Technical Fighter

Sho-Yun shifted her weight through her back leg as the bandits charged her, swords waving menacingly. Her spear angled out to the side, tip almost touching the grass, she took only the briefest of glances to analyse the situation. The next second she pivoted back onto her front leg, beginning a ballet like pirouette, bringing the spear around in a wide arc. The tip of the spear raked along the exposed flesh of the first bandit's stomach, where his breastplate left it exposed, then it glanced across the neck of the second, leaving a crimson line in it's wake. As her pirouette took her round, she had moved out of the path of the third bandit, and her spear finished it's arc by slashing in a near vertical line down his exposed right side. In the space of less than four seconds, all three bandits had been reduced to groaning heaps on the floor and Sho-Yun stepped calmly between them, moving one step closer to her goal...

The Technical Fighter is a master of well practised stances and techniques, all designed to give them an edge over those they fight. With a mixture of intelligence and poise they can analyse the weakest points of their foes and use dedicated stances to exploit those weaknesses to maximum effect. The life of a Technical Fighter is one of constant training and practice, as you must adapt every technique you know to counter any foe you may come across. Technical Fighters are also highly intelligent, as retaining the techniques and stances you can adopt in memory requires a keen intellect, and many Technical Fighters use a variety of techniques to keep their mind sharp.

Bonus Proficiency

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in a gaming set and an Artisan's tool set of your choice, as these are all pursuits that require skill and patience, and help to keep the mind sharp.

Technical Stances

Starting at 3rd level, your training has helped you learn 3 Stances to use against your foes. As a bonus action at the end of your turn, you can adopt any stance which you know. The effect of each stance is different, and is noted in the stance's description. The number of Stances you can learn increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 5 at 10th level and 7 at 15th level.

Almanii Stance

Eisenport Stance

Eisenport is a misdirecting stance which gives the illusion of being closer to your opponent than you actually are. If timed correctly, the user can turn an over eager attack by their foe into an opportunity to change the flow of the battlefield. When you adopt this stance at the end of your turn, once, you can attempt to swap places with a creature that attacks you with a melee attack within 10ft. To do so, you must make a dexterity or intelligence check contested against the total value of the attack roll. If you succeed you avoid taking any damage from the attack and switch places with the target. If you fail, you do not switch places, but only take half of the damage caused by the attack.

Hengen Stance

The Hengen Stance is highly defensive, with the user usually resting the body of their weapon across their forearm and angled downwards, so as to weather the strongest of blows. When you adopt this stance you gain a +2 bonus to your AC against all melee attacks, which lasts until the start of your next turn. However, the defensive nature of this stance leaves you unable to make quick actions, so you are unable to take reactions while this stance is active.

Nebenhut Stance

You ready your body, coiled like a cobra, to strike. This stance leaves you exposed, and any melee attacks made against you before your next turn have advantage. However, your first attack on your next turn is deadly. You gain advantage on the strike and, in addition, the attack becomes a critical hit on a roll of 18 or higher. If you use a reaction before the start of your next turn, this stance fails, and any effects are lost.

Ochs Stance

Talms Stance

The Talms stance is incredibly difficult to master, requiring years of dedicated practice. Part of the lesson that Talms adepts are taught is that a weapon does not have to be used to merely kill and maim and can be used to other ends. With their weapon held at head height, perpendicular to the skull, a Talms user readies themselves to deliver flat bladed, or hafted, strikes to either side of their foes head, aiming to discombobulate the foe. When you take up this stance at the end of your turn, you may take reactions as normal until the start of your next turn. Until the end of your next turn any attacks that you make deal half their damage. However, any opponent damaged by your strikes must succeed on a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 8+Your Intelligence Modifier+Your Proficiency Bonus, or become Stunned until the end of their next turn. If they succeed on the test they suffer no effects.

Testevine Stance

The Testevine stance concentrates on an unconditional form, with the user holding their weapon at a low angle, ready for an upwards strike aimed at the upper torso, with the aim of forcing your opponent onto the back foot, perhaps even knocking them over. When you take up this stance at the end of turn, you have disadvantage on rolls made for reactions until the start of your next turn. On your next turn, the first attack you make has advantage and, if you hit, once you have dealt any damage from the attack, the target must make a strength or dexterity saving throw (their choice) with a DC equal to attack roll that hit them (including modifiers). If the attack was a critical hit, they automatically fail. If they fail, they are knocked prone. If they succeed they are not knocked prone, but the next attack action they take is made at disadvantage. Moving at any time between taking up the stance and making the attack breaks this stance. This stance has no effect on creatures more than 1 size larger than yourself.

Keen Analysis

Starting at 7th level, your keen eye and well practised mind allows you to pinpoint the weakest points in a foe's armour, allowing you to drive your strikes home with great ease. You may use an action to try and analyse the weaknesses of any one creature you can see by making an Intelligence check contested against their AC plus their Intelligence. If you succeed, you  learn all information about the target's Damage Vulnerabilities, Damage Resistances, Damage Immunities, and Condition Immunities. In addition, you gain bonus AC equal to your Intelligence modifier against any attacks the selected target makes against you for 1 minute.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier. The number of uses resets on a long rest.

Intelligent Precision

Starting at 7th level, you have trained to use your Intelligence, rather than brute strength to guide your strikes. Whenever you make an attack with a weapon, you may replace the weapon's ordinary use of your Strength or Dexterity bonus when rolling to hit and cause damage with your Intelligence bonus, using whichever is highest.

Quick Footed

Starting at 10th level, you learn to take advantage of any drop in your opponent's concentration caused by weapon strikes. If you take the Attack action on your turn and damage at least one of the targets of your attack, you can then move up to half your movement speed without provoking attacks of opportunity from any of the damaged targets, as part of the same action. You can do so no more than once per turn.

Battlefield Perception

Starting at 15th level, your finely tuned visions allows you to perceive the slightest change in the flow of battle and adjust your stance accordingly. Once you have taken up a stance at the end of your turn, you can use your reaction to change stances without incurring any penalty at any time before the start of your next turn, immediately ending the effects of the first stance and replacing them with the effects of the second stance. You can use this a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier per short rest.

In addition, you gain proficiency in Dexterity saving throws.

Shrewd Analysis

At 18th Level, your mastery of your Keen Analysis has increased to a nigh unfathomable level. When using Keen Intuition, you can now target a number of Creatures up to your Intelligence bonus per use. Also, if the target DC for a target's check would be lower than your total Intelligence score, you automatically pass the check. In addition, if you deliver the damage that reduces a target, that you successfully used Keen Analysis on, to 0hp, you regain 1 use of Keen Analysis.