Xeviat
Hero
Hi everyone. “Fixing” the Fighter is one of my pet projects, and it’s a thread that come up here more and more often. For sake of keeping this thread on track, I’d like to limit the discussion to how to add more flavor and identity to the Fighter, not if it’s required (or if classes like the Barbarian need a touch up too).
My goal here is to add a little more character to the Fighter, primarily to give them something unique to do out of combat. Of course there are backgrounds and they work well to give some identity to the Fighter, but everyone gets those, they aren’t unique. I’d also like to give the base fighter more options in combat without complicating them too much.
So, here are the ideas I’ve been tossing around:
Know Your Enemy
First, I’m strongly considering making the “Know Your Enemy” ability from the Battle Master a basic Fighter ability. I’m likely going to make it work quicker, too, and have it work to help the Fighter identify who in a group are threats, who is calling the shots, and who has hostile intent. This is the kind of awareness that we see in many warrior characters in stories. It would give the Fighter something unique to do in social scenes: “Look at the way that noble walks, he’s clearly an expert swordsman”; “the king doesn’t know how to hold that sword, it’s just for show, but the queen is sitting unusually and is probably hiding a dagger”; “I’ve seen that look in their eyes before, they mean us harm”.
Along with moving the Ranger and Paladin’s Fighting Styles to 1st level (they get spells at second level, but no offensive oomph at first), this would sit side by side nicely with Paladins’ “Detect Evil” as a unique flavorful ability for the elite warriors that are Fighters.
Subclass Identity
Second, the Fighter’s subclasses need more identity. What does it mean to be a Champion? A Battle Master? An Eldritch Knight? These three classes are interesting, because they could have been shaped to be the Cha, Wis, and Int Fighters (though I can see all three in the Battle Master).
What is a Champion? Well Merriam-Webster says:
They shouldn’t just be the generic fighter. They need identity. Champions are the best. People love winners. Our Champions of today (war heroes, sports stars, political figures) are loved by the people. That should be leveraged to add some flavor to them.
+1 Crit Range is a terrible 3rd level ability. I mean it’s good, but it’s weaker than +1 to hit and worth less than half a feat on its own (unless it’s part of some crit fishing build). Let’s give them some kind of passive inspirational buff to their allies. Give them advantage on persuasion checks with the common folk. Whose Champion are they?
Then there’s the Battle Master.
This subclass reminds me of a Monk-Fighter, one whose weapon techniques are an art-form. That’s why I like their artisan tool proficiency. It makes me think of fantasy samurai, romance knights, and other warrior poets.
Since I stole their 7th-level ability, what else should they get?
Then there’s the Eldritch Knight.
They already have quite a bit of utility from their spells, but they are so few per day that I cannot imagine someone using too many for non-combat things. Maybe they’ll have some mobility stuff that aids in exploration. But, who are they? Who are they the knights of? Exploring that could aid in expanding upon their identity.
——
So, what are your thoughts on stealing “Know Your Enemy” for the Fighter as a whole? What would you give the Battle Master in its place? Who is the Champion a champion of?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My goal here is to add a little more character to the Fighter, primarily to give them something unique to do out of combat. Of course there are backgrounds and they work well to give some identity to the Fighter, but everyone gets those, they aren’t unique. I’d also like to give the base fighter more options in combat without complicating them too much.
So, here are the ideas I’ve been tossing around:
Know Your Enemy
First, I’m strongly considering making the “Know Your Enemy” ability from the Battle Master a basic Fighter ability. I’m likely going to make it work quicker, too, and have it work to help the Fighter identify who in a group are threats, who is calling the shots, and who has hostile intent. This is the kind of awareness that we see in many warrior characters in stories. It would give the Fighter something unique to do in social scenes: “Look at the way that noble walks, he’s clearly an expert swordsman”; “the king doesn’t know how to hold that sword, it’s just for show, but the queen is sitting unusually and is probably hiding a dagger”; “I’ve seen that look in their eyes before, they mean us harm”.
Along with moving the Ranger and Paladin’s Fighting Styles to 1st level (they get spells at second level, but no offensive oomph at first), this would sit side by side nicely with Paladins’ “Detect Evil” as a unique flavorful ability for the elite warriors that are Fighters.
Subclass Identity
Second, the Fighter’s subclasses need more identity. What does it mean to be a Champion? A Battle Master? An Eldritch Knight? These three classes are interesting, because they could have been shaped to be the Cha, Wis, and Int Fighters (though I can see all three in the Battle Master).
What is a Champion? Well Merriam-Webster says:
Definition of champion
1 :warrior, fighter a champion of his king
2 :a militant advocate or defender a champion of civil rights
3ne that does battle for another's rights or honor
God will raise me up a champion —Sir Walter Scott
4 :a winner of first prize or first place in competition a tennis champion; also
They shouldn’t just be the generic fighter. They need identity. Champions are the best. People love winners. Our Champions of today (war heroes, sports stars, political figures) are loved by the people. That should be leveraged to add some flavor to them.
+1 Crit Range is a terrible 3rd level ability. I mean it’s good, but it’s weaker than +1 to hit and worth less than half a feat on its own (unless it’s part of some crit fishing build). Let’s give them some kind of passive inspirational buff to their allies. Give them advantage on persuasion checks with the common folk. Whose Champion are they?
Then there’s the Battle Master.
This subclass reminds me of a Monk-Fighter, one whose weapon techniques are an art-form. That’s why I like their artisan tool proficiency. It makes me think of fantasy samurai, romance knights, and other warrior poets.
Since I stole their 7th-level ability, what else should they get?
Then there’s the Eldritch Knight.
They already have quite a bit of utility from their spells, but they are so few per day that I cannot imagine someone using too many for non-combat things. Maybe they’ll have some mobility stuff that aids in exploration. But, who are they? Who are they the knights of? Exploring that could aid in expanding upon their identity.
——
So, what are your thoughts on stealing “Know Your Enemy” for the Fighter as a whole? What would you give the Battle Master in its place? Who is the Champion a champion of?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
