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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6618566" data-attributes="member: 6787650">The assertion that (DX) fighters can't do anything outside of combat is just wrong. It's a fallacy to think that you "need" class abilities to function outside of combat. I don't know about you, but 50-75% of what happens outside of combat in my game centers around character actions, not character powers/feats/skills/whatnot. Of the remaining 25-50%, a large portion centers on skills (especially Stealth and Perception, both of which a fighter has access to and one of which he excels at due to high DX). Backgrounds are probably about important as class when it comes to exploration/interaction, but neither one is as important as the player's ability and desire to engage with NPCs, look for clues, remember and synthesize information he's been given about the game world, and take the initiative. "Now that we're home, I'm going to ask the historian if he's ever seen the long fang symbol embroidered in the flag we stole" doesn't take any class abilities. Sure, a lore bard might not even need to ask the NPC sage at all, which saves time, but a fighter/barbarian/paladin/cleric/ranger can still engage with the problem perfectly well if he will use his head. He can't Comprehend Languages the way the wizard can, and he probably can't Disguise Self himself as somebody to sneak into an enemy camp, but those types of things are something of a rarity IME. He can sneak around perfectly well, and take care of himself if he gets caught sneaking. (He may even have a familiar who can aid in his sneaking by teleporting through doors and such.) He can open locks and disarm traps. He can even have conversations and talk to people, shocking though that may seem to some people. You don't necessarily need to have CHA 20 and a +6 Proficiency bonus to Persuasion before you can open your mouth!If a fighter is 75% as effective as a lore bard outside of combat, is it really a problem if a warlock is 68% as effective as a fighter at dealing at-will damage? The fighter still has a better AC, Second Wind, Action Surge, Con proficiency, an extra feat, no concerns with Tiamat/Rakshasa Spell Resistance, etc. The fighter is already attractive.As an aside, note that the high-level Evoker is already a better damage-dealer against tough things than the Warlock is, especially a Fighter 2/Evoker 10+. That's because he can Magic Missile x2 for 1d4+6 per missile and a guaranteed hit: 119 points of guaranteed damage that round compared to the Sorlock's 70-ish. That's due to the recent Crawford clarification that Evokers are supposed to get bonus damage on each missile, even if they all hit the same target. In fact, the Fighter/Evoker is even better in this case than the fighter is. But of course the fighter can keep it up as long as he has arrows whereas the Evoker spikes once and then has to fall back to a lower damage tier.</blockquote>

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