Machiknight
First Post
So I tried to make a new archetype for some of the classes that would make a "Captain America" character, but just could not make it fit. I ended up having to make up a whole new class based mostly off the Monk class. Please take a look and let me know what you think!
The Shield Soldier
[h=3]Shielded Defense[/h]Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier + your shield modifier.
[h=3]Martial Arts[/h]At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and shields.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only a shield:
Shield Bond
At 1st level, you learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and one round shield. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The shield must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the shield and forge the bond. Once you have bonded a shield to yourself, you can’t be disarmed of that shield unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plan
e of existence, you can summon that shield as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your arm. You can only have one bonded shield at a time.
[h=3]Tactics[/h]Starting at 2nd level, your training has become so intense it allows you to perform powerful abilities called “Tactics”. Utilizing these tactics is draining and you can only use them so many times before needing to rest.. Your Shield Soldier level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Tactics Points column of Table: The Shield Soldier. You can spend these points to fuel various Tactics features. You start knowing four such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, Shield Defense, and Tactical Maneuver. You learn more Tactics features as you gain levels in this class.
When you spend a Tactics point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended Tactics back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your Tactics points. Some of your Tactics features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Tactics save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
[h=4]Patient Defense[/h]You can spend 1 Tactics point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
[h=4]Shield Defense[/h]You can spend 1 Tactics point to give yourself Half Cover as a bonus action on your turn, as long as your are wielding your shield, this lasts until your next turn.
[h=4]Tactical Maneuvering[/h]You can spend 1 Tactics point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
[h=3]Unarmored Movement[/h]Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor.
[h=5]Combat Control Tactics[/h]Starting at 3rd level, you can spend 1 Tactics point to combine a Combat Control Tactic with your Flurry of Blows attack. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:
[h=3]Ability Score Improvement[/h]When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
[h=3]Slow Fall[/h]Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your Shield Soldier level.
[h=3]Extra Attack[/h]Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
[h=3]Shield Slam[/h]Starting at 5th level, you gain the following benefits while you are wielding a shield:
• If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to spend 1 Tactics point and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.
• When you use your action to Dash, you can use a bonus action to make one melee shield attack or to shove a creature. If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taTacticsng this bonus action, you either gain a +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if you chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 15 feet away from you (if you chose to shove and you succeed).
[h=3]Empowered Strikes[/h]Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
[h=5]Second Wind[/h]At 6th level, you have a limited well of stamina that you can draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
[h=3]Evasion[/h]At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
[h=3]Action Surge[/h]Starting at 9th level, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible bonus action.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.
[h=3]Ultimate Mobility[/h]Starting at 10th level, you have undergone extensive physical training to gain the following benefits:
·Your speed increases by 10 feet.
·When you are prone, standing up uses only 5 feet of your movement.
·Climbing doesn’t halve your speed
·You can make a running long jump or a running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, rather than 10 feet
·When you use the Dash action, difficult terrain doesn’t cost you extra movement on that turn
[h=4]Improved Shield Defense[/h]Beginning at 11th level, If you aren’t incapacitated, you can add your shield’s AC bonus to any Dexterity saving throw you make against a spell or other harmful effect that targets only you. Additionally you can spend 2 Tactics point to give yourself three-quarters Cover as a bonus action on your turn, as long as your are wielding your shield, this lasts until the beginning of your next turn. This cover can extend to any ally standing directly behind you as well.
[h=3]Improved Shield Throw[/h]Starting at 13th level, Your shield throw range is increased to 30/60 while it’s ricochet range is extended to 15. Additionally you can spend 1 Tactics point to allowAttacks provided by your Flurry of Blows to now be used for Throw Shield ricochet’s.
[h=3]Superb Physicality[/h]Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of your body grants you proficiency in all saving throws, and you can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus. Additionally When you roll a Hit Die to regain hit points, you may add your proficiency bonus.
[h=5]Additional Second Wind[/h]At 15th level, you may use your Second Wind ability one additional time before needing to complete a short or long rest.
[h=3]Additional Action Surge[/h]At 17th level, you can use Action Surge twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.
[h=3]Perfect Shield Defense[/h]Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 Tactics points to give yourself Total Cover as a bonus action on your turn, as long as your are wielding your shield, this lasts until the beginning of your next turn. This cover can extend to any ally standing directly behind you as well.
[h=3]Ultimate Shield Throw[/h]At 20th level, you may apply Combat Control Tactics when you use Shield Throw. A different Tactic may be applied to each target successfully struck by your shield. Each use Combat Control Tactic applied uses 2 Tactics points.
