Inevitability
2014-09-21, 03:02 PM
Know Your Enemy: A Fighter's Handbook
This handbook has been put on indefinite hold. If anyone wants to make a new one, go ahead. I'm sorry. :frown:
http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/43/r169_457x256_8567_Dwarf_vs_Hook_2d_fantasy_dwarf_w arrior_monster_battle_picture_image_digital_art.jp g
Picture is not mine. If it was, it'd probably be horribly deformed or something.
“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Ah, the fighter. One of the most iconic D&D classes for sure. Nowadays people may talk about paladins and rangers and barbarians and whatnot, but all those classes have their roots in the good old fighter. And while these classes get shoehorned in certain roles, the fighter can specialize in a wide array of roles. Want to be an axe-wielding dwarf juggernaut charging through the enemy's lines? Fighter. Want to be a deft elven archer picking of his foes from afar? Fighter. Want to be a mystic human warrior who also possesses mighty magic? Fighter. Want to be a charismatic half-elf general, commanding his allies and able to negionate as well as he fights? Fighter. About time this class got a guide dedicated to it, don't you think?
Selling Points: Why be a fighter?
Fighters fight. And boy, they're good at it. Twice as many attacks as the other classes, a fighting style of your choice, self-healing ability and Action Surge? Sold.
Fighters are versatile. I already said it, but I'm going to do it again. Fighters can be built in a lot of ways, each of which plays in its own way. Barbarians and Paladins are pretty much forced into a certain niche, but you can do what you want with your fighter.
Fighters are simple. Give a player a fighter, and even if he has never played D&D before, he'll probably be able to do something with it. At the same time, that player isn't left with an one-trick-pony when he starts to learn the system better.
Color Coding:
Light Blue: Yes please. This is great, and you probably want it. This rating will also be used for things that are mandatory for a certain build.
Blue: Quite good, and something most of you'll want to consider.
Black: Taking this won't hurt, but looking for something better won't either. Take it if you like to.
Purple Purple is Evil (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodColorsEvilColors) and that's no exception here. Think carefully before picking this.
Red Above comment on color applies, except it's even worse here. Avoid it like you'd avoid a rust monster with your +5 Sword of Slaying.
Note that these ratings may differ depending on campaign, setting or build. Moreover, all ratings are meant for Strength-based fighters unless noted otherwise.
And always remember; if you like a feature/race/option, just pick it!
Fighter Basics:
1d10 HD: Second best in the game, next to the barbarians 1d12. Enough to be a good tank, especially when combined with your high AC. Still, your focus on stats other than constitution makes me want this was more.
All Armor and Weapon proficiencies: Sweeeeet. All weapons, all armor, and shields. Only the paladin gets the same. The only reason this isn't light blue is that there are other ways to get those proficiencies.
Saving Throws: Constitution is good for a lot of things, from breath weapons to unholy magic. Strength is useful for standing your ground. Good enough, especially when compared to what other classes get.
Fighting Roles
When you want to build a fighter, there are a couple of things to consider. First of all, what ability score are you going to use? And how will you be fighting?
The first question is: are you going to use strength or dexterity? Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so think carefully.
Strength:
-You can use more weapons. So far there are 31 weapons strength-based characters can use, versus 13 that a dexterity-based fighter would use.
-You deal more damage. All of the heavy-hitting weapons, such as mauls and greatswords, can't be used with dexterity.
-You aren't slowed down by heavy armor. In a game where charging doesn't exist, speed is more important than it may seem.
-Athletics can be used for climbing and swimming, both checks that are likely to come up.
Dexterity:
-Initiative. Going first means extra attacks. Extra attacks mean easier fight.
-Ranged weapons. Unless you want to hurl javelins, you're going to need dexterity for ranged combat.
-Dexterity has three skills keying off of it, as opposed to one.
-Saving throws. Dexterity is a far more common saving throw than strength, especially when you fight at range.
-If you are fighting at range, speed isn't that important anyway.
In combat, you may want to be the 'I can use all weapons, and so I do!' guy, but most of you will probably want to stick to a single style. A few of the most interesting are noted here.
Sword and Board: I'd say this is the best way to play a fighter. Not only can you choose between dexterity and strength as your primary stat, you also gain great fighting styles, acceptable damage, and about the best AC in the game.
