5e is a good game, regardless of what the higher executives at WotC are doing with the OGL. That being said, the popularity of 5e has a lot to do with the OGL and all the free advertisement it provides for WotC.
It was so great to hear the joy in your voices that was missing (and rightfully so) in the OGL videos. You make it, I'll watch it. Any game you wanna talk about is cool with me. Just great to see you having fun again. And yes I know you recorded this prior to the OGL stuff.
Crazy timing. I'm playing a fighter for the first time ever, and our campaign is starting this week. My first character was a sorcerer and I have done full caster classes only in my 7 years of playing so I definitely need some tips on how to play without relying on spells so much.
There's a strong case for going Dex over Strength, making the Parry ability really viable. Not to mention the option to use a bow, or even main a bow with the Archery Style if you want
DONT FORGET ABOUT THE DODGE/RUN ACTIONS. Sometimes closing the distance or surviving is better than that consistent damage. Also “riposte” is quite good for battle master.
Gotta say, I'm happy for the positive feedback you guys received on the video about diversifying the content in the channel. Good to know you guys crossed that important threshold and the channel no longer depends on covering a single game to survive.
I think that remains or be seen. D&D has the popularity and the mass market appeal. How many channels are there for it? How many channels are there devoted to .. whatever other random game they may jump to? And, as these channels jump ship … some small number of people will go with them. 5-30% of the sub count or something. That’s great. Maybe that’s millions of people leaving D&D when this is all said and done. That won’t be millions of people into the same next system. That will be millions of people spread out over a dozen systems each growing in popularity … but you COULD be watching videos on these other games already and you’re not. You’re here on a D&D channel. So, is GURPS gets a million people and shadow run gets a million people and some super hero game gets a couple hundred thousand …. There will be less overlap. Fewer people watching. Less interest from products that may want to give them money.
Lots of good ttrpgs, but dnd has built some nostalgic lore through novels, comics and campaign settings over the years which other games are years/decades away from matching
It looks like it’s been a full month since they’ve done anything other than D&D. Does anyone know of any channels who actually left D&D? I’m curious to see their video metrics.
This was the first class and subclass I played in 5E. I loved it! I picked up GWM, had a flametongue greatsword, and multi-classed two levels into barbarian and did TONS of damage and felt like a true valiant fighter out there kicking butt and saving people, it was awesome! 🔥⚔️
The Ginny di sweater is really cute! I made the decision to play a straight up battlemaster fighter, no multiclass, no nothing. I did make intelligence my third highest stat even though mechanically everything told me not to. It's good for investigation and role play and makes sense if your character is a bit of a tactician. But otherwise I'm a big half-orc pole-arm wielding sentinel fighter. It's so much goddamn fun.
Having an OK Intelligence and dumping Wis/Cha seems like the kind of “technically suboptimal” play that’s probably worth making if it fits the character. I keep being tempted by the idea of a Path of the Beast Barbarian who was a city-dwelling charlatan and crackpot alchemist who drank a concoction that became the source of their powers, rather than some ancient tribal knowledge. I think that’d be a lot of fun, a very Jekyll and Hyde or Hank McCoy Beast sort of character.
My first character was a Human Battlemaster Fighter with Dual Wielder Feat (not the strongest, but cool as hell). He was Dex based that made me just as good with bow as sword. Parry worked well with me and disarm attack. Later on manoeuvring strike saved the wizard so much. His crowning moment was critical hitting Tiamat with a dragon slaying arrow and then finishing her off with an action surge, one turn away from a TPK.
I have a soft spot for dual-wielder even if it's rarely optimal. I will say that if your GM is very generous with magic weapons it becomes better than default optimization math might imply, though IDK if it still trumps other styles. I also like that Dual-Wielder lets you nova harder as a melee user with on-hit effects. Paladins are probably the biggest case for this (triple smite, although you could also use your BA for a smite spell and double up on one hit, but both have pros and cons), but I presume this applies to BM too, having not played one.
My most used maneuver playing battle master archerr was goading attack. It's great teamwork and I'm honestly surpirsed it wasn't in the first picks. You're far away and you give the target disadvantage to attack anyone but you until your next turn, plus it targets Wisdom, which is often low for the melee attackers that you'll be using this on
Genuinely genius. I had to check if Goading Attack required a melee attack or a weapon attack because that strategy sounded too good, and it is weapon attack. That’s awesome.
@@Mass0404 yeah a lot of battlemaster techniques are fucking ludicrous because WotC probably pictured someone using them in a melee fight in most cases but then figured out that making them melee only would not be fun in most cases.
@@steave435 Fair, except menacing imposes frightened condition, which is the condition that more creatures are immune to than any other besides poisoned and charmed. I just looked it up and 1/8 of monsters are just straight up immuned to frightened, which doesn't apply to goading. Also, frightened requires them to see you to keep effect, while when I play ranged, I move a lot especially around corners so prefer not to be seen
Absolutely thrilled for this - I’ve been searching your videos (and others) for the best tips about building a battle master. I lean heavily on spells for RP and combat prowess, so I wanted to explore a character who could be maximally powerful as a straight fighter with no spells. Keep up the great work!
Hi dudes just stopping by to say that while I love y’all and want to support y’all moving forward it just doesn’t hit the same to watch 5e content. So I won’t be watching this video but will be watching all non-d&d content to make it easy for y’all to choose non 5e topics. Appreciate you both so much!
I had an Eloquence Bard, with 3 lvls of Fighter to get Battlemaster, took Crossbow Expert, learned Find Steed, and I just galloped around creating pin cushions, singing songs and spreading Inspiration. Lots of fun, I miss him.
This was filmed before the whole ogl crisis, probably. They don’t address it at all which makes me think this was just a video that had been waiting for release. That said, D&D belongs to the tables. Wizards can’t stop you from using resources you already have to play 5e.
@@deschaingames1851 Of course, I really don’t care about the OGL stuff, it doesn’t affect me or anyone I play with, I like D&D and want the Dudes to do D&D content.
"The Blind Knight". Variant Human Polearm fighter with the entertainer background. He was a Cavalier for laughs and when performing would wield a spear and shield. He had the blind fighting fighting style and would purposely blind himself as part of his act with a helmet with no vision slits. Stats looked almost identical to Monty's build and he was a blast to RP. So much fun.
The 1st character I used in an actual campaign is a Gastrosapian (homebrew) fighter with the Defensive style and Samurai subclass. Before he got shelved he had some amazing rolls that wowed everyone at the table. That campaign ended abruptly at level 3 but I was able to bring him back at another campaign at level 10. He’s currently 13 fighter/1 rogue with max Str/Cha, 16 Con/Int, 14 Wis and 13 Dex with Expertise in Intimidation and Persuasion so he has 20 in both. A chivalrous war veteran who uses jokes and a polite demeanor to mask his trauma. He also has the Dual Wielder and Inspiring Leader feats, and possibly Tough next level
playing a half orc battlemaster in dragonheist with protector and its so fun!! more focused on controlling the battlefield and keeping the others alive than doing damage. but its such a blast to play
great video guys! always wanted to make a battle master, now I can't wait :D also, I would love to see a part 2, where Joe explains how he built Pluto, because that's a very different and unique Battle Master!
