toddthetolerabl
2018-04-25, 06:13 PM
I am about to begin a Level 1-20 Campaign and I was going to feature Four home-brewed Subclasses. However I would like an expert's eye regarding balance of these subclasses, on paper at least.
I'm relatively easygoing regarding moderately over/underpowered things, so I wouldn't sweat it if some features were only slightly too good or lackluster (you can certainly find plenty of those without having to resort to homebrew material). I'm more concerned with something alarmingly good or bad.
Subclasses:
Dragoon
Fighter Martial Archetype
Certain Fighters undergo extreme martial training, becoming the finest weapon masters in their trade. Many are monter hunters who can make mince meat out of the most fearsome beasts with a mere glaive. Others use their abilities in ruthless duels and gladitorial bouts. The spear is most Dragoons' signature weapon.
I've seen the spear-fighter archetype attempted before, but it's difficult to make these things not feel gimmicky. The main idea of this class is killing a single monster quickly with stacking damage buffs, with STR and DEX both remaining relevant.
Martial Specialist
At 3rd Level, your mastery of martial weaponry enables you to deal more damage with your attacks than others would. You may add your Proficiency bonus to Damage rolls you deal with a Martial Weapon, or your Proficiency x2 if you are using a weapon with the Reach property. You may do this a number of times equal to your Dexterity Modifier, regaining all uses on a Short or Long Rest.
Leaping Lancer
At 3rd Level, your Jumping distance is doubled, and you have Advantage on any Athletics (Strength) check made to jump over a creature equal to or smaller than your Size.
Animal Specialist
At 7th Level, you become Proficient in the Animal Handling skill. If you are already Proficient in that skill, choose a different skill of your choice from the Fighter Skill List. Additionally, you have Advantage on Intelligence checks made to communicate with creatures of which you do not share a language.
Combo Master
At 10th Level, each melee attack Hit after the first you make against a single target deals an additional +2 Damage, and +2 more for each successful use of Combo Master on that target this turn.
Dragoon's Riposte
At 15th Level, if you succeed a saving throw by using your Indomitable feature, you may use your Reaction to immediately make an Attack against an enemy in reach.
Ultimate Lancer
At 18th Level, you may use your Martial Specialist Feature a number of times equal to your combined Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence Modifiers.
Oath of the Protector
Paladin Sacred Oath
Certain Paladins do not swear their oaths to a holy cause, an entire kingdom, or to a sacred pantheon. Instead they swear their services to a single individual. Be it as a guardian to a helpless maiden or to a single adventurer, or as a bodyguard to a friend or a lord, these Paladins live and die by their charge's well being.
Work with your DM to determine the nature of your charge, who RPs them, and if they will be with you on your travels.
This is similar to the Oath of the Crown in some ways. I had the idea from a PC whose character basically served another one and found it amusing.
Tenets of Protection
The Tenets of this Oath are based upon defense and sacrifice, although the morals of the individual may vary based upon their own ward.
* Defend the Defenseless Your power is best used at the service of those who do not share your strength.
* Duty Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.
* Self Sacrifice Your ward's life is more important than yours. They succeed no matter the personal cost.
Oath Spells
| Level | Spell |
| 3rd | Sanctuary, Shield |
| 5th | Warding Bond, Radiant Backlash* |
| 9th | Thunder Step, Beacon Of Hope |
| 13th | Death Ward, Locate Creature |
| 17th | Circle Of Power, Rary's Telepathic Bond |
* Radiant Backlash is a homebrew spell. It's basically radiant Hellish Rebuke that only works when an ally is hit instead of you, doing slightly less damage.
Channel Divinity
When you take this Oath at 3rd Level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Protector's Challenge. As a Bonus Action, a creature within 10ft of you must focus its attacks upon yourself. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it has Disadvantage on attack rolls and takes your Proficiency bonus in Radiant damage for attacking any target other than you for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the start of its turn. On a success, the effect ends.
Warden's Fury. As a Reaction when an ally within 30ft takes damage, all foes nearby incur your wrath. All enemies in a 10ft radius of both you and the ally must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened of your ally for 1 minute, repeating the saving throw at the end of its turns. On a success, the effect ends. While the effect is active, you have Advantage on Attack Rolls against those Frightened enemies.