Two-weapon fighting: *gasp* Multiple ratings! TWF starts out as the most damaging fighting style in the book, but drops in usefulness later on. At low/mid-level, it becomes a slightly less damaging and more defensive greatweaponer, which I feel is a bad tradeoff, and at high level even the humble Sword-and-boarder will surpass it in both damage and defense.
Ability Scores:
Strength-fighter:
Strength: Smashing things. Need I say more?
Dexterity: Initiative is important, but most dexterity saving throws will only deal straight damage, which you shouldn't worry about too much.
Constitution: There is no reason not to put this somewhere high, and little reason to not take it all the way to 20.
Intelligence: I'm sorry for all Roy fans, but this is simply not important for you. However, if you are an Eldritch Knight, you should make this your second or third-highest score.
Wisdom: Perception is important, and you gain three other skills that use this. It's a common save on top of that. Try not to dump it.
Charisma: Meh. Only useful for intimidation, which you honestly should leave to your paladin, bard or sorcerer. Oh, and for a single Battlemaster maneuver.
Dexterity-Fighter:
Strength: Dump it. You need no heavy armor, you need no athletics and strength saves are less likely to come up if you're shooting arrows from a distance.
Dexterity: Initiative, saving throws, damage, attack, AC... No reason not to put this high, and keep it high.
Constitution: Still great.
Intelligence: You're still a Big Dumb Fighter. Of course, Eldritch Knights are an exception here.
Wisdom: Useful, and maybe even more important for you than it is for strength-based fighters.
Charisma: Still bad. Being dextrous doesn't mean you suddenly should also be charming.
Non-Eldritch Knight:
STR: 15 (9 points)
DEX: 12 (4 points)
CON: 15 (9 points)
INT: 8 (0 points)
WIS: 13 (5 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Eldritch Knight:
STR: 15 (9 points)
DEX: 10 (2 points)
CON: 14 (7 points)
INT: 14 (7 points)
WIS: 10 (2 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Non-Eldritch Knight:
STR: 8 (0 points)
DEX: 15 (9 points)
CON: 15 (9 points)
INT: 8 (0 points)
WIS: 15 (9 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Eldritch Knights:
STR: 8 (0 points)
DEX: 15 (9 points)
CON: 13 (5 points)
INT: 15 (9 points)
WIS: 12 (4 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Races:
About everyone with a dexterity or strength bonus can become a fighter, which is about 3/4 of the races here. The others should either be a ranger or a paladin, or something else that needs mental stats.
Dwarf. Cliched, I know. However, it is actually pretty good when you consider the features. Then again, I'm a sucker for anything that adds utility to a combat-focused character...
-Hill Dwarf. HP boost and more wisdom. Nice.
-Mountain Dwarf. Useless armor and very helpful strength. The strongest of the two dwarves.
Elf. Dexterity bonus? Free perception? Trance? I like it. Ratings are for dexterity-fighters, as you probably expected.
-High Elf. A free cantrip? Yes please. Intelligence is next to useless though. Overall, this race adds a lot to an already good base, assuming you go for a dexterity-fighter.
-Wood Elf. Wisdom boost, higher speed and sneakiness. I can work with this, thank you very much.
-Dark Elf. Charisma (ugh) better darkvision (nice) and spells (not bad). Oh, and Sunlight Sensitivity (Why, oh WOTC?). This feature is a large part of the rating here, so if it won't come into play a lot, I guess the race improves to blue.
Halfling. Small, so no big weapons for you. Brave and Lucky can both be really useful and if you are going dexterity, there isn't a lot you won't like about those little guys. The ratings here assume you do.
-Lightfoot Halfling. Charisma boost, and you can hide easier. I bet those abilities will come in handy on my fighter! Except not, so be a Strongheart instead.
-Strongheart Halfling. You gain a constitution boost. Resist poison will be useful against a pretty large number of monsters (and failing that, it'll at least mean you can drink like a dwarf).
Human. Very bland. That's all I have to say here.
-Standard human. Too unfocused. Half your ability boosts will probably be useless, not to mention that the whole race gets a bit boring eventually.
-Variant human The free feat seems weak, but is actually a great thing to have. Maybe pick Sentinel for extra tankyness? Polearm Master for extra damage? Resilient for proficiency in wisdom saves? How about Tavern Brawler to gain half-orc-level ability scores? This race has so much potential, and it'd be a waste to not try it at least once.
