Masters of the Sword: A Warblade's Handbook [Under Construction]

[Essence_of_War]

Haha good point Greenish.

I'll edit that part out.

Edit: Changed.

[Ranger Mattos]

A couple of other obvious race choices that I saw:

Draconic
As a result, you can find some excellent synergies combining this with efficient LA +0 races. Draconic Warforged? Draconic Orc? Draconic Water Orc?

Draconic Dragonborn Water Orc of death? That's LA +1 for (IIRC) +6 STR, +6 CON, -2 DEX, -2 INT, -2 WIS, plus natural attacks and Draconic Aspect. Awesome.

[Elfin]

Hm. Give me a feral draconic dragonborn half-minotaur Lolth-touched stony water orc, then we'll talk.

[Tael]

Hm. Give me a feral draconic dragonborn half-minotaur Lolth-touched stony water orc, then we'll talk.

Stony? Where's that from? Races of Stone?

[Dusk Eclipse]

Stony? Where's that from? Races of Stone?

"Slang" term for Mineral Warrior IIRC

[Elfin]

Quite.

Really, though, what sort of idiot designed the mineral warrior template? Thanks to them, half of melee characters these days look like moving statues.

[MeeposFire]

Quite.

Really, though, what sort of idiot designed the mineral warrior template? Thanks to them, half of melee characters these days look like moving statues.

The sort of idiots that wrote a good chunk of 3.5 that leads to its varying levels of insanity.

[Timeless Error]

I've been subscribed to this thread for a while, but I haven't posted anything in it until now.

I love warblades and will hopefully have the opportunity to play one in the future, and I'll definitely be referencing this handbook. This is an awesome project and I'm looking forward to the equipment and sample builds.

[AslanCross]

I'm not exactly convinced Perfect Clarity of Mind and Body is terrible; I always thought that it was one of the more useful tactical feats in the book. Or maybe I just really like the coiled spring.

[Elfin]

Alright, I've set up the combat style section and begun with sword&board and shield bashing. I'm planning to cover TWFing, Power Attack, and tripping as well...anything I'm forgetting?

[Essence_of_War]

Some of the weapon styling is a little fluid. You can make a Warblade who trips, and bull rushes, all with power attack. I sort of mentally file both of those strategies under the heading of "lockdown" where in one case you're forcing them to waste actions and provoke AoO's from standing, and in another you're forcing them to waste actions returning to the fray.

Maybe I'm getting too specific though, maybe what I'm thinking about comes more under the heading of "specific build".

[Cieyrin]

I'm not exactly convinced Perfect Clarity of Mind and Body is terrible; I always thought that it was one of the more useful tactical feats in the book. Or maybe I just really like the coiled spring.

The Coiled Spring always draws my eye, regardless of how useful/useless it may be, it's just too cool!

[Elfin]

Okay, for our version of the Hero of Time build, I was thinking of switching out one of the three Font of Inspirations for Weapon Focus so that it can enter EB without taking Flaws/fighter levels - or perhaps so that your flaws can be used for feats like Defensive Sweep or such. Does this sounds lie a good idea? And if so, should we replace that level with warblade 11, factotum 2, or Eternal Blade 9?

[Halae]

Thank you Elfin, your handbook has aided me in the construction of my latest character, Tarrick Bastion

in case you don't want to look at the sheet and connect the dots yourself, all that together means I have a character that, assuming they all have less than 50 health, he can clear a swathe of enemies 40 feet wide and 45 feet long in a single round. And another option is, against a single enmy, I can initiate Dungeoncrasher about four times in a round if I can get an enemy near a wall. Tis glorious. and in two levels, I'll be getting Time Stands Still, so that I can do this eight times instead of four, which is just all kinds of awesome

[Elfin]

Just read through the sheet; he looks quite awesome!
I suppose now you need to find some low-level hordes and XP-farm en masse, MMO fashion. Of course, there's the tricky fact that you can't get any XP from enemies under 5th level...still.

[Hiro Protagonest]

There's a revised stone dragon someone made, link is here. Also, I think you are overrating improved buckler defense, sure, it's good for THFers, but for TWFers, two weapon defense is better.

[Elfin]

Firstly, many apologies for the lack of updates. I'll get things back in gear, don't worry.

