Character Concepts: WARRIORS | 5e D&D | TTRPG | Web DM 

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I hope so much this is part of a mini-series

Warriors don't run out of 'cut you to pieces' slots and they don't forget how to do it either.

In a world where ppl can throw fire from their fingertips, I'm looking at the guy pickin up a sword because he likes his chances

I have always found the idea of a Human Fighter in D&D to be such a compelling place to start. Gods, Wizards, monsters, demons, etc etc etc Then there is Steve over here, he’s just really good at killing shit I guess, so we keep him around.

My favorite fighter is Jerry Kneecapper, gnomish champion fighter with soldier background. Dishonorable discharge for insubordination due to, well, capping his superior's knees.

Y'know, I was just thinking of character concepts earlier today. Because I always am. It's a problem.

around 47 minutes, a real life example is Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Was a professor of theology and literature at the University of Maine and during the civil war enlisted in the Union Army. Had a crazy stand/bayonet charge at Gettysburg that probably saved the Union army. Received the medal of honor.

20:00 "Sir! What are you doing?" "Uh... trudging! You know trudging? To trudge, the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in his life except the impulse to simply... soldier on!" I too LOVE that movie! Now I will go have my cry in remembrance of Mr. Ledger.

Reminds me of monk. “I wanna play a monk” “You’re just gonna punch the dragon to death?” “Yes. Yes I am.”

“Your side won but haha not paying you”, that’s the origin story of a fair few pirates 😂

I like the idea of establishing a supernatural nature to the martial character, expecially at higher levels. In my current campaign, when my lvl 8 Fighter uses Action Surge his nervous system and his muscle fibers receive a [magic] shock, making him move and think at an insanely fast rate, almost as he saw things move more slowly around him. Also, since you mentioned Guts, in Berserk there's this concept of object and mortal beings becoming part of the "absurd" world when they interact with it. Guts' sword has been wet with so much demon blood that it now has transcended, and it's able to kill astral beings. Following this line of reasoning, a master swordsman and top athlete could ascend to high tiers of play by absorbing exceptional strenght and ability by being constantly exposed to so much magic and divine influences, fields, effects...and surviving.

This makes me think of a section in the 5th novel of The Expanse, where Amos is talking with another dangerous man and is thinking about how with two people who are legitimately dangerous it is critical for them to have extra-polite rituals that open up the interaction. Because truly dangerous people are feeling out the exact nature of the situation and looking for the opening they could exploit to kill the other (if it comes to that).

This is awesome. I’ve played a lot of wizards, now on forge cleric. Starting the feel the pull of a warrior or expert kind of build (battle masters seem pretty fun). 100% agree with the broad canvas view on the warrior as compared to a lot of other archetypes.

One of my PCs is playing a warrior monk Grung 🐸 He started off his BackStory as a noble warrior seeking vengeance for his tribe A year in and he’s sold his soul to a lich and wants to go punch frost giants Something something D&D 🤷

YES!!! I love the character concepts. Please be a series...

Steve Rogers- "I can do this all day"

Oh my gosh yes, the character videos have arrived! Love to listen to this stuff, especially as I am writing up material or such, actually planning out some videos I want to do on character based builds and concepts myself so I love to see stuff like this to really get the mind churning!

The warrior who has magic just because he's so badass... that sounds like an oath of glory pally, to me.

One of my favourite characters was a half elf knight who ended up with the helm of the purple plume that made him immune to fear. So I played into that, he was a noble himbo who had zero common sense due to knowing no fear. It got me into SO much trouble but God he was so utterly care free. Totally why we play. Living outside the box

really love the work you guys do, but mostly Pruitt's intros. after a long break because of covid, im back in the DM saddle and your videos over the past month have been a huge inspiration to lvl up my side of the table. thxz again for all the amazing work you put in to these videos. stay awesome friends!

