I prefer the Battle Master because I enjoy working with the rest of the team to make us all better. However, the Samurai ability to get Advantage on ALL weapon attacks for a round is my go-to for a spec build like when I theory-craft a Great Weapon Master or a Sharpshooter.
The Battle Master is a great subclass, however, I prefer the Eldritch Knight for the additional versatility. If you can manage to get a decent Int mod in addition to Str and Con then you can have a lot of fun with your limited selection of spells: Shield and Absorb Elements for added survivability, Burning Hands or Thunderwave for an AoE and Misty Step for added mobility.
As a person getting into D&D I really like the Cavalier because he seems a bit more manageable than some of the other builds, while remaining interesting enough to not get bored with it during a campaign.
As a person getting into D&D I really like the Cavalier because he seems a bit more manageable than some of the other builds, while remaining interesting enough to not get bored with it during a campaign.
Agreed. Plus, most classes don't favor mounted combat because...well...dungeons. Nice to see one that deals with it. I can see a Cavalier/Paladin with the Mounted Combatant Feat being unstoppable on a horse.
Plus, most classes don't favor mounted combat because...well...dungeons. Nice to see one that deals with it. I can see a Cavalier/Paladin with the Mounted Combatant Feat being unstoppable on a horse.
Exactly right. As I get familiar with the rules I get the impression that WotC did a great job designing the Cavalier in such a way as to still be great away from the mount. Still, it's one of those setting-dependent archetypes; not much sense in having a mount in an underground campaign, unless you can tame some kind of molerat creature of course (which actually sounds pretty rad). For everywhere else: Mounted Combatant ftw!
My players rarely choose to play a fighter. The class doesn’t appeal to them as it is disappointing to have their character roll poorly and watch as another player’s mage or rogue is scoring another hit on the enemy. My resolution is a home rule; the fighter (think about it) is a professional warrior, as a pro, gets one automatic success on a melee or ranged attack per turn. They still get to roll, and if a critical hit results can use the roll. Suddenly, the fighter is a true asset to the party and is a desirable choice for the player.
My players rarely choose to play a fighter. The class doesn’t appeal to them as it is disappointing to have their character roll poorly and watch as another player’s mage or rogue is scoring another hit on the enemy. My resolution is a home rule; the fighter (think about it) is a professional warrior, as a pro, gets one automatic success on a melee or ranged attack per turn. They still get to roll, and if a critical hit results can use the roll. Suddenly, the fighter is a true asset to the party and is a desirable choice for the player.
As a DM, I would see this as OP. You may do as you wish in your game, but please bear with me:
Any class that strikes with a weapon (Fighter, Ranger, whatever) has inherent bonuses to hit and to damage. Unless your character is completely terrible, the bonus should be at least +4 or so by level 5 when the fighting classes get a second attack. Fighters get a THIRD attack at level 11 and a FORTH at 20. Each attack is a chance to apply to-hit and damage bonuses that most of the Casting classes don't get. Sure, Fireball is an auto-hit, but the targets get Dex Saves to take half damage and the caster has limited resources. A sword doesn't run out of charges...
An auto-success of an attack means that Sharpshooter or Great Weapon Master Feats, with their +10 to damage, become automatic damage output machines. A lvl 3 Samurai can fire 3 arrows, with Advantage, for +10 damage each for each of 3 rounds. If the chance to hit cancels out the -5 from the extra damage, that's still better than 50/50. Barbarians are even worse with their Reckless Attack for Advantage on the first attack every round while they're Raging.
You're going to allow a Fighter with a Longbow an auto-hit to 600' with a possible 1d8+10 or more damage?
As I said, it's your game and you can do what you want but I think your Fighter players have it too easy.
I loved playing a Battle Master archer in my first 5e campaign. I really enjoyed the tricks I could do with the maneuvers, and learning ways to combo them with things my party members did. I really want to play around with an Arcane Archer sometime, though.
It took a bit of winding my backstory into the game, and really relying on the actual game play rather than the rolling side of things. I had to be really careful in what feats/ability mods I picked when I levelled up. By level 6 I was getting ok at it. :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Odo Proudfoot - Lvl 10 Halfling Monk - Princes of the Apocalypse (Campaign Finished)
Mechanically, it's very underwhelming. To make matters worse, I made mine a dragonborn so he basically just wanders around the battlemap making absolutely no difference to the result whatsoever.
But, I play him like he was a big fish in a little pond back home who is now out of his jurisdiction (and out of his depth!). He just tries to arrest everyone and they're like 'You ain't a cop, fool!'
It's been very fun and certainly backs up the idea that unoptimised characters can actually be more fun. "Challenging" is probably a good word.
The fighter can be extremely op as is especially if you build them right. my fighter is already powerful by normal standards but weak in comparison to some of the homebrew builds I have seen. I wouldn't include such a rule like an auto success like this unless its a feat you gain at lvl 18 to 20. while it would be handy up against high lvl boss enemies, I would have to heavily restrict such use in a campaign.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Fight by my side, or stay behind me, and please don't get in my way.
The fighter can be extremely op as is especially if you build them right. my fighter is already powerful by normal standards but weak in comparison to some of the homebrew builds I have seen. I wouldn't include such a rule like an auto success like this unless its a feat you gain at lvl 18 to 20. while it would be handy up against high lvl boss enemies, I would have to heavily restrict such use in a campaign.
A homebrew build that's overpowered? I may faint from shock :)
There are very few polls for this, so I decided to make one.
I like the champion, great versatility, and a little bit easier to get your head around if just starting.
With the right feats and ability mods as you level up, it can work for you.
