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== Warlord == | == Warlord == | ||
Two vast armies stand across the field of death, fear gripping the heart of every soldier. From their ranks, the banner is carried forth - a shining beacon without fear. Before they even know it, their feet pound across the ground, their fear left behind as they follow their symbol of hope to victory. | Two vast armies stand across the field of death, fear gripping the heart of every soldier. From their ranks, the banner is carried forth - a shining beacon without fear. Before they even know it, their feet pound across the ground, their fear left behind as they follow their symbol of hope to victory.<br> | ||
Collapsing to the ground, a man succumbs to wounds, exhaustion, terror, and the overwhelming clash of steel all around. Death closes in, but before it can claim him, a hand appears, pulling him to his feet. "On your feet, soldier".<br> | |||
Collapsing to the ground, a man succumbs to wounds, exhaustion, terror, and the overwhelming clash of steel all around. Death closes in, but before it can claim him, a hand appears, pulling him to his feet. "On your feet, soldier". | The line will soon be overrun—until, among the broken ranks of soldiers, a lone soldier spots his liege. She stands, unwilling to turn aside, unwilling to step back from danger, holding back the horde of enemies alone. Retreat is no longer an option. With newfound strength behind every blow, the soldiers stand and fight like no one has ever fought before.<br> | ||
"How did you do it?" hisses the marauder, his sword dropped before him in surrender. He kneels beside his captured comrades, encircled by a smaller force that seems to have come from nowhere. The victorious general smiles knowingly and shrugs. "Luck," he says. "And perhaps a bit of planning."<br> | |||
The line will soon be overrun—until, among the broken ranks of soldiers, a lone soldier spots his liege. She stands, unwilling to turn aside, unwilling to step back from danger, holding back the horde of enemies alone. Retreat is no longer an option. With newfound strength behind every blow, the soldiers stand and fight like no one has ever fought before. | Warlords are force multipliers for their companions. Some may be fearsome combatants, while others may never lift a weapon, but in either case their presence on the battlefield will drive their allies to new heights, guiding them safely through what would surely have been their doom.<br> | ||
How victory is stolen from the jaws of defeat can vary, from inciting crazed zeal, to tempering an overeager charge, to pulling their friends out of the line of danger in the nick of time. The sole commonality is that a Warlord alone is but a man, while a Warlord with their companions is a legend.<br> | |||
"How did you do it?" hisses the marauder, his sword dropped before him in surrender. He kneels beside his captured comrades, encircled by a smaller force that seems to have come from nowhere. The victorious general smiles knowingly and shrugs. "Luck," he says. "And perhaps a bit of planning." | Purpose is a common element to those that walk the path of a Warlord. Purpose empowers Warlords to be a larger-than-life, and allows them to be a guiding hand to their comrades. Some Warlords may not seek any particular cause, and merely pursue victory - either as a tribute to a god they worship or simply to attain personal glory. More often, though, a Warlord is driven by a higher purpose - a loyalty to their country or their men, a drive to protect the innocent or crush the weak.<br> | ||
Most warlords have no explicitly magical powers, but the presence on the battlefield allows people to exceed what they might have thought of as their own limits, pushing beyond what they could hope to achieve on their own. A Warlord will make their allies feel like they've become better at everything, they will make problems seem surmountable, and they will make the path clear. They make the world less bleak, they make the foes less terrifying. When you have a Warlord on your side, more things go right.<br> | |||
Warlords are force multipliers for their companions. Some may be fearsome combatants, while others may never lift a weapon, but in either case their presence on the battlefield will drive their allies to new heights, guiding them safely through what would surely have been their doom. | Just as a dragon's frightful presence instills a supernatural dread in mortal adventurers, a Warlord's presence is more than just simple common sense and a head for strategy, it is the power of conviction, the perfection of tactics, or the will to win incarnated in Adventurer form. | ||
How victory is stolen from the jaws of defeat can vary, from inciting crazed zeal, to tempering an overeager charge, to pulling their friends out of the line of danger in the nick of time. The sole commonality is that a Warlord alone is but a man, while a Warlord with their companions is a legend. | |||
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'''Warlord Presence.''' At 1st level, you pick the archetype of Warlord you embody, called a Presence. Your choice grants you features at 1st level, and again at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 18th level. | '''Warlord Presence.''' At 1st level, you pick the archetype of Warlord you embody, called a Presence. Your choice grants you features at 1st level, and again at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 18th level. | ||
==== Battlefield Presence ==== | |||
''1st Level Warlord feature''<br> | |||
When you would make an Attack, you cause your battlefield presence to Inspire a willing creature that can see other you. Once before the end of your next turn, immediately after the Inspired creature makes an Attack, it can make an additional Attack as a Free Action. After this additional Attack, the creature is no longer in Inspired.<br> | |||
A creature can only be Inspired once by this feature once per round. | |||
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==== Leadership Die ==== | |||
''2nd Level Warlord feature''<br> | |||
