Hopes for the "Warlord" Class

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the "in character" explanation for this class, if I remember rightly, is something like "They provide support for their allies by giving tactical advice on the battlefield."

Works for me. A good battlefield leader can be a force multiplier in the real world. Why not in D&D?

There's a layer of abstraction inherent in the description "all allies gain an X bonus for X rounds" that we can hand-wave, but the general concept holds water.

From Wikipedia:
"A force multiplier is a term referring to a factor that dramatically increases (hence 'multiplies') the effectiveness of a group or unit. The term was originally used by the military to describe elite units, such as Special Forces, that could be used to increase the effectiveness of indigenous forces . . ."

The D&D class concept doesn't likely include between-adventure training, but you could certainly add that element as RP for even greater versimilitude.

If the class sucks, it won't be because the idea is silly.

 

[Driddle]

I had a marshal in a game for about 6 months. We always explained his abilities as a combination of:
1. His tactical knowledge being shared with the party. "Hit it upwards, under the scales!"
2. His ability to get involved and help the people close by. "[Rogue] Thanks man! If it wasn't for you nudging me, that blade would've gutted me like a fish!"
3. His general inspiring presence. "[Wizard] When I saw you stride in there, I knew there was nothing for me to be afraid of."

How does that work for people?

Makes about as much sense as the way a bard's music inspires. (shrug)

Comic book group fight scenes have characters making short assisting comments all the time. It's not uncommon for the nominal "leader" to do most of the tactical directing (depending on who the writer is and how he handles group dynamics).

 

[Cadfan]

Heroes of Battle had some good methods in the White Raven school for making a leader type character who actually leads. A white raven specialist could activate a maneuver or a stance that gives his allies bonuses on charging, if they charge right then. Similar tactics are available for flanking, or for giving allies extra actions at the white raven user's discretion.

I really hope these get used. I'm sick of "leaders" who don't lead, they just provide group buffs. The White Raven school fixed this by letting the White Raven user actually LEAD the charge, with the other players getting bonuses if they FOLLOWED.

 

[Zephrin the Lost]

The charismatic hero from D20 modern has some similar abilities, and it's worked fine for us in our games. I'm looking forward to the warlord being more in that kind of spirit than the bard's abilities.

--Z

 

[Felon]

I gotta say that I find the notion of a commander just standing around and being magical to be a lot more inane than him actually providing tactical direction.

My group has played with some marshals at various times. I admit we did get a giggle out of the marshal standing 60 feet away from the scout and giving him tactical advice on how to Move Silently and Hide.

The marshal's real problem is that its auras are passive. For a tactical character, it has an appalling lack of tactical options. It's a reasonably effective character, but kind of boring.

 

[Felon]

You are right. However, Marshal is a better name than warlord.

[EDIT]Just thought - they mentioned a Half-Elves "Inspiring Presence", maybe that could work on a similar mechanic to the 3e Marshal?

Yep, Tannis the marshal sounds about right.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Here comes my post of IFs...

IF the Warlord is a class and,
IF the Warlord is the other Leader and,
IF the Sorcerer is the other Controller:

I think that the Warlord will have some sort of powers that will lessen the damage to the other characters in the party and serve as the other healer. They said two roles for each, so they would most likely be the other class that can heal or reduce damage to other characters using an Aura-like ability like the Marshall.

IF the Druid is the other Controller and the Sorcerer is out:

I think that as another Leader, the Warlord wouldn't need to have healing abilities as that role would be filled by the Druid. If that's the case, I'd guess that the Warlord would be more like a buffing class kinda like the Bard and the Marshal.