PDA

View Full Version : Martial Manoeuvres: a cantrip equivalent for Fighters



GalacticAxekick
2017-12-29, 06:29 PM
Bringing back an old idea. (http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkWx-yI4mG)

Although balanced in power, the Fighter extremely limited in role. The only action available to most Fighters, 19 rounds out of 20, is "Attack," and the limited scope of what attacks can do—damage, grapple or shove—means Fighters can't break into roles such as blasting, bodyguarding, controlling space or nerfing: at least, not without feats, a limited pool of superiority dice or a spellcasting subclass.

The goal of these manoeuvres is to give the Fighter these kinds of round-to-round options. I've avoided resource economies in favour of action economies to ensure that the Fighter is gaining new powers rather than stronger powers, and to ensure that the Fighter is free to make choices every round.

I haven't finished writing up the Fighter overhaul that will use these, but expect a Fighter to learn about 6 of these by level 20, and I'd like to write a feat that lets you learn a single manoeuvre of your choice. These will definitely replace Fighting Style and Archetypes as the Fighter's primary source of specialization. I intend to write two Fighter archetypes, but they'll take the backseat to manoeuvres: Cavalry which grants a mount that scales much like the Ranger's companion, and Infantry, which improves mobility in a variety of ways including climbing, leaping, swimming and tumbling.

TL;DR: Let me know if these are balanced as at-will powers, and if there's anything the Fighter should or shouldn't be able to do that I overlooked.

Side note: You'll notice they've borrowed the language of spell descriptions: "casting time", "components", etc. The concepts are relevant but intend to write more suitable language in later: "action time"?, "equipment"?, etc.