Level Up (A5E) Which two Combat Traditions in A5e have you started with or will you be starting with for your character?

[Corinnguard]

As everyone already knows, there are 11 Combat traditions and 7 character classes that can use them in A5e. If you have started or will be starting out as a Fighter, you can pick and choose any two Combat Traditions at 1st level. If you have started or will be starting as one of the remaining 6 melee character classes (the Adept, the Berserker, the Herald, the Marshal, the Ranger and the Rogue), you can pick and choose any two Combat Traditions from a much smaller selection at 2nd level. Marshalls have 8 Combat Traditions to choose from, Rangers have 6, Berserkers have 5, Adepts have 4, and lastly Heralds and Rogues have 3.

So which Combat Traditions have you picked or will pick for your character and why? For myself, I will probably once again pick a DEX-based Fighter with the Two-Weapon Fighting style, and therefore will choose Rapid Current and Razor's Edge at 1st level.

 

[tetrasodium]

As everyone already knows, there are 11 Combat traditions and 7 character classes that can use them in A5e. If you have started or will be starting out as a Fighter, you can pick and choose any two Combat Traditions at 1st level. If you have started or will be starting as one of the remaining 6 melee character classes (the Adept, the Berserker, the Herald, the Marshal, the Ranger and the Rogue), you can pick and choose any two Combat Traditions from a much smaller selection at 2nd level. Marshalls have 8 Combat Traditions to choose from, Rangers have 6, Berserkers have 5, Adepts have 4, and lastly Heralds and Rogues have 3.

So which Combat Traditions have you picked or will pick for your character and why? For myself, I will probably once again pick a DEX-based Fighter with the Two-Weapon Fighting style, and therefore will choose Rapid Current and Razor's Edge at 1st level.

I don't know what others were chosen but one of my players really made a splash in session 2 with unending wheel:throwing stance with a rebounding maul on a Marshal.

 

[Corinnguard]

Here is a follow-up question to the one I used to start up this thread: when picking up your two combat traditions, what you influenced your choice of combat tradition?

Every Combat Tradition in A5e has 15 maneuvers of various degrees. There are four 1st degree maneuvers, three 2nd degree maneuvers, three 3rd degree maneuvers, three 4th degree maneuvers and finally two 5th degree maneuvers. And each maneuver can be further categorized as an Action, a Bonus Action or as a Reaction.

So I like to think some players will gravitate towards those traditions that have the most Actions (such as Rapid Current or Spirited Steed), the most Bonus Actions (such as Sanguine Knot) or the most Reactions (such as Adamant Mountain) when they make their choices.

Thoughts?

 

[Timespike]

If I was playing a fighter, I'd start with Adamant Mountain and Sanguine Knot. I like the sword-and-board style, and I like being able to help my allies, so that combination makes Sanguine Knot a no-brainer. Adamant Mountain has Catch Your Breath (the replacement for Second Wind) and a bunch of fun "raw striking force" abilities like Lean Into It and Cleaving Swing.

When it came time to pick my subclass, I'd probably go with Brute and pick up Tempered Iron as the third one. If I was playing a Knight instead, I'd start with Adamant Mountain and Tempered Iron and grab Sanguine Knot at level 3 instead.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

One thing I'm noticing is that dual-wielders (with the Fighting Style) have a bit of a harder time, since they have such a good use for their bonus action already, especially once they get Extra Attack.

If I were going that route I would be unlikely to take any bonus action maneuvers other than stances (which I can activate outside combat and just have ready).

 

[Corinnguard]

True. Any melee class that can pick up the Two-Weapon Fighting style is going to have a harder time with those Combat Traditions that have a lot of maneuvers that rely on a Bonus Action. A Two-Weapon Fighter is going to have issues with Biting Zephyr and Sanguine Knot. Over half of their maneuvers rely on using a Bonus Action to execute it. However, this is a short-lived issue. Once a Fighter or a Barbarian gains Extra Attack at 5th level, they will gain an additional Bonus Action. So anyone above 5th level will be able to spare a Bonus Action for any maneuvers that requires one.

Before 5th level, it might be better to pick a Combat Tradition whose maneuvers rely mostly on an Action (like Rapid Current) or rely mostly on a Reaction (like Adamant Mountain). Once you pick up your third Combat Tradition proficiency at 3rd level that uses up a lot of Bonus Actions, stick with those maneuvers that use only actions or reactions. After 5th level, you can then use the spare Bonus Action in that third Combat Tradition.

Stances, as Sword of Spirit just pointed out, are the exception to what I am guessing here.

 

[WanderingMystic]

Once a Fighter or a Barbarian gains Extra Attack at 5th level, they will gain an additional Bonus Action. So anyone above 5th level will be able to spare a Bonus Action for any maneuvers that requires one.

Since when does getting an extra attack get you an extra bonus action? With two weapon weilding you get an an extra offhand attack when you use your bonus action to make an offhand attack but you don't just get a second bonus action.

 

[Corinnguard]

Oops. I should have reread the new rule for Two-Weapon Fighting in A5e before posting. According to the Adventurer's Guide (pg. 446), you gain two bonus attacks, not an additional bonus action, when you gain Extra Attack at 5th level. Sorry about that.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Oops. I should have reread the new rule for Two-Weapon Fighting in A5e before posting. According to the Adventurer's Guide (pg. 446), you gain two bonus attacks, not an additional bonus action, when you gain Extra Attack at 5th level. Sorry about that.

Although, the idea of letting someone who gets two attacks with Two-Weapon Fighting sacrifice a single off-hand attack to activate a bonus action maneuver might be a good house rule.

I don't see that fighting with two-weapons is so much more effective than other styles that it needs to inherently limit maneuvers that much.

 

[Corinnguard]

True. It could be a good house rule to sacrifice one offhand attack to activate a bonus action maneuver. As for the Two-Weapon Fighting Style, I like that A5e made it a little better than it was back in O5e. Back then, this Fighting Style placed a limit on what kinds of weapons you could use initially (before you got the Dual Wielder feat), and nerfed the number of attacks you could make with both weapons. You could make two attacks (1 primary, 1 offhand) between levels 1-4, and three attacks (2 primary, 1 offhand) between levels 5-10. But once you reached 11th level, it was 3 primary and 1 offhand attack. With A5e, it's now 3 primary and 2 offhand attacks by the time you reached 11th level. You're also back to wielding non-heavy weapons such as a longsword in your primary again.