Hey there, I have always wished that a sword and board martial class was slightly more potent. It is no secret that PAM, GWF, and GWM tend to be the go-to, and for a good reason. However, I find it boring and stale. I like the idea of a fearless Martial class charging into combat, deflecting enemy blows with their shield, striking with their weapon of choice, and following with a good old-fashioned shield bashing to the throat.
Now I realize that because of a shield, a lot of the benefit is in defense, so I wanted to make a feat that boosted the damage slightly and made the Shield Master bonus action more potent. After all, GWM/PAM gets a potent bonus action, and while shoving by itself is good, killing tends to be better. This is what I came up with:
Centurion:
You have mastered dueling with a one-handed weapon and attacking with a shield. You gain the following benefits:
When you attack with a versatile weapon in one hand and a shield in the other, you may use the versatile feature of the weapon, and add the bonus +2 damage on damage rolls from the dueling fighting style.
When you use shield bash as a bonus action from the Shield Master feat, you may roll an attack using an unarmed strike to hit. If you hit, your shield does 1d4 + STR bludgeoning damage as well as attempts to shove the enemy.
If you roll a critical hit on your shield bash, and the creature is small, medium, or large, it must make a Strength saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn. The save DC is 8 + STR + proficiency modifier.
A magical shield will add its bonus to the attack and damage rolls and bypass resistance from nonmagical weapons. For instance, a shield that is a +1 will add +1 to the attack and damage rolls.
You must have the dueling fighting style and the shield master feat to use the Centurion feat.
On average, this adds 2 extra damage for a martial class with 2 attacks. And around 7.5 damage (STR modifier of 5) with the bonus action. PAM/GWF/GWM is much more robust, but dueling is now less anemic. I guess I am just curious about some feedback if this is game-breaking or not. Thanks!
Hey there, I have always wished that a sword and board martial class was slightly more potent. It is no secret that PAM, GWF, and GWM tend to be the go-to, and for a good reason. However, I find it boring and stale. I like the idea of a fearless Martial class charging into combat, deflecting enemy blows with their shield, striking with their weapon of choice, and following with a good old-fashioned shield bashing to the throat.
Now I realize that because of a shield, a lot of the benefit is in defense, so I wanted to make a feat that boosted the damage slightly and made the Shield Master bonus action more potent. After all, GWM/PAM gets a potent bonus action, and while shoving by itself is good, killing tends to be better. This is what I came up with:
Centurion:
You have mastered dueling with a one-handed weapon and attacking with a shield. You gain the following benefits:
A magical shield will add its bonus to the attack and damage rolls and bypass resistance from nonmagical weapons. For instance, a shield that is a +1 will add +1 to the attack and damage rolls.
You must have the dueling fighting style and the shield master feat to use the Centurion feat.
On average, this adds 2 extra damage for a martial class with 2 attacks. And around 7.5 damage (STR modifier of 5) with the bonus action. PAM/GWF/GWM is much more robust, but dueling is now less anemic. I guess I am just curious about some feedback if this is game-breaking or not. Thanks!