Fighting style

[Gungor]

I am building a dwarf fighter, Level 5 battlemaster. I mostly envision the character as a melee fighter using a maul, but I also like the idea of having the option to use a longbow to impose certain maneuvers at range, like menacing and disarming attack.

I’m trying to decide on which fighting style to pick. I’m more interested in having fun than min-maxing but I also don’t want to make a bad choice. Here is what I’m thinking.

1. Taking +2 to ranged Attacks. With this, my bow attack will be competitive with my melee attack for a while, allowing me to more easily land maneuvers from a distance.

2. Taking the one that lets me reroll damage dice. I know it is only about an extra +1 and change to damage, but I’ve used this in the past and it’s fun. It’s even fun to roll a 1 and 2 on 2d6 only to reroll...another 1 and 2.

3. Taking +1 to AC. Boring, but not dying *is* fun.

Thoughts from the playground?

[Honest Tiefling]

I'd keep it simple and go with Great Weapon Fighting. The problem with switch-hitting is that you'll need a way to swap between the two weapons which might be cumbersome. Additionally, check out what other people are doing. If your party is loaded with ranged DPS, don't do the archery because someone else on the team has it covered.

The +1 to AC is alright, but I think most people would get more mileage out of rerolling. It's probably the more optimized choice anyway.

[Nidgit]

Ranged fighting doesn't really gel all that well with dwarves, considering that they have reduced speed and are geared towards taking hits up close. That said, a Battlemaster Archer is fantastic and works brilliantly with Sharpshooter.

A maul or other 2d6 weapon has its damage per hit increased by 1.33 per hit, which is pretty decent! It'd be a bit better if you were going Champion and if you're anticipating switching between melee and range Defense has more all-around utility. It's up to you whether you'd rather have better defense or offense.

[Specter]

If you need some range, use a javelin since it's tied to STR, not DEX.

As for the fighting style, if you plan on soaking hits, Defense, otherwise GWF. Think about the rest of the party.

[ImproperJustice]

You really can’t go wrong with the Fighter class in 5e.
I would check with GM about how theybhandle weapon swapping as that could really influence your play style.

It is worth noting that Battlemaster maneuvers work just as well up close as they do at range, which means your Dwarf will not waste turns “running for position”.

In my experience the +1 AC is most noticeable if you are going sword and board as there seems to be some threshold between a 22AC and 24 AC where you are hit 25% of the time vs. 10% of the time. Anything below that is open season so try to kill everything as fast as possible.

If you are cursed with poor luck, and roll 1-2 all the time, then Great Weapon is awesome.
Archery is also super good and I think it’s just a matter of what appeals most to you, as you could always grab the associated feat of the one you don’t choose to round out your own style.

Lastly, Champion will give you the benefit of two fighting styles, a nice crit spread for any weapon type, and the late game hp regen is beastly and lack of need to rest is beastly.
But it takes a long time to come on line.

Battlemaster is pretty useful throughout the level progressions.

[strangebloke]

GWF isn't great. Archery is better, but it isn't really your thang.

Defense. Extra AC is great, particularly at low levels.

[Crgaston]

If you plan on switching between melee and ranged pretty regularly, Archery isn’t a bad choice at all. It’s the equivalent of 4 Dex on your “to hit” rolls, allowing you to focus on Str/Con without gimping yourself with a bow.

And Defense would give you a solid bonus either way. If you go Champion, you could take Defense first and decide between the other two after you see how your combat role shapes out.

...


Thinking about this got me building an NPC who is a mentor for my Ranger in one of my games.

Mountain Dwarf
Starting stats 16 15 16 8 10 10
Scout Rogue 4/ Battlemaster 4 with Defense FS, Squat Nimbleness (+1 Dex, +5 move and more) and Medium Armor Master feats for AC 19 and no disadvantage on Stealth in half plate.

Holy cow that’s good.
Thanks for the inspiration!

[Gungor]

If you plan on switching between melee and ranged pretty regularly, Archery isn’t a bad choice at all. It’s the equivalent of 4 Dex on your “to hit” rolls, allowing you to focus on Str/Con without gimping yourself with a bow.

And Defense would give you a solid bonus either way. If you go Champion, you could take Defense first and decide between the other two after you see how your combat role shapes out.

...


Thinking about this got me building an NPC who is a mentor for my Ranger in one of my games.

Mountain Dwarf
Starting stats 16 15 16 8 10 10
Scout Rogue 4/ Battlemaster 4 with Defense FS, Squat Nimbleness (+1 Dex, +5 move and more) and Medium Armor Master feats for AC 19 and no disadvantage on Stealth in half plate.

Holy cow that’s good.
Thanks for the inspiration!

You’re welcome!

I should have mentioned my stats are 18 14 18 8 10 8, so with archery I will have the same to hit bonus with ranged and melee.

Since I like the idea of being able to do both, I think that’s what I’ll go with.