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Death Before Dishonor: A Knight's Guide (By lorduskblade)
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<blockquote data-quote="Veep" data-source="post: 6707922" data-attributes="member: 6793297"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Power Source and Role: The Honor You Defend</strong></span></p><p></p><p>The Knight is a build of the Fighter class, and as such shares its power source and role, that being a <strong>Martial Defender</strong>. A Knight shares the Martial tendency of being more aggressively oriented than other members of its role, with your method of defense usually being to threaten your opponents with retribution. Thsi is how a Knight stacks up regarding the criteria commonly expect of a Defender:</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Battlefield Control</strong></span> - A Knight usually exerts a strong degree of control over his immediate area, thanks to a combination of his strong basic attacks with the effects he has with his Stances. If you can somehow expand the area you threaten or get into the teeth of your enemy's ranks quickly and thus catch them in a cluster, you have to the potential to be <span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>better</strong></span> at this.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Damage </strong></span>- A Knight has features and abilities to enhance his ability to deal out the pain, and he has access to one of the better sets of damage support in the Fighter. If you invest heavily in it or dedicate resources toward establishing a catch-22 that always results in an attack opportunity, you can be <span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>awesome </strong></span>at this.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mobility </strong>- This is probably the area a Knight will have to work on the most by default: odds are you'll be suiting up in speed-reducing heavy armor, and while you do have access to powers that will help you move around, it's not exactly the most prevalent element of the Knight's arsenal.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Stickiness</strong></span> - This is truly a Knight's forte: he can punish virtually any sort of action an enemy takes that does not involve attacking him, and he can do it against multiple enemies at a time. Add on the fact that they can pick up some tricks to actively yank people to them and you can see why this is their specialty.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Survivability</strong></span> - Having Constitution as a universal secondary ability combines with access to the heaviest armor and having little reason to not carry a shield around combine to make you a pretty tough customer to bring down.</p><p></p><p><strong>Secondary Role Effectiveness</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Controller</strong> - Defenders can be fairly solid at limiting their opponent's options pretty much by design, and the Knight is no exception. You also have the option of heavily investing in action denial to make yourself a little <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>better</strong></span> at this.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Leader</strong></span> - This is not something you're all that great at; the Leader role has some very specific requirements with regards to what you need to be capable of, and you are sparingly capable of fulfilling them at best.</p><p></p><p><strong>Striker</strong> - While you can certainly put up some respectable damage values, the other requirements of the Striker role tend to be harder for you to fulfill. That said, you can make an acceptable substitute for one if need be.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Baseline Mechanics: Foundation of Honor</strong></p><p></p><p>Your class design is distinctive to the other Martial classes in the Essentials product line in that you don't have all that many powers, but you do get a bunch of different class features. As such, your identity is pretty well-defined as a tough, sticky Defender.</p><p></p><p>As far as the features themselves, you'll find there's a pretty nice bag of features to be had here, especially regarding your proficiencies and your punishment mechanic.</p><p></p><p><strong>Game Mechanics</strong></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Hit Points</strong></span> - 15 + Con score at level 1, and 6 at each level thereafter. Pretty standard fare for a Defender.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Healing Surges</strong></span> - 9 + Con modifier. A pretty normal value for a Defender.</p><p></p><p><strong>Defenses</strong> - A +2 bonus to only Fortitude means your strong defense gets stronger, but the weaker ones get left hanging.</p><p></p><p><strong>Proficiencies</strong></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Armor</strong></span> - Plate and shields is as good as it gets.