Survivalist (from The Mask of Uhramel)

In a world ravaged by centuries of war, Survivalists (from The Mask of Uhramel) live among the cast out, rejected and downtrodden. Learning to use whatever supplies are on hand, survivalists blend strategy with ingenuity and grit to put a hurt on their enemies, and food on the table. They excel at grappling with their enemies, avoiding hostile animals, and fighting in a crowded street.

Improvised Armor

When you choose this subclass at 3rd level, your experiences in urban combat have given you an advantage during close-quarters combat or in a crowd. You receive the following benefits:

• You have learned to modify your armor with scraps of weapons and other armor. You gain the defense fighting style, reflecting your ability to enhance your armor with whatever you have on hand. If your armor is damaged, you may take ten minutes to repair it with whatever junk is available to you.
• You may use Sleight of Hand to grapple and restrain targets, reflecting your dirty-fighting techniques. When you grapple a target, you may make an attack as a bonus action on that turn. While you have a target grappled, or are grappled by a target, you receive the benefits of wearing a shield, and may act as if you were proficient with shields, even if you are not. If there is no target to grapple, you may pick up a dead body, broken door, or another bulky object to wield (even an actual shield). When you use an improvised shield or if you are not proficient with shields you still receive the benefits of wearing a shield, but you move at half speed for the duration, cannot sneak attack, and may not attack as a bonus action.
• If you successfully hit a target while grappling or grappled, your attack becomes a sneak attack. You may only gain this benefit once per turn.

Crowd Control

Additionally, when you choose this archetype, you have come to excel at managing hostile entities in crowded locations and are granted the following benefits:

• You become proficient with whips.
• Common animals no longer find you to be a threat. You have advantage on animal handling checks, even if the animal has been spooked, threatened, or harmed.
• You become proficient with Sleight of Hand. If you are already proficient with Sleight of Hand, you become double proficient.
• You gain double proficiency to any skill check, save or opposed roll wherein you are using a rope to perform the skill check, save or opposed roll. This ability requires that the rope be actively used to perform an action or activity, and not merely be carried as a prop.
• While you are holding a rope in your hand; when you grapple an enemy or choose to maintain a grapple, or are grappled by an enemy, you may use a bonus action (or your reaction if the enemy is grappling you) to do one of the following:
  • Bind- You attempt to use your rope to restrain your grappling opponent. They must make an opposed Athletics or Sleight of Hand roll against your Sleight of Hand skill. If the opponent fails, it is restrained. As an action, the restrained opponent may make an opposed Athletics or Sleight of Hand check against your Sleight of Hand skill. On a success, the opponent removes the rope and is no longer restrained. Should you bind a creature who is already restrained, they cannot free themselves from the restraint without assistance.
  • Blindfold- You deftly wrap your rope around the eyes of your grappling opponent, blinding them and causing the Blind condition. As an action, the blinded opponent may make an opposed Athletics or Sleight of Hand check against your Sleight of Hand skill. On a success, the opponent removes the rope and is no longer blinded.
  • Earmuff- You deftly wrap your rope around the ears of your grappling opponent, deafening them and causing the Deafened condition. As an action, the deafened opponent may make an opposed Athletics or Sleight of Hand check against your Sleight of Hand skill. On a success, the opponent removes the rope and is no longer deafened.
  • Gag- You deftly wrap your rope around the mouth of your grappling opponent, gagging them. Whiled gagged, their voice is too muffled to be audibly discerned beyond 15 feet and they are unable to speak or provide verbal components to a spell. As an action, the gagged opponent may make an opposed Athletics or Sleight of Hand check against your Sleight of Hand skill. On a success, the opponent removes the rope and is no longer blinded.
  • Headbutt- You maneuver your rope around your grappling opponent, pulling them close. Make an unarmed strike against your opponent at advantage, using your head. On a hit, you headbutt your opponent, causing them to lose their reaction until the end of their next turn.

Animal Control

Beginning at 9th level, you have mastered the art of handling hostile creatures, humanoid and beast alike. You gain the following benefits:

• You become proficient in Animal Handling. If you were already proficient, you become double proficient.
• As an action, you may cast Command on a number of beasts equal to your Wisdom modifier as if they were humanoids who spoke your language. You do this instantaneously, and without the use of a spell slot. Wisdom is your casting stat for this spell. Hostile beasts do not receive advantage on saves against you, and must immediately use their reaction to  obey you if they fail their save.
• You may use a rope as a whip. When you do so, it has double the range of a whip (for a total of 20 feet). When you attack with a whip, instead of attempting to injure your target, you may attempt to lasso your target. If you announce your desire to do so, make a melee attack against your target. If your hit is a success, your rope causes no damage to your target and you lasso your target with the following effects:
  • A lassoed target is considered grappled, though lassoed targets still retain half their movement. While lassoed, they may not move farther from you than the length of the rope between you without succeeding at an opposed athletics or sleight of hand check against your athletics or sleight of hand skill (your choice).
  • When managing a lassoed creature, you can use your action or bonus action (or both) to attempt to pull the lassoed target toward you. To do so, make an opposed roll against your lassoed target's athletics skill. If your lassoed target is a humanoid, you may choose to use your sleight of hand skill for this roll instead of athletics. If the target is a beast, you may choose to use your animal handling skill for this roll instead of athletics. If you succeed, you pull your lassoed target 5 feet toward yourself.
  • If you lasso a stationary object, your rope becomes firmly affixed to said object and will not fall off on it's own.

Duck and Cover

By the time you reach 13th level in this subclass, you have learned enough about taking cover that you gain additional benefits to the use of cover and concealment as follows:

• If you would have partial cover, you have 3/4 cover. If you would have 3/4 cover, you have full cover. If you are behind cover you have a +2 bonus to saves versus spells, abilities and effects that ignore cover. If you also have an improvised shield, this bonus becomes +3.
• If you would be partially obscured, you become fully obscured instead. If you would be fully obscured, you become invisible instead until you are no longer obscured or behind cover.
• You can add your survival bonus to your initiative if you are able to take cover or are hidden at the start of combat.

Survival Sense

By the time you reach 17th level, you have become adept at sensing when trouble is brewing. If you are not surprised at the start of initiative, you may move up to your full movement before any turns are taken, without provoking attacks of opportunity, or may attempt to grapple a single target. If you choose to move and cover is available to you, you may take cover before initiative begins. If you are surprised, you may still move your full movement or attempt a grapple, but only after the first action has been taken by any creature.