Agreed! I've been watching their Drakkenheim series and admiring Joe's shield user Battle Master using reposte reaction (most used maneuver probably), precision a great deal, and of course trip/knock-down. It's been very impressive how much AC, utility and damage he's been able to dish out with such a relatively simple set of tools; "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"! :)
BattleMaster was the first 5e character build I did and went lvl 1-20 over 2 years. Stats were rolled for the character so it was easier for me to use feats that offered a +1 stat boost and tied more into the character as opposed to min/max, but I still had a blast and Sentinel sealed the deal. Absolutely a lot of options with this build and a great way to have great options without using magic.
I remember my first ever game was as a Wood Elf Battle Master fighter. A woodsman who got turned onto the wonders of civilization. He saught coin and joined a bounty business thus becoming an urban bounty hunter. Soiltary hunting was no fun so he found a team of adventurers to join. The background gave me lots of fun plot hooks and inside contacts throughout the campaign. Weapons of choice: short bow, long bow, and scimitar. I built him for sneaking, climbing, shooting, and surveying. I ended up rolling for stats and while I don't recall all the rolls. I can tell ya the Dex was 18(+2 with racials) at the start, and my lowest stat was charisma at 11. Many of my levels were in Battle Master Fighter. But when Xanathars came out in the middle of the campaign, I picked up three levels of Gloom Stalker Ranger. I actually used the disarm + pushing + manuvering combo so my teammate retreave a special ritual dagger from a cultist. Causing their big ritual to never go off. The DM had me nab a magic longbow from a temple so I could fight the villain of that arc, and it became a gift of gratitude which I used for the rest of the campaign. Good times.
I got a frontman Black Dragonborn Battle master, with str/con/cha as the main abilities. Good tank, damage dealer and social communication, really fun! Greetings from Argentina!
These character builds are wonderful! The range of application a 5E character has is tremendous! I can play the rest of my life in 5E with all the hundreds & thousands of 3rd party material that already exists! Life is always unexpected, and always when one door closes, another opens! My mind is expanding on a daily exploring the countless 3rd party material out there & I freakin love it! I'm going to Drakkenheim, then to Midgard then to the Thrones of Bones! The dam is falling around our imaginations, keep it up Dungeon Dudes, you are leaders of 5E!!!! And we love & need you more than ever! 5E forever!
New player reporting! My very first character is a Battlemaster fighter with 20 dex @ level 1 (rolled four sixes for one stat). Gonna reach level 4 soon and I can't wait to get Sharpshooter!
I'm currently building a Variant Human Battlemaster, but since I've got a novice DM, I'm foregoing the top-tier feats/fighting styles in favor of Martial Adept and Superior Technique. With just one of these, I don't know if it would truly be worth it, but when paired together, getting three Maneuvers and two Soup Dice at 1st level should be pretty fun. And getting a head-start on the Battlemaster's primary class feature is even better -- at 3rd level, having six d8s and six manuevers to choose from every short rest is going to be very exciting.
What I love with the BM Archer and the Menacing strike (With Sharpshooter potentially), is that you can frighten someone 600ft away. This is a super control tool.
Sort of related: I have an 8th level arcane trickster, with (among other things) mirror image. I'm planning on taking some fighter levels--and maybe doing the 'superior' fighting style to get at the 'riposte' maneuver. My understanding is, if I attack via riposte (likely given the mirror images) it's not part of my turn, so I can backstab again. Another reason those maneuvers are awesome. Also, I like that you presented two ways to build the battle master. That added a nice touch.
Pax Sunflame is currently a lvl 9 battle master, Interception fighting style, durable, shield master & heavy armor master, wielding a battle axe and occasionally a vicious greatsword. Need to max out her Str & Con still, been heaping those feats on first. Current maneuvers are quick toss (those javelins though!), disarming attack, riposte & parry, and Sweeping attack, which would also pair well for your polearm master Monty! surprised you didn't mention that! My next steps after buffing out those stats is to find either a magic shield so i can wield 2 handed weapons while still using the benefits of the feats and fighting style, or multiclass paladin cuz that divine smite smashing through with action surge on top... sounds pretty tasty.
For Kelly's build, I would have chosen elf or half-elf in order to get eleven accuracy. I would have also taken the disarm attack at level 3 over trip attack, then trip attack later on.
One of my most fun and mechanically powerful character i've played was a battlemaster fighter with a zweihander, it was so fun stacking up dice to one-shot monstrous enemies.
I had a DM that homebrewed that all the fighter subclasses got to take the battlemaster maneuvers, it was a cool idea and that all fighters had maneuvers and techniques. Hope something like it is included in the new One D&D.
1) Yay for Ginny Di shirt! 2) Yay for Battle Master Fighter! 3) The Battle Master is not only one of the best single-class characters, they work great as multiclassers.
I've mentioned to my group I would love to play a dex'd based fighter in a future game (when I can actually play). They usually aren't impressed. You both have given me plenty to think on. Maybe I'll just have to put my group up against one as a side quest / random encounter. /evil grin
Hello Dudes hope you're doing ok despite the ongoing O.G.L drama, anyway my first character when I started playing in February last year was a Dragonborn Battle Master Fighter called Braydax Mar'roc, a heavy armour wearing Greatsword swinging machine. Anyway when our party had downtime sessions as a homebrew rule if we were willing to spend double the price of downtime activates we could learn a feat or increase an ability score by one. I chose fey touch (charisma) took the Hex spell just to add a bit extra damage to each successful melee hit, plus misty step is good for getting next to that big enemy.
My character in our current campaign is a level 20 Battle Master that started with Unarmed Fighting Style and Tavern Brawler as an Entertainer/Gladiator background. My Maneuvers allow me to be a competent combatant that has kept the party safe while acting as the team's bard on and off the battlefield. Think circus strongman, but in gaudy decorative silver platemail he stole from a dungeon trap and had enchanted and reinforced with hidden adamantine (separate instances of improvements) just to spite that trap he face tanked once.
We just wrapped up a level 1-20 campaign where I played a Goliath Rune Knight and I took the feat that gave me battlemaster maneuvers. I used Disarming Attack on Orcus after chewing through his legendary resistances and separated him from his wand. Never have I wanted to be a full-fledged battlemaster more. That single move won us the fight!
Two feats you could also take at later levels, Fey Touched and Martial Adept. Martial adept gives you one more Superiority Die as well as two more maneuvers to use, more options isn’t a bad thing. Fey Touched gives you a one use Misty Step to get out of a bad situation and for the 1st level spell you can grab Hunter’s Mark or Hex, for more damage, or Bless to really help out with hitting those High AC enemies and making those crucial saving throws.
