I am not particular bored with melee characters but i am kinda bored with archery, sure archery can kick ass without you really be in a dangerous position but i was kinda bored.
But yes i also think that i can have more interesting things to do with a caster.
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Is the some way to overcome this idea of being bored with melee combat? Am I doomed to being repulsed by the idea of playing fighters and the like?
Try having some abilities other than hitting the person.
For instance, I have a fighter in PFS who uses Improved Disarm and Improved Trip. Being situationally-useful maneuvers, every fight is a little different. Also, if a fight involves both monsters and humanoids, then I have tactical decisions to make. It's lots more fun than "I power attack it. I power attack it. I power attack it."
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Melee is made more interesting by the importance of positioning. Especially if you and another melee guy have teamwork feats like Outflank.
Also, though you don't have the option of spells, you still have loads of combat maneuvers and other tricks that you get via feats. One build I keep intended on doing is a guy with a reach weapon and either armor spikes or improved unarmed strike. Attack at reach normally, but still does fine when hit up close.
Combine with the above a good acrobatics skill and you could do strange things like backflip over a bad guy to flank, then critical hitting to give your ally an AoO while applying Tripping Strike to trip them (which causes them to provoke a second time when they stand on their turn).
Sure, these tactics don't work against everything, but neither do spells.
If you are super optimized so that you are only really effective with one style of melee combat, then sure it is boring.
I like the idea of a versatile veteran warrior type, who will adjust his fighting style to suit the situation.
If you are super optimized so that you are only really effective with one style of melee combat, then sure it is boring.
I like the idea of a versatile veteran warrior type, who will adjust his fighting style to suit the situation.
I don't know, having played a switch hitter ranger with a falchion i have to say that i was bored when i was using my bow and not when i was using my power attack with my falchion.
Play a Barbarian. Gain cool powers to use in combat:
Str Surge - Gain lvl to any CMB/D check
Knockback - bullrush with a weapon as part of an attack
Knockdown - trip with a weapon as part of an attack
Unexpected strike - take an AoO when someone 5ft steps
Spell Sunder - Use a sunder check to dispell any spell
Intimidating howl - make enemies panicked
Whole bunch of drunk stuff - be an awesome drunk instead of a sloppy one
Body Bludgeon - beat someone up with someone else (yes..you can pick up the halfling and use him as a weapon)
etc etc.
Barbarians are a grab bag of situational but awesome abilities that can really spice up a combat.
playing a magus should let you mix the two choices to a degree.
Sure, or a cleric or a melee alchemist or a melee bard or a dragon disciple or a psychic warrior, etc.
I don't believe I've ever been bored by playing a meleer or archery-based character. I think part of the fun with those characters is finding out how your attacks resolve, even if they are mechanically about the same.
But keep in mind that what I find fun, you may not be interested in, and vice versa. It's one of the reasons I find D&D and PF as enjoyable as they are - there are characters designed to play very differently. I get to choose which types of play I want to embrace when I make up a new character.
If you find melee kind of boring - play some other type of character - one whose abilities appeal more to you.
Think of a exciting RP approach...then it doesnt matter what you do as your melee cause its fun to you regardless.
For example. Gutbuster. Look it up if you dont know.
Went barb, grapple focus, and changed all flavor wording of feats, abilities and items to mirror how I pictured them in my head based on the concept.
Charge in with reckless abandon and try to "survive" while shredding your enemies to little bits will keep you on the edge of your seat for sure.
I can come up with great character concepts for melee-types but am turned off every time but the idea of swinging a weapon day-in and day-out.
Casters give me the chance to change up my offense every day and keep combat fresh and exciting. I really do want to play something else, though.
Is there some way to overcome this idea of being bored with melee combat? Am I doomed to being repulsed by the idea of playing fighters and the like?
Anyone with heavy experience playing pure melee characters please respond.
A new outlook on my problem is needed if I am to overcome this.
Inquisitor and Magus are always options. Also consider that melee has a huge emphasis on positioning and timing. IT determines how think aggro on your fellow party and can make the difference between victory and defeat.
I like playing more maneuverable types. Rogues, swashbucklers, rangers. You can run around the battlefield doing crazy stuff rather than just PA, PA, PA.
Play a Barbarian. They're like Wizards only better.
I find melee in the D20 system to be fairly boring due to the emphasis on a lack of movement and binary combat maneuvers. The end result is like Rock'em Sock'em Robots, only one occasionally yells "YOU'RE PRONE!" at the other.
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I just don't see how anyone could play a class/build were they know exactly what they will be doing every round for the rest of their careers. And when I compare a lv1 fighter to a lv20 fighter, the only difference I see is that one hits harder than the other. Is that really anything worth looking forward to?