The two-weapon defense line is terrible. TWFers already have to spend three feats to keep up - the TWD feats burden them even further, which they really can't afford. Especially because they're basically useless...+1 AC is just awful for a feat.

[Hiro Protagonest]

The two-weapon defense line is terrible. TWFers already have to spend three feats to keep up - the TWD feats burden them even further, which they really can't afford. Especially because they're basically useless...+1 AC is just awful for a feat.

I guess you're right, but weapon focus is the same, just with attack rather than AC. However, two-weapon defense also doubles the bonus to AC (+2 instead of +1) when using combat expertise, fighting defensively, or using total defense.

[Keld Denar]

Buckler Defense is slightly better, as you can get up to a +6 AC bonus from a +5 buckler, potentially from as little as 5g if you have a friendly cleric who'll Magic Vest you up.

Also, for builds, I'd like you to add my halfling bardblade thrower, Flick. Its pretty practical, rather than TO, given that you could squeeze a few more dice and a few more attacks with Words of Creation and some other shanananananananananananananigans, but opted out. As it is, its a very strong thrower against things that don't have FR10+.

[Greenish]

Alright, I've set up the combat style section and begun with sword&board and shield bashing. I'm planning to cover TWFing, Power Attack, and tripping as well...anything I'm forgetting?

Archery & Mounted Combat?

[Edit]:

Shield Bashing – If you choose to pursue it, shield bashing can be a very nice choice. Once you can afford an animated shield (shield bashers should get one ASAP), you should switch to a two-handed weapon to maximize damage; a reach weapon is excellent, since feats like Shield Slam enhance your tank capability. Add shield spikes and you can enchant your shield like a normal weapon – and obviously, you’ll want the Bashing shield property from the DMG.

Can you bash with an animated shield?

Sword and Shield – Sword and shield – colloquially, sword’n’board – is infamously awful as a style. The big problem is that you don’t get 2:1 Power Attack returns or 150% of your Strength bonus to damage; that said, in the early levels, when AC is important, it’s very viable for you. Especially since you have maneuvers to make up for damage potential, I’d go so far as to recommend using a shield up to around level three. But by level six, you should be usually be going two-handed, and by the time you can afford an animated shield, there’s just no excuse.

Sword'n'board works okay as a TWF build. Agile Shield Fighter doesn't require heavy dex and allows you to use a heavy shield (which benefits from PA) with just -2 to attacks, unlike normal TWF. Combined with some of the shield basher feats (Shield Charge, Shield Slam) and Dancing/Raging Mongoose and the like, it has pretty respectable offense. Shield Ward for better defenses and you'll be quite well-rounded. EWP: Spinning Sword for reach.

I'd rate sword'n'board at least black, if you know what you're doing.

[Elfin]

Weapon Focus is a rather mediocre feat in itself, but generally attack bonuses are better than AC: PA potential and all that.

And thanks for the build, Keld Denar. It's been added.

Edit: I knew I was forgetting something. Thanks.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Buckler Defense is slightly better, as you can get up to a +6 AC bonus from a +5 buckler, potentially from as little as 5g if you have a friendly cleric who'll Magic Vest you up.

Hmmm, true, but there are a ton of AC enhancing items out there, and you take an extra -1 on all attacks with your off-hand weapon even with improved buckler defense. Although with the extra magical shield enchantments... and I'm not making a very convincing argument am I?

Also, Elfin, I believe that TWFing style should get black or blue and cyan or gold for tiger claw users(in the combat styles section).

If you're playing Pathfinder, dodge is a better choice, because it's just a +1 dodge bonus, not a +1 dodge bonus against one enemy of your choice, so rate it black for Pathfinder.

[JaronK]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I noticed that you've only got Barbarian and Bard as multiclass options. An obvious one to go with is Factotum... Factotum 8/Warblade X is an extremely nasty build. You've got tons of Int synergy for obvious reasons, and who can say no to extra standard actions as a martial adept? Plus, Iajuitsu Focus + Sapphire Nightmare Blade or some of the other flat foot maneuvers is wonderful.