Aura Of Resolve
At 7th Level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you become increasingly resiliant, reducing all nonmagical Slash Pierce or Bludgeon damage by an amount equal to your CON Modifier. At 18th Level the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Defensive Prowess
At 15th Level, you gain an additional Fighting Style. At least one of your two Fighting Styles must be Defense or Protection.
Ultimate Shield
At 20th Level, you gain the ability to harness an extraordinary defensive stance. As an action, you can magically become an unmoving crag of steel, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:
* You have immunity to all damage types except Psychic.
* You are incapable of moving or being moved by any means short of a Wish spell.
* All enemies within 30ft must make a Wisdom saving throw when they Attack or cast a Spell against a target other than you. If they fail the save, they must target you instead, wasting their Action if they cannot reach you. They make this save with Disadvantage if they or their original target are within 5ft of you.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
The Bloodreaver
Warlock Patron
A being that feeds off life is much like a Warlock itself, is it not? A Warlock with this Pact sacrifices his own life essence, or sometimes others', in exchange for power and favor from his Patron. Sometimes their savagery begins to affect the Warlock's own behavoir, turning them into a self-destructive beast. Yugoloths, Vampires, and Greater Blood Elementals can all be Bloodreaver Patrons.
Two of my PC friends demanded a class that hurt itself to do more damage. I settled on Warlock because that made the most sense to me. The trick with any Warlock home-brew is "how do I keep the player from doing anything but Eldritch Blast spamming?", but I think I got it okay and hopefully avoiding overpowered dipping into it to boot. The idea here is the opposite of the Dragoon--you want to fight as many smaller enemies as possible.
Expanded Spell List
The Bloodreaver lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a Warlock spell. The following spells are added to the Warlock spell list for you.
| 1st | Absorb Elements, Armor Of Agathys |
| 2nd | Aid, Hellish Rebuke |
| 3rd | Feign Death, Vampiric Touch |
| 4th | Locate Creature, Shadow Of Moil |
| 5th | Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static |
Blood Reave
At 1st Level, you learn to trade your own life force for greater power--an unholy art known as Blood Reaving. You can activate your Blood Reave as a Bonus Action. Activating the Blood Reave automatically inflicts 20% of your Max HP as Necrotic damage on you, and you take an additional 5% of your Max HP in Necrotic damage at the beginning of each of your turns while it is active (minimum 1 damage). This damage cannot be reduced in any way. The Blood Reave lasts for 1 Minute, during which you gain the following attributes:
* You gain Proficiency in Martial weapons.
* Your spells and attacks deal extra damage equal to your CON Modifier. This does not apply to Cantrips.
* Any time you destroy a creature, you Heal an amount equal to half your Warlock Level (rounded up) + your CHA Modifier.
* You can take 10% of your Max HP in Necrotic damage to cast a Warlock Spell with the casting time of 1 Action as a Bonus Action or to make an Attack as a Bonus Action. This damage cannot be reduced in any way.
You can end the Blood Reave early as a Bonus Action, and it ends early if you are knocked unconscious.
Increased Lifeforce
At 1st Level, your Warlock Hit Die increases to 1d10.
Bloodwell Ward
At 6th Level, you can use your life force's future to defend your present. As a Bonus Action or a Reaction, you can spend any number of Hit Dice to form a temporary ward. You gain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the number of spent Hit Dice x your CHA Modifier. The Temporary Hit Points last for 10 Minutes.
Blood Spellwork
At 10th Level, while Bloodreaving you may take 20% of your Max HP in Necrotic damage to cast a Warlock Spell without using a Spell Slot. This damage cannot be reduced in any way.
Life Siphon
At 14th Level, you reap life from the deaths of all. While Blood Reaving, you heal an amount equal to your CON Modifier each time any creature within a 30ft radius of you dies. This does not apply if you killed said creature with a melee attack.