I want to hear others' opinions on the extra superiority die for Martial Adept. It is supposed to be a d4, but I think a battlemaster can increase it if timed correctly. The battlemaster's entry states that at the appropriate levels in fighter, ALL of your superiority dice grow in size. Therefore, I think that as long as you have taken Martial Adept before the first increase, that extra die will grow with the rest. I also think (due to the wording) the extra superiority die from Martial Adept does not grow retroactively if you take the feat after these subclass features come online. Yes, it sounds cooler just to retroactively change them anyway, but this is RAW.
@@derekstein6193 in practice, a lot of the maneuvers are mediocre. A couple are outstanding. If you’re already a battlemaster then you have the maneuvers you need for your build. I do not believe that feat combines well with the class. I’ll try to come back to this with the book in front of me to speak about dice accumulation. I believe it’s just more of what you already have. But, I’ll try to confirm. Mechanically, I think a big movement they did in 5E was consolidation of similar things. It would strike me as an extremely poor mechanic if the battlemaster has their normal dice and then one other pool of dice for the feat (which I think you can take more than once).
Bless is definitely necessary because they always say take GWM despite having no way of getting advantage. Without advantage you'll be lucky to hit with GWM 40% of the time, thats pretty bad. Bless will help, probably get you up to 55% of the time. Now Bless with advantage somehow guaranteed (2 lvls of Barbarian best way) now you're closer to 70% or even 75% depending on AC lvl and thats a good use of GWM.
@@derekstein6193 "i read the rules. But because they are a studied ass rule im ignoring them" every dm ever. Seriously this level of pure raw just doesn't matter because you will never see it in action. Its like the see invisibility spell raw bullshit
amazing to see the solid 5e content return to this channal, with the excitement in your voice and everything. I know this was recorded before the OGL events, but i truly truly hope to see more stuff like this in the near future, thank you guys
same. The rage was a bit too loud for what was presented and this content is why I'm coming to the channel. I don't doubt they could express their concerns to WotC as higher profile creators and that they could put out non-OGL required content.
I’m currently playing a battle master fighter however I’m playing a tiefling that way I can cast a smite once a day while also being charisma based so I can use the maneuver rally. The joke I made in my friend group was I thought picking a paladin is too strong will the amazing stats I rolled so I’m trying to build my own paladin. However I’ve found this build to be really fun and in a way I’m an off healer. Well one that can still dish out a ton of damage. The battle master really has it all.
I’m creating my first fighter character and I’m so torn between battle master and eldritch knight so this will really help me with imagining how the battle master can be amazing without magic
I'm currently playing a variant human battlemaster (we didn't want to switch systems in the middle of a campaign so we just canceled our DDB subscriptions but kept using 5e) and he's different than either of your characters. He's more of a duelist: took parry, riposte, and tripping attack right off the bat to weaponize those reactions. Took the sage background to get some varied proficiencies and has the ritual caster and magic initiate feats to get some magic stuff as well. Battle Master turns a fighter into almost as much of a dress-up dolls game as warlock!
I mean, polearm master is PHB, and customized lineage just means you can play whatever race you want, and don’t just have to choose the one with the best ability score improvements
I love that Trip Attack has no size restrictions. You could be a halfling with a slingshot, hitting a Storm giant with Trip Attack. If they fail the saving throw, everyone will be baffled. Even more confusingly awesome with pushing Attack and/or menacing Attack.
@@yamato9753 Pushing is also Large or smaller but Menacing is just a wisdom save. However it inflicts the frightened condition, so anything immune to that basically makes it pointless. I love the maneuvers but they do have reasonable restrictions. I would houserule that the size ones are one size larger than the player so Enlarge has more of a purpose.
There is something cool about wearing the hoodie of another RUclipsr. Love the Dnd community. Hope you and them will continue to work together, be it on Dnd or other games
Currently playing a high half elf hexblade warlock that's 8th level and plan on taking 4 levels of fighter to get battle master and taking the defense style with bait and switch, menacing attack and precision attack. Also talked to my dm about switching my subclass in warlock later to the celestial since we really need a healer and we just lost our Cleric.
I love the idea of using the unarmed fighting style, the crusher feat, and the trip and shove maneuvers. You slam the enemy onto the ground and then kick them potentially twenty feet away without even holding a weapon. To get back to you a normal humanoid would need to use the dash action.
The cool thing about the Battlemaster Archer is that you can still fight close combat without losing what makes the Battlemaster the Battlemaster. Just have a dex based weapon on your side and you can still use all those features. As far as I know, you can't do this quite the same with the Ranger and the Rogue, since both classes are focused on their specific features. The Fighter truly is the Bard under the none magic oriented Classes.
My Bugbear battle master was a lot of fun with the extra reach and a halberd, especially as DM gives us a starting feat which was polarm master. Hit them from 10ft out, attack of oportunity when they close and push them 10-15ft back. When I got sentinel I could also set their speed to 0 so they didn't even get to move in using any remaining movement.
I clicked on this video so fast that it caught my notification for this video. So I had to click on the bell just to notify me that you uploaded the video I am watching.
You know it's funny because I just had a vague subclass idea and the best way I can describe it is "Wild Magic Battle Master" and thinking about it, it's probably more effort than it's worth but I think it'd be fun. And essential my thought is your character through magic or study essentially channels great generals and warriors of the past and in some ways you'd be making multiple Battlemasters. But essentially when you roll initiative you'd also roll to see which set of maneuvers you have access to for that combat. Again it's only half thought out and probably not worth the effort of making three or more distinct sets of maneuvers but a fun thought I had.
I did the exact same crossbow build except I buffed Charisma and went 3 levels into Hexblade. Cast Darkness on myself, I have Devil's Sight, I always have advantage and can't be targeted.
Human battlemaster fighter is the complete opposite of tiefling warlock in terms of in-world rarity but they end up being about on par in terms of customization options.
No one does these sort of videos better than the Dudes - clear explanation of the basic mechanics - advantages of the feats that you can take to make the character sing - and the sheer enthusiasm for cool characters that they always bring to the table. Human Battlemasters - assemble!
Check out Treantmonk, he's amazing and these things and will give you good math examples too. I like the Dungeon Dudes but they say things like "take GWM and you'll do amazing damage" but don't go into how often you'll miss from GWM because you have no way of getting advantage and if you try to use Precision Attack to help you'll run out of Superiority dice in 2-3 rounds easily. So I do like their videos but feel they're a bit too generic and don't get into actual scenarios and obstacles you'll see while playing which Treantmonk will go through in fine detail.
