D&D 5E (2014) Homebrewed Warlord take 2

[Garthanos]

Not sure what you mean here?

1/(.65x.65) proportion between something that requires 1 attack vs one that requres 2

 

[Undrave]

So I've been thinking about it and I really don't like Militia Leader on the Borderlands Marshall.

So how about this feature instead:

Skirmisher Tactics

Fighting superior odds in the wilderness often involves hit and run tactics and good mobility. Starting at 13th level, whenever a creature misses you with an attack you can spend your reaction to move your speed. The creature that missed you cannot make an opportunity attack against you as a result of that move. Furthermore, when you use the MOVE! shout, your target can now move their full speed.

How's that? Should I throw in some sort of speed boost too?

 

[Undrave]

1/(.65x.65) proportion between something that requires 1 attack vs one that requres 2

I think, considering all you can do with Insight Dice, it balances out okay.

The average roll of a D6 is 3.5 and 3.5 x 1.5 equals 5.25, which would lead me to a D10 as the best option and I feel people would complain about it.

 

[Garthanos]

So I've been thinking about it and I really don't like Militia Leader on the Borderlands Marshall.

So how about this feature instead:



How's that? Should I throw in some sort of speed boost too?

I do not know the balance points but a 10 foot extra speed might be a nice boost

 

[Undrave]

I do not know the balance points but a 10 foot extra speed might be a nice boost

Would it get wordy to have a feature with three different effects? Or maybe just make the reaction move Speed+10 feet?

 

[Garthanos]

The average roll of a D6 is 3.5 and 3.5 x 1.5 equals 5.25, which would lead me to a D10 as the best option and I feel people would complain about it.

Accelerate the rate of gain a little?

 

[Undrave]

Accelerate the rate of gain a little?

I dunno, the Chosen One gets half insight for basically shouting at his friends all the time so going too fast wouldn't be a good idea. Also, your allies can trade an Insight Dice for advantage at any time.

 

[Undrave]

So I went and added Skirmisher Tactics to the Borderlands Marshall. I think it's for the best.

I really like the Rogue subclass formats, it's really easy to come up with new ones now that I'm satisfied with the base class.

First you need two features for level 3: one I consider a more passive boost, such as proficiencies, and one more active where you need to choose to do something.

Then at 9th level I try to go for something thats more out-of-combat focused, almost a ribbon but just a little bit more crunchy.

Then a 13th level something new that can be applied in combat.

And finally at 17th, where I don't really care as much about balance (capstone gotta cap!) I usually go for something that reinforces or improves one of the previous features, either from the subclass or the core class.

I think it's a solid framework to work with!

 

[Undrave]

@Garthanos here's another subclass idea:

Silverblade Captain

The Silverblades, named after their silvered weapons, were a famous squad of special assault troopers in charge of disrupting enemy spellcasters during wartime by learning special techniques to counter spellcasters, and even basic spellcraft to opose them. After the end of the war, they put to use the skills they had developped by becoming witch hunters or leaders in various inquisitions around the land, hunting down those who would abuse magic for their evil end. Maybe you were once trained to be part of the Silverblade, or were trained by a retired member, or simply heard of their legends and read all about them. Whatever the case, you now specialize in disrupting spellcasters and protecting your allies for dangerous spells.

Know Thy Enemy

You've educated yourself on the basics of magic and even learn basic rituals to aid in your investigations. When you take this tradition at 3rd level you gain proficiency in the Arcana skill. You can now cast Comprehand Languages, Detect Magic and Identify, but only as rituals.

Spell Breaker

Your mere presence disrupts spellcasters, as you know exactly how to make them vulnerable. Starting at 3rd level, any creature within 5 feet of you, or creatures your Insight Dice are applied to, have disadvantage on all Concentration checks.

Improved Ritualist

You continue to add more tricks to your arsenal, learning more ways to track foes and counter their influence. Starting at 9th level you can cast Augury, Gentle Repose and Silence, but only as rituals.