There's also the option of comboing other ToB classes. A two level dip of Crusader is more than worth it for the vast majority of Warblade builds... take it late enough and add Extra Granted Maneuver and you can have White Raven Tactics once every three turns without slowing down, in addition to giving yourself the ability to heal allies all day long and maybe relieve some of the earlier prerequisite maneuvers from White Raven. Swordsage 2 isn't a bad dip either... you lose a point of BAB, but that swarm of maneuvers can really help free up prerequisite maneuvers letting you take more high level stuff as a Warblade. Consider getting all your save maneuvers that way, for example. And adding the ability to teleport gives a lot of much needed versatility.

JaronK

[SurlySeraph]

Warblades can actually be decent at archery at high levels, via EWP: Greatbow, the Mongoose maneuvers, Time Stands Still, and Giant's Stance for more damage. At low levels, noooo, especially because they aren't even proficient with ranged martial weapons by default.

On Stone Dragon, I'd say you're overrating Earthstrike Typo and underrating the action-denying maneuvers. They target the most common strong save, granted, but you should be pumping Str very high, action denial is great, and they're lovely for preventing sneaky-types from full attacking and stopping casters from escaping melee range.

On multiclassing, 3 levels in Swashbuckler can be a good choice (particularly for Halflings), 3 levels in Factotum are a great way to improve your skills, and generally what JaronK said.

When you get to equipment, you should mention Mithral Mechanus Gear. It's bad for Tiger Claw users because of the armor check penalty, but great for everyone else.

[MeeposFire]

You have strength listed as gold. While strength is the default choice for melee in a general sense is it really that good?

For instance if we are using a lot of strikes at full BAB does the few point of to hit outweigh what we could have from another ability score namely CON?

Thinking on it if we put our best score into con at character creation and put str second (rather than the other way around like it normally is) and we put every level up into con we come up about 4-5 bonus points short, so this warblade will deal 4 points of damage less and have a -5 on attack rolls. However the con based guy will have this same bonus to hp so he will have about 80-100 points more HP. Considering that a lot of warblade damage comes from accurate strikes and their bonus damage I would think that in general you get more from con than str especially if you concentrate on standard action strikes.

EDIT: I am just advocating changing str to light blue and keeping con where it is to show that str is very nice but not mandatory.

[Hiro Protagonest]

@SurlySeraph, what source is mechanus gear in?

[SurlySeraph]

@^: Planar Handbook.

[Toptomcat]

Great guide, but I think you're really overrating Roundabout Kick. The natural critical threat range of an unarmed strike is 20/x2, which means that unarmed types tend not to be crit machines outside of really specialized builds.

[MeeposFire]

Great guide, but I think you're really overrating Roundabout Kick. The natural critical threat range of an unarmed strike is 20/x2, which means that unarmed types tend not to be crit machines outside of really specialized builds.

True in general though you could do shenanigans using aptitude weapons with kukris to combine with roundabout kick.

[Darrin]

Warblades can actually be decent at archery at high levels, via EWP: Greatbow, the Mongoose maneuvers, Time Stands Still, and Giant's Stance for more damage. At low levels, noooo, especially because they aren't even proficient with ranged martial weapons by default.

My notes on Ranged ToB for Warblades...

Maneuvers that can be used with Ranged Attacks:

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Desert Wind:
Blistering Flourish 1 (dazzles 30' burst)
Distracting Ember 1 (flank ally)
Flame's Blessing 1 [stance] (fire resistance)
Wind Stride 1 (+10' speed)
Fire Riposte 2 (counter)
Hatchling's Flame 2 (30' cone of fire)
Fan the Flames 3 (ranged touch attack)
Holocaust Cloak 3 [stance]
Zephyr Dance 3 (counter)
Firesnake 4
Dragon's Flame 5 (30' cone of fire)
Leaping Flame 5 (counter)
Ring of Fire 6 (area effect)
Rising Phoenix 8 [stance]
Wyrm's Flame 8 (30' cone of fire)
Inferno Blast 9 (60' burst)

Devoted Spirit:
Shield Block 2 (counter)
Defensive Rebuke 3 (boost, attack you or provoke AoO)
Aura of Chaos 6 [stance]
Aura of Perfect Order 6 [stance]
Shield Counter 7 (counter)

