Warlord

Creating a Warlord

When creating a Warlord you should always start with answering the question: what sort of Presence does this person bring to the battlefield? Are they a charismatic inspiration to their allies that drives them to fight on? Are they a wise veteran who acts as a force multiplier for their companions, offering pointers and grit? Or are they a scheming manipulator who sees one step ahead of any move their foes can make, always making sure their allies are in the right spot?

Quick Build

You can make a warlord quickly by following these suggestions. For a Commander select Strength as your highest attribute followed by Wisdom. For a Chieftain or Paragon select Strength as your highest attribute followed by Charisma.

For a Noble select Charisma as your highest attribute followed by Constitution. For a Packleader, select Dexterity as your highest stat followed by Wisdom. For a Tactician select Intelligence followed by Constitution.

Class Features

As a Warlord, you gain the following class features

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. You can use Battlefield Presence in place of either or both attacks.

Prepare for Battle

Starting at 6th level, you can spend a minute preparing creatures for combat. You can expend a number of Leadership Dice up to your per turn limit, rolling them and causing five your creatures of your choice (potentially including yourself) to gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled. Allies that have benefited from this ability can expend a number of hit dice equal to the number of Leadership Dice you expended, using them as they would during a short rest. Any temporary hit points gained from this last until you complete a short or long rest.

Press the Attack

Starting at 9th level, your abilities are further empowered:

Warlord's Intuition

Starting at 13th level, before rolling an ability check you are proficient in, you can exercise this ability, choosing for the d20 to be equal to your Warlord level rather than rolling. Once you do this, you cannot do this until you complete a long rest.

Shift the Field

Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to relocate friendly creatures. As an action, you can expend one Leadership Die to move up to 5 friendly creatures that can see or hear you up to half their movement speed without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Unbreakable Will

Starting at 17th level, you are immune to the frightened and charmed conditions.

Tireless Leader

Starting at 20th level, you can roll d4s and use them instead of expending Leadership Dice for Rallying Mark, Urgent Orders, Helpful Word, or Prepare for Battle.

Warlord's Presences

Warlords may invoke a variety of different types of Presence on the battlefield. You can choose which kind of Presence best suits your Warlord from the following.

On Your Feet!

Starting at 7th level, you can use a bonus action and expend one Leadership Die to restore the will to fight in an allied creature. Choose a friendly creature within 5 feet of you. That creature regains hit points equal to your Leadership die.

When you use this feature to restore hit points to a creature at 0 hit points, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the amount of hit points restored. If the creature is prone, it can choose to stand immediately.

Martial Advantage

Starting at 11th level, you've learned to leverage fighting alongside an ally. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 2d6 damage to a creature you hit with a weapon attack if that creature is within 5 feet of an ally that isn't incapacitated.

Bulwark

Starting at 15th level, when you and any number of friendly creatures within 30 feet of you make a Saving Throw against the same effect, your allies gain Advantage on their Saving Throw if you succeed on the saving throw.

No One Left Behind!

Starting at 18th level, you can move up to your speed to get within 5 feet of a creature while using your On Your Feet feature. During this movement you gain resistance to all damage and the target regains an additional 1d8 hit points for each attack of opportunity made against you during this movement.

Chieftain's Presence

A chieftain is a Warlord that rules by the sheer force of their personality, marked by their booming voice and fearless attitude, it is easy to believe that your band is infallible while your chieftain stands.

They can be lawful or chaotic, good or evil, with such things depending on how they got to where they are in life. An orc that cut their way to the top may be chaotic, believing that strength needs room to rise to the top unfettered by rules, while someone that inherited their authority may have a more lawful bent.

A Warlord with the Presence of a Chieftain need not literally rule anything, but is an exemplar of someone that has or could walk that path through their force of personality and the boisterous inspiration they give those around them.

Booming Shout

Starting at 15th level, when you unleash your Warcry you can attempt to frighten enemies. Any number of creatures of your choice within range of your Warcry must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC of 8 + Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus) or become frightened of you until the end of their turn. Once you have used Booming Shout, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Additionally, the range of your Rallying Mark, Urgent Orders, Helpful Word, and Warcry is doubled.

Bloody Victory

Starting at 18th level, when you or an ally reduces a hostile creature that has dealt damage to you to 0 hit points, you can unleash a Warcry as a reaction. When you unleash your Warcry in this way, you do not expend any Leadership Dice and you use a d12 in place of your Leadership Die.

You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, regaining all uses on a long rest.

