Defender

Those who live to protect form bonds with their shields and comrades that rival the dedication of even the most stalwart paladins and devoted clerics. They are masters of quickly intercepting arrows and spells and deflecting them from their targets, and maximizing the effectiveness of their shield to protect not only themselves, but their fellow adventurers as well. Fighters that truly dedicate themselves to their shields often form magical bonds that allows them to call them to their arm in an instant, and often spend hours making them a more deadly weapon so they can focus on the shield. Magically weighting it to crush enemies with nowhere to run, sharpening the edge to that of a razor and targeting major arteries and hamstringing their opponents, or covering the shield with spines to harry those that dare attempt to stay within reach of them. True masters of the shield learn to use not only their shield to defend their compatriots, but also their body, completely shielding their allies, sometimes sacrificing themselves in the process.

Born to the Shield

When you take this subclass at 3rd level, you create a magical bond with a shield. This bond grants you and your shield several benefits.

• You can use a shield as a melee weapon attack causing 1d6+STR mod bludgeoning damage on a hit. Shields are martial weapons with the Light property. You are considered proficient in using shields as a weapon.
• Your can spend one hour meditating over a shield to bond with it. Attacks using your bonded shield are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities.
• You can summon and equip your bonded shield as a bonus action and dismiss it into a pocket dimension, or doff and drop it, as a free action.
• You can use your bonded shield as your spellcasting focus if you can cast spells.
• If you are surprised and do not have your bonded shield equipped you can use your reaction to summon and equip your shield and benefit from its effects. 

You can only be bonded to one shield in this way. If you spend one hour meditating over another shield, which can be done as part of a short rest, you can bond to a new shield, which immediately breaks the bond with the previous shield. 

Battle Buddy

You have become a master of utilizing your shield to protect not only yourself, but those close to you as well.

When you take the attack action, and you have your bonded shield equipped, the effects of your bonded shield (including any magical bonus from shields such as a +1 shield.) also benefits up to two creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you until the start of your next turn. The creature(s) must be your size or smaller.

The benefit immediately ends if the chosen creature(s) is ever more than 5 feet from you, but returns if they move within 5 feet of you.

If your bonded shield has a magical effect that requires an action, bonus action, or reaction to trigger, then you decide if the creature(s) benefitting from your shield can trigger those magical effects.

Projectile Interception

When a ranged attack or ranged spell attack you can see passes within 5 feet of you, or targets a creature within 5 feet of you, you may use your reaction to attempt to intercept it as long as you have your bonded shield equipped.

Make an attack roll with your bonded shield. If your attack roll exceeds the ranged attack or ranged spell attack roll, the attack misses. If the ranged attack or ranged spell attack was a critical hit, and your attack roll still exceeds it, the ranged attack or ranged spell attack is no longer a critical hit.

If you take this reaction, you can take it again, up to a number of times in a round equal to your proficiency bonus.

Live by the Shield

Your bonded shield gains new properties.

• You have a choice of a Weighted, Edged, or Spiked shield improvement.
• Your bonded shield now has the Thrown property with a range of 20/60 feet.
• When you throw your shield as part of an attack, it immediately teleports back to you as soon as it misses or hits.
• The range of your Projectile Interception feature increases to 10 feet.

Edged Shield

• Your bonded shield now deals a d8 plus your STR modifier slashing damage.
• When you hit with an attack made with your shield, the creature suffers a -1 to attack rolls and saving throws until the end of their next turn. This effect is cumulative.
• Attacks with your bonded shield score a critical hit on a roll of a 19 or a 20.
• When you score a critical hit you deal an additional d8 slashing damage.
• When you score a critical hit, the target's speed is reduced by half until they heal hitpoints equal to attack's damage total slashing damage.

Spiked Shield

• Your bonded shield now deals a d8 plus your STR modifier piercing damage.
• Shove attacks are made with advantage as long as you have your bonded shield equipped.
• When an enemy misses you with a melee attack and you have your bonded shield equipped, they take damage equal to half your fighter level rounded down.
• Melee attacks made against creatures under the effect of your Battle Buddy feature are made at disadvantage.
• If you use your shield as part of an Intimidation check, you are considered proficient in Intimidation. If you are already proficient in Intimidation you can double your proficiency bonus for that check.

Weighted Shield

• Your bonded shield now deals a d8 plus your STR modifier bludgeoning damage.
• When you hit a creature with your bonded shield you can also attempt to shove them if they are not prone.
• When a creature is prone, or has a space that cannot be occupied by them on the opposite side of the space you occupy, you can use your shield and make attacks at disadvantage. On a hit, they are critical hits.
• While not wearing your shield any creature that attempts to lift or move your shield must make a Strength check with a DC equal to your Strength score plus your proficiency bonus, or else the creature fails to move your shield, unless you allow it.

Die by the Shield

At 15th level you can throw yourself in front of your allies protecting them from harm.

As a reaction to a creature your size or smaller within 10 feet of you being forced to make a STR or DEX saving throw, you can move up to half your movement speed and move the creature into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of them, and occupy the space they were in. The creature automatically succeeds their saving throw, and suffers no damage or additional effects if they normally would on a success.

You become the target of the effect causing the STR or DEX saving throw if you weren't already and suffer its effects as normal. You then fall prone.