You have access to Leadership Dice. These represent your ability to focus your battlefield presence for powerful results. You have a number of these dice equal to twice your Warlord Level, and they begin as d6s, but improve as you gain Levels in this class: Your Leadership Dice become d8s when you reach 11th Level, d10s when you reach 17th Level, and d12s when you reach 20th Level.<br> | |||
You can spend your Leadership Dice to fuel various Warlord features, and you regain all expended Leadership Dice when you finish a Long Rest. You can only spend 1 Leadership Die per turn, but this number increases as you gain Levels in this class: You can spend 2 Leadership Dice per turn at 6th Level, 3 per turn at 11th Level, and 4 per turn at 17th Level.<br> | |||
You also gain three ways to use your Ki Points as follows: | |||
*'''Rallying Mark.''' As a Bonus Action, you can expend any number of Leadership Dice to rally your allies to Attack a hostile creature within 60ft of you. The next time that creature takes Damage, the creature takes additional Damage equal to result of the Leadership Dice Spent. You can also choose to heal the creature that dealt the Damage a number of Hit Points equal to the result fo the Leadership Dice Spent. | |||
*'''Urgent Orders.''' As a Bonus Action, you can expend any number of Leadership Dice to guide your allies in expeditious action. Choose a willing creature within 60ft of you that can see or hear you, that creature can immediately use its Reaction to move up to its Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks. You can choose to grant the creature a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the result of the Leadership Dice spent. | |||
*'''Helpful Word.'''As a Bonus Action, you can expend any number of Leadership Dice to take the Help Action. When you use the Help Action in this way, you can target a creature within 30ft of you instead within 5ft of you. | |||
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''' | ==== Warlord's Expertise ==== | ||
''3rd Level Warlord feature''<br> | |||
You gain Proficiency and Expertise in one of the following Skills of your choice: Investigation, Insight, Intimidation, or Persuasion. | |||
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==== Ability Score Improvements ==== | |||
''4th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and 19th Level Warlord Feature''<br> | |||
Your skill and strength expands, choose one of the following: | |||
*Increase one Ability Score of your choice by 3. | |||
*Increase one Ability Score of your choice by 2 and one Ability Score of your choice by 1 | |||
*Increases three Ability Scores of your choice by 1. | |||
*Gain one [[Feats|Feat]] of your choice. | |||
No Ability Score increases or Feat gained from this feature can increase one of your Ability Scores beyond 20 unless stated otherwise. | |||
<br><br> | |||
==== Extra Attack ==== | |||
If you have multiple copies of this feature and achieve a certain level threshold, the number of | ''5th Level Warlord Feature''<br> | ||
You can perform an additional Attack as part of the Attack Action.<br> | |||
If you have multiple copies of this feature and achieve a certain level threshold, the number of Attacks you can perform increases. At 5th Level if you have one copy of the feature, you can perform one extra Attack, at 11th Level if you have two copies of the feature you can perform two extra Attacks, and at 20th Level if you have three copies of the feature you can perform three extra Attacks. | |||
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==== Prepare for battle ==== | |||
''6th Level Warlord Feature''<br> | |||
You can spend a minute preparing you and up to five willing creatures of your choice for combat. You can expend any number of Leadership Dice.<br> | |||
You and the chosen creatures gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the result of the Leadership Dice expended.<br> | |||
You and the chosen creatures expend Hit Dice up to the number you expended, which are rolled. A creature that expends Hit Dice regains Hit Points equal to the result of the Hit Dice + its Constitution Modifier for each of the Hit Die expended. | |||
<br><br> | |||
'''Press the Attack.''' Starting at 9th level, your abilities are further empowered. | '''Press the Attack.''' Starting at 9th level, your abilities are further empowered. | ||
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'''Tireless Leader.''' Starting at 20th level, you can roll d6s and use them instead of expending Leadership Dice for Rallying Mark, Urgent Orders, Helpful Word, or Prepare for Battle. | '''Tireless Leader.''' Starting at 20th level, you can roll d6s and use them instead of expending Leadership Dice for Rallying Mark, Urgent Orders, Helpful Word, or Prepare for Battle. | ||
=== Presence of the Commander | = Warlord Presences = | ||
== Presence of the Commander == | |||
A Commander on the field can be many things - a trusted sergeant, a weary veteran, or merely a person with an uncommon degree of common sense and a particularly keen eye for how to win a fight. | A Commander on the field can be many things - a trusted sergeant, a weary veteran, or merely a person with an uncommon degree of common sense and a particularly keen eye for how to win a fight. | ||
While not as flashy as some of the other Presences on the Battlefield, that just means they are less likely to get themselves skewered. A keen word there and helping hand here, their influence is subtle but effective, inexorably shifting the tides of battle in their favor. | While not as flashy as some of the other Presences on the Battlefield, that just means they are less likely to get themselves skewered. A keen word there and helping hand here, their influence is subtle but effective, inexorably shifting the tides of battle in their favor. | ||
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== Presence of the Chieftain == | |||
A chieftain is a Warlord that rules by the sheer force of their personality, marked by their booming voice and fearless attitude, it is easy to believe that your band is infallible while your chieftain stands. | A chieftain is a Warlord that rules by the sheer force of their personality, marked by their booming voice and fearless attitude, it is easy to believe that your band is infallible while your chieftain stands. | ||
