D&D 5E Warlording the fighter

[CapnZapp]

Play a valor bard. Reskin the spells to be supernatural inspiration. Mix with Fighter (Battlemaster) if you like. Done.

One reason the Warlord was not included is that the 'hole' is filled pretty well with Battlemaster and Bard. I imagine there is a list of prior classes somewhere in WotC home office with notes like "Invoker - cleric builds cover it. Warlord - bard/battlemaster. Cavalier - fighter."

But that list isn't enough for us to accept Wotc to claim the support is there. We want at least a UA style reskinning article spelling these things out, adding the fluff.

 

[CapnZapp]

I did my attempt here: clicky.

An official one will never satisfy or end these arguments because it's unlikely to include martial healing beyond what occurs in the Rally combat maneuver. It's too divisive a mechanic.
Because classes don't have set roles anymore, it's also unlikely to exist as a separate class, as it overlaps too much with the fighter.

If they're serious about their 4e conversion guide it might.

 

[MechaPilot]

The big question is not whether the Warlord as a full class can be made (I think we can all agree that a non-magical "full caster" class is easy enough to build)... but whether it has to be made and released in an official WotC product to "count"?

Can someone else or some other company make a Warlord and would that satisfy people? Or does it HAVE to be WotC just so that no one ever has to argue with any potential DM about whether they can play it?

I have absolutely no issue with purchasing third-party supplements, provided they are quality supplements. I don't care if a quality warlord comes from WotC or someone else. Of course, that would require WotC to finally implement some kind of licensing scheme for 5e, and we've been waiting on that for how long now.

 

[pemerton]

Call it something else. Some people will hate on it just because of the name. Call it commander, marshal, tactician, or something.

Tolkien calls them Battle Captains.

 

[fuindordm]

There are some really good ideas coming out of this thread. Here's a sample progression:

(But it's probably redundant to give the Warlord 2 dice pools! Maybe instead of superiority dice we could borrow a page from PF and introduce special abilities similar to teamwork feats.)

Warlord

The warlord is a martial class who focuses on battlefield tactics, helping his allies fight as a cohesive unit and increasing their staying power through inspiring words and a helping hand at just the right moment.

HD: d10
Skills: 2 of Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Intimidate, Medicine, Persuasion

Fighting styles: choose one of Defense, Defender, Duelist, (new style for commanders)


1: Fighting style, Formation Fighter: The warlord can use a bonus action to take the Help action for an adjacent ally.
(Note: overpowered? But consider all the things that regular fighters can use their bonus action on, typically an attack)

2: Inspiration (similar to bard dice)

3: Superiority dice and maneuvers

4. Push the Limits: an ally who uses an inspiration die can also spend a HD to recover HP as a bonus action, add the Warlord's Cha bonus to the roll.

5. Extra Attack

6. Battle inspiration (Valor Bard feature)

7. Hold the Line: When the Warlord uses the Help action, he can give advantage to 2 adjacent allies.

8. Larger superiority dice, more maneuvers.

etc...

 

[aramis erak]

It seems easier to squeeze a warlord out of a cleric to me.

Is that heresy?

Cleric or Bard... the niche mechanically for the warlord's abilities is already filled by the Cleric of War and the War College Bard. There is no need to have a new class filling the same niche. The only reason for a warlord class is that 4E really focused on every niche having someone to fill it from each of the 4 power sources: Martial, Clerical, Arcane, and Psionic.

And that was a splat-book-filling nastiness.

 

[CapnZapp]

I don't feel a need to have a new class filling the same niche.

There. Fixed it for you.

 

[CapnZapp]

If Wotc is serious about a 4e conversion, of course they will talk about non magical healing and a martial controller.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

If Wotc is serious about a 4e conversion, of course they will talk about non magical healing and a martial controller.

At first I read that last bit as marital comptroller, and though "well, running family finances is a unique character niche.

 

[Leatherhead]

But it's probably redundant to give the Warlord 2 dice pools!

A better mechanic to mine would be sorcery points, specifically the Wild Mage kind.