Player can't remember his abilities

[The Cats]

Turns out never using action surges and combat maneuvers makes a Battlemaster a lot less effective.

I say he can't remember cause I'm pretty sure he is making a lot of effort. On the rare occasion he does remember without being reminded he gets pretty excited about it. He's got some cognitive abnormalities that just makes retaining that stuff especially difficult for him. I spend a lot of time re-explaining things to him in general, but we're a pretty patient group and he is a ton of fun to play with, especially in the rules-lite role-play encounters. I'm just pretty sure he'd be happier if he were more effective in combat.

I've tried reminding him regularly, but I have to remember to do that! And if I'm always telling him how to use his turns I'd feel like I was really taking away his agency. The other players could remind him as well, but that contests with the same issues.

I don't want to tell him to play a simpler character. Maybe if this guy dies, or when we hit a new campaign, I'll steer him towards something else, but he seems to really like the guy he's got now. Like I said, when he DOES remember and manages to swing something in his favour with it, he gets pretty stoked.

So, if any of you have any suggestions for how I can help my player better remember that his abilities exist, and what sort of situations would be good to use them, I would appreciate it.

FYI His maneuvers are: Commander's strike, precision attack, and parry.

[mgshamster]

Make a card for each of his abilities that he can play to use. That way they're always on hand and he can reread them to figure out what they do.

[The Cats]

Ah, I actually have given him cards. He forgets to look at them. :S

[DarkKnightJin]

Make a card for each of his abilities that he can play to use. That way they're always on hand and he can reread them to figure out what they do.

I got the Racial & Martial 'Spell' Cards, figuring it'd have the Dragonborn's Breath Weapon or something.
It didn't, but it did have cards for all the Battlemaster Maneuvers. Which the BM Fighter in my group is getting to borrow whenever we play. I'm not using them, but that doesn't mean I can't make his life a bit easier.

I've found that he doesn't use Maneuvers a lot, but that's more about him not wanting to rather than not remembering he had them.

[SpamCreateWater]

Is there a place, like a dice tower, that he uses? Something you can put the cards on top of so that when he uses his dice, he's like, "Oh hot diggity!"?

Else, card holders. So the cards stand upright and are more "seeable". Or brightly coloured cards.

[Vaz]

Potentially typical hoarder mentality. 'i don' twanna use this now, I might need it later'. Just give him more uses of it, so they become less valuable.

[Talamare]

Give him the benefits of Champion Fighter

I would even let him continue being a Battle Master at the exact same time

[The Cats]

Is there a place, like a dice tower, that he uses? Something you can put the cards on top of so that when he uses his dice, he's like, "Oh hot diggity!"?

Else, card holders. So the cards stand upright and are more "seeable". Or brightly coloured cards.

Something like this could work. I just want to be careful to avoid him thinking I'm treating him like a preschooler or something (Big, brightly coloured cards. Y'know.).

Vaz and Talamare: He's expressed annoyance at forgetting about his abilities a few times, so it's definitely not a hoarder mentality thing. He really likes playing a battlemaster; when he DOES use the maneuvers he has a lot of fun in combat. The goal is to make combat more fun for him by enabling him to use the maneuvers more often, not just to make his character more effective in combat.

[SpamCreateWater]

Something like this could work. I just want to be careful to avoid him thinking I'm treating him like a preschooler or something (Big, brightly coloured cards. Y'know.).

Vaz and Talamare: He's expressed annoyance at forgetting about his abilities a few times, so it's definitely not a hoarder mentality thing. He really likes playing a battlemaster; when he DOES use the maneuvers he has a lot of fun in combat. The goal is to make combat more fun for him by enabling him to use the maneuvers more often, not just to make his character more effective in combat.

I understand that you'll have to tread carefully. However, if he's anything like others I play with - who are new at the whole TTRPG thing -then he'll need all the help he can get. It took me ages of being a filthy casual before I even got bare understanding of 3.5.
Which is hilarious, because I then found out years later that most rules we played by were houserules...

[LeonBH]

Honestly, there is no problem here. Your player is fun to play with and he is happy to just remember his abilities. You're going out on your way to make him happier, when it's really not even necessary.

He's having fun. So let him have his fun. If he never remembers to use Action Surge, well, he had fun all the same. And if he's annoyed he forgot his abilities... well, let him be annoyed. He can't blame it on anyone else that he forgot. If you keep helping him, he'll never need to remember these things himself. And so he won't ever remember them all on his own.

It's literally not rocket science.

