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Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Level Up Playtest Document #2: Fighter
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<blockquote data-quote="tetrasodium" data-source="post: 8091197" data-attributes="member: 93670"><p>The first & most starkly apparent difference in the fluff & initial skim through is that this fighter is yearning to forge their own path & open interesting doors of their own on that path as the campaign unfolds while the phb fighter wants to be something between conan the barbarian to gimli & needs the campaign to unfold as those stories unfolded so it can stumble into the same tired cliche doors it has been stumbling into for decades.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>SteelyMein:</strong> This is a really interesting way of leveraging "big stupid fighter" as a concept that others recognize needs to be handled with the right amount of respect rather than the default of probably being the weakest link.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Reserves:</strong> Page 4 reserves description & mention of exertion pool leaves me stuck with no idea what this is. It sure sounds cool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Extra Attack:</strong> I don't see this as the dashed hope that [USER=205]@TwoSix[/USER] mentioned, but I'm not jumping for joy either. The extra attack feature in 5e doesn't seem to be a problem in my eyes so much as when it's (not)applied causing odd scaling problems as abilities provide multiplicative effects in one class vrs maybe extra dice in a second class rather than the second getting less extra dice with later extra "attacks". All of that is neither here nor there for the fighter though.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Martial Lore:</strong> This is a really interesting set of options both for what doors it opens for the fighter along with what it frees up others to unchain themselves from. Arms merchant is an interesting feather in the cap for a fighter who wants to be a bit more party face or lean towards being socially functional but there isn't much more to say. Evaluate technique is an exciting change because bob the fighter can look at that beholder & say something <em>he</em> has heard about it/them while Alice the wizard can confidently say "I'm not that type of wizard" because she invested in some other fork of arcana that seemed more interesting to <em>her </em>character when a straight int check isn't enough. Weapon lore is phenomenal in that it allows martial types to have a role in identifying magic gear other than "Alice what does this do>you don't know?.. huh shove it in the bag & let's find someone to figure it out when we get back to town after the GM forgets what it did"</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Indomitable: </strong>There are so many creatures with similar abilities that it's great to see the class focused around training to fight things having some training that helps them like this too.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Reputation:</strong> These are all neat flavorful feathers that allow a seasoned fighter to do flavorful things that previously would generally have resulted in a boring for both "bob you have good charisma, you to it" or add some mechanics behind interesting tropes players often want to call upon but rarely ever have any kind of balanced way of ding so in a meaningful fashion.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Exploration Knacks:</strong> These are all pretty cool little sometimes feathers that give the PC a chance to really shine in their element. By frequently having a secondary sometimes feature that burs exertion the are able to have both a minor feather-ish base ability as well as a powerful wow component without needing to build some boring niche class/PrC/Archetype around a concept not really capable of supporting a class.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>The (Dis)Advantage changes:</strong> I was hoping for something a little more granular like (dis)advantage# where you add/subtract all the different sources together & reroll if above/below the result accordingly after I saw Morrus describe it a while back, but that kind of thing could easily go in a variant sidebar somewhere. Overall I like it<em> but</em> straight canceling (dis)advantage because of a minor (dis)advantage going the other way is too trivializing, something like two minor (dis)advantages cancels a straight(dis)advantage the other way & gives a straight roll with two minor giving a full (dis)advantage & maybe even three minor/full+a minor giving a greater disadvantage rolling above a 5/greater advantage rolling below a 15.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Combat Traditions: </strong>each one has an italic blurb like adamant mountain's <em>"Hardiness, Might, Power"</em>. I feel like this is somehow important but it seems to be just vague fluff.