Master-At-Arms

A Fighter with effective training and application of specialized styles using a variety of weapons is the mark of the Master-At-Arms. These fighters may hail from noble families who can afford experts to train up their children, or they may have their origins in the fighting pits, where the ability to use whatever weapons are placed in their hands is a matter of life and death. The Master-At-Arms focuses on dual-wielding their weapons and combining both hands into a skillful fusion of deadly assault.

This is a Fighter subclass based on the 2024 PHB that builds upon and adds some complexity to two-weapon fighting. This subclass doesn't operate on any resource like Battlemasters do. Rather, their complexity extends from variable benefits and advantages that are gained through mixing and matching weapons based on their damage types between piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning.

A player who controls a Master-At-Arms would want to keep his fighter stocked with a virtual armory of various weaponry. This is key to allowing the flexibility to employ all of the Two-Weapon Tactics they know, shifting between them to whatever suits the situation. As they grow in power, they can make more attacks while defending themselves, and eventually others, through a mastery of wielding weapons in both hands. 

(Version 2024.1 updates this subclass to the new 2024 Player's Handbook rules.)

Capable Hands

Your training in handling weapons in both hands makes you capable of dual-wielding weapons others cannot. Beginning when you take this archetype at 3rd level, you treat all simple one-handed weapons as if they had the light property in addition to their other properties.

Two-Weapon Tactics

Your pursuit of mastering a variety of arms has provided you with specialized tactics when using a weapon in each hand. Utilizing them in compliment of each other, you can create unique opportunities and strategies when engaged in combat. Beginning when you take this archetype at 3rd level, the damage types of the weapons you wield change your stance and style to provide certain benefits:

Bonecrusher: You have learned to put the combined blunt force of bludgeoning weapons to brutish use. When fighting with two bludgeoning weapons, a target who is hit by both of your weapons in one of your turns is concussed by the shocking force of the blows. The target suffers from disadvantage on the first ability check or attack roll it makes until the end of its next turn, and the first attack made against it by your allies has advantage until the start of your next turn.

Slice and Dice: With two sharp edges in your hands, you are capable of inflicting bleeding wounds that incur lingering damage on your opponents. When fighting with two slashing weapons, a target that is hit by both of your weapons in one of your turns takes an additional 1d6 slashing damage at the start of its next turn. Constructs and Undead are immune to this effect. The damage dealt by this tactic increases when you reach Fighter level 10 (1d8) and Fighter level 18 (1d10).

Twin Fang: You have learned how to utilize the punishing power of piercing weapons to reduce the effectiveness of your opponents. When fighting with two piercing weapons, a target that is hit by both of your weapons in one of your turns suffers from a 10-foot reduction in speed and must roll a 1d4 and subtract the result from the next ability check or attack roll it makes. Both penalties last until the end of the target’s next turn.

Hammer and Nail: Combining brutal power with the cruel accuracy of a sharp point, you have learned how to use blunted blows to open windows of attack on your opponent's most vital areas. When fighting with a bludgeoning weapon and a piercing weapon, the bludgeoning weapon receives a +1 on weapon attack rolls, and the piercing weapon has an improved critical attack range of 19-20.

Bash and Slash: The fusion of a blunt face with a sharp edge allows for vicious slicing attacks against weakened, bruised opponents. When fighting with a bludgeoning and a slashing weapon, the bludgeoning weapon receives a +1 on weapon attack rolls, and the slashing weapon receives a +2 on damage rolls.

Slicing Skewer: The prime example of deadly precision, fusing the power to puncture and cut allows for the opportunity to inflict a variety of wounds with savage accuracy. When fighting with a slashing weapon and a piercing weapon, both weapons receive either a +1 to weapon attack rolls or a +1 to damage rolls. This is decided for each weapon before each attack roll and can change between multiple attacks with the same weapon.

Parrying Strike

You have learned how to use your weapons for more than just offensive power. Starting at 7th level, when hit by a melee attack, you can use your reaction to parry the blow with a swing of one of your weapons and reduce the incoming damage. Make a damage roll with the weapon you use to activate this ability (excluding magical bonuses), and reduce the damage by that amount. 

Strong Grip

Your constant use of both hands in combat has allowed you to increase the efficacy of your offhand to rival your main hand. Starting at 10th level, you gain the following benefits:
- You treat all melee weapons which lack the Two-Handed property as though they had the light property in addition to their other properties
- When you make an attack with a weapon that has the light property and whose weapon mastery you can use, you can replace that mastery property with the Nick property for that attack.

Improved Parrying Strike

You have mastered the ability to deflect incoming blows with your weapons. Starting at 15th level, you can use your Parrying Strike ability against a melee attack targeting any ally within 5 feet of you. Additionally, if your parry reduces the damage of the attack to 0, the attacker drops the weapon used to make the attack, and all attacks made against the attacker have advantage until the start of your next turn. 

Two-Weapon Mastery

At 18th level, your unparalleled expertise in using a weapon in each hand has allowed your Two-Weapon Tactics to drastically improve:
- The attack and damage bonuses granted by Hammer and Nail, Bash and Slash, and Slicing Skewer are doubled
- The concussive effect of Bonecrusher imposes disadvantage all ability checks and attack rolls made until the end of the target’s next turn
- The effects of Twin Fang are increased to a 20-foot penalty to speed and a 2d4 penalty to the next ability check or attack roll
- The improved critical range to your piercing weapon granted by Hammer and Nail increases to 18 to 20