Level Up (A5E) 1 level fighter dip too easy?

[PauloR]

Just throwing out there, but a multiclass progression table seems overly complicated. I know sprlcasting has one, but why make martials as complicated as spellcasters?
I like the solution of separate progression. You want high level maneuvers? Specialise in one class!

 

[Faolyn]

I think you’ve misunderstood. They wouldn’t all use the same table normally. They would get a separate table when multiclassing that different classes progress through at different rates. E.g. if you’re a 4 fighter / 3 rogue, you have the capacities of a 6 fighter because your rogue levels only count for 2/3 of a fighter level.

Ah, gotcha. I think, then, the problem is that even though maneuvers have "levels," there's nothing really requiring you to take higher level manevers. A sorcerer or bard still gains higher-level spell slots even if they never higher-level spells. And unlike spells, maneuvers can't be upcast. A 2nd-degree maneuver will always be a 2nd-degree maneuver, no matter how much exertion you pump into it.

 

[Stalker0]

This! The highest anyone I've met has played outside of one-shots is Level 7 or 8. Also, admittedly, by the time you get to those levels, the spellcasters are nearly gods, so an unbalanced martial is not so bad compared to an unbalanced spellcaster.

Yeah when I think of actual game balance, its pretty much from levels 3 - 8, maybe 9,10 if I'm pushing it. I have run higher than that, but this is really the bulk of gameplay.

 

[Faolyn]

...what? i meant have every class reference the fighter table ala spellcasters with the multiclassing spellcaster table, not to have them all progress at the same rate. im not sure why you'd think that was what i was saying given the rest of the conversation.

Yeah, I misunderstood, but see my response in post #42.

extremely--this isn't like a build being really good at fighting a specific set of enemies, it's just level 16-20 play. you might as well just completely write off high level play if you think discussing builds at that level is silly. though you do have a point that it takes a while for it to come online.

It's not that I think that high-level examples should be written off completely. It's that I think that this one example is going to be so rare as to be unique.

...that's not how smites work in a5e. you just get a number equal to your proficiency per long rest, each one at the damage listed on the table. you can't get more with spell slots.

I stand corrected. Or rather, I was looking at the empowered smites at the time--which are limited to 1/day--and misinterpreted it, since I was being distracted.

 

[xiphumor]

Just throwing out there, but a multiclass progression table seems overly complicated. I know sprlcasting has one, but why make martials as complicated as spellcasters?
I like the solution of separate progression. You want high level maneuvers? Specialise in one class!

The problem is not that we want high-level maneuvers. The problem is that we don't want certain classes (especially Heralds) to get high-level maneuvers, and with a 1 level dip into fighter they suddenly can.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

It's not that I think that high-level examples should be written off completely. It's that I think that this one example is going to be so rare as to be unique.

why would it be? a 1 level dip in fighter for a herald isn't exactly difficult to justify.

 

[PauloR]

The problem is not that we want high-level maneuvers. The problem is that we don't want certain classes (especially Heralds) to get high-level maneuvers, and with a 1 level dip into fighter they suddenly can.

Exactly! High level maneuvers should be something fighters and marshals get, not every martial class and certainly not heralds, who also have access to spells

 

[Faolyn]

why would it be? a 1 level dip in fighter for a herald isn't exactly difficult to justify.

A 1 level dip in fighter and 19 levels of anything else is not common.

It gets you proficiency in two traditions and three first-level maneuvers. That's a nice bonus, sure, but it's not necessarily groundbreaking because you're going to be missing out on maneuver specialization and reserves, which means you'll simply end up with more maneuvers vying for a smaller pool of exertion. If you want to play a herald who rarely casts spells or uses them on enhancing your smites, then that's fine, but that means you'll be missing some cool herald tricks.

 

[xiphumor]

A 1 level dip in fighter and 19 levels of anything else is not common.

It gets you proficiency in two traditions and three first-level maneuvers. That's a nice bonus, sure, but it's not necessarily groundbreaking because you're going to be missing out on maneuver specialization and reserves, which means you'll simply end up with more maneuvers vying for a smaller pool of exertion. If you want to play a herald who rarely casts spells or uses them on enhancing your smites, then that's fine, but that means you'll be missing some cool herald tricks.

But the pool isn’t smaller now. You have an exertion pool of 12 PLUS all your spell exertion.

You can also pull off some other interesting combos in other classes with a dip into fighter. Berserkers with Razor’s Edge anyone? Or an unarmed fighting style with an Adept to get that early d8 unarmed strike die?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

A 1 level dip in fighter and 19 levels of anything else is not common.

It gets you proficiency in two traditions and three first-level maneuvers. That's a nice bonus, sure, but it's not necessarily groundbreaking because you're going to be missing out on maneuver specialization and reserves, which means you'll simply end up with more maneuvers vying for a smaller pool of exertion. If you want to play a herald who rarely casts spells or uses them on enhancing your smites, then that's fine, but that means you'll be missing some cool herald tricks.

first off like xip said Heralds are the ONE class that actually gets more exertion from getting a level in another class that gets maneuvers, but second getting proficiency in two more traditions your normal class may not even have is a pretty big boon just due to the added versatility. and you're forgetting one thing this entire thread has been about - one level in fighter gets you the fighter's maneuver progression. i think you're DRASTICALLY underselling the value of fighter 1.