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Stances:</strong> This is an awesome concept to pull from literally every kind of combat training that sets apart different "styles" even if someone is proficient in both.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Techniques: </strong>The thing that jumps out most is what I hope will become a standardized phrasing with specific meaning "Part of the attack action." 5e uses whatever phrasing seems to roll off the tongue best & sometimes metions (melee)weapon attack attack or who knows what else. I'm hoping this turns into a specific [in place of/alongside] one attack in your full extra/multi attack chain with a different phrase for the other.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Exertion Pool:</strong> I like this & feel like I've said as much already, but someone spoke ill of the spend a hit die to recover 1d4 points saying that players never do it in other systems & that it punishes fighters so I want to say I strongly disagree with both of those statements. I used to see it all the time when I ran Fate with players burning their stress tracks or taking consequences in exchange for succeeding at cost. Sure there are a lot of systems with a bad spend a resource for a different resource mechanic, but this one is not yet on either level. <u> The <strong>important</strong> part</u> is tied to the other statement, specifically that fighters/martials aren't being hurt by this as long as everyone else has awesome stuff they can burn their own previously almost useless hit dice for. With an exertion pool of double proficiency bonus on top of burning hit dice to recover 1d4 of them it makes for plenty of use without feeling too constrained like the battlemaster's SD.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">[spoiler="1st degree combat maneuvers"] .<br /> [*]<strong>Adamant Mountain</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Heavy Combat <u>stance</u>:</strong> This is a interesting twist on the old -5/-10/-15/etc that sets aside design space for splitting reliably hit it like a truck vrs playing the odds take every chance or "spray & pray" </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Heavy Swing:</strong> Cleave at a cost making it reasonable without a feat. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Lean Into It:</strong> I've seen this on a UA brute & this is much more balanced while having the interesting distinction of applying to every attack you make till the start of next turn so it just gets better as a player gets extra attacks through leveling, magic items, or magical buffs from an ally. Great ability</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Mountain's Might:</strong> Cool twist on second wind that allows the <em>player </em>to decide if they need to use it lots, none at all, or should be using something else lots rather than just mindlessly hitting it again through the whole session.</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Biting Zephyr</strong> <br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Covering Fire:</strong> This is an interesting way of using ranged weapons intelligently to fit their own niche rather than just saying ranged weapons are just like melee in every way but far enough away to avoid the risks. Also particularly notable because it pushes the ranged types to work with the party moreso than default 5e does.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Doubleshot:</strong> What I find particularly interesting is that it's not just "make an extra attack roll", but I'm not sure how it should combine with +# weapons, +1d# elemental/aligned weapons, or things like sneak attack damage. Some of those uncertainties are an "almost certainly don't apply" but others are "I don't know how to answer when bob brings it up the first time mid-combat" so some clarification might be nice.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Farshot Combat <u>Stance</u>: </strong>Nice little buff to ranged weapons that's again not simply "just like melee but far away." I'm hoping that this will eventually be paired with ranged weapons that have more reasonable ranges though as 10/30 feet on top of 150/600 is pretty much the equivalent of adding an extra notch on top of "who cares it's plenty"</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Mirror's Glint</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Intuitive Combat stance:</strong> A bonus to insight? I'm a bit baffled because non of the 1st tier mirror glint things seem to use insight but mist & shade along with unending wheel both seem to have things that use insight. I'm not sure I understand why this is here? Also it's not limited to combat like deceptive combat stance & such.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Knockdown Assault: </strong>Another till start of next turn like lean into it so the same interesting scaling applies I like the knockdown if you hit harder than x on an attack till next turn & they fail a save, but I'm not sure what the DC should be? dc=damage of attack? dc=8+prof+MOD? I kinda like dc=damage of attack since being able to make a bunch of trip attacks with a higher dc for 1 point might be too strong.