@Dave I follow Treantmonk as well. You're quite right, Chris is more technical, and his builds are more for number crunchers. But I have an 11th level half orc barbarian with GWM and a greataxe that I've played from 5th lvl, and thanks to acquiring a +2 magic weapon and above normal max 20 strength, I've never felt lacking with GWM attacks. The character has +13 to hit. I know that's exceptional, but I don't think attacking with -5 penalty at tier 2 of play is as great a problem as is often thought. Monster ACs average around 16-17 at the same tier, and your normal to hit at 9th lvl would be something like +10 assuming 20 ST and a +1 weapon
@@rantdmc Well Barbarian's do get Reckless Attack which was part of my point that Fighters lack guarantee advantage. Certainly there are opportunities to get advantage other ways, and there will be times you fight a mob of lower AC creatures, but in your example if they have a +10 to hit and they're going against a 16 AC, with GWM that would give them a 50% chance to hit. If it was 17 AC it would be a 45% chance to hit. I dunno, maybe some don't mind those odds, i'm just one of those guys who hates missing lol
The Battlemaster-fighter i am currently running in a campaign is basically the third prong to your proposals: A purely defensively oriented warforged-fighter with one level of barbarian (to tap into Rage). According to his backstory he and his kin were created as soldiers in a war of attrition against an undead menace that had at that point been threatening the realm of hte living for centuries. As such he was built to last - including Shield Master feat at Lv4 And during next level up he is going to grab the first of two levels of wizard - war magic to be exact. Everything to bolster his defensive capabilities. And although i generally dislike Tasha's Cauldron of Everything for all the power-creep that came with it (twilight cleric for instance), I do approve of the out-of-combat uses for the superiority dice that were added in it - both of which (Commanding Presence and Tactical Assessment) my warforged grabbed at Lv 7 fighter, which also makes sense since he has at this point become the leader of a slowly growing mercenary outfit. His initial maneuvers are slightly different from yours, however... Precision Attack, Riposte, and Bait&Switch. The latter of which basically is rotating fresh troops to the front (or squishy party members away from the front) without interference. And Riposte is just too useful to pass up for a defensive fighter which thanks to high AC is going to be missed a lot. Moreover, Trip and Pushing attack are fairly redundant to him anyway thanks to the perks offered by the Shield Master feat
I played a Silver Dragonborn Battlemaster Fighter who Dual Weilded a Longsword (+1 coldiron) and a Flail (+1, +1d6 force damage). At level 7, I basically soloed a young red dragon because of Trip, Riposte, and Rally.
I'm going to be playing a Minotaur battlemaster fighter in my next session. Super excited to use my maneuvers and my racial hammering horns to really control the Battlefield
My first D&D character is a fighter battlemaster. Though he is homebrew because of certain "body modifications" that he has to have done to himself to keep him functional as a adventurer/Mercenary/Monster hunter.
I'd love to know what you guys would consider the ultimate multi class archer build. I want to create an Eladrin Elf Samurai fight 12, 3 levels of gloomstalker and 5 levels of assassin rogue for a heck of a sneaky archer
Yeah, it's to the point where the maneuvers should have been baked into the core class, IMO. Other systems have options like that to keep things from getting boring. E.g. Pathfinder 2e. In stark contrast is the Champion Fighter, which is the 'I attack' class with no bells and whistles other than being good at standard attacks.
@@XoRandomGuyoX pf2e is sadly not all that better. Since most physical maneuvers like tripping and shoving affect your attack penalty. Remember, even in 5e anyone can do those things for the exchange of an attack. Battlemaster can do them without losing an attack, and thats what makes them nice.
Its really a meh subclass. You'd be surprised how quickly you run out of superiority dice, and if you're not short resting after every battle you'll become a fighter with no subclass quite quickly. Also not sure why they always say take GWM when you have no good way to get advantage, should really take 2 levels of Barbarian if you want GWM to hit at least 50% of the time.
one of my favorite combo builds, is human fighter/rogue.. 3 levels in rogue (inquisitive, or assassin, after 6 levels of fighter). I still wear plate tho.. so it feels a bit mandalorian, but yes, that action surge with sharpshooter/crossbow expert.. then reset on a short rest and do it again.. lol
I have a character made (not currently playing tho) that is a Human Battle Master. However mine is a more versatile and defensive build, and is actually Dual Wielding instead of going for big damage. But also, I rolled really well for stats, and will essentially be taking only Feats for fighting
This video was recorded before the OGL events.
I saw your previous video, so I'm not bothered :) 😀
5e is a good game, regardless of what the higher executives at WotC are doing with the OGL.
That being said, the popularity of 5e has a lot to do with the OGL and all the free advertisement it provides for WotC.
Please do not stop doing D&D content.
No need to apologize.
I hope they fix it it makes me so sad
It was so great to hear the joy in your voices that was missing (and rightfully so) in the OGL videos. You make it, I'll watch it. Any game you wanna talk about is cool with me. Just great to see you having fun again. And yes I know you recorded this prior to the OGL stuff.
important note with disarming attack: if you're a melee build, you can use your free object interaction to kick the item across the floor.
Oh, thats cool.
how far though?
@@starsited529 uh... roll me a strength check?
Crazy timing. I'm playing a fighter for the first time ever, and our campaign is starting this week. My first character was a sorcerer and I have done full caster classes only in my 7 years of playing so I definitely need some tips on how to play without relying on spells so much.
Ranged Build: Variant Human / Archery / Fighter / Battle Master (precision attack)/ Crossbow Expert / Sharpshooter (lvl. 4)/ DEX+CON / handcross... Become John Wick
There's a strong case for going Dex over Strength, making the Parry ability really viable. Not to mention the option to use a bow, or even main a bow with the Archery Style if you want
DONT FORGET ABOUT THE DODGE/RUN ACTIONS. Sometimes closing the distance or surviving is better than that consistent damage. Also “riposte” is quite good for battle master.
@@Joker-yw9hlIn a game with RNG characters, I played a Tabaxi paladin, and they were so maneuverable and could go anywhere on the field.
Gotta say, I'm happy for the positive feedback you guys received on the video about diversifying the content in the channel. Good to know you guys crossed that important threshold and the channel no longer depends on covering a single game to survive.
I think that remains or be seen. D&D has the popularity and the mass market appeal. How many channels are there for it? How many channels are there devoted to .. whatever other random game they may jump to?
And, as these channels jump ship … some small number of people will go with them. 5-30% of the sub count or something. That’s great.
Maybe that’s millions of people leaving D&D when this is all said and done. That won’t be millions of people into the same next system. That will be millions of people spread out over a dozen systems each growing in popularity … but you COULD be watching videos on these other games already and you’re not. You’re here on a D&D channel.
So, is GURPS gets a million people and shadow run gets a million people and some super hero game gets a couple hundred thousand …. There will be less overlap. Fewer people watching. Less interest from products that may want to give them money.
Lots of good ttrpgs, but dnd has built some nostalgic lore through novels, comics and campaign settings over the years which other games are years/decades away from matching
I only play 5e so I’m all about that content. Have fun, but just know the current WotC doesn’t effect my interest in that game.
It looks like it’s been a full month since they’ve done anything other than D&D. Does anyone know of any channels who actually left D&D? I’m curious to see their video metrics.
Im so happy about some good old fashioned dnd content
All the drama is saddening. It will pass, hopefully...
