D&D 5E Warden

[DEFCON 1]

I have no interest in such a class myself, but if it's going to exist "Archon" would get my vote.

What really is the big issue... and this is something Jeremy Crawford brought up in the 'Sage Advice on Playtesting' video... is that when it comes to additions to the game, the story of a class/subclass matters more to people (according to their surveys) than the mechanics do. Which is why something like the Forge Cleric scored so high (90+%), because the story of the domain was something almost everyone said "Yes, of course this domain needs to be in the game!"

So I don't think its enough that we have an "arcane warrior" that is a half-caster in the same mold as the Paladin (divine half-caster) or Ranger (primal half-caster). Yes, it makes sense from a "balanced" point of view in terms of the classes that use magic... but the problem is that we just haven't come up with a good story for this type of class. And without a story of who the person is that has this class... what they want, why they want it, who they impact... this class will never really gain the sort of traction that the Paladin and Ranger have. Now granted, it doesn't help that the Paladin and Ranger have 30+ years of history in the game to help solidify their stories and make us players think "Well, of course these classes need to be in the game!"... but for an Archon (or whatever it is) to really become a part of the game once and for all, it has to tie into the game world of D&D... and the story has to be more than just "a fighter who casts spells!"

Paladins are holy knights that swear fealty and oaths to people/beliefs/gods and defend them with their lives.
Rangers are wilderness warriors who scout, claim, defend, and nurture the wilds and the denizens within.

Both of these stories are true and there's no mention of "And he casts spells!" as a part of it.

So if we want Archons to claim a spot at the table... we need to finish this story sentence for it:

Archons are...

And we can't include "by using magic!" in the story. Because if the class can't hold itself up without saying HOW it does something (rather than why, where, when, or for whom)... then its never going to have the foundation to be its own class. The story of its existence just isn't there. And multiclassing or the Eldritch Knight subclass are going to be the adequate substitutes.

 

[Voi_D_ragon]

I truthfully struggled a bit with the name. I wanted a one word name like paladin, ranger, cleric, etc, and not a combination of two words like spellsword or mageblade or something. I'm open to suggestions, but warden was the best I could come up with. I did not play 4e so I did not look at past examples of what the warden was.

Magus

 

[Thurmas]

The Warden does more damage then a 2-handed weapon, and does it with an AC bonus in the range of a shield, AND does all that with a hand free for casting, grappling, drinking a potion, etc. That's the trifecta where you have every possible advantage from two weapon, weapon and shield, and weapon and free hand without any of the drawbacks. Pick two at most.

Frankly, I like the damage boost. I bring it up so you can see this through the lens I'm looking at it.

Now, if you wanted something arcanely defensive that will help the character without boosting numbers, allow adding INT instead of DEX to AC. This way you avoid the MAD, and raising INT helps with many class features, spell DCs, AND can boost AC. Still limited by max DEX in medium armor, it's not changing the top end of the numbers in regards to bounded accuracy, just helping the Warden to realize all of their potential and do it starting at a lower level.

Ok, so what if it gives the half proficiency bonus to AC, but requires your bonus action to activate, lasting until the beginning of your next turn. Gives the option of being a little more offensive, little more defensive, little more mobile, but not being able to do all of those things at the same time. You can boost AC, or do your ranged attack, or teleport.

I had in my head the image of a fighter swinging a sword in one hand and casting spells in the other. It is very bonus action heavy, those bonus actions being the spell half of the equation. It was also why I didn't initially have the teleport ability be limited to once per short rest, as your bonus action is extremely valuable in this class.

If this works, and I switch it to the bonus action, do you think I should make the Elemental Discipline resists always on, or still only trigger when the Shield Ward is up?

As it is now:

Air - You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed. This ability only works in short bursts: you fall if you end your turn in the air and nothing is holding you aloft. Your elemental damage type is Lightning. As long as your Shield Ward is active, you gain resistance to lightning damage.