Purple Dragon Knight Retooled as Banneret in D&D's Heroes of Faerun Book

The much-maligned Purple Dragon Knight Fighter subclass is being retooled towards its original support origins in the upcoming Heroes of Faerun book. Coming out of GenCon, an image of a premade character sheet of a Banneret is making its way around the Internet. The classic support-based Fighter subclass appears to have replaced the Purple Dragon Knight subclass, which received a ton of criticism for not resembling the Purple Dragon Knight's traditional lore.

The Banneret's abilities includes a Level 3 "Knightly Envoy" ability that allows it to cast Comprehend Language as a ritual and gain proficiency in either Intimidation, Insight, Performance, or Persuasion (this appears unchanged from the Purple Dragon Knight UA), plus a Group Recovery ability that allows those within 30 feet of the Banneret to regain 1d4 Hit Points plus the Banneret's Fighter Level when the Banneret uses its Second Wind ability. Scrapped is the Purple Dragon companion that the UA version of the subclass had, which grew in power as the Purple Dragon Knight leveled up.

The Banneret was the generic name for the Purple Dragon Knight in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. The Banneret/Purple Dragon Knight was originally more of a support class that could provide the benefits of its abilities to its allies instead of or in addition to benefitting from them directly. For instance, a Banneret's Action Surge could be used to allow a nearby ally to make an attack, and Indomitable could allow an ally to reroll a failed saving throw in addition to the Banneret.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Designers: "Okay, so get this. The Purple Dragon Knight. You can either play as a guy who wears purple OR you can ride a dragon made of purple gems. What do you want?"

Grognards: "Wear purple."

Designers: shrug

Me: "No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Stodgy grognards too dedicated to these settings as they were decades ago, and throwing a fit every time moves are made towards allowing the settings to evolve from that point.

Mod Note:

Disagreement with others is fine; doing so while being disagreeable isn’t. Don’t lob insults in threads, please.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Great Old One: Warlocks who have made pacts with an elderly celebrity.

“Why is that strikingly attractive person keeping so very still, even as the battle rages around her?”

“Beware! She is a disciple of Mad Donna, the One Who Vogues!”

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Designers: "Okay, so get this. The Purple Dragon Knight. You can either play as a guy who wears purple OR you can ride a dragon made of purple gems. What do you want?"

Grognards: "Wear purple."

Designers: shrug

Me: "No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[Charlaquin]

If you have a old lazy cat named Thomas that means nothing to me and I steal your cat and replace it with an energetic young parrot named Thomas, and tell you that a parrot is objectively a better Thomas than your grubby old cat was (look he can even SAY his own name!), you asking for your cat back is not a sign of you being too stodgy and unwilling to change. It might be an excuse I use to shame you for asking for your cat back, and it might even be TRUE that you are a little stodgy and unwilling to change, but wanting your cat back isn't really about that. You're not scared of all change, you just liked what you had originally and don't think this new thing is much of a replacement. Not every change is a good one, and a proposed change needs to earn its place.

This is an incredibly tenuous analogy. Anyway, my point is not “you dislike this particular change, therefore you’re afraid of any change.” My point is, “Purple Dragon Knights have never ridden purple dragons before” is a bad reason for them not to start doing so, and acting like them starting to do so is a betrayal of the lore is weird, because the lore is still there, like it has always been. If you think it’s a dumb change, just say you think it’s a dumb change. You don’t have to justify your opinion by pointing at the lore and saying “it’s different therefore it’s objectively bad.”

Wanting a PDK to be a battlefield commander isn't, at least in this case, some bid for the authority of nostalgia. It's based on appreciating what's already there, and wanting to see that grow.

Well, as @Remathilis very eloquently put it, we didn’t get a UA on the lore of Cormyr’s knighthood. The purple dragon knights becoming an order of dragon riders is a done deal. What WotC asked was do we like this subclass. I liked the subclass. But lore defenders rated it poorly because they didn’t like the lore change, which wasn’t what was being asked, and now we’re getting a crappy subclass and the lore is still changing in the way the lore defenders dislike.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

people who didn't understand the lore behind it

Mod Note:

That’s kind of a leap, and one that’s kind of dismissive. Do better, please.

 

[Charlaquin]

Yes, this. If the UA had said, "The Purple Dragon Knights originally got their name from a violet-scaled black dragon but have more recently partnered with amethyst dragons" it might have gone down better. I, for one, would have found that more palatable, and I'm not generally a fan of pet classes.

Why would you have assumed they were retconning where their name came from…? They’re not re-writing realms history, they’re advancing the timeline.

 

[Charlaquin]

From the same mindset that brought you Purple Dragon Knights who ride purple dragons:

Battle Smith: Artificers who gain abilities relating to fighting smiths.

Path of the Storm Herald: Barbarians who can predict the weather and tell people about it.

Path of the Totem Warrior: Barbarians who wield totem poles as weapons.

College of Spirits: Bards who drink alcohol.

Grave Domain: Clerics who are very somber and serious.

Circle of Stars: Druids dedicated to celebrities.

Arcane Archer: Fighters who fire Wizards from bows.

Way of the Open Hand: Monks who answer "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" by slapping people.

Oath of the Ancients: Paladins dedicated to protecting senior citizens.

Swarmkeeper: Rangers who aren't allowed to travel because the swarm needs to be kept in one spot. Those bees ain't budging.

Phantom: Rogues who wear masks and gain bonuses when inside opera houses.

Wild Magic: Sorcerers who gain their powers from a connection to nature.

Great Old One: Warlocks who have made pacts with an elderly celebrity.

School of Bladesinging: Wizards who sing to swords.

Some of these sound awesome, not gonna lie

 

[pukunui]

Why would you have assumed they were retconning where their name came from…? They’re not re-writing realms history, they’re advancing the timeline.

Because we don't actually know if that is or isn't the case? It might very well be a retcon. We won't know for sure until the book is out.

 

[Weiley31]

From the same mindset that brought you Purple Dragon Knights who ride purple dragons:

Battle Smith: Artificers who gain abilities relating to fighting smiths.

Path of the Storm Herald: Barbarians who can predict the weather and tell people about it.

Path of the Totem Warrior: Barbarians who wield totem poles as weapons.

College of Spirits: Bards who drink alcohol.

Grave Domain: Clerics who are very somber and serious.

Circle of Stars: Druids dedicated to celebrities.

Arcane Archer: Fighters who fire Wizards from bows.

Way of the Open Hand: Monks who answer "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" by slapping people.

Oath of the Ancients: Paladins dedicated to protecting senior citizens.

Swarmkeeper: Rangers who aren't allowed to travel because the swarm needs to be kept in one spot. Those bees ain't budging.

Phantom: Rogues who wear masks and gain bonuses when inside opera houses.

Wild Magic: Sorcerers who gain their powers from a connection to nature.

Great Old One: Warlocks who have made pacts with an elderly celebrity.

School of Bladesinging: Wizards who sing to swords.