Hello all. I have an idea. 

Im homebrewing a class based on emotions.

The build will have 4 subclasses. 

Im gonna have it be a half Caster, its base class will be inspired from monk and paladin. Primary CHA and DEX based.

So this will be a "spellblade".

 

I will keep adding to the thread if some people seem this interesting as a class. If not I'll still be making it. 

Just know you might see it in the homebrew down the road. 

So what do you think if a emotion based, martial and half Caster class?

Interesting premise, though I worry that the emotion-based idea will be difficult to execute and draw power budget away from the spellsword part.

Yeah I'll admit I was worried myself, but I thought it cpuld make it work. The spellblade is whatever weapon they want to use. And it will be there spellcasting focus. I did struggle with power budget for a bit too it became initial to bonus action heavy. I asked my DM and chatgpt for a little help to create passive features to lower that issue. 

Here's v4 of the class. I've started on the subclasses as well. But I thought I'd at least see what anyone thinks of this class idea. Im also down to hear what people have to say if anyone has ideas or critique.

SOULFORGED

A martial half-caster who channels emotion into power through Awakening.

CLASS OVERVIEW

Not all power is learned. Some is felt.

Where a Wizard studies magic and a Paladin devotes themselves to it, the Soulforged ignites it from within.

Through heightened emotional states—rage, clarity, ambition, or control—you shape resonance into physical force, altering your strikes, your movement, and even the battlefield itself.

CREATING A SOULFORGED

When creating a Soulforged, consider the moment your power awakened. Was it born from desperation? Discipline? A refusal to lose?

Your Awakening reflects who you are at your core—and who you are becoming.

CLASS FEATURES

As a Soulforged, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Soulforged level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Soulforged level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None

Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma

Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Persuasion

LEVEL 1 — RESONANT INSTINCT

Your body reacts to danger before your mind can process it.

Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can deal additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).

LEVEL 1 — RESONANCE POINTS

You draw upon a pool of energy called Resonance Points (RP).

Gaining RP

You gain 1 RP when one of the following occurs:

• You take damage from a hostile creature

• You score a critical hit

• You reduce a creature to 0 hit points

You can gain RP this way only once per turn.

Spending RP

You can spend RP to activate Soulforged features.

You can only spend RP on one feature per turn, unless a feature states otherwise.

LEVEL 2 — SPELLCASTING

Beginning at 2nd level, you have learned to channel resonance into magical effects.

Your spellcasting follows the progression of a Paladin.

Spell Slots

The Soulforged table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells.

You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known

You know a number of Soulforged spells equal to your Charisma modifier + half your Soulforged level (minimum of one spell).

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Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Soulforged spells.

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Spellcasting Focus

You can use a weapon you are proficient with as a spellcasting focus.

 

LEVEL 2 — SURGE STRIKE

You can channel your resonance into a powerful strike.

Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend 1 RP to deal additional damage.

The extra damage is 1d6, increasing as you gain levels in this class:

• 1d8 at 11th level

• 2d10 at 17th level

You can decide to use this feature after the attack hits.

LEVEL 2 — MINOR AWAKENING

You begin to enter a heightened state of combat awareness.

As a bonus action, you can activate your Minor Awakening.

While active:

• You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls

• Your speed increases by 10 feet

This state lasts until the start of your next turn.

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LEVEL 3 — AWAKENING

At 3rd level, your resonance manifests into a distinct form.

Choose one Awakening:

• Duality Awakening

• Distortion Awakening

• Perfection Awakening

Your Awakening grants features at 3rd, 7th, 10th, and 15th level.

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LEVEL 5 — EXTRA ATTACK

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

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LEVEL 6 — PASSIVE SURGE

Your attacks are constantly empowered.

Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you deal an additional 1d6 damage.

This damage increases to:

• 1d8 at 11th level

• 2d10 at 17th level

If you use Surge Strike on a turn, you do not gain the benefit of this feature on that turn.

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LEVEL 7 — AURA PRESSURE

Your presence alone disrupts your enemies.

Your Aura Pressure is always active.

Enemies within 10 feet of you cannot gain advantage on attack rolls against you unless they outnumber you.

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RESONANCE STABILITY

Also at 7th level, your energy stabilizes under pressure.

At the start of your turn, if you have 0 RP, you gain 1 RP.

You can only gain RP this way once per round.

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LEVEL 9 — AWAKENING MASTERY

Your Minor Awakening becomes instinctual.

At the start of your turn, you automatically gain its benefits until the start of your next turn.

This does not require an action and does not count as activating an Awakening.

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FIRST AWAKENING

Also at 9th level, you can enter a deeper state of power.

As a bonus action, you can spend 2 RP to enter your First Awakening for 1 minute.

While in this state:

• You gain a +2 bonus to weapon damage rolls

• You have advantage on Constitution saving throws

• You gain resistance to one damage type of your choice

• Your Aura Pressure becomes active, if it is not already

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FLUID AWAKENING

When you activate your First Awakening, you can do so as part of the same bonus action used to activate another Soulforged feature.

You can use this benefit only once per turn.

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LEVEL 11 — REFINED SURGE

Your Surge Strike damage increases to 1d8.

Additionally, your Armor Class increases by 1.

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GUARDED FLOW

When you use your Surge Strike, you gain a +1 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn.

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LEVEL 13 — SECOND AWAKENING

Your control over your power deepens.

Your Minor Awakening no longer requires a bonus action.

You cannot activate more than one Awakening feature on the same turn.

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LEVEL 15 — PERFECT FLOW

Your actions flow together effortlessly.

Once per turn, when you spend RP, you can gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

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LEVEL 17 — MYTHIC RESONANCE

Your strikes reach legendary levels of precision.

When you use Surge Strike, you can roll one of the damage dice twice and use the higher result.

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LEVEL 18 — RESONANCE EFFICIENCY

Your energy adapts to incoming threats.

Once per turn when you spend RP, you can gain resistance to two of the following damage types until the start of your next turn:

• Radiant

• Necrotic

• Lightning

• Force

Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

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LEVEL 20 — PARAGON OF RESONANCE

You have mastered the full extent of your power.

• Increase your Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma by 4, to a maximum of 24

• Your First Awakening no longer costs RP

• Once per turn, you can ignore the restriction of spending RP on only one feature 

Just posted the base class to the thread

Where's the spell list? That will be very helpful to know. The class seems pretty good, but I do have two comments.

1: writing RP in all of the features feels weird. It would read better to call the resource system Resonance and never abbreviate it.

2: The damage scaling is weird. 1d6 until 11th level, than 1d8, than 2d10 at 17th. Most D&D abilities that scale do so linearly.