D&D 5E Martial Characters vs Real World Athletes

[Capricia]

There is another problem too, though: if my 20th level, 20 STR fighter can't be as good as any real world champion athlete then I will probably suck in comparison to Aragorn, Conan, Beowulf, Hercules, Batman, Green Arrow, Hawkeye etc.

I also find it spoils verisimilitude that fighters are capable of fighting at a physical level that surpasses the humanly possible (eg trading blows with storm giants) but lack comparably preternatural physical prowess in their non-combat endeavours.

And this was the whole point of the thread. Weird (and depressing) that this wasn't most people's takeaway.

 

[pemerton]

And this was the whole point of the thread. Weird (and depressing) that this wasn't most people's takeaway.

The point was clear to me.

 

[Lalato]

New rule in my games...

In a world of magic... magic stuff happens. Everybody has a little magic in 'em. Even the lowliest guttersnipe. That's why every once in a while you just "heal" up and wake into consciousness after being hit with a near fatal blow. That's why every once in a while the laws of physics seem to bend around you, and you seem invisible for a split second.

Who is to say that the Fighter making her sword swings and adding a few grunts isn't casting a spell with verbal and somatic components by mistake. It doesn't happen every time because the conditions aren't right every time, nor does it happen often enough that the Fighter catches on to replicate it. Maybe that Ogre was blinded by the sand that the Fighter tried to throw in its face or maybe it was the glint of sunlight on steel or maybe it was a spell that no one invented yet. Some do try to study it and become Eldritch Knights, but most Fighters don't care. They're just glad to tell the tale after... and when they tell it, it was always due to their own skill.

Who cares what we can do in the "real" world. In the genre fiction people do amazing things all the time. In mythology people do amazing things all the time. That's what D&D is about to me. Well... that... and killing monsters and taking their stuff.

Three cheers for Law of Physics Breaking Murder Hobos!

Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!

 

[Ilbranteloth]

I think one of the reasons for this discrepancy is lost in the history of the game. Originally, distances for movement and ranges were measured in feet indoors and yards outdoors. While this was a throwback to wargames, it does make some sense.

In the archery example, the range is much shorter indoors. There's a reason it's called archery. So if you're firing from the battlements of a castle at the invading army below, and there's no roof above you, then your range is much longer.

So if it makes a difference to you, it's easy enough to include this rule in your game.

Randy

 

[Uchawi]

I think it goes back to us as individuals, and with the developers of any RPG, because we all realize how hard it is to become an elite athlete, but it is easy to imagine stuff no matter what we are doing so casting classes get the pass on realism. When training mental capacity is just as hard, if not harder than physical.

 

[Marshall]

See the OP - it is important to some that what these characters be comparable to what is possible for real-world humans.

Frankly, no its not. While they may SAY thats what they are after, it ALWAYS boils back down to "Fighters cant have nice things."

I have yet to see one of those people who make this claim explain the difference, in their view, between a 1st lvl martial characters abilities and a 20th lvl martial characters abilities. In all cases, its fine that the 1st level character rivals olympic athletes, but heaven forbid that they ever get any better. There can never be something a 20th lvl martial can do that a 1st lvl can't.

 

[GameDoc]

You are familiar with the concept of the 'nerd,' yes?

You win the thread. ROTFLMAO!

 

[Hussar]

Frankly, no its not. While they may SAY thats what they are after, it ALWAYS boils back down to "Fighters cant have nice things."

I have yet to see one of those people who make this claim explain the difference, in their view, between a 1st lvl martial characters abilities and a 20th lvl martial characters abilities. In all cases, its fine that the 1st level character rivals olympic athletes, but heaven forbid that they ever get any better. There can never be something a 20th lvl martial can do that a 1st lvl can't.

One thing I wish that 5e had done was make explicit what the tiers of play actually mean. If I'm an archetype of my class, what does that actually mean? Is an 18th level fighter still bound by normal human standards or not? I'm very much in the "no" camp, but, I do wish they'd actually step up and make it explicit.

 

[Juriel]

In a game where you can eat a ton of sword hits and regularly survive 100 feet freefalls... I don't know why some people keep sticking to the BUT REALISM argument. So yeah, I'm with the camp thinking it all boils down to the 'fighters cannot have nice things' sentiment, nothing more.

If Fighters cannot even hit what regular human athletes can accomplish, then casters should not be able to do more than what Vegas magicians do.

 

[Henry]

?..is it possible to be so cloistered away from athletics or simple kids scrapping (both watching and participating) that you become unable to grasp the concept?

Yep.