The Ardent Executioner, despite being sanctioned by a lawful authority, is still a social outcast whose very presence strikes fear into the hearts of many. Through careful study and refined technique, they command authority and kill swiftly with a passion for their craft. Though some hearts may be heavy, burdened, blackened or hardened by the lives taken, they know their roles and carry out their grim duties with a refined talent.

Tools of the Trade

Learning how to kill more effectively, you may have assisted anyone and everyone from lumberjacks, butchers, healers, apothecaries, undertakers or just carefully studied corpses and dying creatures on your own. In doing so, you've learned not only how to kill more efficiently, but how to rescue those on the brink of death. You wield the greatest weapons with artful precision as you've refined delivering a killing blow with a variety of powerful and deadly implements.

Starting at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Medicine skill, Poisoner's Kit and Martial Weapons. When you wield a two-handed weapon, including a weapon with the versatile property being wielded with two hands, you may treat the weapon as having the finesse property. You may apply your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier on attack and damage rolls, and use your Sneak Attack if other criteria are met.

Intimidating Command

Though your silent presence alone is intimidating, when you bark orders others are quick to comply. You have expertise in the Intimidation skill, applying double your proficiency modifier to checks. Additionally, as an action you can make an intimidation check against a single target within 30 feet. The difficulty class is at the DM's discretion, but is generally equal to half of the target's remaining hit points. A failed check has no effect and if a target cannot hear you or does not understand your language the check automatically fails.

If successful, the target has the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn and you can issue a one or two word order, which the target feels compelled to obey, much like the Command spell. Common orders include: 'Stand still', 'Kneel', 'Lie Down', 'Grovel' or 'Drink' - intended to make the target subservient and vulnerable to a killing blow. Melee attacks against a target who is frightened of you score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. After you have successfully used this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier, you cannot use it again until you complete a Long Rest. 

Favored Tools

At 9th level you have developed an affinity for a specific executioner's tool. Whether you prefer impaling victims on a pike, beheading them with a greataxe or splitting them in half with a greatsword, your attacks with this weapon are particularly accurate and deadly. With your favored melee weapon you may add both your Strength and Dexterity modifiers to both your attack rolls and damage rolls.

Using confiscated stores or employer-purchased poisons, you need only pay minimal amounts to refresh and maintain your Poisoner's Kit, purchasing any of the poisons listed in the DMG pp257-258 at ten percent of the listed cost. Alternatively, you may work to concoct a modified poison which costs full price. If the poison allows a saving throw, your modified poison reduces a predetermined ability score by your proficiency modifier on a failed saving throw, by half proficiency on a successful save, or double proficiency if the saving throw fails by 10 or more. Abilities reduced to 0 or below immediately kill the target. You should arrange with the DM ahead of time which poisons you have and which ability, if any, they have been modified to effect.

Looming Death

When you reach 13th level, you more easily intimidate and command groups, not just individuals. Your obvious and deadly mastery of your craft causes others to tremble and cower under your implied threats. You can use your Intimidating Command feature as a bonus action, successfully affecting a number of targets up to your proficiency modifier. When you make a melee weapon attack against a target Frightened by you any roll of 18-20 is a critical hit.

Great Cleave

At 17th level your mastery at execution often catches opponents off guard. The speed with which you can dispatch one target and immediately follow through to strike another nearly always catches the subsequent target off guard. As part of a melee weapon attack, if you reduce an opponent to 0hp you can immediately make another attack against another target within reach and apply your Sneak Attack bonus, regardless of whether other criteria have been met or if you already used your Sneak Attack this turn. You cannot move more than five feet between attacks nor exceed your normal movement speed. This feature may be used multiple times in a single turn.