So what do we need from the Warlord?

[Jester David]

I'm not seeing this. If my INT mod is +3 instead of my STR mod at +3, wouldn't my attack bonus still just be PROF + MOD?

Yeah, hit "post" before I was done instead if "go advanced". *shame*

 

[mellored]

Adding it as a bonius kinda shatters bounded accuracy. A +2 bonus to hit is great, a +3-5 is ridiculous. Especially every round.

I didn't suggest Str+Int.

I suggested int in place of str.

so 5 int + 6 prof = +11 to hit.

Just hiting off Int straight just seems weird. Combat is fast, so stoping to analyse seems impractical. Would it add to your damage? Don't buy that. The justification is too handywavy for me.

I could see it not replacing damage and just to-hit. Or restricting it to 1-handed weapons.

Of course shillelagh is pure handwaving too.

So it shouldn't be the default. Or people who want to update other warlord characters will have difficulty.

Nothing stops you from making a warlord that attacks with Str or Dex. Particularly if there's a trade-off, such as less damage, or if you need to take Tactical Attack as one of your invocations.

You won't be able to get 20 str, 20 Int and 20 cha, but you can't get 20 Str, 20 con and 20 dex on a barbarian either.

 

[Ainulindalion]

If you decide to go the maneuver/CS dice route with a warlord build, to make your INT matter for combat, you could make the number of dice equal to PROF + INT mod

 

[Tony Vargas]

If you decide to go the maneuver/CS dice route with a warlord build, to make your INT matter for combat, you could make the number of dice equal to PROF + INT mod

Or, you could go with maneuvers but not CS dice, and have INT or CHA (depending on the maneuver) provide the mod instead of d6-or-more roll of the CD die. That'd be better for character differentiation/modeling, and less random, but MAD and probably ultimately less-powerful/more-limited, 'all things considered.'

 

[mellored]

Or, you could go with maneuvers but not CS dice, and have INT or CHA (depending on the maneuver) provide the mod instead of d6-or-more roll of the CD die. That'd be better for character differentiation/modeling, and less random, but MAD and probably ultimately less-powerful/more-limited, 'all things considered.'

flat bonuses are more powerful then random bonuses, if you know the target number.
if your ally miss by 2, +3 is more powerful then +1d6.

 

[Ainulindalion]

Or, you could go with maneuvers but not CS dice, and have INT or CHA (depending on the maneuver) provide the mod instead of d6-or-more roll of the CD die. That'd be better for character differentiation/modeling, and less random, but MAD and probably ultimately less-powerful/more-limited, 'all things considered.'

Alternatively, you could gate maneuvers to various ability scores. If you want A, B, or C, you need to have INT X. But if you want D, E, or F, you need CHA of Y. Options G, H, I are only available to DEX or STR of Z.

There's a lot of ways to do it.

Personally, I'm not a super fan of the maneuvers or CS dice on the warlord as traditionally presented. Though that's pretty obvious from my build, I think.

 

[Jester David]

Of course shillelagh is pure handwaving too.

Wasn't a great fan of that spell either, but it is a classic spell and the ruling is simple.
Plus, its magic. It can defy sense a little.

Nothing stops you from making a warlord that attacks with Str or Dex. Particularly if there's a trade-off, such as less damage, or if you need to take Tactical Attack as one of your invocations.

You won't be able to get 20 str, 20 Int and 20 cha, but you can't get 20 Str, 20 con and 20 dex on a barbarian either.

The execution of the ability seems odd. The narrative says the character is studying an enemy and thus getting the bonus. Like Holmes in the Guy Richie Sherlock films.
But what action is studying an opponent? Can it work against a disguised opponent? Can you use it during an Opportunity Attack?

Spending an action to gain the bonus for one attack against an opponengf the next makes more sense. But that's problematic.

 

[mellored]

though i still prefer dice, so put me down for Int dice per turn. the size of the dice can scale by warlord level (d4-d12 as matches proficency).

you can prevent going overboard on bounded accuracy you can roll 3d6 take the highest on a single attack, or spread your dice out to boost multiple attacks.

 

[mellored]

The execution of the ability seems odd. The narrative says the character is studying an enemy and thus getting the bonus. Like Holmes in the Guy Richie Sherlock films.
But what action is studying an opponent? Can it work against a disguised opponent? Can you use it during an Opportunity Attack?

Spending an action to gain the bonus for one attack against an opponengf the next makes more sense. But that's problematic.

shillelagh is a bonus action, so i would stick with that.

though in one of my attempts i made it an action to gain dice. as you "survey the battle".
maybe an action to regain them. or a bonus action to regain 1. or something along those lines.

i also used Int as range of your dice. so more tactical focused could stand further back. while str needs to get close.

 

[Tony Vargas]

flat bonuses are more powerful then random bonuses, if you know the target number.
if your ally miss by 2, +3 is more powerful then +1d6.

Assuming it's reactive, after the attack roll, I suppose. Most of the time, not so much - and it's not like investing in a secondary stat is trivial.
Mostly, I'd just like to keep INT & CHA in the mix.

though in one of my attempts i made it an action to gain dice. as you "survey the battle".
maybe an action to regain them. or a bonus action to regain 1. or something along those lines.

For the 13A Commander, they needed 'command points,' and got one if they attacked, but could 'weigh the odds' for a round, instead, to get more. FWIW.