T.G. Oskar
2011-02-08, 11:48 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages!! Outsiders and Eldritch Abominations too!!
I bet you were forgetting about me, right? Well, maybe not. Or...never mind. I found I really wanted to work with such a maligned class such as the Marshal, so...
DID I ORDER YOU TO SPEAK, YA' LARD-FILLED STALE-BREWER!! DROP DOWN AND GIMME 500!! ON THE DOUBLE!!
Gah! The drill sergeant!!
THAT'S RIGHT, YA BIG BALL O'...
I'll do the talkin' here, gotcha?
Here, we don't train weaklings; here, we build men that build more men! Take a look at this guy!
http://oishiianime.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Bright-Noa-Slap-1.jpg
Now, ya might be wonderin'; what in a dirty marsupial's nether-regions does someone like that example of fine leadership has to deal with this exercise?
NOTHIN', AN' EVERYTHIN' AT THE SAME TIME, FOLKS!
Ya see, this is a fine example of a man that builds men. Men for the future; men that lead and create more men that lead. Men that would be fit to lead fine specimens of soldiers like these fellas over here.
http://www.bamkapow.com/ul/4478-universal-soldier-1992-07-g.jpg
Ah, but ya might be askin'; what these fellas have ta do with that theater o' war called Dungeons & Dragons, right?
NOTHIN'! AN' STOP GETTIN' AHEAD O' ME, OR YA'LL BE RUNNIN' 500 MILES NEXT TIME!
Perhaps this'll seem a bit more familiar, yah?
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orcvsdwarf.jpg
There! Ya happy?
Ah, but in this theater o' war, we get pansies that call themselves "Marshals"! Ain't them fancy-pansy! They get some things called "auras", and think that standing behind and doing nothin' will earn them honor, recognition, medals, MANLINESS!
THE FOOLS!! THIS IS WHAT THAT KIND O' THINKING'LL GET THEM!!
http://wallpaperswide.com/thumbs/cemetery_art-t2.jpg
Fancy-schmancy, eh? I feel it for those poor soldiers who got led by a good-fer-nuthin'...
So we, at High-Fantasy Boot Camp, decided to beef up the training of them "Marshals". Where there were people stayin' behind, now we got people barking orders, standing forefront, takin' some punishment and dealin' it, and makin' MEN outta wimps! This here trainin' will make them marshals forge MEN outta wimps, and AMAZONS outta women (wha', ya thought I was being one o' them sexist fools? Equal opportunity, folks!); SLAYERS outta warriors and MACHINES O' DESTRUCTION outta robe-and-wizard-hat guys. Make ASSASSINS outta scouts; LEGENDS outta them bards, and FOUL SMELLIN' POOLS O' GOO outta the opposition!
Soldier! Keep explainin' the trainin' montage! Everyone else, at ease! Gods, we be gonna make HEROES worthy o' them war gods!
Eh...hehe. You heard the instructor. Without further ado, and in honor to those servin' men who honor their countries with their service, I introduce:
MARSHAL
http://www.eyeofthevortexonline.com/Images/greategress/warlord.jpg
"Onward, braves! The battle is on our hands, to do as we please! Spare them or raze them, and let the gods judge them!" - Artyrxia ur Arytmaekrix tibur Gra'ashka the Warmonger, dragonborn (formerly orc) commander of the 18th Mixed Forces Regiment of the Army of Unity, directing her troops
MAKING A MARSHAL (or, what has or hasn't changed from the original):
Abilities: The unique idea behind the Marshal is that abilities should be no impediment to his performance in the battlefield. Some commanders lead by pure strength, others by intellect, and other by force of personality. Thus, pigeonholing them into a single ability score would be dangerous. Most marshals require a good Constitution for a large amount of hit points, and generally have two or three good scores.
Races: Marshals exist everywhere, but generally upon the civilized races. Any character, whether it's the versatile human, the hardy dwarf, the swift elf or even smaller races such as halflings and gnomes can become marshals, using their unique talents to assist their allies. Amongst the savage races, most warlords hold abilities of similar regard to marshals, but hobgoblins excel on the task of leadership, and thus most hobgoblins are marshals. A marshal may be rare in a non-civilized setting, but a former war leader might train such races in the fine art of tactics.
Alignment: Accustomed to following and giving orders, most Marshals are Lawful in alignment, but even the Chaotic follow others; usually, those whom are Lawful have high Intelligence scores, while Chaotic Marshals have great deal of Strength, and both alignments share equal amount of charismatic Marshals. A Marshal may be Good or Evil as well; in fact, Marshals of every alignment exist, because war transcends alignments. However, that doesn't mean they may be on equal numbers, or that their tactics will be similar.
Starting Gold: As paladin
Starting Age: As paladin
Class Skills: The marshal’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Big list of skills, right? All are meritory: marshals are social warriors in many ways, so they have full control of social abilities such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Intimidate. As well, a good soldier does well to observe and listen well, so the ability to have good Listen, Search, Spot and even Survival are crucial; to prevent being fooled, Sense Motive is also a strong skill to have. Marshals also have a great deal of knowledge, specifically about the structure of castles, history of wars, maps and the rulers of most countries, so they have unusual mixes of Knowledge skills. And, as most warriors, they have physical skills, such as riding, climbing, jumping and swimming.
This means the Marshal is a very complex character, not entirely a skill monkey but having enough abilities that a warrior might benefit from. Thus, a 4+Int is reasonable enough, and while strong or charismatic leaders might not do much with so many skills, intelligent leaders do and will take advantage of their huge list.
Hit Die: d10
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Minor Aura
Major Aura
Greater Aura
1st
+1
+2
+0
+2
Aura (minor and major), rally (1d6, move action)
2
1
0
2nd
+2
+3
+0
+3
Fearless, grant move action 1/day
2
1
0
3rd
+3
+3
+1
+3
Bonus feat, commanding talent (attack rolls)
2
1
0
4th
+4
+4
+1
+4
Rally (1d6, +1 AC, fear effects)
3
1
0
5th
+5
+4
+1
+4
Aura (greater), commander’s uncanny dodge, grant move action 2/day
3
2
1
6th
+6/+1
+5
+2
+5
Bonus feat, commanding talent (score bonus to Armor Class)
3
2
1
7th
+7/+2
+5
+2
+5
Rally (2d6, +1 AC, demoralize)
4
2
1
8th
+8/+3
+6
+2
+6
Commander’s improved uncanny dodge, grant move action 3/day
4
2
1
9th
+9/+4
+6
+3
+6
Bonus feat, commanding talent (add to damage rolls)
4
3
1
10th
+10/+5
+7
+3
+7
Grant standard action, rally (2d6, +2 AC, swift action)
5
3
2
11th
+11/+6/+1
+7
+3
+7
Commander skill mastery, grant move action 4/day
5
3
2
12th
+12/+7/+2
+8
+4
+8
Bonus feat, commanding talent (saving throws)
5
3
2
13th
+13/+8/+3
+8
+4
+8
Rally (3d6, +2, saving throw)
6
4
2
14th
+14/+9/+4
+9
+4
+9
Command the commander
6
4
2
15th
+15/+10/+5
+9
+4
+9
Bonus feat, grant move action 5/day
6
4
3
16th
+16/+11/+6/+1
+10
+5
+10
Rally (3d6, +3, movement boost)
7
4
3
17th
+17/+12/+7/+2
+10
+5
+10
Grant move action 6/day
7
5
3
18th
+18/+13/+8/+3
+11
+5
+11
Bonus feat, commanding talent (addition)
7
5
3
19th
+19/+14/+9/+4
+11
+6
+11
Rally (4d6, +3, extra attack)
8
5
3
20th
+20/+15/+10/+5
+12
+6
+12
Grant move action 7/day, grant full round action
8
6
4
As you might have noticed, this Marshal really went forward with his training.
Increased Hit Dice, full BAB, good Fortitude and Will saves...sounds like a recipe for disaster, no? That goes without mentioning the 4+Int skill points. Sadly, that's not the case: as you know very well, having all of that pretty good doesn't make you broken by any means; however, I feel these are all qualities of a leader that fights with his men, which is something that I felt the Marshal lacked. As the leader of a unit, the Marshal could have been great, but as a warrior himself, he lacked a lot.
Good BAB means he'll work much better as a frontline warrior, fighting almost with equal ability as the Fighter, Warblade, Crusader and other melee characters, and the d10 Hit Dice makes him a strong frontliner without reaching the upwards of a true tank (d12, for example). Good Fort showcases his physical discipline, as a leader usually has equal or more training than his soldiers, and good Will represents strength of mind even upon hardships; a commander that's easily swayed definitely cannot work as a leader. So, the Marshal has already nice tricks up his sleeve.
