D&D 5E Why Not? A Variant Captain Fighter

[Garthanos]

Misunderstood

if the enemy has seen you retaliate last round and chooses to attack your ally later that is a classic reason why riposte is a striker maneuver not typically a defender one however IF they do attack someone else and you were saving the die for a riposte its lost...which might be no benefit (directly unless you have another use or) unless attacking someone else was the goal... but hey if you have a retaliate for when they attack your ally that is a different feature firing off ... I kind of like that. its a ht my ally i will hurt you miss me and i will hurt you... so make sure you hit me.

 

[Garthanos]

An example One turn I make 2 attacks and one of them misses and the other is feeble. Next turn i say hmm and give up one of those attacks to get a cs die. The subsequent attack is jinxed so bad I decide not to use the CS to precision attack but during an enemies subsequent attack I still have that die and can make a riposte. There is no solved problem situation. I might even use risky maneuvering to get another attack in there because I am annoyed at all the misses and feeling tough... LOL .

 

[Garthanos]

My original wording is off and the cs die or cs number gained does need to last till my next turn but maybe even the end of the battle.

As I said the problem I see really is 1 we have to make sure its not just trade an attack for a cs die since a cs die is worth more than just 1 extra attack its one attack plus that cs die rider. (that skill check is looking better and better)

 

[Garthanos]

Now computing how hard is the Wisdom (perception/insight) or Intelligence(investigation) check to scan for openings and was based on the adversary. The check in theory has to make up for a CS die of damage

( attack damage / (attack damage + die) ) = chance of success of the roll?

OK let's call it nominally 65 percent.
hmmm nominally turns it into an attack roll
blink blink

One could literally make it an attack roll.... though that makes it harder for me to interject the mental stats.

 

[Garthanos]

OK the temp CS die you get from a Scan for openings I might call a Tactical Die (use different colored dice if you like) but basically they last till the end of the encounter,
Still thinking about the Stat / Skill check instead of an attack roll. Almost just want it to be a medium difficulty check so its the entire scene you are up against with it. That way when you use the die for aiding an ally it didnt relate directly to the enemy you were up against.

 

[Garthanos]

Dons comment plus this one has me figuring that Scan for openings with die roll to see if you find tactical info is pretty darn functional

Bear in mind that the Battlemaster damage maths from the first page is rather bad and somewhat misleading.
It ignores the riders on the maneuvers, to just look at pure damage, but ignores the maneuvers that just give damage: Riposte and precision attack.

A better model would be to assume that each Superiority dice grants an additional attack, rather than just being a rider on an existing attack. This represents use of Riposte to get an additional attack, and Precision to turn a miss into another chance to hit.

This also shows the Battlemaster scaling better since attacks will increase in damage at higher levels.

I think it also points to wanting better balance on some of the other maneuvers.... Rally needs to have a stronger base maybe just grant two superiority die worth of thp + Cha mod.

Unless it can be adjusted so some of the maneuvers do not need the scan roll and others do though that would complicate things.

 

[Garthanos]

Predators Stare: Searching for vulnerabilities your unnerving focus drives your enemy to overcompensate inducing it to have disadvantage on its first attack during the following turn. Additionally you discover its vulnerability and your next attack against that enemy in addition to advantage has a bonus damage equal to a superiority die + your wisdom modifier if you hit.
Special as a bonus (re)action you may perform a help action to help an ally attack the subject of your stare if you do they also gain a superiority die as extra damage on the helped attack.

Dramatic Form: if you forgo an additional attack enemies within 30 feet of the target enemy are also induced to have disadvantage if they fail a saving throw.

For balance one might compare to a trip which also impairs an enemy and delivers damage immediately etc

I definitely still think this one works quite well balance wise but ironically may not be situational enough where as I think it was @doctorbadwolf lf thought to give distracting attack an area affect off the bat I think that might hit both creating situational value and better balance it.

Part of its power does rely on their being an ally for you to help so that element is situational.

 

[Garthanos]

I definitely still think this one works quite well balance wise but ironically may not be situational enough where as I think it was @doctorbadwolf lf thought to give distracting attack an area affect off the bat I think that might hit both creating situational value and better balance it.

Or wait was it Rally that you suggested that for.... because while it would fix either I think Rally works even better in flavor.

 

[Garthanos]

Scan for Openings name change to Scan the Battle, this name I feel better represents the idea that the opportunity or opening might be to aid an ally or any option not just find a better attack against a target but could include that.

Scan the Battle You may forgo a single attack in order to scan the battle and make an Attribute Check usually Int(investigation) or Wis(Insight) generally median difficulty unless enemies and allies and the arena of battle were all quite foreign DMs discretion as usual. Gain an extra CS die which remains till the battlefield/enemies change in some dramatic way or till the battle ends regardless.( generally speaking the end of the encounter)

That's still probably not the right language but that is the idea.

Note the above does not include "You may add your Int/Wis/Charisma in addition to the die if the maneuver calls for a die roll." phrase - I figured since we were introducing the roll- the benefit for the more erudite battlemaster was already gaining an encouragement just in a more dicey.

 

[Garthanos]

The following option gained at level 3? is for any fighter who knows maneuvers. Including those taking Martial adept whose subclass does not specialize in maneuvers.

Training Regimen/Kata/Morning meditations or whatever ;p. Spend 1/2 hour and expend an action surge you may choose an additional maneuver you do not already know to add to your repertoire for the day for each attack you would gain if you were to use it for an attack action. Additionally make a medium Wis (Insight) check to gain an extra CS die.