Diamond Mind:
Moment of Perfect Mind 1 (counter, Will save)
Stance of Clarity 1 [stance]
Action Before Thought 2 (counter, Ref save)
Mind Over Body 3 (counter, Fort save)
Pearl of Black Doubt 3 [stance]
Hearing the Air 5 [stance]
Moment of Alacrity 6 (boost, +20 init)
Quicksilver Motion 7 (boost)
Diamond Defense 8 (counter, any save)
Stance of Alacrity 8 [stance]
Time Stands Still 9

Iron Heart:
Absolute Steel 3 [stance] (+10' speed)
Iron Heart Surge 3
Iron Heart Focus 5 (counter)
Iron Heart Endurance 6 (boost)
Lightning Throw 8 (30' line)

Setting Sun:
Counter Charge 1 (counter)
Step of the Wind 1 [stance]
Baffling Defense 2 (counter)
Feigned Opening 3 (counter)
Giant Killing Style 3 [stance] (+2 attack, +4 damage vs larger foes)
Shifting Defense 5 [stance]
Scorpion Parry 6 (counter)
Ghostly Defense 8 [stance]

Shadow Hand:
Child of Shadow 1 [stance] (concealment)
Cloak of Deception 2 (invisibility)
Shadow Jaunt 2
Assassin's Stance 3 [stance]
Dance of the Spider 3 [stance]
Shadow Garrote 3 (ranged touch attack)
Shadow Stride 5
Step of the Dancing Moth 5 [stance]
Shadow Noose 6 (ranged touch attack)
Shadow Blink 7
Balance on the Sky 8 [stance] (air walk)
One With Shadow 8 (boost, incorporeal)

Stone Dragon:
Stonefoot Stance 1 [stance]
Roots of the Mountain 3 [stance] (+10 vs bull rush, DR 2/-)
Giant's Stance 5 [stance] (weapon one size larger)
Earthquake Strike 8 (20' burst)

Tiger Claw:
Blood in the Water 1 [stance]
Hunter's Sense 1 [stance]
Sudden Leap 1 (boost)
Fountain of Blood 4 (counter)
Dancing Mongoose 5 (boost)
Raging Mongoose 8 (boost)

White Raven:
Bolstering Voice 1 [stance]
Leading the Charge 1 [stance]
Lion's Roar 3 (boost)
Tactics of the Wolf 3 [stance]
White Raven Tactics 3
Press the Advantage 5 [stance]
Order Forged From Chaos 6 (move action)
Swarm Tactics 8 [stance]

Sample Ranged Warblade 20 Manuever Progression:

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Warblade 1: Moment of Perfect Mind, Steel Wind, Hunter's Sense [stance], Sudden Leap
Warblade 2: Douse the Flames
Warblade 3: Action Before Thought
Warblade 4: Wall of Blades (replacing Steel Wind), Bolstering Voice [stance]
Warblade 5: White Raven Tactics
Warblade 6: Iron Heart Surge (replacing Douse the Flames)
Warblade 7: Lion's Roar
Warblade 8: --- (no change)
Warblade 9: Dancing Mongoose
Warblade 10: Iron Heart Focus (replacing Action Before Thought), Hearing the Air/Giant's Stance/Press the Advantage [stance]
Warblade 11: Order Forged From Chaos
Warblade 12: --- (no change)
Warblade 13: Moment of Alacrity
Warblade 14: Quicksilver Motion (replacing Sudden Leap)
Warblade 15: Raging Mongoose
Warblade 16: Diamond Defense (replacing Iron Heart Focus), Stance of Alacrity [stance]
Warblade 17: Time Stands Still
Warblade 18: --- (no change), Martial Stance: Supreme Blade Parry
Warblade 19: War Master's Charge
Warblade 20: --- (no change)

Eternal Warbow build:

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1) Warblade 1. IL 1.0. Feat: PB Shot.
2) Warblade 2. IL 2.0.
3) Warblade 3. IL 3.0. Feat: Rapid Shot.
4) Warblade 4. IL 4.0.
5) Warblade 5. IL 5.0. Bonus Feat: Improved Initiative.
6) Warblade 6. IL 6.0. Feat: Manyshot.
7) Warblade 7. IL 7.0.
8) Warblade 8. IL 8.0.
9) Warblade 9. IL 9.0. Feat: Weapon Focus. Bonus Feat: Combat Reflexes.
10) Warblade 10. IL 10.0.
11) Eternal Blade 1. IL 11.0.
12) Eternal Blade 2. IL 12.0. Feat: Imp. Rapid Shot.
13) Eternal Blade 3. IL 13.0.
14) Eternal Blade 4. IL 14.0.
15) Eternal Blade 5. IL 15.0. Feat: Gr. Manyshot. Stance: Stance of Alacrity.
16) Eternal Blade 6. IL16.0.
17) Eternal Blade 7. IL 17.0. Time Stands Still.
18) Eternal Blade 8. IL 18.0. Martial Stance: Balance on the Sky.
19) Eternal Blade 9. IL 19.0.
20) Eternal Blade 10. IL 20.0. Island in Time.

