doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
I get that. But for the OP, this came up because a particular player, who had earlier played a wizard, was envious of other people playing other classes.
The thing is, the Fighter class / chassis works very well for what is, but it also requires some buy-in if you want it to sing. Not everyone does that, and that's okay!
There are a lot of classes that I just don't feel like playing. Sometimes, the problem isn't the player, and it isn't the class- it's the combination. In my campaigns, I make sure to check in with everyone at 4th/5th level to see if they are having fun with the class. If they aren't, they can make a new, equivalent-level character.
It's usually easier to allow a player to play a class that is more closely suited to what they want it to be, than to remake the class. IMO.
I agree! I just also think that the character's concept may well have been best built as a fighter, but then the lack of interaction and exploration benefits sinks in over time. They probably don't want to play a different character, they just want the character concept they had to work.
For instance, the Battlemaster makes a great swashbuckler, in combat. If there were no swashbuckler rogue, or you're playing PHB only, that player either has to just accept not being that useful outside of combat/not being able to realize the full character concept even though it's not a complex or overwrought concept, or reflavor something like an Open Hand Monk. Bummer!
Why not just let Fighters have some situational shine in all three pillars, instead?
Because the fighter is somewhat supposed to be a blank slate for flavour, I think that deciding what exactly the fighter should be good at outside combat is a nontrivial exercise. I also think that no matter what direction you go in someone will inevitably disagree with you on if what you came up with feels "fighter-y". Given that here's how I would go about it.
To keep the fighter generic but also giving specific flavourful abilities we offer many different abilities to customize as you see fit. Offer a couple early and then gain more as you level up (a lot like warlock invocations, but keep it strictly non-combat). This may increase the complexity of the class a tad, but that's not something I necessarily care about.
Some samples of abilities:
When all you have is a hammer: You may substitute a weapon in place of a proper tool without penalty. For example using daggers as pitons
That'll do for now: You may spend 1 minute to make repairs to a broken, non-magical object. The object functions as normal for 1 hour, but has vulnerability to all damage. Once you repair an object in this manner you cannot do so again.
Work harder not smarter: You may push yourself to get advantage on all checks that use STR, DEX and CON for 1 hour. At the end of the hour you suffer 1 level of exhaustion.
Scary face: When you make an intimidation check you add a bonus equal to your CON modifier (min 1)
A way with words: After you spend 10 minutes talking with single individual you can attempt to charm them. They must make a WIS saving throw against a DC of 10 + your proficiency bonus + your Cha modifier or be charmed for 1 hour. If they succeed they are immune to this affect for 24 hours.
Those are fun, for sure.