Character Concepts: WARRIORS | 5e D&D | TTRPG | Web DM
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Are you creating a new warrior-type character in 5e Dungeons and Dragons or another TTRPG? We've got your inspiration fuel right here! We're here to help you think of your concept for your fighter, barbarian, ranger, cleric, battlemaster, or any other martial or fighting RPG character!
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Always wanted to play a Beast Barb/Moon Druid
Something about being tough with a primal spirit that physically alters the self to envisage its brute strength
Think it would be neat 🐊
I was just discussing today the best ways to go about creating a Jedi. Kensei with the Telekinetic feat was the one I wanted to go with.
Educated warriors are super fun. I'm dying to play the 5E samurai subclass someday since it does a great job of showing that courtly education. It feels like it's sometimes forgotten that the archetypical knight is a privledged noble, and thus knows a -lot- more than just how to swing a sword and ride a horse, and thus it's entertaining to play against the stereotype of a meathead jock fighter (or to play with the contrast of someone who has a bad temper from years of living by the sword, but still -does- know strategy and history and politics in moments where they can restrain their trauma from years of war).
After watching this and other videos of yours I’m envisioning a Battlemaster Fighter- Soldier background. He’s like Pitt’s Achilles in the film Troy. He is the one summoned forth to battle the toughest foes and he cuts them down with ease. His battle prowess and rigorous training has crafted a fighter that can turn the tides of war.
I am playing Eladrin Battle Master, Entertainer
Roleplaying as "Blade Dancer" - TWF, Performance skill (the dance)
Light armor only
No shields
Ranged weapons banned (thrown ok)
[Benefit exchanged: When character misses a melee weapon attack, may use reaction to deal CHA modifier bonus damage instead (reflecting the dance) - no other bonuses may be applied, such as sneak attack]
The Blade Dance is a long forgotten combat style from eons past. This character seek lore on the style and for it to manifest through his combat to show all who look upon it, the greatest of all beauty.
He is friendly, outgoing, curious, bold, lighthearted, encouraging, and cheerful. He is courageous and tenacious and when confronting evil, he tends to be aggressive.
He eschews mounts. He prefers to walk.
I hope so much this is part of a mini-series
It is!
@@WebDM yesssss
@@WebDM Hells yeah!
This is the best news ever. A perfect next step in the already great content you guys make for us
Would love to see a video on religious (and not necessarily only paladin/priest) characters concepts.
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.
How badass does a person need to be that powerful entities like that consider them - a seemingly normal human with a weapon - a foe worthy of their concerted attention.
I love playing human concept fighters, Greek, roman, musketeers fencer.
The rabbit that lives among the lions
years ago after me mocking human fighters my dm forced me to play one (2nd ed). You know, I had fun. Says more for rpg's than the non human freaks I normally run!
Warriors don't run out of 'cut you to pieces' slots and they don't forget how to do it either.
For stable damage turn after turn after turn, a fighter is superior to anyone (even better with a few levels of Barbarian thrown in).
@@PalleRasmussen wieldly this is one of the only things warlock get over full casters because if you take agonizing and afew other small eldritch buffs you're not that far off from a fighter.
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
Part of why I like Eberron is physical characters get narratively shit on a little less. Spellcasters are the theorists who focus magic wherever they go, but fighters are specialists at using magic items. Like you have the scientists who made the chemically-infused flame retardant (the spellcaster) but you still want trained firefighters using it (the warrior).
This is why I like using the basic NPC classes from 3.5 (Adept, Aristocrat, Commoner, Expert, and Warrior) to differentiate between what even highly trained normal people can do compared to the abilities of player characters so you can see why the latter would be considered preternatural beings even if they can't cast spells.
I'm so into this. There's demons in this world, there's dragons in the title. If someone with no magic or supernatural aid just picks up a sharp stick and says "Yeah, leave that to me" they're automatically the coolest one in my eyes
@@kaleidoslug7777 It's pretty cool, but also feels doomed to failure ngl. Like you can't hurt those demons without magic, because WotC likes to suck off casters lol.