@gametangia I know, right? Love it! This content is why I support this channel at the Legendary Tier level... the Dudes are awesome!
This was the first class and subclass I played in 5E. I loved it! I picked up GWM, had a flametongue greatsword, and multi-classed two levels into barbarian and did TONS of damage and felt like a true valiant fighter out there kicking butt and saving people, it was awesome! 🔥⚔️
The Ginny di sweater is really cute! I made the decision to play a straight up battlemaster fighter, no multiclass, no nothing. I did make intelligence my third highest stat even though mechanically everything told me not to. It's good for investigation and role play and makes sense if your character is a bit of a tactician. But otherwise I'm a big half-orc pole-arm wielding sentinel fighter. It's so much goddamn fun.
Having an OK Intelligence and dumping Wis/Cha seems like the kind of “technically suboptimal” play that’s probably worth making if it fits the character. I keep being tempted by the idea of a Path of the Beast Barbarian who was a city-dwelling charlatan and crackpot alchemist who drank a concoction that became the source of their powers, rather than some ancient tribal knowledge. I think that’d be a lot of fun, a very Jekyll and Hyde or Hank McCoy Beast sort of character.
Glad to see some of the usual cheer back outta the dudes
My first character was a Human Battlemaster Fighter with Dual Wielder Feat (not the strongest, but cool as hell). He was Dex based that made me just as good with bow as sword. Parry worked well with me and disarm attack. Later on manoeuvring strike saved the wizard so much. His crowning moment was critical hitting Tiamat with a dragon slaying arrow and then finishing her off with an action surge, one turn away from a TPK.
I have a soft spot for dual-wielder even if it's rarely optimal. I will say that if your GM is very generous with magic weapons it becomes better than default optimization math might imply, though IDK if it still trumps other styles.
I also like that Dual-Wielder lets you nova harder as a melee user with on-hit effects. Paladins are probably the biggest case for this (triple smite, although you could also use your BA for a smite spell and double up on one hit, but both have pros and cons), but I presume this applies to BM too, having not played one.
My most used maneuver playing battle master archerr was goading attack. It's great teamwork and I'm honestly surpirsed it wasn't in the first picks. You're far away and you give the target disadvantage to attack anyone but you until your next turn, plus it targets Wisdom, which is often low for the melee attackers that you'll be using this on
Genuinely genius. I had to check if Goading Attack required a melee attack or a weapon attack because that strategy sounded too good, and it is weapon attack. That’s awesome.
@@Mass0404 yeah a lot of battlemaster techniques are fucking ludicrous because WotC probably pictured someone using them in a melee fight in most cases but then figured out that making them melee only would not be fun in most cases.
That's menacing attack but worse. Same save, gives disadvantage on ALL attacks including against you, and it can't move closer.
@@steave435 Fair, except menacing imposes frightened condition, which is the condition that more creatures are immune to than any other besides poisoned and charmed. I just looked it up and 1/8 of monsters are just straight up immuned to frightened, which doesn't apply to goading.
Also, frightened requires them to see you to keep effect, while when I play ranged, I move a lot especially around corners so prefer not to be seen
Absolutely thrilled for this - I’ve been searching your videos (and others) for the best tips about building a battle master. I lean heavily on spells for RP and combat prowess, so I wanted to explore a character who could be maximally powerful as a straight fighter with no spells. Keep up the great work!
Hi dudes just stopping by to say that while I love y’all and want to support y’all moving forward it just doesn’t hit the same to watch 5e content. So I won’t be watching this video but will be watching all non-d&d content to make it easy for y’all to choose non 5e topics. Appreciate you both so much!
I had an Eloquence Bard, with 3 lvls of Fighter to get Battlemaster, took Crossbow Expert, learned Find Steed, and I just galloped around creating pin cushions, singing songs and spreading Inspiration. Lots of fun, I miss him.
I'm so glad to see all of you doing 5e content again despite everything. I was wondering if you could do how to play and armor artificer next?
I think they have done that one.
didn’t they do that already?
@@Hazel-xl8in Also playing an armor artificer is very straight up tbh...
Only one of the options at each tier is good anyway
Yes! So happy you are still doing and posting D&D content! :)
This was filmed before the whole ogl crisis, probably. They don’t address it at all which makes me think this was just a video that had been waiting for release. That said, D&D belongs to the tables. Wizards can’t stop you from using resources you already have to play 5e.
@@deschaingames1851 Of course, I really don’t care about the OGL stuff, it doesn’t affect me or anyone I play with, I like D&D and want the Dudes to do D&D content.
Your breakdowns helped me pick this class for my nomadic battle master! Every fighter subclass seriously lives in it's shadow!
"The Blind Knight". Variant Human Polearm fighter with the entertainer background. He was a Cavalier for laughs and when performing would wield a spear and shield. He had the blind fighting fighting style and would purposely blind himself as part of his act with a helmet with no vision slits. Stats looked almost identical to Monty's build and he was a blast to RP. So much fun.
The 1st character I used in an actual campaign is a Gastrosapian (homebrew) fighter with the Defensive style and Samurai subclass. Before he got shelved he had some amazing rolls that wowed everyone at the table. That campaign ended abruptly at level 3 but I was able to bring him back at another campaign at level 10. He’s currently 13 fighter/1 rogue with max Str/Cha, 16 Con/Int, 14 Wis and 13 Dex with Expertise in Intimidation and Persuasion so he has 20 in both. A chivalrous war veteran who uses jokes and a polite demeanor to mask his trauma. He also has the Dual Wielder and Inspiring Leader feats, and possibly Tough next level
playing a half orc battlemaster in dragonheist with protector and its so fun!! more focused on controlling the battlefield and keeping the others alive than doing damage. but its such a blast to play
great video guys!
always wanted to make a battle master, now I can't wait :D
also, I would love to see a part 2, where Joe explains how he built Pluto, because that's a very different and unique Battle Master!
Agreed! I've been watching their Drakkenheim series and admiring Joe's shield user Battle Master using reposte reaction (most used maneuver probably), precision a great deal, and of course trip/knock-down. It's been very impressive how much AC, utility and damage he's been able to dish out with such a relatively simple set of tools; "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"! :)
I like Goading Attack on the Archer Battle Master. Sometimes, you might not even be in reach of your target's next attack.
BattleMaster was the first 5e character build I did and went lvl 1-20 over 2 years. Stats were rolled for the character so it was easier for me to use feats that offered a +1 stat boost and tied more into the character as opposed to min/max, but I still had a blast and Sentinel sealed the deal. Absolutely a lot of options with this build and a great way to have great options without using magic.
I love the channel. Hope you continue with D&D videos though since you are both a solid reason why I have such great characters!
If they follow the results of the recent poll they'll still be doing D&D content they'll just be doing content for other games along with it
I plan to play a harengon battle master in the near future so this is a huge help, keep up the amazing work!
