Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour: The Warlord

[Yunru]

Let's be frank though, you just wouldn't use a warlord class anyway. So it really shouldn't matter to you how many subclasses they get as long it doesn't chew up too much page space.

And, even as a fan of the warlord, I can't really see a need for more than 5 subclasses for it.

As someone making their own, I just want to go back to 4e's hybrid system so I'd don't have to come up with subclasses.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

The warlord paladin probably emphasizes Charisma. (Maybe also Intelligence.)

This means a paladin could prioritize Charisma, perhaps even dropping Strength. (An intelligent warrior might also be possible.)

All of this enhances the scope and customizability of the paladin class.

Nonmagic paladin.

I think you could even take back some of the features of the defunct pacifist Paladin from UA and push them as one of your nonmagic Paladin's archetype to make a ''lazy-ish lord''.

 

[MechaPilot]

I've said it many times.

I do not think The Warlord is good enough on it's own to carry a whole class. It is that simple.

History would indicate otherwise.

 

[Yaarel]

The 3e Psion had the ability to generate massive temporary hit points, relative to the spell points. It was an efficient alternative to healing spells.

The point is, granting a bulk of temporary hit points before a battle can be a viable alternative to resurrection after battle. This is ‘preventative medicine’ sotospeak, so as to avoid death in the first place.

 

[mellored]

But the cool things about the sorcerer and the warlock isn't that they're like the wizard. That's probably the lamest elements of them.
When someone asks you what the hook is with a warlock or sorcerer, you shouldn't start with "they're a wizard that...". Instead it's "a sorcerer is an arcane spellcaster that innately casts spells because its in their blood or part of their heritage" and "a warlock is someone who made a deal with a powerful godlike being for magic".

When describing a warlord and what a warlord does "it's like a cleric... but without magic" is probably the lamest and most boring description imaginable. Not just because it requires knowledge of what a cleric is, but also because it doesn't so much tell you what it does but what it does NOT do.

Here's the description from 3.5.

Marshals inspire trust in those they lead. They earn that trust by slogging through harsh landscapes, dangerous battlefields, and haunted catacombs along with those under their command. With a look, they can see where to best deploy their resources or come up with a sneaky ruse to fool their enemies. A marshal has a tactician's mind, a cartographer's overview of the disputed landscape (or dungeon warren), and a way with words that can inspire battle-hardened fighters to give it their all when melee breaks out.

Trained in the basics of fighting, marshals possess a general knowledge of weapons and armor. Their real strength is their ability to lead those who follow them to success they might not otherwise reach in combat. Marshals make passable warriors themselves, when personal danger finds them.


And from 4e.

Warlords are accomplished and competent battle leaders. Warlords stand on the front line issuing commands and bolstering their allies while leading the battle with weapon in hand. Warlords know how to rally a team to win a fight. Your ability to lead others to victory is a direct result of your history. You could be a minor warchief looking to make a name for yourself, a pious knight-commander on leave from your militant order, a youthful noble eager to apply years of training to life outside the castle walls, a calculating mercenary captain, or a courageous marshal of the borderlands who fights to protect the frontier. Regardless of your background, you are a skillful warrior with an uncanny gift for leadership.

Your leadership takes the form of quick commands, cunning strategies, and tactical superiority. Your powers guide your allies to extra and more powerful attacks, as well as helping them move quickly in combat situations. You also assist your allies by moving your enemies around or knocking them prone. You use Strength for your attack powers, so make that your best ability score. Intelligence is secondary, because your Intelligence determines just how effective a leader you are. Charisma should be your third best score

 

[Yaarel]

I think you could even take back some of the features of the defunct pacifist Paladin from UA and push them as one of your nonmagic Paladin's archetype to make a ''lazy-ish lord''.

Good idea, adding elements of the pacifist paladin to the warlord paladin.

 

[Yaarel]

So a paladin is fundamentally a nonmagical class, but has subclasses that can gain spell slots, similar to the way eldritch knight subclass does.

For some reason, this feels more like the 1e paladin − a fighter subclass that can get spells.

 

[Yaarel]

Personally, I see the warlord abilities in from most important to less important:
Charisma › Intelligence › Strength

Possibly:
• Charisma = ‘inspiration’, healing, buffing
• Intelligence = ‘tactics’, granting extra attacks

Splitting up inspiration and tactics makes Charisma and Intelligence about equally valuable.

 

[Jester David]

Here's the description from 3.5.

Marshals inspire trust in those they lead. They earn that trust by slogging through harsh landscapes, dangerous battlefields, and haunted catacombs along with those under their command. With a look, they can see where to best deploy their resources or come up with a sneaky ruse to fool their enemies. A marshal has a tactician's mind, a cartographer's overview of the disputed landscape (or dungeon warren), and a way with words that can inspire battle-hardened fighters to give it their all when melee breaks out.

Trained in the basics of fighting, marshals possess a general knowledge of weapons and armor. Their real strength is their ability to lead those who follow them to success they might not otherwise reach in combat. Marshals make passable warriors themselves, when personal danger finds them.


And from 4e.

Warlords are accomplished and competent battle leaders. Warlords stand on the front line issuing commands and bolstering their allies while leading the battle with weapon in hand. Warlords know how to rally a team to win a fight. Your ability to lead others to victory is a direct result of your history. You could be a minor warchief looking to make a name for yourself, a pious knight-commander on leave from your militant order, a youthful noble eager to apply years of training to life outside the castle walls, a calculating mercenary captain, or a courageous marshal of the borderlands who fights to protect the frontier. Regardless of your background, you are a skillful warrior with an uncanny gift for leadership.

Your leadership takes the form of quick commands, cunning strategies, and tactical superiority. Your powers guide your allies to extra and more powerful attacks, as well as helping them move quickly in combat situations. You also assist your allies by moving your enemies around or knocking them prone. You use Strength for your attack powers, so make that your best ability score. Intelligence is secondary, because your Intelligence determines just how effective a leader you are. Charisma should be your third best score

Which sounds like the best way to design the class.
Pull out its flavour and the flavour of its most iconic powers and base the class on that. Design the mechanics on the story of the class and what that says it should be doing, and not how that story was implemented a design generation ago.

 

[Jester David]

Personally, I see the warlord abilities in from most important to less important:
Charisma › Intelligence › Strength

Possibly:
• Charisma = ‘inspiration’, healing, buffing
• Intelligence = ‘tactics’, granting extra attacks

Splitting up inspiration and tactics makes Charisma and Intelligence about equally valuable.

Charisma really seems like the purview of the bard. It's the inspiring class. That's it’s niche. And it's also the stat of the warlock and sorcerer.

No class but the wizard uses Intelligence. The smart warrior is very different from other characters and distinguishes the warlord.