Seeking help making a martial with combat versatility...

[samcifer]

I prefer to play casters for more versatility in combat so I can do more than just swing my weapon a few times per turn and that's it, but its getting rather stale of late. I've toyed around with a few ideas: Battle Master 3+ with barbarian or rogue as a multiclass, sorcerer 3+ with Quickened and some control spells like web and grease with a 5+ (for extra attack) in a martial class to be good in melee as well.

What I'm looking for are ideas for pcs that can do more to enemies than just attack with their weapons in combat. They say the best status condition to inflict on enemies is "dead", but I feel that I focus too much on that. I've mostly been playing blaster casters and sniper types and am looking for more variety. I fell like I've fallen into a rut as combat feels boring to me of late and I feel like I need to play something with more variety and stop focusing on only playing ranged pcs. Basically, I want to make a melee character who can manipulate foes in battle (status effects, forced movement, etc.) and not just be limited to trying to do damage until they die. My problem is that I'm not sure what to go for on such a build and need advice on this.

Open to suggestions.

[Sorinth]

Monks are always quite tactical to play as you really have to care about positioning. With lots of mobility and being able to switch between offence and defence by using your BA you are very versatile and so you can take on different roles and that should help keep fights interesting. Perhaps a Monk with a dip for BM would be worth looking into, the loss of Ki from multiclassing is more then made up for with access to maneuvers. And depending on Monk subclass you can debuff with more then just stunning strike.

If starting at level 1 I'd be tempted to go V. Human Fighter taking Martial Adept and Superior Technique then going Monk. It's not the most powerful but it gets your build online quite quickly. Goading/Menacing Attacks are solid choices as they will give you a lot of tactical options to play with.

[Talionis]

I think that Thief can be a martial with a lot of options. Fast Hands is a great third level ability that can allow you to use caltrops, grease, oil, med kits, manacles, etc as a bonus action. You still sneak attack and do okay damage with your one attack.

[stoutstien]

Rune knights are a the best turnkey option for this. Versatile and effective on most fronts as a martial that isn't just casting spells.

[Bobthewizard]

I agree that Rune knight is great for this. Consider pole-arm master, shield master or tavern brawler for a good on-demand bonus action. If you have one other melee character, I like interception fighting style for the reaction damage reduction to an ally.

Runes are fun, then you have grappling to mix up your normal attacks.

[Jak]

Second.

Monks are good for control, with different options depending on subclass. Metallic Dragonborn from Fizban's is a good race for some supplemental control options. I'd say some combination of those 2.

For subclass, open-hand would pair very well, and astral self is good if you want to grapple some.

Stats (just a suggestion) could be 8, 16, 16, 8, 16, 8 after racial bonuses. No feats, just boost stats through 20.

[Dork_Forge]

Monks, shoving and grappling instead of just attacking, play a partial caster, Rune Knights etc.

[ImproperJustice]

Dex based Battlemaster can attack from range, and frighten, disarm, and push people.
Give disadvantage, and then do a couple things outside battle.

[PallyBass]

Swordsbard/Hexblade Warlock gets you full caster utility options with blade flourishes.

Swordsbard/Battlemaster Fighter gets you some caster utility with martial maneuvers & blade flourishes

Both these suggestions require you to choose between casting a spell or attacking with a maneuver, so if you are thinking of bonus action cast+ attack twice look for a different build

[Snowbluff]

I have a player who does this a lot.

His most recent creation is a Monk5(Mercy Maybe?)/Echo Knight3. Basically he's able to hold down 2 Opp attack's worth of space with his clone, as well as using it for mobility, while also having some debuffing potential with Monk's Stuns and poisons. I think he also took the fighting style and feat for some maneuvers as well.

Rune knight is the other option, I will second it. The same player played a rune knight in another game we were in, he would do all sorts of fun stuff with it. I think the stand out might be the fire chains ability.



I think this is outside the purview of the request, but Bladesinger and Swarmkeeper are good at delivering a variety of their effects using the attack action. Bladesinger does cantrips (which includes stuff like slowing, penalties, bonus damage) and Swarmkeeper can shove or add damage.

[Skrum]

Don't play a monk, monks are bad underwhelming. The only thing they actually excel at is mobility, which is nifty but not very strong in the scheme of things. Running away and avoiding being hit might feel like you're "doing something," but you're really not.

Battle Master fighter is the most obvious answer. They're naturally outfitted for melee combat, and there's a maneuver for basically any type of effect/theme you want to go for.

