D&D 5E Working on a Warlord Full Class

[Cap'n Kobold]

These maneuvers were even rougher in this document than the class details. Again. Sorry for the rudimentary nature. I've been wondering about writing it up again, but never managed to yet, to passing it out in the state it is currently in in the hopes it might be helpful.

Maneuvers:
Warlord maneuvers are similar to Battlemaster maneuvers in most aspects. Where the target is an ally of the Warlord, the target must either have line of sight and be able to hear the Warlord's voice, or be adjacent and within touch range of the Warlord. Unless specified otherwise, 'ally' can include the Warlord themselves.
Some maneuvers have prerequisites of class level of the warlord, or other maneuvers known that the character must have before being able to select that maneuver.


Name Prerequisites Effect

Rally 1 Warlord level 1 Action. Dice + Prof to temp HP

Rally 2 Level Multiple dice

Rally 3 Level 10 As reaction pre-empting damage


Fortify 1 Lvl 3 Dice + Prof to next saving throw

Fortify 2 Lvl 7 As reaction

Fortify 3 Lvl 11 Make new save on ongoing or mind-affecting effect.


Exhort 1 Lvl 3 Action. As reaction, ally makes an immediate attack.

Exhort 2 Lvl 7 Multiple dice

Exhort 3 Lvl 13 Action. As Reaction, ally takes an additional action.


Guard! 1 Lvl 1 Dice to AC until beginning of your next turn

Guard! 2 Lvl 7 As reaction, pre-empting an attack.

Guard! 3 Lvl 13 If while under the effects of this maneuver, your ally is attacked and missed by an attack, they may use their reaction to make an attack against their attacker if within their weapon's range.


Strike! 1 Lvl 1 Dice to ally's next attack roll

Strike! 2 Lvl Make an additional attack next attack action

Strike! 3 Lvl All allies


Work as one! 1 Lvl 1 +dice to ability check

Work as one! 2 Lvl Boosts help action

Work as one! 3 Lvl 15 Grant dice for future


Maneuver! 1 Lvl Maneuvering attack as BM

Maneuver! 2 Lvl Full move, no AoO, add dice to AC

Maneuver! 3 Lvl Multiple allies


Disable 1 Lvl Attack. Inflicts Condition (Deafened, Restrained, frightened )

Disable 2 Lvl Attack. Inflicts Condition (Blinded, Incapacitated )

Disable 3 Lvl Attack. Inflicts Condition (Stunned, Paralysed. )

 

[the Jester]

I've been working on my 'dirty tricks' subclass. Here's what I have so far:

SKULLDUGGER
A skulldugger works to win by any means necessary. He or she encourages the use of escamotage, dirty tricks, and unusual tactics, and places victory above honor or fairness. To a skulldugger, winning is all that matters. There’s no point in offering an enemy the chance to recover from a misstep, and anything that gives the skulldugger and his allies an edge is good form, regardless of what judgement an observer might render about it. A skulldugger’s features, when they rely on his or her ability scores at all, rely on Intelligence.

ENABLE DIRTY TRICKS: Beginning at 3rd level, when an ally you can see within 60’ that can see or hear you makes an ability check to grapple, shove, disarm, or climb on an enemy, you can use your reaction to give it advantage on that check.
In addition, when you or an ally you can see within 60’ that can see or hear you attacks a surprised creature, you or that ally gains advantage on the first attack on that turn.

TRICKY: At 6th level, you gain proficiency in Deception and the disguise kit. (If you already have proficiency in one or both, choose a different skill or tool to gain proficiency with in place of each that you are already proficient in.) Then, choose either Deception or the disguise kit. When you make an ability check with the chosen skill or tool, you may add your proficiency bonus twice, instead of once, to the check.

ENHANCE DIRTY TRICKS: Starting at 10th level, when an ally you can see within 60’ that can see or hear you successfully grapples, shoves, disarms, or climbs on an enemy, you can use your reaction to grant its maneuver extra benefits. If you use your reaction to enable the dirty trick with your 3rd level feature, you can use this feature as part of the same reaction.

• If the ally grapples the target, you can allow that ally to also restrain the target.
• If the ally shoves the target, you can allow that ally to shove the target an extra 10’ (including if the shove knocks the enemy prone).
• If the ally disarms the target, you can allow that ally to knock the disarmed weapon an additional 10’ away from the target.
• If the ally climbs on an enemy, you can choose to give that enemy disadvantage on attacks against the ally until the end of the ally’s next turn.

DIRTY TRICK COMBINATION: Beginning at 15th level, when an ally you can see within 60’ that can see or hear you successfully grapples, shoves, disarms, or climbs on an enemy, you can use your reaction and deplete your leadership dice pool by one die to add even more insult to injury by enabling a combination dirty trick. If you use your reaction to enable the dirty trick with your 3rd level feature or to enhance it with your 10th level feature, you can use this feature as part of the same reaction. If you do, you can choose any of the following options.