Dragonborn. From what I've heard, the breath weapon is useful more often than it may seem. Still, I doubt it'll beat the cool stuff you can do with your action at higher levels, and the charisma bonus sucks.
Gnome. Another small race, but those are smart instead of agile. I like Gnome Cunning, and darkvision is always useful, but I wouldn't use those if I wasn't playing an eldritch knight.
-Forest Gnome. Speaking with animals and a free cantrip? Sure, why not. Blue if you're going down the dexterity route instead.
-Rock Gnome. Tinker is a very fun feature, and constitution is always useful. Still, feels a bit lacking.
Half-Elf. Free skills, a solid ability and bonuses to the stats you like make those a surprisingly good pick.
Half-Orc. All the features are meant for damage-dealing melee classes... which is both the greatest strength and greatest weakness of this race. If you won't be fighting a lot, drop the rating to Blue. Dexterity-users need not apply.
Tiefling. Of course you want to play a tiefling fighter! After all their ability scores... I mean, their great racial synergy... er... their amazing roleplay potential? Seriously though, this race wasn't meant to be fighters, and almost everything done by it can be done by another race.
Skills:
You get two skills from an acceptable list. I'd go with Athletics/Acrobatics and Perception most of the time, but depending on your campaign other skills may be more worth it.
Acrobatics - Not so great as it is mostly redundant with Athletics. When you want this, ask yourself: What do I get from this I don't get from athletics? However, if you are dexterity-primary, then it is great and likely the first skill you'll pick.
Animal Handling - Riding and taming animals. More a ranger's thing, although I can see it being useful.
Athletics - Primary stat, and it's used for a lot of things, from grappling to swimming. Take it and love it. Obviously, it becomes less great when you are dexterity-based and can just take acrobatics.
History - Not your job. If you are an Eldritch Knight, you can consider it, but leave it to the wizard if that's not the case.
Insight - Telling if people are lying can be useful; but then again, you hopefully have someone wiser than you. A good pick in a social campaign.
Intimidation - Together with insight your social skill set. Neat, but you won't likely have a lot of Charisma. This skill can have a lot of potential though, depending on what your DM allows it to do.
Perception - I don't care that your wisdom isn't great: this is the best skill in the game (is there any D&D edition where it isn't useful?) and it comes up a lot. Invisible opponents? PERCEPTION. Impeding ambush? PERCEPTION. Need to search a room? PERCEPTION. Stealthy enemies? PERCEPTION.
Survival - Again something I expect the party's ranger to do, but it actually has a lot of uses. Tracking, foraging, navigating... A pity you don't have a lot of wisdom.
Arcana - An intelligence-based skill, but actually a pretty good one. About everything that isn't 'natural' can be identified with this. For Eldritch Knights, this one is pretty much mandatory.
Deception - If I said this was something you should take, I'd be lying. (Do you get it? Do you get it?)
Investigation - Seeing through illusions already make this interesting, the wide range of uses for it only increase the rating. For normal fighters it is still kind of meh, but an Eldritch Knights should seriously think about picking it up.
Medicine - NO. Buying a healer's kit and/or having a cleric with you already makes this skill near useless. Probably the least useful skill in the game so far.
Nature - Little reason to take it. Even the Eldritch Knights should pass this one up. Beasts and Plants have few special abilities, so even if you face them often this won't tell you a lot.
Performance - Allows you to live wealthily between adventures, but has little use beyond that.
Persuasion - This skill is actually not that bad, even when considering your terrible charisma.
Religion - Same as Nature: Terrible for everyone but EK's, and even they don't want it very badly.
Sleight of Hand - Meh. Not that likely to come up in actual play and it'll only fetch you a few gold at best. Even if you are dexterity-based I'd avoid this.
Stealth - I used to rate this worse, but recent comments have made me realize that it might as well become a very, very often used skill. If you are dexterity-based, assume it is rated blue.
Backgrounds
A couple of decent backgrounds, a couple pieces of trash, and a lot of inbetweens. I'd go with Sailor, Outlander or Soldier most of the time.
Acolyte - Two skills that range from utterly worthless to moderately useful and two free languages. The feature may be very useful but I myself don't see a lot of situations where it'd be something I'd choose over some of the other backgrounds.
Charlatan - I like the feature, but its focus on stats that are tertiary for you at most mean I can't really rate it higher than this.
