Brave. The knight has advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Multiattack. The knight makes two melee attacks.
Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d10) piercing damage.
Leadership (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). For 1 minute, the knight can utter a special command or warning whenever a nonhostile creature that it can see within 30 feet of it makes an attack roll or a saving throw. The creature can add a d4 to its roll provided it can hear and understand the knight. A creature can benefit from only one Leadership die at a time. This effect ends if the knight is incapacitated.
Parry. The knight adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the knight must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon.
Description
Knights are warriors who pledge service to rulers, religious orders, and noble causes. A knight's alignment determines the extent to which a pledge is honored. Whether undertaking a quest or patrolling a realm, a knight often travels with an entourage that includes squires and hirelings who are commoners.
I know Mike Mearls said Leadership applies to all nonhostiles in range (see sage advice), but is it multi use or one use for each individual nonhostile? I.e. can an NPC with multiattack use it twice, once for each attack?
I would say yes as they state "makes an attack roll or a saving throw", each attack has its own roll.
ebic
Odd that they have fewer hit points than a veteran. You'd think that formally trained elite warrior wearing a tin can would be tougher than some illiterate schmuck wearing brigandine.
I imagine the +1 to AC makes them harder to kill than the 6 points of HP. Besides, wearing armor doesn't make you more or less experienced, or tougher, just harder to damage.
Hit die are also used to represent accumulated experience.
So, I think the intention is to convey that the knight’s ability comes from superior equipment and inspiring presence (which aristocratic warriors are known for at least trying to cultivate), rather than pure, hard experience of a veteran.
m'lady
I usually make my knights more historically accurate and give them a shield (AC 20) and a longsword or a lance
WDYM Historically accurate? Do you think levies were able to afford greatswords?
Historically, Knightly weaponry and armor varied by timeframe. Mail or splint, longsword, and shield represents 1100s-late 1300s European knights. Full plate and longsword-in-two-hands or greatsword represents European knights of the late 1300's and onwards, with top-of-the-line late 1400s and 1500s European plate being adamantine full plate (or +1 plate if you want crits to represent thrusts into vulnerable mail-only joints). The idea was that as armor improved it was better to drop the shield, accept the bruise, and smash the foe as quickly as possible. As for levies and greatswords, ordinary foot-sloggers would indeed not have had them but particularly skilled infantry (e.g. selected German Landsknechts or Swiss) would.
I agree but if I had to nitpick:
Proper greatswords don't really show up until the renaissance. Although in D&D I think any sword too large to be used in one hand is considered a greatsword.
A lance, one-handed weapon (mace, arming sword, maybe a battleaxe here or there) and shield is fine for a mounted combatant.
A knight on foot would probably use a poleaxe (D&D Halberd) and two-hand a longsword.
Based on rules as written a night is a unskilled hireling. A skilled hireling is based on proficiency in a skill.
That's interesting, though I'd never pay knights a wage so low. Heck, getting an audience with one would be quite the challenge!
Guards, bandits, acolytes and apprentice wizards would more likely be in the "skilled" range due to being better than commoners and offering a specialized service, despite still being quite fragile. Certain groups may be able to get away with hiring thugs or soldiers for unskilled wages or veterans for skilled, but those are exceptions, not the standards.
They have lower AC and knights got parry so thats an easy outmatch
They have proficiency in kicking ass.
this is epic? look at a death kiss.
wouldn't a evil knight riding a Manticore be cool
A cool extra thing I am doing for my campaign is having some knights turn into lycanthropes after defeat for an extra challenge to spice up high level encounters.
A decades-long game featuring armor-plated sword-wielding warriors going up against a dragon, and the knight profile doesn't even have its own picture/illustration? Shame. Even Apprentice Wizard gets a picture. Lol.
Already my favorite enemy, just barely beating the oni