5 Tips For Playing Better Fighters

[Neal Litherland]

So, I've been doing a "5 Tips" series of articles for the base classes, and this week I finally got around to fighters. If you think fighters should be more than suits of armor that occasionally roll initiative, or you know a player whom you wish to convince of that, these tips might just just what you've been seeking.

For those who go through the list, were there any that I missed? Do you have any good stories about flavorful fighters at your table who didn't sacrifice their role in the name of RP?

5 Tips For Playing Better Fighters

[Daniel_Clark]

Neal Litherland wrote:

So, I've been doing a "5 Tips" series of articles for the base classes, and this week I finally got around to fighters. If you think fighters should be more than suits of armor that occasionally roll initiative, or you know a player whom you wish to convince of that, these tips might just just what you've been seeking.

For those who go through the list, were there any that I missed? Do you have any good stories about flavorful fighters at your table who didn't sacrifice their role in the name of RP?

5 Tips For Playing Better Fighters

Great article Neal. I've been reading your blog over the last few months. Just wanted to say Thanks for sharing all your hard work.

[Neal Litherland]

Here to help, Daniel_Clark! Glad to know you enjoyed this one.

[Halek]

The best figthers i have had at tables have normally just been other classes that trade out spellcasting through archetypes. Never had a good fighter that wasnt overshadowed by a better martial in the same party. I think the advice can be generalized to anyome who wields a weapon.

Best straight fighter was right when we first got the core rulebook. He was a reach fighter who used a tiny longspear and a shield. The dude who played him was a grognard and the oldest of the group. He played it up both in and out of game.

Mechanically he moved up hit something and then made a large area it couldnt move through unless it wanted to give him free attacks.

Roleplay whise he was a grizzled veteran chef who cooked the party a meal of whatever we killed that day. He carried massive amounts of cooking supplies and would always make sure we all had a full meal before we went off to battle. We later learned that he was part of a battalion that got lost in the mountains and starved.

Fun dude.

[Neal Litherland]

Got a PC similar to that in my group now. Ranger who specialized in arrow fishing, who tends to beat enemies about the head and shoulders with his bow. Player's first real game since 3.5, and I'm glad to see he's having fun with it.

[Kaouse]

As far as I gather, this is more of a guide towards building a good backstory rather than building a good Fighter. It's nice to have, but some mechanical tips would be nice too.

If anybody has a link to a Fighter guide that's up to date, I'd certainly like it.

[Neal Litherland]

Kaouse, my "5 Tips" series is specifically geared toward backstory building, and getting out of the rut of playing the same characters over and over again, thematically.

When it comes to mechanics, you really can't cover everything a single class can do in one guide. You pretty much need a separate one for every kind of fighter, wizard, sorcerer, etc., there is. And a lot of concepts are going to be multiclass, making everything more complicated.

With that said, if you have a specific kind of fighter you want to play (polearm user, full-plate tank, two weapon warrior, Vital Strike specialist, arrow sniper, crossbow master, etc.), I'd be happy to share any resources I know of geared toward that particular niche.