Criminal - The feature is not that great, and the skills and proficiencies don't really help getting this to a level where I'd recommend it. Black at most, Blue for dexterity-users.
Entertainer - Another background not really made for you, although the feature is nice. The Gladiator variant deserves honorable mention. Of course, if you are going Dexterity, it becomes better
Folk Hero - Solid skills, a flexible tool proficiency (even better for dwarves) and vehicle proficiency make up for the boring feature. All considered one of the better backgrounds to have.
Guild Artistian - Good enough skills, proficiencies that are about equal to the Folk Hero's, and a great feature. Uncommon but surprisingly good.
Hermit - The skills are bad and the feature is DM dependent, but the Herbalism Kit may be reason enough to think about this.
Noble - The skills are not that great, and the proficiencies aren't golden either. Your feature may come in handy a lot though, and the alternative servant option is interesting too.
Outlander - You are going to pick athletics any way, so that is basically a free skill. The proficiencies are less great, but the feature will prevent the group from starving if someone rolls poorly for survival. Dexterity-users have less to like here.
Sage - Okaaaaaay... Two skills, one of which is worthless, languages, and a feature that is worthless at the worst and a plot-hook generator at best.
Sailor - Now we're talking. Great skills, nice proficiencies, and an useful feature. Bad Reputation should be a lot of fun (no, they actually aren't going to sue me for stealing that ale), although it may get books thrown at you. The best fighter background that's out there... if you are strength-primary. (If not, this is instead Blue)
Soldier - Classic. Good all around, but it lacks that bit of 'oomph' Sailor has. Dexterity-users have less to love here.
Urchin - The feature is pretty bad, and I could only see it being useful in chases. The proficiencies and skills are kind of hit-and-miss, but this background fails to impress me in the end. For dexterity-users, it is better.
Class Features
Fighting Style:
This will determine how you fight your first couple of levels. Most fighters gain one, Champions gain two, and ranger/paladin multiclassers can gain an additional style (or two!).
Archery - Obviously only ranged fighters should take this. If they do, it's a solid enough feature.
Defense - Small bonus, but it'll be the first place people look when they get a second feature.
Dueling - Brings your damage output to that of a two-handed weapon. Not bad.
Great Weapon Fighting - The math on this is a little complex, but it basically means 2d6 weapons will deal about 1.5 more damage and 1d12 weapons 0.8 more damage. I think that's a little to low, but your opinion may differ.
Protection - There isn't a lot of stuff you will be using your reaction for, except for a couple of EK spells and Battlemaster maneuvers. But this feature? It rocks. Everyone with a shield should take it.
Two-weapon fighting - This feature is awesome when you are low level. At higher levels, the Dueling and Great Weapon Fighting bonuses will start to give a bigger bonus, so don't pick this in a high-level campaign, or don't TWF at all.
Second Wind - Self-healing? Sure, why not. At high levels I doubt it will be useful often, though.
Action Surge - YES. Thousand times yes. One free extra action per encounter? This is just crazy good and in my opinion justifies dipping fighter. Oh, and it improves to 2/encounter at level 17.
Martial Archetype - See the subclass section.
Extra Attack - Why did we become a fighter again? Oh, right; this. Twice as many attacks as the other classes get? Aw yeah.
Indomitable - I don't like that you can only use this 1/day when you get it, and it doesn't get a lot better after that. Still; rerolling a saving throw is great.
Subclasses
You get three subclasses to pick from. I could go into a detailed explanation here, but to put it simply:
-Champion (hits things really well)
-Battlemaster (hits things in fancy ways)
-Eldritch Knight (hits things with magic)
I don't like this subclass. Why? It only adds passive bonuses, doesn't give you interesting powers, and although the abilities are neat, I don't like a class that does the same every turn. If you don't think you'll get bored by it, go ahead and pick it.
The Battlemaster has no higher-level abilities whosoever, so when you get your final maneuver at 15th level, it is from the same list you chose from at 3rd, and thus likely your 9th favorite pick. However, if you dip fighter for only three levels, I'd say this is your best choice for a subclass.
Very, very slow casting, but you do gain more options in (and out of) combat. My favorite of the three sub-fighters, although I'm not sure about its power level compared to the others. However, this will likely be one of the few subclasses to grow in power with the release of each splatbook, simply because wizards'll probably get new spells with each of them.