56:57 Great scene, Pruitt got it right. Little Finger said "Knowledge is power", which prompted the "power is power"

29:30 Geralt stopped abruptly, froze with his sword raised. The striga, disconcerted, also stopped. The witcher traced a slow semi-circle with the blade, took a step in the striga’s direction. Then another. Then he leapt, feigning a whirling movement with his sword above her head. The striga curled up, retreated in a zigzag. Geralt was close again, the blade shimmering in his hand. His eyes lit up with an ominous glow, a hoarse roar tore through his clenched teeth. The striga backed away, pushed by the power of concentrated hatred, anger and violence which emanated from the attacking man and struck her in waves, penetrating her mind and body. Terrified and pained by feelings unknown to her she let out a thin, shaking squeak, turned on the spot and ran off in a desperate, crazy escape down the dark tangle of the palace’s corridors. Geralt stood quivering in the middle of the hall. Alone. It had taken a long time, he thought, before this dance on the edge of an abyss, this mad, macabre ballet of a fight, had achieved the desired effect, allowed him to psychically become one with his opponent, to reach the underlayers of concentrated will which permeated the striga. The evil, twisted will from which the striga was born. The witcher shivered at the memory of taking on that evil to redirect it, as if in a mirror, against the monster. Never before had he come across such a concentration of hatred and murderous frenzy, not even from basilisks, who enjoyed a ferocious reputation for it.

Guts truly is pinnacle warrior character, very happy that you guys remembered him

Highly appreciate the video specifically centered on my exact interests in RP.

19:16 This is exactly how I play my Oath of the Crown Paladin themed after a Samurai. The smites are perfect strikes and he centers himself in such a way that it is effective on a metaphysical level

I love your points on dirty fighters. I have a character somewhere that, to the rest of the world, is a dirty fighter, a cheat. But from their point of view, they're fighting things way out of their league. Monsters, wizards, things that should not be beaten in a fight with an ordinary weapon. They're not fighting dirty, they're leveling the playing field.

Instantly stopped watching the other WebDM video I was watching to watch the Neewww WebDM video 😁

Love Pruit but he better start reading the Berserk manga and SEE

In my own head canon at least when it comes to fighters. Some subclasses only come from certain orders and or colleges that specialize in a certain way of fighting. Like for Eldritch knights they come from one or two of the few colleges of arcana bc they have the scholars necessary for those students. However at the same time those that attend the school that aren’t magic users can still become more strategic fighters or specialize in a particular way of fighting.

Aw man, I really love digging into the mystical side of warrior archetypes. I feel like Jim would love Vivec from the Elder Scrolls series - a warrior, a poet, and an ascendant god with a vastly different perspective on the world. "Reach heaven through violence" is something I want all my monk characters (especially monk/barbarian multiclasses) to have, given a Hermit background.

Y’all are amazing content creators, the approach and thought the two of you present in your videos and discussions is always insightful, informative, and great takes on the game! Currently working on a half orc monk so this came out at the perfect time!

I’m sure you’re going to hit all the classics, but the “reluctant hero” of which Bilbo is archetypical is one that people don’t do often enough and I think would be cool to explore.

JIm describes: a kensai monk, cavalier, psi warrior, and echo knight.

Will Patton's character from The Postman always stands out to me as the guy who stumbles into becoming a warrior and turns out to be awesome at it. We don't see his transformation on screen unfortunately, but I bet that would make for an amazing origin story.

I made a beast barbarian Dhampir a while ago, and I made them a noble, and I have to say after taking the noble background part seriously, having a warrior noble that has used charisma (ya got MAD roles to make this work). It was so interesting playing someone who is a charmer and leader and becomes almost feral savage in combat, having some of that hunter fighter mentality when trying to make deals and build power was more than I ever would have considered even a year before this.

54:56 that makes me think of the interview Matt Colville had with a mercenary while working at Turtlerock Studios. The guy would basically take a contract, get deployed for a few months, come home and blow all the money, then pick up the next contract and repeat.

My current warrior character is an elf who left his secluded village to better understand the new threats from the changing world. His entire mindset is that hiding from threats is not a reliable defense, but going out and getting experience and learning tactics and weaknesses of creatures is worthwhile. Basically education through combat.

WHO DREW THE FOREGROUND?! I didn't even actually notice it was draw for a bit! It is AMAZING!!!! I wish I could draw well.

