: And here I thought Stone Dragon was the damage dealer. +8d8 is nothing to sneeze at, and even if the DM switches the damage on this and the Greater version, it's still good.
Entangling Blade: This is a preclude to a stronger maneuver, but not one of the same school. It's good if you need to cover a retreat, but very low damage hurts it.
Bonesplitting StrikeBoulder Roll: No one really uses Overrun.
Overwhelming Mountain Strike: Really low damage, and it doesn't stop a Full Attack. Why you wouldn't just use Standstill+Thicket of Blades is beyond me. This loses out to Entangling Blade IMO, largely due to the No Save part.
Covering Strike: Another version of Defensive Rebuke, but one that lasts longer. Great against things like Hydras.
White Raven Strike: Fairly useful, especially for the party's Rogue.[/spoiler]

5th Level*
[spoiler]Daunting Strike: Fear effects stack, but this has a really short duration. Still, it can fuck something up if you can panic them for one round.
Doom Charge: DR 10/- and a high damage output. The problem? Requires them to be Good-aligned. Not exactly that useful, considering how many things are actually Good-aligned in the MMs.
Law Bearer: That problem Doom Charge has? This doesn't exactly share it. Chaotic enemies are more common (most MMs have a handful, and all Demons are automatically Chaotic by subtype). If you are planning a trip to the Abyss any time after 7th level, consider this strike.
Radiant Strike: This is effective against 70% of the Monster Manual, so you've got no worries here.
Tide of Chaos: Same problem as Doom Charge, but the concealment is nice.
Elder Mountain Hammer: it's weaker than Divine Surge, but this is still a good Strike. ^{*Exchange for Tombstone Mountain Strike at 18th.}
Mountain Avalanche: Really weak strike. Stick with Elder Mountain Hammer.
Flanking Maneuver: Free attacks are welcomed by all. Only take this if you have a cohort or a lot of allies.

Stances

Devoted Spirit: Doesn't actually have a stance at this level. Really weird.
Giant's Stance: This stacks with Powerful Build, but it's not worth the Stance Known.
Press the Advantage: 10ft steps every turn, and difficult terrain doesn't slow you down that much. Really good, best stance at this level.[/spoiler]

6th Level*
[spoiler]Rallying Strike: All allies within 30ft, including yourself. Keep this one, you'll need it.
Crushing Vise: Beats Entangling Blade and Overwhelming Mountain Strike any day.
Iron Bones: Moderate DR at this level, and very few creatures are built with the ability to overcome Adamantine DR. Not as effective in PvP though. Works best against hordes.
Irresistible Mountain Strike: And this is hands-down one of the most annoying strikes there is. They lose the option to full attack, and can't use normal attacks. Really effing good.
Orders Forged from Chaos: One of two maneuvers that can be used as a Move action, and a decent one at that. Consider it.
War Leader's Charge: +35 damage is the average of 10d6, so this is level-appropriate for a Strike. Decent way to open up a round, but it really depends on the Crusader's Granted Maneuvers.

Stances

One screwed up point about Crusaders is that they get stance options at both maneuvers level 5th and 6th. You can't delay your stances either, and your progression is screwed up at 14th level. You end up being forced to pick one of these at 14th, and cannot learn an 8th level stance without spending a feat. Regardless, these stances are very good for a Crusader.

Aura of Chaos: Exploits aside, this is a really good stance for any martial adept. Seriously, it's a death-engine.
Aura of Perfect Aura: Also a really good stance. If you can get your bonuses high enough, you can forgo rolling the attack roll on your strikes.
Aura of Triumph: You AND one ally, 4HP, every attack. If your best friend is Jack B. Quick, this stance can make the two of you nigh unkillable with HP damage.
Aura of Tyranny: Works best with a lot of allies, but it's also a decent idea for a tank to leech HP. If you are doing your job right, they usually will have the HP to spare for you.[/spoiler]

