Need Help With a Fighting Style - PEACH

[Gr7mm Bobb]

I have a concept for a style that embodies a battlefield bully who pushes people into corners and knock his foes about the battlefield. If this is better suited as a fighter archetype or feat, I'm open to suggestions. ATM this is a bee in my bonnet until I can better cement out a foundation. For those who have a greater command of the english language than my presently feeble brain, please help me retain intent while establishing some clarity and brevity that I am currently lacking.

Brutal Fighting Style
While successfully hit a creature with melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, may use your bonus action to make a shove attempt against that creature. You may add your weapon damage die result to your Strength (Athletics) check. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

With the following added on:
When you push a creature away from you with a successful shove attempt, you may push the target an additional 5 feet for each increment of 5 that you exceed the targets opposed check by.
-OR-
When you push a creature away from you with a shove attempt and they would occupy the same space as an object, both the target and the object receive bludgeoning damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier. If the target is pushed into another creatures space, the second creature must make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against your original shove attempt. On a failure both creatures receive bludgeoning damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier and both creatures now occupy the same space. On a success, you initial target ends there movement just outside the second creature space. (following the normal rules of squeezing and such)

[GalacticAxekick]

Brutal Fighting Style
While successfully hit a creature with melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, may use your bonus action to make a shove attempt against that creature. You may add your weapon damage die result to your Strength (Athletics) check. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit. This may be too powerful already. Shoving as a bonus action is already good: it lets you knock enemies prone or potentially move them into hazards. But doing so with a damage die added on top makes it exceptionally reliable for something totally free.

Simply shoving as a bonus action would be good enough, especially with one of the bonuses below.

Also, I'd remove the two-handed weapon requirement. I see the archetype you're going for—battering a foe about with a heavy swings of a large weapon—but why shouldn't a duelist be able to nudge a foe off balance with their empty off-hand? Whys shouldn't shields be able to bash? Why shouldn't a brawler be able to throw a foe off balance with a kick or tackle? I think any melee weapon should do.


When you push a creature away from you with a successful shove attempt, you may push the target an additional 5 feet for each increment of 5 that you exceed the targets opposed check by. Fair, and very compatible with your shove-as-bonus action system!


When you push a creature away from you with a shove attempt and they would occupy the same space as an object, both the target and the object receive bludgeoning damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier. If the target is pushed into another creatures space, the second creature must make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against your original shove attempt. On a failure both creatures receive bludgeoning damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier and both creatures now occupy the same space. On a success, you initial target ends there movement just outside the second creature space. (following the normal rules of squeezing and such)This would be alright if it applied to ordinary shoves, but since you're granting a shove as a bonus action, this is a free attack that ignores AC.

I might actually grant this and the "additional five feet" features together as a Fighting style and completely throw out the bonus action.

[The_Jette]

That last part just makes me think of baseball.

Half-Orc with a Greatclub uses his attack action to clobber a medium sized rock with his club. As a bonus action, he "shoves" the rock, making his roll of 1d20 + 1d10 + Str vs rocks 1d20 - 5 (0 Str). This lets him move the rock 5 ft, plus an extra 5 for every five that he beats the rock by, giving a potential movement of 40ft (20 + 10 + 5 (Str) vs -4 (rock rolls a nat 1, then gets a -5 penalty)). That gives a free 1d8 + Str attack against any target, regardless of AC, that is within range. The crowd goes wild!!!

[Gr7mm Bobb]

Super late response, I know, but some really unfun stuff has occured IRL so things were paused. Anyway, TY both for the timely responses and helpful critique. Hopefully I haven't left snuck out of the koobold nest and into the goblin camp on this recent brainstorm.


This may be too powerful already. Shoving as a bonus action is already good: it lets you knock enemies prone or potentially move them into hazards. But doing so with a damage die added on top makes it exceptionally reliable for something totally free.

Simply shoving as a bonus action would be good enough, especially with one of the bonuses below.

Also, I'd remove the two-handed weapon requirement. I see the archetype you're going for—battering a foe about with a heavy swings of a large weapon—but why shouldn't a duelist be able to nudge a foe off balance with their empty off-hand? Whys shouldn't shields be able to bash? Why shouldn't a brawler be able to throw a foe off balance with a kick or tackle? I think any melee weapon should do.

Fair, and very compatible with your shove-as-bonus action system!

This would be alright if it applied to ordinary shoves, but since you're granting a shove as a bonus action, this is a free attack that ignores AC.

I might actually grant this and the "additional five feet" features together as a Fighting style and completely throw out the bonus action.

The intent behind the idea of "the big dumb two hander" was to get behind the gusto that figthing styles are displayed in a way that adds more to a specific style. That and shove as a bonus action is already a bullet under the shield master feat, so I didn't want to remove a decent ingredient from a really nice feat.

However, I did look into it and have taken note that damage dice being applied to any other type of d20 roll is really risky business and definitely steps on the concept of the bound accuracy model. But it was only towards shoving creatures around sooo, not sure how bad that really was yet, jury's out.

With that in mind, I think I have an idea:
Keep the +5 feet per 5 exceeding the contested roll.
Allow them to take opportunity attacks against creatures that they threaten who are standing from prone.
Grant advantage to shove attempts while they are wielding a melee weapon in two hands (word the same as the GWF style for consistency)

Hopefully this keeps the feel of being a battlefield bully without breaking concepts too far.


That last part just makes me think of baseball.

Half-Orc with a Greatclub uses his attack action to clobber a medium sized rock with his club. As a bonus action, he "shoves" the rock, making his roll of 1d20 + 1d10 + Str vs rocks 1d20 - 5 (0 Str). This lets him move the rock 5 ft, plus an extra 5 for every five that he beats the rock by, giving a potential movement of 40ft (20 + 10 + 5 (Str) vs -4 (rock rolls a nat 1, then gets a -5 penalty)). That gives a free 1d8 + Str attack against any target, regardless of AC, that is within range. The crowd goes wild!!!

To be fair the second target does get to make their own check against the first result. That in no way excuses the sheer rules nightmare/brokenness that was my initial post. The imagery was a nice touch though.