Rune Knights are also great, as others have noted. Runes can't be used as frequently as maneuvers, but they're WAY stronger - cloud rune in particular can swing battles. Plus you're an amazing grappler, which offers its own situational benefits.

Melee warlock has a lot of interesting choices. Hexblade is the standard choice, but it's not the only one - start in a heavy armor class at level 1, then move to warlock. Pact of the Blade opens up Thirsting Blade and Eldritch Smite, but that's only 2 invocations. You'll still have a patron, other invocations, and spells to customize your build. I'm a fan of efreeti genielock, and I'm playing one now. Smites at close range, fireball at long range, action surge for crazy bursts (even 2 fireballs in a turn), extra fire damage on my melee attacks; there's a lot to play with.

[BaronCorvo]

Battle Master? With the Superior Technique fighting style and the Martial Adept feat, that means at least six maneuvers known and six superiority dice per short rest. You can eventually have 12 maneuvers and 8 superiority dice at 15th level. Can also take Sentinel, Shield Master, Tavern Brawler, or something (even Telekinetic) for additional options.

[samcifer]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of monks. Too low on ac, too multi-stat dependant, and too low on damage for my taste. One idea I have is Battle Master 5+/sorcerer 3+ with Quickened and a few control-type spells

[Skrum]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of monks. Too low on ac, too multi-stat dependant, and too low on damage for my taste. One idea I have is Battle Master 5+/sorcerer 3+ with Quickened and a few control-type spells

If you're into gishes I'd strongly recommend pally 2 sorc X. I ran with only 14 Cha and focused on spells that don't need a good casting stat - of which there's a lot. Silvery barbs, shield, fog cloud, misty step, vortex warp, thunderstep, and counterspell are incredibly potent spells that 1) keep you alive, and 2) open up tons of tactical options. Moving you, an ally, you and an ally, possibly quickened if need be; it's a build with a ton of options and utility. Downside is only one attack, but I made this build as an executioner-themed, one strike one kill type. GWM + BB + divine smite and you can hit 50+ with a 3rd level smite. Crits can be 80+. It's fun.

[Person_Man]

Paladin/Bard? Paladin gives you Smite, Channel, and Aura. Bard gives you Expertise, Inspiration, and full caster progression. Full Plate, Extra Attack, amazing Shove rolls, plenty of other status effect choices from the subclasses, and you can use all of your spell slots to Smite, so it doesn’t play at all like a caster unless you want it to.

[Snowbluff]

Don't play a monk, monks are bad underwhelming. The only thing they actually excel at is mobility, which is nifty but not very strong in the scheme of things. Running away and avoiding being hit might feel like you're "doing something," but you're really not.


Yeah, I'm not a fan of monks. Too low on ac, too multi-stat dependant, and too low on damage for my taste. One idea I have is Battle Master 5+/sorcerer 3+ with Quickened and a few control-type spells

Just wear armor and slap people with stunning strike. It's probably not the most optimal option, but if your objective is to have a lot of buttons to press on a character without spells, it blends well. You can even take it a step further and having the Unarmed Fighting style from your fighter levels or a natural unarmed attack from your race, and grab Physician's Touch for a no save Poison effect by punching people.

[Thunderous Mojo]

I would argue, if you generally play spell casters, and want a change, just skip the spells. The Rune Knight has more than enough magic to handle control and damage mitigation.

Grappling is an excellent control option, and Grappling with Expertise from Skill Expert, is satisfying.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, has quite a few goodies for Fighters.

[sambojin]

Moon Druid? And just use spells for low-end buffs, after-combat heals, and Summon Beast/ Fey (so your DPR keeps up)?

Probably not what you're looking for.


But Rune Knight and Echo Knight are fun, with just enough random stuff to do, that you feel martial'y, but without needing a pre-printed booklet of "things you can do" like any druid does.

Chuck in Feytouched for a little movement shenanigans at some point, maybe a lvl of Arcana Cleric for kinda-pointless but fun SCAGtrips/ cantrips and skills/spells, and call it a day. Could work.

