I've been thinking of some minor tweaks to Battlerager and wanted to get a little feedback. I love the concept, love the lore and the characters from old books, but the subclass is subpar. I'm not looking to make it blow bear totem out of the water, but just take it up a notch.
So, my ideas are as follows:
Change battlerager armor feature to grant you the ability to use armor as an improvised weapon that you are proficient with. Doesn't have to be spiked, doesn't have to be the one set of armor, any armor will do, flavor and narrative license abounds.
Change the grappling damage to PB per successful grapple and successfully keeping them from escaping grapple. Scales with character, works more than once.
I'm okay with reckless abandon, but think there should be some boost to max hp akin to the tough feat as well. Whether that is at level 3 or here, I'm not sure.
Battlerager charge should still keep the dash as a BA option, but should also grant features similar to charger feat, but make it have any movement of at least 10' in a straight line prior to a melee attack grant the bonus damage or push option.
Retribution should be either like the battle master riposte or have a higher damage output, maybe Con mod related.
I'm curious to hear the community's take on these tweaks.
Ive also been playing around with revising the battlerager, so Ill give my thoughts.
Honestly, I like your idea of making it armor-agnostic. Maybe rewriting the feature to allow the barbarian to apply spikes to a suit of armor as part of a long rest or something. Maybe even at higher levels they could have a feature that allows them to maintain the benefits of their rage while wearing heavy armor. Idk, could be fun.
I agree with changing the spiked armor damage from grappling to PB so it at least scales. I also changed it so that as long as you maintain a grapple (or are grappled) a creature continues to take this damage, which it think is a nice little boost that encourages using this barbarian as a grappler
For my own revisions, I have also given them an entirely new ability which aims to be a general buff to using the armor spikes (boosting the base damage and allowing it to count as magical) so that it remains competitive (if not better) than PAM with a magic weapon. Ill put it below if you are interested
Spiked Armor Mastery
You channel the spirit of the Kuldjargh, abandoning any sense of self preservation and empowering your drive to destroy your enemies. Beginning at 10th level, you have a mastery over using your spiked armor and gain the following benefits while wearing it:
Attacks made using the armor spikes deal 2d4 damage instead of 1d4.
Any piercing damage dealt by the armor spikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
If you hit a creature that is grappled by you with an attack made using the armor spikes, the target has disadvantage on the next Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) skill check made to escape the grapple.
For the Retribution, I played around with giving it more damage or tying it to a reaction, but what I realized is that higher levels you will likely be fighting lots of enemies who can each attack 2-4 times per action with the possibility of legendary/mythic action attacks on top of it, so although the damage seems underwhelming on paper it does have alot of potential depending on how often you are getting hit. I did end up changing the damage to scale with your Rage Damage instead of being a flat 3 so you at least get a small boost of 3 -> 4 in the last few levels of barbarian. I also reworded it to be more like the Fire Form feature of a Fire Elemental to account for creatures "touching" you. My main reason for this is that I found the base restriction of them being within 5feet to be to punishing depending on monster type. While I get why a polearm-equipped enemy wouldnt necessarily be damaged by attacking from 10 feet away, I do still think that a Kraken that hits me with its tentacle should still take the damage even if it has a 30 foot reach, since its hitting me with part of its body, ya know?
I really like being able to maintain rage in heavy armor! Didn't think of that nice boost.
I'm not initially sold on your new level 10, I like the attempt to get magical for overcoming resistance, I think it is better accomplished by stating any magical armor can be used in this manner. I think allowing proficiency allows enough of a boost to not need the additional die. I really like the idea of creating disadvantage for those damaged in a grapple.
I am super into your retribution for all touch, wonder if rage or PB is a better fit here. I think you're probably on the right track with the scaling factor, but I think the ability should apply even when not raging as long as not incapacitated.
I also really like that someone is thinking of these types of tweaks too! Thanks for sharing.
I really like being able to maintain rage in heavy armor! Didn't think of that nice boost.
I'm not initially sold on your new level 10, I like the attempt to get magical for overcoming resistance, I think it is better accomplished by stating any magical armor can be used in this manner. I think allowing proficiency allows enough of a boost to not need the additional die. I really like the idea of creating disadvantage for those damaged in a grapple.