Been playing a battle master rogue for awhile now and love all the ways I can get sneak attack on my reaction. And crazy high AC to boot
I remember my first ever game was as a Wood Elf Battle Master fighter. A woodsman who got turned onto the wonders of civilization. He saught coin and joined a bounty business thus becoming an urban bounty hunter. Soiltary hunting was no fun so he found a team of adventurers to join. The background gave me lots of fun plot hooks and inside contacts throughout the campaign.
Weapons of choice: short bow, long bow, and scimitar. I built him for sneaking, climbing, shooting, and surveying. I ended up rolling for stats and while I don't recall all the rolls. I can tell ya the Dex was 18(+2 with racials) at the start, and my lowest stat was charisma at 11. Many of my levels were in Battle Master Fighter. But when Xanathars came out in the middle of the campaign, I picked up three levels of Gloom Stalker Ranger.
I actually used the disarm + pushing + manuvering combo so my teammate retreave a special ritual dagger from a cultist. Causing their big ritual to never go off.
The DM had me nab a magic longbow from a temple so I could fight the villain of that arc, and it became a gift of gratitude which I used for the rest of the campaign. Good times.
The rally battle maneuver has literally saved my party mates so many times. Tempt hp is a super cool mechanic
I got a frontman Black Dragonborn Battle master, with str/con/cha as the main abilities.
Good tank, damage dealer and social communication, really fun!
Greetings from Argentina!
Thanks Dudes for another great character build guide.
These character builds are wonderful! The range of application a 5E character has is tremendous! I can play the rest of my life in 5E with all the hundreds & thousands of 3rd party material that already exists! Life is always unexpected, and always when one door closes, another opens! My mind is expanding on a daily exploring the countless 3rd party material out there & I freakin love it! I'm going to Drakkenheim, then to Midgard then to the Thrones of Bones! The dam is falling around our imaginations, keep it up Dungeon Dudes, you are leaders of 5E!!!! And we love & need you more than ever! 5E forever!
New player reporting! My very first character is a Battlemaster fighter with 20 dex @ level 1 (rolled four sixes for one stat). Gonna reach level 4 soon and I can't wait to get Sharpshooter!
I'm currently building a Variant Human Battlemaster, but since I've got a novice DM, I'm foregoing the top-tier feats/fighting styles in favor of Martial Adept and Superior Technique. With just one of these, I don't know if it would truly be worth it, but when paired together, getting three Maneuvers and two Soup Dice at 1st level should be pretty fun. And getting a head-start on the Battlemaster's primary class feature is even better -- at 3rd level, having six d8s and six manuevers to choose from every short rest is going to be very exciting.
Finally back on track! Glad to see the builds rolling back in. Would love to see your take on the Echo Knight!
What I love with the BM Archer and the Menacing strike (With Sharpshooter potentially), is that you can frighten someone 600ft away. This is a super control tool.
Sort of related: I have an 8th level arcane trickster, with (among other things) mirror image. I'm planning on taking some fighter levels--and maybe doing the 'superior' fighting style to get at the 'riposte' maneuver. My understanding is, if I attack via riposte (likely given the mirror images) it's not part of my turn, so I can backstab again.
Another reason those maneuvers are awesome.
Also, I like that you presented two ways to build the battle master. That added a nice touch.
Pax Sunflame is currently a lvl 9 battle master, Interception fighting style, durable, shield master & heavy armor master, wielding a battle axe and occasionally a vicious greatsword. Need to max out her Str & Con still, been heaping those feats on first. Current maneuvers are quick toss (those javelins though!), disarming attack, riposte & parry, and Sweeping attack, which would also pair well for your polearm master Monty! surprised you didn't mention that! My next steps after buffing out those stats is to find either a magic shield so i can wield 2 handed weapons while still using the benefits of the feats and fighting style, or multiclass paladin cuz that divine smite smashing through with action surge on top... sounds pretty tasty.
For Kelly's build, I would have chosen elf or half-elf in order to get eleven accuracy. I would have also taken the disarm attack at level 3 over trip attack, then trip attack later on.
I love your dnd content, and I hope you two keep doing dnd videos!🖤
They still will, though it's no longer gonna be the only topic
One of my most fun and mechanically powerful character i've played was a battlemaster fighter with a zweihander, it was so fun stacking up dice to one-shot monstrous enemies.
I had a DM that homebrewed that all the fighter subclasses got to take the battlemaster maneuvers, it was a cool idea and that all fighters had maneuvers and techniques. Hope something like it is included in the new One D&D.
Currently playing the Call of the Netherdeep module as a Grung, Dex-based, frontline, Battle Master Fighter and my god is it fun.
1) Yay for Ginny Di shirt!
2) Yay for Battle Master Fighter!
3) The Battle Master is not only one of the best single-class characters, they work great as multiclassers.
I've mentioned to my group I would love to play a dex'd based fighter in a future game (when I can actually play). They usually aren't impressed. You both have given me plenty to think on. Maybe I'll just have to put my group up against one as a side quest / random encounter. /evil grin
Hello Dudes hope you're doing ok despite the ongoing O.G.L drama, anyway my first character when I started playing in February last year was a Dragonborn Battle Master Fighter called Braydax Mar'roc, a heavy armour wearing Greatsword swinging machine. Anyway when our party had downtime sessions as a homebrew rule if we were willing to spend double the price of downtime activates we could learn a feat or increase an ability score by one. I chose fey touch (charisma) took the Hex spell just to add a bit extra damage to each successful melee hit, plus misty step is good for getting next to that big enemy.
My character in our current campaign is a level 20 Battle Master that started with Unarmed Fighting Style and Tavern Brawler as an Entertainer/Gladiator background. My Maneuvers allow me to be a competent combatant that has kept the party safe while acting as the team's bard on and off the battlefield. Think circus strongman, but in gaudy decorative silver platemail he stole from a dungeon trap and had enchanted and reinforced with hidden adamantine (separate instances of improvements) just to spite that trap he face tanked once.
Love this video so much. I play a Leion Battlemaster fighter in the curse of strahd campaign that I'm doing with friends
We just wrapped up a level 1-20 campaign where I played a Goliath Rune Knight and I took the feat that gave me battlemaster maneuvers. I used Disarming Attack on Orcus after chewing through his legendary resistances and separated him from his wand. Never have I wanted to be a full-fledged battlemaster more. That single move won us the fight!
Try a Goblin for the Archer build, being able to disengage and hide as a bonus action is great
Two feats you could also take at later levels, Fey Touched and Martial Adept. Martial adept gives you one more Superiority Die as well as two more maneuvers to use, more options isn’t a bad thing. Fey Touched gives you a one use Misty Step to get out of a bad situation and for the 1st level spell you can grab Hunter’s Mark or Hex, for more damage, or Bless to really help out with hitting those High AC enemies and making those crucial saving throws.
Just curious, which maneuvers would you want to take at that level given the other maneuvers you would know at that time?
I want to hear others' opinions on the extra superiority die for Martial Adept. It is supposed to be a d4, but I think a battlemaster can increase it if timed correctly.