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Weapons</strong></span> - Again, it doesn't get any better than military melee and military ranged weapons right out of the gate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Class Features</strong></p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Punishment Features</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>L1 - <span style="color: #00ccff">Battle Guardian</span> (HotFL)</strong> - Your punishment mechanic is as good as it gets. Not only does it trigger off of virtually any sort of course chosen by your opponent, it also triggers as an opportunity action (which is not the same as an opportunity attack, which is a defined power), which means it can potentially punish multiple enemies in a single round. Add on the fact that it benefits from your MBA goodies and that it even has some miss damage and you can see why I consider it the best default Defender mechanic.</p><p></p><p><strong>L1 - <span style="color: #00ccff">Feywild Guardian</span> (D 395)</strong> - An Eladrin-specific option, this trades in the smidgen of miss damage Battle Guardian typically carries in favor of a teleport to reposition. That's not a bad deal at all.</p><p> <strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>L1 - <span style="color: #0000ff">Defender Aura </span></strong>- You have a rather unique way to encourage attacks against you: rather than imposing the marked condition, you impose an equivalent static penalty against anyone adjacent to you. This makes your ability to defend more sensitive to positioning, which is something that you and your allies can potentially exploit.</p><p></p><p><strong>L1 - Power Strike</strong> - While it's not exactly the flashiest thing in the world, extra damage is neat to have, and applying it after you score a hit is a nice perk.</p><p></p><p><strong>L1 - Shield Feature</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Shield Finesse (HotFL)</strong> - Not having your skills affected by your shield is solid enough.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spinning Deflection (D 391)</strong> - Essentially, this is Hafted Defense for free on Staff users, as well as compatibility with the Knight's shield-dependent abilities. That said, the Staff's stats are terrible, and you're still losing AC out of this deal.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>L1 - <span style="color: #00ccff">Weapon Talent</span></strong> - A no-strings-attached +1 to attack rolls sounds good to me.</p><p></p><p><strong>L4 - <span style="color: #00ccff">Combat Readiness</span></strong> - A straight-up bonus to initiative that improves later on (Greater Combat Readiness at L9) is fantastic for a Defender, who gains a lot of benefit from going as early as possible.</p><p></p><p><strong>L5 - <span style="color: #0000ff">Weapon Mastery</span></strong> - A straight damage bonus that grows with levels (Paragon Weapon Mastery at L15 and Epic Weapon Mastery at L25) is a pretty cool thing to have.</p><p></p><p><strong>L7 - Weapon Specialization</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Bladed Step</span> (HotFL)</strong> - Free combat advantage and a minor shifting effect. It's not bad, but not quite at the caliber of the option available to the Hammer.</p><p></p><p><strong>Bludgeoning Staff (D 391)</strong> - A decent forced movement effect on Power Strike. Solid enough.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Staggering Hammer</strong></span></p><p><strong>(HotFL) </strong>- Immobilization and combat advantage as an additional rider for Power Strike is a very powerful thing to have.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>L8 - <span style="color: #0000ff">Shield Block</span></strong> - An immediate interrupt power (so you can use it in conjunction with your mark punishment if need be) that can reduce incoming damage for you or an ally. Pretty cool to get for free.</p><p></p><p><strong>L19 - Devoted Knight</strong> - A minor benefit to adjacent allies when you second wind. It's all right, I guess.</p><p></p><p><strong>L23 - <span style="color: #0000ff">Relentless Knight</span></strong> - The ability to spend two surges at a time when you use your second wind is a welcome enhancement to your ability to heal.</p><p></p><p><strong>L29 - <span style="color: #00ccff">Spirit of War</span></strong> - Oh wow. An extra save at the beginning of your turn just because you can? This is one heck of a capstone feature, especially for a Defender.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Skills: The Tools of Honor</strong></p><p></p><p>You get shafted more than most when it comes to skills: only 3 skills, and the list isn't exactly large. However, it does house most of your needs, so you probably are not complaining that much.</p><p></p><p><strong>Class Skills</strong></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Athletics</strong></span> - The majority of Knights will have Strength as their highest ability score, and this skill is plenty useful for moving around.</p><p></p><p><strong>Diplomacy</strong> - It can be a useful pickup if nobody in the party has it, but in most cases you would be the second fiddle at this sort of thing.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Endurance</strong></span> - It's kind of hard to bill yourself as a tough guy if you can't keep yourself from catching filth fever or choking to death in a swamp. Plus, you should be giving Constitution plenty of love anyway.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Heal</strong></span> - Your tertiary stats are very much up in the air, so if you have the Wisdom to make this something other than a waste, you won't be too bad off by taking it.