But, you're seeing even more. For example: the Marshal now has three tiers of auras, meaning he has multiplied his potential by more than 33%. Furthermore, if you're savvy enough, you might have seen a peculiar ability called Rally; if the XdX and the +X scares you, it should. More will come later.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the marshal.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Marshals are proficient with all simple and martial weapons (plus one exotic weapon of their choice), with all kinds of armor (heavy, medium and light), and with all shields.
So far, so good...wait, proficiency with one exotic weapon AND tower shields? Are you crazy?
Well...no. A Marshal, at heart, is a warrior and trained as well as another warrior. In skirmishes, a Marshal shouldn't suck because he devoted some time to read upon tomes and learn the various ways to organize an army; thus, he should have at least the same amount of training as the basic Fighter. Fighters get to use Tower Shields and their huge amount of feats make them capable of taking one exotic weapon or two if they so desire, so it's fair play. Thus, if a Marshal decides, he can fight with one massive fullblade, or a bastard sword and tower shield, or whatever suits his fancy. He's trained for it, and he has gone far and beyond the classic warrior.
Auras (Ex): The marshal exerts an effect on allies in his vicinity. He can learn to produce different effects, or auras, over the course of his career. The marshal may project one minor aura, one major aura and, starting at 5th level, one greater aura at a time.
Projecting an aura is a swift action. The aura remains in effect until the marshal uses a free action to dismiss it or activates another aura of the same kind (major or minor). A marshal can have an aura active continually; thus, an aura can be in effect at the start of a combat encounter even before the marshal takes his first turn.
Activating an aura involves haranguing, ordering, directing, encouraging, cajoling, or calming allies. A marshal sizes up the enemy, allies, and the terrain, then gives allies the direction that they can use to do their best.
Unless otherwise noted, a marshal's aura affects all allies within 60 feet (including himself) who can hear the marshal. An ally must have an Intelligence score of 3 or higher and be able to understand the marshal's language to gain the bonus. A marshal's aura is dismissed if he is dazed, unconscious, stunned, paralyzed, or otherwise unable to be heard or understood by his allies.
A marshal begins play knowing one minor and major aura of his choice. As his marshal level increases, he gains access to new auras, as indicated on the table above.
All bonuses granted by a marshal's auras are either morale or circumstance bonuses that do not stack with each other.
The key ability of the Marshal is to exert auras of influence, which are meant to support allies. In that sense, the Marshal's position in combat is defined; he's a leader and a warrior, so he'll be on the forefront but providing morale support and orders so that his allies work at maximum efficiency. As you can see, the Marshal can have up to three different kinds of auras active at one time, representing small orders, more elaborate directions, and the necessary orders to follow a full-blown strategy; that would be the representation of each aura.
Now, you might have noticed the Marshal now knows both minor AND major auras. The auras have been revamped a bit; you won't get ahold of the fun stuff until level 5, but you'll have a strong pair of abilities to make your first few levels a blast. The auras will be introduced later on.
Rally (Ex): At 1st level, a marshal pushes his troops to impressive efforts. Be it by fooling his troops that victory is underway, inspiring his troops with bolstering words, seizing the advantage through careful tactics, or even promising a fate worse than death, his troops hit harder, survive longer, and even shake off harmful effects through sheer force of will.
As a full-round action, a marshal may whip a rally that stirs the heart of the most desperate trooper. Each ally within range that can hear the marshal adds an extra 1d6 points of damage in any successful melee or ranged attack dealt during the round. This benefit lasts for as long as the Marshal concentrates and one round thereafter. At 8th level, and every six levels afterwards, the amount of extra damage dealt increases by 1d6. Unlike similar abilities, creatures immune to critical hits or sneak attacks are not immune to this damage. A marshal may not use this ability if under any fear effect (although the marshal is immune to fear effects, the marshal may not use this ability if for some reason this immunity was bypassed) or demoralized, and allies that suffer any fear effect do not gain the benefit of this ability.
At 4th level, a marshal grants himself and all allies that hear the rally a +1 competence bonus to Armor Class. This bonus increases by 1 for every six class levels, and lasts for as long as the marshal rallies. Furthermore, any ally that hears the marshal and currently suffers a fear effect may make a new saving throw to remove said effect. An ally can attempt a new saving throw every round in which it suffers a fear effect and hears the marshal rally, but can only attempt a new saving throw once per round.
At 7th level, a marshal can demoralize an enemy with his rally. He may use the demoralize ability (see the Intimidate skill) as a free action, but only when he begins the rally (as part of the full round action to activate it) or by ending the rally as an immediate action. Unlike the normal demoralize ability, the marshal may affect all enemies that can hear his rally, and the effects of demoralization lasts for as long as the marshal rallies (if he uses it as part of the full round action to activate the ability) or for a number of rounds equal to his Intelligence or Charisma modifier (if he uses it as an immediate action to end the rally).
At 10th level, a marshal may keep the rally as a swift action instead of a move action.
At 13th level, any ally that hears the marshal and suffers any of the following effects may attempt a saving throw to remove the condition: confused, dazed, entangled, exhausted, fascinated, fatigued, feebleminded, nauseated, paralyzed, sickened, slowed, or stunned. An ally can attempt a new saving throw every round in which it suffers any of the above effects and hears the marshal rally, but can only attempt a new saving throw once per round.
At 16th level, a marshal increases the speed of his troops. All allies that can hear a marshal rally gain a +10 bonus to all of their speeds.
At 19th level, any ally that hears the marshal rally may make an extra melee or ranged attack at its highest attack bonus as part of a full attack. The extra attack gained by means of this ability stacks with other forms of extra attacks gained (such as that from the haste spell, or the speed weapon enhancement) even if the ability says otherwise.
A rally is an extraordinary, fear (in the case of the demoralize ability), language-dependent, mind-affecting ability.
Alright, by now most people must be angry like heck. Let me clear this a bit.
YES, IT IS BASED FROM SKIRMISH; ISN'T IT OBVIOUS? However, I worked it so that the ability progressed every three levels, starting from level 2.
Now, look at what it grants. It's an ability that can be used at-will, and it will be undoubtedly very powerful. The main abilities it grant is basically more damage and better AC to pretty much every single ally in range. As the ability progresses, you get new saving throws against most conditions, greater speed, and eventually more attacks so as long as the marshal rallies. Certainly, this seems very, very powerful.
That's intentional. I mean, have you seen what other classes give? A plain Crusader can do things that are close, if not better, than what you can do with this ability (and Warblades as well)! Clerics can buff entire armies in seconds! If you're gonna be a buffer, you need something to build upon, no? Now, you might come with "why need a Bard when the Marshal overpowers his buffs?" Certainly not; he can coexist with the Bard, and both make the typical commoner look like Superman or something. However, the Bard has spells, and certain abilities that the Marshal doesn't have. The Marshal needs something to remain in play, and the best thing is granting them an ability that reinforces them and just about everybody in range.
Now, you might have recalled the drill sergeant mentioned that leaders should fight with their men. With Rally, being limited to one action hurts, but it's the price to maintain such a powerful ability active. 11th level, where you're basically defining yourself as a Marshal, gets you the ability to keep your rally as a swift action, returning a great deal of actions but constantly consuming a very valuable action. This makes the use of a rally a double-edged weapon up until half your career, but if you're with a warrior or two, the warrior will be more than thankful that you're supporting darn near everybody.
Again, complaints or doubts, feel free to post them. Rally is meant to be a very powerful party ability, one super-buff to be used when necessary but that can define the course of a battle. You'll still be supporting through the occasional standard action, your auras and (eventually) full actions, but bear in mind that you'll still have to sacrifice something to get such benefits.
UPDATE: Owing to the ability shuffling, the marshal gets the Rally ability at 1st level, and upgrades as usual. That means the Marshal can start delivering bonuses right from the get-go, and later involve in combat.
Fearless (Ex): At 2nd level, a marshal is immune to fear, magical or otherwise.
Let's face it; a good leader laughs in the face of fear. If the leader runs away, imagine what would happen to his army?
Grant Move Action (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a marshal can direct and motivate his allies to act immediately. Once per day, as a standard action, he may grant an extra move action to any or all of his allies within 30 feet (but not to himself). Each of the affected allies takes this extra move action immediately, acting in their current initiative order. This extra action does not affect the allies' initiative count; the round continues normally after the marshal's turn is over. (This may mean, for example, that an ally whose initiative count immediately follows the marshal's may get an extra move action from the marshal, followed directly by a full round worth of actions on the ally's turn.)
At 5th level, and every three class level afterwards, a marshal gains the ability to grant an extra move action to his allies one more time per day.
A character can take only one extra move action per round. (In other words, two marshals can't use this ability on the same ally in the same round.) If an ally chooses not to take the extra move action, it is lost.
