D&D (2024) Fighter brainstorm

[James Gasik]

Sounds more like a rogue move IMO.

It certainly could be, but again, you see all manner of cunning, ruthless warriors do it. Most of the time it's the bad guys though. But that's just an example; warriors are always trying to gain advantage over one another in combat. Trying to put your back to the sun, taking the high ground, et. al..

To answer Bill Zebub about whether or not D&D is the game for this sort of thing; it's no more or less complex and potent than using magical spells. Why is the system ok with me casting Blindness/Deafness on an enemy for up to a minute by wiggling my fingers, but letting a Fighter do it without a bespoke ability is too much?

 

[Incenjucar]

In 2nd edition we had a Ninja class, which was basically somewhere between a rogue and a fighter. Among their tricks they had eggshell grenades with stuff like dust or pepper to hamper opponents. I freaking loved that class.

 

[Pauln6]

I think that the demand for at will abilities has to square the circle of game balance, realism, and simulationism. Any cinematic fight only has our hero use any trick once because if you rinse and repeat, your audience might get bored.

This is why I think gifting fighters an option that sits half way between cunning action and channel divinity is a good way to meet in the middle. Options could be as a bonus action the fighter can:

Move
Intimidate (if the have successfully hit that target in melee that round they can use Strength instead of Charisma and the roll cannot be lower than half the weapon damage inflicted in that round)
Combat Tactics - on a successful hit your target's next attack or skill check has disadvantage (list sample cinematic style moves)
Shove
Disarm
Jump

Usable a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Resets on a short rest. [or perhaps more sensibly fighter level]

This still leaves room for Battlemasters.

 

[James Gasik]

I think that the demand for at will abilities has to square the circle of game balance, realism, and simulationism. Any cinematic fight only has our hero use any trick once because if you rinse and repeat, your audience might get bored.

This is why I think gifting fighters an option that sits half way between cunning action and channel divinity is a good way to meet in the middle. Options could be as a bonus action the fighter can:

Move
Intimidate (if the have successfully hit that target in melee that round they can use Strength instead of Charisma and the target DC cannot be lower than half the weapon damage inflicted in that round)
Combat Tactics - on a successful hit your target's next attack or skill check has disadvantage (list sample cinematic style moves)
Shove
Disarm
Jump

Usable a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Resets on a short rest.

This still leaves room for Battlemasters.

Yes, if there is some sort of "currency" that they can trade for "cool move", then there's no problem with allowing anyone to use special moves and dirty tricks.

 

[Pauln6]

I'm also in favour of bringing back the morale score for monsters to function as a base target for Intimidate checks.

 

[Azzy]

I'm also in favour of bringing back the morale score for monsters to function as a base target for Intimidate checks.

While I hated (and ignored) Morale back in the day, I really miss it and wish it were back in the game (in a way that's not crappy).

 

[CreamCloud0]

i think what a big part of people are asking for with 'sand throwing' is just basic codified martial combat actions beyond 'hit it' and then for the fighter to have a better ability to use those actions because they're meant to be this 'skilled martial warrior' but they're a SkIlLeD mArTiAl WaRrIoR who can only really hit things with their fancy metal sticks, the ability to trip, blind, disarm, parry, shove, taunt, daze, distract, deafean, slow an enemy's movement, focus themselves, called shots to disable an arm, feint and more all those things would be great for any character to be able to perform with their action but the fighter, as a skilled warrior the fighter can sub in any one of those for one of their attacks without missing a beat, almost like rogue's cunning action but for martial fightery things instead.

and it's not about explicitly being able to 'throw sand' to blind someone, you could be attacking their eyes, reflecting light into them, pulling down their helmet or flipping their cloak over their head, any number of things but it's not something that has a codified method of attempting it in a fight and it should be, because near all those things i mentioned in the paragraph above even you or i could do to someone in a fight, and this is THE FIGHTER we're talking about.

unrelated: this is only just my own personal want but i'd love if the fighter had some sort of 'boot camp crash course' ability, where over the duration of a short/long rest they could train or get trained by another character to have temporary proficiency in a skill the trainer has for 4/12 hours

 

[Pauln6]

i think what a big part of people are asking for with 'sand throwing' is just basic codified martial combat actions beyond 'hit it' and then for the fighter to have a better ability to use those actions because they're meant to be this 'skilled martial warrior' but they're a SkIlLeD mArTiAl WaRrIoR who can only really hit things with their fancy metal sticks, the ability to trip, blind, disarm, parry, shove, taunt, daze, distract, deafean, slow an enemy's movement, focus themselves, called shots to disable an arm, feint and more all those things would be great for any character to be able to perform with their action but the fighter, as a skilled warrior the fighter can sub in any one of those for one of their attacks without missing a beat, almost like rogue's cunning action but for martial fightery things instead.

and it's not about explicitly being able to 'throw sand' to blind someone, you could be attacking their eyes, reflecting light into them, pulling down their helmet or flipping their cloak over their head, any number of things but it's not something that has a codified method of attempting it in a fight and it should be, because near all those things i mentioned in the paragraph above even you or i could do to someone in a fight, and this is THE FIGHTER we're talking about.

unrelated: this is only just my own personal want but i'd love if the fighter had some sort of 'boot camp crash course' ability, where over the duration of a short/long rest they could train or get trained by another character to have temporary proficiency in a skill the trainer has for 4/12 hours

The issue that needs addressing is why the battlemaster misses the mark. Not enough moves? Not usable often enough?

Would d6 superiority dice as part of the core fighter be too complex/throw out damage potential too much?

Battlemaster players take ages to decide what move to use especially where they only care about the extra damage. Would more options just slow down one of the most streamlined and widely used classes?

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Maybe just add some attack options other than Shove and Grapple in exchange of an attack roll.

Dirty Fighting: Apply one condition from Blind, Stun or Restrained. The target must make a DC 12 Con save or be affected until the end of its turn. A target that succeed on the save cant be affected by this feature for 24h.

Fighters have more attack so can use them more efficiently. Rogues could have an archetype letting them use a Dirty Fighting attack as part of a Cunning Action.

 

[Pauln6]

Maybe just add some attack options other than Shove and Grapple in exchange of an attack roll.

Dirty Fighting: Apply one condition from Blind, Stun or Restrained. The target must make a DC 12 Con save or be affected until the end of its turn. A target that succeed on the save cant be affected by this feature for 24h.

Fighters have more attack so can use them more efficiently. Rogues could have an archetype letting them use a Dirty Fighting attack as part of a Cunning Action.

I would like to see a ranged grapple option to reflect pinning someone's clothes or hand to a wall etc.