Fighter Subclass: The Bravura! (INT-based, tactical, non-magical)

[FrogReaver]

My favorite was the initial model. The one where if you took an extra reaction it meant you couldn't take an attack on your next turn.

 

[mellored]

That rather dilutes the debit model, and allows you to plan things for a very powerful nova in an ambush or similar situation.

The debit model allows for more powerful effects, at the cost of having to coordinate with your party, or have an actual plan to carry out - at the risk of not getting to use a held reaction if none of the party or monsters do something for which you know a contingency for.

I understand, but then a real life idiot couldn't live out the fantasy of being a tactical genius. It would be like requiring the barbarian player to do pushups.
That said, i'm still for a small rewarding for player skill. And if reactions are slightly better than attacks, then you still get rewarded for doing them, but not punished if you fail.


I think using action surge has some merit though. The fighter already has "saved up" some actions with it. And using your action surge for reactions means you can't nova.
Though letting people recharge their action surge is powerful by itself.

 

[The Old Crow]

• Blocking ranged attacks against allies (of these, my favorite is using your melee weapon to swat missiles that come near you)

I am okay with missile swatting.

I do think a Take One For The Team contingency would be great for melee or missile attacks against allies. The Bavura would need to be adjacent to the attacker, the target, or in the flight path of the missile; They throw themselves in the path of the weapon and take the damage instead of the target. The Bravura could become incapacitated (or even stunned) until the end of their next turn if it needs a way to balance it.

[*]Any sort of in-combat healing. It's not that I'm opposed to healing, but haven't seen anything I like narratively. Slapping a healing kit on somebody as a reaction feels a bit...well, in the same category of improbability as shooting arrows out of the sky.
[/LIST]

I can't really see the point of healing kit as reaction. Couldn't the Bravura have used the reaction to try to stop the damage instead?

Maybe damage mitigation could work. Sort of like how So Crazy It Just Might Work lets the team have a plan that grants advantage on some rolls without the Bravura having to use reactions, there could be some sort of pre-planning ability that grants temporary hit points going into a situation because they have a solid plan. Edit: Or resistance the first time they take damage.

Other ideas might be free healer kit proficiency, or just some sort of bonus when they use an action to heal someone.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I am okay with missile swatting.

I do think a Take One For The Team contingency would be great for melee or missile attacks against allies. The Bavura would need to be adjacent to the attacker, the target, or in the flight path of the missile; They throw themselves in the path of the weapon and take the damage instead of the target. The Bravura could become incapacitated (or even stunned) until the end of their next turn if it needs a way to balance it.

Catching missiles seems more like a magical capability - the Monk's purview - than just someone with amazing reactions and martial training. Since the opportunist can already move as part of their responses, I'd suggest a response along the lines of:
When one of their allies is targeted by a ranged attack, the opportunist can move up to X feet. If this brings them directly between the ally and their attacker, then the attack is resolved as if the ally had three-quarters cover (+5 AC).
Maybe also add: If the attack misses their ally, it is rerolled against the bravura. This is made at disadvantage is the bravura is wielding a shield.
(An alternative might be making the attack roll at disadvantage against the ally, but if it misses it strikes the bravura if either of the rolls beat their AC. (So effectively at advantage).)

I can't really see the point of healing kit as reaction. Couldn't the Bravura have used the reaction to try to stop the damage instead?

Maybe damage mitigation could work. Sort of like how So Crazy It Just Might Work lets the team have a plan that grants advantage on some rolls without the Bravura having to use reactions, there could be some sort of pre-planning ability that grants temporary hit points going into a situation because they have a solid plan. Edit: Or resistance the first time they take damage.

Or a Battlemaster-style parry perhaps.

 

[mellored]

Catching missiles seems more like a magical capability - the Monk's purview - than just someone with amazing reactions and martial training. Since the opportunist can already move as part of their responses, I'd suggest a response along the lines of:
When one of their allies is targeted by a ranged attack, the opportunist can move up to X feet. If this brings them directly between the ally and their attacker, then the attack is resolved as if the ally had three-quarters cover (+5 AC).

I like that.
Though since cover goes both ways, and -3 / +2 is a weaker than advantage....

