PDA

View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Time Knight [A Base class w/No Archetypes]



Ziegander
2017-05-01, 02:53 PM
HIT POINTS
Hit Dice: d10s
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier at each level after 1st.

PROFICIENCIES
Armor: Light, medium, heavy, and shields
Weapons: Simple and martial
Tools: None

Saving Throws: Intelligence and Wisdom
Skills: History and any other two of your choice

EQUIPMENT
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

(a) Any two martial weapons, or (b) one martial weapon and a shield.
(a) Studded Leather, (b) a Chain Shirt, (c) Scale Mail, or (d) Chain Mail.
(a) a Light Crossbow with 20 bolts, (b) a bandoleer with 10 Daggers, or (c) a quiver with 5 Spears.
A set of traveler's clothes and any adventurer's kit.

The Time Knight


Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features


1st
+2
Alarm, Armored in Time, True Strike


2nd
+2
Quick on Your Feet, Ready for Anything


3rd
+2
Island in Time, Time Slice


4th
+2
Ability Score Improvement


5th
+3
Extra Attack, True Strike (1 hour)


6th
+3
Time Mage


7th
+3
Improved Time Slice


8th
+3
Ability Score Improvement


9th
+4
Armored in Time (2)


10th
+4
Contingencies


11th
+4
Quick Hit


12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement


13th
+5
Time Mage (2)


14th
+5
Always Ready


15th
+5
Superior Time Slice


16th
+5
Ability Score Improvement


17th
+6
Armored in Time (3)


18th
+6
Splitting Seconds


19th
+6
Ability Score Improvement


20th
+6
Insynchronimity, Time Mage (3)



The Saving Throw DC for a Time Knight's class features is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.

Alarm
You may cast the Alarm spell as a ritual.

Armored in Time
At the start of any combat, even if you have been surprised or haven't yet acted, you are automatically protected as if by the Sanctuary spell for a number of rounds as determined by your level. This effect protects you for the first round (or until the end of the surprise round) of combat at 1st level, and then for two rounds of combat at 9th level, and for three rounds of combat at 17th level.

This effect does not end even if you make an attack or cast a spell that affects an enemy creature, although if you do any creatures attacked or affected by you ignore this effect.

True Strike
You may cast the True Strike spell as a cantrip. You may concentrate on this spell for up to 1 minute. Starting at 5th level you may concentrate on this spell for up to 1 hour.

Quick on Your Feet
Starting at 2nd level you add your Proficiency bonus to Initiative checks and may Dash or Disengage as a bonus action on your turn.

Ready for Anything
Also at 2nd level, if you use the Ready action on your turn you may take any number of reactions before the start of your next turn. This feature does not allow you to take your readied action more than once.

Island in Time
Starting at 3rd level, anytime you would fail a Dexterity saving throw you may use your Reaction to succeed instead. If you do, you may not take an Action on your next turn.

Time Slice
Also at 3rd level, once per turn when you hit with a melee attack you may choose to deal no damage. If you do, the struck creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be unable to take an Action on its next turn.

Time Mage
At 6th level you may cast the spells Haste, Hold Person, and Slow a combined total number of times each day equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Starting at 13th level you may use this feature to cast the spells Hold Monster and Modify Memory.

Starting at 20th level you may use this feature to cast the Time Stop spell.

Improved Time Slice
Starting at 7th level, you deal damage as normal when you choose to use your Time Slice feature, and whenever a creature fails its saving throw against your Time Slice feature it moves at half speed on its next turn.

Contingencies
Starting at 10th level, when you take the Ready action you may use your reaction to act anytime before your next short or long rest. You may have a number of actions Ready up to your Intelligence bonus (minimum 1).

Quick Hit
Starting at 11th level you may make one weapon attack on your turn as a bonus action.

Always Ready
Starting at 14th level you may take the Ready action as a bonus action on your turn.

Superior Time Slice
Starting at 15th level, you are no longer limited to once per turn when choosing to use your Time Slice feature, and whenever a creature fails its saving throw against your Time Slice feature it can't take reactions until the start of your next turn.

Splitting Seconds
At 18th level and beyond you may take up to two bonus actions on your turn.

Insynchronimity
At 20th level you are immune to the harmful effects of any spells you can cast through your Time Mage feature and no creature may use its reaction during your turn, or Legendary Actions at the end of your turn.

ebiquis
2017-05-01, 04:36 PM
I like this as a playable class. They should have ability to freeze time attack on a character, level 6 they get this as ability. Greatswords should be there main weapon of choice. Keep it up, you may have another character class in the works? All Time Knights should have brass cage with orb latched onto their back, and time key around chain on neck. Orb in cage allows unfreeze, and Knight to return back to its time dimensional plane, where it needs another cage, and key to enter back to our time. Just an idea.