The battlemaster's entry states that at the appropriate levels in fighter, ALL of your superiority dice grow in size. Therefore, I think that as long as you have taken Martial Adept before the first increase, that extra die will grow with the rest. I also think (due to the wording) the extra superiority die from Martial Adept does not grow retroactively if you take the feat after these subclass features come online. Yes, it sounds cooler just to retroactively change them anyway, but this is RAW.
@@derekstein6193 in practice, a lot of the maneuvers are mediocre. A couple are outstanding. If you’re already a battlemaster then you have the maneuvers you need for your build.
I do not believe that feat combines well with the class.
I’ll try to come back to this with the book in front of me to speak about dice accumulation. I believe it’s just more of what you already have. But, I’ll try to confirm. Mechanically, I think a big movement they did in 5E was consolidation of similar things. It would strike me as an extremely poor mechanic if the battlemaster has their normal dice and then one other pool of dice for the feat (which I think you can take more than once).
Bless is definitely necessary because they always say take GWM despite having no way of getting advantage. Without advantage you'll be lucky to hit with GWM 40% of the time, thats pretty bad. Bless will help, probably get you up to 55% of the time. Now Bless with advantage somehow guaranteed (2 lvls of Barbarian best way) now you're closer to 70% or even 75% depending on AC lvl and thats a good use of GWM.
@@derekstein6193 "i read the rules. But because they are a studied ass rule im ignoring them" every dm ever. Seriously this level of pure raw just doesn't matter because you will never see it in action. Its like the see invisibility spell raw bullshit
amazing to see the solid 5e content return to this channal, with the excitement in your voice and everything. I know this was recorded before the OGL events, but i truly truly hope to see more stuff like this in the near future, thank you guys
same. The rage was a bit too loud for what was presented and this content is why I'm coming to the channel. I don't doubt they could express their concerns to WotC as higher profile creators and that they could put out non-OGL required content.
@@shawnmayo8210 lets be honest... the rage was way too loud for what was presented, and it has been way too loud throughout the community
I’m currently playing a battle master fighter however I’m playing a tiefling that way I can cast a smite once a day while also being charisma based so I can use the maneuver rally. The joke I made in my friend group was I thought picking a paladin is too strong will the amazing stats I rolled so I’m trying to build my own paladin. However I’ve found this build to be really fun and in a way I’m an off healer. Well one that can still dish out a ton of damage. The battle master really has it all.
I’m creating my first fighter character and I’m so torn between battle master and eldritch knight so this will really help me with imagining how the battle master can be amazing without magic
Both are a lot of fun. The echo knight is pretty amazing as well
I love seeing the GinnyDi hoodie. We must show solidarity as DnD players and build each other up. Nice touch, Dudes
Regardless of the timing, congrats on over 401k YT subs!
I'm currently playing a variant human battlemaster (we didn't want to switch systems in the middle of a campaign so we just canceled our DDB subscriptions but kept using 5e) and he's different than either of your characters. He's more of a duelist: took parry, riposte, and tripping attack right off the bat to weaponize those reactions. Took the sage background to get some varied proficiencies and has the ritual caster and magic initiate feats to get some magic stuff as well. Battle Master turns a fighter into almost as much of a dress-up dolls game as warlock!
I've played Gloomstalker ranger/Battlemaster fighter multiclass and it was bliss.
Dungeon Dudes Sacred Commandments
1. Thou shalt take polearm master.
2. Thou shalt take the Tasha’s class options.
3. Customise thine lineage.
Good ol power creep. 🤣
I mean, polearm master is PHB, and customized lineage just means you can play whatever race you want, and don’t just have to choose the one with the best ability score improvements
It’s really nice to see a normal video. I will always support you guys but the constant OGL drama is just making me sad
I love that Trip Attack has no size restrictions.
You could be a halfling with a slingshot, hitting a Storm giant with Trip Attack.
If they fail the saving throw, everyone will be baffled.
Even more confusingly awesome with pushing Attack and/or menacing Attack.
Trip attack does have a size restriction though sadly. Creatures of Large or smaller are affected.
@@FireTalon24 damn.
Would've been a cool David vs goliath Story there.
But do the other maneuvers work?
@@yamato9753 Pushing is also Large or smaller but Menacing is just a wisdom save. However it inflicts the frightened condition, so anything immune to that basically makes it pointless.
I love the maneuvers but they do have reasonable restrictions. I would houserule that the size ones are one size larger than the player so Enlarge has more of a purpose.
I would consider Goading Attack for both. It's also on a weapon attack and giving DisAd. on attack rolls from a distance is great.
There is something cool about wearing the hoodie of another RUclipsr. Love the Dnd community. Hope you and them will continue to work together, be it on Dnd or other games
@DungeonDudes.......... What is this?!
I'm already nostagic about this energy and positivity.
My very first Character was a Dwarf Battle Master, played him from lvl 12 to 20. Still my favorite many years later.
Currently playing a high half elf hexblade warlock that's 8th level and plan on taking 4 levels of fighter to get battle master and taking the defense style with bait and switch, menacing attack and precision attack. Also talked to my dm about switching my subclass in warlock later to the celestial since we really need a healer and we just lost our Cleric.
Crossbow expert does not grant you an additional attack through your Bonus action. Unless you are wielding a hand crossbow.
I love the idea of using the unarmed fighting style, the crusher feat, and the trip and shove maneuvers. You slam the enemy onto the ground and then kick them potentially twenty feet away without even holding a weapon. To get back to you a normal humanoid would need to use the dash action.
The cool thing about the Battlemaster Archer is that you can still fight close combat without losing what makes the Battlemaster the Battlemaster.
Just have a dex based weapon on your side and you can still use all those features. As far as I know, you can't do this quite the same with the Ranger and the Rogue, since both classes are focused on their specific features.
The Fighter truly is the Bard under the none magic oriented Classes.
I would love to see you guys play both these characters together in a one-shot.
My Bugbear battle master was a lot of fun with the extra reach and a halberd, especially as DM gives us a starting feat which was polarm master. Hit them from 10ft out, attack of oportunity when they close and push them 10-15ft back. When I got sentinel I could also set their speed to 0 so they didn't even get to move in using any remaining movement.
Of course the trip attack also reduced their movement getting up, but didn't often use it often as 3 of the 4 other party members were ranged.
I clicked on this video so fast that it caught my notification for this video. So I had to click on the bell just to notify me that you uploaded the video I am watching.
great explanations and full of tales of experience, ehehe. Maybe one of your best videos even, u guys! :) keep it up, this is real promising.
I made a Variant Human Battle Master who wields a warpick and shield
Love that you’re wearing a GinnyD sweater.
