D&D 5E Fighters are amazing!

[koga305]

I agree with the OP on everything except that champion fighters are boring. There are no boring classes, only boring players

I don't think the Champion is boring! It's less tactically intricate than the others, but still there's a lot you can do especially with the right roleplaying choices.

I have my own awesome Fighter story. While participating in the Alpha playtest (yes, be jealous ), I built a Battlemaster fighter modeled after Bronn from the Game of Thrones books. He was a warrior, pure and simple, with little to no utility outside of combat. Naturally, we spent the first session sneaking around and running away, because the DM threw a totally unexpected dragon in the middle of a goblinoid outpost. I believe my character's sole contributions to that session were pushing aside a boulder and carrying a NPC while we ran.

Everything changed the next time we met up to play. When the party was ambushed underground by a hydra and its zombie minions, the party was swarmed. Everyone started to panic when we realized the hydra had lightning breath and we were standing in ankle-deep water. When another party member tried to attack, he fell into the deeper water surrounding our position and the hydra simply swam away.
Then my turn came around. With a high Athletics skill and the Medium Armor Master feat, my character swam to the hydra's position immediately, then unleashed a round of four Action Surge attacks on the hydra - dealing more damage to it than the whole party had managed thusfar. When the Hydra's turn came around, it unleashed its many-headed fury on me but thanks to my high Armor Class only hit on two attacks, one of which I promptly Parried (I prefer to imagine this as jamming my shield in its mouth). With some help from my Superiority Dice, the hydra didn't survive my next round of attacks, and once our Evoker mopped up the zombies with a well-placed Fireball, the fight was over. I casually activated my Second Wind, bringing my character back to full health, and asked if the party would like to take a Short Rest so I could do it all over again.

 

[BigVanVader]

I'm glad to hear all this. In previous editions, I always played Fighter just as a sort of protest, but now it sounds like when I finally make one, he'll actually be worth a damn.

 

[guachi]

When I start a 5E campaign, I plan to disallow feats. How does that affect the performance of the fighter, and the Champion in particular?

The Champion is probably hurt most by no feats. The fighter, like the OP said, has the most ASIs and can take advantage of feats and still have great stats. The Champion has so little to do that feats really allow him to take advantage of the action economy. He can pick something that doesn't interfere with the nothing he'd be doing anyway on that bonus action/reaction.

In my campaign, I limited people to one feat or two half feats (I term a half feat the feats that include a +1 to an ability)

 

[gyor]

A Paladin can have a bigger nova, especailly an Avenger, but doesn't get back the ability after a short rest.

Divine Smite isn't a spell and doesn't take an action to do, just a hit, so a Paladin could do 9D8 or 12D8 against fiends or the undead radiant damage + Strength mod ×3 + 2D10 + 1D4 reroll 1's based on using a Glaive and Polearm Master Feat, Great Weapon Style, and firing off Divine Smite every time you Glaive hits an enemy. And that doesn't assume other buffing/damaging magic at work such as an Avenger with Hunter's Mark Active and Oath of Enimity on the Target, a Horned Knight with Ensnaring Strike already on the Target or Moonbeam.

So that's competitive with a Battlemaster's Nova, but can't be done once every short rest.

 

[the Jester]

I'm glad to hear all this. In previous editions, I always played Fighter just as a sort of protest, but now it sounds like when I finally make one, he'll actually be worth a damn.

Oh God yes.

In my campaign, the fighter amazed us all in the first fight, used Second Wind and did it again the second fight, and just never stopped.

The pc playing him felt he had to take a level of barbarian so he could go bare-chested and no armored, though, since his model was Glen Danzig and he just wanted to wear the rock & roll "show my chest" shirt-and-sweat bands costume. (His background was entertainer.) But then he said, "Screw it, I'm going fighter all the way up after this," and so far he has.

The 5e fighter is deadly.

 

[BigVanVader]

Oh God yes.

In my campaign, the fighter amazed us all in the first fight, used Second Wind and did it again the second fight, and just never stopped.

The pc playing him felt he had to take a level of barbarian so he could go bare-chested and no armored, though, since his model was Glen Danzig and he just wanted to wear the rock & roll "show my chest" shirt-and-sweat bands costume. (His background was entertainer.) But then he said, "Screw it, I'm going fighter all the way up after this," and so far he has.

The 5e fighter is deadly.

He can't be Danzig until he tells the party to "get the f**k out" after 9 levels, everybody thinking he's their friend.

 

[Nebulous]

I don't think the Champion is boring! It's less tactically intricate than the others, but still there's a lot you can do especially with the right roleplaying choices.

I have my own awesome Fighter story. While participating in the Alpha playtest (yes, be jealous ), I built a Battlemaster fighter modeled after Bronn from the Game of Thrones books. He was a warrior, pure and simple, with little to no utility outside of combat. Naturally, we spent the first session sneaking around and running away, because the DM threw a totally unexpected dragon in the middle of a goblinoid outpost. I believe my character's sole contributions to that session were pushing aside a boulder and carrying a NPC while we ran.

Everything changed the next time we met up to play. When the party was ambushed underground by a hydra and its zombie minions, the party was swarmed. Everyone started to panic when we realized the hydra had lightning breath and we were standing in ankle-deep water. When another party member tried to attack, he fell into the deeper water surrounding our position and the hydra simply swam away.
Then my turn came around. With a high Athletics skill and the Medium Armor Master feat, my character swam to the hydra's position immediately, then unleashed a round of four Action Surge attacks on the hydra - dealing more damage to it than the whole party had managed thusfar. When the Hydra's turn came around, it unleashed its many-headed fury on me but thanks to my high Armor Class only hit on two attacks, one of which I promptly Parried (I prefer to imagine this as jamming my shield in its mouth). With some help from my Superiority Dice, the hydra didn't survive my next round of attacks, and once our Evoker mopped up the zombies with a well-placed Fireball, the fight was over. I casually activated my Second Wind, bringing my character back to full health, and casually asked if the party would like to take a Short Rest so I could do it all over again.

 

[TerraDave]

Oh God yes.

In my campaign, the fighter amazed us all in the first fight, used Second Wind and did it again the second fight, and just never stopped.

The pc playing him felt he had to take a level of barbarian so he could go bare-chested and no armored, though, since his model was Glen Danzig and he just wanted to wear the rock & roll "show my chest" shirt-and-sweat bands costume. (His background was entertainer.) But then he said, "Screw it, I'm going fighter all the way up after this," and so far he has.

The 5e fighter is deadly.

I think thats the first Danzig reference I have seen on ENWorld.

GD would seem to be more barbarian. Or maybe warlock. With access to steroids.

 

[BigVanVader]

Danzig is a Dwarven Barlock.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I think protection style needs a small change (being able to activate it after a hit, rather than when attacked) to be competitive with the other styles, but otherwise... yeah, fighters are awesome in 5e!