Ziegander
2017-05-01, 05:05 PM
Just an idea.

:smallwink::smalltongue::smallcool:

JNAProductions
2017-05-01, 10:00 PM
Ready for anything is BROKEN, as written.

Ready action-attack. Trigger-when my buddy says "Attack". Buddy speaks as a free action... Many times.

Ziegander
2017-05-01, 11:58 PM
Ready for anything is BROKEN, as written.

Ready action-attack. Trigger-when my buddy says "Attack". Buddy speaks as a free action... Many times.

That's not how that works. I guess I should have added clarification text. You can take any number of reactions but only one of them is going to be to take your readied action.

JNAProductions
2017-05-02, 07:07 AM
That's not how that works. I guess I should have added clarification text. You can take any number of reactions but only one of them is going to be to take your readied action.

Okay. That's much better.

Cool class!

zeek0
2017-05-02, 08:34 AM
That's not how that works. I guess I should have added clarification text. You can take any number of reactions but only one of them is going to be to take your readied action.

For wording, I would say that you can make any number of triggers for your reaction. This means that there's no confusion about the number of reactions you get per round. Also, I might restrict this somehow, perhaps by a finite number of possible triggers. Otherwise you'll just get players handing over a bulleted list of possible triggers.


Buddy speaks as a free action..
Just to not confuse things, I don't think that free actions exist anymore. But yeah, you can make the trigger for a reaction *anything*. Makes the bulleted list more relevant.

Otherwise, I like the style! I'm not sure about the balance (might be underpowered), I may comment on this later.

Ziegander
2017-05-02, 10:31 AM
For wording, I would say that you can make any number of triggers for your reaction. This means that there's no confusion about the number of reactions you get per round. Also, I might restrict this somehow, perhaps by a finite number of possible triggers. Otherwise you'll just get players handing over a bulleted list of possible triggers.

That's... also not what I thought it said it does... :smallconfused:

It just lets you use your reaction any number of times - for anything else you might use a reaction for. You use the Ready action. That's one action that uses one reaction. Then, if you want to make four opportunity attacks and activate Island in Time, go for it. But you can't make up multiple triggers (doing that is part of the Ready action, not a reaction), and you can't take your readied action more than once.

Any suggestions on how to clarify properly?


Otherwise, I like the style! I'm not sure about the balance (might be underpowered), I may comment on this later.

Please do! I was going for a more "Tome-Like," in the vein of Frank & K's 3.5 Tome style classes, in 5e.

JNAProductions
2017-05-02, 10:33 AM
I think it's pretty clearly worded. Zie.

zeek0
2017-05-02, 11:37 AM
It just lets you use your reaction any number of times - for anything else you might use a reaction for. You use the Ready action. That's one action that uses one reaction. Then, if you want to make four opportunity attacks and activate Island in Time, go for it. But you can't make up multiple triggers (doing that is part of the Ready action, not a reaction), and you can't take your readied action more than once.

Any suggestions on how to clarify properly?.
Oh. Gotcha. JNA is right, it's worded well. If I were to make some small changes, I'd change 'if' to 'when', and 'take' to 'use'.

Now that I understand the ability, I have a different critique! Take Uncanny Dodge(rogue), or defensive duelist(feat). Reactions are basically balanced around getting one per turn, and most of the time this isn't a consideration. But sometimes it's the only thing that matters. Perhaps a limit of, say, three reactions each round is prudent (and realistic).

I'll comb through the rest of it, noting what I see. I'd love the conversation, so let me know what you think!

Quick Hit discourages twf builds, because it's unfortunately redundant. But I understand why you made this decision. Perhaps this would work better: when you make an Action on your turn, you can make an additional attack. This is the same, but allows you your bonus action. But this of course confuses things, what with Splitting Seconds. Perhaps you get two additional attacks?

All other features seemed cool, flavorful, and interesting to play.

And now I'll consider damage output. Other martial classes get Extra Attack(5), which you conspicuously eschew. I assume that the hope is that you get some opportunity attacks in each round to make up for this. But I fear that between enemies that don't flee and losing damage due to Time Split, damage will be limited.

Basically, I think that a melee class should be making more than one attack from levels 5-11, and I don't see that here. Some version of quick hit I always ready should make its way to 5th level.