The Shield Soldier
Level | Proficiency Bonus | Martial Arts | Tactics Points | Features |
1st | +2 | 1d4 | — | Shielded Defense, Martial Arts, Shield Bond |
2nd | +2 | 1d4 | 2 | Tactics, Unarmored Movement |
3rd | +2 | 1d4 | 3 | Combat Control Tactics, Throw Shield |
4th | +2 | 1d4 | 4 | Ability Score Improvement, Slow Fall |
5th | +3 | 1d6 | 5 | Extra Attack, Shield Slam |
6th | +3 | 1d6 | 6 | Empowered Strikes, Second Wind |
7th | +3 | 1d6 | 7 | Evasion, Steel of Mind |
8th | +3 | 1d6 | 8 | Ability Score Improvement |
9th | +4 | 1d6 | 9 | Action Surge |
10th | +4 | 1d6 | 10 | Ultimate Mobility |
11th | +4 | 1d8 | 11 | Improved Shield Defense |
12th | +4 | 1d8 | 12 | Ability Score Improvement |
13th | +5 | 1d8 | 13 | Improved Shield Throw |
14th | +5 | 1d8 | 14 | Superb Physicality |
15th | +5 | 1d8 | 15 | Additional Second Wind |
16th | +5 | 1d8 | 16 | Ability Score Improvement |
17th | +6 | 1d10 | 17 | Additional Action Surge |
18th | +6 | 1d10 | 18 | Perfect Shield Defense |
19th | +6 | 1d10 | 19 | Ability Score Improvement |
20th | +6 | 1d10 | 20 | Ultimate Shield Throw |
[h=3]Martial Arts[/h]At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and shields.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only a shield:
- You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and shield attacks.
- You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike and your shield can be used as a weapon. This die changes as you gain Shield Soldier levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of Table: The Shield Soldier.
- When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a your shield on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with your shield, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.
Shield Bond
At 1st level, you learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and one round shield. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The shield must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the shield and forge the bond. Once you have bonded a shield to yourself, you can’t be disarmed of that shield unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plan
e of existence, you can summon that shield as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your arm. You can only have one bonded shield at a time.
[h=3]Tactics[/h]Starting at 2nd level, your training has become so intense it allows you to perform powerful abilities called “Tactics”. Utilizing these tactics is draining and you can only use them so many times before needing to rest.. Your Shield Soldier level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Tactics Points column of Table: The Shield Soldier. You can spend these points to fuel various Tactics features. You start knowing four such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, Shield Defense, and Tactical Maneuver. You learn more Tactics features as you gain levels in this class.
When you spend a Tactics point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended Tactics back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your Tactics points. Some of your Tactics features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Tactics save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
- [h=3]Tactics Abilities[/h]
[h=4]Patient Defense[/h]You can spend 1 Tactics point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
[h=4]Shield Defense[/h]You can spend 1 Tactics point to give yourself Half Cover as a bonus action on your turn, as long as your are wielding your shield, this lasts until your next turn.
[h=4]Tactical Maneuvering[/h]You can spend 1 Tactics point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
[h=3]Unarmored Movement[/h]Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor.
[h=5]Combat Control Tactics[/h]Starting at 3rd level, you can spend 1 Tactics point to combine a Combat Control Tactic with your Flurry of Blows attack. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:
- It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 10 feet away from you.
- It can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn.
[h=3]Ability Score Improvement[/h]When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
[h=3]Slow Fall[/h]Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your Shield Soldier level.
[h=3]Extra Attack[/h]Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
[h=3]Shield Slam[/h]Starting at 5th level, you gain the following benefits while you are wielding a shield:
• If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to spend 1 Tactics point and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.
• When you use your action to Dash, you can use a bonus action to make one melee shield attack or to shove a creature. If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taTacticsng this bonus action, you either gain a +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if you chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 15 feet away from you (if you chose to shove and you succeed).
[h=3]Empowered Strikes[/h]Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
[h=5]Second Wind[/h]At 6th level, you have a limited well of stamina that you can draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
[h=3]Evasion[/h]At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
[h=3]Action Surge[/h]Starting at 9th level, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible bonus action.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.
[h=3]Ultimate Mobility[/h]Starting at 10th level, you have undergone extensive physical training to gain the following benefits:
·Your speed increases by 10 feet.
·When you are prone, standing up uses only 5 feet of your movement.
·Climbing doesn’t halve your speed
·You can make a running long jump or a running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, rather than 10 feet
·When you use the Dash action, difficult terrain doesn’t cost you extra movement on that turn
[h=4]Improved Shield Defense[/h]Beginning at 11th level, If you aren’t incapacitated, you can add your shield’s AC bonus to any Dexterity saving throw you make against a spell or other harmful effect that targets only you. Additionally you can spend 2 Tactics point to give yourself three-quarters Cover as a bonus action on your turn, as long as your are wielding your shield, this lasts until the beginning of your next turn. This cover can extend to any ally standing directly behind you as well.
[h=3]Improved Shield Throw[/h]Starting at 13th level, Your shield throw range is increased to 30/60 while it’s ricochet range is extended to 15. Additionally you can spend 1 Tactics point to allowAttacks provided by your Flurry of Blows to now be used for Throw Shield ricochet’s.
[h=3]Superb Physicality[/h]Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of your body grants you proficiency in all saving throws, and you can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus. Additionally When you roll a Hit Die to regain hit points, you may add your proficiency bonus.
[h=5]Additional Second Wind[/h]At 15th level, you may use your Second Wind ability one additional time before needing to complete a short or long rest.
[h=3]Additional Action Surge[/h]At 17th level, you can use Action Surge twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.
[h=3]Perfect Shield Defense[/h]Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 Tactics points to give yourself Total Cover as a bonus action on your turn, as long as your are wielding your shield, this lasts until the beginning of your next turn. This cover can extend to any ally standing directly behind you as well.
[h=3]Ultimate Shield Throw[/h]At 20th level, you may apply Combat Control Tactics when you use Shield Throw. A different Tactic may be applied to each target successfully struck by your shield. Each use Combat Control Tactic applied uses 2 Tactics points.
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