Upgrading martial classes 5E (2014) at the right grade for your table

The poor options for the attacks of martial classes are a recurrent complain when they are compared to casters. After so many years of 5E I have seen several solutions that should satisfy everybody but I may be missing some.

I would like to classify those modifications for 5E (2014) according to complexity:

\-1 (minimal complexity): Universal free feat for martials: Every figther is granted with the Battle Master trait for free, so it makes them real expert fighters, and for all other martials they get the Martial Adept fear for free at level 1. The only difference with raw 5e is that they track a couple of maneuvers and a 1d6 of "superiority die" on their standard character sheet.

\-2 (low complexity): I feel a need an option here that I hope the community help me to define. Maybe this: ⚔️ Universal Martial Maneuvers — A Streamlined Superiority Dice System for All Weapon Classes ⚔️ : r/UnearthedArcana or the weapon mastery from Yokai´s?

\-3 (medium complexity): Replace PHB martial classes with the Laserllama variant "Alternate". The maneuvers are rebranded as Martial Exploits and are integrated in the class progression on top of being divided into degrees (kind of like spells)

\-4 (medium-high complexity): Use the Laserllama´s "Expanded Alternate" clases. It expands the previous one by adding more options and subclasses with a bit more fantasy maneuvers. Around triple of pages to read.

\-5 (high complexity): Move into Level UP Advanced 5E. In this case the redefinition is deeper, add more factors to track and martial schools on top of other changes related to rests, exploration, etc... This is really a new rule book that impact on all people in the table.

I consider those are a better improvement for martials than what we found on 5.5, mainly because you just pick what you think works better in your table and it really characterize you PC instead of just the weapon. Another advantage is that the use is finite and avoid the lag of current Weapon Mastery from 5.5 (which can also be applied in 5e, so it is an alternative to the level 1 in this list).

¿What else would you add to this list and in which position?
¿Which homebrew documents do you use as reference?

I would also recommend the Armorer's Handbook supplement from dmsguild. It gives martials more options. Having upgraded armor really makes it easier for martials to feel like tanks in combat

universal manuevers but!

There's a maneuver that just lets them do more damage. Feels a good way to meet the players who don't wanna deal with all where they're at.

In my games - every fighter is a Battlemaster, every barbarian is a Berserker, every monk is a Way of the Open Hand adept, every rogue is a thief. Plus one more subclass for everyone to choose from) .

Plus, as a DM, I'm focused on playing against casters. Magic in my games is powerful (we're playing D&D, after all, lol), but difficult.
Only in this way, within the framework of DND 5/24, can we achieve at least a semblance of balance between martials and casters.

Thanks. Added at level 3 of complexity (in my opinion) due to it expands equipment complexity, with extra mechanism, but not really the martial class itself,

All 5 options on this list have the same design philosophy in common: giving martial a pool of resources to fuel options that they can use on top of the Attack action, once in a while.

I want the opposite:

* No slots
* No superiority dice.
* No ki points.
* No "X uses per rest".
* No resource economy.

Resource economy is for giving characters limited access to bursts in power above their baseline.

Resource economy works really well for spellcasters because spellcasters have a very low baseline (small hit dice, few proficiencies, weak cantrips) that gives them room for a large pool resources that can be spent on very powerful effects.

Resource economy works really terribly for martials, because martials have a very high baseline (large hit dice, great proficiencies, powerful attacks) that only leaves room for a tiny pool of resources that can only be spent on very weak effects.

What martials need is action economy. Martials need unlimited access to actions equal to (but different from) the Attack action and unlimited access to attacks equal to (but different from) weapon attacks. Some examples of action economy already built into 5e:

* When you take the Attack action, do you make a weapon attack, grapple, or shove?
* When you make a weapon attack, do you use GWM/SS or no?
* As a 2nd level Rogue, do you bonus action Dash, Disengage or Hide?
* As an 11th level Hunter Ranger, do you take the Attack action, or Whirlwind Attack/Volley?

What 5e needs is to take this concept further. Give every martial class/subclass a few actions/attacks to choose from, every single turn. This is the design philosophy I followed in my homebrew revisions of 5e's martial classes:

* Revised Fighter
* Revised Rogue
* Revised Barbarian

Feinting Attack or Sweeping attack from PHB 2014 for example?

That´s an interesting approach too. It really differentiate the classes more. Thanks!

Neither of those two maneuvers just does more damage. Both involve choosing second targets, and either making additional rolls or additional comparisons between rolls.

I think u/Deep-Crim is imagining a maneuver equivalent to Divine Smite: "When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die and deal extra damage equal to double the result rolled."

Well, you definitely will find non-oficial maneuvers that may fit better that idea, as "Destructive Strike" as one of the 1st degree exploit up to "Banishing Strike" at 5th degree exploit in Laserllama Alternate Expanded versions.

It is an interesting approach. I just had a quick look and it looks still quite similar to me in terms of "actions".

The philosophy of not being limited, no resource economy involved, feel also to me against the fun of the game (same issue I see in Weapon Mastery from 5.5)

So I do not fully agree on how it is applied but it is definitely a valid way to give more options to your martials. Thanks

I also really dislike weapon masteries, not because they are resource-free, but because they are tiny bonuses on top of the Attack action. There's no room in a character's power budget for the effects to be meaningful.

By providing alternatives to the Attack action, the effects can be much more pronounced, and also more diverse. My Brawler Fighter's Cleave action is a stronger AoE tool that the Cleave mastery because it doesn't waste most of its power budget on the initial weapon attack, and my Brawler Fighter's Brace action does something no weapon mastery could do, because it doesn't involve making any attacks on your turn at all (but rather intercepting enemies that approach you on their own turns).

If those sorts of actions were tied to a resource, you'd eventually run out and be stuck spamming ordinary attacks. But because they're resource free, you can always ask yourself "what is the correct choice in this situation?" Which to me is the fun of the game.

Correct. Sometimes you just want to him something harder or none of the options are tremendously applicable to what you're fighting right now, for whatever reason

Gestalt subclasses my beloved

Do rangers get anything?

5.5 Rangers are full Casters.

You could definitely do 2014 Ranger as a Beastmaster + Subclass, tho, since Companion stuff was the majority of what made Ranger interesting, IMO.