Weapon Mastery is not enough, martial should get signature moves /u/Rugaru985 DnD: Roll for Initiative!

I’m newer to DnD – about 1.5 years now – but got to experience the change over to 2024.

Weapon masteries are great, but I decided to dip into warlock, and I don’t see why a fighter can’t have Sword Burst. I should be able to just flavor it as a whirlwind attack.

I was playing icespire peak, and I was attacked by a mob of 12 tiny stickmen made out of twigs, and the wizard destroyed them all with an AoE, but I would have been hacking for at least 12 turns!

That’s a huge power imbalance. A 12 turn advantage. And all I hear is how that’s supposed to happen mid-late game, but here we are at lvl 4 and already I’m gonna be falling to mobs with a couple hit points each while the wizard has a single spell.

Sword Burst, a cantrip for warlock, would have wiped the mob out. And it’s not the only cantrip that could be a signature move of a martial class if it were flavored as a martial move.

Rangers and fighters could have eldritch blast, but it’s force arrows from their bow, so they can attack multiples as they lvl as it grows to 2, 3, and 4 “beams” from their bow. On a double attack, that’s 2x, sure, but I think still balanced at lvl 5 against a caster.

Barbarians could have sword bust but it’s a whirlwind attack.

Paladins get something like sacred flame or words of radiance.

monks get booming blade (jet li’s kiss of the dragon) and sword burst.

You could even make a handful of cantrips just for martials and let them select one every 4 levels.

I’m newer to DnD – about 1.5 years now – but got to experience the change over to 2024.

Weapon masteries are great, but I decided to dip into warlock, and I don’t see why a fighter can’t have Sword Burst. I should be able to just flavor it as a whirlwind attack.

I was playing icespire peak, and I was attacked by a mob of 12 tiny stickmen made out of twigs, and the wizard destroyed them all with an AoE, but I would have been hacking for at least 12 turns!

That’s a huge power imbalance. A 12 turn advantage. And all I hear is how that’s supposed to happen mid-late game, but here we are at lvl 4 and already I’m gonna be falling to mobs with a couple hit points each while the wizard has a single spell.

Sword Burst, a cantrip for warlock, would have wiped the mob out. And it’s not the only cantrip that could be a signature move of a martial class if it were flavored as a martial move.

Rangers and fighters could have eldritch blast, but it’s force arrows from their bow, so they can attack multiples as they lvl as it grows to 2, 3, and 4 “beams” from their bow. On a double attack, that’s 2x, sure, but I think still balanced at lvl 5 against a caster.

Barbarians could have sword bust but it’s a whirlwind attack.

Paladins get something like sacred flame or words of radiance.

monks get booming blade (jet li’s kiss of the dragon) and sword burst.

You could even make a handful of cantrips just for martials and let them select one every 4 levels.