Level Up (A5E) Arcane knight's reactive ward

[PauloR]

Love the maneuver, on paper at least. It seems perfect to resist some dragon breath weapon, but it's pretty clear it only protects against spells...
Actually, you can only use the reaction if you or an ally are target of a spell with duration of one round or less. This now excludes debuffs (which the half cover wouldn't help anyway) and area spells, since they target an area, not an ally. The spell needs to be either an attack or a dex saves for the half cover to actually help.
Can someone actually give me examples of spells.where this maneuver would help against? With all these restrictions im starting to think this maneuver looks cool but is actually a trap option. I could also love to see examples where the "upcasting", where you target more than one ally would be helpful. The only spell i can think of would be scorching ray.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Distracted DM]

The wording makes it a very, very niche feature, yes. I've been inclined to make it work against spells and magical effects both targeted and AoEs, though dragon breath still wouldn't qualify for that.. but Fireball, a lich's arc lightning, an ice devil's Wall, etc. would.

I guess the question, for me at least, is would making it work vs any attack, dragons breath, etc be too good? Probably. So I stick with my interpretation. HOWEVER @Steampunkette reprinted the Arcane Knight tradition in her latest book, Martial Artistry, and IIRC it's the way that she had intended it to be, minus the edits and alterations that it got from EN when it was submitted to GPG. It works a bit different in that one, it basically makes a big cube of cover for a flat cost, rather than scaling. Though she still uses the "targeted" wording so I'm not sure there.

 

[Anonymous3]

The wording makes it a very, very niche feature, yes

Please help me understand why you think it's so niche. Is this because many creatures no longer have spells but instead use "magical" attacks and abilities?

There are about 40+ spells (sorry, this is an estimate from a quick scan) that meet this criteria for Reactive Ward. As an example, the Lich has the following spells that would be affected: Fire bolt; Thunderwave; Fireball; Confusion (still useful for protecting yourself); Disintegrate; Finger of Death; Power Word Stun (still useful for protecting yourself).

There are many other maneuvers (see Tempered Iron) that are "anti magic" in nature and if you're in a low magic campaign you're likely going to avoid this tradition as it's maneuver's become niche. Reactive Ward has more utility by my estimate and is solid. Based on games I have been playing over the last decade I'd say this tradition would be adding a lot of value to a group of adventures, particularly this maneuver.

 

[Anonymous3]

And, you and/or your allies could technically target you with a spell and you could use Reactive Ward to pre-emptively gain the benefit.

 

[Tessarael]

The wording makes it a very, very niche feature, yes. I've been inclined to make it work against spells and magical effects both targeted and AoEs, though dragon breath still wouldn't qualify for that.. but Fireball, a lich's arc lightning, an ice devil's Wall, etc. would.

I guess the question, for me at least, is would making it work vs any attack, dragons breath, etc be too good? [..]

Reactive Ward is a 3rd level combat maneuver. So, the earliest it can be taken is character level 8 per the Fighter maneuver progression. I would suggest comparing it to protective spells up to 3rd level that can be cast as a Reaction:

• Absorb Elements 1st level spell gives you resistance to the triggering damage type, halving its damage, and +d6 elemental damage of that type to your next melee attack.
• Earth Barrier 1st level spell gives 3/4 cover (+5 to AC, Dexterity saves, and hide ability checks) for 1 minute, with a barrier (3' diameter, 20' tall, AC 10, 20 HP) in an unoccupied space between you and a ranged attack.
• Force of Will 2nd level spell reduces the triggering attack's damage by 2d10 + your spell casting ability modifier.
• Shield 1st level spell adds +5 AC for 1 round, and Magic Missiles are deflected.

None of these spells requires that the triggering source be a spell. There are also various other combat maneuvers that provide somewhat similar protective benefits. So, in my opinion, Reactive Ward is fine as a reaction combat maneuver that protects vs. both spells or non-spell triggers.

The balance issue that I have with Reactive Ward is that you can use it to protect up to 3 targets. This can be situationally very good. If I were as DM to permit Reactive Ward to be used vs. non-spell triggers, I would be inclined to limit it to protecting a single target, or to increase the cost to 2 exertion per target protected.

 

[Distracted DM]

Please help me understand why you think it's so niche. Is this because many creatures no longer have spells but instead use "magical" attacks and abilities?

There are about 40+ spells (sorry, this is an estimate from a quick scan) that meet this criteria for Reactive Ward. As an example, the Lich has the following spells that would be affected: Fire bolt; Thunderwave; Fireball; Confusion (still useful for protecting yourself); Disintegrate; Finger of Death; Power Word Stun (still useful for protecting yourself).

There are many other maneuvers (see Tempered Iron) that are "anti magic" in nature and if you're in a low magic campaign you're likely going to avoid this tradition as it's maneuver's become niche. Reactive Ward has more utility by my estimate and is solid. Based on games I have been playing over the last decade I'd say this tradition would be adding a lot of value to a group of adventures, particularly this maneuver.

Did you read OPs question? The keyword here is Targeted.
When you cast Hold Person, you're targeting someone with that spell.
When you're casting fireball, you're affecting an area, no one is being targeted. So, as per OPs question, reactive ward wouldn't work for that.

In addition, spells like Confusion and Thunderwave don't call for Dex saves or roll vs AC. Reactive ward wouldn't help with them.

 

[Anonymous3]

Did you read OPs question? The keyword here is Targeted.
When you cast Hold Person, you're targeting someone with that spell.
When you're casting fireball, you're affecting an area, no one is being targeted. So, as per OPs question, reactive ward wouldn't work for that.

In addition, spells like Confusion and Thunderwave don't call for Dex saves or roll vs AC. Reactive ward wouldn't help with them.

I tried my best to read and comprehend the question. I answered where I thought I would be helpful. Perhaps I missed something.

"are targeted by a spell" and "are the target of a spell" read differently for me. I read the former as being more general. Oh well, guess I will have to take a pay cut this month.

Regarding confusion: the condition provides scenarios where the character does nothing (1-4). I thought having an extra +5AC would help in that situation.