Surprised he did not mention action surge I would say it is a major draw to the fighter class (and used to good effect by characters on Critical role ).
It's the overwhelming reason why so many multi-class builds end up with 2 levels in fighter. You can literally be any other class and gaining that action surge will boost the power of your turn significantly.
@@WeretigerX Except rogue because, you know, Sneak Attack. But on the other hand rogue is amazing with battlemaster in team because you can proc your Sneak Attack with his maneuver.
@@GrimmerPl Battlemaster is particularly good with Swashbuckler. But yeah Action Surge can still be incredibly useful for a Rogue, especially an Arcane Trickster. You can get your Sneak Attack and still be able to cast a spell. At higher levels when an Arcane Trickster can start casting 3rd and 4th level spells, that Action Surge suddenly becomes very useful.
I'm guessing it got passed up because it's not a choice, every fighter gets it. So instead they focus on the different subclasses and how that will impact your stat choices, etc. Now if it's a discussion about which class to choose then action surge should absolutely come up. But that's outside the scope of these videos, which are kept very short and simple to not overwhelm new players.
Marc Shaw - I suspect in some middle eastern bazaar in the early 1000’s. Which woulda been around Tal’s mid adolescence, if the legends are true. So...good luck!
Critical Role should make a web series for Taliesin 's fashion. It's pretty amazing. What he has in his closet, where he shops or finds all this great stuff...
I really liked this one. It's simple, it doesn't go too far too fast, and makes the three archetypes understandable to anyone regardless of their knowledge of D&D. It also touches on the idea that, at least for fighters, you should have your archetype in mind when you build the character to ensure you can play the way you want to at later levels. Great Job
It may just be the groups that I have played with, but it seems that Fighter might be one of the most under-appreciated classes in the Players Handbook. Makes me want to roll one up! Now, where did I put my sword and shield?
It actually IS just the groups you've played with: fivethirtyeight.com/features/is-your-dd-character-rare/ Human Fighter is the most common class these days.
Love the fighter class, gonna make a dwarven arcane archer that uses a heavy crossbow (if it still counts towards arcane archer) I feel alot of fun coming out of that one
Fighter is the most popular class according to many statistical reports (someone even linked one already). However, it is also the most BORING class in some circles. A substantial minority of people play D&D for the magic, and fighter offers little to satisfy that (You're good but not great, EK).
My favorite thing about the Eldritch Knight is they can bond a weapon to them in which they can not be disarmed of the weapon, and they can teleport the weapon to there hand as a bonus action from anywhere as long as it on the same plane.
My party was trying to surrender in a fight, and I handed over my long bow and started to back away, things were going well until our warlock went fuck this, so I summoned my long bow back to my hand and went back to firing.
Preston Garvey You’re in luck dude, the “shield” spell is a staple of eldritch knights and can easily boost their ac up to 25-28ish depending on what fighting style and items you have.
@@vishaansingh1019 He switched to 5e because combat in 5e is faster and simpler which works when you have (inicially) 8 players and are doing it for a live audience. I'm also pretty sure 5e is more widespread than Pathfinder but obviously this will vary from place to place. If Pathfinder was so big, you wouldn't see people asking in Roll20: "Is Pathfinder dying?" app.roll20.net/forum/post/2763530/is-pathfinder-dying/?pageforid=2763811#post-2763811
Maybe this will finally get me to try to make a Thor type character in D&D. Eldritch Knight with all thunder and lightning spells, plus a weapon that comes back to you, could be fun. Just need to play the Immigrant Song during the whole session.
If you want the full badass-itude with lighting/thunder magic, you could go for Storm Sorcerer. Just make sure to get Weapon Master so you can use a warhammer, for maximum Thor-y goodness.