I may play with the damage die a little, maybe make it 1d6 instead of 2d4, but I want the bonus action attack for the subclass to be stronger than using PAM with a magical weapon, especially if you've invested 10 levels into it. Even when magical, 1d4+Str would only be on par with PAM which any character proficient in such weapons can have at level 4.
I am super into your retribution for all touch, wonder if rage or PB is a better fit here. I think you're probably on the right track with the scaling factor, but I think the ability should apply even when not raging as long as not incapacitated.
Its tempting to untangle it from Rage, but I would prefer not to use PB for everything here. PB might also be too much as you are comparing a maximum of 3-4 damage per hit to a maximum of 5-6 damage per hit. Havent run the numbers, but im afraid it might overtune it compared to the original 3 damage, especially when you factor in it would be easier to apply this damage to creatures that touch you. Arguably, with the addition of the touch trigger, this could double up with grappling while raging to be PB+Rage Damage while you maintain a grapple. I am not sure thats what I want , but if you went that route I think PB+Rage Damage would be enough damage to justify restricting its usage to when you are raging.
I also really like that someone is thinking of these types of tweaks too! Thanks for sharing.
No problem. I have been working on redoing alot of the SCAG subclasses that seem to have been "forgotten" when it comes to reprints. Here is the full version of my rework so far, if you are interested.
Have you had a chance to look at the new unearthed arcana? Specifically, the changes to grappling look like they are going to make builds like this feel very differently.
Have you had a chance to look at the new unearthed arcana? Specifically, the changes to grappling look like they are going to make builds like this feel very differently.
I have been thinking about it. Its a very interesting change that, unfortunately, works against a barbarian's strengths (no pun intended). That is to say, your grapples no longer get stronger while you are raging, since the new version using a flat DC. But who knows, maybe there will be something like that added when we see a class UA
I think the quickest way to apply this change to Battlerager would be to make using the armor spikes for an attack a variation of an unarmed strike where you deal 1d4+Str piercing damage instead of the normal 1+Str bludgeoning damage. Then add a blurb where while you are raging you can make this unarmed strike as a bonus action, and if you grapple a creature with an unarmed strike you get to deal X amount of damage along with the grapple.
The biggest issues with BR imho aren't the armor or such but rather the fact that it's reliant on grappling and that the damage is just so... pitiful.
The main changes I would make would be Making it so that larger creatures can't simply end the grapple and instead be slowed while it's in place and to increase the damage output of the spikes; something like 2+con modifier that is automatically applied while the grapple is in effect so that their persistent damage actually matters and a bonus action can be freed up.
My latest draft of edits to this subclass I think are clear improvements that remain closely tied to the theme. The one issue I'm still having is the spiked retribution, especially since making the subclass armor agnostic eliminates the "spiked" portion for sure, but I'm not sure how much to crank it up for a 14th level ability that doesn't overtune it. Here is where I'm at now:
At level 3 -
You ignore any class feature that has a restriction against heavy armor, except unarmored defense (can rage and gain fast movement).
You can grapple creature two sizes larger than yourself.
While wearing armor and raging you can use your armor to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. You determine the type of damage inflicted by this attack, bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing, at the time of acquiring your armor. If you are wearing magic armor, your attacks count as magical for the purpose of bypassing resistance or immunity.
When you successfully grapple a creature, or a creature fails to escape your grapple, you may make an unarmed strike against the creature. If a creature successfully grapples you, or when you escape a grapple, you may make an unarmed strike against that creature.
At level 6 - additionally to reckless abandon, you may use your reaction to expend one hit die to gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on your hit die. These hit points also vanish when your rage ends.
At level 10 - battlerager charge retains the BA dash action but additionally when you move at least 10 feet in a straight line prior to making a melee attack, you may choose to either deal an additional +5 damage or or push the target 10 feet away from you.
At level 14 - Raging retribution (working title) allows for you to make an improvised weapon attack against any creature or object that touches you or hits you with a melee attack. You can only use this ability once per turn
That 6th level ability is even worse than the original version. The third level abilities are confusingly worded. And the 14th level power should be restricted to enemies that are within 5 feet of you. And I recommend "Raging Retaliation" for a name.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
That 6th level ability is even worse than the original version. The third level abilities are confusingly worded. And the 14th level power should be restricted to enemies that are within 5 feet of you. And I recommend "Raging Retaliation" for a name.
