D&D General Chris just said why I hate wizard/fighter dynamic

[Mort]

Sounds like a good reason to replace wizards with sorcerers; finite spell lists that only changes at level up.

I think a setting where the only "full" casters were warlocks and sorcerers would work great.

 

[Weiley31]

Why not give the fighter a few options other than multiclassing. Such as again - more uses for superiority dice etc.

May not be the best option, but as a DM, I houserule that Martials can learn any of the Battle Master Combat Maneuvers if they A: Find a Trainer for the Combat Maneuver and B: Have the Gold for it or complete a Side Quest* to learn em. And Martials can have/learn, up to their Intelligence Modifier, a number of them prepared. They are stuck with a single D6 Superiority die though and, unlike the Battle Master, can't learn them for free OR upgrade their Superiority dice.

So if they wanted to, the Martials can get the more social Combat Maneuvers introduced in Tasha's if they wanted to so they can Face a bit more when needed. Or notice something.

But I agree with you.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Don’t or can’t? If the characters simply choose not to seek out magical items that increase their power, then I agree that it makes it a lot easier for the DM to balance.

By the same token, it should not be assumed that the characters won’t seek out magical items to make them more powerful.

Don't. The only time characters seek out an magic item is if it is pivotal to the story line and part of the current quest.

I don't have magic shops, trade conventions for magic, etc. Rarely the PCs will hear of something not related to the adventure (the other 10%) and might go after it, if they can.

A level 11 wizard will likely have 14 to 16 spells prepared, and choose their spells at level up. It takes up 4 spells to have spells that target Str, Dex, Int and Wis. The opportunity cost is negligeable.

Meanwhile, the opportunity cost for the fighter to have 4-5 magic items to shore up his deficiencies is considerable, since he only has 3 attunement slots (and has to obtain the magical items as well).

25-30% of your spell selection isn't negligible IMO, but if you feel so then fine.

Many of the items fighters need don't use up attunement slots. Again, your views may differ.

 

[HammerMan]

Jumping 60' in plate male and swimming with a 180 pound pack are things normal people do?

do all fighters have plate or carry 180lbs?

So i went through the fighter in my games equipment... it is about half that (97lbs) and I looked at my last PC warrior and he had less then that...neither are in plate

 

[Mort]

yup the war cleric makes the valor bard look bad and the valor bard make the fighter look like a chump

There is a lot of talk about how Valor bards are weak, but combat inspiration is really, really awesome! It's a huge boon to the party and available MUCH more often than the war clerics channel divinity. I rank the Valor Bard well above the sword bard, for example (the truly weak bard, IMO).

If you include feats, the fighter can outdistance the valor bard in a fight rather easily - the problem is too many campaigns don't. And unlike other classes, fighters really DO need feats to keep up!

 

[Remathilis]

I think a setting where the only "full" casters were warlocks and sorcerers would work great.

Long ago, I did a 3.5 game where every caster had a fixed spell list. Bard was the same, sorcerer replaced wizard, mystic from Dragonlance replaced cleric, spirit shaman replaced druid, and paladin and ranger either for limited spells (like a hexblade) or bonus features like UA. It worked well and really lowered the power level dramatically. Real life issues ended it early though so I don't know how it looked past 6th level.

 

[Cadence]

do all fighters have plate or carry 180lbs?

So i went through the fighter in my games equipment... it is about half that (97lbs) and I looked at my last PC warrior and he had less then that...neither are in plate

Why are you not carrying more for emergencies?

I was just going off what I thought the 5e encumbrance rules was (in my memory).for an 18 Str.

 

[HammerMan]

I guess that's a question though. Would it be too far if a 20th level fighter could equal every Olympic record while wearing armor with a 100 pound pack. (Could Captain America do that? If so, is it within reason?)

no... I would say the minumum would be all 20th level fighters should be able to in full gear win ANY and ALL olympic events against real people.

 

[Mort]

Long ago, I did a 3.5 game where every caster had a fixed spell list. Bard was the same, sorcerer replaced wizard, mystic from Dragonlance replaced cleric, spirit shaman replaced druid, and paladin and ranger either for limited spells (like a hexblade) or bonus features like UA. It worked well and really lowered the power level dramatically. Real life issues ended it early though so I don't know how it looked past 6th level.

In my current group, the only casters for a LONG time were a bard and a sorcerer.

Then (when the group hit 8th level) a new player joined (well, actually an old player rejoined but whatever) and picked a wizard. The groups difficulties with exploration challenges practically evaporated! I just rolled with it, gave them an airship, and changed the nature of the exploration challenges. But, wow, did the wizard make a massive difference!

 

[Yaarel]

If I would run a "low magic" setting, I would ban all full caster classes.

Then, the "mages" become Paladin, Ranger, Trickster (Rogue), and Monk.



Personally, I stat up both Norse Thor and Tolkien Gandalf as the Paladin class.

Thor substitutes lighting/thunder smites for radiant smites. Gandalf gains the two-weapon fighting style. Otherwise, the Paladin class is legal and works great for both concepts. Gandalf even gets Flame Strike because of the high Paladin levels.



5e makes it easy to set the mood and tone of a setting by choosing which classes and races populate it.