D&D (2024) My Proposed Fix for the Fighter

[ChameleonX]

Update

- Improvements to Warrior's Challenge Fighting Style

- Adrenaline Rush is now a Reaction.

- Added Quick Swap to Weapon Expert (idea from other thread).

- Vigilant Champion changed to grant Perception Expertise.

-Weapon Adept redesigned to provide Daily Powers based on Mastery abilities (combined with "at-will" Weapon Mastery and Battlemaster "encounter" maneuvers, this Fighter now emulates the 4th edition Fighter).

- Unconquerable redesigned.

 

[Stalker0]

Against a Tarrasque? You tell me - it depends on what spells the wizard has prepared and a level 20 has a lot of options, but most of them would involve escaping in this scenario. If the Tarrasque gets to him the wizard likely dies in one round. Its base damage is 184, and the Wizard won't have much to reduce it - shield spell is not gonna help a whole lot. Their best bet is to wish to be someplace else.

Cast invulnerability, aka tarrasque can't hurt you.
So now its a question of can you do enough damage in 10 minutes before your spell wears off.

 

[Yaarel]

@ChameleonX

Can you summarize what you feel is broken about the 2014 Fighter, and how these class features would fix it?

 

[bert1001 fka bert1000]

Cast invulnerability, aka tarrasque can't hurt you.
So now its a question of can you do enough damage in 10 minutes before your spell wears off.

Or just cast Invulnerability once and Acid Slash him to death.

Yeah, or polymorph into a clay golem, or Wish, or Fly/Kite. I'm sure there are others.

The Tarrasque maybe isn't a great example given it's poor design in 5e, but the point was just that 20th level Fighters can be crazy good as other classes are too.

 

[ChameleonX]

@ChameleonX

Can you summarize what you feel is broken about the 2014 Fighter, and how these class features would fix it?

Basically just the lack of out of combat utility and lack of meaningful options other than "I hit it with my weapon."

Also, one issue that was brought up in another thread is the dependency on magic in higher level play.

Most of the features I added are about giving Fighters things to do other than bashing things over the head, or making them better at doing those things.

Or, at least, make the bashing a bit more tactically interesting than "You hit. Roll for damage."

 

[Pauln6]

@ChameleonX

Can you summarize what you feel is broken about the 2014 Fighter, and how these class features would fix it?

I think the fighter hits things and kills things just fine. Things it lacks are:

• Options to react to, control, or assist allies against, enemies in combat
• Focuses on skills relevant to fighters, such as impressing common folk, intimidating enemies in battle, intimidating potential enemies before you get into battle, plus intelligence or wisdom added to initiative at higher levels.
• Defensive skills such as basic parrying, fighting withdrawal, assisting allies in retreating
• Ability to perform basic combat manoeuvres such as push, disarm, or opportunity attacks more easily or effectively

I think the basic fighter class could probably benefit from a choice of one (out of limited choice of three options) of the most popular battlemaster manoeuvres as class features at appropriate levels but without the damage bonus of superiority dice, split into an option for each offense, defence, or assisting allies.