Races for Ranged Warblades:

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Aasimar (MM, FRCS/PGtF, Savage Progression article). Not a particularly strong pick for Warblades, Aasimar are better suited to Crusader or Paladin/RKV builds, but as outsiders they are proficient with all martial weapons, including ranged. Level Adjustment is a little more forgiving in melee builds than for spellcasters, but there are two options to play an Aasimar with no Level Adjustment. First, the Player's Guide to Faerun has a Lesser Planetouched version with the same ability score adjustments (+2 Wis, +2 Cha) but changes the Outsider type to Humanoid with an Extraplanar subtype. This means the non-outsider Aasimar loses its proficiency with all martial weapons, but you can get that back along with the Outsider type by taking the Otherworldly feat at 1st level.

The second option is a Savage Progression article on Level-Adjusted Races that breaks the Aasimar down into a weaker version and one racial class level that can be taken later to restore the Aasimar's full racial abilities. This option still retains the Outsider type, +2 Cha, and is still proficient with all martial weapons (including ranged). You can take the racial class level sometime later or never take it at all, but if you wanted to, you'd get the rest of your racial abilities (+2 Wis, but no BAB, hit points, skill points, or better saves for that level).

Air Genasi, Lesser (FRCS/PGtF). Air Genasi make excellent Warblades (+2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha). Like the Lesser Aasimar, the Lesser Air Genasi doesn't have the Outsider type, but you can get that (along with proficiency with all martial weapons) by taking the Otherworldly feat at 1st level.

Air Goblin (Unearthed Arcana). Small size, but great Dex bonus with no Level Adjustment (+4 Dex, -2 Str, -2 Con). You can shift the Con penalty to Cha with the Arctic racial template (Dragon #306, +2 Con, -2 Cha). Also, this is one of the few LA +0 Dragonborn of Bahumat options (flying + ranged attacks = Death From Above) that still leaves you with a Dex bonus, although you lose the Breathless (Ex) racial ability.

Azurin (Magic of Incarnum). Close enough to human that it gets a bonus feat, but instead of extra skill points it starts with 1 point of essentia. Incarnum can be tough to fit into a ToB build because there isn't a lot of room to multiclass without losing 9th level maneuvers, and with ranged builds there aren't any feats to spare on Shape Soulmeld. However, there are a few soulmelds that work well for ranged attacks: Incarnate Avatar (Chaos, +1/essentia insight bonus on ranged attacks), Lucky Dice (+1 luck bonus on attacks and damage), and Sighting Gloves (+1 insight bonus on damage, +1/essentia). There are also a few soulmelds that offer ranged attacks (Dissolving Spittle, Frost Helm, Manticore Belt, Yrthak Mask). If you can squeeze in a dip into Incarnate or a Shape Soulmeld feat, then Azurin gives you an extra point of essentia. However, you may run into multiclass problems, since Azurin's favored class is Soulborn (*ugh*).

Elf (various). Like Skittles, you've got a rainbow of flavors here, but this is another way to get proficiency with bows for a Warblade. The Dex bonus is of course great for ranged builds, but the Con penalty can be troubling, particularly for Warblades relying on Concentration checks for Diamond Mind maneuvers. The best subrace for Warblades is Snow Elf (Frostburn, +2 Dex, -2 Cha). You can also shift the Con penalty to Cha with the Arctic racial template (Dragon #306, +2 Con, -2 Cha). This is an amusing template to put on Fire Elves (Unearthed Arcana), which make excellent Warblades: +2 Dex, +2 Int, -4 Cha. You can also move the Cha penalty to Wis with the Magic-Blooded template (same article, Dragon #306, +2 Cha, -2 Wis). If you're dipping into Cloistered Cleric for the Knowledge devotion, there are also two elven deities with the Elf domain (Point Blank Shot) and the War domain (Martial Weapon Proficiency/Weapon Focus: Longbow): Solonor Thelandira (generic elf pantheon) and Shevarash (FR-specific).