Noble's Presence

A Warlord with a Noble Presence is not inherently one that was born a Noble, though many are. A Noble Presence Warlord is one that serves to drive their retainers and companions onto greater heights through sheer charisma, a shining beacon of what they are fighting for standing beside them.

Since time immemorial men have fought twice as hard on a battlefield when their leader takes the field to stand among them, driven to heights that would seem impossible in order to protect their liege - while an adventurer of this path may or may not be their liege, their charisma invokes the same fervor in their companions and retainers.

An adventurer on this path is not inherently of noble background, though many often are. A noble reared on the laws of the land is usually lawful, but extraordinary circumstances may have brought about a rebellious streak in one that now seeks to overthrow unfit rulers (or rulers that aren't them, anyway).

Words of Conviction

Starting at 7th level, you can use Leadership Dice (Up to your per turn limit) to cast bless or heroism without providing material components. The level of the spell is equal to the number of Leadership Dice spent.

Imperative Order

Starting at 7th level, when you spend 2 or more Leadership Dice on a target with Urgent Orders, you can allow the target creature to make a single weapon attack with their reaction instead of moving. If you spend 3 or more Leadership Dice on a target, the target creature can both move and make a single weapon attack with their reaction.

Inspired Zeal

Starting at 11th level, all creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you deal an extra 1d4 radiant damage when they hit with a weapon attack.

Untouchable Presence

Starting at 15th level, you are under the effect of sanctuary spell. This effect ends as normal if you take an action that would break it, but returns at the start of your next turn.

The spell save DC for this spell is 8 + your Charisma modifier + your Proficiency bonus.

Grand Decree

Starting at 18th level, you can use this ability to cast command without expending a spell slot or Leadership Dice. When you do so, the spell affects all creatures of your choice within range that could be affected by the spell.

Once you cast command using this ability, you cannot cast it using this ability again until you complete a long rest.

Packleader's Presence

While Warlords may specialize in the control of battles, an Packleader is a Warlord that aims to win a fight before it becomes a battle. Through scouting, preparing, and stacking the odds, they don't fight fair, they fight to win, and seek to only fight when they've already won.

Their control of the battlefield doesn't merely extend to those that fight on it, but to twisting the battlefield itself to suit their needs, stymying and stupefying their foes while concealing and sheltering their allies with the terrain itself.

While good and evil rarely play directly into a Packleader's perspective (they can be either or Neutral just as easily), they tend be Chaotic, viewing the so called "rules of engagement" and other traditions of civilization to be convenient weaknesses they can exploit rather than any sort of guideline they might actually follow.

Trackless Trails

Additionally at 7th level, you can spend 2 Leadership Dice to cast pass without trace without providing material components.

Fleeting Strikers

Starting at 11th level, if you are not in the same spot you were at the end of your last turn or are obscured from your target, the first attack you make during your turn deals an additional 1d10 damage.

Additionally, a creature that you grant an Attack with Battlefield Presence can take the Dash action instead of making the attack you granted.

Ghosts of the Wild

Starting at 15th level, while under the effect of pass without trace, you can expend one Leadership Die to take the Hide action at the end of your turn without expending an action.

If you use Battlefield Presence to grant an attack to a creature, you can expend one Leadership Die to shroud them with shadows or natural phenomena, granting them advantage on the first attack they make before the start of your next turn. If they are under the effect of pass without trace, you can do this without expending a Leadership Die.

Warlord of the Wilds

Starting at 18th level, you can pick five additional spells from the Druid spell list of 4th level or lower. You can cast these spells using Leadership Dice equal to the level of the spell. You can change the list of spells you have selected when you complete a long rest.

The spell Save DC for these spells is 8 + your Proficiency modifier + your Wisdom Modifier.

Any time you use Leadership Dice to cast a spell, you can take the Attack action (one weapon attack only) as a bonus action.

Heroic Strike

Additionally at 3rd level, when you take the Attack action, once per turn you can expend Leadership Dice (up to your per turn limit) to apply Rallying Mark as part of a melee weapon attack.

Whenever you expend Leadership Dice as part of making an attack, you can add the expended Leadership Dice to the damage roll of the attack.

Stand Defiant

Starting at 7th level, when you are reduced to zero hit points, you instantly regain a number of hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Additionally, you can expend a number of Leadership Dice equal to the number of friendly creatures within 60 feet of you, regaining additional hit points equal to the value rolled this way. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Inspired Warrior

Starting at 11th level, once per turn, when one of your allies within 30 feet takes or deals damage, you gain d4 dice, adding it to a pool of dice. You can have a maximum number of d4 dice in this pool equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).