(Vhuman for a lvl1 feat, newKobold because it's really good, Firbolg because you're a mage then Harry, Tabaxi or Orc for movement, whatever really. There's lots of fun stuff for movement or crumping. Depends on what weapons you want, and how you want to feat it)

((Moon 2/Rune x would get you every combat style and gimmick you could need, even if Extra Attack comes in two levels late. Vhuman with Telekinetic at lvl1, and sword'n'board it later on. You won't get too bored, and you can always druid3 it for plenty more slots and options down the track))

[kingcheesepants]

I like Paladin for a martial character with more things going on than just attacks, though the Paladin spell list isn't too heavy on control options so maybe that isn't quite you're looking for. Perhaps you'd be interested in playing an Artificer, between their spell list, their infusions, and their class/subclass abilities they've got lots of options. For a more martial type artificer the Armorer does a good job, they've got extra attack, heavy armor, the ability to stay SAD if you use their special weapons, just lots going for em.

[animorte]

If you’re looking for control options:

Warlock has a lot of good fancy combat control options across subclasses and you can still go melee without being Hexblade. However, I fear that based on your previous preferred experience of sniping, etc. that you would still default into Eldritch Blast with Repelling Blast/Grasp of Hadar.

Either way a couple good options aside from that are Fathomless, Undead, Celestial, Fiend. Rebuke of the Talisman is underrated.

I’ve also been running a Barbarian 1/Spores Druid X and it’s really neat. There’s bonus temp HP and additional consistent damage that you can move around the battlefield.

I second Echo Knight because those are pretty interesting and fun, being able to jump all over the place, but ultimately you’re still just whacking at the baddies.

[LudicSavant]

I prefer to play casters for more versatility in combat so I can do more than just swing my weapon a few times per turn and that's it, but its getting rather stale of late. I've toyed around with a few ideas: Battle Master 3+ with barbarian or rogue as a multiclass, sorcerer 3+ with Quickened and some control spells like web and grease with a 5+ (for extra attack) in a martial class to be good in melee as well.

What I'm looking for are ideas for pcs that can do more to enemies than just attack with their weapons in combat. They say the best status condition to inflict on enemies is "dead", but I feel that I focus too much on that. I've mostly been playing blaster casters and sniper types and am looking for more variety. I fell like I've fallen into a rut as combat feels boring to me of late and I feel like I need to play something with more variety and stop focusing on only playing ranged pcs. Basically, I want to make a melee character who can manipulate foes in battle (status effects, forced movement, etc.) and not just be limited to trying to do damage until they die. My problem is that I'm not sure what to go for on such a build and need advice on this.

Open to suggestions.

Some options to consider:

Rune Knight Fighter.
Mercy Monk.
Paladins in general.

[RogueJK]

Rune knights are a the best turnkey option for this.


I agree that Rune knight is great for this.

Yep. And if you want to crank it up to 11, make your Rune Knight a Metallic Dragonborn (from Fizban's), and take the Crusher and Dragon Fear feats. Combining all those gets you numerous control, debuff, forced movement, and even AoE options, all without any spellcasting. It's the perfect combination for players who are concerned about getting bored with their Fighter just attacking normally every round.


Ancestral Guardian Barbarian 3/Rune Knight or Battlemaster Fighter X is an example of another non-spellcasting straight martial with numerous support, debuff, and control options.



Or if you're not wanting to get totally away from the versatility of spellcasting, good multiclass combos that supplement solid martial capability with spellcasting include:

Paladin 2 or 6/Sorcerer or Bard or Warlock X. Frontline melee smiter with spell options.

Whispers Bard 5/Hexblade Bladelock X. Another frontline melee "smiter" with numerous spell options.

Or even just a single-classed Hexblade Bladelock can be played as a solid primary melee martial with some supplementary spellcasting. Fighter 1/Non-Hexblade Bladelock X can do that well too, at the cost of not being CHA-SAD and requiring a 1 level Fighter dip. (I especially like Fighter 1/Undead Bladelock X.)

[samcifer]

I looked over rune knight and while it's interesting, Battle Master gives me way more options as well as a higher number of chances to use the things I can do per rest. At level 6, assuming I take the superior technique fighting style and martial adept at lvl 4, that would be 6 different things I could do and the same number of times I could do them per rest. I was thinking either all 6 levels in bm or 5 and 1 in barbarian for more damage per attack as well as increased survivability in melee combat. The motm version of goliath seems like a good race with this route if I go pure martial rather than a gish build.

[LudicSavant]

I looked over rune knight and while it's interesting, Battle Master gives me way more options as well as a higher number of chances to use the things I can do per rest.

Here's the amount of "chances to use things per rest" that each Fighter subclass has (not even including Rune Knight's multiple passive buffs).

