So, long story short: I am looking to play a Marshal in a 3.5 game, and the rest of the party looks... rather intimidating. One Artificer, one Favored Soul, one MageWizard: these are all scary in their own right, and I am somewhat relieved that all players seem to be opting for sub-optimal builds rather than min-maxing the shit out of them.
Me, on the other hand, I am playing a Marshal and I am starting to get cold feet. I am afraid that if I don't go the extra mile in my making my build efficient I will just be irrelevant for most of the game. With that in mind, I'd like for ask for some tips and tricks on how to make my character perform the best. The DM hasn't prohibited any manual and says he will consider things on a case by case basis. I'd ideally like to be dealing some damage in melee combat, but mostly I want to buff efficiently and impactfully. I'll start from level 1, and then the quest will likely progress to level 20, so a complete overview on the potential progression path would be very much appreciated.
All suggestions on how to progress, which feats to consider, which race to pick, which classes to dip in are all welcome!