D&D 5E And Lo, the Fighter Did Get a Shtick of his Own... COMBAT SUPERIORITY!

[I'm A Banana]

CS dice are equivalent to a penalty to the damage roll. This is an important difference, as damage penalties are easier to scale and have a much lower effect on the swinginess of the combat.

I think it's a smart move. Bounded accuracy doesn't play nice with a lot of attack roll mods, and even in 3e deciding whether or not to Power Attack was a bit of a non-question much of the time. This way, by applying it to damage, it is something you can't "waste." Psychologically, it takes out the loss-aversion factor. Which is better. You might not kill the thing this round, but you're still gonna hurt it somehow.

I would argue, the CS dice rules as presented here actually have much more in common with 4ed stances than with any 3ed feat.

I'm not sure that I agree (stances, for one, were daily powers rather than at-will options), but even if you're right, the question then becomes: how much different is a 4e stance, really, than a 3e feat? In what important ways?

Yeah, and another magic trick they deployed is providing 4e powers without saying as much. You can use Brash Strike for +X damage, or you can use Riposte Strike for immediate action attack with a condition, or you can use Aegis of Shielding to reduce the damage an ally takes.

Again, not sure I quite agree (it's hardly Come and Get It). It's kind of similar to 4e at-wills, but 4e at-wills were already very similar to any number of fighter options from 3e or even 2e. But again, like above, even if I agreed, the question would be: how different is Brash Strike really, from systems like Weapons of Legacy? What's the key difference?

Sometimes, I think the key difference is mostly just whether the book you got the rule out of was laid out like 3e or laid out like 4e.

In my opinion, one of 4e's biggest pit falls is presentation. The 25th level monk with a dozen pages of powers just makes me want to throw up. You could make a few tweaks to 4e's presentation and character progression, and the psychological effect would be staggering.

I'll have to agree with you there. It seems from the outside a bit like they assumed the "Your character's abilities are like cards in a deck!" thing would take off like a shot rather than alienate a tremendous chunk of the customer base. And once you release an edition like that, any attempt to revise or update it comes off as ".5-ing" it (*cough*Essentials*cough*), gaining few new adherents and still loosing those folks who thought that abilities = cards in a deck WAS crazy awesome.

That's not to mention some of the OTHER questionable presentation choices (cartoony early art, "1 PHB Per Year!", and others). I think 5e's modularity helps this, too: they may not feel so pressured to use IP-special names or have a specific view of what Elves always are defined as if they approach the game from a standpoint of "everything is flexible."

 

[howandwhy99]

Possible schticks for other characters?

- Magic-User/Wizards are masters of the secret laws of the universe
- Thief/Rogues are masters of covert actions
- Clerics are masters of collecting creatures together to support and protect
- Druids act as clerics for the wilderness, plants and animals
- Rangers are masters of surviving and scouting in the wilderness with a warrior bent
- Paladins are defenders of a moral code with a warrior bent
- Assassins are as thieves, but seek killing through covert action instead of theft
- Monks are personal devotees to a martial and mystical code
- Warlords are masters of strategy working from behind the lines
- Sorcerers are naturally imbued with magical abilities
- Blade singers (or other M-U/Ftr) imbue their combat abilities with magic
and so on...

 

[howandwhy99]

All I can say about the potential rule is, I hope the option can be dropped form play without serious repercussions.

 

[FireLance]

What's stopping you from having both, do you not have enough space for bookmarks?
QC: New Comics Every Monday Through Friday
S*P and Other Comics

Only two links? You missed the Darken reference.

 

[Remathilis]

I like it.

There is a basic tactical element to it as well...

1.) Foes you think have low hp (goblins), it might be worth it to trade the damage die for a neat effect. For High-HP foes, it might be good to disable/protect for a while, then go for the kill when its wounded.

2.) Trading a variable damage die (1d4) is easier than trading a static bonus. Static numbers want to be crunched, and people begin to try and figure out the best amount to trade (see; power attack spreadsheet).

3.) Plus, it goes hand-in-hand with advantage/disadvantage and "Dice Adjustments BAD!" mentality of 5e.

4.) Did anyone else actually think... ALTERNITY? No?

 

[hamstertamer]

I really don't see the point of adding all these new gimmicks into their game unless it's just to justify to themselves a new edition. I think they would be better in an alternative combat book so people could pick and choose. I don't really see what's so wonderful about them and I'm sure the novelty of them will wear out fast in game play.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Anyone taking bets on how long it remains a fighter-only thing?

 

[Shadeydm]

I have no issue with action point/dice mechanics but making it Fighter only just seems odd. I'm also not convinced it needs to be a default assumption and not an optional module.

 

[JamesonCourage]

You only need three inches of steel to kill a man.

What about a bear? An elephant? A bulette? A dragon? This is why bigger weapons deserve a bigger damage die, in my mind.

Weapon qualities (bludgeoning, slashing, piercing, reach, versatile, critical, light, etc.) are a far better way of distinguishing weapons than using different damage dice.

Overall, I still agree with this. As always, play what you like

 

[Greg K]

I know a lot people like it, because it is based on trading damage rather than to hit for a maneuver. However, that is exactly why I do not like it. Not a fan of the version in DCC either. One more strike against Next for me.

Hopefully, there will be a module that resembles the maneuver system in the Book of Iron Might. If not, I still have Savage Worlds, True20, and my house ruled 3e for my fantasy needs.