Drop Attack - Key Features
- Launch uses equal to Str+Con modifiers
- Drop attack uses equal to proficiency bonus
- Long rest recharge
- Jump full distance in one turn
- As character level increases:
- Drop attack damage increases
- Jump height increases
- As height of drop increases:
- Drop attack damage increases
- Chance to hit decreases
- Chance to hurt yourself increases
- Range of drop increases
- Crit range increases
Dragoon Descent
(Champion Subclass Feature - Replaces the Champion Fighter subclass feature ")
You bring terror from above, piercing down from the heavens to wreak havoc on your foes below. You gain the following benefits and penalties as a part of your Dragoon Descent ability:
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Launch - You can perform a Launch a number of times equal to your Strength modifier plus your Constitution modifier, and regain uses on long rest. When you Launch, you make a long or high jump with distance up to 30' (replaces your normal jump distance). The Launch distance increases an additional 10' at level 10, level 15, and level 18, and the entire Launch distance can be modified via magic such as the Jump spell, magic items, etc. You must use movement equal to your maximum movement speed to Launch, and you reach the apex of your jump during your turn, dropping on your next turn up to 500'. Like standard Jump rules, Launch assumes no fall damage is taken if the character returns to the same elevation or higher as a result of the Launch.
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Drop Attack - You can perform a Drop Attack a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain uses on a Long Rest. After falling from great height, you may take the Drop Attack action. You make an attack roll with your weapon. The attack roll is at a -1 penalty to hit for every 10' of descent, up to 200'. In addition, if an enemy of the target is within that enemy's range and isn't incapacitated, or if you descended 30' or more, you have advantage on the attack roll.
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Drop Distance - For every 10' of height dropped, you may choose to drop to any location within 10' of your initial point of descent (or Launch).
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Drop Crit - Your critical hit range is increased by 1 for every 30' of drop, and you regain a charge of Launch and Drop Attack when you crit.
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Damaging hit (attack roll ≥ target's AC) - You deal damage equal to your weapon attack's normal damage plus extra damage of the same type equal to 1d6 for every 10' of descent. This damage increases to 1d8 at Fighter level 10, 1d10 at level 15, and 1d12 at level 18.
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Non-damaging hit (8 < attack roll ≤ target's AC) - You land in the selected location on your feet but the target deflects the damage.
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On miss (attack roll ≤ 8) - Make a dexterity saving throw with DC equal to 8 + 1 for every 10' of drop. On success, you take half fall damage and land on your feet. On failure, you take full damage, and fall prone. If you roll a 1 on your saving throw, you also become Stunned until the start of your next turn. If there are no enemies in range when you land, you make this roll at advantage, and take no damage on success and half damage on failure. Reactions such as Feather Fall, flight, or any other means to negate fall damage can be used to prevent this damage as well.
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Art by
- Shadowverse Game - Imperial Dragoon (https://sv.bagoum.com/cards/103441010)
- yuchenghong (https://www.deviantart.com/yuchenghong/art/Mobius-Final-Fantasy-Dragoon-557337277)**
Design notes
Charge System
Rogue's can typically sneak attack every turn for large damage output without a rest cooldown, making their damage output consistently high. The Paladin can smite multiple times per turn for large damage output, though a long rest is required when spell slots run out. Monks have many uses of their Ki which give them minor boons for each use, increasing their overall damage from short rest to short rest. The Dragoon variant of the Champion Fighter subclass can deal great damage via the Drop Attack mechanic, but is both less likely to hit, and at risk of taking high damage on failure. Due to the amount of damage the Drop Attack can deal, the Dragoon uses charges.
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Launch uses are defined by the character's strength and constitution mod to allow the subclass to become more useful as attributes are gained, since the Jump rules are special for this class and don't rely on strength anymore. Constitution was included to allow the Dragoon to Launch more often, including outside of combat. Launch uses recharge on long rest because short rest would allow the Dragoon to Launch too often.
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Drop Attack uses are defined by the character's proficiency bonus to allow the subclass to become more useful as the character gains levels. Drop Attack uses recharge on long rest for the same reason as Launch, drop attacking too often could be too powerful. Need to playtest to be sure.
Launch
Launch Distance
The Launch distance is increased separately from the normal jump rules because a normal adventure can only jump 8' via maximum strength scores without magic influence. This would make this class ineffective since it requires 10' of height minimum to deal damage (not to mention it'd be a bad Dragoon). The class starts with 30' of Launch, increasing up to 60' by level 18. This slow increase allows the Dragoon to make flashier jump attacks as they level to get into the Dragoon fantasy. Magic items and spells can augment this jump height as normal. The feature assumes the jump rule that if you don't change Z height between start and descent, you don't take fall damage, but failing to hit during a Drop Attack could be dangerous. If you try a Drop Attack from great heights, this could be risky for a low level character and continues to be risky as their character gains levels.
Also, normal jump rules still apply when the player isn't using a charge of Launch to perform a jump.
Finally, free fall takes less than 6 seconds for a drop anywhere under ~600 feet (modified to 500 for ease of math and to account for air resistance), so the Dragoon will always drop in one turn after reaching the apex of their Launch.
Drop Attack
The penalty to hit is included to reduce the average damage result of the attack. To offset this so it's not impossible to hit, advantage is given in the same situation as a Rogue's sneak attack, or if the Dragoon "exited" the enemies sight due to a very high Launch (30'+). I'm not sure if this will result in the Dragoon failing often or not, resulting in a boring set of turns. Playtesting needed.
Drop Attack Drop Distance
Because 5e turn structure means an enemy can move after the jump is initiated, the drop range was defined by the jump height to reduce the chance of the jump being wasted completely by a moving foe. It also adds another push-your-luck decision because the higher you jump, the less likely you are to hit, and more likely you are to fall and get hurt on the attack. Note, this is also similar to how Final Fantasy Tactics dragoons work, increasing damage and drop distance at the cost of more turns before fall.
Drop Attack Drop Crit Range
The critical hit range is expanded to both account for the effective loss of an attack each "setup" turn and to synergize with the Champion's already enhanced crit range. Gaining a charge of Dragoon Descent (both Launch and Drop Attack) on crit is similar to the Gunslinger's Grit feature, and since this class focuses on earning crits, it allows another avenue for regaining charges between long rests.
Drop Attack - Hit Types
I separated "hit but no damage" and "complete miss" because I like the thematic side of completely missing your target and penalizing the character for failure. The math results in a relatively low chance to completely miss, roughly 20% at level 6 with advantage, up to 40% without advantage. This failure chance lowers as the character gains levels and via smaller jumps, but feats like Great Weapon Master can push the failure chance higher if a player isn't careful.
Natural 1 was added into the mix because I think it's especially thematic to turn the Dragoon into a Floor Tank on failure, where they rightly belong.
Drop Attack - Damage
Damage output can be higher for this subclass due to reduced action economy during a Launch and Drop Attack. If there are no enemies in your range before you Launch, you lose your attack action for that turn, since it takes your whole movement to Launch. You can Dash the same turn to move first, allowing you to get closer to a foe and then Launch, but you still missed out on an attack since your action was used to Dash. This features requires two turns to effectively deal increased damage.