Feats
WIP
This handbook has been put on indefinite hold. If anyone wants to make a new one, go ahead. I'm sorry. :frown:
http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/43/r169_457x256_8567_Dwarf_vs_Hook_2d_fantasy_dwarf_w arrior_monster_battle_picture_image_digital_art.jp g
Picture is not mine. If it was, it'd probably be horribly deformed or something.
“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Ah, the fighter. One of the most iconic D&D classes for sure. Nowadays people may talk about paladins and rangers and barbarians and whatnot, but all those classes have their roots in the good old fighter. And while these classes get shoehorned in certain roles, the fighter can specialize in a wide array of roles. Want to be an axe-wielding dwarf juggernaut charging through the enemy's lines? Fighter. Want to be a deft elven archer picking of his foes from afar? Fighter. Want to be a mystic human warrior who also possesses mighty magic? Fighter. Want to be a charismatic half-elf general, commanding his allies and able to negionate as well as he fights? Fighter. About time this class got a guide dedicated to it, don't you think?
Selling Points: Why be a fighter?
Fighters fight. And boy, they're good at it. Twice as many attacks as the other classes, a fighting style of your choice, self-healing ability and Action Surge? Sold.
Fighters are versatile. I already said it, but I'm going to do it again. Fighters can be built in a lot of ways, each of which plays in its own way. Barbarians and Paladins are pretty much forced into a certain niche, but you can do what you want with your fighter.
Fighters are simple. Give a player a fighter, and even if he has never played D&D before, he'll probably be able to do something with it. At the same time, that player isn't left with an one-trick-pony when he starts to learn the system better.
Color Coding:
Light Blue: Yes please. This is great, and you probably want it. This rating will also be used for things that are mandatory for a certain build.
Blue: Quite good, and something most of you'll want to consider.
Black: Taking this won't hurt, but looking for something better won't either. Take it if you like to.
Purple Purple is Evil (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodColorsEvilColors) and that's no exception here. Think carefully before picking this.
Red Above comment on color applies, except it's even worse here. Avoid it like you'd avoid a rust monster with your +5 Sword of Slaying.
Note that these ratings may differ depending on campaign, setting or build. Moreover, all ratings are meant for Strength-based fighters unless noted otherwise.
And always remember; if you like a feature/race/option, just pick it!
Fighter Basics:
1d10 HD: Second best in the game, next to the barbarians 1d12. Enough to be a good tank, especially when combined with your high AC. Still, your focus on stats other than constitution makes me want this was more.
All Armor and Weapon proficiencies: Sweeeeet. All weapons, all armor, and shields. Only the paladin gets the same. The only reason this isn't light blue is that there are other ways to get those proficiencies.
Saving Throws: Constitution is good for a lot of things, from breath weapons to unholy magic. Strength is useful for standing your ground. Good enough, especially when compared to what other classes get.
Fighting Roles
When you want to build a fighter, there are a couple of things to consider. First of all, what ability score are you going to use? And how will you be fighting?
The first question is: are you going to use strength or dexterity? Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so think carefully.
Strength:
-You can use more weapons. So far there are 31 weapons strength-based characters can use, versus 13 that a dexterity-based fighter would use.
-You deal more damage. All of the heavy-hitting weapons, such as mauls and greatswords, can't be used with dexterity.
-You aren't slowed down by heavy armor. In a game where charging doesn't exist, speed is more important than it may seem.
-Athletics can be used for climbing and swimming, both checks that are likely to come up.
Dexterity:
-Initiative. Going first means extra attacks. Extra attacks mean easier fight.
-Ranged weapons. Unless you want to hurl javelins, you're going to need dexterity for ranged combat.
-Dexterity has three skills keying off of it, as opposed to one.
-Saving throws. Dexterity is a far more common saving throw than strength, especially when you fight at range.
-If you are fighting at range, speed isn't that important anyway.
In combat, you may want to be the 'I can use all weapons, and so I do!' guy, but most of you will probably want to stick to a single style. A few of the most interesting are noted here.
Sword and Board: I'd say this is the best way to play a fighter. Not only can you choose between dexterity and strength as your primary stat, you also gain great fighting styles, acceptable damage, and about the best AC in the game.
