D&D 5E Why (IMO) fighter maneuvers have gotten worse each packet.

[Li Shenron]

...and not getting hung up on the rules-laywery distinction between "turn" and "round".

An important remark!

 

[YRUSirius]

PArry is self defense. Even a sharpshooter can learn to defend themselves, and Legolas do a few good defensive movements in the LOTR film for example. Same goes with a vanguard fighter with a big 2h axe.

However, Protect others is a different beast. Not everybody is trained on it (that's why Phalanxes were so good, because they were trained to protect each other). A swashbuckling rake, or a crowsbowman, or a reaper fighter with a scythe all learn to parry. Not all of them learn to protect others. Protect should be something you get when you want to do that role: a knight, a roman legionaire, a man-at-arms... But not with every fighter-[/COLOR]

If you can parry an attack that is meant for you, then you can parry an attack that is meant for someone nearby (by distracting the attack).

If a sharpshooter can learn to defend themselves, they can learn to defend others.

I just don't see the big difference between the two features.

-YRUSirius

 

[Li Shenron]

If you can parry an attack that is meant for you, then you can parry an attack that is meant for someone nearby (by distracting the attack).

No :/

 

[YRUSirius]

So Legolas never protected Gimli or someone else from the fellowship by distracting an enemies blow by going inbetween?

-YRUSirius

 

[triqui]

If you can parry an attack that is meant for you, then you can parry an attack that is meant for someone nearby (by distracting the attack).

If a sharpshooter can learn to defend themselves, they can learn to defend others.

I just don't see the big difference between the two features.

-YRUSirius

I do see the big difference. And those warriors who faced the spartan phalanxes also did. Learning to protect yourself is almost instictive. Learning to open your defense to be able to protect your teammates isn't that easy.

 

[Li Shenron]

So Legolas never protected Gimli or someone else from the fellowship by distracting an enemies blow by going inbetween?

-YRUSirius

It's just not "parrying".

 

[YRUSirius]

Well, I'll playtest the game with my houserule and will see how my players will react to it.

-YRUSirius

 

[Garthanos]

The more generalized they are and the fewer restrictions the better. Things may be subtly different like the different mind set it takes to protect someone else versus parrying against yourself.,... without needing different mechanics because its a game and keeping it simple is better.

One way to do it is collapse abiities as the character levels...by removing resrictions.

I can at first take parry or protect but I can level them up either can become defend.

I can take a riposte which gives me an extra attack when they miss but only with a light weapon
or I can take a retaliate which gives me an attack when they hit me but even with a heavy weapon (berserkers need fun too).

Then both loose the restriction so its whenever you are attacked.

 

[Garthanos]

It's just not "parrying".

What is in a name.. seriously Shakespear was really just poking fun probably even at himself (very careful about word use) . But capabilities ought to be named by there most common expression and described appropriate to the scene.

 

[ZombieRoboNinja]

One way to do it is collapse abiities as the character levels...by removing resrictions.

I can at first take parry or protect but I can level them up either can become defend.

I can take a riposte which gives me an extra attack when they miss but only with a light weapon
or I can take a retaliate which gives me an attack when they hit me but even with a heavy weapon (berserkers need fun too).

Then both loose the restriction so its whenever you are attacked.

I think they've taken things in this direction to some degree by allowing you to spend more dice for a more powerful effect, and I could certainly see expanding that. But just making abilities more powerful for no added cost as the character levels brings back the "quadratic scaling" problems of wizards in earlier editions - and at the very least forces you to make ALL maneuvers scale that way, or else have them be "trap" options that comparatively suck at higher levels.