The reason why I love fighters above all other archetypes is because I see them as the most "pure," in a way. The way I've always subconsciously seen magic in settings is that it's unnatural, and the world has been made worse by it, regardless of the setting. And so it takes a warrior, with earth made metals and wood for weapons and armor, and their hard work , skill, talent, and dedication to "set the world right." And in a practical sense, a wizard can run out of magic, but a sword can't. That being said, if magic exists, let it spice things up. No harm in your fighter using a bit of magic here and there.

"At the end of the day when all you have is your sword to paint your legend with...." I'm totally stealing this.

Jim swoops in with the big picture concepts and allusory references which set the tone and scope, then Pruit comes along and doubles bown on the character-driven narative and mechanics! nice work as always!!

Love this topic! Would like to see more of these for different character types.

I've been writing 2 papers for college per week and videos like this keep my brain churning and stop my burn out. Keep it up guys! ❤️

One of my favorite characters is a Wizard inspired by the book "Mogworld" by Yahtzee Kroshaw, highly recommended book. He's a fireball obsessed blaster whose day job is working in the mining industry who blasts tunnels through mountains as a demolitions specialist.

I’d be keen on seeing a breakdown of the Pugilist class on the DMs guild. It’s been around in one form or another since 2016 and seems pretty cool, would be interesting to hear your thoughts on it. Could also be part of a dms guild or homebrew series perhaps? Products that might be worth checking out etc

Your description of Guts (Im well Familiar) is exactly the same as mine when I describe Conan in the old Robert Howard novels, like more then once he's just more able to tolerate getting stabbed while continue to stab then an elder evil...Thanks to Arnold (The Amazing) people think Conan is a STR character but he's more about CON.

Loved this vid cant wait for more of this particular series

You guys are the best. This is great. You have some much great content for us DMs and now I can introduce my players to your high INT, WIS and CHA.

29:59 This makes me think of a battlemaster who took two levels into wizard to get the portent feature from school of divination. Every so often, they can just will an attack to miss or an enemy to fail resisting their trip... and now I'm gonna make that

I'm a simple guy. I hear Guts from Berserk, I leave a like for the video

I played Ulgamar the one eyed Dwarven fighter, leader of the Ruby Fang, dual wielding Warpicks. Was so fun. My brother ran us through an amazing homebrew campaign. Thanks bro!

I love fighters. I just picture Mandorallen bear hugging a lion to death. Just be more of an absolute unit than what you're fighting.

Two of my favorite warriors from lesser known works are Paksenarrion from The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon and Balsa from the anime Seirei no Moribito. Both of them are wonderful tales of women trying to find their calling as warriors. Paks seeks it out as a starry eyed youth and learns what it means to have a code, an oath, and fight for something greater than yourself. Balsa is on a quest of redemption to balance out the souls taken in defending her, and ultimately finds attachment beyond just her spear.

I turned off FFXIV to watch this, this is exactly the kind of content I am always hungry for.

Played an eldritch knight who only used wands and staves to fight like a wand slinger of sorts. Shot a lot of magic missiles and was usually the one to take out the big bads. Was the only original characters who started that campaign to survive to the end

It's not that I hate warrior types, it's just that I like to have more than just 2 or 3 options every single time, where half of that option is simply "I whack it for damage" plus something else. I like my fighters to be a battlemaster as a base class, and then the psi knight as a subclass, instead of just gaining more attacks

I am creating a goblin wolf rider for my upcoming curse of strahd game, and I'm super excited! :) Warriors unite!

An hour of solid content and my takeaway is I now always will use “Dung Ages” to refer to that pop culture medieval look

Pure warrior. The fighting man, the fighter. With skill and will to mold destiny itself.

I am currently playing as an Orc Grave Cleric who used to be a Mercenary. He fits into this category pretty well because he fought brutally to defend his tribe, then became the fixer for the mercenary group, getting rid of anyone in their own ranks who posed a threat to the entire group. Now he's got a family in the starting town and the rest of the Party is gonna have to try and convince him to help (they did save his life already, though). He's a cleric, but he's also a warrior

I always love a character who like "was a farmer" or something till someone found out they had the nerve to fight and keep a cool head. Sometimes it's the pc sometimes it's a traveling knight or something but either way once that cats out of the bag you can't put it back. Now you're a fighter forever

Sorry. I've watched so many of these videos, and I just this second realized that this is two shots stitched together, hidden behind a fake table. I thought you guys were in the same room. Haha Nicely done. And great content! It's my "sipping on coffee before work" show.

