Not for damage, no. Is there something out there on the net which you'd recommend?
I mean, there is a half decent on done over in LU5E on this forum. They just calculated spike and at-will damage.
Or do something like 1-4 encounters between rests, 0-3 short rests/day, 2-5 rounds per encounter, and work out total damage done over number of rounds given a model of the adventuring day, and then report both average DPR and variance over the "adventure space".
Depends how much of a math geek you are I guess.
However, in the old post I did a breakdown of how the bonus attacks granted by Action Surge, Against the Horde, and Stalwart Defender compare to each other:
D&D 5E - The Warrior Based on my assumptions/analysis/playtesting they were fairly balanced.
Great, that is an example of a model.
What I do when I'm doing that is I stuff that kind of analysis in [ spoiler ] blocks adjacent to the feature. So people who don't care can skip them. (also, I put design notes there). Dunno if it actually helps.
Absolutely feel you there. The challenge I encountered with that previously was two-fold: (1) Because not every fighter could be imagined to have the same non-combat roles, it was far easier to design disparate Camp Talents (think Eldritch Invocations, but for fighters) that could be chosen from. (2) When I made camp talents the word count shot up and it bloated the class design.
Your framework – four scaling features at "tier jump" levels – is elegant, and I like it, but gets back to that first challenge: Pinning down non-combat features that players can universally get behind as belonging to the fighter. And if you can surmount that significant obstacle, then you're faced with the challenge of finding design space within 5e's "hands-off" approach to non-combat rules (where things like henchmen & followers & strongholds don't really have a place).
Ya, the problem with "invocations" is that you require a book.
With subclass-ish cases, you can write 2 or 3 thematic ones, and leave the rest up to the imagination. And because they are in packages each individual feature need not be as tightly balanced.
Profession: You had a life before adventuring. At 1st level, select a profession you had before you became a fighter, and gain the associated benefits.
Soldier: You know how to set up a bivouac. If you spend an hour setting up camp during a rest, anyone spending a HD to regain HP may reroll it once (but must keep the new result), and during a long rest creatures may sacrifice a HD to regain 1 additional level of exhaustion. Setting up camp does not prevent you from taking a rest.
Guard: Your passive perception is increased by 5, and creatures have disadvantage on deception checks opposed by you.
Smith: You are proficiency in smiths tools, and when you make an attribute check where you add proficiecny due to smith tools, instead add twice your proficiency bonus. You can craft masterwork melee weapons, shields and armor that are primarily made of metal. These gain a non-magical bonus to their AC or attack and damage rolls of up to 1/2 of your proficiency bonus (round down); if the material you use is magical, they are also considered magical; some magical components may even permit the weapon to have other properties (such items usually require attunement). This crafting requires 1 month of downtime time per +1 bonus the item has, and requires materials that cost at least 5x the base price of the item per +1 bonus (so x5, x25 and x125) (if you find magical materials, this may replace this cost). If non-magical, such masterwork items require regular maintenence if in use. Every month that at least a week's downtime (by their user, or someone proficient in smiths tools) has not been spent maintaining them and they are in use, they lose a +1 bonus until repaired by someone proficient in smiths tools for a week. In addition, nonmagical masterwork shields lose +1 bonus every time you suffer a critical hit.
Finally, you have advantage on all attribute checks your smithing knowledge could apply to, including checks opposed by metal golems, constructs, or concerning smithed objects.
Simple Farmer: You gain proficiency in animal handling, and you make an attribute check where you add proficiecny due to smith tools, instead add twice your proficiency bonus. Without training, you have left your farm to seek adventure, have seen terrible things, and are not cowed. You have advantage on saving throws against fear and charm effects, and friendly creatures who see you succeed against such a saving throw also gain advantage against the same effect for the next minute.
Useless Dandy: You lived a life of comfort and got bored. You gain proficiency in deception and persuasion. The fact you aren't a quivering wreck when faced with the dangers of adventure makes everyone else feel they need to step up. When you use your fighter's second wind, up to your charisma bonus creatures (min 1) you choose who can see or hear gain temporary HP equal to the HP you heal from second wind. While they have those temporary HP, they have advantage on attacks on creatures adjacent to you.
I guess this also adds to word count.
