Insightful Analysis

Beginning at 1st level, your studies of habits and mannerisms help you to in determining intentions. You gain proficiency in the Insight skill if you don't already have it. Additionally, you can use your Intelligence modifier instead of Wisdom for any Insight checks that you make.

Responsive Tactics

At 1st level, your ability to quickly respond to changes enhances your skill with unarmed strikes and responsive weapons, which are any weapons that lack the heavy and special properties.

You gain the following benefits on any turn other than your own while you are unarmed or wielding only responsive weapons, and you aren't wearing heavy armor. You can use a shield and still gain these benefits:

• When you attack with your unarmed strikes or responsive weapons, you can use your Intelligence modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls.
• If you hit a creature with an attack using your unarmed strikes or responsive weapons on their turn, you can add a d4 to the damage roll. This die changes as you gain tactician levels, as shown in the Responsive Tactics column of the Tactician table. Once you add damage in this way, you can't do so again until the start of your next turn.
• When you use your reaction to respond to a Ready action, you can move up to half your speed as part of the reaction, responding at any point during the movement.
• When a creature makes an opportunity attack against you, you can add your Responsive Tactics die to your AC against that attack. Once you use this feature you can't do so again until the start of your next turn.

Change of Plans

Starting at 2nd level, when you have a Ready action you have not yet responded to you yet and a creature other than yourself ends their turn, you can use your reaction to respond to your Ready action, regardless of the trigger activating. If there is no target to use the action you have readied on when you use this feature, you can instead move up to your speed in response.

When you use this feature, you can only use the first and last benefits of your Responsive Tactics feature as part of the Ready action you used it on.

Rapid Preparation

At 2nd level, your practice reading the battlefield allows you to respond to the flow of battle by giving insight to your allies and through special tactics called ploys. When you use half your movement speed or less on your turn, you can take a bonus action to survey the battlefield. When you take this bonus action, you gain a special reaction which can be used in one of two ways before the start of your next turn:

• You can take your special reaction to use a ploy that you know.
• When an ally within 30 feet of you that can see or hear you makes an ability check or an attack roll, you can take your special reaction to use the help action on them. When you use the help action in this way, you can't use it on the same ally again until you roll initiative. This changes to twice on the same ally at 7th level, and three times at 13th level.

Ploys. Your ploys are special techniques that are used through the special reaction this feature can grant you. You learn 3 ploys of your choice, and another at 7th level and 13th level, which are detailed in the "Ploys" section below. When you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the ploys you know and replace it with another ploy from the ploys list. You can use three ploys, and regain all uses upon finishing a short or long rest. The number of ploys you can use increases by one at 7th level, and again at 13th level.

Saving Throws. Some of your ploys require your target to make a saving throw to resist the ploy’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Strategic Role

When you reach 3rd level, you choose a strategic role to guide your own goals and tactics on the battlefield: Commander, Protector, Skirmisher, or Arcanist, all detailed at the end of the class description. The strategic role you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Battle Plans

At 3rd level, when you have knowledge of the area or your enemy you can develop a strategy for the start of a battle. While you are not in combat and have vision over or a map of an area, you can spend one minute to develop one battle plan of your choice, which are detailed under "Battle Plans" below. You can choose up to two allies that are within 30 feet of you to share the plan with. When you roll initiative in the area you developed a battle plan in, you and the allies you shared the plan with may use your reactions to immediately enact it, unless the battle plan specifies a different timing. You can only have one battle plan for a given area at once, if you create a new battle plan the oldest one is replaced. You can share your battle plan with two additional allies at 9th and 15th level.

Additionally, as an action during combat, you can share a battle plan with one creature of your choice, allowing them to enact it immediately with their reaction, unless the battle plan specifies a different timing.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 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.

Prepared Strike

Beginning at 5th level, if you took the Ready action on your last turn, you gain one special reaction you can use on the following options before the start of your next turn:

• Whenever you would take a reaction through any other source, you can use this special reaction instead.
• At the end of a creatures turn, you can use this special reaction to move up to half your speed and make one attack with an unarmed strike or a responsive weapon you are holding. An attack made in this way cannot benefit from features that can only be used once per turn.