New drinking game. Take a drink everytime Kelly says "from a distance"
Thank you for still making 5e content!
nice finally some more classic dnd content and not always this ogl topic
You know it's funny because I just had a vague subclass idea and the best way I can describe it is "Wild Magic Battle Master" and thinking about it, it's probably more effort than it's worth but I think it'd be fun. And essential my thought is your character through magic or study essentially channels great generals and warriors of the past and in some ways you'd be making multiple Battlemasters. But essentially when you roll initiative you'd also roll to see which set of maneuvers you have access to for that combat. Again it's only half thought out and probably not worth the effort of making three or more distinct sets of maneuvers but a fun thought I had.
I still remember that I shock my dm when I got a 33 AC with bait and switch and turn it into a 39 AC with Defensive Duelist.
I did the exact same crossbow build except I buffed Charisma and went 3 levels into Hexblade. Cast Darkness on myself, I have Devil's Sight, I always have advantage and can't be targeted.
Human battlemaster fighter is the complete opposite of tiefling warlock in terms of in-world rarity but they end up being about on par in terms of customization options.
No one does these sort of videos better than the Dudes - clear explanation of the basic mechanics - advantages of the feats that you can take to make the character sing - and the sheer enthusiasm for cool characters that they always bring to the table. Human Battlemasters - assemble!
Check out Treantmonk, he's amazing and these things and will give you good math examples too. I like the Dungeon Dudes but they say things like "take GWM and you'll do amazing damage" but don't go into how often you'll miss from GWM because you have no way of getting advantage and if you try to use Precision Attack to help you'll run out of Superiority dice in 2-3 rounds easily. So I do like their videos but feel they're a bit too generic and don't get into actual scenarios and obstacles you'll see while playing which Treantmonk will go through in fine detail.
@Dave I follow Treantmonk as well. You're quite right, Chris is more technical, and his builds are more for number crunchers. But I have an 11th level half orc barbarian with GWM and a greataxe that I've played from 5th lvl, and thanks to acquiring a +2 magic weapon and above normal max 20 strength, I've never felt lacking with GWM attacks. The character has +13 to hit. I know that's exceptional, but I don't think attacking with -5 penalty at tier 2 of play is as great a problem as is often thought. Monster ACs average around 16-17 at the same tier, and your normal to hit at 9th lvl would be something like +10 assuming 20 ST and a +1 weapon
@@rantdmc Well Barbarian's do get Reckless Attack which was part of my point that Fighters lack guarantee advantage. Certainly there are opportunities to get advantage other ways, and there will be times you fight a mob of lower AC creatures, but in your example if they have a +10 to hit and they're going against a 16 AC, with GWM that would give them a 50% chance to hit. If it was 17 AC it would be a 45% chance to hit. I dunno, maybe some don't mind those odds, i'm just one of those guys who hates missing lol
The Battlemaster-fighter i am currently running in a campaign is basically the third prong to your proposals: A purely defensively oriented warforged-fighter with one level of barbarian (to tap into Rage). According to his backstory he and his kin were created as soldiers in a war of attrition against an undead menace that had at that point been threatening the realm of hte living for centuries. As such he was built to last - including Shield Master feat at Lv4 And during next level up he is going to grab the first of two levels of wizard - war magic to be exact. Everything to bolster his defensive capabilities.
And although i generally dislike Tasha's Cauldron of Everything for all the power-creep that came with it (twilight cleric for instance), I do approve of the out-of-combat uses for the superiority dice that were added in it - both of which (Commanding Presence and Tactical Assessment) my warforged grabbed at Lv 7 fighter, which also makes sense since he has at this point become the leader of a slowly growing mercenary outfit.
His initial maneuvers are slightly different from yours, however... Precision Attack, Riposte, and Bait&Switch. The latter of which basically is rotating fresh troops to the front (or squishy party members away from the front) without interference. And Riposte is just too useful to pass up for a defensive fighter which thanks to high AC is going to be missed a lot. Moreover, Trip and Pushing attack are fairly redundant to him anyway thanks to the perks offered by the Shield Master feat
I played a Silver Dragonborn Battlemaster Fighter who Dual Weilded a Longsword (+1 coldiron) and a Flail (+1, +1d6 force damage). At level 7, I basically soloed a young red dragon because of Trip, Riposte, and Rally.
I'm going to be playing a Minotaur battlemaster fighter in my next session. Super excited to use my maneuvers and my racial hammering horns to really control the Battlefield
*Count Dooku voice* "I've been looking forward to this."
I like half-orc for unexpected archer survivability. Some kind of elf or half-elf for Elven accuracy.
My first D&D character is a fighter battlemaster. Though he is homebrew because of certain "body modifications" that he has to have done to himself to keep him functional as a adventurer/Mercenary/Monster hunter.
I'd love to know what you guys would consider the ultimate multi class archer build. I want to create an Eladrin Elf Samurai fight 12, 3 levels of gloomstalker and 5 levels of assassin rogue for a heck of a sneaky archer
My very first character in 5e was a sword and board fighter, the versatility you can have between feats and maneuvers is amazing
Battlemaster sounds so cool. If all martial characters got these kinds of options, I doubt people would complain about martials vs casters.
I have honestly considered giving every martial (monks, rouges, fighters, barbarians) access to battle master maneuvers for this reason
Yeah, it's to the point where the maneuvers should have been baked into the core class, IMO. Other systems have options like that to keep things from getting boring. E.g. Pathfinder 2e. In stark contrast is the Champion Fighter, which is the 'I attack' class with no bells and whistles other than being good at standard attacks.
@@XoRandomGuyoX pf2e is sadly not all that better. Since most physical maneuvers like tripping and shoving affect your attack penalty. Remember, even in 5e anyone can do those things for the exchange of an attack. Battlemaster can do them without losing an attack, and thats what makes them nice.
@@Now_Its_Orange check out laserllama. They have awesome manuevers for all martial classes.
Its really a meh subclass. You'd be surprised how quickly you run out of superiority dice, and if you're not short resting after every battle you'll become a fighter with no subclass quite quickly. Also not sure why they always say take GWM when you have no good way to get advantage, should really take 2 levels of Barbarian if you want GWM to hit at least 50% of the time.
omg I love that Ginny Di hoodie! 💙
one of my favorite combo builds, is human fighter/rogue.. 3 levels in rogue (inquisitive, or assassin, after 6 levels of fighter). I still wear plate tho.. so it feels a bit mandalorian, but yes, that action surge with sharpshooter/crossbow expert.. then reset on a short rest and do it again.. lol
I have a character made (not currently playing tho) that is a Human Battle Master. However mine is a more versatile and defensive build, and is actually Dual Wielding instead of going for big damage. But also, I rolled really well for stats, and will essentially be taking only Feats for fighting
You did a good job on this video.
I'm not sure but it sounded like you were talking about multiple maneuvers on a single attack which you can't do. Like quick toss and trip.
Commanders strike with a rogue or great weapon fighter barbarian for one attack is awesome and if you have two rogues even more nasty
thank you for sharing this video and reminding us of the fun of playing D&D . . . feels great to follow your inspiring creativity and fun commentary!
Oh shoot 16 seconds, guess my pc was as excited for the upload as me
Good to see, both of you still making dnd content.