Two-weapon fighting: *gasp* Multiple ratings! TWF starts out as the most damaging fighting style in the book, but drops in usefulness later on. At low/mid-level, it becomes a slightly less damaging and more defensive greatweaponer, which I feel is a bad tradeoff, and at high level even the humble Sword-and-boarder will surpass it in both damage and defense.
Ability Scores:
Strength-fighter:
Strength: Smashing things. Need I say more?
Dexterity: Initiative is important, but most dexterity saving throws will only deal straight damage, which you shouldn't worry about too much.
Constitution: There is no reason not to put this somewhere high, and little reason to not take it all the way to 20.
Intelligence: I'm sorry for all Roy fans, but this is simply not important for you. However, if you are an Eldritch Knight, you should make this your second or third-highest score.
Wisdom: Perception is important, and you gain three other skills that use this. It's a common save on top of that. Try not to dump it.
Charisma: Meh. Only useful for intimidation, which you honestly should leave to your paladin, bard or sorcerer. Oh, and for a single Battlemaster maneuver.
Dexterity-Fighter:
Strength: Dump it. You need no heavy armor, you need no athletics and strength saves are less likely to come up if you're shooting arrows from a distance.
Dexterity: Initiative, saving throws, damage, attack, AC... No reason not to put this high, and keep it high.
Constitution: Still great.
Intelligence: You're still a Big Dumb Fighter. Of course, Eldritch Knights are an exception here.
Wisdom: Useful, and maybe even more important for you than it is for strength-based fighters.
Charisma: Still bad. Being dextrous doesn't mean you suddenly should also be charming.
Non-Eldritch Knight:
STR: 15 (9 points)
DEX: 12 (4 points)
CON: 15 (9 points)
INT: 8 (0 points)
WIS: 13 (5 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Eldritch Knight:
STR: 15 (9 points)
DEX: 10 (2 points)
CON: 14 (7 points)
INT: 14 (7 points)
WIS: 10 (2 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Non-Eldritch Knight:
STR: 8 (0 points)
DEX: 15 (9 points)
CON: 15 (9 points)
INT: 8 (0 points)
WIS: 15 (9 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Eldritch Knights:
STR: 8 (0 points)
DEX: 15 (9 points)
CON: 13 (5 points)
INT: 15 (9 points)
WIS: 12 (4 points)
CHA: 8 (0 points)
Races:
About everyone with a dexterity or strength bonus can become a fighter, which is about 3/4 of the races here. The others should either be a ranger or a paladin, or something else that needs mental stats.
Dwarf. Cliched, I know. However, it is actually pretty good when you consider the features. Then again, I'm a sucker for anything that adds utility to a combat-focused character...
-Hill Dwarf. HP boost and more wisdom. Nice.
-Mountain Dwarf. Useless armor and very helpful strength. The strongest of the two dwarves.
Elf. Dexterity bonus? Free perception? Trance? I like it. Ratings are for dexterity-fighters, as you probably expected.
-High Elf. A free cantrip? Yes please. Intelligence is next to useless though. Overall, this race adds a lot to an already good base, assuming you go for a dexterity-fighter.
-Wood Elf. Wisdom boost, higher speed and sneakiness. I can work with this, thank you very much.
-Dark Elf. Charisma (ugh) better darkvision (nice) and spells (not bad). Oh, and Sunlight Sensitivity (Why, oh WOTC?). This feature is a large part of the rating here, so if it won't come into play a lot, I guess the race improves to blue.
Halfling. Small, so no big weapons for you. Brave and Lucky can both be really useful and if you are going dexterity, there isn't a lot you won't like about those little guys. The ratings here assume you do.
-Lightfoot Halfling. Charisma boost, and you can hide easier. I bet those abilities will come in handy on my fighter! Except not, so be a Strongheart instead.
-Strongheart Halfling. You gain a constitution boost. Resist poison will be useful against a pretty large number of monsters (and failing that, it'll at least mean you can drink like a dwarf).
Human. Very bland. That's all I have to say here.
-Standard human. Too unfocused. Half your ability boosts will probably be useless, not to mention that the whole race gets a bit boring eventually.
-Variant human The free feat seems weak, but is actually a great thing to have. Maybe pick Sentinel for extra tankyness? Polearm Master for extra damage? Resilient for proficiency in wisdom saves? How about Tavern Brawler to gain half-orc-level ability scores? This race has so much potential, and it'd be a waste to not try it at least once.