A legacy ability, and one that's pretty useful. A few times per day, you can command your troops (or your allies) to make a single move check, all at the same time. Since you can ready actions to use grant move action on emergencies, you gain such traditional tactics like disperse, pursue and so forth. If it's not broken, why fix it?
Wait, you mention you see other "grant X action" abilities? Sure, it's not broken, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved, no?
UPDATE: Moved the ability to 2nd level, and increased the number of uses. Marshals now grant move actions seven times per day!
Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and every three levels after that, a marshal gains a bonus feat in addition to those he obtains by means of improving levels. These bonus feats must be drawn from the feats noted as fighter bonus feats, or from the list of feats below. A marshal must still meet the prerequisites for a bonus feat, as usual. For purposes of fighter level prerequisites, a marshal is considered to have a fighter level equal to his marshal level -2.
Marshal Bonus Feats: Alertness, Deceitful, Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Investigator, Iron Will, Leadership*, Negotiator, Persuasive, Run, Self-Sufficient, Skill Focus (any), Toughness
*: Subject to DM’s approval. A DM is not recommended to provide Leadership to a PC unless the group is composed of a few people, or if the DM is comfortable with allowing the marshal player character a suitable cohort. NPC marshals may not take Leadership by means of this bonus feat, nor cohorts with marshal levels or hirelings. A marshal is automatically granted the bonus of “great renown” to his Leadership score.
Yes, Leadership. It makes mechanical sense, but you don't have to force it to your DM. In fact, the whole purpose of the note is alerting the DM that it's not necessary to grant Leadership if the player asks for it, and that he should be using his common sense. However, if you're in a war campaign, Leadership may be indeed a powerful tool, and with Rally and your auras, probably far too powerful (and thus probably banned).
Having said that: the bonus feats provided are a mix between fighter bonus feats (from "basic training") and feats meant to support his social and leadership qualities. Some of the provided feats are not the best, but you still have the large amount of Fighter bonus feats to your disposal, making the feat list entirely salvageable. The Marshal gets less bonus feats than the Fighter (and for very good reasons), but still enough to remain viable as a combatant.
Commanding Talent (Ex): A marshal is a skilled leader, blessed with incredible knowledge of the battlefield and the power to inspire his troops into victory. A marshal can be one of many: a warrior that leads by strength, an undefeatable warrior that fights in the forefront and uses his resistance to pain as a push, a warrior with knowledge of several tactics, or a warrior that inspires people to fight to their last drop of blood. This talent reflects in one of many ways, enhancing the marshal’s combat capabilities outside of the usual parameters that measure a warrior. The marshal must make the choice at the moment it gains the ability, and once the choice is made (whether to replace the ability score or neglect it), it cannot be replaced.
At 3rd level, a marshal may use the largest between his Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma modifier when making an attack with a melee or ranged weapon. If an aura or ability grants a bonus to the character’s Intelligence or Charisma-based checks (such as that from the marshal himself, or from items such as a circlet of persuasion), the bonus does not apply in this case; however, direct bonuses to Intelligence or Charisma (such as that from the eagle’s splendor spell or the headband of intellect) do apply.
At 6th level, a marshal may use the largest between his Dexterity and his Constitution or Intelligence modifiers to his Armor Class. In case the marshal’s Constitution or Intelligence score is the largest (and thus, replaces Dexterity for purposes of his Armor Class bonus), treat the score as if it were a Dexterity bonus to Armor Class for other purposes (such as whether it applies when flat-footed, held, paralyzed or otherwise denied). If an aura or ability grants a bonus to the character’s Constitution or Intelligence-based checks (such as that from the marshal himself, or from items), the bonus does not apply in this case; however, direct bonuses to Constitution (such as that from the bear’s endurance spell or the amulet of health) do apply.
At 9th level, a marshal may add the largest between his Strength modifier and his Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma modifiers to the damage dealt with all attacks. Unlike other similar abilities (until 18th level), the marshal adds the damage to the roll, instead of replacing the damage. If an aura or ability grants a bonus to the character's Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma modifiers (such as that from the marshal himself, or from items), the bonus does not apply in this case; however, direct bonuses to Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma do apply.
At 12th level, a marshal may replace the scores he uses for his saving throw bonus. A marshal may add the largest between his Strength and his Constitution scores for purposes of Fortitude saving throws, the largest between his Dexterity and Intelligence bonuses for purposes of Reflex saving throws, and the largest between his Wisdom and his Charisma scores for purposes of Will saving throws. As above, if an aura or ability grants a bonus to the indicated score’s checks, the bonus does not apply for purposes of this ability; however, direct bonuses to the indicated scores do apply.
At 18th level, a marshal may re-add the ability score replaced in any of the above-mentioned abilities, or add an ability score on those abilities whose scores were not replaced. Thus, a marshal may add his Strength (or Dexterity if using a ranged weapon or Weapon Finesse) and either his Intelligence or Charisma modifier to attack rolls and damage rolls, his Constitution and Dexterity modifiers to Armor Class, Strength and Constitution for Fortitude, Dexterity and Intelligence for Reflex saves, and Wisdom and Charisma for Will saves. In the case of adding both Constitution (or Intelligence) and Dexterity to Armor Class, the penalty on Dexterity imposed by armor only applies to the Dexterity modifier (not to the Constitution or Intelligence modifiers, which receive the entire benefit). In the case of multiple ability scores, the marshal must choose the ability score chosen on earlier levels (in case of replacement) or choose one of the scores (in case of no replacement); once made, the choice is permanent.
This is probably something I'll get a lot of heat for, but it's important.
As you might have noticed, I've been inclining to make builds a bit less unidimensional; for example, making Rangers less "archers" or "skirmishers" and making them bounty hunters or so forth. With the Marshal, I found that there were three types of leaders, each having their own kind of leadership: the strong, the smart, and the pretty. The strong lead by force, and people follow him because they acknowledge their strength, fear them, or are forced by their superior might to fight; the smart leaders lead by tactics, and their attacks usually land where there's more damage; the "pretty" or charismatic leaders lead by example and morale, and they can do surprising things on their own. To prevent a bit of MAD, I decided that something so peculiar such as ability scores shouldn't prevent this type of Marshals from existing, such as someone who's strong suddenly having to develop Charisma just because. Thus, the Marshal gains the unique ability to replace their best ability score (and thus reduce Strength dependence) for their attack rolls and damage rolls.
The rest of the abilities work on a similar way. We've seen how Wisdom and Constitution may replace Dexterity to add to AC; while Wisdom is something mostly esoterical, Constitution is something most warriors might have, specifically warriors that wield heavy armor. Thus, you might choose to ignore Dexterity and go straight to full Con. As well, I took a page from 4th Edition and worked with the pairs of abilities that best work with each saving throw.
The last ability is a bit peculiar. If you've gone all levels in Marshal to the point that taking a Prestige Class is impractical, the chassis of the class rewards you by allowing you to stack two ability scores for most of your numbers. So, you can have Strength and Intelligence, or Strength and Charisma for your attack and damage rolls, Dexterity and Constitution for AC, and two ability scores per saving throw. This might seem a bit too far, but consider the following: by level 16, a character who takes full levels in one class and has no magic or similar abilities to state for himself NEEDS some help. So, they get it through class abilities that grant a meaningful increase to most of your required stats.
Now, if there's a doubt or a question, or even disgust towards the ability, drop your concerns through responses. I suspect the first level will be supremely dip-tastic, but it's very, very hard to prevent that; thus, while something such as bonuses to attack or damage rolls (plus all the nice perks) are just too good for 1st level, the full benefits won't appear unless you take even more levels in the same class. Though, I'm still open for ideas.
UPDATE: As per Seerow's suggestion, attack and damage rolls were split, and the ability was rolled back various levels (starting at 3rd level). That way, the Marshal will still depend on basic scores during early levels, but at latter levels it becomes a powerhouse. It also cuts a bit on dipping for goodies.
Commander’s Uncanny Dodge (Ex): A marshal senses the urgency of his scouts, and gains preternatural awareness of his surroundings. Not only is he rarely, if ever, caught unaware; his troops are also never caught unaware, although only those closest to him.
At 5th level, a marshal and all allies within 60 feet retain their Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if they are caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, the marshal or any of his allies still lose their Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If the marshal is immobilized (held or paralyzed), this ability temporarily ceases functioning for all allies.
If a marshal already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he gains improved uncanny dodge for himself. His allies are treated as if having uncanny dodge, unless the marshal and the ally both have uncanny dodge (in which case both the marshal and the ally are treated as if having improved uncanny dodge).
For purposes of qualification, if a marshal cannot affect an ally with his aura (even if it does not have any of his auras active), the ally does not gain the benefit of the marshal’s commander’s uncanny dodge.
Uncanny Dodge? On all allies?