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Leading Throw:</strong> I like this & not sure about "direction of your choice" but not sure a better wording or proper limit.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Warning Strike: </strong>I'm seeing a couple problems with this one. First is that it's not clear if t sets speed to zero before it leaves your reach or as it successfully leaves. Second & more importantly is that "leaves your reach" makes me sad for the hopes of a return to meaningful opportunity attacks & thinks like 5 foot step/shift while simultaneously making it harder for a GM to add them to their game by not just wording it "when you make an opportunity attack" or something.</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Mist & Shade</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Deceptive Combat Stance:</strong> Not much to say since it makes you better at some of the mist & shade stuff but it's notable that it only applies to "combat"</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Deft Feint:</strong> neat way of implementing feint with the cost making it a nice alternative to "and I feint" as I've seen in some systems</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Feinting Assault:</strong> very cool way of extending the feint concept to add some precision/sneak attack-like function to it</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Painful Pickpocket: </strong>I have some players who do/have done security & pen testing jobs & even from "muggle" type players with no security background I've seen this kind of "I want to do the tv/movie thing where..." so it's phenominal to see a mechanic behind this </li> </ul>[*]Rapid Current<br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Charge: </strong>I like this <em>but </em>it feels like it's written with a pending combat action system overhaul still in the works since it's literally something almost anyone can do even at level 1. Also it doesn't account for anyone who has a bonus/penalty to their speed.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Eye Slash: </strong>Interesting debuff but no mention of the save DC & blindness is <em>really</em> powerful.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Speed over Strength:</strong> I can see "Is that weapon <em>heavy</em>" the new "Is he wearing <em>metal</em>" so feel like maybe it should be either "hits" or "misses" rather when a creature "attacks" you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Swift Combat stance: </strong>+5 move speed is useful. Not much else to say.</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Razor's Edge</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Dangerous Strikes:</strong> .crit on 18-20 instead of just 20 till your next turn. Nice to see crit range returning, but a hard coded number like this is hard to extend so maybe change the wording to include the words "improves by 2" or something</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Disciplined Combat Stance:</strong> Again I'm not really sure the point since there are so few cases where perception is especially useful<em> "in combat"</em> outside of invisibility & such but figure that it might become more clear as more classes are released.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Exploit Footwork:</strong> What a neat mechanic for doing something frequently seen in movies & such when there is a big skill gap between combatants. Again those no mention of DC unless I missed them somewhere<em> (which is certainly probable)</em>.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Iron Will: </strong>I wanted to say something about how 5e really took the teeth out of charm & fear effects and the monsters that had them but hope that this suggests spells & such will be<em> interesting</em></li> </ul>[*]<strong>Sanguine Knot</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Doubleteam: </strong>I feel like this will be odd in play & result in a lot of "and I hold my action to attack $baddie till after $bob attacks". It's also odd that it doesn't require you to actually do anything & there is no save making for a screwy combo. Also notable that it's restricted to weapon attacks so the BSF can't grab the bbeg to make sure some nuke spell with an attack roll lands when it's needed</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Legion Combat Stance:</strong> Nifty twist on pack tactics to a smaller degree.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Shield Wall: </strong>I love that this tries to bring teamwork to sword & board builds, but it feels like maybe it should be a stance & say something about facing?