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Intimidate</strong></span> - A skill that aligns well with the Knight thematically, it also opens up a handful of feats and powers that can be pretty useful to you, and that's the reason why it gets a favorable rating.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>Recommended Non-Class Skills</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Insight</strong> - The ability to divine enemy intentions can be of some use, as can the skill powers associated with it.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Perception</strong></span> - One of the most useful skills in the game, though it would usually key off of a tertiary stat.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Veep, post: 6707922, member: 6793297"] [CENTER][SIZE=5][b]Power Source and Role: The Honor You Defend[/b][/SIZE][/CENTER] The Knight is a build of the Fighter class, and as such shares its power source and role, that being a [b]Martial Defender[/b]. A Knight shares the Martial tendency of being more aggressively oriented than other members of its role, with your method of defense usually being to threaten your opponents with retribution. Thsi is how a Knight stacks up regarding the criteria commonly expect of a Defender: [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Battlefield Control[/b][/COLOR] - A Knight usually exerts a strong degree of control over his immediate area, thanks to a combination of his strong basic attacks with the effects he has with his Stances. If you can somehow expand the area you threaten or get into the teeth of your enemy's ranks quickly and thus catch them in a cluster, you have to the potential to be [COLOR=#00ccff][b]better[/b][/COLOR] at this. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Damage [/b][/COLOR]- A Knight has features and abilities to enhance his ability to deal out the pain, and he has access to one of the better sets of damage support in the Fighter. If you invest heavily in it or dedicate resources toward establishing a catch-22 that always results in an attack opportunity, you can be [COLOR=#00ccff][b]awesome [/b][/COLOR]at this. [b]Mobility [/b]- This is probably the area a Knight will have to work on the most by default: odds are you'll be suiting up in speed-reducing heavy armor, and while you do have access to powers that will help you move around, it's not exactly the most prevalent element of the Knight's arsenal. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Stickiness[/b][/COLOR] - This is truly a Knight's forte: he can punish virtually any sort of action an enemy takes that does not involve attacking him, and he can do it against multiple enemies at a time. Add on the fact that they can pick up some tricks to actively yank people to them and you can see why this is their specialty. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Survivability[/b][/COLOR] - Having Constitution as a universal secondary ability combines with access to the heaviest armor and having little reason to not carry a shield around combine to make you a pretty tough customer to bring down. [b]Secondary Role Effectiveness[/b] [b]Controller[/b] - Defenders can be fairly solid at limiting their opponent's options pretty much by design, and the Knight is no exception. You also have the option of heavily investing in action denial to make yourself a little [COLOR=#0000ff][b]better[/b][/COLOR] at this. [COLOR=#800080][b]Leader[/b][/COLOR] - This is not something you're all that great at; the Leader role has some very specific requirements with regards to what you need to be capable of, and you are sparingly capable of fulfilling them at best. [b]Striker[/b] - While you can certainly put up some respectable damage values, the other requirements of the Striker role tend to be harder for you to fulfill. That said, you can make an acceptable substitute for one if need be. [b]Baseline Mechanics: Foundation of Honor[/b] Your class design is distinctive to the other Martial classes in the Essentials product line in that you don't have all that many powers, but you do get a bunch of different class features. As such, your identity is pretty well-defined as a tough, sticky Defender. As far as the features themselves, you'll find there's a pretty nice bag of features to be had here, especially regarding your proficiencies and your punishment mechanic. [b]Game Mechanics[/b] [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Hit Points[/b][/COLOR] - 15 + Con score at level 1, and 6 at each level thereafter. Pretty standard fare for a Defender. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Healing Surges[/b][/COLOR] - 9 + Con modifier. A pretty normal value for a Defender. [b]Defenses[/b] - A +2 bonus to only Fortitude means your strong defense gets stronger, but the weaker ones get left hanging. [b]Proficiencies[/b] [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Armor[/b][/COLOR] - Plate and shields is as good as it gets. