D&D 5E [Class] Tactician (warlord replacement)
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This evening during a meeting I was trying to envision some (insert class name here) mechanics that would address some of the desires expressed by the Warlord contingent, without venturing into the "bossing around my peers" territory that I dislike so much. Martial Healing is particularly tricky in this regard, because I don't like the fluff of one character being inspired by another. By itself, in small doses, it's not terrible, but I'm wary of an entire class being built around that concept, so the less of it we have the better.
As I've posted elsewhere, what I don't like is the loss of agency: your character yells at me, and suddenly my character is "inspired" or whatever, without me having any say in it.
So how's this: "Rallying Cry: the (insert class name) uses an Action to begin shouting a repetitive martial cheer. Allies who can hear the (insert class name) can use their bonus Action to join in the cheer. All who do so gain (some amount of) temporary Hit Points. On subsequent rounds the (insert class name) can maintain the Rallying Cry using a bonus action (requires Concentration), and allies can continue to benefit by using their own bonus actions."
Or gain some buff, or have some condition removed, whatever.
(Yes, I know hard core Warlord proponents think Martial Healing should work just like Cleric healing but be non-magical. I'm not directly addressing that desire here.)
I liked this idea (I have no idea if it has a precedent in 3.5 or 4) because it's different mechanic from healing spells, and because it requires an active "opt-in" (with a cost) from recipients. And it uses Concentration. I could even see it scaling with effect as more allies join in.
Also, nowhere does the language dictate or even suggest a change of mental state imposed on a player character.
Anyway, I wanted to offer this as an example...an illustration...of the kind of mechanic that both doesn't offend my sense of player agency, and is sufficiently different from existing mechanics that I could see it justifying a new class beyond just "it's not magical" (which I still don't understand the need for.)
As I've posted elsewhere, what I don't like is the loss of agency: your character yells at me, and suddenly my character is "inspired" or whatever, without me having any say in it.
So how's this: "Rallying Cry: the (insert class name) uses an Action to begin shouting a repetitive martial cheer. Allies who can hear the (insert class name) can use their bonus Action to join in the cheer. All who do so gain (some amount of) temporary Hit Points. On subsequent rounds the (insert class name) can maintain the Rallying Cry using a bonus action (requires Concentration), and allies can continue to benefit by using their own bonus actions."
Or gain some buff, or have some condition removed, whatever.
(Yes, I know hard core Warlord proponents think Martial Healing should work just like Cleric healing but be non-magical. I'm not directly addressing that desire here.)
I liked this idea (I have no idea if it has a precedent in 3.5 or 4) because it's different mechanic from healing spells, and because it requires an active "opt-in" (with a cost) from recipients. And it uses Concentration. I could even see it scaling with effect as more allies join in.
Also, nowhere does the language dictate or even suggest a change of mental state imposed on a player character.
Anyway, I wanted to offer this as an example...an illustration...of the kind of mechanic that both doesn't offend my sense of player agency, and is sufficiently different from existing mechanics that I could see it justifying a new class beyond just "it's not magical" (which I still don't understand the need for.)
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Guest 6801328
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P.S. In fact, I could see several such chants/cheers/cries in the (insert class name)'s arsenal of tricks. Maybe one imposes a penalty on monsters, cumulatively depending on how many allies participate by giving up their bonus actions. (There may be a balance issue with large parties...might have to cap it at 4 or something.)
Aldarc
Legend
Being earnest? I probably would not touch that warlord, because I already anticipate other players joining in a repetitive chant telling me to not use such an ineffective ability that would likely gimp the party from using their bonus actions for more effective ends and to just reroll another class. Even the bard gets to move away from repetitive chanting and singing in 5E. Why should the warlord go back to that?
Because there are people who like the warlord archetype. Because there are people who like to play support but don't want to play a magical class or any of the available support-oriented classes. Because there are people who 'support' the idea of non-magical, non-temporary in-combat healing.
I do appreciate the effort.
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Guest 6801328
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Without even knowing how much temporary HP it grants you think it's ineffective and would gimp the party? I don't understand. What am I missing?
EDIT: fwiw, I went back in and added the bit about Concentration and sustaining it over several rounds. That part isn't crucial to the idea, and for the sake of analyzing why you don't like the idea we could leave it off. Think of it as a one-round, one-shot ability. The Warlord shouts "Gimme an E!" Anybody who shouts "E!" gets HP. And we can even remove the 'temporary' word if that's so offensive.
Well, what I mean is that I don't understand why "non-magical" is so non-negotiable, since it's not even about mechanics. When I complain about the whole "Leader" thing the reply is, "Oh that's just fluff. Describe it however you want." So why can't the healing be fluffed however individual players want? Why must it be fluffed as non-magical?
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MoonSong
Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
Schlecht ist Es. Traurig bin Ich....
steeldragons
Steeliest of the dragons
According to Google translate (not always the most accurate, I know), this means/says,
"Bad is It . Sadly, I 'm"
What is it you're actually trying to say with your fishing "*sigh*"?
Aldarc
Legend
Regardless of the HP amount, it requires that other players sacrifice their own class bonus actions while also requiring the warlord to maintain the ability. In terms of the action economy of the game, it gimps everyone. No one would use it. If no one uses it in lieu of their own class-oriented bonus actions, there's no reason for the warlord to use one of their own class features. Ergo, why bother playing the warlord?
Because people want a baseline non-magical support. I can't spell it out any clearer than that. For you it has to be magical. I get it. You clearly don't. But it does not sound as if warlord archetype was ever for you anyway. But for actual advocates of the warlord and what it represents, it has to be non-magical at its core. For you it has to be magical. Great. But that's not what most warlord players want. Sure we could make a magical warlord sub-class that would appease your magically-inclined sensibilities, but that should not be the expectation of the core class. It would feel like a complete betrayal of the warlord concept. I have a novel idea. Let's fluff the core fighter, barbarian, and rogue as magical, including the battlemaster and champion. I'm now of the opinion that there is no way they can achieve these extraordinary things without magic.
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