D&D (2024) Fighter brainstorm

[Vaalingrade]

Enemies are not going to fall for the same trick over and over again. They will block a jab to the eye if you keep doing it.

You mean like a 'simple' class swinging a sword blandly and repeatedly ad nauseum?

 

[Pauln6]

You mean like a 'simple' class swinging a sword blandly and repeatedly ad nauseum?

Don't start another, 'hit points are not just meat' flame war. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

[Incenjucar]

I suppose my concern is that fighters are perfectly playable as they are. Most are looking for a versatility increase rather than a power increase. Mirroring the long used resource of Channel Divinity isn't adding a new or confusing resource management system so it feels fairly safe to me. It can scale with fighter level. I suppose you could make it a short rest resource though?

There are a number of good ways to balance things that can pack plenty of flavor, like being able to burn extra attacks, encounter resources, or recharge during combat resources, trading damage for effects, trading action resources for effects, etc.

 

[Pauln6]

There are a number of good ways to balance things that can pack plenty of flavor, like being able to burn extra attacks, encounter resources, or recharge during combat resources, trading damage for effects, trading action resources for effects, etc.

Most of those aren't used in 5e though. Fighters can already burn multiple attacks for combat tactics but it's Most often suboptimal to do so, except e.g. shoving someone off somewhere very high, or disarming a caster of their spell focus. Encounter resources just don't exist.

If the want to preserve champions as the really simple class, maybe the challenge is providing them with a class feature that removes the book-keeping element while retaining balance?

Recharging on a crit or whenever you personally reduce a target to zero hp maybe? Like inspiration, you either have the feature available or you don't and usage doesn't stack? Bit mechanical though.

 

[mellored]

There are a number of good ways to balance things that can pack plenty of flavor, like being able to burn extra attacks, encounter resources, or recharge during combat resources, trading damage for effects, trading action resources for effects, etc.

Then make your suggestion then.

 

[Incenjucar]

Then make your suggestion then.

I suggest they use one or more of the above. There are lots of good solutions to the problem, each with slightly different feels.

Personally I'm working on class variations that work on a "pulse" system where you start with a batch of resources to spend like Ki, but you also get some back each round so you're never stuck in a mediocrity spiral like you'd end up with in 4E.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Unarmored Defense?

I was trying not to think of that. Maybe they should have made rogues, monks, and barbarians a group instead of warriors.

If crit hunter was a fighter thing instead of a subclass thing, then special crits (fighter and barbarian brutal critical) could be a nice thing to give to monks....

 

[Garthanos]

Yeah I toyed with the notion of converting most of them to bonus actions with no extra damage. Riposte I would probably not allow extra damage even with a superiority die. Treat it like an off-hand attack. Some that cost reactions or bonus actions already might be off the menu. The warlord ones can stay and should also be available to banerets with d6 dice imo.

The warlord style ones generally feel more like sidekick ones LOL... the ability to affect the entire team is missing. I do understand when people say "just like the Eldritch Knight would make a less than satisfying Wizard the Battlemaster makes a less than satisfying Warlord".

 

[Pauln6]

The warlord style ones generally feel more like sidekick ones LOL... the ability to affect the entire team is missing. I do understand when people say "just like the Eldritch Knight would make a less than satisfying Wizard the Battlemaster makes a less than satisfying Warlord".

I saw someone homebrew second tier manoeuvres that cost two superiority dice and could affect more than one target. It would be easy to do that for warlords too.

Ironically, the banneret is uninspiring and doesn't seem to be a popular choice. If the banneret was given non-scaling d6 superiority dice instead of proficiency in persuasion, giving them the manoeuvres that affects charisma checks and then a choice from the other warlord type manoeuvres, it would take it a step closer to where it needs to be IMO.

In previous editions, fighter-mages were only possible via multi-classing. I always assumed that eldritch knight was just intended to synergise a bit better with that process, not that it was ever intended to reflect the trope on its own.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

In previous editions, fighter-mages were only possible via multi-classing. I always assumed that eldritch knight was just intended to synergise a bit better with that process, not that it was ever intended to reflect the trope on its own.

why would WOTC write up a subclass that was meant primarily to synergize with a feature that (at the time) was considered totally optional...?