Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour: The Warlord

[doctorbadwolf]

His comments on warlord as a base class show exactly why “warlord, as such, as bass class” is the wrong goal.

Make the warlord as one type of a class focused on leading, inspiring, and promoting teamwork.

Captain, Noble, whatever. Pick one, and just make a good class.

also, I think Fighter should have been a lvl 1 archetype class.

 

[Satyrn]

So how would you describe the feel of a 4e warlord?

Very carefully.



Anyway, What I'm specifically saying is that I simply do not want to "replicate near-exactly" the 4e mechanics, and I seriously doubt any other warlord fan wants to. It is a misrepresentation of our opinion, hoisted on us by those trying to shout us down.

 

[tglassy]

Every time I read what a Warlord Fan wants, it basically reads as “He should be able to heal like a Cleric, but OMFG no magic plz, and he should be able to buff like a Bard, but again, no mag, and he has to be able to, like, control every other character on the field, cause he’s so cool and a warden and stuff, but if you make him use magic of any kind I am done with you.”

I really don’t see why this has to be a thing. Letting other people take actions is cool, I guess, and makes sense for a leader, but traditionally the Fighter is the leader of the group, so just make a Fighter be able to trade his actions so others can use theirs and be done with it.

 

[Satyrn]

*sigh*

 

[cbwjm]

I don't see why the warlord can't break action economy when casters get to violate the "plot economy" by reading minds, scrying, charming, speaking with dead, etc. On noes, the rogue might get to sneak attack twice!

Apparently, having watched the video, they don't care if the rogue gets a second sneak attack in a round, they don't balance powers based off the best use (rogue or smiting paladin). According to Mearls they base if off something like the fighter and, especially as this is a fighter subclass, they want to it be worth granting an attack to another fighter so that the player of the warlord doesn't stop and go "Why not just make the attack myself?"

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Storywise, I figure the warlord as a prestige class (if those were a thing in 5e) would probably be the best: you were a soldier, now you are a drill sergeant (inspiration if you go full Sergeant Slaughter and call the other PC's scum and maggots); you were just a thief, and now you are the kingpin; you were a wizard, and now you are Dumbledorf (or Gandolph); you were a warlock, and now you are a cult leader; and you were a mystic, now you are Professor X....

Leadership seems independent of class, but you also have to have something else if you are in field (smart leaders give the PC's a good speech and let them go in the dungeon). "I wouldn't ask my men to do anything I wouldn't do" and all that....

 

[Tony Vargas]

So how would you describe the feel of a 4e warlord?

Awesome.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

If we're throwing ideas around, I'd imagine the Warlord with some kinda aura that requires Concentration to maintain - barking out commands, monitoring the ebb and flow of battle, barking orders. While active it grants a bunch of boons and benefits, with the greatest of them ending the aura. A finite number of aura-uses per day, based on Charisma.

Too Bardy? Perhaps. Then what about leading by example - when the Warlord crits, folks get a better chance of critting or hitting. When the Warlord is crit, folks get a bonus to damage. When the Warlord expends the Fighter-class's Second Wind, folks get a health boost. Leading from the front.

 

[TiwazTyrsfist]

Every time I see a 5e Warlord thread, I have the same reaction.

"Please acknowledge that Warlord is already in 5e. They beat the heck out of it with the Nerf Bat and called it Battle Master Fighter."
Grants ally attack - Check
Grants ally move - Check
Melee attacks with bonus riders (Disarm, slow, etc) - Check
Healing - Here's the biggest nerf, but Grant Temporary Hit Points - Eeesh *gritted teeth* - Kinda check


I liked the Warlord, I'd have loved for it to get a proper 5e treatment, I'm firmly in the camp that says "It doesn't ALL have to ALWAYS be magic."

But. Seriously. That Horse is years dead. All that's left is a rancid mash of rotted meat and bone shards. Put the stick down and walk away, no matter how hard you hit it it's not gonna get up and run. At this point even a Necromancer is gonna throw their hands up and look for fresher material to work with.


[Please Note: If I am ever proved wrong by a published first party supplement I will be ecstatic]

 

[cbwjm]

Every time I see a 5e Warlord thread, I have the same reaction.

"Please acknowledge that Warlord is already in 5e. They beat the heck out of it with the Nerf Bat and called it Battle Master Fighter."
Grants ally attack - Check
Grants ally move - Check
Melee attacks with bonus riders (Disarm, slow, etc) - Check
Healing - Here's the biggest nerf, but Grant Temporary Hit Points - Eeesh *gritted teeth* - Kinda check


I liked the Warlord, I'd have loved for it to get a proper 5e treatment, I'm firmly in the camp that says "It doesn't ALL have to ALWAYS be magic."

But. Seriously. That Horse is years dead. All that's left is a rancid mash of rotted meat and bone shards. Put the stick down and walk away, no matter how hard you hit it it's not gonna get up and run. At this point even a Necromancer is gonna throw their hands up and look for fresher material to work with.


[Please Note: If I am ever proved wrong by a published first party supplement I will be ecstatic]

It's not just the battlemaster, WotC have granted warlord style abilities to various subclasses. Mastermind, valour bard, purple dragon knight, even the totem barbarian have some abilities that provide some support style abilities in the same vein as the warlord, the mystic also has some disciplines that mimic warlord abilities and one of the other subclasses Mearls has worked on was the cleric Order domain that also had similar effects. It seems that the D&D team prefer that there be warlord style options throughout the 5e classes rather than create a single dedicated class.

I also wouldn't be surprised if we see the warlord currently being worked on by Mearls to come out in a future UA, not much reason to create these subclasses and not have people playtest them. Of course, if this community is anything to go by there will be a relative handful of players who like what Mearls does, and two larger groups with one saying "Not my Warlord!" and another saying "Don't tell my character what to do!"