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.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

It was not feeble. It was a rather powerful class when combined with the right feats and tactics.

It is super feeble for a dragon.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

It is super feeble for a dragon.

And when compared to the Steel Defender or Beast Master’s Land companion. Which already have a hard time staying alive during adventuring days. It didn’t scale well, it was very MAD, and it’s attacks were weak. I thought the subclass’s mechanics were awfully underwhelming.

 

[TwoSix]

What nations and/or city states would make sense for the other gem dragon orders?

Right now, I'm thinking:

Sembia = Emerald
The Dalelands = Crystal
Westgate = Topaz
Turmish = Sapphire

 

[mellored]

I really liked the UA Purple Knight. I wish they had simply responded to the criticism by changing it to a different name and lore. Amethyst Knight or whatever.

"Dragon Rider" would be better for Dragon Lance.

Forgotten Realms already has their fighter order, with lore. It just needs to be balanced (i.e. improved).

 

[Valetudo]

I just watched the trailer for the 2 new books and i got to say it looked like AI art.

 

[Mistwell]

It is super feeble for a dragon.

OK but you're playing a highly mobile knight, not the dragon.

 

[Mistwell]

And when compared to the Steel Defender or Beast Master’s Land companion. Which already have a hard time staying alive during adventuring days. It didn’t scale well, it was very MAD, and it’s attacks were weak. I thought the subclass’s mechanics were awfully underwhelming.

You're looking at the pet, not the impact the pet had on the fighter. It was very powerful. I guess I will need to pull the build and demonstrate it.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

OK but you're playing a highly mobile knight, not the dragon.

I am not talking about effectiveness of the class. I am talking about representation of a dragon. Dragons are among the most fearsome monster in D&D. What the PDK had was utterly pathetic as a dragon.

And yes, I obviously understand that having a subclass give you control of a fully powered dragon would be insanely unbalanced. But this to me simply tells that subclass with a dragon pet is not a viable concept. If you cannot do it properly, you shouldn't do it at all.

 

[Mistwell]

I am not talking about effectiveness of the class. I am talking about representation of a dragon. Dragons are among the most fearsome monster in D&D. What the PDK had was utterly pathetic as a dragon.

And yes, I obviously understand that having a subclass give you control of a fully powered dragon would be insanely unbalanced. But this to me simply tells that subclass with a dragon pet is not a viable concept. If you cannot do it properly, you shouldn't do it at all.

OK, fair enough. If it were a Pegasus would that seem better?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

OK, fair enough. If it were a Pegasus would that seem better?

Certainly.