D&D 5E Why everyone think that Battlemaster is better than Samurai?

[5ekyu]

Samurai is basically Japanese for knight, and wide variety of fighting styles would be appropriate (including archery, something a European knight would have considered a pastime for peasants).

It's really more of a Background (noble) and alignment (lawful) thing.

The Xanathar's subclass makes me think "elvish" if it makes me think of anything at all.

The Xanathar dub-vlass points me to educated warrior and nobleman, almost the sort of classic "adventurer trope" of Verne and Burrows - courtly and deadly.

 

[Garthanos]

The Xanathar dub-vlass points me to educated warrior and nobleman, almost the sort of classic "adventurer trope" of Verne and Burrows - courtly and deadly.

The educated warrior exactly... the stereotype that the Knights were dunce cap uneducated is rather a deficiency of understanding that D&D has propagated.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The educated warrior exactly... the stereotype that the Knights were dunce cap uneducated is rather a deficiency of understanding that D&D has propagated.

How about renaming it "Beau Sabreur" then?

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Arnwolf666]

84% of D&D players are functionally illiterate. And the other 16% are lying liars.

I must be old. My players have read freaking everything in the science fiction and fantasy genre as well as classical literature and historical. Most of us are pretty good hunters and outdoorsman too.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Arnwolf666]

See what I mean? 16%

HOW BIG WAS THAT FISH THAT YOU CAUGHT?

And better readers than me. I haven’t been able to keep up because of work the last decade or so. Lol. I let them keep me up on things.

 

[Garthanos]

How about renaming it "Beau Sabreur" then?

Handsome was something I straight up knew and saber is from the french too, but I doubt this is exactly a commonly known term. It might have the questionable advantage of being zero expectations for some if not all people.

 

[Dausuul]

1. You can get advantage on attacks from many different sources. Battle master maneuvers stack with advantage from wherever. Fighting Spirit does not.

2. Most campaigns take place at low- to mid-levels. Battle masters start hitting on all cylinders at level 3. Samurai are heavily back-loaded. A level 10 ability is far less valuable than a level 3 ability, and a level 15 ability is worthless in all but a sliver of campaigns.

3. The battle master is far more versatile. You can take one maneuver as a "bread and butter" pick to maximize damage output, and then use the others for more tactical choices. The samurai has no such flexibility.

4. Battle masters are very good at party synergy. Commander's Strike is a rogue's best friend. Trip Attack can set up the entire party to attack with advantage if properly timed. Goading Attack can keep the enemy focused on you, protecting the squishy folks in the back. Samurai are more focused on their own personal damage output.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Handsome was something I straight up knew and saber is from the french too, but I doubt this is exactly a commonly known term. It might have the questionable advantage of being zero expectations for some if not all people.

"not well known" was what I was aiming for. It's actually a synonym for "swashbuckler" - originally a sobriquet for one of Napoleon's marshals I believe.