• You can enable the creature performing the dirty trick to make one weapon attack against the target of the dirty trick as part of the same attack or action with which it performed the dirty trick.
• You can enable another ally within 60’ that you can see and that can see or hear you to use its reaction to make one weapon attack against the target of the dirty trick.
• You can allow the creature performing the dirty trick to add an eye gouge to the target, which must make a Con save (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Int bonus) or be blinded until the end of the next turn of the creature performing the dirty trick.
• You can allow the creature performing the dirty trick to add an ear clap to the target, which must make a Con save (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Int bonus) or be deafened for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
• You can allow the creature performing the dirty trick to clamp a hand over the target’s mouth, provided the creature has a hand free and is at least as large as the target. The target must make a Dex save (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Int bonus) or be unable to speak until the end of the next turn of the creature performing the dirty trick or until the target is out of that creature’s natural reach.
• You can allow the creature performing the dirty trick to add a shove or grapple attempt to the dirty trick, provided that it did not already perform that maneuver against the target. The shove or grapple is resolved normally, with no enhancements from your class features.

I don't yet have a 20th level feature for this subclass.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I hope WotC will read it.
That approach could lead to good results in playtests. 4e lies far enough back that you can start to tale the good elements and adapt them to 4e.
If they go the battlemaster full class route, they also don't add a completely new system but build upon what is already there.
It is also a very underutilized system they already tried to enhace with different fighter subclasses.
The approach back then failed because the question was: why not chose battlemaster and an appropriate background instead of a more limited version.
By turning superiority dice into a full class (at will) feature and by reducing the base class fighting capabilities to that of a standard warrior you have your justification.

 

[the Jester]

Prospective skulldugger lvl 20 feature:

KICK THEM WHILE THEY’RE DOWN: Once you have attained 20th level, you have truly mastered the art of taking advantage of dirty tricks. When an ally you can see within 30’ successfully grapples, shoves, disarms, or climbs on an enemy, each other ally of yours that can see or hear you that is within 5’ of the target of that maneuver can make an opportunity attack against the target of that maneuver.

 

[the Jester]

@Brain pointed out (on my Discord) that I need to specify how Kick Them While They're Down interacts with the positioning of the target of the shove. So a slight alteration:

KICK THEM WHILE THEY’RE DOWN: Once you have attained 20th level, you have truly mastered the art of taking advantage of dirty tricks. When an ally you can see within 30’ successfully grapples, shoves, disarms, or climbs on an enemy, each other ally of yours that can see or hear you that is within 5’ of the target of that maneuver after that maneuver resolves can make an opportunity attack against the target.

 

[the Jester]

I'm also going to move the two dice Inspiring Word to 7th level to make room for a ribbon at 9th; since the subclasses give a ribbon at 6th, giving a base class ribbon at 7th as well seems like bad progression design, and I definitely need another ribbon in there somewhere.

 

[Garthanos]

I hope WotC will read it.
That approach could lead to good results in playtests. 4e lies far enough back that you can start to take the good elements and adapt them to 5e.
If they go the battlemaster full class route, they also don't add a completely new system but build upon what is already there.
It is also a very underutilized system they already tried to enhance with different fighter subclasses.
The approach back then failed because the question was: why not chose battlemaster and an appropriate background instead of a more limited version.
By turning superiority dice into a full class (at will) feature and by reducing the base class fighting capabilities to that of a standard warrior you have your justification.

We could probably make a thread all for that concept of its own.... also would let The Jesters thread do its thing that way.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

We could probably make a thread all for that concept of its own.... also would let The Jesters thread do its thing that way.

I like the Jesters ideas. It is a very good concept. The only thing I don't agree with is a new dice mechanic you could easily call superiority dice with little tweaks.

 

[the Jester]

I like the Jesters ideas. It is a very good concept. The only thing I don't agree with is a new dice mechanic you could easily call superiority dice with little tweaks.

That's fair. I see where you're coming from on this- but I prefer to let the battlemaster be the home of superiority dice. I like the battlemaster as the fighter's dabble into warlord-dom, but I like the notion of a dice pool that you don't always deplete to enable your (or your allies') abilities. And I don't see the point in using a pool of superiority dice and having them behave drastically differently from the battlemaster fighter's (and those offered by the feat). Different tastes, etc. Also, I like the idea of a multiclassed warlord/fighter with both pools operating independently.

That said, once I'm at the stage where I am actually playtesting this, I may well change my tune. That's still a little way off though.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

That's fair. I see where you're coming from on this- but I prefer to let the battlemaster be the home of superiority dice. I like the battlemaster as the fighter's dabble into warlord-dom, but I like the notion of a dice pool that you don't always deplete to enable your (or your allies') abilities. And I don't see the point in using a pool of superiority dice and having them behave drastically differently from the battlemaster fighter's (and those offered by the feat). Different tastes, etc. Also, I like the idea of a multiclassed warlord/fighter with both pools operating independently.

That said, once I'm at the stage where I am actually playtesting this, I may well change my tune. That's still a little way off though.

Thanks for the explanation. So I hope that your playtest goes well.
So I will go back to just following the thread.