They can be lawful or chaotic, good or evil, with such things depending on how they got to where they are in life. An orc that cut their way to the top may be chaotic, believing that strength needs room to rise to the top unfettered by rules, while someone that inherited their authority may have a more lawful bent. | They can be lawful or chaotic, good or evil, with such things depending on how they got to where they are in life. An orc that cut their way to the top may be chaotic, believing that strength needs room to rise to the top unfettered by rules, while someone that inherited their authority may have a more lawful bent. | ||
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== Presence of the Noble == | |||
A Warlord with a Noble Presence is not inherently one that was born a Noble, though many are. A Noble Presence Warlord is one that serves to drive their retainers and companions onto greater heights through sheer charisma, a shining beacon of what they are fighting for standing beside them. | A Warlord with a Noble Presence is not inherently one that was born a Noble, though many are. A Noble Presence Warlord is one that serves to drive their retainers and companions onto greater heights through sheer charisma, a shining beacon of what they are fighting for standing beside them. | ||
Since time immemorial men have fought twice as hard on a battlefield when their leader takes the field to stand among them, driven to heights that would seem impossible in order to protect their liege - while an adventurer of this path may or may not be their liege, their charisma invokes the same fervor in their companions and retainers. | Since time immemorial men have fought twice as hard on a battlefield when their leader takes the field to stand among them, driven to heights that would seem impossible in order to protect their liege - while an adventurer of this path may or may not be their liege, their charisma invokes the same fervor in their companions and retainers. | ||
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Once you cast Command using this ability, you cannot cast it using this ability again until you complete a long rest. | Once you cast Command using this ability, you cannot cast it using this ability again until you complete a long rest. | ||
== Presence of the Packleader == | |||
While Warlords may specialize in the control of battles, a Packleader is a Warlord that aims to win a fight before it becomes a battle. Through scouting, preparing, and stacking the odds, they don't fight fair, they fight to win, and seek to only fight when they've already won. | While Warlords may specialize in the control of battles, a Packleader is a Warlord that aims to win a fight before it becomes a battle. Through scouting, preparing, and stacking the odds, they don't fight fair, they fight to win, and seek to only fight when they've already won. | ||
Their control of the battlefield doesn't merely extend to those that fight on it, but to twisting the battlefield itself to suit their needs, stymying and stupefying their foes while concealing and sheltering their allies with the terrain itself. | Their control of the battlefield doesn't merely extend to those that fight on it, but to twisting the battlefield itself to suit their needs, stymying and stupefying their foes while concealing and sheltering their allies with the terrain itself. | ||
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'''Warlord of the Wilds.''' Starting at 18th level, you can pick five additional spells from the Druid spell list of 4th level or lower. You can cast these spells using Leadership Dice equal to the level of the spell. You can change the list of spells you have selected when you complete a long rest. The spell Save DC for these spells is 8 + your Proficiency modifier + your Wisdom Modifier. Any time you use Leadership Dice to cast a spell, you can take the Attack action (one weapon attack only) as a bonus action. | '''Warlord of the Wilds.''' Starting at 18th level, you can pick five additional spells from the Druid spell list of 4th level or lower. You can cast these spells using Leadership Dice equal to the level of the spell. You can change the list of spells you have selected when you complete a long rest. The spell Save DC for these spells is 8 + your Proficiency modifier + your Wisdom Modifier. Any time you use Leadership Dice to cast a spell, you can take the Attack action (one weapon attack only) as a bonus action. | ||
== Presence of the Paragon == | |||
Legends tell of warriors that fight at the front of a legion, of the valor they display and the inspiration it gives their comrades. A Paragon before their army is a dauntless foe, and an army behind their Paragon is an unstoppable legion. | Legends tell of warriors that fight at the front of a legion, of the valor they display and the inspiration it gives their comrades. A Paragon before their army is a dauntless foe, and an army behind their Paragon is an unstoppable legion. | ||
A Paragon is not inherently good or evil. An evil legion can be led by a bold and charismatic Warlord just as effectively as the forces of good. | A Paragon is not inherently good or evil. An evil legion can be led by a bold and charismatic Warlord just as effectively as the forces of good. | ||
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== Presence of the Tactician == | |||
A Tactician may very well tell you they would just as soon not be close enough to the battle to be considered a combatant, preferring to win their fights before they even reach that stage, but one would be a fool to underestimate how dangerous they are once on the battlefield. | A Tactician may very well tell you they would just as soon not be close enough to the battle to be considered a combatant, preferring to win their fights before they even reach that stage, but one would be a fool to underestimate how dangerous they are once on the battlefield. | ||
While they might have laid their plans in advance, their sharp minds can quickly pick apart how their foes try to fight against them and effortlessly pierce the crude tactics that would be used against them and their allies. | While they might have laid their plans in advance, their sharp minds can quickly pick apart how their foes try to fight against them and effortlessly pierce the crude tactics that would be used against them and their allies. |