Level 1: Tactical Awareness: You survey the battlefield looking for an opening, keeping several plans in mind. You can have a maximum number of tactical points equal to Intelligence modifier + your tactician level (minimum 1). When you roll initiative, your pool is set to half this amount (rounded down). You can spend these points on tactical features. Unless otherwise stated, tactical features require you to clearly see the target, the target must clearly hear you, and no action is required.
It might be easier to phrase this differently, rather than defining the maximum and then halving that. Perhaps having a base amount of Tactical Points and then saying the maximum is twice that number.
Still, that seems low. With a 14 Int, at level 1 you'd have 1 point at the start of combat. Not much to do stuff with. At level 2-3 you'd have 2, level 4-5 you'd have 3, 6-7 you'd have 4. At level 8 you might boost Int to 16... and still end up with 5. Might as well just go 1/2 level +1.
Or even 1/2 proficiency at low levels, a feature that makes it proficiency at mid-levels, and finally twice proficiency at higher levels...
Assess the Situation: As an action during battle, you gain a number of tactician points equal to your Intelligence modifier.
This has a high action cost. Most combats only last 2-3 rounds. Burning your entire turn to do this means you might get a bunch of cool stuff the next round... that you might not be able to use.
(This would be a playtesting question to see how that worked in play.)
Especially after level 5 when you might be gaining 2 TP every turn between the L5 feature and your subclass.
Tactics: Choose 2 tactics choices below, and gain additional ones according to the level chart. You can change out which tactics you have prepared after a short rest. The save DC for any Tactician ability is 8 + your charisma modifier.
In addition, you and your allies can come up with your own plan. Your DM determines the point cost.
The "choose two" seems awkward given you automatically know all the tactics. Maybe "you can prepare two tactics at the end of each short or long rest". Or even preparing a number equal to your proficiency bonus.
Unsure about Charisma to saves. It makes the class a little MAD.
Level 2: Bolt of Insight: As a bonus action you gain a number of tactician points equal to your proficiency modifier, up to your maximum. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you take a short rest.
This feels a little redundant with Assess the Situation. Does there need to be two powers that do roughly the same thing? And if you can do this pretty much every other fight, why would you Assess the Situation?
It's potentially confusing to have two different abilities restoring the same pool but granting different amounts. Instead, it could be "You can used Assess the Situation as a bonus action. Once you do so, you must complete a short rest to use this feature again."
Quick Assessment: You can use your reaction to instantly know a creature's exact AC, saving throw modifier for a particular ability score, or to-hit roll or save DC for a particular attack or spell.
Reactions tend to have a trigger worked into the power. "When attacked you use your reaction to..." or "when the clock strikes three, as a reaction you..."
This is also very dissociated. Combat starts, everyone rolls initiative. The warlord immediately looks at the unknown creature and guesses its AC or Dexterity save before anyone has acted. What are they assessing?
[*]Fight On!: (1 point) When an ally takes damage, you can spend a tactical point to let them spend a hit die and add your Charisma modifier, reducing the damage by the result. If the damage is reduced to 0, they gain the remainder as temporary hit points.
Is there an associated reaction? Or can you just do this at-will? (A question for most of these powers.)
[*]Cunning Strike: (1+ point) When you take the attack action, instead of rolling an attack roll, the target makes an Intelligence saving throw. If they fail, you hit and deal an extra 1d8 damage for each point spent.
This is weird but I kinda dig it. Tricking someone into taking a weapon attack. An extra d8 might be a bit high though. A Bravado warlord could do this every round dealing 2d8 each round. Pretty high for what amounts to a level 3 cantrip. Would Str and Dex still be applied to the damage?
[*]Skirmish: (1-5 points) When a creature is hit by an opportunity attack, they gain a bonus to AC against the attack equal to your twice the number of points you spent, potentially changing the results.
A +10 bonus to AC is pretty high.
[*]Direct the Strike: (3 points): When an ally takes an attack action, they can make 1 additional attack against the same target.
[*]Drive the Point: (1+ points) When a creature makes with an attack, you can spend a tactical point to increase the roll of the d20 by 1 for each point spent, up to a maximum of 20. Potentially turn a miss into a hit or a hit into a crit.
These do mirror the lazylord nicely, with the character just standing back and using Assess on their turn to keep themselves maxed with TP, and then dolling these bonuses out as needed. Especially paired with the Crier.
"Okay, I'm level 4 and have an Int of 18. I assess and gain 6 TP. Bobby misses with his greatclub attack. Take 2 TP and hit. And attack again while at it. And Diana does a flurry. I can give her 1 to her roll as well."
I can imagine it getting a little fiddly. "I give him 2 points. Does a 16 hit? How about a 17? An 18 then? Just tell me the AC then and I'll subtract the right amount of TP..." It's a little too clean. Adding a "one per turn" limit keeps that less busy, and it might be more dramatic to make it 1d4/2TP spent.
