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New Fighter Design
🕑 Added 2024-11-30 17:47:48 +0000 UTCYou might remember that several months back I posted about the Odyssey engine, a revision to the core 5e rules that aims to streamline the game for DMs while adding some more depth for players. I'd been tinkering with the game in the background for a while without being all that happy with the end result. However, the insight that I could take the ability bonus to damage, strip it out of the core, and move it over to the classes provided a big step forward.
Odyssey does a few things:
It takes the core math of 5e from levels 1 to 5 and stretches it out to ten levels. In this draft, the game uses 5e's first six levels, with 1st level turned into apprentice levels that are optional for groups that want to embrace a zero to hero game or want a very simply, easy teaching mode for new players.
Old school for DMs, new school for players. It aims for Shadowdark or OSE level complexity in the core game that DMs need to manage, but with depth and options for each character class that feels more like 5e for players.
Streamlining and simplification wherever possible, especially for DMs.
So, enough talk. Here is the initial draft of the fighter or Odyssey:
Fighter
As a fighter, you are a master at arms who is a versatile and deadly combatant.
Class Features
As a fighter, you gain the following class features. If a feature is on the fighter class table, you gain it at its listed level.
Your DM will tell you if you should create an apprentice or veteran fighter. A veteran fighter gains the class features listed for the apprentice and novice fighter.
Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Equipment
If you start as an apprentice character, you have picks to use on the apprentice equipment tables.
If you start at 1st level you gain also gain three rolls on the veteran equipment tables.
The Apprentice Fighter
Level Proficiency Features Hit Points
Apprentice +2 Battle Mastery 9
Opportunity Strike
Novice +2 Recovery 14
The Veteran Fighter
Level Proficiency Features Hit Points
1st +2 Combat Maneuver 19
Heroic Surge
2nd +2 Heroism (d4) 24
3rd +2 Combat Maneuver 29
4th +2 Greater Heroism (d6) 34
5th +2 Ability Score Improvement 39
Combat Maneuver
6th +2 Greater Heroism (d8) 44
7th +3 Combat Maneuver 49
8th +3 Superior Battle Mastery 54
9th +3 Combat Maneuver 59
10th +3 Mighty Heroism 64
Battle Mastery
You gain access to a special attack action called battle mastery. When you use the battle mastery action, pick two options from the following list. You can choose the same option more than once. When you pick an option, apply its benefits or resolve any attacks or other effects immediately, then make your next choice if you have any remaining,
· You make a weapon attack.
· You gain a +2 bonus to AC until your next turn. This bonus increases by +1 each subsequent time you choose this option this turn.
· You gain two extra reactions that you can use before your next turn.
Opportunity Strike
If a creature tries to move further away from you on its turn, you may use your reaction to hit it with a melee weapon attack before it moves. You must be able to target the creature with your melee attack to use this feature.
This attack automatically hits. You gain a bonus to the attack’s damage roll equal to your level.
You can use this feature once per turn.
Recovery
During your turn, you can regain 1d10 + your level hit points. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
Heroic Surge
During your turn, you can take an additional action. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
Combat Maneuver
Each time you gain this class feature, you can add one of the following options to the list of things you can do with your battle mastery action.
Clash of Steel
Make a weapon attack, and you also mark the target. The creature is marked by you until your next turn. A marked creature has disadvantage on all attacks against creatures that have not marked it.
Clear the Way
Make a weapon attack, and you also push the target up to 10 feet away from you.
Crowd Control
You attack up to two creatures of your choice that are within your weapon’s range or reach. You cannot attack those creatures again this turn.
Quick Step
You move 10 feet.
Heroism
You can commit feats of daring heroism that inspire those around you. On your turn you gain a hero die, a d4, that you can use in several ways. Once you use a heroic die, you can’t use it again until your next turn.
You can expend your hero die and use it to:
· Roll and add it as a bonus to your attack that misses, potentially turning it into a hit
· Roll and add it as a bonus to a damage roll
You also gain heroic flourishes that give you other ways to expend it. Pick one of the following options.
Desperate Effort
When you fail a saving throw you expend your hero die to roll and add it to your result, potentially turning a failed save into a successful one.
Protect the Weak
When an attack hits a creature adjacent to you expend your hero die to roll and add it to that creature’s AC, potentially turning the hit into a miss.
Swift Parry
When an attack hits you expend your hero die to roll and add it to your AC, potentially turning the hit into a miss.
Greater Heroism (d6)
You now roll a d6 instead of a d4 when using your hero die. Choose an additional heroic flourish.
Greater Heroism (d8)
You now roll a d8 instead of a d6 when using your hero die. Choose an additional heroic flourish.
Greater Heroism (2d6)
You now roll 2d6 instead of a d8 when using your hero die. Choose an additional heroic flourish.
Superior Battle Mastery
When you use the battle mastery action, you may now pick four options from the following list. You can choose the same option more than once.
Mighty Heroism
You can roll your hero die twice before you can’t use it again until your next turn. Choose an additional heroic flourish.
Comments
Mike Mearls
Funny you should ask, because I put in a bunch of work on magic items during our trip home from vacation today. This approach does mean that you need to be wary about adding dice of damage, but I also have a new schema for items that I'll share later this week.
Mike Mearls
Patreon's formatting is kind of terrible. I might post a PDF later this week so that the table's aren't awful. Heroic Surge and Combat Maneuver are features with content categeries beneath them, Opportunity Strike is a feature.
mAc Chaos
This is interesting! Would this still work with magic items? Like a flametongue adds a lot of damage, and now you do 2x as many attacks.
David Canela
There's something weird going with the formatting of what appear to be tables in The Apprentice Fighter and The Veteran Fighter, so I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at here, at least not at a glance. Are Opportunity Strike, Heroic Surge and Combat Maneuver categories?
