Gnomenrikke Commando

Gnomenrikke Commando:

A dragonborn hunkers behind a burned-out autovagen, pressed against the dirt as sparks dance around his horns from the fire piled onto him. He steadies his breathing, listening keenly for his chance. The arrows raining down on him break for just a second, and before that second ends he is already up and returning fire. The clattering of his iron rail signals the deaths of his assailants.

A human staggers through the rugged foothills of the Middle Wilds, her legs weary from twelve hours march. Her body aches from overexertion and the wounds of a dozen encounters are left open on her. She set out with five, but only she remains, and while she remains her mission will be completed. Her leg buckles and she falls, opening another gash on her knee, but she calmly rises to her feet once more and marches onwards. Her eyes are keen and undistracted by the tiredness as she watches every shadow for another ambush.

A cloaked, masked figure peers down from the rooftops at the soldiers marching through the streets below. He may have rejected the Rikke, but he has forgotten neither the experience his time as a soldier gave him nor the horrors that time showed him. He readies his rail, taking aim, his pulse as steady as his fingers. As he walks away he calmly carves another twelve notches into his constant companion.

These heroes are commandos, elite soldiers of Gnomenrikke. Whether loyal servants of the Gnomenkaiserin or deserters and rebels, the training undergone by a commando never really leaves them. The pinnacle of Rikke martial prowess, commandos are infamous for their indefatigable spirit and ironclad discipline just as much as the skill with which they wield their advanced modern equipment. 

 Prestige Irrespective of Birth

Gnomenrikke is an empire mired in prejudice, with most avenues for social advancement limited to gnomes and dwarves. Yet, the martial culture of the Rikke bestows enormous prestige on its elite soldiers, a position which even the poorest and most disrespected human can reach with enough bravery and skill. The decorated cap of a commando is the highest crown one not blessed with fortunate birth can ever hope to wear.

In a society where the military is for many the only path through which to advance their social status, the glory enjoyed by the commandos drives thousands of hopeful poor to enlist. Most meet a swift and bloody end in some gods-forsaken battlefield a thousand miles from home. Those that live are hardened into the finest soldiers Turmultia has ever seen.

Gnomenrikke Discipline

"Fortschritt Durch Stahl", Progress Through Steel, are the words which all Rikke citizens strive to uphold. There are many interpretations to this mantra, but the one favoured by the military is that the noble ideal of "Progress" before which all else is subordinate and ephemeral can only be obtained by an ironclad discipline. Rikke soldiers are expected to maintain absolute obedience and act decisively even in the most stressful situations. In practice, this spirit is paid lip service by fresh recruits right up until they step onto the battlefield, but Rikke veterans hold it to their core. Rikke technology is just one half of the secret to its utter martial dominance, the other half is the mechanical efficiency and cohesion with which its soldiers fight.

 

Rikke Drilling

"My job is to break you whelps down and rebuild you as soldiers. I love my job." -Klaus Gizmo, Gnomenrikke drilloffiezer.

Beginning at 3rd level when you select this subclass, you gain proficiency with Modern Weapons such as advanced Iron Rails and other Gnomenrikke weaponry. In addition, your gruelling hours of intense drilling have instilled in you an unshakeable discipline. When in combat, saving throws made to resist being frightened or charmed are made with advantage.

 

Battlefield Cover

"The trick to not getting shot is to make sure there's something hard between you and the enemy." -Maria Rossini, Gnomenrikke commando.

Starting at 7th level, whenever you are in half-cover, it counts as three-quarters cover. While in cover, you may choose to hunker down as an action. Your cover counts as total cover until the start of your next turn.

Elite Conditioning

"The enemies of progress live in the densest bloody forests and the thickest bloody swamps. Deadly poison, choking gas, blinding fog, sleet, hail, fire raining down from the sky... A commando's gotta be able to keep moving through all that." -Hank Weber, Gnomenrikke commando.

Starting at 10th level, you gain a single charge of Elite Conditioning, which may be used as a bonus action to remove the conditions poisoned, stunned, paralysed, or a single point of exhaustion. This charge replenishes on a long rest.

Suppressing Fire

"It's not enough to pick a single target and shoot at them. A truly elite soldier should be an active threat to every motherhubbard on the battlefield." -Eugen Strauss, Gnomenrikke commando.

Starting at 15th level, you can use your action to lay down suppressing fire. Until the start of your next turn, you get a free attack against any creature that moves or ends their turn outside of cover within your sight. This can only be used once and replenishes on a long rest.

Unstoppable Iron Hammer

"It is only in Gnomenrikke where are found those soldiers so imbued with discipline and zeal that the limitations of the flesh prove fickle before the furnace of their spirit. Only by the love in our hearts for our home and for our kin can we achieve feats of prowess unimaginable to those that lack what we have." -Gnomenkaiser Willhelm Blitzcrank.

At 18th level, you have reached the epitome of discipline and tenacity and can push your body and mind to their absolute limits. When in combat, you may gain any of the following effects as a bonus action, once per turn, an unlimited number of times. Once the combat ends, you gain a point of exhaustion for each use.

-Recover hp equal to 4d10 + your fighter level.

-Remove any one condition except exhaustion, but including unconscious.

-Replenish all uses of Action Surge.

-Replenish a single use of Suppressing Fire.

-Instantly succeed any Athletics check, provided its difficulty is not greater than 20 + your Athletics modifier.