Mauler

The training and tactics of the Mauler stem from a time when most warfare was skirmish melee between armies of foot soldiers and some few calvary, with some few archers to reinforce them. Maulers are the more solidly trained heavy weapons footmen of the front lines who tend to charge forth into the fray of warfare, and slaughter as many enemies as they can on the front line while holding their ground against an onslaught of foes. Called many different names in many different cultures, this tactical mindset leads the Mauler to train with polearms and heavy melee weapons almost exclusively, using sweeping arcs of their weapon to establish a large area to threaten enemies with, and establish a position, however temporary, for their armies' advances. These fighters can be found mostly in primitive tribes who have not yet evolved advanced Phalanx-style military tactics, and in nations of more savage beings such as Orcs or Ogres. Their lives are often devoted to their warband, army, or tribe, but these soldiers do become adventuring mercenaries often enough due to their capable skills in group combats.

Clear the Line

3rd-level Mauler feature

At 3rd level when you choose this archetype, you have become trained in the battlefield tactics necessary to help lead the front lines of warfare in a daring charge. You gain the Charger feat, or you may choose another feat if you already have this one.

Additionally, if you move at least 10 feet in your turn and you are wielding a polearm or a two-handed melee weapon, you add 1d4 to the weapon damage of one successful attack roll you make this turn.

Mauling Strikes

7th-level Mauler feature

At 7th level, you become knowledgeable regarding the use of enormous weapons which help you establish a small zone of dominance on the battlefield. When you are wielding a polearm or a two-handed melee weapon, you may take two new forms of attack actions on your turn:

Mauling Swipe. You choose a number of creatures within 5 feet of you up to your Proficiency Bonus, and make one melee attack roll. Compare the total on the roll to the Armor Class of each individual target to determine if the attack was a successful hit. Roll your melee weapon damage once, and each creature you successfully hit this way takes that much damage. This is treated in all ways as a weapon attack.

Threatening Turn. Choose any creature you can see that is within the distance of your melee weapon's reach + 5 feet. You can attack that creature without leaving your square this turn, but doing so causes incoming melee attacks on you to have advantage until the beginning of your next turn.

Additionally, if you have moved more than 10 feet this turn and attack a creature with a two-handed weapon or polearm, you may choose to have that creature become unable to take opportunity attacks against you until the end of your turn. You can gain this benefit a total number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus before you must finish a long rest to gain it again, but you may choose to use it more than once per turn.

Rugged Soldier

10th-level Mauler feature

At 10th level, you have gained an amazing amount of toughness training, also having weathered enough grueling conflicts to simply have been made more rugged and stern by those experiences. You gain an additional Second Wind usable one additional time per long rest, and one additional use of your Indomitable feature once per long rest.

Arc of Destruction

15th-level Mauler feature

At 15th level, you learn to improve your Mauling Strikes with dangerous power and capable skill, and you also learn to negate the advantages enemies may have when surrounding you. If you have attacked more than one creature in your turn, at the end of your turn you may choose one of the creatures you damaged this turn and add 1d6 additional damage of your weapon's type to that creature.

Additionally, you gain an improvement to your Threatening Turn attack action. When you succeed at the melee attack against the targeted creature, if that creature is Large size or smaller, you may pull that creature up to 10 feet in a direction closer to you.

Lastly, at the beginning of your turn, if two hostile creatures are within 10 feet of you, no creatures can gain advantage on melee attacks against you until the beginning of your next turn.

Slaughter Master

18th-level Mauler feature

At 18th level in this class, you have become a superior frontline leader, and a powerful melee warrior capable of slaughtering droves of lesser warriors easily. You gain the following benefits:

Reaving Swipe. Whenever you are able to make an attack as a bonus action, you can use your Mauling Swipe attack action.
Slaughter Swing. If you have moved more than 10 feet in your turn and make a melee attack against a creature, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +15 to the attack's damage. This feature cannot be used with the -5 penalty to attack rolls from the Great Weapon Master feat in the same attack.
Devastating Trample. When you reduce 2 or more creatures to 0 hit points in the same turn, you can use your reaction to move up to 10 feet and creatures adjacent when you began this movement cannot take opportunity attacks against you this turn.