Dragonborn. From what I've heard, the breath weapon is useful more often than it may seem. Still, I doubt it'll beat the cool stuff you can do with your action at higher levels, and the charisma bonus sucks.
Gnome. Another small race, but those are smart instead of agile. I like Gnome Cunning, and darkvision is always useful, but I wouldn't use those if I wasn't playing an eldritch knight.
-Forest Gnome. Speaking with animals and a free cantrip? Sure, why not. Blue if you're going down the dexterity route instead.
-Rock Gnome. Tinker is a very fun feature, and constitution is always useful. Still, feels a bit lacking.
Half-Elf. Free skills, a solid ability and bonuses to the stats you like make those a surprisingly good pick.
Half-Orc. All the features are meant for damage-dealing melee classes... which is both the greatest strength and greatest weakness of this race. If you won't be fighting a lot, drop the rating to Blue. Dexterity-users need not apply.
Tiefling. Of course you want to play a tiefling fighter! After all their ability scores... I mean, their great racial synergy... er... their amazing roleplay potential? Seriously though, this race wasn't meant to be fighters, and almost everything done by it can be done by another race.
Skills:
You get two skills from an acceptable list. I'd go with Athletics/Acrobatics and Perception most of the time, but depending on your campaign other skills may be more worth it.
Acrobatics - Not so great as it is mostly redundant with Athletics. When you want this, ask yourself: What do I get from this I don't get from athletics? However, if you are dexterity-primary, then it is great and likely the first skill you'll pick.
Animal Handling - Riding and taming animals. More a ranger's thing, although I can see it being useful.
Athletics - Primary stat, and it's used for a lot of things, from grappling to swimming. Take it and love it. Obviously, it becomes less great when you are dexterity-based and can just take acrobatics.
History - Not your job. If you are an Eldritch Knight, you can consider it, but leave it to the wizard if that's not the case.
Insight - Telling if people are lying can be useful; but then again, you hopefully have someone wiser than you. A good pick in a social campaign.
Intimidation - Together with insight your social skill set. Neat, but you won't likely have a lot of Charisma. This skill can have a lot of potential though, depending on what your DM allows it to do.
Perception - I don't care that your wisdom isn't great: this is the best skill in the game (is there any D&D edition where it isn't useful?) and it comes up a lot. Invisible opponents? PERCEPTION. Impeding ambush? PERCEPTION. Need to search a room? PERCEPTION. Stealthy enemies? PERCEPTION.
Survival - Again something I expect the party's ranger to do, but it actually has a lot of uses. Tracking, foraging, navigating... A pity you don't have a lot of wisdom.
Arcana - An intelligence-based skill, but actually a pretty good one. About everything that isn't 'natural' can be identified with this. For Eldritch Knights, this one is pretty much mandatory.
Deception - If I said this was something you should take, I'd be lying. (Do you get it? Do you get it?)
Investigation - Seeing through illusions already make this interesting, the wide range of uses for it only increase the rating. For normal fighters it is still kind of meh, but an Eldritch Knights should seriously think about picking it up.
Medicine - NO. Buying a healer's kit and/or having a cleric with you already makes this skill near useless. Probably the least useful skill in the game so far.
Nature - Little reason to take it. Even the Eldritch Knights should pass this one up. Beasts and Plants have few special abilities, so even if you face them often this won't tell you a lot.
Performance - Allows you to live wealthily between adventures, but has little use beyond that.
Persuasion - This skill is actually not that bad, even when considering your terrible charisma.
Religion - Same as Nature: Terrible for everyone but EK's, and even they don't want it very badly.
Sleight of Hand - Meh. Not that likely to come up in actual play and it'll only fetch you a few gold at best. Even if you are dexterity-based I'd avoid this.
Stealth - I used to rate this worse, but recent comments have made me realize that it might as well become a very, very often used skill. If you are dexterity-based, assume it is rated blue.
Backgrounds
A couple of decent backgrounds, a couple pieces of trash, and a lot of inbetweens. I'd go with Sailor, Outlander or Soldier most of the time.
Acolyte - Two skills that range from utterly worthless to moderately useful and two free languages. The feature may be very useful but I myself don't see a lot of situations where it'd be something I'd choose over some of the other backgrounds.
Charlatan - I like the feature, but its focus on stats that are tertiary for you at most mean I can't really rate it higher than this.