Evasion

At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a black dragon’s acid breath or a lightning bolt spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Perceptive

At 10th level, your constant vigilance grants you a +5 bonus to your passive Wisdom (Perception) score and advantage on any perception checks you make.

Crisis Management

At 14th level, your ability to respond to dangerous situations is unparalleled. When you fail a saving throw you can choose to succeed instead. Once you use this feature you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Discerning Eye

At 15th level, through keen observation of others you can discern key information about them. As an action, you can observe a humanoid that you can see within 60 feet of you to learn its profession, class (if it has one), mood, or age.

Instant Response

At 18th level, your can preempt your enemies moves by reacting to minute changes in their body. When you choose to respond to a trigger from a Ready action you took, you can choose to take your reaction immediately before the trigger instead of after it.

Always Ready

At 20th level, you can’t be surprised while you are conscious. Additionally, when you roll initiative you can immediately take the Ready action. When you use this feature, if you have a battle plan that you can enact, you can do so as a special reaction before the start of your first turn.

Directive

At 3rd level, you give your allies greater confidence in your battle plans. When you roll initiative, you can use your Battle Plan feature as if you had developed one in the area you are fighting in. Additionally, an ally that has received a battle plan from you is granted a special reaction they can use to enact its effects, instead of using their reaction.

Confident Voice

At 6th level, your confidence in commanding the battlefield causes others to be inclined to believe you. When you make a persuasion or intimidation check using speech, you have advantage on the roll.

Additionally, when an ally enacts a battle plan, you can choose to give them temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier + half your tactician level. You can give temporary hit points in this way a number of times equal to your Intelligence Modifier. You regain all uses of this feature when you finish a long rest.

Second Plan

At 11th level, you gain an additional way to use the special reaction granted by your Prepared Strike feature.

• At the end of a creature's turn, you can use your special reaction to grant an ally within 60 feet of you a battle plan of your choice.

Rallying Cry

At 17th level, you can rally your allies to rouse their spirits. As an action on your turn, you can yell out a rallying cry, all allies within 60 feet of you can use their reaction to join in your rally. When you do so, you an all allies that joined in the rallying cry gain the benefits of one of the following effects of your choice, if all allies that are not unconscious or otherwise unable to use their reaction in the range of your rallying cry join in it, you can choose two benefits instead of one. Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

• All effected creatures gain temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier + your tactician level.
• All effected creatures gain a +1 bonus to their AC and saving throws for one minute.
• All effected creatures gain a +1 bonus to their attack rolls and spell save DC for one minute.

Protector

Protectors have trained their bodies and tuned their awareness into the well being of their allies. Always ready to charge to an allies aid or distract their enemies, they use their skills to read into their opponents moves and nullify their blows. Tacticians in role often find themselves hired by nobles and royalty both as escorts and personal guards.

Arcanist

You set your mind to the studies of magic, and how it can be applied to create a tactical advantage through manipulating the environment, and proper application of the abjuration and divination schools. Tacticians that take up this role are seen as experts at gathering information and turning the tides of any disadvantageous situation, and have developed some of the greatest fortifications the world has to offer.

Spellcasting

When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast spells. See chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 of the PHB for the wizard spell list.

Cantrips. You learn three cantrips: mold earth and two other cantrips of your choice from the wizard spell list. You learn another wizard cantrip of your choice at 10th level.

Spell Slots. The Arcanist Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell charm person and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast charm person using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You know three 1st-level wizard spells of your choice, two of which you must choose from the abjuration and divination spells on the wizard spell list. The Spells Known column of the Arcanist Spellcasting table shows when you learn more wizard spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be an abjuration or divination spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can come from any school of magic. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the wizard spells you know with another spell of your choice from the wizard spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be an abjuration or divination spell, unless you’re replacing the spell you gained at 8th, 14th, or 20th level.

Spellcasting Ability. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your wizard spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.