7th Level*
[spoiler]Castigating Strike: The only AoE strike that isn't in Desert Wind or Stone Dragon. 8d6 isn't too much, but if the AoE applies to the creature you struck as well, then this maneuver is up to par for a 7th level strike. If they are affected by the AoE, this is blue.
Shield Counter: Cancel any attack they make. Perfect for a tank, even if you have to use a buckler.
Ancient Mountain Hammer: 12d6 is a average of 42, so this strike is now the answer to any enemy you meet. Keep it.
Colossus Strike: Not that good by comparison, but it does have a use (moving the enemy into position for a swarm).
Clarion Call: VASTLY superior to the previous version.
Swarming Assault: This is a good follow up to Colossus Strike, provided you pushed them into your allies.[/spoiler]

8th Level*
[spoiler]Greater Divine SurgeAdamantine Bones: Oh why couldn't this be the stance? DR 20 is a life-saver for you.
Earthstrike Quake: It's pretty good- basically a mass-trip attempt that hurts things.
White Raven Hammer

Stances

Stance of Immortal Fortitude: They aren't kidding! Pump your Fort save, then never care about your HP again! Do NOT combine this with Greater Divine Surge.
Strength of Stone: Fortification is cheaper than your 8th level Stance.
Swarm Tactics: Not as useful as Stance of Immortal Fortitude.[/spoiler]

9th Level
[spoiler]Strike of Righteous Vitality: 150HP, cures all ability damage, and removes a dozen or so status effects from the target. No extra damage needed here, it's the best Devoted Spirit has to offer.
Tombstone Mountain Strike: Incorrectly listed as Mountain Tombstone Strike on the chart. This is a potential encounter-ender here.
War Master's Charge: Step 1: Win Init. Step 2: CHARGE! Step 3: Step 4: Profit.[/spoiler]

*: Maneuvers of these levels are likely worth keeping until 20th. You really are running out of levels to swap them out anyway, and these tend to be solid options even when you hit 20th. 9th level maneuvers, for obvious reasons, should not be exchanged.

Maneuver Exchange Breakdown

One of the most difficult parts about building any Martial Adept is knowing what maneuvers to trade out. I outlined a few above, but here's a quick recap.

• 04th Level: Exchange Charging Minotaur for Mountain Hammer.
• 06th Level: Exchange Crusader's Strike for Revitalizing Strike, or exchange either Douse the Flames or Leading the Attack for White Raven Tactics.
• 08th Level: Exchange either Leading the Attack or Douse the Flames for White Raven Tactics, or exchange Tactical Strike for White Raven Strike if you are focusing on White Raven.
• 10th Level: Exchange either Stone Bones or Bone Crusher for Elder Mountain Hammer.
• 12th Level: Exchange Foehammer, Mountain Hammer, or Tactical Strike for Rallying Strike, Irresistible Mountain Strike, or War Leader's Charge, respectively.
• 14th Level: Exchange either Foehammer or Revitalizing Strike for Rallying Strike.
• 16th Level: Exchange Tactical Strike for any maneuver of your choice. If you all ready traded it up, then exchange out Stone Bones for Adamantine Bones.
• 18th Level: Exchange Elder Mountain Hammer for Tombstone Mountain Strike.

Bear in mind that you can't exchange maneuvers when multiclassing into non-Martial Adept classes, and cannot exchange any maneuvers when prestige classing.

[Sinfire Titan]

Sample Crusader Builds

These builds are recommended for their combat efficiency. Most o these builds capitalize on the Crusader's Maneuvers, and one or two abuse Steely Resolve specifically.

Lockdown
[spoiler]This build focuses heavily on using Thicket of Blades in conjunction with a Spiked Chain, and is very similar to the Fighter version. You are very feat-starved, and any source of bonus feats you can find, or ways to obviate the need for some feats, is welcome here.[/spoiler]

Charger
[spoiler]Like the above, you are very similar to the Fighter build. This build is incredibly focused on Stone Dragon and White Raven, leaving a very minimal number of Devoted Spirit maneuvers.