Appreciate the feedback, can you clarify some of your points for me?
How is having the option for using hit dice to get more temp ho worse than a flat Con modifier?
What is confusing about the third level abilities?
I was trying to avoid retaliation in the name of the 14th level ability because of the berserker ability. Also, I do t think it should be limited to 5 feet because I want it to specifically work for a monster with reach. They still have to hit you with a melee attack, or touches you (like a grapple).
My latest draft of edits to this subclass I think are clear improvements that remain closely tied to the theme. The one issue I'm still having is the spiked retribution, especially since making the subclass armor agnostic eliminates the "spiked" portion for sure, but I'm not sure how much to crank it up for a 14th level ability that doesn't overtune it. Here is where I'm at now:
At level 3 -
You ignore any class feature that has a restriction against heavy armor, except unarmored defense (can rage and gain fast movement).
There's no reason not to allow unarmored defense to work while in armor, including heavy armor, if you're looking to do something like this.
You can grapple creature two sizes larger than yourself.
This is fine.
While wearing armor and raging you can use your armor to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. You determine the type of damage inflicted by this attack, bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing, at the time of acquiring your armor. If you are wearing magic armor, your attacks count as magical for the purpose of bypassing resistance or immunity.
This should also be allowed as an action.
If you're not using the new playtest rules, strongly suggest manually allowing grapples as a bonus action.
When you successfully grapple a creature, or a creature fails to escape your grapple, you may make an unarmed strike against the creature. If a creature successfully grapples you, or when you escape a grapple, you may make an unarmed strike against that creature.
You need to ensure these strikes have some sort of economy cost; I suggest that the off-turn ones cost your reaction. Remember, you can escape a grapple via forced movement.
At level 6 - additionally to reckless abandon, you may use your reaction to expend one hit die to gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on your hit die. These hit points also vanish when your rage ends.
This is poorly worded, leading to a failure in every way to stack with Reckless Abandon. Try this: Instead of gaining your Con mod in THP, you can spend a hit die to gain what you roll plus your Con mod in THP.
At level 10 - battlerager charge retains the BA dash action but additionally when you move at least 10 feet in a straight line prior to making a melee attack, you may choose to either deal an additional +5 damage or or push the target 10 feet away from you.
Overpowered since your wording applies the effects without needing to hit and anti-synergistic in that a) you've written your battlerager to use its BA for something else and b) if it shoves something away it'll break its own grapples. Strongly suggest replacing with this:
Whenever the battlerager successfully grapples, it may choose any one of the following effects to add to the grapple:
The target is shoved 5 feet away and the battlerager can move 5' at the same time, ensuring the shove does not break the grapple.
At level 14 - Raging retribution (working title) allows for you to make an improvised weapon attack against any creature or object that touches you or hits you with a melee attack. You can only use this ability once per turn
This is weird beyond belief if the target is outside of the rager's reach and using a weapon that isn't an unarmed strike or natural weapon.
That 6th level ability is even worse than the original version. The third level abilities are confusingly worded. And the 14th level power should be restricted to enemies that are within 5 feet of you. And I recommend "Raging Retaliation" for a name.
Appreciate the feedback, can you clarify some of your points for me?
How is having the option for using hit dice to get more temp ho worse than a flat Con modifier?
Because Hit Dice are a limited resource and burning them to get a small amount of temporary HP is pretty weak compared to freely getting temp HP equal to your Con mod.
What is confusing about the third level abilities?
quindraco summed it up better.
I was trying to avoid retaliation in the name of the 14th level ability because of the berserker ability. Also, I do t think it should be limited to 5 feet because I want it to specifically work for a monster with reach. They still have to hit you with a melee attack, or touches you (like a grapple).
Because many monsters and NPCs have reach thanks to reach weapons. Smacking someone's halberd shouldn't injure them and it keeps the ability in line with other similar abilities.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I was trying to avoid retaliation in the name of the 14th level ability because of the berserker ability. Also, I do t think it should be limited to 5 feet because I want it to specifically work for a monster with reach. They still have to hit you with a melee attack, or touches you (like a grapple).