Yep. One of the key aspects of a leader is pre-empting surprises. If he catches a signal that things are going horribly wrong, he'll issue a swift yet meaningful command to his troops (or allies) to remain vigilant, and thus, entire ambushes may be prevented. Uncanny Dodge prevents such ambushes or dirty tricks, so a Marshal gains the simplest form of evading ambushes or dirty tricks and provides it to his allies as well.
Later you get Improved Uncanny Dodge, but for the time being: if you have Uncanny Dodge and gain Commander's Uncanny Dodge, you gain Improved Uncanny Dodge but your allies don't. If your ally has Uncanny Dodge but you don't, then you (and the rest of your allies) keep Uncanny Dodge but your ally with UD gets the improved version. More explanation when we reach there.
UPDATE: Rolled back a level, so that you take advantage of it early on.
Commander’s Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level, a marshal leads the course of battle by means of keen and precise leadership. Neither the marshal nor any of his allies within 60 feet may be flanked. This defense denies the rogue the ability to sneak attack the marshal or any of his allies by means of flanking, unless the rogue has four more levels than the marshal (if the marshal has four levels less than the rogue but any of his allies has more levels than the marshal, they may still be flanked; see below for the exception).
If the marshal already has uncanny dodge from a second class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character. If the marshal and an ally both have improved uncanny dodge, all allies use the highest between the marshal’s and the ally’s level in order to determine whether an enemy rogue may flank.
For purposes of qualification, if a marshal cannot affect an ally with his aura (even if it does not have any of his auras active), the ally does not gain the benefit of the marshal’s commander’s uncanny dodge.
Alright, so...Improved Uncanny Dodge. Works just like the classic one, except you and your allies have a mystical link that makes them take advantage of the best between their defenses, hence allowing the Marshal to protect his allies from sneak attack and flanking just by following the lead of the most skilled one. If he's the most skilled of them all, then everybody follows his lead.
UPDATE: Rolled the ability a few levels earlier.
Grant Standard Action (Ex): At 10th level, a marshal may grant an ally a standard action instead of a move action when using his grant move action ability.
A character may take only one extra move and one extra standard action per round. If a character already has gained an extra move or standard action (by means of another marshal’s grant move action or grant standard action, a wizard’s celerity line of spells, or a White Raven martial adept’s maneuvers), it may not take another move action.
Now, you're probably gonna fight with me at this one. A standard action?
Yep, and that should make Marshals gain a very solid boost as action economy breakers. That allows an ally to make a single attack, cast a spell, initiate a maneuver, move, or do anything a standard action would do (except probably ready an action).
The "non-stacking" rule, though, applies. Say two Marshals use grant action abilities. If they grant each a move and a standard action, then both stack. If both Marshals grant either move actions or standard actions in the same round, then the benefit of one will be lost. That also prevents taking advantage of the Celerity line of spells, so everybody gains an equal degree of enhancement to action economy, without one taking much more advantages than the other.
I think I have to clear the concept of "round" for this maneuver, since it might be a bit confusing. For purposes of this maneuver, "round" implies the amount of time between the beginning of the user's current turn to the beginning of the user's next turn. Thus, if someone at initiative count 10 used Grant Move Action, you have to wait until initiative count 10 of the next round (and thus everybody gets to use their turn) to use such abilities once again.
Now, there's one clear exception to the rule, and that's truly an unfortunate one: White Raven Tactics. Since WRT essentially alters your initiative count, the action manipulation stacks. This might sound like a bit of trouble, but do recall that grant move action uses are limited, and you're drawing from the same pool. Having said that, it's probably a truly exploitable trick, but martial characters need some love.
UPDATE: Marshals gain this ability one level earlier. Hooray!
Commander’s Skill Mastery (Ex): At 11th level, a marshal is so sure of his leadership skills that he can use them even in the most heated of battles. A marshal may take 10 with any Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Gather Information or Sense Motive check even if stress and distractions prevent him.
Remember when the old Marshal had Skill Focus: Diplomacy? So underrated, right? Well, we (that is me, but if you're fine with kayfabe then it's the drill sergeant and me) decided to give that old ability a good, serious boost, and thus it became skill mastery related to social abilities. A leader should always be sure of himself and his skills, so he gets a boost in confidence enough to utter the most mundane of lies (or arguments) and still win against someone inexperienced, even in the midst of battle.
UPDATE: Ability rolled forward a few levels. It appears right at the moment a rogue can take the Skill Mastery ability, so it's not much of a problem.
Command the Commander (Ex): At 14th level, a marshal has gained great experience in leadership, and learns whenever a fellow (or enemy) commander seeks to wrest control from it. Thus, a marshal gains the unusual ability to wrest control from any attempt to override his leadership, even by magical means. This ability, of course, requires the marshal to be aware of the situation; if caught unaware, he may be taken aback.
If a marshal or an ally within 60 feet are affected by a mind-affecting spell or effect and fail their saving throws, they can attempt them again 1 round later at the same DC. The marshal and each of his allies get only this one extra chance to succeed on his saving throw (unless the ally has slippery mind, in which case it may use the ability whenever both apply).
If the marshal (and only the marshal) succeeds on any of the saving throws against a mind-affecting spell or ability, the marshal may force the user to roll a saving throw, with the same DC (except the marshal uses his own Intelligence or Charisma score, whichever is higher, instead of the user’s ability score). If the user fails the saving throw, the marshal wrests control of the ability and the user is affected for the remainder of the round. If the spell or ability cannot affect the caster, the secondary benefit of this ability has no effect. A marshal that gains the benefit of mind blank may not use this spell unless it voluntarily lowers his resistance, and a caster or user benefiting from mind blank or similar immunities does not gain the benefit of this immunity if the spell or ability’s control is wrested.
For example, a marshal with 22 Int that succeeds on a Will saving throw against the dominate monster spell may force the caster to roll a saving throw against the same effect (assuming the caster had 18 Charisma, the DC of the effect would be 2 points higher because the marshal’s Intelligence is 4 points higher). If the caster fails his Will saving throw, it is dominated instead as if the marshal had cast the spell himself, for the same amount of time the marshal would have been dominated.
More nice stuff for martial characters!
This is a revamp of Slippery Mind, in which you gain the ability to shrug off mind-affecting effects running upon you pretty much instantly, just like Slippery Mind. However, in the case of the Marshal, the effect inverts in such a brutal way, people will be scared to use spell-like abilities and might make Marshals a bit more reckless. With their insanely high Will saves, you might figure they'll resist pretty well.
So, what happens if you're affected by a mind-affecting spell or effect? It basically bounces off the Marshal and back to the enemy. This only works on offensive mind-affecting abilities (not Inspire Courage and so on). If the Will save is successful, the Marshal may then attempt to reflect the spell or effect back, potentially crippling the user because the Marshal imposes his own brand of leadership into the effect.
Of course, this ability has its drawbacks, so an Enchanter with Mind Blank may be safe from the effect, but if the enemy is too careless, it may get a terrible surprise.
UPDATE: Ability rolled forward a few levels. Since it is a pretty strong ability, this should cause no real concern.
Grant Full-Round Action (Ex): At 20th level, a marshal’s command allows his allies to act even after they have already exhausted his actions. Time neither stops nor slows; rather, the marshal has pushed his troops in such a scale that they move at extraordinary speed. By expending two daily uses of his grant move action ability as an immediate action, a marshal may provide himself and any of his troops a full round action. Each of the affected allies takes this extra full-round action immediately, acting in their current initiative order. This extra action does not affect the allies' initiative count; the round continues normally after the marshal's turn is over. Regardless of how many daily uses of grant move action the marshal possesses, he may use this ability only once per day.
So, what were you expecting from the capstone? If you weren't crying foul up until now, then you will with this ability.
Yes, you heard right; you get an entire full round worth of actions, something that usually applies to stuff like Time Stop. However, while a Wizard gets a full round worth of actions only to himself, the Marshal AND HIS ALLIES gain an impressive boost to their actions. What's worse than that?
Yes. Immediate action. Give the collective finger to Time Stop when the Marshal, pretty much unsurprised by your move, all of a sudden commands ALL OF HIS ALLIES to stop you at once. It's your trump card; use it well.
So, is this broken? It's altering action economy, for sure: you're forcing your entire allies' actions before the enemy makes even a single move, so it redefines the concept of blitzkrieg and pre-emptive attack. It's an immediate action, thus as long as the Marshal has the first move or succeeds on his surprise round (or has a way to react before the enemies move), the trump card is open.
So...how to balance this? Well, it requires two uses of your grant move action ability, and it can only be used once per day. Usually, "once per day" abilities are weak, but this is just fitting. Heck, I could make it "once per week" and it might be fair enough, because this is the equivalent of a 9th level spell (not really, but pretty close).
However, the biggest perk is that it's a group buff. The power of this ability, much like grant move action and grant standard action, depends exclusively from the group composition. So: if the Marshal makes the right move, the party could obliterate the enemy before they even move; however, if the party is not up to the task, then such an advantage is ruined.