I almost always play a human concept fighter, roman, Greek, fencing musketeers, the possibilities are endless.
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.
My favorite fighter is Jerry Kneecapper, gnomish champion fighter with soldier background. Dishonorable discharge for insubordination due to, well, capping his superior's knees.
Sounds like Jerry really knows who he is
I have a guy exactly like that, name is Flynnegan Kneebreak
Derrick the Knee-Snapper! My goblin barbarian who fights by, guess what? That's right, snapping elbows. They never see it coming
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.
Great movie.
I managed to read this comment as it came up in the video. I love that movie. Great performances by Heath Ledger, Paul Bettanny, and the incomparable Alan Tudyk. The joust between William and prince edward is a lively representation of lawful good.
Y'know, I was just thinking of character concepts earlier today.
Because I always am.
It's a problem.
Same Phillip
Reminds me of monk.
“I wanna play a monk”
“You’re just gonna punch the dragon to death?”
“Yes. Yes I am.”
Cut to third level, the monk just got done punching a wyrmling dragon to death, and eats its heart. Boom, now they're a Way of the Ascendant Dragon monk.
+
@@Bluecho4 plot twist: they are a Dragonborn and it's cannibalism.
@@jackdizzy123 Plot twist twist: They were a kobold before eating it
@@adamkaris the funniest part is that Fizban's makes this a thing you can do without any homebrew whatsoever.
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.
“Your side won but haha not paying you”, that’s the origin story of a fair few pirates 😂
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).
Was this with Murtry, or was it in a later novel?
The best and most deadly fighters are often the most polite and least violent (until it is really important to be the most violent).
The ones who brag about their strength and number of kills are usually the least experienced and likely lying; veterans who actually have killed many don't like to talk about it.
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!
Woot! that's what we like to hear
@@WebDM hopefully I can put together something quality that gets out to where people can use it, love what you guys do on here!
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!
Glad you're back at it! Thanks for the kind words
YES!!! I love the character concepts. Please be a series...
Yep!
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.
Thanks for the feedback Alex!
Battle master best class
A suggestion for a min-maxed damage dealer with a basis in roleplaying also.
Lvl 1 Barb
Lvl 2 Barb
Lvl 3 BearBarb
Lvl 4 Fighter- he discovers the virtue of discipline and training and chose to learn from the stalwart soldiers of the nearby civilization he now know better (this is what German barbarian tribes did with Rome)
Lvl 5 Fighter lvl 2
Lvl 6 Battlemaster lvl 3 as he chooses to become an officer.
The rest to lvl 20 take BM.
At lvl 17, with the right weapons, this guy can go toe to toe solo with an ancient Dragon and kill it.
Highly appreciate the video specifically centered on my exact interests in RP.
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.
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!
Guts truly is pinnacle warrior character, very happy that you guys remembered him
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
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
Was actually thinking of having samurai in my setting be paladins, that's a great idea! Might have it where they switch out charisma for wisdom to reflect the focus and dedication required
pretti much same here ( i call a sub-form ov the style: o~Ken~iai~Yinne~Tao-Lu *)
Iegend: o = honour in Nihongo ( Japanese ) , Ken az in Kendo , iai az in iaido , Yinne az in Yin in Feng Shui , n tao lu ~=~ kata
56:57 Great scene, Pruitt got it right. Little Finger said "Knowledge is power", which prompted the "power is power"
A dagger to the neck finished littlefinger.
"The sophist's word, the liar's smile, they fail when the broadsword sings.
Step forth, and die, dogs! I was MAN before I was KING!"
Chapter opener for a Conan story. In the stories, Conan is portrayed as sometimes naive, but cunning.
Steve Rogers- "I can do this all day"
The warrior who has magic just because he's so badass... that sounds like an oath of glory pally, to me.
