Cormyrean Knight Training. Is there an ideal Str/Cha split?

[Feralthyrtiaq]

Has anyone looked at, calculated or played a character with this? You want strength high for tactical DC but charisma higher for the 1/3 mod.

Seems like a trap and a Str>Int with KtA would yield higher over-all tactical DCs and damage than a Cha>Str PDK using CKT.

[Discpsycho]

Here is a list of maximum ability scores - as Saekee says, they're slightly out of date, but they're a decent starting point for the educated guesses I'm about to make.

Before we look at stats, there are a couple of confounds to this question. First, a Fighter is going to be the best tactical combatant because of the feats, which can only be taken once each and provide +2, +4, +6 and +8 to DC respectively. Since we're going for rough theoretical maxima and because I don't want to dig through enhancement trees to figure out which other class has the best low-hanging tactics boosts, we'll assume this is a pure fighter. Second, the DCs for a pure fighter are going to depend on which type of tactical feat you're using, as Vanguards get a bonus only to stunning DC. Interestingly, Stunning Shield will probably be on the lower end for a tactics-oriented build because it uses the highest ability modifier, which will be Cha if we want to use Cormyrean Knight Training. For the purposes of KTA vs. CKT, let's just go with a Str-based tactical maneuver like Trip or Stunning Blow so we don't have to mess with the "highest stat" issue that Dire Charge also contributes to.

Saekee's slightly outdated theoretical maximum is 97, and my guess is that a pure or mostly-pure fighter would probably be able to reach this (or get very close to it) with Kensai's Power Surge and some shiny new top-of-the-line gear. 97 Cha means you'd have a +43 modifier, and Cormyrean Knight Training requires that Cha be higher than Str, so your maximum Str contribution would also be +43 (with a 96 Str). This would give you a total bonus of +57 to DC. You could take KTA as well, but since it's harder to max out 3 stats than 2, let's assume you can only hit an Int of 50 (not unreasonable for a pure fighter - feel free to adjust this value to match your assumptions or experience), which gives you a modifier of +20 and a KTA bonus of +10 for a total of +67 to DC.

Without CKT, you can go ham on Str. Even with the Kensai changes, Barbarians probably hit the highest Str value, so for the sake of round numbers let's assume your fighter can only reach 130 Str (compared to Saekee's maximum of 135), which gives you a +60 modifier. Since you're only min-maxing 2 stats instead of 3, let's say your Int can reach 60 this time (once again, make the adjustment to this number as you see fit) for a +25 modifier and a KTA bonus of about +13. This gives you a total tactical boost of +73.

Let's say my Int numbers are off and that you can hit 60 in the Str/Int/Cha fighter and 80 in the latter case - this seems a bit extreme to me, but I'd rather work off the most hypothesis-contradicting case. The Str/Int/Cha build would gain +5 stat modifier for a total of +70-ish DC bonus, and the latter would gain +10 stat modifier for a total of +78-ish DC boost.

Our results: The 1/3 Cha boost isn't going to help sufficiently for a min-maxed build. Even with an ability like Dire Charge, the upper stat limits on Cha restrict Str's contribution too much. Incorporating KTA into a CKT build will get you close, but a Str-capped build with KTA will win regardless

[Dandonk]

I only really find it useful for the warchanter's freeze attacks.

[unbongwah]

If you're going for a DPS+tactics ftr build and have Harper, you will achieve better results going STR+INT-based w/KtA than you would STR+CHA w/CKT. KtA adds 1/2 your INT mod (vs 1/3 your CHA mod) and doesn't require you to gimp your STR to receive its bonus. This also has the not-insubstantial benefit of removing CKT's weapon restrictions, which apart from a few named options like SOS and Spinal Tap are sub-optimal.

IMO, CKT only makes sense if you're already a CHA-based melee build: e.g., a melee warlock or a WC w/freeze atks. In which case, you'll want to be CHA+INT-based so you can add (surprise!) KtA for the dmg & DC bonuses.