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/445485023299108875/962908992143761468/unknown.png

[samcifer]

Here's the amount of "chances to use things per rest" that each Fighter subclass has (not even including Rune Knight's multiple passive buffs).

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/445485023299108875/962908992143761468/unknown.png

The odds of reaching a high level in either campaign I am currently in are rather low. We're also leveling up very slowly, so planning on reaching level 17 or higher seems like wasted effort to me. That chart seems to have bms start strong and increase very slowly compared to other subclasses, but it's what I can do now, not later on (assuming we go that far) that I am focused on. Thanks for the info regardless, tho. :)

[LudicSavant]

The odds of reaching a high level in either campaign I am currently in are rather low. We're also leveling up very slowly, so planning on reaching level 17 or higher seems like wasted effort to me. That chart seems to have bms start strong and increase very slowly compared to other subclasses, but it's what I can do now, not later on (assuming we go that far) that I am focused on. Thanks for the info regardless, tho. :)

I do not understand where you're getting this "reaching level 17" stuff from. As the chart shows, you do not have to wait until anywhere near level 17 to get more "uses of stuff" than the Battle Master.

[samcifer]

Couldn't make out the chart clearly so I had to save and enlarge it on my phone. So in my groups, we tend to only have 1 (occasionally 2) encounter(s) per rest (long rest most of the time), and most battles are over in 2 or 3 rounds, so I'd be getting an average of 4 attacks (6 with action surge) per adventuring day and not counting bonus action attacks. With a level 5 or 6 rune knight, I could restrain a foe view fire rune or charm them with stone rune (frost and cloud are okay, but don't interest me). Battle Master, however offer much more variety to me in various control effects on enemies, healing downed allies, increased accuracy, etc. Rune knights have much less variety, imo. A bm let's me do 6 different things at lvl 5, but an rk only gives me 2 extra things to do. That's my thinking.

[Greywander]

What I'm looking for are ideas for pcs that can do more to enemies than just attack with their weapons in combat. They say the best status condition to inflict on enemies is "dead", but I feel that I focus too much on that. I've mostly been playing blaster casters and sniper types and am looking for more variety. I fell like I've fallen into a rut as combat feels boring to me of late and I feel like I need to play something with more variety and stop focusing on only playing ranged pcs. Basically, I want to make a melee character who can manipulate foes in battle (status effects, forced movement, etc.) and not just be limited to trying to do damage until they die. My problem is that I'm not sure what to go for on such a build and need advice on this.
I'm going to be echoing a lot of the suggestions others have made.

A Rune Knight with Athletics expertise (e.g. from the Skill Expert feat) is an S tier grappler. The only investment required is either a feat or a dip for expertise, and you're still a full fighter otherwise. Giant's Might does have limited use, but you don't need it to grapple, unless size is an issue. If you like, you can still be an A tier grappler with only a 3 level dip in Rune Knight (though you will want Extra Attack from somewhere), so there's a lot of multiclass potential.

The Thief's Fast Hands is really great. Using items as a BA opens up a lot of options without compromising your Sneak Attack. You can drop caltrops, ball bearings, or oil, throw acid or alchemist's fire, or use a healer's kit. Take the Healer feat and that last one becomes an actual heal. Don't limit yourself, this works with any item. Flip through the equipment list and ask yourself, "How can I use this?" Sadly doesn't apply to magic items, though, but maybe your DM might allow it?

If you like the idea of a grappler but lament that you only have two hands, then may I introduce you to the Conquest paladin. "AoE grappler" isn't technically accurate, but it does describe them pretty well. Your aura prevents frightened creatures from moving, similar to grappling, and you have several spells and a channel divinity option that cause fear. Take dragonborn as your race and pick up Dragon Fear. It's true that damage allows a save, but it's a non-concentration AoE that can exclude allies, and even just a single round can make a huge difference. Wrathful Smite is an extremely effective single target option, as only the initial roll is a saving throw. Subsequent rolls are ability checks, which they have disadvantage on due to being frightened, and they also have to burn an action just to try. Fear is also quite the debilitating condition by itself. And if they're immune to fear, you're still a paladin; smiting always works.

Monks are pretty diverse and versatile, though you did already say you weren't that interested in monks. Still, they're worth considering. I feel like monks look weak on paper but are somehow loads of fun and surprisingly effective in practice. They buck a lot of the existing conventions so they're tricky to analyze.

