The Sentinel

The hordes will soon be upon the fortress, and the soldiers upon the ramparts shake in their boots, for never have they seen a force this size before.  They will come with ladders, rams, and siege weapons as they attempt to break the soldiers defense and spirits, but before they can break that, they must break you first.  Fearlessly you ready your shield, for it is all you ever need, and as the ladders are hoisted upon the walls, you call forth a ward around you and your closest allies, bolstering their strikes so that they might cleave through the foul barbarians.  You draw your sword and join the fray with your brothers and sisters-in-arms, being for them, a bulwark between the enemy.

Your patron is a powerful entity that in some way, shape or form, is a guardian.  Maybe they are a solar that has taken up the defense of this part of the multiverse, a dragon that has entrusted you to defend parts of their territory from would be usurpers, or perhaps a powerful ruler who seeks to strengthen their realm and give their people a hero and has bestowed upon you the powers at their disposal, and the secrets their kingdom has uncovered.

Being connected to such powers requires that the warlock receiving these powers to have a valiant heart that wishes to protect and embolden that with which they have been entrusted, whether that be a powerful item, the land in which you were born or serve in, the common folk around you, your own patron, or perhaps your allies.  The powers of the Sentinel are not beholden to one particular type of creature or patron, but available to those with a strong enough desire and need to protect that which they have.

Expanded Spell List

The Sentinel lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.

Sentinel Expanded Spells

Shield Bash

Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to magically charge your shield and bash an enemy within melee range.  As a bonus action, after successfully making an attack roll, you may choose a target within melee range and deal an extra 1d6 points of magical bludgeoning damage, and additionally, if the target is large or smaller, they must make a STR save equal to your Spell Save DC. On a failure, they get pushed back 5 feet and are knocked prone.  If you have the Shield Master feat, the prone condition and 5 ft. knock back stack with the feature's ability, increasing the knock back to 10 ft.  You can use this ability a number of times equal to your CHA Mod.

This feature resets after a long rest.

At 10th level, if the target is Huge or smaller, they must make the STR save.

Shield Sentinel

At 1st level, you acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium and heavy armor, shields, and one martial weapon of your choice.   You also gain the "Protection" fighting style under "Vigilant Protector".

Additionally at 6th level, you can make an extra attack with any weapons you have proficiency in.  This effect does not stack with the Thirsting Blade invocation.

Sentinel's Circle

Starting at 6th level, you can channel the Sentinel's power to invoke a Sentinel Circle.  This shimmering circle of light extends out in a 10ft. radius, and benefits any allies that enter the circle.  When you invoke the Circle, you choose between one of two vows, depending on what beneficial effects you desire.  The circle disappears at the end of the Warlock's fourth turn, or can be ended by the Warlock as a bonus action.  For the sake of dispel magic and counter spell, the Sentinel's Circle counts as the highest spell slot that the Warlock has available to them.

Vow of the Protector: The Warlock and any allies that enter, start their turn in, or are within the Circle's range when it is invoked gain additional temp hp equal to half your warlock level + your charisma modifier.

Vow of the Aggressor:  The Warlock and any allies that enter, start their turn in, or are within the Circle's range when it is invoked gain a damage and attack roll bonus to all attacks they make.  The value of the bonus is determined by a d4 rolled by the Warlock when the Vow of the Aggressor is invoked.  At 12th level, the bonus increases to a d6, and at 17th level, it increased to a d8.  This effect ends 1 turn after the Sentinel's Circle ends.

Once you use the Sentinel's Circle, you can’t use the feature again until you finish a long rest.

Ever Standing

At 10th level, the Sentinel teaches you how to use an enemy's attack to embolden you.  When you are hit by an enemy's attack roll, you can use your reaction to grant yourself immunity to that attack, and grant yourself hp equal to your warlock level.  At 18th level, when you gain temporary hp in this manner, you can also give a number of allies temporary hp equal to half your warlock level.  This ability must be used before the damage for the attack has been rolled.  This ability resets after a long rest.

A Shield Between Thy Enemies

Starting at 14th level, when an attack, spell or ability causes you and any allies behind you to take damage, you can use your reaction to put your shield forward, and extend it to those who are behind you in a 20 ft. cone, negating any damage that they would have taken from the attack, spell, or ability while you take only half damage.  After doing so, you may not use this ability like this again until after taking a long rest.  However, you may use this ability again to negate that damage for allies within the 20 ft. cone to half damage, while you take full damage.  After using your ability in both of these manners, you cannot use this ability again until after a long rest.