Defending the 5e D&D Champion archetype for Fighter

December 14, 2016

From time to time I hear grumblings about the Champion archetype for Fighters in Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Usually such grumblings include something along the lines of the archetype being “plain” or “boring,” that “it doesn’t do anything,” or even that “it’s the most useless archetype in the whole game.”

Really? I have to call foul. To simply dismiss the Champion archetype shows, in my opinion, a lack of imagination.

Sure, the Champion doesn’t offer the fancy moves of the Battle Master nor the magical abilities of the Eldritch Knight, nor does it provide the added skills or talents of other Fighter archetypes as provided in the Unearthed Arcana online publications. But the Champion isn’t supposed to.

To quote the 5e D&D Player’s Handbook, the Champion “focuses on the development of raw physical power honed to deadly perfection.” That’s it. The Champion is meant to be a solid combatant while dealing lots of damage through sheer combat ability, nothing more or less.

For those who still do not appreciate the archetype, that’s fine, but don’t blame it on the archetype. It’s one’s personal opinion, and not a failing of the Champion itself because the Champion archetype does exactly what it’s meant to, creating a solid Fighter without lots of bells and whistles. There is no failing of the rules here, as is sometimes the case with other classes or archetypes (the 5e Ranger class, in particular, is often called out here).

What does the Champion have to offer?

The Champion is all about sheer combat prowess. Quite often that means combat might based upon Strength, but not always. A Champion Fighter could also do well with his or her fighting abilities based upon Dexterity. An archer or finesse combatant could make good use of being a Champion.

Still, some might cry out that the Champion is dull, even lackluster. Again, I fault the individual for a lack of creativity.

First of all, a character of any class or archetype is only boring if the player plays them that way. It is up to us as players, with maybe some help from a Dungeon Master, to bring our characters to life, to make them living, breathing entities. That is part of our job, our mission, when playing a character in a role-playing game.

Secondly, the Champion still has plenty of options available, no small part of which are the number of Ability Score Improvements or Feats available to such a character. The Fighter gets more Ability Score Improvements than any other class, each of which can be used as a Feat if the Dungeon Master allows. Feats allow not only special combat abilities and other possibilities, but they also give a character an opportunity to be a little different, possibly to be unique within one’s party. Even if one opts for the Ability Score Improvements, that gives the Fighter a huge boost over other characters, potentially allowing for higher stats that can make a big difference when it comes to combat.

Now, if you’re shaking your head and thinking, “Yeah, but all Fighters get those Feats or ability increases, even the other archetypes,” then yes, you are correct. But those Feats plus the other abilities the Champion offers can create a truly spectacular war machine.

Creating a unique D&D Fighter

But what abilities make the Champion unique, you might be asking? Right off, I draw your attention to the fact this Fighter is the only one who gets the Improved Critical ability, and not once, but twice, at 3rd level and again at 15th level, though under the Superior Critical title. What this means is a Champion can score a critical hit against a foe on a roll of 19 or 20, then at 15th level on an 18, 19 or 20, and no other class offers this feature. This might seem like small potatoes to you, but I can tell you from experience, this is an extremely nice ability to have, and it comes up in game combat more often than you might think.

Next up, at 10th level the Champion earns an Additional Fighting Style, another ability not available to other Fighters or even to other classes, at least not without multi-classing. Again, this might not seem like a big deal at first glance, but it really allows the Champion to have an extra level of power not common to other characters.

Then there is the Remarkable Athlete ability at 7th level. I admit, this seems like a rather lackluster boost, allowing the Champion to had half his or her proficiency bonus to Strength, Dexterity or Constitution checks that don’t already include the proficiency bonus, but again, from experience I can point out this is a handy ability to have. Depending upon a Champion Fighter’s skills, this could prove helpful in combat situations, especially ones involving grappling, but it can also prove a boon when trying to kick in doors, bend bars, swim long distances, etc.

Last but not least, there is the Survivor ability. I’ll admit, I often find the extra abilities for classes at higher levels to be lacking, but this one is pretty nifty. Whenever the Champion is reduced to half hit points or less, at the end of each of the character’s turns the Champion gets back 5 + Constitution modifier in hit points. That’s pretty awesome. Not only does it keep the Fighter going like an Energizer bunny, but it could prove the difference in a battle against any number of big bad guys.

Okay, I’ve nearly said my peace here, but I’d like to point out one more thing concerning the Champion. Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons is often compared to ye olde First Edition, sometimes with players stating 5e has that old-time feel to it of the early versions of the game. I can see that, though I also see that Fifth Edition has gone far beyond the original game. However, that being said, I would be remiss not to point out that the Champion Fighter, being a relatively simple archetype when compared to others, is probably more like the First Edition class of Fighter than any other Fighter archetype, or perhaps more so than any other Fifth Edition class, period. Some might not consider this a good thing, but others will.

There. If you still don’t see the potential of the Champion Fighter, then I am at a loss. But I will repeat that it’s how you play your characters that keeps those characters from becoming stale, not the archetypes or classes or any other rules. Players make the game.