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Urlithani
Acolyte
USA
19 Posts |
 Posted - 26 May 2005 : 03:31:12
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Fighters are my favorite class for many of the same reasons.
One of the main reasons they are so important is that just about every non-epic monster I can think of can be defeated through force of arms.
A golem immune to spells? Beat it down.
Dragon's SR too high? Beat it down.
Another good reason is that a fighter is an "anchor" for all the other classes can depend on for their tactical setups. When the fighters rush headlong into the fray, the rogues, wizards, and other classes plan their attack depending on how the enemies react to the initial offensive. It's much easier to set up attack spells and sneak attacks when the fighter forces the enemy to challenge his advance. |
Biggest. Selûne. Fanboy. Ever! :)
"The only reward of Virtue is Virtue." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The time is always right to do what is right. "
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Neo2151
Learned Scribe
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 09:15:12
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Fighters are by far the easiest PC's to learn the game with. Even a barbarian is harder to get a hold of than a fighter. With a stereotypical fighter, you pick your feats, and they're always available to be used, so it becomes a part of how your character does things. A barb is a fighter type, but when and how you use your limited rages is VERY important. Wasting them oft leaves you in sticky situations. Paladins and Rangers also have the feel of a fighter, but not nearly the freedom. Rangers are two-weap or bow, end of story. Pallys are free to use anything really, but without the feats to back them up, it's best to stick to 1h/shield or 2h weapon. Obviously some skill in mounted will be used because, as a class feature, you get a nasty-powerful steed to ride into battle. As far as the spellcasters go, spell selection is EVERYTHING!! If you don't pick and plan your spells carefully, things will, at some point, go wrong. That's a lot of weight on a newbie's shoulders. So fighter it is, and since you're learning the game as a fighter, the class will ALWAYS have a special place in your heart (I absoutly love mages and rogues, but the idea of a nicely built fighter is hard to turn down for me  ).
Another way of looking at it is out of all the core classes, which will be (in roleplay aspects) the most likely to just get up and go travel the world, battling monsters for thrill/glory/gold etc...? Fighters! You could say Bards as well but they're more likely to city hop than adventure. A cleric is tied up in his church, a mage is locked up in his tower researching spells, a druid is pairing up with a ranger to defend the wilderness they have claimed as their home, a paladin is doing errands for the high level cleric of his faith, the monk is in his monastary trying to achieve perfection, the barbarian is protecting his tribe, and what right-minded rogue would risk his life adventuring when he can just pick his loot off the fighters too foolish to notice their coin purse disappear? All the above situations are very strongly stereotypical... but they're stereotypical because they're common. The fighter is the one who has the eastiest time cutting his ties to wherever he is, and roaming for whatever reason. |
"Come looking for me, and I will blast you to dust, and then lay waste to all your descendants, ancestors, and the realm you came from, every last tree and stone of it. Why? Well, it's what I usually do."
-Baerendra Riverhand on The Story of Spellfire |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 12:54:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Neo2151
Fighters are by far the easiest PC's to learn the game with. Even a barbarian is harder to get a hold of than a fighter.
I agree - the easiest way to learn the game is to start with a human fighter as your first character. However, the true challenge lies with cultural/racial issues. Unless a new player is very familiar with the atmosphere and "feel" of the Realms, it may prove to be a burden to try roleplaying a dwarf or an elf (even a fighter).
To me, as a DM, the greatest challenge lies with providing new players with enough knowledge and Realmslore that they really grasp the essential flavour of each race and culture in the Realms.
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"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 13:18:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Neo2151
Another way of looking at it is out of all the core classes, which will be (in roleplay aspects) the most likely to just get up and go travel the world, battling monsters for thrill/glory/gold etc...? Fighters! You could say Bards as well but they're more likely to city hop than adventure. A cleric is tied up in his church, a mage is locked up in his tower researching spells, a druid is pairing up with a ranger to defend the wilderness they have claimed as their home, a paladin is doing errands for the high level cleric of his faith, the monk is in his monastary trying to achieve perfection, the barbarian is protecting his tribe, and what right-minded rogue would risk his life adventuring when he can just pick his loot off the fighters too foolish to notice their coin purse disappear?
Well, I don´t agree. I think characters of ALL the classes are just as likely to go adventuring, for different reasons. When you create a character, you and your DM figure our together his background and motives, right?
Perhaps a bard wanders to collect new stories and songs, a cleric to spread the word of his faith, and a ranger or a druid might wish to visit far-off forests/other sites of nature ("To see Cormanthor before I die" ;) A barbarian might be curious about civilization, a monk might seek to "prove" his/her skills in practise and learn more about him/herself. A Paladin might very well go on errands, though I believe that not all of the paladins/clerics are tied to a particular temple.