[hymer]

Maybe you could make a habit of reminding him. When you call his (character's) name, add 'remember your manoeuvres and Action Surge'. I don't know if that may be taken badly, but if you do it every time, it might help.
Other players might be able to help, too. The ones sitting next to this player could quietly ask things like "So, what manoeuvre are you planning on using when it's your turn?"

[Unoriginal]

You could ask him "do you wish to use an ability?" From time to time

[Pex]

Give him a magical sword with an intelligence. The magical ability of the sword is to warn him of danger, i.e. he can never be surprised and has advantage on initiative checks. The sword is telling him about the danger. Give the sword a personality. For you it's an excuse to allow you to remind the player of a tactic from time to time since it's the sword that's telling him.

[2D8HP]

Give him the benefits of Champion Fighter...

.
I'm similar to your player except that in looking over the PHB I immediately could tell which classes to stay away from as they'd be too confusing for my age added mind.

"Always on" abilities are just easier than situational ones, for example the "Great Weapon" Fighting Style: "When you roll a 1 or a 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can refill the die and must use the new result, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit."

Yeah um... I'm never going to easily keep track of all that!

In contrast the "Defense" Fighting Style: While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.", is a nice simple just write it on the sheet change, similarly "Improved Critical" is just easier to remember than "Maneuvers" and "Superiority Dice" not to mention spell-casting!

One option (which I do) is to add a level of Rogue. "Expertise" is easy, just add somr plusses to a couple of skills. "Sneak Attack" is a little harder, how to gain advantage is still a mystery to me, but knowing that you can add 1d6 damage to any attack on an antagonist that's within 5 feet of a comrade is pretty easy (yes they are other Features for Rogue, but those are harder to remember).

Champion/Rogue is my go-to class, and I'm damn glad to have the option!

That simplicity may a virtue is something that a lot of those who post "How to improve the Champion' suggestions on this Forum just don't seem to get (judging by the complexity of their suggestions).
Those who say that the "Champion doesn't have enough options, miss the point of the class IMNSHO, and as to the Champion being "underpowered"? If true (no way am I going to crunch the numbers to tell) giving "Superior Critical" or "Additional Fighting Style" earlier seem like better options to me.

Now as to the immediate problem of one of your players not making full use of their PC's Class Features (and presumably being less effective), maybe just give them an "always on" magic item, better armor or a sword with some plusses. Don't give a situational magic item, keep it simple.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Ah, I actually have given him cards. He forgets to look at them. :S

Hold them like a hand in a classic poker game. Slam the card down when it's time to go to town.

[JPicasso]

Give him the benefits of Champion Fighter

I would even let him continue being a Battle Master at the exact same time

This.

I think the battlemaster mechanic is a bit over complicated for what it actually does. For someone like your friend, (and myself) a champion with a few bonus maneuvers would be good.

[jaappleton]

I'm a total nerd for the game. I'm an optimizer, I've read every player option that's come out backwards and forwards. I have damn near every ability of every archetype memorized, and most spells, too.

It's not a lot to look at the Battlemaster Fighter and see what they can do. As a DM, I wouldn't have this task fall upon yourself, you've got enough to handle. And obviously the player in question is really trying, as you've stated, and this person is doing what they can.

Is there another player that really loves tactics and combat? If so, ask them to suggest things to the Battlemaster. In character, if possible.

"Battlemaster! Look out, parry the attack!" (And then remind the player of the ability)
"You're alright, I'm sure you've got a second wind in you, we aren't done yet." (See, look here on the sheet, you can...)

I've memorized the abilities of all my fellow players. So if any one of them is in a situation where they feel trapped, I can remind them. I never say anything unless they look a bit lost. We had a scenario where we were making Athletics checks to climb a cliff, and the Monk kept rolling very low. I reminded him that he can run vertically at this point, and he smiled and laughed at how he was rolling to try something that was really so trivial to him. He scaled the cliff WAY before us, and his character started running around mine asking what was taking so long

[jaappleton]

Hold them like a hand in a classic poker game. Slam the card down when it's time to go to town.

"You activated my Trap Card!"

That's how you play Poker, right? >_>

[CantigThimble]

"You activated my Trap Card!"

That's how you play Poker, right? >_>

Well, that's how I play poker.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Well, that's how I play poker.

Mine are all like Doc Holliday's in Tombstone.

Or they would be, I guess, if I lived in 1880s Arizona and played poker.