Really cool work, and I can see good things happening with it! It's going on the homebrew pile for sure.

ebiquis
2017-05-03, 11:46 PM
Here's a little backstory you might want to add into your base class.

Time Knights," come from the dimension of the ethereal time plane, or another time creation before the D&D universe. Each Knight is always equipped with its personal bronze cage, and Orb, as well as the Key to open them about their neck with chain. Their homeworld consists of, "The Fortress of Darkness," where hundreds of Knights guard, and walk its halls with their cages always straped to their backside waiting to be sent to our time. The Great Wizards created them, and are lead always by at least one Wizard when entering our time. Their weapon of choice is the mighty Greatsword. Level 20 Time Knights receive, "Time Wave", a spell capable of freezing more than just one adversary, a group. "Time Freeze", spell attained at level 6, freezes a single foe. Lever 12 they receive, "Time Lock", Stops current time for 5 secs, allowing for a free strike or attack upon an adversary or group of foes.

Their cages with white orbs of light trapped within them are significant to the Knight, for it's the only thing that can bring the Knight, and accompanying Wizard back to its Time Dimension. If the key around their necks can be obtained, and inserted into their personal cage it will release the orb from its cage, and shall enter the Knight taking them back to its time. If all orbs have entered all knights, the accompanying wizard is taken back as well. Time Wizards rely soley on the knights ability of preventing their orbs from being freed.

DeAnno
2017-05-04, 06:15 AM
What are the multiclass reqs on this guy? I could see an argument for Str+Int, but some might go Dex and Str/Dex + Int is sort of too many logic gates. I don't feel it would be an OP multiclass.

Armoured in Time is hard to judge. Very good in that it prevents you from being alpha striked, mediocre in that it means someone else in your party might be. I guess it lets you dive in at the back lines and be punished less. An interesting ability.

True Strike has a range of 30 feet so I'm not sure what a long duration really achieves. You need to point at the attack's target. Also, the wording of True Strike is really terrible, since it mandates you use it on your next turn, whatever the duration or other circumstances. RAW you can't even Quicken it and then use it, it's that awkward a spell. IMO ditch it and replace it with a similar feature you make yourself.

Time Mage should maybe use long rest language instead of times per day language.

Improved Time Slice is about as good as all the previous features in the class combined. I think at least move the half speed to level 3 to help with the slow start this class gets.

Contingencies + Ready For Anything (not to mention always ready) breaks the action economy too hard. With proper conditions on your ready in the first round of combat you can RFA and unleash 5 readied actions. I personally am leery of the feature but if you keep it I would hard cap it at one contingency spend per round.

Quick Hit and Always Ready are interestingly at odds. There's probably some dumb combos with Always Ready+RFA+6 levels of something else but I doubt any of them are broken enough to worry about for this amount of investment.

Superior Time Slice is pretty ridiculous. Anything you can hit with attacks is going to be spammed with dex saves and live in stunlock. Then again it's level 15, and you don't actually have anything to help you hit, and Int is a secondary, so whatever, maybe it's ok.

End features are end features and seem properly good.

Overall, I think this class is weak from levels 1-6 (no offensive anything at level 1 and 2 is light on real offense too), but from level 7-20 it's a reasonably balanced "Defender" type guy (reactionspam + stuns means that's where your role will end up). Aside from Contingencies being gamebreakingly broken in its current form I don't see any critical issues aside from it's weak start.

Maybe if you ditch the True Strike feature replace it with something offensive that the class can do or gets from level 1. Like it could be a bonus action to get advantage on next attack usable once per short rest, and then usable at will from level 5 on. This has the added bonus that it "expires" at level 11 when the class is good on other merits and also that it plays pretty poorly with most normal melee goodstuff shenanigans people usually want to stack stuff with (ie Reckless Attack, Polearm Master, etc)

This class also might want a vanilla bonus to its land speed somewhere (maybe a couple +10s at various weaker levels could be +10 feet at 1st, and an additional +20 feet for a total of +30 at 10th if you got rid of Contingencies, and maybe some more with the capstone if you felt like it). I feel like attacking the back lines is another role it fits into well which could complement its Defendery nature, give a bit of choice how to play each battle.

JohnFJoestar
2018-05-30, 12:27 AM
Playing with time mechanics in D&D is incredibly tricky, as I'm sure you're aware of, but you seem to have nailed it really well! I love the idea and execution of how the class works, and I can't wait to play it!