Because many monsters and NPCs have reach thanks to reach weapons. Smacking someone's halberd shouldn't injure them and it keeps the ability in line with other similar abilities.
(nevermind, I see that they already have language relating to a creature touching you so I have nothing else to add)
Thanks for the input here. I know I don't have precise language, more or less the concepts I was going for.
Functionally, I have no issues with allowing unarmored defense to work with heavy armor. I just find an issue with using that feature when you are armored. I get that only one AC calculation works, but it still strikes me odd.
For the armor attack as a BA, this was intended to be an additional option, not a replacement. I agree it should be as either an action or bonus.
The grapple escape strike should use reaction off turn, absolutely. My thought is that your successful grapple should also provide an opportunity to deal damage. Not sure the wording to get to that, maybe a bullet point for each.
For the THP, I originally was thinking of how you wrote it, but thought that may provide too many. Would you still allow a flat CON mod amount as an option? It just the hit die version?
For the charge, here is a better clarification:
You can dash as a bonus action
When you move 10' or more in a straight line prior to hitting with a melee attack, you may choose to add +5 damage, or push the target 10' directly away from you, or knock the target prone
The charge may, but does not require, pairing with a grapple.
Ok, for the retribution idea. I don't want it to work for weapon attacks that are not natural weapons, the idea of object was in case you were attacked by a construct. Ultimately if the attack against you touches you with some part of their body, regardless of how far they are away, I want to be able to lash out in response. I didn't want it to use reaction, but it needs limits so I thought once per turn achieves the same result. I thought attacking some tentacled beast back for each strike of it's multi attack would be overpowered. I also thought if I specified specified types of attack (unarmed strike, bite, or natural weapons) it may limit it too much.
I really appreciate the constructive criticism here, I'm hoping to get this in a testable version soon. My current character in our campaign is likely to die after where we left off last session, so this could be a fun replacement.
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I've been thinking of some minor tweaks to Battlerager and wanted to get a little feedback. I love the concept, love the lore and the characters from old books, but the subclass is subpar. I'm not looking to make it blow bear totem out of the water, but just take it up a notch.
So, my ideas are as follows:
Change battlerager armor feature to grant you the ability to use armor as an improvised weapon that you are proficient with. Doesn't have to be spiked, doesn't have to be the one set of armor, any armor will do, flavor and narrative license abounds.
Change the grappling damage to PB per successful grapple and successfully keeping them from escaping grapple. Scales with character, works more than once.
I'm okay with reckless abandon, but think there should be some boost to max hp akin to the tough feat as well. Whether that is at level 3 or here, I'm not sure.
Battlerager charge should still keep the dash as a BA option, but should also grant features similar to charger feat, but make it have any movement of at least 10' in a straight line prior to a melee attack grant the bonus damage or push option.
Retribution should be either like the battle master riposte or have a higher damage output, maybe Con mod related.
I'm curious to hear the community's take on these tweaks.
Ive also been playing around with revising the battlerager, so Ill give my thoughts.
Honestly, I like your idea of making it armor-agnostic. Maybe rewriting the feature to allow the barbarian to apply spikes to a suit of armor as part of a long rest or something. Maybe even at higher levels they could have a feature that allows them to maintain the benefits of their rage while wearing heavy armor. Idk, could be fun.
I agree with changing the spiked armor damage from grappling to PB so it at least scales. I also changed it so that as long as you maintain a grapple (or are grappled) a creature continues to take this damage, which it think is a nice little boost that encourages using this barbarian as a grappler
For my own revisions, I have also given them an entirely new ability which aims to be a general buff to using the armor spikes (boosting the base damage and allowing it to count as magical) so that it remains competitive (if not better) than PAM with a magic weapon. Ill put it below if you are interested
Spiked Armor Mastery
You channel the spirit of the Kuldjargh, abandoning any sense of self preservation and empowering your drive to destroy your enemies. Beginning at 10th level, you have a mastery over using your spiked armor and gain the following benefits while wearing it:
For the Retribution, I played around with giving it more damage or tying it to a reaction, but what I realized is that higher levels you will likely be fighting lots of enemies who can each attack 2-4 times per action with the possibility of legendary/mythic action attacks on top of it, so although the damage seems underwhelming on paper it does have alot of potential depending on how often you are getting hit. I did end up changing the damage to scale with your Rage Damage instead of being a flat 3 so you at least get a small boost of 3 -> 4 in the last few levels of barbarian. I also reworded it to be more like the Fire Form feature of a Fire Elemental to account for creatures "touching" you. My main reason for this is that I found the base restriction of them being within 5feet to be to punishing depending on monster type. While I get why a polearm-equipped enemy wouldnt necessarily be damaged by attacking from 10 feet away, I do still think that a Kraken that hits me with its tentacle should still take the damage even if it has a 30 foot reach, since its hitting me with part of its body, ya know?