This build has a potential debate: Swordsage 4 or no? Desert Wind has several very useful maneuvers for a Charging-focused character, and this is always a welcome thing. Adaptive Style is also really good, because you can exchange both sets of readied maneuvers for the off chance that you can't charge. And then there's a Desert Wind stance that gives you the ability to ignore terrain, which is incredibly useful to you.[/spoiler]

Captain America
[spoiler]Inspired by JaronK's Shield Crusader build, this build focuses on using a Shield as your primary weapon. It's more durable than most Crusaders due to a higher Armor Class, but it also has a decent damage output to prevent enemies from just ignoring you.[/spoiler]

The Unhallowed
[spoiler]This build exploits the Elder Evils supplement and the Steely Resolve class feature. You are very much evil-aligned, but you are also very capable of protecting your allies. Devoted Spirit mixed with Blessing of the Godless means you are the super tank.[/spoiler]

Ruby Knight Windicator (Cleric entry)
[spoiler]One of the most powerful Crusader builds there is. You lose out on some abilities, but you end up with 8th level Cleric spells or better, depending on how you enter it.[/spoiler]

Ruby Knight Vindicator (Divine Crusader entry)
[spoiler]Unlike the above, you are gunning for 9th level maneuvers with a modicum of 9th level spellcasting abilities. Works best if you can take levels of Sovereign Speaker, but Contemplative works too.

You can also substitute Paladin levels for Sacred Exorcist, if you desire.[/spoiler]

White Raven Control
[spoiler]Like the Lockdown build above, you are heavily focused on the White Raven discipline. You mix charging with lockdown, and can provide a valuable asset to your party: Extra actions.[/spoiler]

Devoted Spirit Healer
[spoiler]Exactly what it says on the tin. You are very capable of being the party's healer, thanks to your Crusader maneuvers and multiple special items and feats. Players using this build will want to look into my Band Aids for Dummies handbook.[/spoiler]

Jade Phoenix Mage (9o9 Entry)
[spoiler]Utilize several special options, you can get both 9th level Spells and 9th level maneuvers. This build is dedicated to doing so. There are two versions, one being incredibly cheesy and the other being a Wizard.[/spoiler]

Jade Phoenix Mage (Seul Arcanamach Entry)
[spoiler]This build only gets 5th level Arcane spells, but the ones you do get are incredibly useful. You are otherwise a hard-hitting Crusader.[/spoiler]

Eternal Blade
[spoiler]Because someone's going to ask me "Why no Eternal Blade build?", I'm putting this here. Be aware that this requires you to play an Elf, and as I said above in the races section, Elves are a horrible race for Crusaders.[/spoiler]

[Sinfire Titan]

Post 7 reserved.

[Akalsaris]

Look's like a solid start Sinfire

Just to throw in some of my thoughts:

- Dragonborn Water Orc is hard to beat for a +0 LA race - you might want to give water orc a mention of its own instead of a reference in the half-orc section.
- Mineral Warrior is a great +1 LA choice for a dedicated tank: -2 Cha hurts, but +2 Strength, +4 Con, +3 NA and DR 8/adamantine is pure gold.
- The Taunt feat from C. Adv. is great with a decent cha at low levels.
- Standstill is another great feat obviously
- Starting with a bard dip for 1-2 levels and taking Song of the White Raven is actually effective if you want to do some party buffing and have a lot more social skills.
- At low levels, the crusader is also an excellent mounted combatant, and a heavy warhorse is often a great investment, especially if it is considered an "ally" for your maneuvers.

[Surreal]

The Wyrm of War archetype (Dragons of Eberron) offers a nifty option for dragons as martial adepts. It lets you trade spell slots for maneuvers. Combine that with Jade Phoenix Mage for silly double stacking. A build that I posted here was:
Steel Dragon 6/Crusader 1/Abjurant Champion 3/JPM 10
BAB 18, sorcerer 12, initiator 26, you can only get 6th level maneuvers from trading in spell slots, but you can get your high level ones from the bonus maneuvers granted by JPM.

[streakster]

Hellbred, from the Fiendish Codex II, are a good choice. Con bonus, bonus feats (limited to devil feats - though some synergize nicely), intimidate bonus, and ability to use evil items with a good alignment. Want to swing around a +3 greataxe of babyslaying? Go right ahead!

[Shadowhunter]

Ok, so your comment about Devoted Spirit being keyed to Charisma came as a suprise, so I looked it up. Out of the 26 maneuvers and stances Devoted Spirit grants, a grand total of 1 have anything to do with Charisma, namely Castigating Strike. A lvl 7 maneuver.
Whilst I agree that having a good charisma score is of use to a Crusader, perhaps you could reprase it, since 1 out of 26 isn't really Cha-dependent.

