From R&C: Fighters & Armor

[Reaper Steve]

Here's some stuff from R&C to chew on. My goal is to open up more discussion, not cut-and--paste from the book or otherwise 'spoil' it.

Appears that fighters are meant to melee. If you want to focus on a ranged weapon, I think you're supposed to choose a different class. Makes sense--'ranged' and 'defender' don't really go together.

Chose a fighting style: either sword-and-board for a defensive build or 2H weapon for offensive.
Mentions "it would be possible to include support for the dancer fencer or the two-weapon fighter."
I take this to mean that these won't be directly supported in the 1st PHB.

Then, builds usually follow one of these three: assault (goes with the 2H), defense (w/ sword/shield), and control (to hinder and constrain the enemy.)

Armor Categories (in order):
Heavy Clothes
Leather
Hide
Chain
Scale
Plate
(each category has neat options, like feyweave, razorscale, etc.)

Shields appear to be slabs of awesome! Maybe I can finally make the Warduke type character I wanted in high school--helmet, shield, and tighty-whiteys is all I need for protection!

Weapons:
Simplest--maces and spears
massive damage-- warhammer, maul
less damage, better accuracy--swords
in between those two--axes
finesse (rogues, rangers)--short sword, scimitar, rapier

(there is mention of twin scimitars here, so I take it TWF will be an option, but maybe not a fully fleshed out one?)

I just hit the discussion points... there are plenty more juicy tidbits about each one of these topics (4 full pages!) that you need to read yourself!

 

[Wolfspider]

there is mention of twin scimitars here

Heh.

 

[Gloombunny]

Chose a fighting style: either sword-and-board for a defensive build or 2H weapon for offensive.
Mentions "it would be possible to include support for the dancer fencer or the two-weapon fighter."
I take this to mean that these won't be directly supported in the 1st PHB.

I don't like the sound of that.

 

[Cadfan]

I don't like the sound of that.

I wish they were supported too, but after my experience with the 3e fighter, I've given up on the possibility of using the same class to create sword and shield, two handed weapon, two weapon, and fencer style characters.

I'm intrigued by the "better accuracy" line in the referencing swords.

 

[Rechan]

Simplest--maces and spears

I wonder what the advantage to "simplest" is. I mean, if you're a Fighter, trained to use weapons, something "simple" shouldn't be useful.

Does this mean that everyone can use these?

 

[Rechan]

And if they don't have an option for polearms, I am going to be mad.

 

[Gloombunny]

And if they don't have an option for polearms, I am going to be mad.

I kind of assumed they would be subsumed under "spear", much as different kinds of sword are bundled together under one "sword" category.

 

[NaturalZero]

I don't like the sound of that.

I didnt either, at first. Then i realized that the dex-based TWFing fighter or the agile swashbuckling fighter characters arent "fighters" anyway. If the ranger is good at ranged attacks and i want a ranged attacker then i really dont need a fighter to be a bowman and if the rogue is a good finesse-based rapier wielder then i dont need the fighter do to that either. If they make a fighter that can do either sword and board or THF, at least they will have effectively given the 4E fighter twice as many viable combat styles than he had in 3E.

 

[Hairfoot]

(each category has neat options, like feyweave, razorscale, etc.)

Oh, good. I would hate for a poor, inexperienced character to have to start with chainmail and a decent sword. A 1st level PC shouldn't be leaving the house without feyrazor-woven mithradamantite astral battleplate and a talking, hellforged sword the size of a Boeing 747.

 

[Gloombunny]

I didnt either, at first. Then i realized that the dex-based TWFing fighter or the agile swashbuckling fighter characters arent "fighters" anyway. If the ranger is good at ranged attacks and i want a ranged attacker then i really dont need a fighter to be a bowman and if the rogue is a good finesse-based rapier wielder then i dont need the fighter do to that either. If they make a fighter that can do either sword and board or THF, at least they will have effectively given the 4E fighter twice as many viable combat styles than he had in 3E.

What about the two-weapon guy who isn't a lightly-armored agility finesse kind of guy? Not possible?