Academic Sorcery
Sorcery... Sorcery
All Sorcerers are born with innate spellcasting, but some commit to the study of magic beyond their given abilities. These casters may begin to closely resemble Wizards, but they never lose track of their Sorcerous roots.
The idea of this subclass is to sacrifice the Sorcerer's flavored subclass for a more Wizard-based spell caster. It is also an answer to Sorcerers who take up a more wizardly lifestyle without having to mechanically dip into the wizard class.
Arcanic Studies
At 1st Level, you gain Proficiency in one Skill of your choice from the following options: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion. You also add a number to your Sorcerer Spells Known equal to your INT Modifier.
Spell Weave
At 1st Level, you can cast more than 1 Sorcerer Spell a turn without the having to use Cantrips. The second Spell's Level cannot exceed your INT Modifier (minimum 1).
Sorcerous Scroll
At 6th Level, after finishing a Long Rest you may spend 4 Sorcery Points to conjure a Spell Scroll, which lasts until you finish another Long Rest.
While carrying the Scroll, you can cast a Spell as a Ritual if the Spell has the Ritual Tag. The Scroll also has 2 Sorcerer Spells inscribed in it that you can cast while holding it. You may inscribe more Spells you find into it by spending 10 Minutes and 1 Sorcery Point. Said Spells become Sorcerer Spells to you if they were Wizard or Warlock Spells. The Spells are lost if the scroll is destroyed.
When reconjuring the Scroll, you may make a new one or a perfect copy of your previous one, but its cost to summon increases by 1 Sorcery Point for each new Spell you had scribed into it.
Magic Tool Mastery
At 14th Level, you add 3 to all your Ability Scores and are Proficient with Simple and Martial Weapons for the sake of determining Proficiency with a Magic Item*.
* My games require specific Ability Scores to use many of the Magic Items (i.e. this 2d8/2d10 Magic Longsword requires STR14, INT14 to use). So this helps with that. Treat it as similar to the Thief Rogue's Magic Item ability.
Arcane Perfection
At 18th Level, your studies have led to further self-discovery of your Sorcerous powers. You gain one Metamagic option of your choice and 4 additional Sorcery Points.
Let me know if this thread is in the wrong place or something, and thanks again,
ToddTheTolerable
I'm relatively easygoing regarding moderately over/underpowered things, so I wouldn't sweat it if some features were only slightly too good or lackluster (you can certainly find plenty of those without having to resort to homebrew material). I'm more concerned with something alarmingly good or bad.
Subclasses:
Dragoon
Fighter Martial Archetype
Certain Fighters undergo extreme martial training, becoming the finest weapon masters in their trade. Many are monter hunters who can make mince meat out of the most fearsome beasts with a mere glaive. Others use their abilities in ruthless duels and gladitorial bouts. The spear is most Dragoons' signature weapon.
I've seen the spear-fighter archetype attempted before, but it's difficult to make these things not feel gimmicky. The main idea of this class is killing a single monster quickly with stacking damage buffs, with STR and DEX both remaining relevant.
Martial Specialist
At 3rd Level, your mastery of martial weaponry enables you to deal more damage with your attacks than others would. You may add your Proficiency bonus to Damage rolls you deal with a Martial Weapon, or your Proficiency x2 if you are using a weapon with the Reach property. You may do this a number of times equal to your Dexterity Modifier, regaining all uses on a Short or Long Rest.
Leaping Lancer
At 3rd Level, your Jumping distance is doubled, and you have Advantage on any Athletics (Strength) check made to jump over a creature equal to or smaller than your Size.
Animal Specialist
At 7th Level, you become Proficient in the Animal Handling skill. If you are already Proficient in that skill, choose a different skill of your choice from the Fighter Skill List. Additionally, you have Advantage on Intelligence checks made to communicate with creatures of which you do not share a language.
Combo Master
At 10th Level, each melee attack Hit after the first you make against a single target deals an additional +2 Damage, and +2 more for each successful use of Combo Master on that target this turn.
Dragoon's Riposte
At 15th Level, if you succeed a saving throw by using your Indomitable feature, you may use your Reaction to immediately make an Attack against an enemy in reach.