Drow (MM, PGtF, Savage Progression article). The +2 LA isn't worth it, but the Lesser version in the Player's Guide to Faerun is very similar to the standard elf (+2 Dex, -2 Con) if you want the whole "I am all angst and emo!" flavor. They are proficient with the hand crossbow instead of all bows, but that's at least something to start with. This also works very nicely with the Hand Crossbow Focus feat (Drow of the Underdark p. 50, which is a nice two-for-one deal: Rapid Reload and Weapon Focus (Hand Crossbow). The Savage Progression article breaks down the Drow into some basic racial abilities and two racial class levels (basically nerfing their Spell Resistance and more powerful SLAs). However, they start with +2 Dex, +2 Int, and -2 Con. They are also still proficient with the hand crossbow. And, uh... yeah... I'm sure there's sections of the Underdark in the Arctic... (Dragon #306, +2 Con, -2 Cha).

Hadozee (Stormwrack). On the upside, +2 Dex, -2 Cha, and gets a bonus feat like humans... on the downside, you're stuck with the much-reviled Dodge, although this is one of the prereq feats for Master of Nine if you're going that route later.

Halfling, Strongheart (FRCS). Like humans, the bonus feat is invaluable. The Dex bonus, +1 size bonus, and +1 thrown weapon bonus ("He's got a pebble! Run!") are all nice perks, but the smaller size means your damage goes down a step, which for a ranged build can be a significant disadvantage. However, a small-sized Martial Adept can take advantage of several stances that work against larger opponents, such as Stonefoot Stance (Stone Dragon 1), Giant Killing Style (Setting Sun 3), and Giant's Stance (Stone Dragon 5).

Human (PHB). You're going to be starved for feats, so every feat you can get your hands on is going to be invaluable. Human is also your best pick for multiclassing, since there aren't any races with Martial Adept classes as their favored class. Silverbrow Humans (Dragon Magic p. 6) have the dragonblood subtype and are an ideal choice for Bardblades optimizing Song of the White Raven/Dragonfire Inspiration.

Neraph (Planar Handbook). If you want to play an outsider without Level Adjustment but don't have access to Lesser Planetouched races or the Savage Progression articles, then go with a Neraph. As a native Outsider, neraphim gain proficiency with all martial weapons, including ranged. The +2 natural armor bonus, +5 racial bonus on jump checks, and Neraph Camouflage/Charge (target loses Dex bonus on first thrown attack or charge) are also nice perks for a Warblade build.

Raptoran (Races of the Wild). Actually a pretty poor choice for a Warblade, but the Raptoran eventually does get flight (a game-changing ability for any ranged build), and treats the footbow as a martial weapon... which stinks for a Warblade, since they aren't proficient with ranged martial weapons. To pick up all ranged martial weapons, you'll need to dip something like Fighter, Ranger, or Crusader. A footbow isn't that much different from a composite longbow, except if you draw with both hands you can get 1.5 times your Strength bonus on damage.

Tiefling (MM, FRCS/PGtF, Savage Progression article). Possibly the best race for Warblades outside of the feat-friendly Human/Azurin/Strongheart Halfing. Like the Aasimar, there are two options for playing a Tiefling with no Level Adjustment. First, the Player's Guide to Faerun has a Lesser Tiefling version with the same ability score adjustments (+2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Cha) but changes the Outsider type to Humanoid with an Extraplanar subtype. You also lose proficiency with all martial weapons, but you can regain this along with the Outsider type by taking the Otherworldly feat at first level.

Also like the Aasimar, the Savage Progression article on Level-Adjusted Races keeps the Outsider type but breaks down the Tiefling into a weaker version (+2 Dex, -2 Cha) with one racial class level. You can take the racial class level sometime later or never take it at all, but if you wanted to, you'd get the rest of your racial abilities (+2 Int, but no BAB, hit points, skill points, or better saves for that level).