I bet you were forgetting about me, right? Well, maybe not. Or...never mind. I found I really wanted to work with such a maligned class such as the Marshal, so...
DID I ORDER YOU TO SPEAK, YA' LARD-FILLED STALE-BREWER!! DROP DOWN AND GIMME 500!! ON THE DOUBLE!!
Gah! The drill sergeant!!
THAT'S RIGHT, YA BIG BALL O'...
I'll do the talkin' here, gotcha?
Here, we don't train weaklings; here, we build men that build more men! Take a look at this guy!
http://oishiianime.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Bright-Noa-Slap-1.jpg
Now, ya might be wonderin'; what in a dirty marsupial's nether-regions does someone like that example of fine leadership has to deal with this exercise?
NOTHIN', AN' EVERYTHIN' AT THE SAME TIME, FOLKS!
Ya see, this is a fine example of a man that builds men. Men for the future; men that lead and create more men that lead. Men that would be fit to lead fine specimens of soldiers like these fellas over here.
http://www.bamkapow.com/ul/4478-universal-soldier-1992-07-g.jpg
Ah, but ya might be askin'; what these fellas have ta do with that theater o' war called Dungeons & Dragons, right?
NOTHIN'! AN' STOP GETTIN' AHEAD O' ME, OR YA'LL BE RUNNIN' 500 MILES NEXT TIME!
Perhaps this'll seem a bit more familiar, yah?
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orcvsdwarf.jpg
There! Ya happy?
Ah, but in this theater o' war, we get pansies that call themselves "Marshals"! Ain't them fancy-pansy! They get some things called "auras", and think that standing behind and doing nothin' will earn them honor, recognition, medals, MANLINESS!
THE FOOLS!! THIS IS WHAT THAT KIND O' THINKING'LL GET THEM!!
http://wallpaperswide.com/thumbs/cemetery_art-t2.jpg
Fancy-schmancy, eh? I feel it for those poor soldiers who got led by a good-fer-nuthin'...
So we, at High-Fantasy Boot Camp, decided to beef up the training of them "Marshals". Where there were people stayin' behind, now we got people barking orders, standing forefront, takin' some punishment and dealin' it, and makin' MEN outta wimps! This here trainin' will make them marshals forge MEN outta wimps, and AMAZONS outta women (wha', ya thought I was being one o' them sexist fools? Equal opportunity, folks!); SLAYERS outta warriors and MACHINES O' DESTRUCTION outta robe-and-wizard-hat guys. Make ASSASSINS outta scouts; LEGENDS outta them bards, and FOUL SMELLIN' POOLS O' GOO outta the opposition!
Soldier! Keep explainin' the trainin' montage! Everyone else, at ease! Gods, we be gonna make HEROES worthy o' them war gods!
Eh...hehe. You heard the instructor. Without further ado, and in honor to those servin' men who honor their countries with their service, I introduce:
MARSHAL
http://www.eyeofthevortexonline.com/Images/greategress/warlord.jpg
"Onward, braves! The battle is on our hands, to do as we please! Spare them or raze them, and let the gods judge them!" - Artyrxia ur Arytmaekrix tibur Gra'ashka the Warmonger, dragonborn (formerly orc) commander of the 18th Mixed Forces Regiment of the Army of Unity, directing her troops
MAKING A MARSHAL (or, what has or hasn't changed from the original):
Abilities: The unique idea behind the Marshal is that abilities should be no impediment to his performance in the battlefield. Some commanders lead by pure strength, others by intellect, and other by force of personality. Thus, pigeonholing them into a single ability score would be dangerous. Most marshals require a good Constitution for a large amount of hit points, and generally have two or three good scores.
Races: Marshals exist everywhere, but generally upon the civilized races. Any character, whether it's the versatile human, the hardy dwarf, the swift elf or even smaller races such as halflings and gnomes can become marshals, using their unique talents to assist their allies. Amongst the savage races, most warlords hold abilities of similar regard to marshals, but hobgoblins excel on the task of leadership, and thus most hobgoblins are marshals. A marshal may be rare in a non-civilized setting, but a former war leader might train such races in the fine art of tactics.
Alignment: Accustomed to following and giving orders, most Marshals are Lawful in alignment, but even the Chaotic follow others; usually, those whom are Lawful have high Intelligence scores, while Chaotic Marshals have great deal of Strength, and both alignments share equal amount of charismatic Marshals. A Marshal may be Good or Evil as well; in fact, Marshals of every alignment exist, because war transcends alignments. However, that doesn't mean they may be on equal numbers, or that their tactics will be similar.
Starting Gold: As paladin
Starting Age: As paladin
Class Skills: The marshal’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Big list of skills, right? All are meritory: marshals are social warriors in many ways, so they have full control of social abilities such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Intimidate. As well, a good soldier does well to observe and listen well, so the ability to have good Listen, Search, Spot and even Survival are crucial; to prevent being fooled, Sense Motive is also a strong skill to have. Marshals also have a great deal of knowledge, specifically about the structure of castles, history of wars, maps and the rulers of most countries, so they have unusual mixes of Knowledge skills. And, as most warriors, they have physical skills, such as riding, climbing, jumping and swimming.
This means the Marshal is a very complex character, not entirely a skill monkey but having enough abilities that a warrior might benefit from. Thus, a 4+Int is reasonable enough, and while strong or charismatic leaders might not do much with so many skills, intelligent leaders do and will take advantage of their huge list.
Hit Die: d10
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Minor Aura
Major Aura
Greater Aura
1st
+1
+2
+0
+2
Aura (minor and major), rally (1d6, move action)
2
1
0
2nd
+2
+3
+0
+3
Fearless, grant move action 1/day
2
1
0
3rd
+3
+3
+1
+3
Bonus feat, commanding talent (attack rolls)
2
1
0
4th
+4
+4
+1
+4
Rally (1d6, +1 AC, fear effects)
3
1
0
5th
+5
+4
+1
+4
Aura (greater), commander’s uncanny dodge, grant move action 2/day
3
2
1
6th
+6/+1
+5
+2
+5
Bonus feat, commanding talent (score bonus to Armor Class)
3
2
1
7th
+7/+2
+5
+2
+5
Rally (2d6, +1 AC, demoralize)
4
2
1
8th
+8/+3
+6
+2
+6
Commander’s improved uncanny dodge, grant move action 3/day
4
2
1
9th
+9/+4
+6
+3
+6
Bonus feat, commanding talent (add to damage rolls)
4
3
1
10th
+10/+5
+7
+3
+7
Grant standard action, rally (2d6, +2 AC, swift action)
5
3
2
11th
+11/+6/+1
+7
+3
+7
Commander skill mastery, grant move action 4/day
5
3
2
12th
+12/+7/+2
+8
+4
+8
Bonus feat, commanding talent (saving throws)
5
3
2
13th
+13/+8/+3
+8
+4
+8
Rally (3d6, +2, saving throw)
6
4
2
14th
+14/+9/+4
+9
+4
+9
Command the commander
6
4
2
15th
+15/+10/+5
+9
+4
+9
Bonus feat, grant move action 5/day
6
4
3
16th
+16/+11/+6/+1
+10
+5
+10
Rally (3d6, +3, movement boost)
7
4
3
17th
+17/+12/+7/+2
+10
+5
+10
Grant move action 6/day
7
5
3
18th
+18/+13/+8/+3
+11
+5
+11
Bonus feat, commanding talent (addition)
7
5
3
19th
+19/+14/+9/+4
+11
+6
+11
Rally (4d6, +3, extra attack)
8
5
3
20th
+20/+15/+10/+5
+12
+6
+12
Grant move action 7/day, grant full round action
8
6
4
As you might have noticed, this Marshal really went forward with his training.
Increased Hit Dice, full BAB, good Fortitude and Will saves...sounds like a recipe for disaster, no? That goes without mentioning the 4+Int skill points. Sadly, that's not the case: as you know very well, having all of that pretty good doesn't make you broken by any means; however, I feel these are all qualities of a leader that fights with his men, which is something that I felt the Marshal lacked. As the leader of a unit, the Marshal could have been great, but as a warrior himself, he lacked a lot.
Good BAB means he'll work much better as a frontline warrior, fighting almost with equal ability as the Fighter, Warblade, Crusader and other melee characters, and the d10 Hit Dice makes him a strong frontliner without reaching the upwards of a true tank (d12, for example). Good Fort showcases his physical discipline, as a leader usually has equal or more training than his soldiers, and good Will represents strength of mind even upon hardships; a commander that's easily swayed definitely cannot work as a leader. So, the Marshal has already nice tricks up his sleeve.