"As a reaction, when you are providing half-cover from a ranged attack, you can adjust your position. Choose either to increase the cover to three-quarters (+5 AC), or reduce it to no cover (+0 AC) until the end of the turn."

 

[Guest 6801328]

Missiles:

I like the Cover solution.

"When a ranged attack is made against a target for which you are providing half-cover because of your position, as a reaction you may either increase the cover to 3/4 or reduce it to none, until the end of that turn."

(I was trying to write it in a way that makes it clear that you can also use Poetry in Motion to provide the cover, but really I would want to clean up Poetry in Motion language so that it doesn't have to be mentioned for each one of these reactions.)

That's really clean, and leverages existing rules. Solved?


Healing/Damage-reduction

How about So Crazy It Just Might Work has two possible uses:
1) You can use it to provide Advantage on one ability check (not an attack roll) to be used within the next 10 minutes on the stated objective.
2) You can use it at the beginning of a combat to give everybody temporary HP. It could either still have the one minute requirement (which means you could only use it when you are initiating combat) or it could be something you sacrifice your first action for.

Thoughts?

I'm loving all the feedback and suggestions. You guys (meant in the most gender-neutral sense of the word, of course) rock.

 

[The Old Crow]

Healing/Damage-reduction

How about So Crazy It Just Might Work has two possible uses:
1) You can use it to provide Advantage on one ability check (not an attack roll) to be used within the next 10 minutes on the stated objective.
2) You can use it at the beginning of a combat to give everybody temporary HP. It could either still have the one minute requirement (which means you could only use it when you are initiating combat) or it could be something you sacrifice your first action for.

I like the temp hit points as extention of plan thing. What about temp hit points being added at 10th level, in addition to So Crazy It Might Work's normal skill advantage on one check. So it's all part of the plan. Maybe won't be seen when talking to the king, but handy if trying to traverse a room full of free floating globules of acid.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I like the temp hit points as extention of plan thing. What about temp hit points being added at 10th level, in addition to So Crazy It Might Work's normal skill advantage on one check. So it's all part of the plan. Maybe won't be seen when talking to the king, but handy if trying to traverse a room full of free floating globules of acid.

Nice as an add-on, maybe. I think I'd still restrict it to ability checks not attack rolls though.

 

[mellored]

I like the Cover solution.

"When a ranged attack is made against a target for which you are providing half-cover because of your position, as a reaction you may either increase the cover to 3/4 or reduce it to none, until the end of that turn."

(I was trying to write it in a way that makes it clear that you can also use Poetry in Motion to provide the cover, but really I would want to clean up Poetry in Motion language so that it doesn't have to be mentioned for each one of these reactions.)

That's really clean, and leverages existing rules. Solved?

Works for me.

How about So Crazy It Just Might Work has two possible uses:
1) You can use it to provide Advantage on one ability check (not an attack roll) to be used within the next 10 minutes on the stated objective.
2) You can use it at the beginning of a combat to give everybody temporary HP. It could either still have the one minute requirement (which means you could only use it when you are initiating combat) or it could be something you sacrifice your first action for.

Thoughts?

IMO, I'd rather leave it as just out-of-combat, and keep the DR/THP/healing as an optional contingency. Which also makes them availible earlier.

That said, nothing wrong with having multiple choices for later abilities if you have several good ones. Totem barbarians get 5 choices at level 14.

You guys (meant in the most gender-neutral sense of the word, of course) rock.

Are you calling me gender-neutral???

 

[Guest 6801328]

"When a ranged attack is made against a target for which you are providing half-cover because of your position, as a reaction you may either increase the cover to 3/4 or reduce it to none, until the end of that turn."

More thoughts on this:

1) It would be a good candidate for requiring a shield, at least for the defensive version. Could be rewritten as:
"When a ranged attack is made against a target for which you are providing half-cover because of your position, as a reaction you may decrease the cover to none until the end of the turn. Alternatively, if you are carrying a shield you may increase it to full cover."

2) That said, another nifty version would be: "When a ranged attack is made against a target for which you are providing half-cover because of your position, but before the attack is resolved, as a reaction you may make yourself the target instead."

The second is cooler, but doesn't have an offensive variant. I guess both could be included...?