Disarm/Sunder - Obviously, these are dependent on contexts in which opponents use weaponds, wands, and so forth, and in the case of sunder, assumes it is not something you are seeking as treasure. But all that said, when it makes sense to do this, fighters and other high BAB characters can do this, and for the most part, casters can't.
Trip - Not every opponent is a Large magical beast with 20 HD. NPC wizards are unlikely to win against a trip attempt, for instance. Facing a squad of drow monks? Ready an action to trip them when they try to tumble past you. And against a CR 10 giant? Having a fifty-fifty chance of tripping such an obviously unsuitable target for tripping is pretty darned good.
Ranged attacks - The fighter can spend a feat or two on ranged attacks, whereas most other cannot. A fighter can out-shoot a barbarian, they can likely outshoot a two-weapon master ranger. They can equal a ranged attack ranger, and probably edge out a cleric archer, too. As a secondary focus. Meanwhile, they are still supremely powerful in melee.
Runestar said:
3e was a game that rewarded overwhelming specialization in a narrow field.
Often asserted, never proven. In my mind, specialized = vulnerable. PCs rarely get to pick all their battles, nor is it possible to plan for every contingency. If you build a character around amazing tripping ability, you have a real problem when you face incorporeal opponents (or enlarged dwarves). If you throw everything you have at using a longbow, you are probably not going to be happy when you face an opponent with entropic shield or wind powers. But the sunny side is, even if you throw all your feats at one task and dump one of your physical ability scores, a fighter still has full BAB and d10 hit dice, so you should be able, with minimal preparation, to fake most of the areas I've mentioned. Does your party's melee capabilities depend on a self-buffing cleric? That's too bad when you encounter a foe who can cast greater dispel magic. Specialization is good, but over-specialization is bad. It's a good idea to be able to do something really well, but there better be a backup plan in place when that something does not go according to plan.
Gunpowder said:
A fighter buffed to the gills is truely a power house, but that's because he's buffed to the gills. The same effect could have been achieved by buffing a NPC warrior or the druid's ape. Hell you may be able to do better buffing the ape since they have a natural 10 ft reach (don't need to waste a slot on enlarge person).
First of all, comparing a wizard to a fighter without buffs is like comparing the fighter to a wizard who does not cast spells. Buffs exist, and they tend to work extremely well with fighters. Who cares when you cast enlarge person the wizard? Second, the same effect cannot be achieved by buffing an NPC warrior or the druid's ape, unless you can figure out how to supply them with an extra half dozen feats and a suitable selection of magical weapons, armor, potions, and wondrous items. Third, reach weapon + magic oil = reach whenever you need it.
Gunpowder said:
Interposing:
huzzah I get to be a speed bump. and if i sacrifice my standard action I can ready an action to move when the bad guy moves, and then they use their reach to punch the wizard in the face any ways.
Coming out of nowhere and taking down a foe is being more than a "speed bump." Call it being a good tackle. There is no reason that they should be able to punch the wizard in the face... if they have reach, ready an action to move directly in front of them as soon as they are fifteen feet away from your wizard. At worst, they'll keep moving and draw an AoO, and if they keep their ten foot distance from the wizard, you'll be able to make a full attack on them the very next turn.
Gunpowder said:
Seriously, if a fighter is shining in an encounter, its due to one of two things.
1. Lots of spells/gold has been poured into him and the ass kicking is the sum result of the spellcastor's efforts. or
2. Everyone else has been handicapped so badly, that they are brought down to the fighters level (anti-magic zone, creature immunties etc)
On other words, "If the party is in a D&D game." Fighters get buffed, and buffers buff fighters. Creature immunities... guess what? That's a fact of life. No one tactic is going to work on everything. This is not handicapped, any more than flying creatures are somewhere handicapping a fighter who focuses on melee.
Liches with wands - Sometimes you want to smack the lich, sometimes you want him to stop using a magic item
right now. Also, liches can be grappled. Let's see someone other than a fighter or barbarian try that (liches have a paralyzing touch which targets Fort). While the lich has plenty of spell slots, he does not necessarily have every spell of every level memorized.
Poison - This is a non-point. Of course it can fail. I don't see a lot of neutralize poison floating around. Fighters can often shruff off poison entirely.
Imps - Of course the fighter has good-aligned arrows... he has magic oil.
Medusas - Anyone can pick up Blind-Fight, but fighters can do it without sacrificing core feats like Improved Initiative or Power Attack. I have never, not once, seen a melee cleric with Blind-Fight. And let's assume the fighter does not have Blind-Fight... he can take his chances. Evard's black tentacles is a good answer to this problem, most other spells are not.