I'm sure there's tons of other builds you could consider as well. Hopefully this at least gives you somewhere to start looking, and you can find a build that appeals to you.

[LudicSavant]

Battle Master, however offer much more variety to me in various control effects on enemies, healing downed allies The Battle Master subclass does not offer any feature that heals downed allies.


A bm let's me do 6 different things at lvl 5, but an rk only gives me 2 extra things to do. That's my thinking.
BM gets 4 resources per short rest, I don't know where you're getting 6 from. Rune Knight gets 2 per short rest plus 3 per long rest plus 2 passives. At level 7 that will increase to 3 per short rest plus 6 per long rest plus 3 passives. There is no scenario where they should only have 2 things to do.

[samcifer]

The Battle Master subclass does not offer any feature that heals downed allies.


BM gets 4 resources per short rest, I don't know where you're getting 6 from. Rune Knight gets 2 per short rest plus 3 per long rest plus 2 passives. At level 7 that will increase to 3 per short rest plus 6 per long rest plus 3 passives. There is no scenario where they should only have 2 things to do.

I was thinking of rally. Can temp hp revive a downed ally?

Superior technique fighting style and martial adept feateach grant asuperioritydiefor 6 dicetotal.

[Evaar]

I was thinking of rally. Can temp hp revive a downed ally?

Superior technique fighting style and martial adept feateach grant asuperioritydiefor 6 dicetotal.

1) No. From the rules on THP: “If you have 0 hit points, receiving temporary hit points doesn't restore you to consciousness or stabilize you.
They can still absorb damage directed at you while you're in that state, but only true healing can save you.”

2) Why couldn’t a Rune Knight select those exact same options? If you’re giving credit to the Battle Master for those, then an apples to apples comparison requires doing the same for the Rune Knight.

[LudicSavant]

I was thinking of rally. Can temp hp revive a downed ally? They do not.


Superior technique fighting style and martial adept feateach grant asuperioritydiefor 6 dicetotal.
Neither of those features are actually granted by the Battle Master subclass, a Rune Knight can take them too.


Don't play a monk, monks are bad underwhelming. The only thing they actually excel at is mobility, which is nifty but not very strong in the scheme of things. Running away and avoiding being hit might feel like you're "doing something," but you're really not.

It sounds like you're talking about a specific kind of Monk build, the kind that thinks taking Mobile makes them a good "Skirmisher." I generally advise not being one of those.

However, said characters are not representative of optimized Monks in the year 2022. It's more like... the Monk equivalent of being a TWF Fighter. Folks are being Shadow Gunks and Mercybears and such these days.

[samcifer]

Okay, just considering the subclass itself with nothing more, bm gets 4 superiority dice and 3 maneuvers while an rk gets 2 runes and 1 use of each per rest.

Taking superior technique and martial adept echo grant a single die for 2 dice, so a bm vs an rk with both of those comes to 6 abilities each with up to 6 uses total on a bm vs 2 one-use abilities and 2 dice to use any of 3 maneuvers up to 2 times total for only 4 ability uses per rest and 2 of those only once.

A lvl. 5 bm has 2 more uses of their abilities and can use any of them more than once per rest, making them, imo, more versatile and having more uses of their abilities and less limitations than an rk. 4 abilities (as such) with up to 4 uses each per rest sounds better than 2 abilities that can each only be used once per rest. That's my thinking and while I don't hate rks, I just feel that bms have it better in both variety and number of uses of each per rest.

I know I'm repeating myself by now, but I feel as if I'm the only one seeing value in a bm over an rk. Hoping I'm wrong on this, but worried I'm not. *shrugs*

[LudicSavant]

4 uses each per rest sounds better than 2 abilities that can each only be used once per rest. That's my thinking and while I don't hate rks, I just feel that bms have it better in both variety and number of uses of each per rest.

I know I'm repeating myself by now, but I feel as if I'm the only one seeing value in a bm over an rk. Hoping I'm wrong on this, but worried I'm not. *shrugs*

Rune Knights get 2-10 active rune abilities (per short rest), and 2-6 Giant's Might, and 3-6 Runic Shield. And 2-6 passive rune abilities.

At level 5, they would have 3 Giant's Might, in addition to their two runes.

