I have an idea of build centered around the Crusader class, with some possible dips in Warblade/Swordsage to take advantage of the goodies in other disciplines (such as Ironheart Surge or Time Stands Still).

The dip in the Warblade class brings me the opportunity to take the Stormguard Warrior tactical feat, and I have seen it recommended a number of times specifically for its Channel the Storm option (ToB, p.36):


  Channel the Storm: To use this option, you must choose to refrain from making one or more available attacks of opportunity against a single opponent. On your next turn, you gain a +4 bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls for each attack that you refrained from making against the same opponent. You gain this bonus only against an opponent that you refrained from making an attack of opportunity against in the previous round.


I am wondering if this feat is really that good. It seems that it requires a huge investment (in terms of feats) and it is unclear to me whether it really pays off.

The bonuses +4 AR/dmg per refrained AoO (which you have an infinite supply of (*)) do seem interesting, at first, however:


A prerequisite of Stormguard Warrior is Ironheart Aura, which in itself does not seem that interesting, especially for a Crusader (Thicket of Blade is not an Ironheart stance)
The bonuses gained can only be used against the opponent that generated them, and no other (it's a minor restriction, but worth keeping in mind)
An AoO is likely to do much more damage than 4, especially if using a two-handed weapon (even at level 1, we are looking at 1d10 + 6 ~= 11.5)


Thus, the two feats investment seems only worth it if one can generate more AoOs than one has available. In the recommendations I have seen, it is combined with Robilar's Gambit (-4 AR, 1 AoO per foe attack in melee) which itself requires Combat Reflexes. Dexterity is unlikely to be ignored (since it benefits Touch AC), and therefore we are looking at a minimum of 3 or 4 available AoOs per round...

Letting Combat Reflexes and Robilar's Gambit aside, is it really worth it investing in Ironheart Aura and Stormguard Warrior? Am I missing something?

(*) I have seen some debates where it is argued that refraining to take an AoO to fuel up Channel the Storm should use it up, which I ignore here. The feat is much worse in this case.


Question: Caucasus: end overland trip where I started without retracing my steps
Answer: I've done this at least twice and there's a new way now since I was last there.

Basically there were two border crossings between Turkey and Georgia, but a third one has now opened too.

The only problem is how adventurous you are. Because there is only public transport across the major cross on the Black Sea.

I've crossed from Georgia to Turkey twice from Vale to Posof. It always feels like adventure. The first time I was hitchhiking solo and the second time I was hitchhiking with two Chileans I met in Tbilisi who had never hitched before. There were no other backpackers either time. The first Turkish town is not so close and there are no buses but I always got a ride pretty quickly because Turkish people are extremely hospitable and kind to travellers. This route continues on to Kars if that interests you. I got invited home by a local family for Iftar and to stay the night. They're even more hospitable during Ramadan! (-:

Just recently I learned that the border crossing at Kartsakhi is now open too so next time I would love to try entering Turkey that way.

If you're a bit hardcore but less hardcore than me you can ask around and probably hire taxis at the two remote border crossings, especially if you plan it in advance.