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I really like being able to maintain rage in heavy armor! Didn't think of that nice boost.
I'm not initially sold on your new level 10, I like the attempt to get magical for overcoming resistance, I think it is better accomplished by stating any magical armor can be used in this manner. I think allowing proficiency allows enough of a boost to not need the additional die. I really like the idea of creating disadvantage for those damaged in a grapple.
I am super into your retribution for all touch, wonder if rage or PB is a better fit here. I think you're probably on the right track with the scaling factor, but I think the ability should apply even when not raging as long as not incapacitated.
I also really like that someone is thinking of these types of tweaks too! Thanks for sharing.
I may play with the damage die a little, maybe make it 1d6 instead of 2d4, but I want the bonus action attack for the subclass to be stronger than using PAM with a magical weapon, especially if you've invested 10 levels into it. Even when magical, 1d4+Str would only be on par with PAM which any character proficient in such weapons can have at level 4.
Its tempting to untangle it from Rage, but I would prefer not to use PB for everything here. PB might also be too much as you are comparing a maximum of 3-4 damage per hit to a maximum of 5-6 damage per hit. Havent run the numbers, but im afraid it might overtune it compared to the original 3 damage, especially when you factor in it would be easier to apply this damage to creatures that touch you. Arguably, with the addition of the touch trigger, this could double up with grappling while raging to be PB+Rage Damage while you maintain a grapple. I am not sure thats what I want , but if you went that route I think PB+Rage Damage would be enough damage to justify restricting its usage to when you are raging.
No problem. I have been working on redoing alot of the SCAG subclasses that seem to have been "forgotten" when it comes to reprints. Here is the full version of my rework so far, if you are interested.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Have you had a chance to look at the new unearthed arcana? Specifically, the changes to grappling look like they are going to make builds like this feel very differently.
I have been thinking about it. Its a very interesting change that, unfortunately, works against a barbarian's strengths (no pun intended). That is to say, your grapples no longer get stronger while you are raging, since the new version using a flat DC. But who knows, maybe there will be something like that added when we see a class UA
I think the quickest way to apply this change to Battlerager would be to make using the armor spikes for an attack a variation of an unarmed strike where you deal 1d4+Str piercing damage instead of the normal 1+Str bludgeoning damage. Then add a blurb where while you are raging you can make this unarmed strike as a bonus action, and if you grapple a creature with an unarmed strike you get to deal X amount of damage along with the grapple.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
A minor tweak that would help a lot: just scrap the armor and make the bonus action attack a PAM style bonus attack available while raging.
The biggest issues with BR imho aren't the armor or such but rather the fact that it's reliant on grappling and that the damage is just so... pitiful.
The main changes I would make would be Making it so that larger creatures can't simply end the grapple and instead be slowed while it's in place and to increase the damage output of the spikes; something like 2+con modifier that is automatically applied while the grapple is in effect so that their persistent damage actually matters and a bonus action can be freed up.
I have considered reworking battle rage as a heavy armor focused barbarian.
My latest draft of edits to this subclass I think are clear improvements that remain closely tied to the theme. The one issue I'm still having is the spiked retribution, especially since making the subclass armor agnostic eliminates the "spiked" portion for sure, but I'm not sure how much to crank it up for a 14th level ability that doesn't overtune it. Here is where I'm at now:
At level 3 -
You ignore any class feature that has a restriction against heavy armor, except unarmored defense (can rage and gain fast movement).
You can grapple creature two sizes larger than yourself.