Inquisitor Ward

You've expended your knowledge to includes the secret of protective glyphs. Starting at 13th level, you can, as an action, trace a protective glyph somewhere on your armor or clothing. When you do so, select a damage type from this list: acid, bludgeoning, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, piercing, poison, psychic, radiant, slashing, and thunder. For the next 8 hours after you traced the glyph, you have resistance to magical damage of the selected type. As a reaction, you can tap into the remaining energy of the glyph to grant you, and every creature of your choice within 10 feet, immunity to the selected damage type until the start of your next turn, after which the glyph is no longer active. You cannot trace a new glyph until you finish a long rest.

Silverblade Rebuke

Your exposure to magical energy have made you adept at turning them away from you and from your allies. You do so by concentrating raw magical energy within your weapon and swinging in to disrupt the incoming energies. Starting at 13th level, if you would make a saving throw against magic, you can spend your reaction to make an Intelligence (Arcana) check instead and take the best result between the two rolls as your Saving Throw. Any creature that makes a saving throw against the same effect can also choose to use the result of your Intelligence (Arcana) check instead of their own saving throw.

Now, I'm thinking I might want Silverblade Rebuke to be a MELEE WEAPON ATTACK ROLL instead for the imagery. I'm also wondering if its too strong as an at-will and would be better limited... but is the 17th level so it's not a big deal. I'm also considering switching it around with Inquisitor Ward, but I dunno which would is better to have earlier? What do you think? I seem like a fun subclass and with training in Investigation could be really useful in a lot of scenarios.


@doctorbadwolf , @TwoSix , I see your thumbs up! Thanks! Any observations to share?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

[USER=6704184]@doctorbadwolf , @TwoSix , I see your thumbs up! Thanks! Any observations to share?

I love the structure and basic ideas of the class, first of all. I do have various concerns, however.

Battlefield Insight has too many "if, then" clauses required for it to do anything. I'd either

*make it so that you apply insight dice regardless of hit or miss, and/or make the dice only be spent if you hit (or the ally decides whether to use the dice after hitting)
or
*raise the die up to at least a d10

Remember that the rogue is dealing that damage, on top of a lot of other really strong abilities, simply by hitting at least once per turn. Your insight dice are...much less likely to get used, than the rogues sneak attack dice. One die step is a very small difference comparatively. At level 20, you're talking about a difference of ~10 damage, on average.
You also aren't as often actually adding that many dice to an individual round of damage dealing.

Shouts and Signals are interesting. Why not have a clause that you can put Insight Dice on a target if they are targeted by an attack granted to an ally by you? Or perhaps just say, you can use Battlefield Insight on a target you can see within X feet whenever you take the Attack Action. That way, regardless of what you do with your Attack Action, you can be applying the core ability of the class. Especially since Signals require Insight Dice to even use.
Right now, Shouts and Signals work directly against eachother until level 5. That is really the main thing that would make me reluctant to play this class, as it is. I don't want my core class features to be mutually exclusive.

If the int requirement of Signals there for balance, or flavor? Because IRL a dog could probably be taught these things and in dnd said dog would have an int of 3 or something. Maybe require an extra hour per signal for int below 6? Or an animal handling check or the help of a character who the animal trusts and takes commands from?

Some of the signals, like pin the legs, are going to be confusing for a lot of players. Is the idea for the class to be "advanced", with a steeper learning curve than other 5e classes? If not, maybe it should just cost 1 die, halve their speed or deny them the ability to disengage, and allow you to spend more insight dice later on to hinder them further or continue the effect. Also, a lot of these should require a save. Without that, they're more powerful than a lot of battlemaster maneuvers.

I'm not sure the balance works out of allowing someone to draw and use an object as a reaction having no cost beyond your bonus action.

Why No Synergy With Casters? I know this was an item of contention in my own marshal thread, but it just makes no sense to me that such a character would not no idea, unless utterly specialised in doing so, how to get more out of the spellcasters around them. Strike! could easily allow an extra spell attack that deals 1 of the same die of the same damage type if the ally casts a cantrip that requires an attack roll, for instance.
Or, a shout that simply increases the chance to hit and the damage of the ally's next attack, and don't specify attack action or weapon attack.

The rest looks good, but I'm not as worried about anything above level 5 or 6 in a class.