I think it’s unfortunate that I’m the first person here with this attitude, but I LOVE the Lancer (gave me strong Windrunner vibes [Stormlight Archives]), which is an automatic win.
But I also think you are hitting the nail on the head with this. Prestige classes and synergy feats are awesome...
I would state that you are able to create your pact weapon for free, then, just so there's no ambiguity. I also might reiterate that creating a new pact weapon causes the previous one to disappear, and that if you have a bound weapon it can be summoned to your hand for free.
I mean, the game designers already made the game so one dip into fighter provides the best maneuver degree progression and guaranteed Exertion, so for better or for worse (personally, I don't think it matters at all) the game already runs that way. I don't think you need to try to design your...
I think "Armed to the Teeth" could use some rewording. It's not entirely clear when or why your natural weapon attacks count as Heavy for the purpose of using a combat maneuver.
I'm also curious how many wild shapes would actually be able to make use of the Mounted feature. Non-Skinchanger...
My first thought when reading this: you commented that these are pretty similar at lower levels, and at least to me that suggests you want them to be more different/unique with their combat maneuvers. Herald proves, in the base rules, that unique access to Exertion for maneuvers using a class's...
I like it! Looks like a lot of fun!
First of all, love that you give several options for features at two different levels. In my opinion, regular choices (even nested within other choices) are one of the best parts of A5e, and I love it when people lean into that.
Requiring Pact of the...
Sounds pretty fair to me. Personally, to keep things simple, if I'm not following the Herald table then I'd follow the Rogue table… which does grant 4th degree maneuvers, but late, and no 5th degree.
A lot of this discussion has been around using archetypes to give warlocks martial maneuvers, but I think it would be just as effective to have an invocation that provides access to a combat tradition (and more flexible, since you wouldn’t be locked into one archetype if you wanted to...
As a DM, I would interpret "once before your next turn" to mean once per round, period—not once per weapon per round. However, I don't think there's anything game-breaking about interpreting it the other way.