Ultimate Lancer
At 18th Level, you may use your Martial Specialist Feature a number of times equal to your combined Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence Modifiers.
Oath of the Protector
Paladin Sacred Oath
Certain Paladins do not swear their oaths to a holy cause, an entire kingdom, or to a sacred pantheon. Instead they swear their services to a single individual. Be it as a guardian to a helpless maiden or to a single adventurer, or as a bodyguard to a friend or a lord, these Paladins live and die by their charge's well being.
Work with your DM to determine the nature of your charge, who RPs them, and if they will be with you on your travels.
This is similar to the Oath of the Crown in some ways. I had the idea from a PC whose character basically served another one and found it amusing.
Tenets of Protection
The Tenets of this Oath are based upon defense and sacrifice, although the morals of the individual may vary based upon their own ward.
* Defend the Defenseless Your power is best used at the service of those who do not share your strength.
* Duty Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.
* Self Sacrifice Your ward's life is more important than yours. They succeed no matter the personal cost.
Oath Spells
| Level | Spell |
| 3rd | Sanctuary, Shield |
| 5th | Warding Bond, Radiant Backlash* |
| 9th | Thunder Step, Beacon Of Hope |
| 13th | Death Ward, Locate Creature |
| 17th | Circle Of Power, Rary's Telepathic Bond |
* Radiant Backlash is a homebrew spell. It's basically radiant Hellish Rebuke that only works when an ally is hit instead of you, doing slightly less damage.
Channel Divinity
When you take this Oath at 3rd Level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Protector's Challenge. As a Bonus Action, a creature within 10ft of you must focus its attacks upon yourself. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it has Disadvantage on attack rolls and takes your Proficiency bonus in Radiant damage for attacking any target other than you for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the start of its turn. On a success, the effect ends.
Warden's Fury. As a Reaction when an ally within 30ft takes damage, all foes nearby incur your wrath. All enemies in a 10ft radius of both you and the ally must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened of your ally for 1 minute, repeating the saving throw at the end of its turns. On a success, the effect ends. While the effect is active, you have Advantage on Attack Rolls against those Frightened enemies.
Aura Of Resolve
At 7th Level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you become increasingly resiliant, reducing all nonmagical Slash Pierce or Bludgeon damage by an amount equal to your CON Modifier. At 18th Level the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Defensive Prowess
At 15th Level, you gain an additional Fighting Style. At least one of your two Fighting Styles must be Defense or Protection.
Ultimate Shield
At 20th Level, you gain the ability to harness an extraordinary defensive stance. As an action, you can magically become an unmoving crag of steel, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:
* You have immunity to all damage types except Psychic.
* You are incapable of moving or being moved by any means short of a Wish spell.
* All enemies within 30ft must make a Wisdom saving throw when they Attack or cast a Spell against a target other than you. If they fail the save, they must target you instead, wasting their Action if they cannot reach you. They make this save with Disadvantage if they or their original target are within 5ft of you.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
The Bloodreaver
Warlock Patron
A being that feeds off life is much like a Warlock itself, is it not? A Warlock with this Pact sacrifices his own life essence, or sometimes others', in exchange for power and favor from his Patron. Sometimes their savagery begins to affect the Warlock's own behavoir, turning them into a self-destructive beast. Yugoloths, Vampires, and Greater Blood Elementals can all be Bloodreaver Patrons.
Two of my PC friends demanded a class that hurt itself to do more damage. I settled on Warlock because that made the most sense to me. The trick with any Warlock home-brew is "how do I keep the player from doing anything but Eldritch Blast spamming?", but I think I got it okay and hopefully avoiding overpowered dipping into it to boot. The idea here is the opposite of the Dragoon--you want to fight as many smaller enemies as possible.
