5e: Unique and/or Interesting Weapon based Fighting Styles?

[PangolinPie]

Okay let’s see if I can explain this right.

Anyone can do sword and board or longbow but what are some really interesting weapon/feat/fighting style combos out there?

Like I remember a 3.5 game I was in years ago where a player essentially played a Goliath “battle golfer” and used a great hammer to launch iron glots at his enemies and was surprisingly effective. I remember “Precise Shot” and “Far Shot” were involved despite it being essentially a melee build at its core.

Another person in a different game used essentially a jai alai cesta to launch projectiles at opponents but it also had a bladed edge so it could be used in melee. I think our GM let him prestige as the Tempest PRSC when he began dual wielding.

So yeah anything else more interesting than your basic sword, spear or bow fighters?

[stoutstien]

Most of those stuff is just assumed you can achieve in 5e if the DM is on board. No need for special feats or prestige classes

[JonBeowulf]

All weapons are essentially fluff for [(damage die) + tags] so you can invent whatever you like. You want a *thing* that does *stuff* for *damage*? Work with the DM to ensure it's not under- or over-powered for the campaign and have fun.

[PangolinPie]

Not really what I was getting at…

[RogueJK]

Another person in a different game used essentially a jai alai cesta to launch projectiles at opponents but it also had a bladed edge so it could be used in melee.

All weapons are essentially fluff for [(damage die) + tags] so you can invent whatever you like. You want a *thing* that does *stuff* for *damage*? Work with the DM to ensure it's not under- or over-powered for the campaign and have fun.

Exactly. You can easily build that in 5E, using the existing weapon properties and something like a Spear as a template. Your "Combat Cesta" would be a one-handed 1d6 weapon with the Thrown property, the Ammunition property, and 20/60 range, and then the special property of doing slashing damage on a melee hit or bludgeoning damage on a ranged hit. It would just require DM approval.


As mentioned in earlier posts, 5E doesn't have nearly as many "splat feats/classes" as the 3.0/3.5 you're used to, and relies more on player creativity/imagination, homebrewing, and DM buy-in to achieve unique stuff like the custom weapons or fighting styles you're describing.

However, there are still some options out there for "out of the ordinary" weapon builds using just what's published.

For example, the Crusher feat allows you to force movement with a Bludgeoning weapon. So you can do stuff like have a Goliath with a maul who knocks people around, or a boxer with Unarmed Fighting Style who punches people so hard that they fly backwards. You can combo those with other forced movement subclass abilities like the Swarmkeeper Ranger's Gathered Swarm or the Open Hand Monk's Open Hand Technique for even further movement on a hit.

Then there are things like the (admittedly overpowered) Revenant Blade feat, which combines with a unique Dual Scimitar weapon to allow you to use DEX for attack/bonus, get a bonus to AC, and also act similar to a Polearm with PAM.

Or the (admittedly suboptimal) Defensive Duelist feat if you want to represent an exceptionally talented fencer, like a swashbuckling Musketeer, who parries blows using just his skills and a thin rapier blade. Combines well with the Battle Master subclass and their various Maneuvers.

You can also do some interesting things combining a reach polearm with the Polearm Master feat, the Sentinel feat, and a class ability like Vengeance Paladin's Relentless Avenger.

Or a reach weapon combined with the Bugbear's Long-Limbed racial ability for 15' reach.

Then there's the various shenanigans that you can get into using the Echo Knight subclass and their ability to be in two places at once, and makes attacks/opportunity attacks from either location.

Natural Weapon-based builds can be viable, such as a Lizardfolk Monk 1/Beast Barbarian X.

And you can do some fun stuff with a Grappling-focused build, especially something like a Rune Knight subclass combined with a race like Fairy or Duergar who has access to the racial Enlarge spell.

[Dr.Samurai]

So yeah anything else more interesting than your basic sword, spear or bow fighters?
Oh my sweet summer child.... this is not the edition for "interesting" or "fun" weapons and styles.

