Battlefield Commander

[Requiemforlust]

Hello fellow Giants!

I'm here looking for a class or subclass (if a subclass, preferably for the Fighter) that embodies the fearless battlefield commander who inspires their troops. I'm asking for one of my players because Purple Dragon Knight just doesn't do it for them (honestly...does anyone think it's good? If anyone does, I've yet to meet them).

So I'm looking for a homebrew - or official content - character class/subclass/multiclass that can flesh out this concept.

[Jaelommiss]

Mastermind rogue 3 gets you help as a bonus action at 30 ft.
Wolf totem barbarian 3 gives advantage on melee attacks against enemies adjacent to you while raging.
Fighter 1 for Protection Fighting Style to impose disadvantage on an attack against an adjacent ally as a reaction.

I played this combination a while back. Shortsword + shield + half-plate gave me 19 AC. My damage was less than a straight rogue or barbarian or fighter, though reckless attack and sneak attack kept it competitive. The real bonus was being incredibly tanky front line and acting as a force multiplier for my allies. Expertise in Athletics plus advantage on strength checks while raging let me grapple and shove with near perfect success when I needed to. Wrestling plesiosaurs, wrestling otyughs, tearing a small palm tree from the ground and using it to keep enemies back, wrestling hydras... It really was a versatile character.

I'm not sure if it's optimal or not, but I had a blast playing it.

Feats can help you specialize on top of this.
Inspiring Leader boosts the resilience of your men.
Healer lets you bring your men back from the brink of death.
Sentinel (replace protection fighting style with defensive) lets you shank anyone who dares to attack your men.
Tough turns you into a wall of steel between the enemy and your men.

[Aett_Thorn]

So there's the Purple Dragon Knight from SCAG that gives benefits to team members usually when you use your own class features, but it tends to be seen as underwhelming.

I think that probably the best combination is a Battlemaster Fighter/Bard or Paladin Combo. Depending on who else you have in your party, some of the maneuvers can really help out and make you feel like you're more contributing to the team instead of just doing things yourself. Maneuvering Attack, Commander's Strike, Rally, and Trip Attack can all help out the team.

Combine with either Bard for Bardic Inspiration and some battlefield control spells, or Paladin for the auras, and you've got a pretty solid commander type character.

[Mortheim]

Hello fellow Giants!

I'm here looking for a class or subclass (if a subclass, preferably for the Fighter) that embodies the fearless battlefield commander who inspires their troops. I'm asking for one of my players because Purple Dragon Knight just doesn't do it for them (honestly...does anyone think it's good? If anyone does, I've yet to meet them).

So I'm looking for a homebrew - or official content - character class/subclass/multiclass that can flesh out this concept.


Paladin with inspiring leader? Or battlemaster/paladin with same feat.

Their was homebrew class "Tactitian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395308-Tactician-Class-(PEACH))" and i played it in one campaign. It is pretty neat.

[ZorroGames]

Hello fellow Giants!

I'm here looking for a class or subclass (if a subclass, preferably for the Fighter) that embodies the fearless battlefield commander who inspires their troops. I'm asking for one of my players because Purple Dragon Knight just doesn't do it for them (honestly...does anyone think it's good? If anyone does, I've yet to meet them).

So I'm looking for a homebrew - or official content - character class/subclass/multiclass that can flesh out this concept.

What other roles are in the party. Is there a second melee or tank type or an aggressive Rogue?

[smcmike]

The classes that make the most obvious sense are valor Bard, battlemaster, or paladin. Use the inspiring leader feat.

[Ventruenox]

Try looking at UA -
Mystic (https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/UAMystic3.pdf) for the Order of the Avatar. If you restrict this player to only the Avatar disciplines and maybe toss in an extra attack at level 5 it should work alright.

[Corran]

Have a look at this (http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkFKKZGNe). It's a homebrew warlord class. Haven't played it, but it looks good!