D&D (2024) How should the Warlord be implemented in 1DnD?

[James Gasik]

Warlords were beloved in 4E. They could not heal as well as clerics, but the healing they had was accepted just fine.

The Feat for the extra encounter heal was nice though.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

All the magical subclasses that martial classes get rather defy the idea of niche protection to that degree.

Warlord as the best class for a heavy leadership focus doesn't create any kind of barrier to creating a cult leader warlock subclass or a monastery master monk subclass.

I'm talking about the niche protection of the specific abilities themselves. If a Warlord class gets 40 unique abilities to a main class and subsequent subclasses, the Fighter and Paladin can't get any of them.

 

[Incenjucar]

I'm talking about the niche protection of the specific abilities themselves. If a Warlord class gets 40 unique abilities to a main class and subsequent subclasses, the Fighter and Paladin can't get any of them.

Why? According to who?

 

[Vaalingrade]

It's funny, did people claim during 4e that it was arbitrary and a distinction which was hard to fathom that Warlords couldn't heal as well as clerics even in a version of the game where more emphasis was on more equality and balance between the classes?

Why yes, I did.

Just because 4e had competent design didn't mean it still failed to go too far enough on getting rid of D&D's classic albatrosses.

 

[Incenjucar]

The 1D&D expert playtest alone tosses mechanic protection in the dumpster. Rangers have druid cantrips and druids have ranger spells and everyone can get movement types that rogues and rangers get.

 

[Vaalingrade]

The 1D&D expert playtest alone tosses mechanic protection in the dumpster. Rangers have druid cantrips and druids have ranger spells and everyone can get movement types that rogues and rangers get.

Niche protection really only gets trotted out to 1) keep fighters from getting things and 2) protect the Wizard and Cleric's 'everything' and 'everything but also healing' niches.

 

[Undrave]

Leadership specialists are all well and good. I would play one! But the way classes are designed, most class and subclass abilities are "unique" to those specific classes and subclasses. If a "Warlord" class got all those abilities crammed into it, there would be little left for Leadership options for other classes.

No class should get exclusive access to all of those abilities. Want a "princess" build that enables their peers to attack again as their reactions? Build a Feat or a Subclass around that functionality, and make other feats or subclasses that fulfill other Leadership themes, and spread them out.

Heck, if I were a designer, I would try my hand at creating several class-agnostic Leadership-themed subclasses that any class could take. That sounds better to me than a Warlord, or a Fighter-only subclass.

We literally have multiple classes and subclasses using the same spells and spell slot system. Having a list of Maneuvers (including ones that are actually level gated) that is available to any Leadership subclass would be a fine equivalent system. Simply need to have the Superiority Dice recharge mechanic be different depending on the subclass wanting to tap into it. With the Warlord being the one with the most Superiority Dice and a handful of features they could do at will.

 

[CreamCloud0]

I'm talking about the niche protection of the specific abilities themselves. If a Warlord class gets 40 unique abilities to a main class and subsequent subclasses, the Fighter and Paladin can't get any of them.

you can currently pick up fighting styles, battlemaster maneuvres, metamagic and eldritch invocations all through feats, there may be even more features i'm forgetting but there's no reason you couldn't pick up warlord's whatever-they're-going-to-be-called abilities through feats as well.

 

[Incenjucar]

you can currently pick up fighting styles, battlemaster maneuvres, metamagic and eldritch invocations all through feats, there may be even more features i'm forgetting but there's no reason you couldn't pick up warlord's whatever-they're-going-to-be-called abilities through feats as well.

Cantrips, weapon mastery, weapon and armor training...

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Why? According to who?

I just compare the existing classes and subclasses. I'm not talking about universal things like the spellcasting system. Outside of legacy abilities like Evasion, or specific Group abilities like Expertise, it's rarely done. How many subclasses have the same abilities?