The Lord of The Ring's Human, elf and Dwarf repersenatives are all larger then life character's. Boromir is literally the next heir to the largest Kingdom of this setting, Aragorn is decended from an exceedingly Noble Line, as are Legolas and Gimli. Their character and their deed is much. Boromir was argubly the most ordenary of their company in that he was only human, but even he fought an entire army and ultimately held true to his oath till death, partly out of shame of driving the ring barer away. His corruption also had the effect expressing Frodo's character as an exceptionally powerful character in his own right for being able to resist that temptation, so Frodo and Sam were also warriors of incredible virtue in that, despite their flaws and wounds they were able to get all the way to Mount Doom, surviving incredible odds largely alone to accomplish an incredible task that the entire world depended on them to do. Sam honestly is the best wingman anyone could hope for.

That bit about the fighter school where the weapons teach the fighters reminds me of a concept I had, that took after a bit from Bloodborne. An Eldritch Knight fighter that found a magic, sapient sword, from which he learned both how to fight and how to cast spells. It's this powerful, legendary blade, but at first level it acts just like a regular sword, so as not to get something the other PCs lack. The reasons why the magic sword withholds its power are threefold: 1) Using its special properties is, on some level, effort on the sword's part, and it doesn't want to do it for some random punk. He has to prove it's worth the sword's effort to help. 2) The sword can't have the fighter using its magic as a crutch. He needs to prove he's able to fight on his own, before he's allowed to use the power. 3) Gaining access to the powers of the sword are contingent on the fighter proving to be worthy of character, not just of strength or skill. The sword has opinions - has its own Alignment - and won't allow itself to be used for contrary ends. From there, it's a matter of parceling out more and more of the sword's total power, as the fighter rises in level and performs heroic acts. Instead of gaining progressively more powerful magic items, the fighter grows into the magic item they had all along. His true mentor. His guiding moonlight.

My eldritch knight started the campaign using the party as a means to an end, but over time he’s finding himself exerting more and more effort to protect his party members in combat. He may not tell them how he feels, but his actions speak for him.

I’m currently playing a war veteran in his mid 60’s (in game it’s been like 9yrs since the start) who is a tactical commando. Battle Master Fighter. He has and injured arm so fights with dueling and defensive dualist... and is a crack shot with his heavy repeater crossbow... at level 14 he is still a freaking beast.

I’d say a blade-singer can be a elf that puts the art into marshal arts and could be very marshal in their way of life.

This is the kind of thinking that should go in to developing any new character ideas. I'm playing a monk/barbarian in a buddy's game and I put a lot of thought into how someone maintains such a physically formidable frame. I wound up making a daily exercise routine that he dose and made martial training part of his daily exercise. He is Always attempting to improve to prove his own greatness to his childhood master.

Awesome guys. Really needed this for a character revamp.

I’ve been building this conquest paladin based around how unflinchingly brutal it is, and how much restraint it requires. The oath is literally “expunge the flame of hope”, so once you’re committed you have to go all the way. So RP wise, this character avoids conflict as much as they reasonably can. Sort of a Doctor Who type; please don’t make me fight you so I don’t crush you utterly

13:53 this is the problem a lot of modern veterans are facing. Modern militaries are scarily efficient at getting people to override natural impulses against killing, but don't put much effort into de-programming soldiers from combat to return to civilian life. One way I've heard PTSD described is as a defensive reaponse where your instincts kick in and you feel like you're back in combat even when nothing is threatening you. Bringing up chivalry as a way to integrate men of violence into a society makes me think there's something there modern society could use to help those suffering from PTSD, but I'm not sure on the specifics.

Pruitt's sword bards reminded me of my favorite bard idea. A changeling sword bard who is a gladiator. He travels as part of a show and has multiple personas as different fighters in the show to give more variety as they travel.