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Shoulder Check:</strong> This again is making me wonder what will happen with movement based AoOs since as written it allows the user to move 5 feet without provoking an AoO. It should absolutely include words like "for each size category difference add or subtract..." Also notable that it does not require any footing on the ground so bob could do it while swimming, standing in grease, hovering with levitate, dangling from a rope, stuck in a web spell, etc making it seem off that bob $anyRace could shoulder check a enlarged humpback whale while on his way to drowning in plate while heavily encumbered in a few rounds.</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Tempered Iron</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Imposing Glare: </strong> Using MMO terms it's a neat way to justify shedding aggo that fits d&d reasonably well & 5e already as other abilities with similar goals.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Reckless Combat stance:</strong> It makes a lot of sense that the class focused around learning to use weapons for combat would be able to eschew common sense & attack recklessly without taking levels inn barbarian. Good additionn.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Striding Swings:</em> I'm not sure I understand this & feel like it falls into the same box of confusion I had with charge?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Zealous Grab:</strong> This falls into the "should be cool", but 5e grapple has almost no effect on anything & that goes double for most spellcasting opponents.</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Tooth & claw</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Bounding Steps: </strong>another movement+x ability I'm bewildered by but in this case figure the skill overhaul causes it to click?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Natural Counter: </strong> Nifty reaction ability since there are things that make attacks with natural weapons at almost every CR, but the term "natural weapon" needs to be defined somewhere.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Raking Strike:</strong> not much to say about a neat ability.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Springing combat stance:</strong> um?... Jump is usually a pretty pointless spell, I'm at a loss to grasp the value of a combat stance to improve your jump ability?</li> </ul>[*]<strong>Unending Wheel</strong><br /> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Dangerous Signature:</strong>. Interesting ability with longstanding results.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Focused Combat Stance:</strong> Minor advantage on <em>first</em> wisdom save each round. Very cool & here's to hoping most of the "if save once then immune for 24 hours" stuff gets killed off to make this worthwhile as stock 5e has very few meaningful effects that would make this really shine like it deserves.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Trained Swings:</strong> Seems like a more & less restrictive version of lean into it making it great for characters who want to specialize in something other than heavy weapons... but it feels like oe of them should be 1d6 to set them apart mechanically?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Wounding Strike:</strong> Great to see the return of what are basically bleeds </li> </ul>[/spoiler]</li> </ul><p>[spoiler="1st degree combat maneuvers"]</p><p></p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p>Lots of neat stuff. Some uncertainty about DCs & a few other bits but overall lots of cool stuff. This is getting pretty long so I'll leave 2nd/3rd degree to another post or something.. but I notice that there are no stances for 2nd/3rd degree. Also I want to note under biting zephyr countershot it mentions "see a missile attack"..... I don't believe that missile is defined anywhere but "ask your gm"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tetrasodium, post: 8091197, member: 93670"] The first & most starkly apparent difference in the fluff & initial skim through is that this fighter is yearning to forge their own path & open interesting doors of their own on that path as the campaign unfolds while the phb fighter wants to be something between conan the barbarian to gimli & needs the campaign to unfold as those stories unfolded so it can stumble into the same tired cliche doors it has been stumbling into for decades. [LIST] [*][B]SteelyMein:[/B] This is a really interesting way of leveraging "big stupid fighter" as a concept that others recognize needs to be handled with the right amount of respect rather than the default of probably being the weakest link. [*][B]Reserves:[/B] Page 4 reserves description & mention of exertion pool leaves me stuck with no idea what this is. It sure sounds cool. [*][B]Extra Attack:[/B] I don't see this as the dashed hope that [USER=205]@TwoSix[/USER] mentioned, but I'm not jumping for joy either. The extra attack feature in 5e doesn't seem to be a