Criminal - The feature is not that great, and the skills and proficiencies don't really help getting this to a level where I'd recommend it. Black at most, Blue for dexterity-users.
Entertainer - Another background not really made for you, although the feature is nice. The Gladiator variant deserves honorable mention. Of course, if you are going Dexterity, it becomes better
Folk Hero - Solid skills, a flexible tool proficiency (even better for dwarves) and vehicle proficiency make up for the boring feature. All considered one of the better backgrounds to have.
Guild Artistian - Good enough skills, proficiencies that are about equal to the Folk Hero's, and a great feature. Uncommon but surprisingly good.
Hermit - The skills are bad and the feature is DM dependent, but the Herbalism Kit may be reason enough to think about this.
Noble - The skills are not that great, and the proficiencies aren't golden either. Your feature may come in handy a lot though, and the alternative servant option is interesting too.
Outlander - You are going to pick athletics any way, so that is basically a free skill. The proficiencies are less great, but the feature will prevent the group from starving if someone rolls poorly for survival. Dexterity-users have less to like here.
Sage - Okaaaaaay... Two skills, one of which is worthless, languages, and a feature that is worthless at the worst and a plot-hook generator at best.
Sailor - Now we're talking. Great skills, nice proficiencies, and an useful feature. Bad Reputation should be a lot of fun (no, they actually aren't going to sue me for stealing that ale), although it may get books thrown at you. The best fighter background that's out there... if you are strength-primary. (If not, this is instead Blue)
Soldier - Classic. Good all around, but it lacks that bit of 'oomph' Sailor has. Dexterity-users have less to love here.
Urchin - The feature is pretty bad, and I could only see it being useful in chases. The proficiencies and skills are kind of hit-and-miss, but this background fails to impress me in the end. For dexterity-users, it is better.
Class Features
Fighting Style:
This will determine how you fight your first couple of levels. Most fighters gain one, Champions gain two, and ranger/paladin multiclassers can gain an additional style (or two!).
Archery - Obviously only ranged fighters should take this. If they do, it's a solid enough feature.
Defense - Small bonus, but it'll be the first place people look when they get a second feature.
Dueling - Brings your damage output to that of a two-handed weapon. Not bad.
Great Weapon Fighting - The math on this is a little complex, but it basically means 2d6 weapons will deal about 1.5 more damage and 1d12 weapons 0.8 more damage. I think that's a little to low, but your opinion may differ.
Protection - There isn't a lot of stuff you will be using your reaction for, except for a couple of EK spells and Battlemaster maneuvers. But this feature? It rocks. Everyone with a shield should take it.
Two-weapon fighting - This feature is awesome when you are low level. At higher levels, the Dueling and Great Weapon Fighting bonuses will start to give a bigger bonus, so don't pick this in a high-level campaign, or don't TWF at all.
Second Wind - Self-healing? Sure, why not. At high levels I doubt it will be useful often, though.
Action Surge - YES. Thousand times yes. One free extra action per encounter? This is just crazy good and in my opinion justifies dipping fighter. Oh, and it improves to 2/encounter at level 17.
Martial Archetype - See the subclass section.
Extra Attack - Why did we become a fighter again? Oh, right; this. Twice as many attacks as the other classes get? Aw yeah.
Indomitable - I don't like that you can only use this 1/day when you get it, and it doesn't get a lot better after that. Still; rerolling a saving throw is great.
Subclasses
You get three subclasses to pick from. I could go into a detailed explanation here, but to put it simply:
-Champion (hits things really well)
-Battlemaster (hits things in fancy ways)
-Eldritch Knight (hits things with magic)
I don't like this subclass. Why? It only adds passive bonuses, doesn't give you interesting powers, and although the abilities are neat, I don't like a class that does the same every turn. If you don't think you'll get bored by it, go ahead and pick it.
The Battlemaster has no higher-level abilities whosoever, so when you get your final maneuver at 15th level, it is from the same list you chose from at 3rd, and thus likely your 9th favorite pick. However, if you dip fighter for only three levels, I'd say this is your best choice for a subclass.
Very, very slow casting, but you do gain more options in (and out of) combat. My favorite of the three sub-fighters, although I'm not sure about its power level compared to the others. However, this will likely be one of the few subclasses to grow in power with the release of each splatbook, simply because wizards'll probably get new spells with each of them.
Feats
WIP