D&D 5E Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

[Oofta]

My favorite is...

Midgard Dwarf from 3.5e

"Master Smith
Midgard dwarves gain Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wonderous Item, and Forge Ring as bonus feats. They are considered to possess the prerequisites necessary to craft any magic item of those types, even if they do not otherwise meet the requirements or have the ability to cast the necessary spells."

Norse dwarves for the win! I'll take one Mjolnir and one Gungnir to go please. Oh, and toss in a Ring of Multiple Wishes.

Ooh, maybe we can get Draupnir too! So I can complain even more about having nothing to spend all my gold on.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The DM can work with the Player, as little or as much as they like to incorporate what could (should?) be a milestone in the character's progression.

Players can describe how they are set up, where they come from, their background, whatever. "So Bob, nice Sword, where did it come from?"

"Its a family heirloom, I dont know how it got here, but it was wrapped at the foot of my bed this morning."

Whatever.

Fluff it out.

That might work at an individual table, but not as a rule in the book unless your changing the fundamental nature of the game (at least in a small way).

 

[Micah Sweet]

If one wanted a fighter subclass that gets free items, and we don't want this to be just a narrative mechanic, then it should be some sort artificer-lite. Runesmith or something, a warrior who makes their own weapons.

Exactly. I don't want narrative mechanics.

 

[Oofta]

If one wanted a fighter subclass that gets free items, and we don't want this to be just a narrative mechanic, then it should be some sort artificer-lite. Runesmith or something, a warrior who makes their own weapons.

Maybe a knight that uses runes, learned from the giants, that they etch on items in order to complement their fighting abilities? Nah.

 

[Scribe]

If one wanted a fighter subclass that gets free items, and we don't want this to be just a narrative mechanic, then it should be some sort artificer-lite. Runesmith or something, a warrior who makes their own weapons.

Also an option. This line of thinking is actually what got me on board with the Artificer in the first place, and BG3 just reinforced it.

Magic weapons SHOULD absolutely be forged by people with a magical connection. 5e Artificer works as well as anything else.

 

[Corinnguard]

"Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?" is saying that the martials should have class abilities and not rely on magic items.

This is how I have been seeing the question since this thread started.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Maybe a knight that uses runes, learned from the giants, that they etch on items in order to complement their fighting abilities? Nah.

Sounds like a great class or subclass concept.

 

[Maxperson]

Have you tried using a bow?

What's the fun of swinging a bow and hitting someone 100 feet away?

 

[Corinnguard]

What's the fun of swinging a bow and hitting someone 100 feet away?

Maybe it's a bow that doubles as a boomerang?

 

[Maxperson]

All of those are story rewards and/or actions. Are you saying the class should require the DM, regardless of circumstance, to just make this part of the game as soon as they hit the requisite level?

I think the implication is that if the fighter gets items as part of the class feature, there needs to be an in-game reason for it to happen and those are as good as any to use.