Loja Windcutter wrote:
The lack of skills outside of combat, and the sheer vastness of what I deem useless feats has made made Fighters pretty shaky. I don't think they need "powers". They need more guts. They don't need maneuvers. They need more freedom in what can be accomplished in a fight without feats.
The larger issue is "what a melee can do versus the spellcaster on a standard action" portion needs evened out...except it'd require so much change in the game.
It'd be nice to some noncombat options, as well for the fighter and all melee classes. People are clamoring for 4 skill points per level, and that's the biggest reason why, but that isn't going to happen: it can, however, be implemented fast and frequently in home games, and I suspect it will be.
That fighter wanting to be a master of weapons, inside and out, including their smithing, will only have a single skill point to devote anywhere else.
As for the style/combo book--it's a workaround using the current system that /could/ be implemented. There's very little space in the PHB compared to what a book like that could offer, and the focus it could offer to various types of styles and maneuvers. I envision such a book also having some flavor text, introducing each style, covering the history, perhaps even detailing suggestions per game.
That does bring us to: needing a separate book to play the fighter.
...however, what the fighter is, is a shell. It's made to be fitted and changed, much like a swiss army knife.