While it may be true that most fighters or rogues might seek riches and glory (the first before latter ;), I have never seen a PC mage "locked up in his tower researching spells" 
In my experience, wizards are usually the "motive force" behind an adventuring party, trying to plunder as much lore and magic from those countless ruins and tombs as only possible 
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"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Lord Donnachie
Acolyte
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 18:13:08
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| Why fighter!? The great skill selection they have! |
Don’t gain the world and lose your soul,
Wisdom is better than silver and gold
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Thelonius
Senior Scribe
Spain
730 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 21:46:59
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I think, that the most probably reason is that it is the most easy class to play, as is said a couple of threads above; for a begginer is really nasty to care about intelligence bonus and spells afecting some of the people in the area.
Indeed anybody likes being killed  |
"If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal." - Kreia
"I THINK I JUST HAD ANOTHER NEAR-RINCEWIND EXPERIENCE"- Discworld's Death frustrated after Rincewind scapes his grasp... again.
"I am death, come for thee" - Nimbul, from Baldur's Gate I just before being badly spanked
Sapientia sola libertas est |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4688 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2005 : 21:55:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Donnachie
Why fighter!? The great skill selection they have!
Well as we know the Fighter does not have many skills as class skills , the bonus feats help make up for this lack. However survivial is a mian reason to select this class at low levels. The arrow will take out most mages, many thieves and some clerics at first level if the fighter gets to strike first from a distance and in melee with sword or greatsword do even better.
As levels go up the magic tends to make being a Fighter less useful, because of skills as well as magic that can kill the Fighter even after getting to act first. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Neo2151
Learned Scribe
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2005 : 08:49:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
quote:
Originally posted by Neo2151
Another way of looking at it is out of all the core classes, which will be (in roleplay aspects) the most likely to just get up and go travel the world, battling monsters for thrill/glory/gold etc...? Fighters! You could say Bards as well but they're more likely to city hop than adventure. A cleric is tied up in his church, a mage is locked up in his tower researching spells, a druid is pairing up with a ranger to defend the wilderness they have claimed as their home, a paladin is doing errands for the high level cleric of his faith, the monk is in his monastary trying to achieve perfection, the barbarian is protecting his tribe, and what right-minded rogue would risk his life adventuring when he can just pick his loot off the fighters too foolish to notice their coin purse disappear?
Well, I don´t agree. I think characters of ALL the classes are just as likely to go adventuring, for different reasons. When you create a character, you and your DM figure our together his background and motives, right?
Perhaps a bard wanders to collect new stories and songs, a cleric to spread the word of his faith, and a ranger or a druid might wish to visit far-off forests/other sites of nature ("To see Cormanthor before I die" ;) A barbarian might be curious about civilization, a monk might seek to "prove" his/her skills in practise and learn more about him/herself. A Paladin might very well go on errands, though I believe that not all of the paladins/clerics are tied to a particular temple.
While it may be true that most fighters or rogues might seek riches and glory (the first before latter ;), I have never seen a PC mage "locked up in his tower researching spells"
In my experience, wizards are usually the "motive force" behind an adventuring party, trying to plunder as much lore and magic from those countless ruins and tombs as only possible
Very good and true points, which is why I said those reasonings are stereotypical. Also, read a novel. Other than the heroes of the book, you tend to see more wandering mercenary bands composed of a handful of fighters than anything else.
Also, think to novels for the mage point-of-view. True, many mages travel to discover or for whatever reason, but not until they are at some level of power which would give them the confidence and ability to stand up against (and survive against for that matter) the challenges of the wild. A mageling is typically a retired mage's apprentice, learning magic until he is powerful enough to set out on his own (which in my opinion, really isn't level one ). There are very few novels I can think of that have an arcane caster that isn't of some power already. |
"Come looking for me, and I will blast you to dust, and then lay waste to all your descendants, ancestors, and the realm you came from, every last tree and stone of it. Why? Well, it's what I usually do."
-Baerendra Riverhand on The Story of Spellfire |
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Forge
Learned Scribe
USA
218 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2005 : 14:53:12
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My 2 cp... Besides being a cornerstone facet of the "balanced" group, a fighter is perhaps the easiest to play, but one of the more challenging to play RIGHT.
Consider if you will, most players of arcanists generally trend toward the same base spell lists they used previously. (If it ain't broke...) The same applies to clerics and druids, if nothing else than because the healer role always requires them to regardless of domains and beliefs. While this is less true of other melee classes, there are some definite stereotypes that are played to when they are being worked up.
Fighters start out a blank slate, add feats, skills, armor and weapons and you have a whole world of choices.
Personally I still love wizards, but I can see the pure fighter as a great source of RP potential, if nothing else than because you HAVE to if you wish to get into the game. (Witty banter is purely optional tho.) |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jun 2005 : 20:16:02
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As an utter side note, I generally don't like to play arcane casters. I find them rather boring. They usually end up having to take all combat oriented spells just to hold their own in a party.