But, you're seeing even more. For example: the Marshal now has three tiers of auras, meaning he has multiplied his potential by more than 33%. Furthermore, if you're savvy enough, you might have seen a peculiar ability called Rally; if the XdX and the +X scares you, it should. More will come later.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the marshal.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Marshals are proficient with all simple and martial weapons (plus one exotic weapon of their choice), with all kinds of armor (heavy, medium and light), and with all shields.
So far, so good...wait, proficiency with one exotic weapon AND tower shields? Are you crazy?
Well...no. A Marshal, at heart, is a warrior and trained as well as another warrior. In skirmishes, a Marshal shouldn't suck because he devoted some time to read upon tomes and learn the various ways to organize an army; thus, he should have at least the same amount of training as the basic Fighter. Fighters get to use Tower Shields and their huge amount of feats make them capable of taking one exotic weapon or two if they so desire, so it's fair play. Thus, if a Marshal decides, he can fight with one massive fullblade, or a bastard sword and tower shield, or whatever suits his fancy. He's trained for it, and he has gone far and beyond the classic warrior.
Auras (Ex): The marshal exerts an effect on allies in his vicinity. He can learn to produce different effects, or auras, over the course of his career. The marshal may project one minor aura, one major aura and, starting at 5th level, one greater aura at a time.
Projecting an aura is a swift action. The aura remains in effect until the marshal uses a free action to dismiss it or activates another aura of the same kind (major or minor). A marshal can have an aura active continually; thus, an aura can be in effect at the start of a combat encounter even before the marshal takes his first turn.
Activating an aura involves haranguing, ordering, directing, encouraging, cajoling, or calming allies. A marshal sizes up the enemy, allies, and the terrain, then gives allies the direction that they can use to do their best.
Unless otherwise noted, a marshal's aura affects all allies within 60 feet (including himself) who can hear the marshal. An ally must have an Intelligence score of 3 or higher and be able to understand the marshal's language to gain the bonus. A marshal's aura is dismissed if he is dazed, unconscious, stunned, paralyzed, or otherwise unable to be heard or understood by his allies.
A marshal begins play knowing one minor and major aura of his choice. As his marshal level increases, he gains access to new auras, as indicated on the table above.
All bonuses granted by a marshal's auras are either morale or circumstance bonuses that do not stack with each other.
The key ability of the Marshal is to exert auras of influence, which are meant to support allies. In that sense, the Marshal's position in combat is defined; he's a leader and a warrior, so he'll be on the forefront but providing morale support and orders so that his allies work at maximum efficiency. As you can see, the Marshal can have up to three different kinds of auras active at one time, representing small orders, more elaborate directions, and the necessary orders to follow a full-blown strategy; that would be the representation of each aura.
Now, you might have noticed the Marshal now knows both minor AND major auras. The auras have been revamped a bit; you won't get ahold of the fun stuff until level 5, but you'll have a strong pair of abilities to make your first few levels a blast. The auras will be introduced later on.
Rally (Ex): At 1st level, a marshal pushes his troops to impressive efforts. Be it by fooling his troops that victory is underway, inspiring his troops with bolstering words, seizing the advantage through careful tactics, or even promising a fate worse than death, his troops hit harder, survive longer, and even shake off harmful effects through sheer force of will.
As a full-round action, a marshal may whip a rally that stirs the heart of the most desperate trooper. Each ally within range that can hear the marshal adds an extra 1d6 points of damage in any successful melee or ranged attack dealt during the round. This benefit lasts for as long as the Marshal concentrates and one round thereafter. At 8th level, and every six levels afterwards, the amount of extra damage dealt increases by 1d6. Unlike similar abilities, creatures immune to critical hits or sneak attacks are not immune to this damage. A marshal may not use this ability if under any fear effect (although the marshal is immune to fear effects, the marshal may not use this ability if for some reason this immunity was bypassed) or demoralized, and allies that suffer any fear effect do not gain the benefit of this ability.
At 4th level, a marshal grants himself and all allies that hear the rally a +1 competence bonus to Armor Class. This bonus increases by 1 for every six class levels, and lasts for as long as the marshal rallies. Furthermore, any ally that hears the marshal and currently suffers a fear effect may make a new saving throw to remove said effect. An ally can attempt a new saving throw every round in which it suffers a fear effect and hears the marshal rally, but can only attempt a new saving throw once per round.
At 7th level, a marshal can demoralize an enemy with his rally. He may use the demoralize ability (see the Intimidate skill) as a free action, but only when he begins the rally (as part of the full round action to activate it) or by ending the rally as an immediate action. Unlike the normal demoralize ability, the marshal may affect all enemies that can hear his rally, and the effects of demoralization lasts for as long as the marshal rallies (if he uses it as part of the full round action to activate the ability) or for a number of rounds equal to his Intelligence or Charisma modifier (if he uses it as an immediate action to end the rally).
At 10th level, a marshal may keep the rally as a swift action instead of a move action.
At 13th level, any ally that hears the marshal and suffers any of the following effects may attempt a saving throw to remove the condition: confused, dazed, entangled, exhausted, fascinated, fatigued, feebleminded, nauseated, paralyzed, sickened, slowed, or stunned. An ally can attempt a new saving throw every round in which it suffers any of the above effects and hears the marshal rally, but can only attempt a new saving throw once per round.
At 16th level, a marshal increases the speed of his troops. All allies that can hear a marshal rally gain a +10 bonus to all of their speeds.
At 19th level, any ally that hears the marshal rally may make an extra melee or ranged attack at its highest attack bonus as part of a full attack. The extra attack gained by means of this ability stacks with other forms of extra attacks gained (such as that from the haste spell, or the speed weapon enhancement) even if the ability says otherwise.
A rally is an extraordinary, fear (in the case of the demoralize ability), language-dependent, mind-affecting ability.
Alright, by now most people must be angry like heck. Let me clear this a bit.
YES, IT IS BASED FROM SKIRMISH; ISN'T IT OBVIOUS? However, I worked it so that the ability progressed every three levels, starting from level 2.
Now, look at what it grants. It's an ability that can be used at-will, and it will be undoubtedly very powerful. The main abilities it grant is basically more damage and better AC to pretty much every single ally in range. As the ability progresses, you get new saving throws against most conditions, greater speed, and eventually more attacks so as long as the marshal rallies. Certainly, this seems very, very powerful.
That's intentional. I mean, have you seen what other classes give? A plain Crusader can do things that are close, if not better, than what you can do with this ability (and Warblades as well)! Clerics can buff entire armies in seconds! If you're gonna be a buffer, you need something to build upon, no? Now, you might come with "why need a Bard when the Marshal overpowers his buffs?" Certainly not; he can coexist with the Bard, and both make the typical commoner look like Superman or something. However, the Bard has spells, and certain abilities that the Marshal doesn't have. The Marshal needs something to remain in play, and the best thing is granting them an ability that reinforces them and just about everybody in range.
Now, you might have recalled the drill sergeant mentioned that leaders should fight with their men. With Rally, being limited to one action hurts, but it's the price to maintain such a powerful ability active. 11th level, where you're basically defining yourself as a Marshal, gets you the ability to keep your rally as a swift action, returning a great deal of actions but constantly consuming a very valuable action. This makes the use of a rally a double-edged weapon up until half your career, but if you're with a warrior or two, the warrior will be more than thankful that you're supporting darn near everybody.
Again, complaints or doubts, feel free to post them. Rally is meant to be a very powerful party ability, one super-buff to be used when necessary but that can define the course of a battle. You'll still be supporting through the occasional standard action, your auras and (eventually) full actions, but bear in mind that you'll still have to sacrifice something to get such benefits.
UPDATE: Owing to the ability shuffling, the marshal gets the Rally ability at 1st level, and upgrades as usual. That means the Marshal can start delivering bonuses right from the get-go, and later involve in combat.
Fearless (Ex): At 2nd level, a marshal is immune to fear, magical or otherwise.
Let's face it; a good leader laughs in the face of fear. If the leader runs away, imagine what would happen to his army?
Grant Move Action (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a marshal can direct and motivate his allies to act immediately. Once per day, as a standard action, he may grant an extra move action to any or all of his allies within 30 feet (but not to himself). Each of the affected allies takes this extra move action immediately, acting in their current initiative order. This extra action does not affect the allies' initiative count; the round continues normally after the marshal's turn is over. (This may mean, for example, that an ally whose initiative count immediately follows the marshal's may get an extra move action from the marshal, followed directly by a full round worth of actions on the ally's turn.)
At 5th level, and every three class level afterwards, a marshal gains the ability to grant an extra move action to his allies one more time per day.
A character can take only one extra move action per round. (In other words, two marshals can't use this ability on the same ally in the same round.) If an ally chooses not to take the extra move action, it is lost.
A legacy ability, and one that's pretty useful. A few times per day, you can command your troops (or your allies) to make a single move check, all at the same time. Since you can ready actions to use grant move action on emergencies, you gain such traditional tactics like disperse, pursue and so forth. If it's not broken, why fix it?
