SociopathFriend
2022-09-10, 02:29 PM
Skip to the bolded line if you want to see the changes without context.
So I don't dislike the Champion as a concept, frankly I love the idea of a Fighter who isn't about ancient orders of secret moves (Battlemaster) or augmenting themselves with magic (Eldritch Knight) or disciplined behind a will of honor and iron (Samurai) and so on- a Fighter who focuses on raw physical prowess and martial excellence is great to me.
However I feel the Champion's current 'kit' for lack of a better word doesn't fulfill the fantasy:
Said fantasy-
The archetypal Champion focuses on the development of raw physical power honed to deadly perfection. Those who model themselves on this archetype combine rigorous training with physical excellence to deal devastating blows.
But what does the Champion really get?
Lvl 3 - increased crit chance
Lvl 7 - half proficiency on a type of check seldom used in modules plus better jumping
Lvl 10 - another fighting style
Lvl 15 - increased crit chance
Lvl 18 - regeneration below half hp
From where I stand:
I don't like increased crit chance in 5e. If I never roll a 19 from Lvls 3-6 in combat then I effectively have no subclass- everyone crits on a 20 after all. It feels less like "deadly perfection" and more like occasionally getting lucky. If you roll poorly- you might not even do more damage with the crit.
Remarkable Athlete is actually quite good if a DM actually uses Ability Checks. If they instead only use Skill Checks then this is basically a small Initiative buff plus you can jump farther. This actually can feel like "physical excellence" in the right circumstances.
While I find another fighting style at lvl 10 to be a pretty pathetic example of "rigorous training" it nevertheless does fulfill the fantasy to a degree. Others have trained only to master one way of fighting while a Champion learns two.
At lvl 15 (seldom reached in most campaigns) you do get to crit on an 18 as well as a 19- obviously better. But as your crits hit no harder- I do not feel as though it's a "devastating blow". A Barbarian at lvl 15- not any particular subclass but ALL Barbarians- gets to add not one but TWO damage die to any crit they get. Now that's a devastating blow.
And once lvl 18 rolls around (just about never) you do get to demonstrate "raw physical power" to keep going all day so long as you can. You don't die till you're dead.
So I am considering the following changes to Champion:
Lvl 3 - After rolling but before a hit/miss is announced- a Champion can declare the result of a Weapon Attack Roll to be equal to their Strength or Dexterity Score. This feature can be used a number of times equal to your Fighter Lvl/3.
Lvl 7 - Unchanged
Lvl 10 - Unchanged
Lvl 15 - When rolling a Critical Hit- if the total damage would be less than the Champion's Fighter Lvl- you may use your Lvl plus your Strength or Dexterity modifier to calculate the damage instead.
Lvl 18 - Unchanged
The idea was to keep the Champion relatively simple (a supposed requirement of the subclass- I disagree) and grant players more agency over how well they perform in battle as well of advancing the fantasy of becoming a Fighter dedicated to perfecting the art of combat and dishing out heavy hits when it really counts.
Once you max out your given attacking score- it's a guaranteed crit- and at Lvl 15 you're assured your crit is gonna pack a certain baseline for damage. I was not intending to radically alter Champion damage numbers overall.
It's just something that's been sitting in the back of my mind for years. I figured I should post it now just to clear it out seeing as the next D&D might make it obsolete anyways.
So I don't dislike the Champion as a concept, frankly I love the idea of a Fighter who isn't about ancient orders of secret moves (Battlemaster) or augmenting themselves with magic (Eldritch Knight) or disciplined behind a will of honor and iron (Samurai) and so on- a Fighter who focuses on raw physical prowess and martial excellence is great to me.
However I feel the Champion's current 'kit' for lack of a better word doesn't fulfill the fantasy:
Said fantasy-
The archetypal Champion focuses on the development of raw physical power honed to deadly perfection. Those who model themselves on this archetype combine rigorous training with physical excellence to deal devastating blows.
But what does the Champion really get?
Lvl 3 - increased crit chance
Lvl 7 - half proficiency on a type of check seldom used in modules plus better jumping
Lvl 10 - another fighting style
Lvl 15 - increased crit chance
Lvl 18 - regeneration below half hp
From where I stand:
I don't like increased crit chance in 5e. If I never roll a 19 from Lvls 3-6 in combat then I effectively have no subclass- everyone crits on a 20 after all. It feels less like "deadly perfection" and more like occasionally getting lucky. If you roll poorly- you might not even do more damage with the crit.
Remarkable Athlete is actually quite good if a DM actually uses Ability Checks. If they instead only use Skill Checks then this is basically a small Initiative buff plus you can jump farther. This actually can feel like "physical excellence" in the right circumstances.
While I find another fighting style at lvl 10 to be a pretty pathetic example of "rigorous training" it nevertheless does fulfill the fantasy to a degree. Others have trained only to master one way of fighting while a Champion learns two.
At lvl 15 (seldom reached in most campaigns) you do get to crit on an 18 as well as a 19- obviously better. But as your crits hit no harder- I do not feel as though it's a "devastating blow". A Barbarian at lvl 15- not any particular subclass but ALL Barbarians- gets to add not one but TWO damage die to any crit they get. Now that's a devastating blow.
And once lvl 18 rolls around (just about never) you do get to demonstrate "raw physical power" to keep going all day so long as you can. You don't die till you're dead.
So I am considering the following changes to Champion:
Lvl 3 - After rolling but before a hit/miss is announced- a Champion can declare the result of a Weapon Attack Roll to be equal to their Strength or Dexterity Score. This feature can be used a number of times equal to your Fighter Lvl/3.
Lvl 7 - Unchanged
Lvl 10 - Unchanged
Lvl 15 - When rolling a Critical Hit- if the total damage would be less than the Champion's Fighter Lvl- you may use your Lvl plus your Strength or Dexterity modifier to calculate the damage instead.
Lvl 18 - Unchanged
The idea was to keep the Champion relatively simple (a supposed requirement of the subclass- I disagree) and grant players more agency over how well they perform in battle as well of advancing the fantasy of becoming a Fighter dedicated to perfecting the art of combat and dishing out heavy hits when it really counts.
Once you max out your given attacking score- it's a guaranteed crit- and at Lvl 15 you're assured your crit is gonna pack a certain baseline for damage. I was not intending to radically alter Champion damage numbers overall.
It's just something that's been sitting in the back of my mind for years. I figured I should post it now just to clear it out seeing as the next D&D might make it obsolete anyways.