D&D 4e to 5e Blackguard conversion (PEACH)

[Ravinsild]

This is a homebrew designed to give a base class that makes more sense for the Oathbreaker, Oath of Conquest and a new "Vice" called Fury.
So far I've got a decent chassis I believe for the Blackguard, having converted it from the Heroes of Shadow from 4th edition to 5th edition. I used the Paladin as a base class and swapped out features for 4e Blackguard features I felt were more relevant, then reflavored the Oath of Conquest to the Vice of Domination. Any help would be greatly appreciated as far as comments on balance and class features. I want to make sure the Vice features and Class features look balanced compared to the Paladin who is its equal.

One of the reasons behind this entire endeavor is that I feel the Oath of Conquest and Oathbreaker (now Vice of Hate) needed a stronger base class that made sense. Why would an Oathbreaker or Conquest Paladin have "Divine Sense" or "Lay on Hands" or be able to cleanse diseases? I felt like those Oaths deserved a better and more thematic base class and chose the 4e Blackguard for my starting point. It's an alternative to the Paladin if you feel there's a strangeness to only replacing Oath features but not class features.

Sources:
Wizards of the Coast 5e Paladin Class from PHB
Oath of Conquest (Renamed Vice of Domination) from http://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/do...ClassOptv1.pdf
Oathbreaker (Renamed Vice of Hate) from WotC's DMG
Oath of Vengeance (Modified to Vice of Fury) from WotC's PHB
The Blackguard class from 4e's Heroes of Shadow Book

What this class is:
* 5e Paladin Chassis with "paladin" renamed to "blackguard"
* 5e Paladin Class "Oath" replaced with 4e Blackguard "Vice"
* 4e Blackguard features replacing undesireable Paladin Features (Shroud of Shadows instead of Divine Sense, etc.)
* 5e Oath of Conquest (Vice of Domination) on the Blackguard class chassis
* 5e Oathbreaker (Vice of Hate) on the Blackguard class chassis
* 5e Oath of Vengeance (Vice of Fury) repurposed with Blackguard's Vice of Fury features converted from 4e

Without further ado my 4e to 5e Blackguard conversion.

http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/S1rgJ--Fb

[Ravinsild]

Bump? :/ Any feedback on balance is appreciated, especially for the vices and new features that aren't copy/pasta Paladin stuff.

[Ravinsild]

Bump. /10char

[Lalliman]

I don't usually deal with homebrewing any kind of caster, so I don't really know how to balance a paladin, but I'll give my two cents.

The main thing that occurs to me is that Shroud of Shadows is a pretty potent ability in return for one of the ribboniest ribbons in the game, even at once per long rest. The scaling is also kind of strange, with the THP being vastly larger compared to your total HP at low level than at high level. (About 50% of your HP at 1st level vs less than 15% at 20th.) A simple way to fix both of these might be to make the THP equal to simply your blackguard level. After all, you already cause disadvantage to your opponent.

I also feel like Dominating Presence, from Vice of Domination, is quite powerful. It's Turn the Unholy but it works on everything, and has amazing synergy with Aura of Domination. It seems like it should be limited in who it works on, maybe only humanoids and beasts.

I do really like Dark Menace. I just like abilities that encourage you to hunt for advantage, and this one is appropriate.

[Ravinsild]

I don't usually deal with homebrewing any kind of caster, so I don't really know how to balance a paladin, but I'll give my two cents.

The main thing that occurs to me is that Shroud of Shadows is a pretty potent ability in return for one of the ribboniest ribbons in the game, even at once per long rest. The scaling is also kind of strange, with the THP being vastly larger compared to your total HP at low level than at high level. (About 50% of your HP at 1st level vs less than 15% at 20th.) A simple way to fix both of these might be to make the THP equal to simply your blackguard level. After all, you already cause disadvantage to your opponent.

I also feel like Dominating Presence, from Vice of Domination, is quite powerful. It's Turn the Unholy but it works on everything, and has amazing synergy with Aura of Domination. It seems like it should be limited in who it works on, maybe only humanoids and beasts.

I do really like Dark Menace. I just like abilities that encourage you to hunt for advantage, and this one is appropriate.

I guess that's why it's UA material LOL. I think they buffed it from the first iteration of Conquest but I suppose it may be too powerful now. It will be interesting what the final Oath of Conquest looks like, as that is copy/paste what the Vice of Domination is. I just used the 4e name instead of the 5e name haha.

As for Shroud of Shadows, since I didn't know how good disadvantage REALLY is, as I have little play experience, I decided to tack on the THP thing. I don't think it's in the 4e ability. I think it just gives the 4e equivalent of disadvantage. I can cut back on the THP or just cut it entirely.

By the way, thank you for the feedback! My first feedback haha. I guess since it wasn't so thorough the class must look pretty balanced from a first pass, which is good. I mean it is literally based on WotC products, not made up from air. The Blackguard is in 4e and the rest is just 5e Paladin and some of the Paladin Oaths, so I suppose I'm glad it came out pretty balanced :D