[Sinfire Titan]

Ok, so your comment about Devoted Spirit being keyed to Charisma came as a suprise, so I looked it up. Out of the 26 maneuvers and stances Devoted Spirit grants, a grand total of 1 have anything to do with Charisma, namely Castigating Strike. A lvl 7 maneuver.
Whilst I agree that having a good charisma score is of use to a Crusader, perhaps you could reprase it, since 1 out of 26 isn't really Cha-dependent.

Heal offers a save. it's arguable that their 9th level Strike allows one for hostile creatures, thus is also keyed to Cha. Why you would use it offensively at level 20 is unusual, but not improbable.

Also, I said that without knowing how many maneuvers offer a Save. The fact remains that Smite and Indomitable Soul are tied to a good Cha score, and a Smite-focused Crusader may very well be dangerous. Cha is still a decent stat to have for a Crusader (but it can be a Dump Stat if you don't have the space to worry about your Smiting abilities.

[Akalsaris]

Ok, so your comment about Devoted Spirit being keyed to Charisma came as a suprise, so I looked it up. Out of the 26 maneuvers and stances Devoted Spirit grants, a grand total of 1 have anything to do with Charisma, namely Castigating Strike. A lvl 7 maneuver.
Whilst I agree that having a good charisma score is of use to a Crusader, perhaps you could reprase it, since 1 out of 26 isn't really Cha-dependent.

Heal offers a save. it's arguable that their 9th level Strike allows one for hostile creatures, thus is also keyed to Cha. Why you would use it offensively at level 20 is unusual, but not improbable.

Also, I said that without knowing how many maneuvers offer a Save. The fact remains that Smite and Indomitable Soul are tied to a good Cha score, and a Smite-focused Crusader may very well be dangerous. Cha is still a decent stat to have for a Crusader (but it can be a Dump Stat if you don't have the space to worry about your Smiting abilities.

While I agree with your response, I think that Shadowhunter is still in the right - Devoted Spirit is not devoted to Charisma, and you only have 2 charisma-dependent class features (and smite isn't even that good of a feature unless you build entirely around it).  Just rephrase the stats section to de-emphasize charisma - it's a tertiary stat, probably slightly better than dexterity or so. 

Also, when you say "Dump stat #1", does that mean it's the first stat that you want to dump, or the most important of your dump stats?  I'd generally say a crusader wants Str > Con > Cha > Dex > Int > Wis, assuming a basic build. 

[Sinfire Titan]

All right. I'll change that portion.

When I say Priority 1 Dump Stat, I mean there's no reason for you to have this stat higher than 12 at most, and can afford a 6 or a 4 in that stat if you really need to. That stat should be the first one you neglect, and can easily be the lowest stat you have without hurting your build in the least.

[ReaderOfPosts]

Why is DR doubled? The delayed damage pool isn't an attack.

[Sinfire Titan]

Why is DR doubled? The delayed damage pool isn't an attack.

My bad, I completely misread the Sage's reply to an older Ask Wizards question. I'll fix that when I get around to editing this thread.

[juton]

One thing that seems to come up every encounter, how do you quickly decide what maneuvers a Crusader has available. I figure if you write down each maneuver on a cue card and shuffle them that is a quicker way of determining maneuvers granted and it's a handy reference too. My player never seems to do this, any other ideas?

[Sinfire Titan]

One thing that seems to come up every encounter, how do you quickly decide what maneuvers a Crusader has available. I figure if you write down each maneuver on a cue card and shuffle them that is a quicker way of determining maneuvers granted and it's a handy reference too. My player never seems to do this, any other ideas?

One way is to grab a deck of poker cards, then mark each maneuver you learned as a different card. WRT becomes the Ace of Spades, Crusader's Strike is the 10 of Clubs, etc. Then, when playing, you shuffle the ones you have readied around and draw the number you are granted for that turn.

[Akalsaris]

One thing that seems to come up every encounter, how do you quickly decide what maneuvers a Crusader has available. I figure if you write down each maneuver on a cue card and shuffle them that is a quicker way of determining maneuvers granted and it's a handy reference too. My player never seems to do this, any other ideas?

Cue cards are the best, but dice can also work if you write down which dice means what.