I'm picturing Gaston from Beauty & the Beast, minus the asshole.
Or Oath of Conquest.
@@danthefool21 a warrior with an imperforate anus? That’d be some interesting roleplaying
He has magic, not spells. Magic to bolster his martial prowess, to hit harder and jump higher etc...
Makes me think of Exalted Solars. They are just so good at fighting, that their skill transcends to acting like magic.
"At the end of the day when all you have is your sword to paint your legend with...." I'm totally stealing this.
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.
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!!
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! ❤️
Keep up the good work, Corey!
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.
Jim has played a fair bit of many of the Elder Scrolls! Great series
@@WebDM Great (yet flawed lol) series! Their approach to cosmic mysticism and historical uncertainty is something I really like bringing back to DnD!
After all, you can tell DnD authors lean on mythological rather than a historical or anthropological perspective, lol.
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.
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.
Thank you so much Ryan!
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.
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.
Link? I thought I had seen everything Colville has done.
@@PalleRasmussen Here's a link to a trimmed down video someone else made of that section of the livestream. I don't think he uploaded this one to TH-cam and I only see stuff from up to a couple months ago in his Twitch feed.
th-cam.com/video/fXYTwVhctUs/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=DEinarsson
@@fakjbf3129 thank you.
I actually found a video he had uploaded himself.
It is quite interesting that the Mercs/PMCs and SF soldiers I know are of another type. Admittedly I only know two PMCs and one is an officer, but they both did it to make enough money to better their family's circumstances.
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.
Makes me think of Batman, actually! The reason he's so obsessively meticulous is because he's a normal human being in a universe of gods and monsters and kings. His planning is what puts him on a level playing field with everyone else.
Also reminds me of the philosophy my warrior characters tend to have, where unless beforehand clear rules are set out, they will do whatever it takes to win a life or death battle, because when steel gets drawn, it's no longer about honor, it's about surviving. So if they're challenged to an honorable duel, unless beforehand it's specifically stated certain actions are banned, they will do whatever they have to to win.
Love this topic! Would like to see more of these for different character types.
There will be more!
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.
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 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.
ive been playing in my first campaign for over a year, still with the same charachter, and have had a rather interesting arc from very tactical cowardly illusion wizard to a totally in your face slashing and blasting bladesinger who uses shield liberally to act almost as a tank because the fighter got on their case about being a pussy and they figured out that killing the bad guy before they can kill you is the best defense
JIm describes: a kensai monk, cavalier, psi warrior, and echo knight.
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
Loved this vid cant wait for more of this particular series
Thank you!
Instantly stopped watching the other WebDM video I was watching to watch the Neewww WebDM video 😁
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.
tbf, it's also the type of hero that people struggle with in TTRPGs. Sometimes players lean too heavily on the "reluctant" part and sometimes DMs don't know how to incorporate them into the campaign. Players and DMs are also often vocal on social media about how being in a party with a character like that causes them negative emotions. We've reached a point where it is common advice to players to not play that type of character so you're not wasting other people's time and to DMs to disallow it.
Personally, I've given a reluctant hero character a try and I probably won't try one again for a long time because of a bad experience with an inexperienced DM and their spouse (that i regularly play TTRPGs with) that lead to me leaving the campaign (the only character they've had a problem with, specifically because of her reluctant reason to be a knight). So I sympathize with players who think reluctant heroes are impossible in TTRPG campaigns. But my character lasted through 70-80% of the campaign and got through the first half with no issue, so I know reluctant heroes are possible, it just requires more mature DMs and players.