Then again, I don't think I've ever played a 3E character above lvl 11. I just generally don't like high level play and most campaigns fizzle out before then. |
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Tarquil Silverdusk
Acolyte
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jun 2005 : 00:43:59
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I've never liked fighters, probably because in a lot of games I was in when I first started playing D&D fighters were either played as mindless swordswingers by idiots or forced into being ablative meatshields for mage characters (often both).
Give me a nice comabt orientated rogue or nifty ranger anyday. |
Results of most successful adventure yet:
Paladins overwhelmed by Kobold Horde = 1
Party members reduced to under 0 HP by Giant Weasels = 3
Ghouls set on fire = 2
Werewolves trapped in burning buildings = 1 |
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Antareana
Seeker
Germany
59 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jun 2005 : 02:08:44
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Oh, I know a LOT of players who play that stupid sword-swingers, too. They are just.. hm... boring ;)
But a well-played fighter can be so much fun... Fighters can have so many different styles - archer, swift two-weapon user, shieldguardian, man-with-a-big-axe
Oh and the stories, the stories... I love knights, I really really love them  and I loved that Samurai-esque bushido-bound Fighter I DMed for at my last con... so noble (oh dear, this woman has her soft spot ^^) |
It is all just a past and future secret
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Tarquil Silverdusk
Acolyte
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2005 : 21:03:23
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| Ok when fighters are good they can be really good. |
Results of most successful adventure yet:
Paladins overwhelmed by Kobold Horde = 1
Party members reduced to under 0 HP by Giant Weasels = 3
Ghouls set on fire = 2
Werewolves trapped in burning buildings = 1 |
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Shadovar
Senior Scribe
785 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2005 : 10:07:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Tarquil Silverdusk
Ok when fighters are good they can be really good.
But there are situations where another class -such as mage class-other than the fighter class is more preferable. |
We have fostered trust, recruited loyalty, and gathered the faithful. We have trained thousands. Our legions can cover the land, fill the sky and travel through the darkness. We can hunt any and all that would deny our heritage. Now is our time, now is the time of the Dark Reign(Rain) of the Empire of Shadows.
- High Prince Telemont Tanthul, Lord Shadow
In a speech given to the citizens of Shade Enclave
At the celebration of the Shinantra Battle victory when he revealed that he was THE Lord Shadow of legend. |
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LordEverhate
Acolyte
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2005 : 17:43:26
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quote:
Originally posted by SomeDude
I started a new topic for this (taken from the favorite class pole) because I would like to keep it Fighter-specific.
Why is it that so many people (some of the better players I've seen) seem to favor the Fighter class? I hope it's not because most typical adventures end up with a "find the bag guy and kill them" overall theme. D&D (and FR especially) has so much more to offer than "how many different feat combinations can I take to better hack and slash?" Why not look at all the different spells a SOR/WIZ can learn every other level than the feats a FTR learns at the same rate?
I'm not trying to put down Fighter. Every balanced party should have good fighter-type class (FTR/BBN/RGR) to stay ballanced, but is this just most peoples favorite roll in a balanced party or what?
I prefer wizards myself, but since I usually end up playing two characters per adventure anyway, it really doesn't matter since I normally play a fighter and a spellcaster of some type. :) That's what happens when you don't have enough players. :P |
Shawn Muder
Realms of Evil
http://www.realmsofevil.net/
EN World Newshound
http://www.enworld.org/ |
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Salius Kai
Learned Scribe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2005 : 02:15:31
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I think most of you may have overlooked one of the most enjoyable aspects of a fighter. They don't just pick up a sword and swing. In my current campaign we have two fighters, and neither of them uses heavy damage melee weapons.
One of them is an Elven Fighter who put all of his feats into bowmanship. He doesn't run headlong into battle like a bloodthirsty maniac, but stands back affar and picks his enemies off, one by one (although still causing heavy damage).
My character in this campaign is also a fighter. I don't even do heavy damage. Hell, it's subdual damage, and my strength is only 13. But I have an 18 dexterity and the weapon finess feat. I dual weild whips, and with the improved trip ability, I knock them down and my archer friend takes 'em out. Another advantage of my dexterity is, I can use light armors and maintain about the same AC as fighters in full plate. And with weapon finess, my AC raises alongside my attack bonus.
Fighters aren't restricted to the swinging of a sword. They can be diplomats (although best left to rouge and bard classes with their skills), bowmen, or even my personal favorite, dextrous combatants. I think this is why fighters are most people chosen class, they can excell in almost any area, and not be restricted by pesky spells per day ^_^ |
"Welcome to these walls of infinite knowledge."
Salius Kai |
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Antareana
Seeker
Germany
59 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2005 : 02:16:21
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hm... I don't prefer any class... though I like lobbying for the rarely played Sorcerers and Bards.
Ok, rogues don't come easy to me, but they're Ok ;) |
It is all just a past and future secret
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Why Fighter?