Weapons/Magic Items/Enhancements for ranged combat:

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Bone Bow (250 GP, Frostburn). Mechanically this functions the same as a Composite Greatbow, but it accommodates any Strength bonus without having to pay for each +1. If you use a lot of spells/powers/effects that changes your Strength score (bull's strength, rage, enlarge person, expansion, etc.), then this could be well worth spending a feat on Exotic Weapon Proficiency. It also offers the option to treat it as a martial weapon, but treating it as a non-proficient exotic weapon is actually better: you still take a -4 penalty, but you're not limited to one attack as a full-round action.

Elvencraft Bow (+300 GP, Races of the Wild). There are a variety of combination bow/melee weapons out there, but this is the simplest and cheapest. 300 GP and you can treat your bow as a club or quarterstaff even if you're still using it as a bow. If you're looking for something fancier, the MIC features three types of Swordbows (free action to switch), a Bowstaff (swift action to switch), and a Bladed Crossbow (no action to switch).

Footbow (150 GP + 100 GP/Str bonus, Races of the Wild). Pretty much identical to a non-exotic composite longbow. However, if you can fly and can draw it back with both hands, you can get 1.5 times your Strength bonus on damage. If you're a raptoran crusader, you'll want to pick up one of these, otherwise stick with a composite longbow.

Greatbow, Composite (200 GP + 200 GP/Str bonus, Complete Warrior). The Bone Bow is a much better choice (cheaper, auto-adjusts to your Str bonus), but Warblades can switch their Exotic Weapon Proficieny around to whatever weapon is available. The 1 point of damage increase over a regular composite longbow may not seem like it would be worth a feat, but for a ranged build, you need as much extra damage as you can get your hands on.

Hank's Energy Bow (22600 GP, Animated Series Handbook or available online). One of the few ways you can get something similar to Power Attack on a ranged weapon (but unfortunately does not offer the same damage multipliers). On top of that, it's an extremely versatile weapon that does not require any ammo, does an impressive 2d6 force damage, can use regular arrows, and can accommodate any Strength bonus.

Precise Shot (+1 enhancement, MIC p. 40). No need to take Precise Shot as a feat.

Horizon Goggles (8000 GP, Complete Mage p. 133) or Helm of the Hunter (9000 GP, MIC p. 194). Provides the Far Shot feat.

Splitting (+3 enhancement, Champions of Ruin p. 42). I can haz moar arrowz.

Ranged shield (+1 enhancement, MIC p. 13). Say it with me: "Freedom Prevails!"

Pitspawned template (+1000 GP, DMGII). +2 untyped bonus to confirm criticals.

Glove of Taarnahm the Vigilant (10000 GP, PGtF p. 123). Any held melee weapon gains the Throwing and Returning property.

Strongarm Bracers (6000 GP, MIC p. 139). Increase your weapon damage up one size category without mucking around with Powerful Build or Monkey Grip.

Bracers of Lightning (11000 GP, MIC p. 206). Adds the shock property to all your attacks, including ranged. Although somewhat expensive, in most cases it's probably cheaper to buy these bracers than trying to add another +1 property to an existing magic weapon. The biggest drawback is it takes a swift action to activate, and most ToB builds are going to need their swift actions for something else.

Crystal of Energy Assault, Lesser (3000 GP, MIC p. 64). Another great way to add +1d6 energy damage to your ranged attacks without spending a lot of gold. I recommend the Acid Assault, since fire, cold, and sonic damage can be added with spells, and electricity can be added with Bracers of Lightning.

Quiver of Energy (15000 GP, MIC p. 172). Adds 1d6 acid/cold/electricity/fire damage to 20 arrows.

Spells to add more energy damage:

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Burning Sword (Spell Compendium p. 41, Sor/Wis 2). Flaming burst weapon 1 min/level.

Frost Weapon (Frostburn p. 95, Clr/Dru/Sor/Wiz 2). +1d6 frost damage 1 round/level.

Sonic Weapon (Spell Compendium p. 195, Brd/Sor/Wiz 2). +1d6 sonic damage 1 min/level.

Energy Surge, Lesser (PHBII p. 112, Sor/Wiz 2). Swift action (Wand Chamber! +100 GP, Dungeonscape p. 34), add +1d6 energy damage (acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic) for 1 round.