Odo Proudfoot - Lvl 10 Halfling Monk - Princes of the Apocalypse (Campaign Finished)
Orryn Pebblefoot - Lvl 5 Rock Gnome Wizard (Deceased) - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (Deceased)
Anerin Ap Tewdr - Lvl 5 Human (Variant) Bard (College of Valor) - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
I prefer the Battle Master because I enjoy working with the rest of the team to make us all better. However, the Samurai ability to get Advantage on ALL weapon attacks for a round is my go-to for a spec build like when I theory-craft a Great Weapon Master or a Sharpshooter.
The Battle Master is a great subclass, however, I prefer the Eldritch Knight for the additional versatility. If you can manage to get a decent Int mod in addition to Str and Con then you can have a lot of fun with your limited selection of spells: Shield and Absorb Elements for added survivability, Burning Hands or Thunderwave for an AoE and Misty Step for added mobility.
Samurai, give yourself advantage on attacks, temp HP, free Wis saves lots of goodies here.
Battlemaster is my favorite. However, Cavalier is also pretty great.
Feature Requests || Homebrew FAQ || Pricing FAQ || Hardcovers FAQ || Snippet Codes || Tooltips
DDB Guides & FAQs, Class Guides, Character Builds, Game Guides, Useful Websites, and WOTC Resources
As a person getting into D&D I really like the Cavalier because he seems a bit more manageable than some of the other builds, while remaining interesting enough to not get bored with it during a campaign.
With great power comes great opportunity.
Agreed. Plus, most classes don't favor mounted combat because...well...dungeons. Nice to see one that deals with it. I can see a Cavalier/Paladin with the Mounted Combatant Feat being unstoppable on a horse.
Exactly right. As I get familiar with the rules I get the impression that WotC did a great job designing the Cavalier in such a way as to still be great away from the mount. Still, it's one of those setting-dependent archetypes; not much sense in having a mount in an underground campaign, unless you can tame some kind of molerat creature of course (which actually sounds pretty rad). For everywhere else: Mounted Combatant ftw!
With great power comes great opportunity.
My players rarely choose to play a fighter. The class doesn’t appeal to them as it is disappointing to have their character roll poorly and watch as another player’s mage or rogue is scoring another hit on the enemy. My resolution is a home rule; the fighter (think about it) is a professional warrior, as a pro, gets one automatic success on a melee or ranged attack per turn. They still get to roll, and if a critical hit results can use the roll. Suddenly, the fighter is a true asset to the party and is a desirable choice for the player.
As a DM, I would see this as OP. You may do as you wish in your game, but please bear with me:
Any class that strikes with a weapon (Fighter, Ranger, whatever) has inherent bonuses to hit and to damage. Unless your character is completely terrible, the bonus should be at least +4 or so by level 5 when the fighting classes get a second attack. Fighters get a THIRD attack at level 11 and a FORTH at 20. Each attack is a chance to apply to-hit and damage bonuses that most of the Casting classes don't get. Sure, Fireball is an auto-hit, but the targets get Dex Saves to take half damage and the caster has limited resources. A sword doesn't run out of charges...
An auto-success of an attack means that Sharpshooter or Great Weapon Master Feats, with their +10 to damage, become automatic damage output machines. A lvl 3 Samurai can fire 3 arrows, with Advantage, for +10 damage each for each of 3 rounds. If the chance to hit cancels out the -5 from the extra damage, that's still better than 50/50. Barbarians are even worse with their Reckless Attack for Advantage on the first attack every round while they're Raging.
You're going to allow a Fighter with a Longbow an auto-hit to 600' with a possible 1d8+10 or more damage?
As I said, it's your game and you can do what you want but I think your Fighter players have it too easy.
I mainly stick with the Battlemaster and Eldritch Knight. To me, most of the subclasses are just too simple, and I find that boring.
It’s the first, second, third and sometimes fourth level that kills the class for most players.
I loved playing a Battle Master archer in my first 5e campaign. I really enjoyed the tricks I could do with the maneuvers, and learning ways to combo them with things my party members did. I really want to play around with an Arcane Archer sometime, though.
It nearly killed it for me, but I fought through!
It took a bit of winding my backstory into the game, and really relying on the actual game play rather than the rolling side of things. I had to be really careful in what feats/ability mods I picked when I levelled up. By level 6 I was getting ok at it. :)
Odo Proudfoot - Lvl 10 Halfling Monk - Princes of the Apocalypse (Campaign Finished)
Orryn Pebblefoot - Lvl 5 Rock Gnome Wizard (Deceased) - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (Deceased)
Anerin Ap Tewdr - Lvl 5 Human (Variant) Bard (College of Valor) - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Looks like I got the PDK up off of the canvas.
Mechanically, it's very underwhelming. To make matters worse, I made mine a dragonborn so he basically just wanders around the battlemap making absolutely no difference to the result whatsoever.
But, I play him like he was a big fish in a little pond back home who is now out of his jurisdiction (and out of his depth!). He just tries to arrest everyone and they're like 'You ain't a cop, fool!'
It's been very fun and certainly backs up the idea that unoptimised characters can actually be more fun. "Challenging" is probably a good word.
The fighter can be extremely op as is especially if you build them right. my fighter is already powerful by normal standards but weak in comparison to some of the homebrew builds I have seen. I wouldn't include such a rule like an auto success like this unless its a feat you gain at lvl 18 to 20. while it would be handy up against high lvl boss enemies, I would have to heavily restrict such use in a campaign.
Fight by my side, or stay behind me, and please don't get in my way.
Krymsyn
A homebrew build that's overpowered? I may faint from shock :)
lol I know right. however considering how difficult the monsters will be in my campaign (cr 70+) I might implement this feat for boss battles
Fight by my side, or stay behind me, and please don't get in my way.
Krymsyn
CR 70? The Tarrasque is "only" CR 30!