[Oramac]

Give him a magical sword with an intelligence. The magical ability of the sword is to warn him of danger, i.e. he can never be surprised and has advantage on initiative checks. The sword is telling him about the danger. Give the sword a personality. For you it's an excuse to allow you to remind the player of a tactic from time to time since it's the sword that's telling him.

Other than being sentient, this already exists in the Weapon of Warning. It's a good idea. A sword that talks to him in character can get away with things you as a DM otherwise couldn't.

"Hey stupid, Parry that!"

"C'mon, dummy! Commander's Strike!"

Or something else equally silly, but effective.

[DarkKnightJin]

Other than being sentient, this already exists in the Weapon of Warning. It's a good idea. A sword that talks to him in character can get away with things you as a DM otherwise couldn't.

"Hey stupid, Parry that!"

"C'mon, dummy! Commander's Strike!"

Or something else equally silly, but effective.

Nothing's saying you can't make a Weapon of Warning with sentience.
Hell, that'd make it more fun to use. If the personality isn't caustic. Which would be more reminiscent of a cursed weapon.

My tip: make it the personality of an old swordmaster, used to teaching students, and reminding them if their stance is off, they're not using the skills he KNOWS they have.

Basically, it'll be an RP reasons for you or one of the players to help him remember his skills.

[Alejandro]

My PC is a lore bard, and for my Bardic Inspirations/Cutting Words, I use those colored glass tokens from Magic the Gathering (poison counters, I believe they were.) I lay them on the table in a line next to my character sheet, and when I spend them, I literally move/touch them. Even though I don't have cognitive disabilities, this is a great help to me, as I am also keeping track of all my spells, other PC needs, etc. Your player might benefit from the same, just use something big enough that they can't be overlooked sitting there.

I assume they see a medical professional about their issues?

[Pelle]

Ask him what he would prefer himself.

For me, it doesn't sound enjoyable to be told what I should do all the time, either by the GM, other players or a sentient sword. He may not mind though.

[DarkKnightJin]

Ask him what he would prefer himself.

For me, it doesn't sound enjoyable to be told what I should do all the time, either by the GM, other players or a sentient sword. He may not mind though.

We're trying to brainstorm a way of helping him remember his skills. Not tell him what to do.
I'd run a BM Fighter myself if I wanted to do that.

[Temperjoke]

What about some sort of little stand to hold the cards upright in front of him, sort of like desktop business card holders? That might make them more visual for him.

[The Cats]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. It'll be awhile before our next session (breaking for the Christmas season) so I've got plenty of time to suss out which of these would be most effective.

[Oramac]

Nothing's saying you can't make a Weapon of Warning with sentience.

I never said you couldn't. In fact, I quite like the idea. Just pointing out that the Weapon itself exists. He only needs to add sentience.

Hell, that'd make it more fun to use. If the personality isn't caustic. Which would be more reminiscent of a cursed weapon.

My tip: make it the personality of an old swordmaster, used to teaching students, and reminding them if their stance is off, they're not using the skills he KNOWS they have.

Basically, it'll be an RP reasons for you or one of the players to help him remember his skills.

This sounds like a fun idea for any game, not just the one in question. I might borrow it, actually.

[2D8HP]

Nothing's saying you can't make a Weapon of Warning with sentience.
Hell, that'd make it more fun to use. If the personality isn't caustic. Which would be more reminiscent of a cursed weapon.

My tip: make it the personality of an old swordmaster, used to teaching students, ..
.

.
Oh that's AWESOME!

"Caress the hilt, do not throttle it!"

"Do or do not, there is NO TRY!"

"YOU MUST HAVE THE WILL OF THE WARRIOR!"

"WORST PUPIL EVER! Why do I even bother?"

[The Shadowdove]

I have a player who shows up to one of our AL games regularly who has Asperger's. Sometimes he is on the ball and remembers everything, and is one or the driving forces of the team.

Other times he has a hard time divvying his attention between paying attention to what's going on and sorting out what he can do with the info on his character sheet. Things he usually is a master of.

I made him a card for each individual ability, phrased in the most easy to understand manner possible. I also made a sheet that is an "action economy" key.

It has three or so different entries per page half in bullet point format titled "When fighting one opponent", "fighting multiple opponents", and "when being overwhelmed in combat" on one half.

"Peaceful negotiation" "searching" and "interrogation" on the other half of the page.

He's made really good use of this so far. The bold fonts help. Mostly he remembers the actions next to the bullet points now, but sometimes he'll look at the paper if he's having a hard time concentrating.