Taliesin: "Teenage me would've gone full anime and made an Eldritch Knight." Meanwhile I'm getting ready to play my first campaign ever, and I've already decided to go full weeb... I've made a Dragonborn Fighter w/ Two-Weapon Fighting Style, has a Longsword and Hand Crossbow (for which I will eventually add the Crossbow Expert feat), that will become an Eldritch Knight later on, AND I gave him a cringey weeb af Japanese name.... dammit.....
sounds both terrible and amazing, i hope you had a blast playing your character 😄 or perhaps you still have, some campaings last for years, especially when, you know... not everybody has time to play every week 😔
@@OwocowyMr It was pretty fun! My uncle was the DM and he decided to start us at LV5, so we got to jump straight to the specialities we wanted to play with. That being said though, the campaign attempt lasted 3 months... My poor Fighter lol
@@omnimon401 well, i hope he lived an exciting life :D also starting at lv5 sounds fun, i've always played from scratch but i have to try this one out someday, both as player and as DM (haven't done this one yet, but i'm planning to, slowly building my own homebrew world like Matt did, but probably way slower because of the experience gap on my side :D )
My favorite class. As a DM, I recently talked one of my players into giving a go at playing a Tabaxi Dex build fighter. High Dex, duel rapier wielder, Champion build, in leather armor. He was pretty hesitant, but has fallen in love with the concept. If only I could have built something like this back in the day.
Thank you Taliesin. I'm currently on episode 9 of campaign 1 Vox Machina. Percy is an interesting character, and your portrayal is entertaining to watch. Like how he's always the quiet member in the background, but steps in when needed and is the most smooth talking, diplomatic guy of them all.
I really wanna thank you guys for making these videos. I've made it my mission in life to get as many new people into D&D as I possibly can. I started with a group of friends that I'm running a game for and now I'm working on a club at the library I work at. I can already tell these videos are gonna be great reference tools.
I never played D&D but from what I read, battlemaster is such a cool concept to me. You're good solo but an even better teammate with a rogue-like bag of tricks. Great archetype for someone looking to be a team player. Also, from what it seems, it's a very interesting option for ranged fighters, since many of the maneuvers say just, "when you make a weapon attack" (from what I read), so you can safely shoot from a distance and help your team. Use goading attack at a distance, forcing the enemy to take disadvantage against everyone but you (if they fail a wis save), and you're far in the back with a longbow with a cheeky grin, way out of reach.
A note on the advice for Eldritch Knight: High Intelligence is only really important if you plan to attack using magic on a regular basis, since Int determines your magic attack bonus and save DCs. If you plan to stick mostly to spells that don't require a lot of attack rolls or saves - which is mostly but not entirely the defensive half of your spell options - you can get by with a lower Int. Just worth keeping in mind because it gives you a little more flexibility in placing your stats.
In one of my groups I've been playing a glaive-wielding Samurai fighter in full plate. He hits things. He doesn't do much, but what he does, he does well. He hits things.
I only just started my very first d&d campaign a couple weeks back, mostly thanks to you guys, and I ended up as a fighter. no particular reason for that, she just seemed the most fitting for the setting. Anyway, I have to say this. Fighter may be a bit basic, but heck did it feel good saving my buddies butt by tripping the enemy rushing at him, before just wailing on the monster with a barrage of attacks.
