Fighter Martial Archetype: Vanguard

[Submortimer]

Vanguard
"Power and speed be hands and feet"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The primary factor in a successful attack is speed"
- Lord Mountbatten

"Thus, though we have heard of stupidity in haste, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays."
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

In combat, and war, there are times where each weapon is important: In duels, it is the sword, flexible aand strong, good for attack and defense; in brutal melee, the axe and the hammer win the day, pounding through armor and crushing the warrior beneath; And in seige, the ballista attacking with great force that which cannot be destroyed by man alone. In war, however, it is the spear and the arrow that win the day: quick, long reaching, and able to kill the enemy before they know they are dead.

Here, in this spot, at the tip of the spear, is the Vanguard.

Advance
You strive to never stop pushing forward, and you've learned to turn that momentum into victory. Starting at 3rd level, on your turn, you deal an additional 1d8 damage on the first melee attack made after you move at least 15 feet in a straight line towards your target. You may do this multiple times on the same turn, but you must move at least 15 feet in a straight line towards your target between each attack. This damage increases to 2d8 at level 10, and 3d8 at level 18.

Double Time
You've grown accustomed to long treks across vast to wage war, and your guidance can aid you and your allies. Starting at 7th level, you are no longer hindered by rough terrain, and you may travel overland at twice the normal speed without suffering any ill effects. Any allies traveling with you, up to a maximum of 100, for greater than 1 hour also gain these benefits. Additionally, you gain proficiency in the Survival skill.

Lightning Step
Swift feet are not only good for striking first; they also serve to ensure you don't get struck at all. Starting at 10th level, on your turn, you may take the Dash or Disengage actions as a Bonus Action.

First to Fight
In combat, he who strikes first wins. At 15th level, your base movement speed increases by 10 ft., and you may add your Proficiency bonus to your Initiative rolls.

War Master's Charge
The clarion call of battle fills some with dread, but it only serves to push you and your allies ever further. At 18th level, as an action, you and any allies within 20 feet of you may move up to twice your movement speed at a single target; these do not have to be the same target. At the end of that movement, you and each ally that moved each make a single melee attack. This attack deal 10 points of additional damage for each ally that moved, to a maximum of +50 damage. Once you use this ability, you cannot do so again until you take a long rest.


This was inspired by recent re-watching of Reign: The Conqueror, the weird, Aeon Flux-style retelling of the story of Alexander the Great. In it, he is obsessed with speed, sure that it is the absolute key to overwhelming victory. Lots of these abilities would work very well for a Calvary-based class, but i wanted to build something that did this on foot, not a Cavalier. In any case, enjoy!

[JNAProductions]

This attack deal 10 points of additional damage for each ally that moved.

This seems all good and balanced, except that. That's an extra 40 points of damage in a 5 man party, but just gets better and better as you have more. Get a squad of 20 hirelings and you're now dealing 200+ damage per attack that hits, and with bounded accuracy, a decent number will hit.

I'd make it a flat +10 damage. It's already pretty damn nice.

[Submortimer]

It's a once a day capstone, which I think balances it, but I see what you mean. It's really intended more for a massive battle setting, it just works alright in a small party setting at well.

Edit: I put a cap on the scaling damage to prevent 20-minion-zerg-rush shenanigans.

[Steampunkette]

I now have a good reason to make a mobility feat fighter. Thanks, Submortimer!

Now I just need to figure out how to get my movement rate to ridiculous levels...

[Steampunkette]

Worth noting: Advance doesn't say to your target. So you could stand 10ft left of someone, move 15ft across their front, make a melee attack, and then move 15 feet back to do it again, so long as your weapon was reach. Both moves are in a straight line, just perpendicular to the target's facing.

That could be abusable.

[Submortimer]

Worth noting: Advance doesn't say to your target. So you could stand 10ft left of someone, move 15ft across their front, make a melee attack, and then move 15 feet back to do it again, so long as your weapon was reach. Both moves are in a straight line, just perpendicular to the target's facing.

That could be abusable.

I thought about that, and I'll make the edit. What I didn't want was for someone to be able to get all 4 of their attacks against the same target with the Advance damage bonus. I thought the 15 ft movement requirement wouLD do the trick, but I clearly didn't think about lateral movement.

[Submortimer]

I now have a good reason to make a mobility feat fighter. Thanks, Submortimer!

Now I just need to figure out how to get my movement rate to ridiculous levels...

Mobility + this class + dash every round as a bonus action = 100 ft. of movement a round. Also, You can use most of these abilities on a horse.

[Gr7mm Bobb]

I now have a good reason to make a mobility feat fighter. Thanks, Submortimer!

Now I just need to figure out how to get my movement rate to ridiculous levels...

yeah. . . We were working on that in my group to see how fast we could get a character to move. I think we ended at roughly 3,800 ft in a round using a 18 monk/ 2 fighter with the speed epic boon and a combination of spells and items. That was using no homebrew material as well.