Fighters are a great workhorse class in 5e - nothing terribly fancy, but really solid at dishing out the damage or soaking it up. In the game I'm currently running, one Fighter started playing their Warlock alt, while another has been too busy to play, and I've been shocked at how much longer my monsters are surviving in combat without the Fighters. Let's get to class features:
Class Features:
New Fighting Styles:
Blind Fighting: (does this look familiar.) You have blindsight out to 10 feet, allowing you to effectively see things in that range even if you're blind, including invisible creatures that aren't successfully hidden from you.
Interception: When a creature you can see hits a target other than you within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by 1d10 + PB, to a minimum of 0, if you're wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon.
Superior Technique: You learn one maneuver of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype. If a maneuver requires your target to make a saving throw, the DC is equal to 8 + your PB + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice.) You gain one superiority die, which is a d6 (added to any dice you get from other sources.) The die is used to fuel your maneuvers, and is expended when you take the maneuver. You regain the die on a short or long rest.
Thrown Weapon Fighting: You can draw a thrown weapon as part of the attack to throw it, and when you hit with a ranged attack with a thrown weapon, you get a +2 bonus to the damage roll.
Unarmed Fighting: Your unarmed strikes deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier on a hit, and if you aren't wielding weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8. Additionally, at the start of your turn, if you're grappling a creature, you can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to it.
Martial Versatility (4th level):
When you get an Ability Score Improvement, you can either change your Fighting Style to a different Fighter fighting style, or if you know any maneuvers from the Battle master archetype, you can replace it with a different manuever.
New Maneuver Options:
Ambush: When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check or an initiative roll, you can expend one superiority die and add the die to the roll, as long as you are not incapacitated.
Bait and Switch: When you're within 5 feet of a creature on your turn, you can expend one superiority die and switch places with that creature, provided you spend at least 5 feet of movement and the creature is willing and not incapacitated. The movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. Roll the superiority die, and you or the other creature (your choice) gains a bonus to AC equal to the number rolled until the start of your next turn.
Brace: When a creature you can see moves into the reach you have with the melee weapon you're wielding, you can use your reaction to expend a superiority die and make one attack against the creature, using that weapon. If the attack hits, add the superiority die to the weapon's damage roll.
Commanding Presence: When you make a Charisma (Intimidation,) a Charisma (Performance,) or a Charisma (Persuasion) check, you can expend one superiority die and add the die to the ability check.
Grappling Strike: Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack on your turn, you can expend one superiority die and then ry to grapple the target as a bonus action. Add the superiority die to your Strength (Athletics) check.
Quick Toss: As a bonus action, you can expend one superiority die and make a ranged attack with a weapon that has the thrown property. You can draw the weapon as part of making this attack. If you hit, add the superiority die to the weapon's damage roll.
Tactical Assessment: When you make an Intelligence (Investigation), an Intelligence (History), or a Wisdom (Insight) check, you can expend one superiority die and add the die to the ability check.
Hoo! That's a lot of maneuvers. It's pretty clear that WotC feels the Battle Master was the most successful of their Fighter subclasses, and I'd expect for similar gameplay concepts to be baked into the Fighter in general in any hypothetical 6e.
Subclasses:
Psi Warrior:
This is another of the psionic-themed subclasses, in this case leveraging your psychic abilities to be a better warrior. Like the Soulknife, you'll have a number of Psionic Energy dice that get bigger as you level up, and you get more of them as your PB goes up (you have a number equal to twice your PB, so you start with 4.) You spend these dice on various abilities, or sometimes to get additional uses of other abilities.
The abilities you get for this include various kinds of telekinesis, as well as the ability to deal a bit of extra force damage to targets you hit. There are also some defensive abilities to reduce damage you take and give allies cover.
Rune Knight:
The concept of this is that you've learned a number of magical giant runes that you can carve into your weapons and armor to get various effects. You also have a feature that lets you become Large in size, and later Huge, granting bonuses to your damage, as well as Strength checks and Saving Throws.
This is a pretty thematic and customizable subclass (though by 15th level, you'll know all but one of the rune options.) Also, a lot of the runes grant you abilities outside of combat, which is a nice thing for the Fighter, which tends to be a pretty combat-focused class.
Battle Master Builds:
This isn't actually a new feature, per se, but there are 12 suggested builds for battle master Fighters, focusing on particular strength and styles. Again, I think WotC really likes the Battle Master. The suggestions they grant are the Archer, Bodyguard, Brawler, Duelist, Gladiator, Hoplite, Lancer, Outrider, Pugilist, Shock Trooper, Skirmisher, and Strategist, each with suggested Fighting Styles, Maneuvers, and Feats. It's a fun little bit, though for players who have already got a strong idea of what they want to do, it'll read mostly as filler.
So, overall, I think the Fighter subclasses bring some interesting ideas. The Rune Knight feels like an attempt to have another highly customizable subclass like the Battle Master, though the relatively small number of runes to pick from means it won't be quite at that level.
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