Warlord

Two vast armies stand across the field of death, fear gripping the heart of every soldier. From their ranks, the banner is carried forth - a shining beacon without fear. Before they even know it, their feet pound across the ground, their fear left behind as they follow their symbol of hope to victory.

Collapsing to the ground, a man succumbs to wounds, exhaustion, terror, and the overwhelming clash of steel all around.  Death closes in, but before it can claim him, a hand appears, pulling him to his feet. "On your feet, soldier". The line will soon be overrun—until, among the broken ranks of soldiers, a lone soldier spots his liege. She stands, unwilling to turn aside, unwilling to step back from danger, holding back the horde of enemies alone. Retreat is no longer an option. With newfound strength behind every blow, the soldiers stand and fight like no one has ever fought before. "How did you do it?" hisses the marauder, his sword dropped before him in surrender. He kneels beside his captured comrades, encircled by a smaller force that seems to have come from nowhere. The victorious general smiles knowingly and shrugs. "Luck," he says. "And perhaps a bit of planning."

Warlords are force multipliers for their companions. Some may be fearsome combatants, while others may never lift a weapon, but in either case their presence on the battlefield will drive their allies to new heights, guiding them safely through what would surely have been their doom.

How victory is stolen from the jaws of defeat can vary, from inciting crazed zeal, to tempering an overeager charge, to pulling their friends out of the line of danger in the nick of time. The sole commonality is that a Warlord alone is but a man, while a Warlord with their companions is a legend.

Combat Commands

Starting at 3rd level, you have access to Leadership Dice. These represent your ability to focus your battlefield presence to powerful results.

Commands. You know three commands, which are detailed under “Commands” below. You can use only one command per attack action. Your commands are empowered at 10th level.

Leadership Dice. You have four leadership dice, which are initially d8s. A leadership die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended leadership dice when you finish a short or long rest.

You gain another leadership die at 6th level. At 11th level, you gain another die and they change to d10's. At 15th level, you gain another leadership die. At 17th level, your leadership dice change to d12's. 

Commands

The commands are presented in alphabetical order.

Helpful Word

You can spend a Leadership Die to take the Help action as a bonus action on your turn. When you use the Help action to aid an ally in attacking a creature, the target of that attack can be within 30 feet of you, rather than within 5 feet of you, if the target can see or hear you.

Rallying Mark

As a bonus action, you can expend a number of Leadership Dice (up to your per turn limit) to rally your allies to attack a hostile creature within 60 feet of you.

The next time damage is rolled against that target by an allied creature before the start of your next turn, they can add the Leadership Dice to the damage roll, and the attacking creature regains hit points equal to the amount rolled on the Leadership Dice.

Urgent Orders

As a bonus action, you can expend a number of Leadership Dice (up to your per turn limit) to guide your allies in expeditious action.

Target an allied creature within 60 feet of you that can see or hear you, that creature can immediately use its reaction to move up to its movement speed (up to a maximum of 30 feet) without provoking opportunity attacks. Roll the leadership dice expended, the target gains temporary hit points equal to the value rolled.

Tactician's Cunning

When you take this subclass at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the History and Investigation skills if you do not have them already. Additionally, if you can take a minute or more making a skill check, you can treat a d20 roll of 4 or lower as a 5.

Battle Plans

Starting at 3rd level, you can give yourself a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Intelligence modifier. Additionally, you can exchange your total on this roll with a willing friendly creature within 60 feet.

Tactical Insight

Starting at 3rd level, you can tactically assess a creature's options. As a bonus action, make an Intelligence (Investigation) check contested by a Charisma (Deception) check against any creature you can see within 60 feet. On a success, you can see through their tactics, granting one of the following effects: Determine Attack, Predict Movement, Outwit Response, Expose Weakness. Their effects are detailed under “Tactical Insight Effects” below. 

Tactical Insight Effects

The Tactical Insight effects are presented in alphabetical order. 

Determine Attack

You can cause the target to have disadvantage on their next attack against a creature that can see or hear you.

Expose Weakness

You can use Helpful Word to grant advantage against that target as part of the bonus action without expending a Leadership Die.

Outwit Response

You can find their openings, negating their ability to use their reaction until the end of their next turn.

Predict Movement

You deduce where they are planning to move on their next turn. They can choose to change their plans, but if they move anywhere else, their movement speed is reduced by 10 feet as they scramble to adapt.

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.

Prepare for Battle

Starting at 7th level, you can spend a minute preparing up to five allies for combat. You can expend a number of Leadership Dice up to your per turn limit, rolling them and causing your allies 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 7th level, your abilities are further empowered:

Helpful Word: Expert Instructions

When a creature benefits from your Help action, you can use your reaction to expend a Leadership Die and add it to their roll. You can use this ability after the original roll, but before the outcome is revealed.

Rallying Mark: Boost Morale

When a creature gains hit points from Rallying Mark, you can expend a Leadership die to cause another creature within 30 feet to regain the same number of hit points.

Urgent Orders: Coordinated Movements

When you use Urgent Orders, you can target a number of creatures equal to the number of Leadership Dice spent, spending dice on each target individually.

Inscrutable Mind

Starting at 10th 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 a Leadership Die and add the die result to the saving throw.

Control the Field

Starting at 10th 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.

Coordinated Transitions

Allies can move through each other's spaces during the movement you grant without it being difficult terrain.

Deceptive Movment

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.

Tactical Strike

Starting at 10th level, when you succeed on a Tactical Insight check against a creature, the next attack you or a friendly creature makes against it before the start of your next turn deals an additional 2d6 damage.

Shift the Field

Starting at 15th level, you gain the ability to relocate friendly creatures. As an action, you can expend a Leadership Die to move up to 5 friendly creatures that can see or hear you up to half their movement without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Advanced Orders

Additionally at 15th level, when you expend a 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.

Unbreakable Will

Starting at 15th level, the Warlord cannot be frightened or charmed, and gains immunity to these conditions.

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 instead of just one.