29:34 This is a lot like a technique from Toriko that I really enjoyed, where you imagined what you did to your opponents and infused the thoughts with enough killing intent and energy that they manifested themselves into reality. Ive been entranced by the idea since ive read it, so its good to see it acknowledged outside that piece of media.

My favorite characters have been Barbarians. Bear totem and Zealot. Just fun and easy mechanics where I can focus on who they are while also wrecking face. And then Warlocks. So much you can do character-wise with Warocks.

Ive always wanted to make a character inspired by the Wuxia novels I read. Practicing a martial Dao and strengthening my physique. Learning the secrets of yin and yang or space-time. Traversing the multiverse improving and climbing higher mountains until I'm indecipherable from a god.

Really enjoyed this chat and all the love for warriors. Always been a fan of melee classes and reflavoring magic as extraordinary physical abilities

Warrior, because someone has to grapple the Beholder.

I'm working on the concept of a warrior that's the sole survivor a tragic accident. A sailor that was a shunned by society because of deformities (we have a race in our system that develops deformities, kinda like a "hell's touched individual") that could help him on a maritime life. So he was accepted, and embraced by his crew on the ship, but alas, nothing lasts forever. The thing about warriors is that they fit anywhere, and every single background is available to them, and that is very powerful.

I tend not to play warriors, but I might go with a ranger for my next character. I like the idea of a soldier who was attached to a military unit as a scout and skirmisher and now has to find his own way after his kingdom lost the war, and the enemy started rounding up the surviving soldiers for execution or conscription.

Re: celestial and infernal trainers. I do this a lot. All my best and most moral monk monasteries are lead by Outsiders looking to sculpt and mold Mortals. Most of the awful and selfish ones are lead by just humans.

I'm playing a Half-Orc Fighter now. I did not created him because he was just a character sheet available to play in a group on Telegram. But after two sessions my Fighter came across a hook (basically a homebrewed whip that can do piercing damage and hold someone if they don't succeed in a STR Saving Throw) and after that the fights became something else because I still can fight but I can also control where the enemies can go, I can sometimes decide IF they go. If I'm not attacking the enemy I make them more succetible to being hit by the other members of the party.

I wasn't expecting a Wu Tang reference... But I sure as hell appreciated it!

Honor is for the dead. You fight to win. - Old Drill Instructor to new recruits

As someone who has trained in the Japanese Sword Arts for a couple of decades, is of average build (no Conan muscles here :)), has degrees in three subjects (Economics, History and Computing), and is skilled in gardening, writing and guitar playing, it will be no surprise that I agree entirely with the concept that 'warriors' are not muscle bound hulks of limited intellect. A most enjoyable discussion, gentlemen; my respects.

I'm playing a battlemaster with a little of barbarian in the 3rd party 5e campaign, Heroes of Baldur's Gate. Took the optional (DM approved) epic background of The Last Emperor. He is a prince and last survivor of a magical empire that was destroyed. At the final hour he was put into suspended animation within an adamantine casket. The casket was found by archaeologists and brought back to Baldur's Gate to be studied. Someone found a way to open it, dumped him, and left him to fend for himself in a foreign land ~2000 years removed from his home. He was hooked up with his party by the guy who taught him rudimentary common. Now he seeks to find the casket and the information inscribed upon it. Then he will travel to his homeland; whichever way that is. His magical heritage will awake in him later (if he survives). But until then, his companions and being an honorable warrior are his only assets.

I think warrior type characters are great because they can draw on history more than a lot of other classes. Some interesting and less conventional warriors to research for inspiration could be Byzantine cataphracts, mangudai, Genoese crossbow men, Roman triarii, Gallic naked warriors, rhodian slingers, knights of saint lazarus, Zulu warriors, German landsknechts, and macedonian companion cavalry.

Fighters were able to use so many magic items in the AD&D, they were able to bend bars lift gates and bust down doors. Not to mention Magic Swords that excelled against specific enemies! Multi-attack with a Sword of Giant slaying and a powerful fighter can cut through giants.....but only after earning it.