While watching Laura's one-shot last night, Taliesin's Eldritch Knight inspired me to make a new character build. Human (non-variant) 11th-Level Eldritch Knight Fighter 2nd-Level Rogue 7th-Level Hexblade, Pact of the Blade Warlock Between having the Dueling fighting style, Booming Blade, War Magic, Sneak Attack, Cunning Action, Eldritch Blast, the Warlock Invocations, Eldritch Smite, Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast, and Grasp of Hadar, as well as some utility spells/cantrips at their disposal, they are going to be really fun to play. I didn't take any feats, which is rare for any character that I build. This was their final stats. Strength - 18 Dexterity - 12 Constitution - 12 Intelligence - 16 Wisdom - 10 Charisma - 18 Now I just have to wait until one of my friends decides to have a level 20 one-shot. lol
A couple of things 1. You can't multiclass into Rogue, you lack the Dex 13 Prereq. 2. There is quite literally zero point in having 18 Cha and 18 Str. Spread those points to something else, notably your Constitution. 3. Your progression for this class would be a nightmare if actually leveled. It would probably be best to go Fighter 1 - > Warlock 1 -> Fighter 8 -> Rogue 2 -> Hexblade 7 -> Fighter 11. 4. By multiclassing so much, you're going to lose feats / ASI overall 5. Valor Bard fits so much better in this than Fighter into this arrangement. Consider Valor Bard 14, Rogue 2, Warlock 4, as it will do many of the same things and have less dependence
@@Antholography 1. The Dexterity is supposed to be 13 and the Wisdom is supposed to be 9. I posted this when I was half asleep. lol 2. I want the character to be in the front lines, keeping enemies away from my allies. Eldritch Blast with Repelling Blast and Grasp of Hadar, and Booming Blade are three at-will abilities for them to keep people at bay. Without a high Charisma or Strength, those abilities are basically useless. They also have many spells, such as Hold Person, that can help control the enemies movement as well. I also gave them the option of dealing a decent amount of damage if they need to. 3. You made the assumption that I would be playing this in an overarching campaign, which I stated otherwise in the original post. On occasion, the people in my group will hold a Level 20 one-shot to test out creative character builds. It also allows those with min-maxing tendencies to use them outside of the main campaigns. Even if I were to use it in an overarching campaign, you also made the assumption that they would have gone 11 Fighter, then 2 Rogue, and then 7 Warlock and that they wouldn't have been spread out. I currently play a Ranger, Rogue, Fighter in an overarching campaign and they don't level up through one class at a time. 4. Doesn't matter to me if I like the character build and it works for the role I want the character to fill within the party. 5. Honestly, during this last point, all I hear is "Your fun is wrong."
@@wuzzy41123 2. You've got levels into a Hexblade Warlock. You will already make melee attacks with Charisma. Eldritch Blast, Repelling Blast, and Grasp of Hadar are *also* based on Charisma. Hold person would be based off your Intelligence (if from EK) or Charisma (if from Warlock). You literally don't need Strength unless you plan on making Athletics for Grappling Checks constantly. Take DEX to 14, STR to 12, wear medium armor - and you can allocate your points around a little more effectively, while gaining a small bonus to your Stealth + Initiative 3. My post literally addressees progression. I explicitly said that the best way to do it was to break it up. 4. /shrug. My suggestions literally let you do everything you've posited and more 5. I simply pointed out that Eldritch Knight gets *many* of the same things that Valor Bard does - but Valor Bard has more synergy with the other two sub-classes (because it is Charisma based, not Intelligence). Cast and Slash? Got it. You already get Weapon Bond from Hexblade. Spellcasting? Check. Your fun isn't wrong, it just needs refinement.
@@Antholography 2. I do plan on having them make Athletics/Grapple checks. Hence, the controlling aspect of the character. If they run out of spell slots, or are in an antimagic field, what are they going to do then? 3. That was literally my point. You explained it when it was unnecessary. 4. You haven't seen the entire character sheet nor do you know the playstyles of myself and those that I play with, so how could you possibly know what is best for the character build? 5. Again, that is a completely different build. If you want to make that build, go ahead. I'm not trying to make a broken character, I'm trying to make a fun character. Trust me, if I wanted to make a broken character, I would. I and one of my buddies within my D&D group intentionally break characters so we can put houserules in place to stop it from happening.