problem in my eyes so much as when it's (not)applied causing odd scaling problems as abilities provide multiplicative effects in one class vrs maybe extra dice in a second class rather than the second getting less extra dice with later extra "attacks". All of that is neither here nor there for the fighter though. [*][B]Martial Lore:[/B] This is a really interesting set of options both for what doors it opens for the fighter along with what it frees up others to unchain themselves from. Arms merchant is an interesting feather in the cap for a fighter who wants to be a bit more party face or lean towards being socially functional but there isn't much more to say. Evaluate technique is an exciting change because bob the fighter can look at that beholder & say something [I]he[/I] has heard about it/them while Alice the wizard can confidently say "I'm not that type of wizard" because she invested in some other fork of arcana that seemed more interesting to [I]her [/I]character when a straight int check isn't enough. Weapon lore is phenomenal in that it allows martial types to have a role in identifying magic gear other than "Alice what does this do>you don't know?.. huh shove it in the bag & let's find someone to figure it out when we get back to town after the GM forgets what it did" [*][B]Indomitable: [/B]There are so many creatures with similar abilities that it's great to see the class focused around training to fight things having some training that helps them like this too. [*][B]Reputation:[/B] These are all neat flavorful feathers that allow a seasoned fighter to do flavorful things that previously would generally have resulted in a boring for both "bob you have good charisma, you to it" or add some mechanics behind interesting tropes players often want to call upon but rarely ever have any kind of balanced way of ding so in a meaningful fashion. [*][B]Exploration Knacks:[/B] These are all pretty cool little sometimes feathers that give the PC a chance to really shine in their element. By frequently having a secondary sometimes feature that burs exertion the are able to have both a minor feather-ish base ability as well as a powerful wow component without needing to build some boring niche class/PrC/Archetype around a concept not really capable of supporting a class. [*][B]The (Dis)Advantage changes:[/B] I was hoping for something a little more granular like (dis)advantage# where you add/subtract all the different sources together & reroll if above/below the result accordingly after I saw Morrus describe it a while back, but that kind of thing could easily go in a variant sidebar somewhere. Overall I like it[I] but[/I] straight canceling (dis)advantage because of a minor (dis)advantage going the other way is too trivializing, something like two minor (dis)advantages cancels a straight(dis)advantage the other way & gives a straight roll with two minor giving a full (dis)advantage & maybe even three minor/full+a minor giving a greater disadvantage rolling above a 5/greater advantage rolling below a 15. [*][B]Combat Traditions: [/B]each one has an italic blurb like adamant mountain's [I]"Hardiness, Might, Power"[/I]. I feel like this is somehow important but it seems to be just vague fluff. [LIST] [*][B]Stances:[/B] This is an awesome concept to pull from literally every kind of combat training that sets apart different "styles" even if someone is proficient in both. [*][B]Techniques: [/B]The thing that jumps out most is what I hope will become a standardized phrasing with specific meaning "Part of the attack action." 5e uses whatever phrasing seems to roll off the tongue best & sometimes metions (melee)weapon attack attack or who knows what else. I'm hoping this turns into a specific [in place of/alongside] one attack in your full extra/multi attack chain with a different phrase for the other. [*][B]Exertion Pool:[/B] I like this & feel like I've said as much already, but someone spoke ill of the spend a hit die to recover 1d4 points saying that players never do it in other systems & that it punishes fighters so I want to say I strongly disagree with both of those statements. I used to see it all the time when I ran Fate with players burning their stress tracks or taking consequences in exchange for succeeding at cost. Sure there are a lot of systems with a bad spend a resource for a different resource mechanic, but this one is not yet on either level. [U] The [B]important[/B] part[/U] is tied to the other statement, specifically that fighters/martials aren't being hurt by this as long as everyone else has awesome stuff they can burn their own previously almost useless hit dice for. With an exertion pool of double proficiency bonus on top of burning hit dice to recover 1d4 of them it makes for plenty of use without feeling too constrained like the battlemaster's SD. [/LIST] [*][spoiler="1st degree combat maneuvers"] . [*][B]Adamant Mountain[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Heavy Combat [U]stance[/U]:[/B] This is a