While wearing armor and raging you can use your armor to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. You determine the type of damage inflicted by this attack, bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing, at the time of acquiring your armor. If you are wearing magic armor, your attacks count as magical for the purpose of bypassing resistance or immunity.
When you successfully grapple a creature, or a creature fails to escape your grapple, you may make an unarmed strike against the creature. If a creature successfully grapples you, or when you escape a grapple, you may make an unarmed strike against that creature.
At level 6 - additionally to reckless abandon, you may use your reaction to expend one hit die to gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on your hit die. These hit points also vanish when your rage ends.
At level 10 - battlerager charge retains the BA dash action but additionally when you move at least 10 feet in a straight line prior to making a melee attack, you may choose to either deal an additional +5 damage or or push the target 10 feet away from you.
At level 14 - Raging retribution (working title) allows for you to make an improvised weapon attack against any creature or object that touches you or hits you with a melee attack. You can only use this ability once per turn
That 6th level ability is even worse than the original version. The third level abilities are confusingly worded. And the 14th level power should be restricted to enemies that are within 5 feet of you. And I recommend "Raging Retaliation" for a name.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Appreciate the feedback, can you clarify some of your points for me?
How is having the option for using hit dice to get more temp ho worse than a flat Con modifier?
What is confusing about the third level abilities?
I was trying to avoid retaliation in the name of the 14th level ability because of the berserker ability. Also, I do t think it should be limited to 5 feet because I want it to specifically work for a monster with reach. They still have to hit you with a melee attack, or touches you (like a grapple).
There's no reason not to allow unarmored defense to work while in armor, including heavy armor, if you're looking to do something like this.
This is fine.
This should also be allowed as an action.
If you're not using the new playtest rules, strongly suggest manually allowing grapples as a bonus action.
You need to ensure these strikes have some sort of economy cost; I suggest that the off-turn ones cost your reaction. Remember, you can escape a grapple via forced movement.
This is poorly worded, leading to a failure in every way to stack with Reckless Abandon. Try this: Instead of gaining your Con mod in THP, you can spend a hit die to gain what you roll plus your Con mod in THP.
Overpowered since your wording applies the effects without needing to hit and anti-synergistic in that a) you've written your battlerager to use its BA for something else and b) if it shoves something away it'll break its own grapples. Strongly suggest replacing with this:
This is weird beyond belief if the target is outside of the rager's reach and using a weapon that isn't an unarmed strike or natural weapon.
Because Hit Dice are a limited resource and burning them to get a small amount of temporary HP is pretty weak compared to freely getting temp HP equal to your Con mod.
quindraco summed it up better.
Because many monsters and NPCs have reach thanks to reach weapons. Smacking someone's halberd shouldn't injure them and it keeps the ability in line with other similar abilities.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
(nevermind, I see that they already have language relating to a creature touching you so I have nothing else to add)
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Thanks for the input here. I know I don't have precise language, more or less the concepts I was going for.
Functionally, I have no issues with allowing unarmored defense to work with heavy armor. I just find an issue with using that feature when you are armored. I get that only one AC calculation works, but it still strikes me odd.
For the armor attack as a BA, this was intended to be an additional option, not a replacement. I agree it should be as either an action or bonus.
The grapple escape strike should use reaction off turn, absolutely. My thought is that your successful grapple should also provide an opportunity to deal damage. Not sure the wording to get to that, maybe a bullet point for each.
For the THP, I originally was thinking of how you wrote it, but thought that may provide too many. Would you still allow a flat CON mod amount as an option? It just the hit die version?
For the charge, here is a better clarification:
The charge may, but does not require, pairing with a grapple.
Ok, for the retribution idea. I don't want it to work for weapon attacks that are not natural weapons, the idea of object was in case you were attacked by a construct. Ultimately if the attack against you touches you with some part of their body, regardless of how far they are away, I want to be able to lash out in response. I didn't want it to use reaction, but it needs limits so I thought once per turn achieves the same result. I thought attacking some tentacled beast back for each strike of it's multi attack would be overpowered. I also thought if I specified specified types of attack (unarmed strike, bite, or natural weapons) it may limit it too much.
I really appreciate the constructive criticism here, I'm hoping to get this in a testable version soon. My current character in our campaign is likely to die after where we left off last session, so this could be a fun replacement.