Wait, you mention you see other "grant X action" abilities? Sure, it's not broken, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved, no?
UPDATE: Moved the ability to 2nd level, and increased the number of uses. Marshals now grant move actions seven times per day!
Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and every three levels after that, a marshal gains a bonus feat in addition to those he obtains by means of improving levels. These bonus feats must be drawn from the feats noted as fighter bonus feats, or from the list of feats below. A marshal must still meet the prerequisites for a bonus feat, as usual. For purposes of fighter level prerequisites, a marshal is considered to have a fighter level equal to his marshal level -2.
Marshal Bonus Feats: Alertness, Deceitful, Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Investigator, Iron Will, Leadership*, Negotiator, Persuasive, Run, Self-Sufficient, Skill Focus (any), Toughness
*: Subject to DM’s approval. A DM is not recommended to provide Leadership to a PC unless the group is composed of a few people, or if the DM is comfortable with allowing the marshal player character a suitable cohort. NPC marshals may not take Leadership by means of this bonus feat, nor cohorts with marshal levels or hirelings. A marshal is automatically granted the bonus of “great renown” to his Leadership score.
Yes, Leadership. It makes mechanical sense, but you don't have to force it to your DM. In fact, the whole purpose of the note is alerting the DM that it's not necessary to grant Leadership if the player asks for it, and that he should be using his common sense. However, if you're in a war campaign, Leadership may be indeed a powerful tool, and with Rally and your auras, probably far too powerful (and thus probably banned).
Having said that: the bonus feats provided are a mix between fighter bonus feats (from "basic training") and feats meant to support his social and leadership qualities. Some of the provided feats are not the best, but you still have the large amount of Fighter bonus feats to your disposal, making the feat list entirely salvageable. The Marshal gets less bonus feats than the Fighter (and for very good reasons), but still enough to remain viable as a combatant.
Commanding Talent (Ex): A marshal is a skilled leader, blessed with incredible knowledge of the battlefield and the power to inspire his troops into victory. A marshal can be one of many: a warrior that leads by strength, an undefeatable warrior that fights in the forefront and uses his resistance to pain as a push, a warrior with knowledge of several tactics, or a warrior that inspires people to fight to their last drop of blood. This talent reflects in one of many ways, enhancing the marshal’s combat capabilities outside of the usual parameters that measure a warrior. The marshal must make the choice at the moment it gains the ability, and once the choice is made (whether to replace the ability score or neglect it), it cannot be replaced.
At 3rd level, a marshal may use the largest between his Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma modifier when making an attack with a melee or ranged weapon. If an aura or ability grants a bonus to the character’s Intelligence or Charisma-based checks (such as that from the marshal himself, or from items such as a circlet of persuasion), the bonus does not apply in this case; however, direct bonuses to Intelligence or Charisma (such as that from the eagle’s splendor spell or the headband of intellect) do apply.
At 6th level, a marshal may use the largest between his Dexterity and his Constitution or Intelligence modifiers to his Armor Class. In case the marshal’s Constitution or Intelligence score is the largest (and thus, replaces Dexterity for purposes of his Armor Class bonus), treat the score as if it were a Dexterity bonus to Armor Class for other purposes (such as whether it applies when flat-footed, held, paralyzed or otherwise denied). If an aura or ability grants a bonus to the character’s Constitution or Intelligence-based checks (such as that from the marshal himself, or from items), the bonus does not apply in this case; however, direct bonuses to Constitution (such as that from the bear’s endurance spell or the amulet of health) do apply.
At 9th level, a marshal may add the largest between his Strength modifier and his Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma modifiers to the damage dealt with all attacks. Unlike other similar abilities (until 18th level), the marshal adds the damage to the roll, instead of replacing the damage. If an aura or ability grants a bonus to the character's Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma modifiers (such as that from the marshal himself, or from items), the bonus does not apply in this case; however, direct bonuses to Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma do apply.
At 12th level, a marshal may replace the scores he uses for his saving throw bonus. A marshal may add the largest between his Strength and his Constitution scores for purposes of Fortitude saving throws, the largest between his Dexterity and Intelligence bonuses for purposes of Reflex saving throws, and the largest between his Wisdom and his Charisma scores for purposes of Will saving throws. As above, if an aura or ability grants a bonus to the indicated score’s checks, the bonus does not apply for purposes of this ability; however, direct bonuses to the indicated scores do apply.
At 18th level, a marshal may re-add the ability score replaced in any of the above-mentioned abilities, or add an ability score on those abilities whose scores were not replaced. Thus, a marshal may add his Strength (or Dexterity if using a ranged weapon or Weapon Finesse) and either his Intelligence or Charisma modifier to attack rolls and damage rolls, his Constitution and Dexterity modifiers to Armor Class, Strength and Constitution for Fortitude, Dexterity and Intelligence for Reflex saves, and Wisdom and Charisma for Will saves. In the case of adding both Constitution (or Intelligence) and Dexterity to Armor Class, the penalty on Dexterity imposed by armor only applies to the Dexterity modifier (not to the Constitution or Intelligence modifiers, which receive the entire benefit). In the case of multiple ability scores, the marshal must choose the ability score chosen on earlier levels (in case of replacement) or choose one of the scores (in case of no replacement); once made, the choice is permanent.
This is probably something I'll get a lot of heat for, but it's important.
As you might have noticed, I've been inclining to make builds a bit less unidimensional; for example, making Rangers less "archers" or "skirmishers" and making them bounty hunters or so forth. With the Marshal, I found that there were three types of leaders, each having their own kind of leadership: the strong, the smart, and the pretty. The strong lead by force, and people follow him because they acknowledge their strength, fear them, or are forced by their superior might to fight; the smart leaders lead by tactics, and their attacks usually land where there's more damage; the "pretty" or charismatic leaders lead by example and morale, and they can do surprising things on their own. To prevent a bit of MAD, I decided that something so peculiar such as ability scores shouldn't prevent this type of Marshals from existing, such as someone who's strong suddenly having to develop Charisma just because. Thus, the Marshal gains the unique ability to replace their best ability score (and thus reduce Strength dependence) for their attack rolls and damage rolls.
The rest of the abilities work on a similar way. We've seen how Wisdom and Constitution may replace Dexterity to add to AC; while Wisdom is something mostly esoterical, Constitution is something most warriors might have, specifically warriors that wield heavy armor. Thus, you might choose to ignore Dexterity and go straight to full Con. As well, I took a page from 4th Edition and worked with the pairs of abilities that best work with each saving throw.
The last ability is a bit peculiar. If you've gone all levels in Marshal to the point that taking a Prestige Class is impractical, the chassis of the class rewards you by allowing you to stack two ability scores for most of your numbers. So, you can have Strength and Intelligence, or Strength and Charisma for your attack and damage rolls, Dexterity and Constitution for AC, and two ability scores per saving throw. This might seem a bit too far, but consider the following: by level 16, a character who takes full levels in one class and has no magic or similar abilities to state for himself NEEDS some help. So, they get it through class abilities that grant a meaningful increase to most of your required stats.
Now, if there's a doubt or a question, or even disgust towards the ability, drop your concerns through responses. I suspect the first level will be supremely dip-tastic, but it's very, very hard to prevent that; thus, while something such as bonuses to attack or damage rolls (plus all the nice perks) are just too good for 1st level, the full benefits won't appear unless you take even more levels in the same class. Though, I'm still open for ideas.
UPDATE: As per Seerow's suggestion, attack and damage rolls were split, and the ability was rolled back various levels (starting at 3rd level). That way, the Marshal will still depend on basic scores during early levels, but at latter levels it becomes a powerhouse. It also cuts a bit on dipping for goodies.
Commander’s Uncanny Dodge (Ex): A marshal senses the urgency of his scouts, and gains preternatural awareness of his surroundings. Not only is he rarely, if ever, caught unaware; his troops are also never caught unaware, although only those closest to him.
At 5th level, a marshal and all allies within 60 feet retain their Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if they are caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, the marshal or any of his allies still lose their Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If the marshal is immobilized (held or paralyzed), this ability temporarily ceases functioning for all allies.
If a marshal already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he gains improved uncanny dodge for himself. His allies are treated as if having uncanny dodge, unless the marshal and the ally both have uncanny dodge (in which case both the marshal and the ally are treated as if having improved uncanny dodge).
For purposes of qualification, if a marshal cannot affect an ally with his aura (even if it does not have any of his auras active), the ally does not gain the benefit of the marshal’s commander’s uncanny dodge.
Uncanny Dodge? On all allies?
Yep. One of the key aspects of a leader is pre-empting surprises. If he catches a signal that things are going horribly wrong, he'll issue a swift yet meaningful command to his troops (or allies) to remain vigilant, and thus, entire ambushes may be prevented. Uncanny Dodge prevents such ambushes or dirty tricks, so a Marshal gains the simplest form of evading ambushes or dirty tricks and provides it to his allies as well.