Until the end of your next turn, when you deal damage you can expend any number of dice from this pool rolling them and dealing additional damage equal to the value rolled.

Dauntless Resolve

Starting at 15th level, when you fail a saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead. Once you do this, you cannot do this again until you complete a long rest.

Invincible Legion

Starting at 18th level, your allies will never fall so long as their symbol of hope remains. When a friendly creature within 60 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, but not killed outright, they can drop to 1 hit point instead so long as they can see or hear you.

Once a creature benefits from this effect, they cannot benefit from it again until they complete a long rest.

Tactician's Presence

A Tactician may very well tell you they would just as soon not be close enough to the battle to be considered a combatant, preferring to win their fights before they even reach that stage, but one would be a fool to underestimate how dangerous they are once on the battlefield.

While they might have laid their plans in advance, their sharp minds can quickly pick apart how their foes try to fight against them and effortlessly pierce the crude tactics that would be used against them and their allies.

What tends to mark a Tactician is a keen mind and a willingness to plan ahead... in great detail. Adventurers with a tactician among them are near impossible to pin down, as they will always find a way to turn the tables.

Planning Movement... or not.

A DM can choose to read the second bullet point of Tactical insight as simply reducing the targets movement by 10. It is balanced around this assumption, predicting the movement is optional flavor, but may not fit all DMs styles.

Tactical Flexibility

Additionally at 3rd level, you gain the ability to use Tactical Insight, Rallying Mark, Helpful Word, and Urgent Orders as an action or a bonus action on your turn.

Inscrutable Mind

Starting at 7th level, you gain proficiency in Intelligence Saving Throws.

Additionally, as a reaction when being forced to make a Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma Saving Throw, you can expend one Leadership Die and add the die result to the saving throw.

Control the Field

Starting at 7th level, when you use an ability that moves allied creatures (such as Urgent Orders or Shift the Field), it gains the following properties:

• Deceptive Movement: You can attempt to move creatures that are not allies up to 5 feet (or half their movement speed, whichever is less). The creature must make an Intelligence Saving Throw with a DC of 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your Proficiency bonus, or feel compelled to move to the new position immediately. Targets moved this way do not gain temporary hit points.
• Flanking Maneuvers: If two allies you move are on opposite sides of a creature after the movement you grant, the first one to attack that enemy has advantage on their first attack if they attack before the creature moves.
• Coordinated Transitions: Allies can move through each other's spaces during the movement you grant without it being difficult terrain.

Tactical Strike

Starting at 11th level, when you succeed on a Tactical Insight check against a creature, the next time you or a friendly creature deal damage against it before the start of your next turn it is increased by 2d6 damage.

Advanced Orders

Additionally at 15th level, when you expend Leadership Die on Urgent Orders, you can allow the creature to take one of the Use an Object, Search, Hide, or Dodge actions as their reaction instead of moving.

Unstoppable Schemes

Starting at 18th level, standing in your way becomes a pointless endeavor. When you move your allies with Urgent Orders or Shift the Field, they can move through spaces occupied by hostile creatures so long as they do not end their movement in an occupied space.

Multilayered Tactics

Additionally at 18th level, when you succeed on a Tactical Insight check against a creature, you can choose two of the listed effects.

Expanded Options

The following are expanded subclass options for Warlord. Consult your DM to see if they are allowed.

Dreadlord's Presence [Beta]

A warlord that follows this path specializes in terror and fear, usually localized to their enemies. While other warlords look to boost and inspire their allies, a Dreadlord works to undermine and terrify their enemies, crushing their will to fight and leaving them as prey easily slaughtered.

A dreadlord is not always evil, though they most often show up in the ranks of evil, but by their very nature they are someone that can instill dread and terror. The source of this dread can be cursed visage, supernatural gift, or simply a tyrannical force of will.

Expanded Dominion

Additionally at 15th level, the range of your Demoralization dice effects are doubled (making them 60 feet, 60 feet, and 10 feet, respectively).

Dreadful Terror

Starting at 18th level, when a target becomes frightened of you, you can expend demoralization Dice to enhance the effect (no action required)

• Panicked Terror. The target immediately spends their reaction to move up to half of their movement speed away from you.
• Blind Terror. You can expend 2 Demoralization Dice to cause the target become blinded until the start of your next turn.
• Paralyzing Terror. You can expend 3 Demoralization Dice to cause the target to become paralyzed until the start of your next turn.

Referenced Spells

Feats

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