Damage Reduction Feat vs Great Con

[jersak]

I am beginning to level a strength based fighter. Currently I am planning on going F 28/ RDD 10/ Bd 2. (Total levels, not necessarily level progression.) The main point is to get the stat swaps for multiple Epic Prowes feat and to enjoy the nifty fighter whetstone thing. This character will not have the innate damage reduction that some other tanks would come standard with (ex. DD and Barbarian). That means I will be relying on hp for the most part to sponge up the damage. Is it worth it to swap out 3 Great Con feats for the 3 damage reduction feats? That would give me 9/- DR. Unfotunately that 9/- would only be on physical damage and not elemental damage. (Please correct me if this is not right.) Even so, any damage reduction is nice. I just wanted to get some other's opinion.
Thanks.

PS. I realize his chances in LL might be slim, but I wanted to give him a chance anyhow.

[dodrudon]

I'd definitely go for the DR! Also, make sure your constitution ends up at an even number at level 40, an odd number is just a waste of a point.

But remember, you'll still have equipment like all the other non-DD/barb strength tanks.

[drunkenboaster]

Damage reduction is a nice thing to have, and with EDR 3 that 9 points of damage from every blow will stop a lot of damage. But as a strength based fighter you will still get hit a lot for sometimes a lot of damage. I suggest you take at least a base 24-26 con to give that 1 extra second to drink a heal. I tried with less con and found not enough time to heal in many tough fights where an extra 120-180 hp means the difference from tanking to being a corpse.

[hiryuu]

On my current STR tank, I find most of my damage comes from Physical and Magical damage types. There are many items with 20/- or more elemental resistance, which is enough to deal with the day-to-day weapon damage. Innate damage reduction is very nice to have.

[jersak]

It seems like the general reaction is, go with the DR. That sounds like a good route for me. Thanks guys.

[kaldair]

Another, rather "backdoor" reason to consider the DR feats is the requirement to get them - namely 21 CON. 21 CON in & of itself is highly highly valuable - the DR feats are icing on the 21 CON cake imho ....

Kaldair

[chainlink]

And if you go 21 Con you might as well burn a feat or a stat point to get it to 22 and give yourself 60 hps (assuming you take it pre-LL) and +1 fort saves.

[thedomicron]

with rdd stats and fighter prowess conversion, you should be able to get all the feats you need, 24-26 con AND edr 3 and maxing str