Well, that's the fault of whoever made those fighters.
I mean really, you had 21 feats and all you managed to do was make yourself hit harder? That's the fault of a dim and uncreative player, not the system.
I have a human fighter in PFS who's currently 5th level (so 7 feats) and combat never feels like a smash-fest. Especially against humanoids, where I get to make use of the Improved Disarm and Improved Trip feats I took.
Meanwhile, there's almost always another fighter and/or barbarian at the table who put all their resources into DPR, and they do just sit there doing the same attacks over and over again.
Fighters are incredibly customizable - failure to capitalize on that fact rests with the player.
I just don't see how anyone could play a class/build were they know exactly what they will be doing every round for the rest of their careers. And when I compare a lv1 fighter to a lv20 fighter, the only difference I see is that one hits harder than the other. Is that really anything worth looking forward to?For fighters that's not really true. They have enough feats that they end up with lots of different options. (at the high end, but who plays that long?)
I think the problem with melee types is they are so narrowly focused. Whatever 'style' one pursues takes most of the feats, so usually you're stuck in that one mode of fighting for most of your career.
This is one of the few things I think 4e got right: their melee types have quite dynamic abilities that affect the flow of the battle, and they have more 'tricks' other than 'who do I full attack this round?'
For some reason I ended up doing the same thing over and over again in 4e combat as well for the little time I played. Also I think feats like step up and later feats will be fun so people cannot get away from you and allow some movement. Nimble moves may help allowign 5 foot steps.
For instance, I have a fighter in PFS who uses Improved Disarm and Improved Trip. Being situationally-useful maneuvers, every fight is a little different. Also, if a fight involves both monsters and humanoids, then I have tactical decisions to make. It's lots more fun than "I power attack it. I power attack it. I power attack it."
Maybe...although I personally find a character who does a "standard" attack 90% of the time and trips 10% of the time is paradoxically more interesting than a character who trips 90% of the time and does a regular attack 10% of the time.
Try a ranger. Adding an animal companion will help mix things up a little. Plus, you get a little spellcasting too.
Try a rogue. You can add finding/disarming traps, tallents, and maneuvering for sneak attacks to your options.
Try a cavalier. The teamwork abilities and challenges and mounted combat will offer different options as well.
Also, take a look at all the Combat Maneuvers and the Improved Critical feats. They can add some variety too.
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For instance, I have a fighter in PFS who uses Improved Disarm and Improved Trip. Being situationally-useful maneuvers, every fight is a little different. Also, if a fight involves both monsters and humanoids, then I have tactical decisions to make. It's lots more fun than "I power attack it. I power attack it. I power attack it."Maybe...although I personally find a character who does a "standard" attack 90% of the time and trips 10% of the time is paradoxically more interesting than a character who trips 90% of the time and does a regular attack 10% of the time.
Personally, just the act of assessing the combat is interesting to me. And then the execution of those fights can vary wildly as well.
In one fight, I'm in a pit with an otyugh while my comrade is upstairs fighting off a handful of kobold rangers. Totally would've been better if we'd switched places - he could do more damage to the monster, and I'd have wiped the floor with the kobolds.
In another fight, some sailors reveal themselves to be hostile pirates - by kicking the gangplank into the water while every PC but me and Mr. Squishy is standing on the dock. I un-flank my buddy with a timely disarm, and keep using AoOs to cycle between trip and disarm, essentially keeping that enemy out of the fight all the way from round 1 until he's the last guy left (at which point he died, falling into the water, his hand still reaching for his sword).
And in yet another fight, I'm tossing tanglefoot bags at a caster or trying to simply stand in front of a monster (doing total defense) while my terrified compatriots pelt it with arrows and wands of magic missile.
Yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with my fighter's variance. Even the frustrating slugfests add to the satisfaction of the more tactical situations.
A new outlook on my problem is needed if I am to overcome this.
It may not be your problem per se. GMs can make melee combat real boring. If your opponent just stands there, you will likely do the same. If you're fighting on a flat, feature-less plane there is no tactical advantage to move, so you'll just stand there.
The GM needs to provide dynamic opponents and dynamic environments to help make melee combat exciting.
I just don't see how anyone could play a class/build were they know exactly what they will be doing every round for the rest of their careers. And when I compare a lv1 fighter to a lv20 fighter, the only difference I see is that one hits harder than the other. Is that really anything worth looking forward to?
Saying "The enemy is prone" every now and then rather then "The enemy takes x damage" doesn't make the game that much less boring.
Casters do the same thing: make a dc 20 will save or fall asleep....
if you are only using one or two different spells per lvl how is that better?
Casters specialize just as much as melee.
And let's hope they don't actually pass their save.
...Wut.