I've always liked playing fighters and warriors, i like the idea of being just a guy with a blade, standing to challenge the world, going toe to toe with beasts many times your own size, or evil magic users, able to manipulate the fabric of reality, but still fall to my steel. It just seems cool to me "Who are you to dare challenge i? Zarrak, master of the dark arts!" "I'm just the guy that's here to kill you"

Sorry Pruitt, that is to brilliant a character concept not to ste...Homage in my next game: "When my peers at Bard College were getting drunk in the tavern, I studied the blade. When they were wenching and sowing wild oats, I mastered self-restraint. While they wasted their days in pursuit of artistic vanity, I cultivated inner strength. And now that the world is on fire, and the barbarians are at the gate they have the audacity to come to me for aid." - Hals Bart the Sword King {excerpt from the Saga of Hals Bart, written by Hals Bart} Hals Bart 'the Sword King'. Though I went College of Valour, it helped solidify a concept I was workshopping about a magic swordsman (spiritual weapon/blade of disaster via magical secrets). However I couldn't decide whether or not to go Eldritch Knight. Thanks to things you both touched on, I settled with: Hals Bart 'the Sword King' writes exaggerated fantasy novellas about his own exploits. The character of Hals Bart (in these novels) is a very Caine from Kung Fu/Shane style figure {Folk Hero Background}. He rides his dusty wagon into a frontier/border town, helps with their problems, and leaves before they realise they don't need him anymore. All while recording his exploits in his journal. However, a magical mishap with the Dream of the Blue Veil spell has brought the fictional (larger than life) Hals Bart (Eldritch Knight) to life/material plane, much to the chagrin of Hals Bart the Author (Valour Bard). {In case I need a backup character} (Hals Bart is a very poor/literal google translation of Neck and Beard in German. 😉😉)

I hope one of the concepts that you discuss is that of an Everyman. There is so much implied training to even reach level 1 in most classes that making a believable Everyman backstory is sometimes a challenge. I play a lot of Sorcerers as a result, because I like being a normal dude that was exposed to uncontrolled magic and was lucky (or unlucky) enough to end up with powers. All adventurers are basically super heroes, but Sorcerers really let you play that Spider-man/Fantastic 4/Flash archtype of someone who got their powers by accident. Or you can just be a mutant. Edit: I made this post halfway through watching the video. Of course you would go on to touch upon everyman types.

I am working on my next character and it's melee based. This video comes at the perfect time and hitting all the points I was going over as I try to come up with the concept. You guys are absolute wizards

I made a character that I haven’t been able to play, but it has the mechanics that line up with the idea. Take a hobgoblin, make them an expert, give them a great sword. They try to line up everything else in combat to make the perfect strike, the perfection of the blow is an fleeting moment they constantly chase. 2d6 great sword, 2d6 marshal advantage, 2d6 lvl6 expert feature.... give them a lightning tongue great sword or booming blade? Play the ff7 remake duel music when you fight that mortar cycle solider jerk.

I clicked like for the joke at 0:08. I was not ready for that!

I'm disappointed that Pruitt doesn't have mini glass bottles on his fingers in the thumbnail

This comment is being made BEFORE watching the video, but i'm really looking forward to it! I think that character concept is a overlooked concept for most players, but it's such a useful... well, concept. You don't need to be a Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin or Ranger to be a warrior

I created a fighter in 3.5 ed who used short sword & dagger, used Dex for his to-hit, and was "feated" in a way to not only do multiple attacks but to disarm if two attacks hit! He was such a neat fighter and I want to see about bringing something like him back in 5e (if I even can). :)

18:36 Did Jim just introduce Spell Katas? I realize he was talking about taking somantic components and translating it to weapon skills, but we already have that. They are called katas and they have been a part of martial training for hundreds of years. Not just kung fu or karate katas, but swords, spears, etc. But the idea that you must do the somantic component in a certain way and you drill gives the wizard a certain military flair.

I love listening to these discussions. One that immediately comes to mind is Batman but another concept of a “chivalrous but unwieldy” sort of character that you mentioned brings up the thought of Homelander from The Boys. Very interesting.

I really like this type of video.