Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana Fighter: Samurai, Sharpshooter, Arcane Archer & Knight

I'm getting, like, unhealthy amounts of mad, clicking on that broken link.

 

[Blue]

Rapid Strike lets you make another attack as a bonus action, so it is limited to only one per turn

Thanks, I missed that bit of last line. I was reading it like ranger's Hordebreaker. That makes it a lot more reasonable.

 

[SkidAce]

Still, I do agree in part with you. Our game is mostly anything goes when it comes to classes, but I can see other games where restrictions are applied on certain combos to maintain the integrity of the game.

I'd like to mention that I think [MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION] doesn't restrict "combos" per se, but just requires in game justification via rp. Thats how I read it anyway, apologies if incorrect.

 

[jbOKgamer]

After reading the UA I liked the Arcane Archer. When I finished reading I realized that the Arcane Archer write up is incomplete. The Arcane Archer should have a 10th level feature.

What should the 10th level feature for Arcane Archer be? I thought maybe it should be a third Magic Arrow.

They get an extra Arcane Shot option. Compared to most of the other fighter archetypes, this is fine for level 10, if a little underwhelming.

Actually that is just part of the Arcane Archer 3rd level ability. The Arcane Archer should have another archetype feature for 10th level. I was reading through all post and was wondering if anyone else noticed the absence of the feature.

I sent a tweet to Jeremy Crawford and he sent back "Take a look at the final sentence of Arcane Arrow."

I still feel that write up for Arcane Archer was incomplete. I believe all other Archetypes from all the classes has something written at all Archetypes level. The closet one I would compare Arcane Archer to is Battlemaster, which is learning 2 maneuvers and gaining increase in die.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Maybe it is an issue that the Arcane Archer can't do something magical with arrows all the time.

I would almost say they should get a bonus cantrip, but there isn't any ranged weapon cantrips yet. I think it's only a matter of time before there's ranged weapon equivalents of cantrips like Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade.

 

[Sacrosanct]

You're right, he clarified it later on. It sounds like his games would easily accommodate a Wolverine style character who was a barbarian that later learned some kind of inner peace and picked up samurai, as long as there was a reason for it.

That is correct. Let's use Wolverine since he's been brought up several times. Yes, Wolverine went from a savage from the Canadian wilderness and lived in Asia. Did Wolverine actually ever become a samurai? The example seems moot if he didn't. I stopped reading comics in the early 90s, but last I checked, his training was from Ogun, who was a ninja, not samurai. But even if Wolverine DID become a samurai, that was part of the story, which took decades to happen. It wasn't "I'm a ruthless barbarian and hey! Now I'm a refined samurai all the sudden!" The more of an exception a player wants (and becoming a samurai without the background needed to be one certainly counts), the more they need to work it into what's happening in the game world.

 

[Elderbrain]

Not sure I'm really qualified to speak on the game-mechanical pros and cons of the new archtypes, but they should ditch the names "Samurai" and "Knight". There is already a Knight background in the Player's Handbook which one could add to a Fighter, and the Battlemaster Fighter archtype pretty much has "Samurai" covered already - they even mention courtly proficiencies like calligraphy and give the archtype the ability to size up the opponent's level, like a stereotypical Samurai measuring up his foe. Besides, if they name an archtype "Samurai" or "Knight", the implication is that if you do not select that archtype, you are not a Samurai or Knight, or are not a "real" Samurai or Knight... pick different names!

 

[Uchawi]

I am disappointed with the arcane archer, overall I feel it is better addressed under the ranger. They should decide how that concept could complement what already exists with the EK but not be limited to just arrows. It is too specialized.

I also feel they have the knight and the samurai concepts confused. The samurai concept should be a battlemaster type with features from the knight like rapid strike, and the knight should take some of the simple features of the samurai, i.e. elegant courtier; as an alternate champion concept. I am making the assumption that the samurai and knight names are just place holders.

Otherwise, they are just confusing the fighter class overall and what it is meant to be.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I am disappointed with the arcane archer, overall I feel it is better addressed under the ranger. They should decide how that concept could complement what already exists with the EK but not be limited to just arrows. It is too specialized.

The specialization is the point. If you don't want to be "Magic Arrow Guy", then you take eldritch knight or ranger.

I also feel they have the knight and the samurai concepts confused. The samurai concept should be a battlemaster type with features from the knight like rapid strike, and the knight should take some of the simple features of the samurai, i.e. elegant courtier; as an alternate champion concept. I am making the assumption that the samurai and knight names are just place holders.

Okay, first of all, the samurai does get Rapid Strike. Secondly, read the sidebar on historical accuracy and lack thereof. Archetypically, the samurai is "Mr. Iron Will And Tea Ceremonies", and the knight is "Mr. Stalwart Defense And Horses". The concepts make perfect sense as-is, and far less sense reversed.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Yep, I totally get that. Using Dragonlance as an example, it would be like a fighter wanting to pick up the Knight of Solamnia class (or prestige class in 3e) without having actually met or interacting with the knights. As a DM, I'd say to that player that no, they cannot take the KoS class.

And yet Sturm was the truest knight even before he was officially knighted. Though he did have interactions with them, and was raised on legends of them. So, I agree with you. The character should have a compelling reason.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Did Wolverine actually ever become a samurai? The example seems moot if he didn't. I stopped reading comics in the early 90s, but last I checked, his training was from Ogun, who was a ninja, not samurai.

If we want to deal in technicalities, the samurai were a hereditary aristocracy and were abolished by Meiji in the 1870s, so it's doubly impossible for either Wolverine or anyone else to "actually become" one. But if we use "samurai" more broadly to mean "follower of the Japanese tradition of bushido or something that kind of looks like it", then yeah, Wolverine counts.