That said, the examples you give are not explicitly "allowed" or "possible" in 3rd edition either, without DM buy-in. So the previous replies are suggesting something similar that occurred in your 3.5 games.

[Psyren]

The "best" fighting style in the entire game is "+2 to attack rolls."

If you want to do interesting things with your weapons I recommend instead working with your DM on some cool improvised actions/contests that use them.

[Brookshw]

You may want to look into Kobold Press, they include Weapon Options in the Heroes Handbook (and used to have a larger title dedicated to the topic iirc) which adds new combat options by weapon type, e.g., using flails to choke someone, preventing/reducing shoves with greatswords, etc.

[ImproperJustice]

I think a lot of what others have said is true, in that most variety in fighting is up to PC and GM narration in this edition as mechanics for combat have been heavily trimmed down.


Now, that being said, there are lots of ways to keep your combat specialist interesting of you wish. Just a few ideas I have seen or experienced:

Battlemaster maneuvers and Psi Warrior techniques can be employed in melee or at range (30’ limit on Psi techs), but produce a lot of effects you may be interested in.

Tavern Brawler gets overlooked a lot, but we had a barb take this in a recent campaign, and it produced some very entertaining battles:
Example: An assassination attempt at a Baron’s banquet was foiled when the Barbarian used a hot bowl of stew to blind one foe and beat to death another. Later, she would frequently fight with a two weapon style of using a 1h weapon, then punch and grapple with the off hand so she could drag opponents about the battlefield into hazards.

In one comedic moment she used an attack to Rage shove a guy into a well, and then proceeded to start grabbing his cronies and dragging them over to the well to later be pushed in and toppled onto the others as they sought to try and climb out.

Needing a magical weapon at one point, she took a lantern of revealing and clubbed a ghost to death with it.


Umm…. We has a crossbow fighter who used Athlete to roll around the battlefield taking cover from ranged attacks by going prone, as you can fire a crossbow from going prone.


Also, via GM fiat, we had a wierd multi-class Dragon Born / Dragon Breath caster who kept going Prone and breathing upwards so the cone went vertical for a radius type effect, and he called himself “Droppenborn”. There was drinking and deep dish pizza involved in that session.

And of course there is the “Blind Luck” strategy of the lucky feat where you close your eyes and swing madly at someone, granting disadvantage, but then you activate luck to reroll the lowest die, creating advantage.

[Unoriginal]

Okay let’s see if I can explain this right.

Anyone can do sword and board or longbow but what are some really interesting weapon/feat/fighting style combos out there?

Like I remember a 3.5 game I was in years ago where a player essentially played a Goliath “battle golfer” and used a great hammer to launch iron glots at his enemies and was surprisingly effective. I remember “Precise Shot” and “Far Shot” were involved despite it being essentially a melee build at its core.

Another person in a different game used essentially a jai alai cesta to launch projectiles at opponents but it also had a bladed edge so it could be used in melee. I think our GM let him prestige as the Tempest PRSC when he began dual wielding.

So yeah anything else more interesting than your basic sword, spear or bow fighters?


You can grapple, jump while carrying the enemy, then drop with the enemy under you so that they take 1.5 time the fall damage and you only take 0.5 of it.

It requires one of the various combos to boost jumping height, like Tabaxi Beast Barbarian, but it can be fun.

[Nefariis]

I see what the OP is saying, he is looking for race, class, weapon shenanigans (which I absolutely love reading about)


Well the most specific feats are -


Double Bladed Scimitar Feat
Spear Mastery Feat (UA)

Other more generic feats are -


Slasher
Piercer
Crusher

An example of a combo weapon / feat would be -


Two-Birds Sling w/ Crusher Feat

Classes that can make various weapons more interesting (these are off the top of my head, so don't quote me)


BattleSmith 3 - INT to attack with any weapon
BladeLock 1 or 3 - CHA to attack at 1, CHA to attack with any weapon at 3

An interesting weapon / race combination -


Bugbear with a whip (echo knight, rogue, or paladin all synergistic shenanigans)


The above lists are not meant to be exhaustive - I am just getting the ball rolling with how I interpret Op's question.