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Weapons[/b][/COLOR] - Again, it doesn't get any better than military melee and military ranged weapons right out of the gate. [b]Class Features[/b] [b]Punishment Features[/b] [b]L1 - [COLOR=#00ccff]Battle Guardian[/COLOR] (HotFL)[/b] - Your punishment mechanic is as good as it gets. Not only does it trigger off of virtually any sort of course chosen by your opponent, it also triggers as an opportunity action (which is not the same as an opportunity attack, which is a defined power), which means it can potentially punish multiple enemies in a single round. Add on the fact that it benefits from your MBA goodies and that it even has some miss damage and you can see why I consider it the best default Defender mechanic. [b]L1 - [COLOR=#00ccff]Feywild Guardian[/COLOR] (D 395)[/b] - An Eladrin-specific option, this trades in the smidgen of miss damage Battle Guardian typically carries in favor of a teleport to reposition. That's not a bad deal at all. [b][/b] [b] L1 - [COLOR=#0000ff]Defender Aura [/COLOR][/b]- You have a rather unique way to encourage attacks against you: rather than imposing the marked condition, you impose an equivalent static penalty against anyone adjacent to you. This makes your ability to defend more sensitive to positioning, which is something that you and your allies can potentially exploit. [b]L1 - Power Strike[/b] - While it's not exactly the flashiest thing in the world, extra damage is neat to have, and applying it after you score a hit is a nice perk. [b]L1 - Shield Feature[/b] [b]Shield Finesse (HotFL)[/b] - Not having your skills affected by your shield is solid enough. [b][/b][b]Spinning Deflection (D 391)[/b] - Essentially, this is Hafted Defense for free on Staff users, as well as compatibility with the Knight's shield-dependent abilities. That said, the Staff's stats are terrible, and you're still losing AC out of this deal. [b]L1 - [COLOR=#00ccff]Weapon Talent[/COLOR][/b] - A no-strings-attached +1 to attack rolls sounds good to me. [b]L4 - [COLOR=#00ccff]Combat Readiness[/COLOR][/b] - A straight-up bonus to initiative that improves later on (Greater Combat Readiness at L9) is fantastic for a Defender, who gains a lot of benefit from going as early as possible. [b]L5 - [COLOR=#0000ff]Weapon Mastery[/COLOR][/b] - A straight damage bonus that grows with levels (Paragon Weapon Mastery at L15 and Epic Weapon Mastery at L25) is a pretty cool thing to have. [b]L7 - Weapon Specialization[/b] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Bladed Step[/COLOR] (HotFL)[/b] - Free combat advantage and a minor shifting effect. It's not bad, but not quite at the caliber of the option available to the Hammer. [b]Bludgeoning Staff (D 391)[/b] - A decent forced movement effect on Power Strike. Solid enough. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Staggering Hammer[/b][/COLOR] [b](HotFL) [/b]- Immobilization and combat advantage as an additional rider for Power Strike is a very powerful thing to have. [b]L8 - [COLOR=#0000ff]Shield Block[/COLOR][/b] - An immediate interrupt power (so you can use it in conjunction with your mark punishment if need be) that can reduce incoming damage for you or an ally. Pretty cool to get for free. [b]L19 - Devoted Knight[/b] - A minor benefit to adjacent allies when you second wind. It's all right, I guess. [b]L23 - [COLOR=#0000ff]Relentless Knight[/COLOR][/b] - The ability to spend two surges at a time when you use your second wind is a welcome enhancement to your ability to heal. [b]L29 - [COLOR=#00ccff]Spirit of War[/COLOR][/b] - Oh wow. An extra save at the beginning of your turn just because you can? This is one heck of a capstone feature, especially for a Defender. [b]Skills: The Tools of Honor[/b] You get shafted more than most when it comes to skills: only 3 skills, and the list isn't exactly large. However, it does house most of your needs, so you probably are not complaining that much. [b]Class Skills[/b] [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Athletics[/b][/COLOR] - The majority of Knights will have Strength as their highest ability score, and this skill is plenty useful for moving around. [b]Diplomacy[/b] - It can be a useful pickup if nobody in the party has it, but in most cases you would be the second fiddle at this sort of thing. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Endurance[/b][/COLOR] - It's kind of hard to bill yourself as a tough guy if you can't keep yourself from catching filth fever or choking to death in a swamp. Plus, you should be giving Constitution plenty of love anyway. [b][/b] [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Heal[/b][/COLOR] - Your tertiary stats are very much up in the air, so if you have the Wisdom to make this something other than a waste, you won't be too bad off by taking it. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Intimidate[/b][/COLOR] - A skill that aligns well with the Knight thematically, it also opens up a handful of feats and powers that can be pretty useful to you, and that's the reason why it gets a favorable rating. [b]Recommended Non-Class Skills[/b] [b]Insight[/b] - The ability to divine enemy intentions can be of some use, as can the skill powers associated with it. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Perception[/b][/COLOR] - One of the most useful skills in the game, though it would usually key off of a tertiary stat. [/QUOTE]
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Death Before Dishonor: A Knight's Guide (By lorduskblade)
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