Expanded Spell List
The Bloodreaver lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a Warlock spell. The following spells are added to the Warlock spell list for you.
| 1st | Absorb Elements, Armor Of Agathys |
| 2nd | Aid, Hellish Rebuke |
| 3rd | Feign Death, Vampiric Touch |
| 4th | Locate Creature, Shadow Of Moil |
| 5th | Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static |
Blood Reave
At 1st Level, you learn to trade your own life force for greater power--an unholy art known as Blood Reaving. You can activate your Blood Reave as a Bonus Action. Activating the Blood Reave automatically inflicts 20% of your Max HP as Necrotic damage on you, and you take an additional 5% of your Max HP in Necrotic damage at the beginning of each of your turns while it is active (minimum 1 damage). This damage cannot be reduced in any way. The Blood Reave lasts for 1 Minute, during which you gain the following attributes:
* You gain Proficiency in Martial weapons.
* Your spells and attacks deal extra damage equal to your CON Modifier. This does not apply to Cantrips.
* Any time you destroy a creature, you Heal an amount equal to half your Warlock Level (rounded up) + your CHA Modifier.
* You can take 10% of your Max HP in Necrotic damage to cast a Warlock Spell with the casting time of 1 Action as a Bonus Action or to make an Attack as a Bonus Action. This damage cannot be reduced in any way.
You can end the Blood Reave early as a Bonus Action, and it ends early if you are knocked unconscious.
Increased Lifeforce
At 1st Level, your Warlock Hit Die increases to 1d10.
Bloodwell Ward
At 6th Level, you can use your life force's future to defend your present. As a Bonus Action or a Reaction, you can spend any number of Hit Dice to form a temporary ward. You gain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the number of spent Hit Dice x your CHA Modifier. The Temporary Hit Points last for 10 Minutes.
Blood Spellwork
At 10th Level, while Bloodreaving you may take 20% of your Max HP in Necrotic damage to cast a Warlock Spell without using a Spell Slot. This damage cannot be reduced in any way.
Life Siphon
At 14th Level, you reap life from the deaths of all. While Blood Reaving, you heal an amount equal to your CON Modifier each time any creature within a 30ft radius of you dies. This does not apply if you killed said creature with a melee attack.
Academic Sorcery
Sorcery... Sorcery
All Sorcerers are born with innate spellcasting, but some commit to the study of magic beyond their given abilities. These casters may begin to closely resemble Wizards, but they never lose track of their Sorcerous roots.
The idea of this subclass is to sacrifice the Sorcerer's flavored subclass for a more Wizard-based spell caster. It is also an answer to Sorcerers who take up a more wizardly lifestyle without having to mechanically dip into the wizard class.
Arcanic Studies
At 1st Level, you gain Proficiency in one Skill of your choice from the following options: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion. You also add a number to your Sorcerer Spells Known equal to your INT Modifier.
Spell Weave
At 1st Level, you can cast more than 1 Sorcerer Spell a turn without the having to use Cantrips. The second Spell's Level cannot exceed your INT Modifier (minimum 1).
Sorcerous Scroll
At 6th Level, after finishing a Long Rest you may spend 4 Sorcery Points to conjure a Spell Scroll, which lasts until you finish another Long Rest.
While carrying the Scroll, you can cast a Spell as a Ritual if the Spell has the Ritual Tag. The Scroll also has 2 Sorcerer Spells inscribed in it that you can cast while holding it. You may inscribe more Spells you find into it by spending 10 Minutes and 1 Sorcery Point. Said Spells become Sorcerer Spells to you if they were Wizard or Warlock Spells. The Spells are lost if the scroll is destroyed.
When reconjuring the Scroll, you may make a new one or a perfect copy of your previous one, but its cost to summon increases by 1 Sorcery Point for each new Spell you had scribed into it.
Magic Tool Mastery
At 14th Level, you add 3 to all your Ability Scores and are Proficient with Simple and Martial Weapons for the sake of determining Proficiency with a Magic Item*.
* My games require specific Ability Scores to use many of the Magic Items (i.e. this 2d8/2d10 Magic Longsword requires STR14, INT14 to use). So this helps with that. Treat it as similar to the Thief Rogue's Magic Item ability.
Arcane Perfection
At 18th Level, your studies have led to further self-discovery of your Sorcerous powers. You gain one Metamagic option of your choice and 4 additional Sorcery Points.
Let me know if this thread is in the wrong place or something, and thanks again,
ToddTheTolerable