interesting twist on the old -5/-10/-15/etc that sets aside design space for splitting reliably hit it like a truck vrs playing the odds take every chance or "spray & pray" [*][B]Heavy Swing:[/B] Cleave at a cost making it reasonable without a feat. [*][B]Lean Into It:[/B] I've seen this on a UA brute & this is much more balanced while having the interesting distinction of applying to every attack you make till the start of next turn so it just gets better as a player gets extra attacks through leveling, magic items, or magical buffs from an ally. Great ability [*][B]Mountain's Might:[/B] Cool twist on second wind that allows the [I]player [/I]to decide if they need to use it lots, none at all, or should be using something else lots rather than just mindlessly hitting it again through the whole session. [/LIST] [*][B]Biting Zephyr[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Covering Fire:[/B] This is an interesting way of using ranged weapons intelligently to fit their own niche rather than just saying ranged weapons are just like melee in every way but far enough away to avoid the risks. Also particularly notable because it pushes the ranged types to work with the party moreso than default 5e does. [*][B]Doubleshot:[/B] What I find particularly interesting is that it's not just "make an extra attack roll", but I'm not sure how it should combine with +# weapons, +1d# elemental/aligned weapons, or things like sneak attack damage. Some of those uncertainties are an "almost certainly don't apply" but others are "I don't know how to answer when bob brings it up the first time mid-combat" so some clarification might be nice. [*][B]Farshot Combat [U]Stance[/U]: [/B]Nice little buff to ranged weapons that's again not simply "just like melee but far away." I'm hoping that this will eventually be paired with ranged weapons that have more reasonable ranges though as 10/30 feet on top of 150/600 is pretty much the equivalent of adding an extra notch on top of "who cares it's plenty" [/LIST] [*][B]Mirror's Glint[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Intuitive Combat stance:[/B] A bonus to insight? I'm a bit baffled because non of the 1st tier mirror glint things seem to use insight but mist & shade along with unending wheel both seem to have things that use insight. I'm not sure I understand why this is here? Also it's not limited to combat like deceptive combat stance & such. [*][B]Knockdown Assault: [/B]Another till start of next turn like lean into it so the same interesting scaling applies I like the knockdown if you hit harder than x on an attack till next turn & they fail a save, but I'm not sure what the DC should be? dc=damage of attack? dc=8+prof+MOD? I kinda like dc=damage of attack since being able to make a bunch of trip attacks with a higher dc for 1 point might be too strong. [*][B]Leading Throw:[/B] I like this & not sure about "direction of your choice" but not sure a better wording or proper limit. [*][B]Warning Strike: [/B]I'm seeing a couple problems with this one. First is that it's not clear if t sets speed to zero before it leaves your reach or as it successfully leaves. Second & more importantly is that "leaves your reach" makes me sad for the hopes of a return to meaningful opportunity attacks & thinks like 5 foot step/shift while simultaneously making it harder for a GM to add them to their game by not just wording it "when you make an opportunity attack" or something. [/LIST] [*][B]Mist & Shade[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Deceptive Combat Stance:[/B] Not much to say since it makes you better at some of the mist & shade stuff but it's notable that it only applies to "combat" [*][B]Deft Feint:[/B] neat way of implementing feint with the cost making it a nice alternative to "and I feint" as I've seen in some systems [*][B]Feinting Assault:[/B] very cool way of extending the feint concept to add some precision/sneak attack-like function to it [*][B]Painful Pickpocket: [/B]I have some players who do/have done security & pen testing jobs & even from "muggle" type players with no security background I've seen this kind of "I want to do the tv/movie thing where..." so it's phenominal to see a mechanic behind this [/LIST] [*]Rapid Current [LIST] [*][B]Charge: [/B]I like this [I]but [/I]it feels like it's written with a pending combat action system overhaul still in the works since it's literally something almost anyone can do even at level 1. Also it doesn't account for anyone who has a bonus/penalty to their speed. [*][B]Eye Slash: [/B]Interesting debuff but no mention of the save DC & blindness is [I]really[/I] powerful. [*][B]Speed over Strength:[/B] I can see "Is that weapon [I]heavy[/I]" the new "Is he wearing [I]metal[/I]" so feel like maybe it should be either "hits" or "misses" rather when a creature "attacks" you. [*][B]Swift Combat stance: [/B]+5 move speed is useful. Not much else to say. [/LIST] [*][B]Razor's Edge[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Dangerous