To echo what the above commenter said it is difficult to pull off a character who doesnt want to go on an adventure. Take Bilbo for example he was reluctant but ultimately he decided that he did want to go on an adventure, he does have an adventurous spirit but just needed a bit of time to be convinced. Do you want your DM to have to try plead with your characters to actually take up the quest or go on the adventure? Or to resort to forcing them into action. That doesnt sound particularly fun. Does the rest of the party have to convince you everytime they want to delve into the dungeon? That conversation might get tiresome quick
How to run those broody Han Solo types
@@NMahon to play a character that does not want to go on adventure well, it takes a writer -another game master. it takes being a dungeon master who chose to be a player to play a character that doesn’t want to go on adventure and still helps the story roll along while being an integral part of the party and story themselves
@@twilightgardenspresentatio6384 True that. I have a reluctant hero NPC as a companion in every single campaign I run. PCs love watching them grow. They relate to them. The thing is that the reluctant hero ultimately has to make the choice themselves to be an actual hero and the desire to be one has to be there all along, even if they wouldn't admit for reasons A, B, and C. You as a player need to look actively for ways to peel away those layers. The reason players have so much trouble roleplaying a character type that they can all relate to is because making that character enjoyable involves knowing how to look for those opportunities on your own, and the sad truth is, people often struggle with doing that in their own lives. Many people are constantly looking for something outside them to change them, instead of realizing that the moment of change and the conditions have always been under their control.
Pure warrior. The fighting man, the fighter. With skill and will to mold destiny itself.
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.
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.
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 🤷
That's freaking awesome
Sounds about right, yes.
Aren't Grungs like tiny frog people?
@@jasperspearl2768 yeah
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.
Thomas Tanner! Link in the description!
Love Pruit but he better start reading the Berserk manga and SEE
For real! Golden age guts is level 5~6, arount the pinacle of what a human can do, pre-berserker armor is 7~11, an absolutely incomparable warrior by human standards, a super(anti-)hero, normal people cant even threaten him, and hes seen the monsters that roam the world. After the berserker armor comes on, hes a monster among monsters, killer of god-like beings, definitely at least level 15+ by dnd standards, maybe a couple mythic tiers, if using pathfinder.
An hour of solid content and my takeaway is I now always will use “Dung Ages” to refer to that pop culture medieval look
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 am creating a goblin wolf rider for my upcoming curse of strahd game, and I'm super excited! :) Warriors unite!
Really enjoyed this chat and all the love for warriors. Always been a fan of melee classes and reflavoring magic as extraordinary physical abilities
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.
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.
Jim and Slippery John are some of the best characters in the world.
Awesome guys. Really needed this for a character revamp.
I'm a simple guy. I hear Guts from Berserk, I leave a like for the video
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.
Paksenearion is specifically a Paladin though.
@@PalleRasmussen she wasn't always, and paladin is really just an upgrade to warrior
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 did something similar with a villain but he was a Way of the Shadow monk along with being a diviner. Destiny means nothing when you can change it on a whim.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
20:11. In a way this whole schpiel is why I think alignment is a mechanic of the character's actions as much as their stats. I..e acting within their limit is part of what enables them to be a wizard, or fighter, or thief.
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 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.
is the game Go? It is said that this game has more strategy, complexity, and possible game states than chess.
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
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.
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 turned off FFXIV to watch this, this is exactly the kind of content I am always hungry for.
The highest compliment a youtuber can receive!!!!
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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). :)
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.
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.
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 really like this type of video.
Jim at 28:00 "Preparedness, Paid for now in gold and time. Later in blood and misery."
I wasn't expecting a Wu Tang reference... But I sure as hell appreciated it!
Excellent episode
Thank you!
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.
Sounds like fun!
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 clicked like for the joke at 0:08. I was not ready for that!
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
Talking about who the fighter was before the started fighting. Tom Hanks is a good reference. But I always think of Will Patton from "The Postman." Where he's a ruthless general in this Post Apocalypse world. But he used to be a Salesman. (I think)
An hour-long video to say alignment is still important for the goblin slayer. 20:25.
Great video! much of this heavily depends on your DM, and how invested DM is in your story vs. his/her own.
Our cause is just
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"
Favorite warrior concept 15:30