Later you get Improved Uncanny Dodge, but for the time being: if you have Uncanny Dodge and gain Commander's Uncanny Dodge, you gain Improved Uncanny Dodge but your allies don't. If your ally has Uncanny Dodge but you don't, then you (and the rest of your allies) keep Uncanny Dodge but your ally with UD gets the improved version. More explanation when we reach there.
UPDATE: Rolled back a level, so that you take advantage of it early on.
Commander’s Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level, a marshal leads the course of battle by means of keen and precise leadership. Neither the marshal nor any of his allies within 60 feet may be flanked. This defense denies the rogue the ability to sneak attack the marshal or any of his allies by means of flanking, unless the rogue has four more levels than the marshal (if the marshal has four levels less than the rogue but any of his allies has more levels than the marshal, they may still be flanked; see below for the exception).
If the marshal already has uncanny dodge from a second class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character. If the marshal and an ally both have improved uncanny dodge, all allies use the highest between the marshal’s and the ally’s level in order to determine whether an enemy rogue may flank.
For purposes of qualification, if a marshal cannot affect an ally with his aura (even if it does not have any of his auras active), the ally does not gain the benefit of the marshal’s commander’s uncanny dodge.
Alright, so...Improved Uncanny Dodge. Works just like the classic one, except you and your allies have a mystical link that makes them take advantage of the best between their defenses, hence allowing the Marshal to protect his allies from sneak attack and flanking just by following the lead of the most skilled one. If he's the most skilled of them all, then everybody follows his lead.
UPDATE: Rolled the ability a few levels earlier.
Grant Standard Action (Ex): At 10th level, a marshal may grant an ally a standard action instead of a move action when using his grant move action ability.
A character may take only one extra move and one extra standard action per round. If a character already has gained an extra move or standard action (by means of another marshal’s grant move action or grant standard action, a wizard’s celerity line of spells, or a White Raven martial adept’s maneuvers), it may not take another move action.
Now, you're probably gonna fight with me at this one. A standard action?
Yep, and that should make Marshals gain a very solid boost as action economy breakers. That allows an ally to make a single attack, cast a spell, initiate a maneuver, move, or do anything a standard action would do (except probably ready an action).
The "non-stacking" rule, though, applies. Say two Marshals use grant action abilities. If they grant each a move and a standard action, then both stack. If both Marshals grant either move actions or standard actions in the same round, then the benefit of one will be lost. That also prevents taking advantage of the Celerity line of spells, so everybody gains an equal degree of enhancement to action economy, without one taking much more advantages than the other.
I think I have to clear the concept of "round" for this maneuver, since it might be a bit confusing. For purposes of this maneuver, "round" implies the amount of time between the beginning of the user's current turn to the beginning of the user's next turn. Thus, if someone at initiative count 10 used Grant Move Action, you have to wait until initiative count 10 of the next round (and thus everybody gets to use their turn) to use such abilities once again.
Now, there's one clear exception to the rule, and that's truly an unfortunate one: White Raven Tactics. Since WRT essentially alters your initiative count, the action manipulation stacks. This might sound like a bit of trouble, but do recall that grant move action uses are limited, and you're drawing from the same pool. Having said that, it's probably a truly exploitable trick, but martial characters need some love.
UPDATE: Marshals gain this ability one level earlier. Hooray!
Commander’s Skill Mastery (Ex): At 11th level, a marshal is so sure of his leadership skills that he can use them even in the most heated of battles. A marshal may take 10 with any Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Gather Information or Sense Motive check even if stress and distractions prevent him.
Remember when the old Marshal had Skill Focus: Diplomacy? So underrated, right? Well, we (that is me, but if you're fine with kayfabe then it's the drill sergeant and me) decided to give that old ability a good, serious boost, and thus it became skill mastery related to social abilities. A leader should always be sure of himself and his skills, so he gets a boost in confidence enough to utter the most mundane of lies (or arguments) and still win against someone inexperienced, even in the midst of battle.
UPDATE: Ability rolled forward a few levels. It appears right at the moment a rogue can take the Skill Mastery ability, so it's not much of a problem.
Command the Commander (Ex): At 14th level, a marshal has gained great experience in leadership, and learns whenever a fellow (or enemy) commander seeks to wrest control from it. Thus, a marshal gains the unusual ability to wrest control from any attempt to override his leadership, even by magical means. This ability, of course, requires the marshal to be aware of the situation; if caught unaware, he may be taken aback.
If a marshal or an ally within 60 feet are affected by a mind-affecting spell or effect and fail their saving throws, they can attempt them again 1 round later at the same DC. The marshal and each of his allies get only this one extra chance to succeed on his saving throw (unless the ally has slippery mind, in which case it may use the ability whenever both apply).
If the marshal (and only the marshal) succeeds on any of the saving throws against a mind-affecting spell or ability, the marshal may force the user to roll a saving throw, with the same DC (except the marshal uses his own Intelligence or Charisma score, whichever is higher, instead of the user’s ability score). If the user fails the saving throw, the marshal wrests control of the ability and the user is affected for the remainder of the round. If the spell or ability cannot affect the caster, the secondary benefit of this ability has no effect. A marshal that gains the benefit of mind blank may not use this spell unless it voluntarily lowers his resistance, and a caster or user benefiting from mind blank or similar immunities does not gain the benefit of this immunity if the spell or ability’s control is wrested.
For example, a marshal with 22 Int that succeeds on a Will saving throw against the dominate monster spell may force the caster to roll a saving throw against the same effect (assuming the caster had 18 Charisma, the DC of the effect would be 2 points higher because the marshal’s Intelligence is 4 points higher). If the caster fails his Will saving throw, it is dominated instead as if the marshal had cast the spell himself, for the same amount of time the marshal would have been dominated.
More nice stuff for martial characters!
This is a revamp of Slippery Mind, in which you gain the ability to shrug off mind-affecting effects running upon you pretty much instantly, just like Slippery Mind. However, in the case of the Marshal, the effect inverts in such a brutal way, people will be scared to use spell-like abilities and might make Marshals a bit more reckless. With their insanely high Will saves, you might figure they'll resist pretty well.
So, what happens if you're affected by a mind-affecting spell or effect? It basically bounces off the Marshal and back to the enemy. This only works on offensive mind-affecting abilities (not Inspire Courage and so on). If the Will save is successful, the Marshal may then attempt to reflect the spell or effect back, potentially crippling the user because the Marshal imposes his own brand of leadership into the effect.
Of course, this ability has its drawbacks, so an Enchanter with Mind Blank may be safe from the effect, but if the enemy is too careless, it may get a terrible surprise.
UPDATE: Ability rolled forward a few levels. Since it is a pretty strong ability, this should cause no real concern.
Grant Full-Round Action (Ex): At 20th level, a marshal’s command allows his allies to act even after they have already exhausted his actions. Time neither stops nor slows; rather, the marshal has pushed his troops in such a scale that they move at extraordinary speed. By expending two daily uses of his grant move action ability as an immediate action, a marshal may provide himself and any of his troops a full round action. Each of the affected allies takes this extra full-round action immediately, acting in their current initiative order. This extra action does not affect the allies' initiative count; the round continues normally after the marshal's turn is over. Regardless of how many daily uses of grant move action the marshal possesses, he may use this ability only once per day.
So, what were you expecting from the capstone? If you weren't crying foul up until now, then you will with this ability.
Yes, you heard right; you get an entire full round worth of actions, something that usually applies to stuff like Time Stop. However, while a Wizard gets a full round worth of actions only to himself, the Marshal AND HIS ALLIES gain an impressive boost to their actions. What's worse than that?
Yes. Immediate action. Give the collective finger to Time Stop when the Marshal, pretty much unsurprised by your move, all of a sudden commands ALL OF HIS ALLIES to stop you at once. It's your trump card; use it well.
So, is this broken? It's altering action economy, for sure: you're forcing your entire allies' actions before the enemy makes even a single move, so it redefines the concept of blitzkrieg and pre-emptive attack. It's an immediate action, thus as long as the Marshal has the first move or succeeds on his surprise round (or has a way to react before the enemies move), the trump card is open.
So...how to balance this? Well, it requires two uses of your grant move action ability, and it can only be used once per day. Usually, "once per day" abilities are weak, but this is just fitting. Heck, I could make it "once per week" and it might be fair enough, because this is the equivalent of a 9th level spell (not really, but pretty close).
However, the biggest perk is that it's a group buff. The power of this ability, much like grant move action and grant standard action, depends exclusively from the group composition. So: if the Marshal makes the right move, the party could obliterate the enemy before they even move; however, if the party is not up to the task, then such an advantage is ruined.