2. Enlarge Reduce or Enhance Ability are on the Bard Spell list - if grappling is that important. You also would be less likely to run out of spell slots, considering 14 levels of full caster progression + 4 Levels of Warlock, compared to 11 Levels of 1/3rd level Caster + 7 Levels of Warlock. Modifying the ability scores I've mentioned (lower STR, up con 4, dex 1, 1 point floating) would also have a pretty good chance of netting you ~40 more hit points at 20th level - an important resource if you want to be mixing it up in melee. 4. It's not ridiculous to know that you're getting (basically) the same feature multiple times and not able to use utilize it. 5. It's not a broken character. It's a character that's optimized better. If you went Barbarian 5, Fighter 5, Paladin 5, Ranger 5 - it's a valid build. Getting Extra Attack 3 additional times doesn't benefit you, and generally isn't optimized
Some guys I met in my first week of university introduced me to D&D. Of course I started playing as a Human Champion Fighter with a big hammer. And he fit all the boring Human Fighter stereotypes in every way. Only after playing a short campaign as a Goblin Scout Rogue did I start to develop my fighter as a character. He's still pretty dull almost a year later, but at least the DM recently made Jocat's "Fighter-Man" his theme song. He also happens to have one of the Vestiges of Divergence hanging around his neck. He doesn't know this, of course. For all he knows, it's just a cool green necklace.
And with the recent additions from "Xanathar's Guide to Everything", you can also play as an Arcane Archer, using enchanted trick-shots to pin down enemies...or the Samurai, who talk there way out of problems...or cut their enemies to ribbons when the peace-talking breaks down!
I really wish he would be more like this :) Being weird for the sake of weird isn’t quirky, it’s annoying. But you could see the passion in this video.
THAT JACKET IS FIRE. I think some gold/copper/silver trim wouldn't be too far off to ask for, either. That would make it pop a little more. I love Taliesin's sense of fashion. He's like Dumbledore. There's no denying he has style.
"I am the greatest swordsman who ever lived." - Mad Martigan I love Willow so much. Hearing Taliesin make Willow references always makes me smile ear to ear.
On next videos, you may want to add Xanathar' guide, Volo and SCAG though the principles are roughly the same on most class builds. I know those are likely meant to be quickies, but adding advantages and drawbacks may help new players make their decisions. These decisions will impact waepons, armor and potential multi-classing. So many possibilities based on the flavoring you want to give your character.
I know its not likely to occur, but I think it'd be cool to see Tiberius come back for the Handbooker Helper episode on Sorcerer. I would also love to see, is an episode on "Backgrounds". I know its mostly just flavor wise, but I always ALWAYS have a hard time coming up with a background. I find that the background really ties into the backstory of the character and so sometimes it can be difficult when picking out one that suits your "needs". I understand you can "make" your own, swap out some things or talk to the DM about it, but then I feel like you are just picking stuff you "need" instead of things you might "have". For example not every class has the ability to pick Perception (a gold class skill as many online guides have noted) as their racial or class skills, and so either sacrifice going into a background that gives it to them, or makes up a reason they would have it. So it feels like if someone was to make up their own, and cannot naturally grab Perception, I'd likely see it as "I'm going to make my own background and have Perception and X, cause I NEED Perception". That might not be the case for everyone, but in the end it is still a "game" so you'll have the Min/Max players (like myself) and so will sometimes go for "optimization" over "flavor", or trying to do a combination of both.
Should have mentioned Action surge. Thats like... super awesome and a reason that Fighter is amazing for a dip into multiclassing! Also really useful even if you are a pure fighter. Other than that a great quick overview. Percy was a Fighter class if people didn't realize! anyways. Strangely weird to hear his regular voice so much in a row. Keep up the great content everyone!
Human Variant fighter if your DM allows it, and if you guys play with feats, I HIGHLY recommend polearm master. At early, levels getting 3 attacks in a round is REALLY strong. I also love the Battlemaster, great weapon fighting, and precision attack combo. You can get it running at level 4, and you'll do LOADS of damage.
i was building a fighter bandit for my players to fight next session, but i've never made a fighter before, and then i suddenly remembered....handbooker helper