Strikes:[/B] .crit on 18-20 instead of just 20 till your next turn. Nice to see crit range returning, but a hard coded number like this is hard to extend so maybe change the wording to include the words "improves by 2" or something [*][B]Disciplined Combat Stance:[/B] Again I'm not really sure the point since there are so few cases where perception is especially useful[I] "in combat"[/I] outside of invisibility & such but figure that it might become more clear as more classes are released. [*][B]Exploit Footwork:[/B] What a neat mechanic for doing something frequently seen in movies & such when there is a big skill gap between combatants. Again those no mention of DC unless I missed them somewhere[I] (which is certainly probable)[/I]. [*][B]Iron Will: [/B]I wanted to say something about how 5e really took the teeth out of charm & fear effects and the monsters that had them but hope that this suggests spells & such will be[I] interesting[/I] [/LIST] [*][B]Sanguine Knot[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Doubleteam: [/B]I feel like this will be odd in play & result in a lot of "and I hold my action to attack $baddie till after $bob attacks". It's also odd that it doesn't require you to actually do anything & there is no save making for a screwy combo. Also notable that it's restricted to weapon attacks so the BSF can't grab the bbeg to make sure some nuke spell with an attack roll lands when it's needed [*][B]Legion Combat Stance:[/B] Nifty twist on pack tactics to a smaller degree. [*][B]Shield Wall: [/B]I love that this tries to bring teamwork to sword & board builds, but it feels like maybe it should be a stance & say something about facing? [*][B]Shoulder Check:[/B] This again is making me wonder what will happen with movement based AoOs since as written it allows the user to move 5 feet without provoking an AoO. It should absolutely include words like "for each size category difference add or subtract..." Also notable that it does not require any footing on the ground so bob could do it while swimming, standing in grease, hovering with levitate, dangling from a rope, stuck in a web spell, etc making it seem off that bob $anyRace could shoulder check a enlarged humpback whale while on his way to drowning in plate while heavily encumbered in a few rounds. [/LIST] [*][B]Tempered Iron[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Imposing Glare: [/B] Using MMO terms it's a neat way to justify shedding aggo that fits d&d reasonably well & 5e already as other abilities with similar goals. [*][B]Reckless Combat stance:[/B] It makes a lot of sense that the class focused around learning to use weapons for combat would be able to eschew common sense & attack recklessly without taking levels inn barbarian. Good additionn. [*][I]Striding Swings:[/I] I'm not sure I understand this & feel like it falls into the same box of confusion I had with charge? [*][B]Zealous Grab:[/B] This falls into the "should be cool", but 5e grapple has almost no effect on anything & that goes double for most spellcasting opponents. [/LIST] [*][B]Tooth & claw[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Bounding Steps: [/B]another movement+x ability I'm bewildered by but in this case figure the skill overhaul causes it to click? [*][B]Natural Counter: [/B] Nifty reaction ability since there are things that make attacks with natural weapons at almost every CR, but the term "natural weapon" needs to be defined somewhere. [*][B]Raking Strike:[/B] not much to say about a neat ability. [*][B]Springing combat stance:[/B] um?... Jump is usually a pretty pointless spell, I'm at a loss to grasp the value of a combat stance to improve your jump ability? [/LIST] [*][B]Unending Wheel[/B] [LIST] [*][B]Dangerous Signature:[/B]. Interesting ability with longstanding results. [*][B]Focused Combat Stance:[/B] Minor advantage on [I]first[/I] wisdom save each round. Very cool & here's to hoping most of the "if save once then immune for 24 hours" stuff gets killed off to make this worthwhile as stock 5e has very few meaningful effects that would make this really shine like it deserves. [*][B]Trained Swings:[/B] Seems like a more & less restrictive version of lean into it making it great for characters who want to specialize in something other than heavy weapons... but it feels like oe of them should be 1d6 to set them apart mechanically? [*][B]Wounding Strike:[/B] Great to see the return of what are basically bleeds [/LIST] [/spoiler][/LIST][spoiler="1st degree combat maneuvers"] [/spoiler] Lots of neat stuff. Some uncertainty about DCs & a few other bits but overall lots of cool stuff. This is getting pretty long so I'll leave 2nd/3rd degree to another post or something.. but I notice that there are no stances for 2nd/3rd degree. Also I want to note under biting zephyr countershot it mentions "see a missile attack"..... I don't believe that missile is defined anywhere but "ask your gm" [/QUOTE]
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