[samcifer]

...Anyways, I think for a pure martial build with the most variety, I'll go bear totem barbarian + battle master for survivability plus variety with some extra damage. Strength-focused starting with a level or 2 of barbarian (one campaign I'm in just had us hit lvl 7), then go bm for 5 or 6 levels, taking martial adept as my first asi/feat for added maneuvers and a 5th maneuver die as well as dueling for the fighting style (superior technique later via a feat) with a longsword for added base damage for +4 damage per hit while raging. Just got the inspiration on the build design today when thinking of trying to create a Kenpachi from Bleach kind of character. I'll go to 4 in barbarian and fighter for the rest.

[Frogreaver]

Okay, just considering the subclass itself with nothing more, bm gets 4 superiority dice and 3 maneuvers while an rk gets 2 runes and 1 use of each per rest.

Taking superior technique and martial adept echo grant a single die for 2 dice, so a bm vs an rk with both of those comes to 6 abilities each with up to 6 uses total on a bm vs 2 one-use abilities and 2 dice to use any of 3 maneuvers up to 2 times total for only 4 ability uses per rest and 2 of those only once.

A lvl. 5 bm has 2 more uses of their abilities and can use any of them more than once per rest, making them, imo, more versatile and having more uses of their abilities and less limitations than an rk. 4 abilities (as such) with up to 4 uses each per rest sounds better than 2 abilities that can each only be used once per rest. That's my thinking and while I don't hate rks, I just feel that bms have it better in both variety and number of uses of each per rest.

I know I'm repeating myself by now, but I feel as if I'm the only one seeing value in a bm over an rk. Hoping I'm wrong on this, but worried I'm not. *shrugs*


Battlemaster options are mostly good for doing more damage. Non-damage manuevers are okay. Post Tasha's they also are good for skill checks.
Rune Knight abilities are much better for control. They also have strong albeit more situational abilities to mitigate damage and increase party chances of succeeding at critical saves.


If I wanted combat 'versatility' I would lean toward Rune Knight. If I wanted damage or skills I would lean toward battlemaster. Ultimately both are top tier choices. Just depends on flavor and what you want to focus on.

[LostBenefit]

Basically, I want to make a melee character who can manipulate foes in battle (status effects, forced movement, etc.) and not just be limited to trying to do damage until they die.

As others before me have mentioned, Rune Knight Fighter is the ideal class for this. You can grapple with advantage after level 3 with Giant's Might and can dip into Rogue for Athletics expertise or take Skilled/Skill Expert if you don't want to multiclass.

Your runes, specifically Stone and Fire, can apply charmed and restrained respectively. After level 7, you can take the Storm Rune to impose advantage/disadvantage on any ability check, attack, or saving throw within a limited range. And while not a status effect per se, the Cloud Rune can redirect a critical hit toward a creature of your choice, again within a limited range.

In addition, if you want a once a turn option to move an enemy, taking size differences into account, take the Crusher feat and a weapon that deals bludgeoning damage.

[Guy Lombard-O]

The Battle Master subclass does not offer any feature that heals downed allies.


BM gets 4 resources per short rest, I don't know where you're getting 6 from. Rune Knight gets 2 per short rest plus 3 per long rest plus 2 passives. At level 7 that will increase to 3 per short rest plus 6 per long rest plus 3 passives. There is no scenario where they should only have 2 things to do.

One thing about that chart - it doesn't take into account that some of those RK tools last for a minute, whereas BM maneuvers are basically just a one-time, one round effect. The Fire shackles can restrain an opponent for a minute. The Stone rune charm can last a minute. The Storm rune gives you a powerful reaction each round for a minute (and can be used to help the Stone or Fire rune's disables stick better, by giving those targets disadvantage on the save to escape them).

Point being, despite RK already winning the resource-per-day competition as shown by the chart, they actually win it by a good deal more than that chart's numbers actually suggest. If broken down into per-round resources per day, I think the RK's numbers would be even more dominant.

[LudicSavant]

One thing about that chart - it doesn't take into account that some of those RK tools last for a minute, whereas BM maneuvers are basically just a one-time, one round effect. The Fire shackles can restrain an opponent for a minute. The Stone rune charm can last a minute. The Storm rune gives you a powerful reaction each round for a minute (and can be used to help the Stone or Fire rune's disables stick better, by giving those targets disadvantage on the save to escape them).

Point being, despite RK already winning the resource-per-day competition as shown by the chart, they actually win it by a good deal more than that chart's numbers actually suggest. If broken down into per-round resources per day, I think the RK's numbers would be even more dominant.

Indeed. Like if anything, the chart is understating what the Rune Knight is bringing to the table.