Spend enough time in online Dungeons & Dragons spaces and you’ll hear a lot about a certain topic: the marital-caster gap.
A quick explanation for those new to the idea: by the time your party reaches double digit levels, spellcasters can handle any situation for the cost of one measly spell slot. Wizards are blowing up entire groups of goons before the Monk’s turn, the Warlock can read minds on command so there’s no need to roll Insight, and Heroes’ Feast makes the Fighter’s Inspiring Leader temp HP look like small potatoes. If you’re lucky enough to get to level 20? The Wizard just straight up changes reality with Wish while the Rogue’s +12 Acrobatics lets them do a really cool backflip.
It makes some players wonder what is the point of even playing a Fighter, Monk, Rogue, or Barbarian. Why can’t Wizards of the Coast make a book dedicated to expanding options for these “martial” classes? Something like how Arcana Unleashed gave spellcasters even more ways to use familiars and enhance their favorite spells with Feats. There was hope that the Season of Champions would bring that book before it was revealed to be a World of Warcraft crossover.
Fortunately, the community itself is mighty creative! I gathered here some of my ideas and my favorite third-party DnD creations that give your martials more to do. Whether you want to provide more tactical actions in combat, expand their actions out of combat, or just make them demigods, there should be something that helps your weapon wielders feel epic.
Give Them Soldiers To Command - Mid To High Level
A common narrative payoff is the heroes gaining a position of power befitting their reputation. A Fighter could be offered knighthood, a Rogue establishes their own thieves’ guild, or the Barbarian ends up defeating a rival to take over their clan. As a DM, it might feel like too much to work into gameplay. Do we really want to give them their own personal army?
Yes! Commanding troops to take out obstacles is the martial equivalent to spellcasters just flying over spike traps. Let the characters exert power by sending their minions to scout out dungeon rooms or track down fleeing enemies. The modern Player’s Handbook has Hirelings, and older editions went into more detail on taking hirelings into dungeons.
My personal solution for this is to run NPC followers like those in action RPG video games. They don’t really speak unless spoken to and closely follow the party. In combat, they roll once and do a set amount of damage. Enough to be effective without taking too much of your attention. Once per day, at the player’s choosing, they can unleash an “ultimate attack.” Think a big flashy anime move. This could be a mass heal, trampling charge, or devastating single-target slash. Once they do this move, they’re out of the action until the next Long Rest is completed.
Management Sim - Mid To High Level
This one is the more “zoomed out” level of the above tip, and therefore more geared towards players who like menu-based video games like Civilization or Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave. Give the characters property to be in charge of and downtime in between quests to check off all their boxes.
The Bastion system from DnD 5.5e is the obvious starting point. But we want to deepen it to give players more activities and more payoff for their investment. Perhaps the Fighter in charge of Barracks can send troops out to clear dungeons and bring back gold, or the Rogue can train and send spies to collect info on rare magic items up for heisting. The Guildhall facility is a great starting point for offering profitable activities. MCDM’s Strongholds & Followers offers an even deeper expansion of the Bastion concept.
The challenge here is that spellcaster characters also get Bastion facilities, so it might not feel like the martials are getting anything unique to them. The hope is that the martials can indulge in these tactical management minigames while the spellcasters are crafting potions or scribing scrolls. Both get a tangible benefit. You could also grant the martial characters extra Bastion facilities as quest rewards.
Skill Tree/Maneuvers - All Levels
The Battle Master Fighter subclass is a popular pick because it gives players some tactical variety and out-of-combat abilities via a set of maneuvers. Weapon Masteries attempt to give every martial class a bit of Battle Master love by letting them trip, slow, and push opponents around. It’s a great system, but many players still want more.
Ryoko’s Guide to the Yokai Realms has an answer in Advanced Weapon Masteries. This system allows martial characters to level up their masteries as they level up to gain more effects. This stacks more effects on weapon attacks to put martials more on par with spellcasters in terms of how much they can do in a turn. Ryoko’s also offers a “Superior Strike” ability that lets martials perform a powerful special attack a few times per day.
Another popular solution is the alternate martials made by Laserllama. They add on an “Exploit” system that acts sort of like extra Feats built into class progression. These give every martial more customization options to enhance both in and out of combat performance.
Power Boost - All Levels
The most straightforward way to make martials feel more impactful is just to give them stat buffs. On a gameplay level, the intent is that they’ll hit so hard and pass so many saving throws that they’ll be on par with some of the stronger spells. On a narrative level, they’ll feel like superheroes or mythical beings and that helps players buy into the fantasy.
A simple fix is to give the martial characters both an Ability Score Improvement and a Feat when they reach the levels that grant Feats. Or +1 to an ability score and a Feat. This is a decent option for tables that are more concerned with fun than balance, or the Barbarian player who just wants to hit things and doesn’t care as much about roleplay.
I’ve done a version of this in my campaigns with personalized sidequests. One that’s often a hit is a hunt for puzzle pieces scattered throughout the map, with the prize at the end being a character enhancement. One time it was a Monk who needed to assemble a sacred scroll, while another it was a Warforged gathering disassembled parts of their previous model. The monk learned a Feat from the scroll while the Warfoged learned how to craft a magic weapon based on the prototype. Spellcasters get their own quests too, but rewarding one new spell isn’t going to be as impactful as a whole Feat.
Hopefully something here inspired you on your quest to give your DnD martials more ways to impact the game. Many a DM have also homebrewed their own fixes, such as Battle Master-style maneuvers for each class that spend Focus Points, Rages, or made up other resources. Just be sure to tailor whatever you make to your players; don’t give the guy who plays Rogue to stab things a management minigame they don’t want. Remember, fun is the goal!
Sergio Solórzano is the best Dungeon Master in the USA (according to an official D&D competition, anyway). He loves minis and terrain but also goes all-in on improv!
