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Fighter (Arcanis)

Fighting Style

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Canny Defense

While not wearing armor, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Intelligence modifier. You can use shields and still gain this benefit.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Defensive Duelist

While using a one-handed weapon while leaving your off hand completely free (including not holding a shield), any time you are the target of a melee attack you may use your reaction to gain a +2 bonus to your AC until the beginning of your next turn.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Knife Fighter

Any time you successfully hit with a dagger or knife you deal +2 damage. Additionally, if you have a hand free you may draw up to two daggers as part of any attack.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

Pugilist

Your unarmed strike now deals 1d4 + your Strength modifier in bludgeoning damage. As long as you have a free hand, any time you take the Attack action, you can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. Additionally, you can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow one.

The Tactician

Strategic Mind

You have a particularly sharp mind for tactics, possessing the ability to quickly adapt your stratagem to the flow of battle. With this insight, you can guide your allies, allowing them to position themselves and gain advantage where once there was none.

During combat, whenever a friendly creature that can see or hear you begins their turn within 60 feet of you, you can gains a Command die, a d6, which they can spend when performing actions in pursuit of your suggested tactic. A suggested tactic must be a specific task such as ‘shove that creature’, ‘cast a spell at that ss’ressen’, ‘withdraw from melee’, or ‘attack that target’, not “kill them all” or “win this battle!”. Once within the next 10 minutes, your ally can add your Command Die to any attack roll, ability check, damage roll, or saving throw made in pursuit of your suggested tactic. Your ally can wait until after they roll a d20 before deciding to use the Command die, but must decide before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Command die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Command die at a time. If your ally does not perform the suggested tactic or is somehow unable to do so, the die is returned to your command die pool after 10 minutes. For example, if you suggest that your ally knock a guard prone, they can only use your Command die on attack rolls or ability checks to knock down the guard. If for some reason that guard is killed or already knocked prone by the time your ally’s turn comes up, the die is not spent and returned to your pool.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a short rest. Your Command die changes when you reach certain levels in the fighter class. The die becomes a d8 at 5^th level, a d10 at 10^th level, and a d12 at 15^th level.

Student of History

Once you reach 3^rd level you gain proficiency in the History skill. If you were already proficient with History, you add double your proficiency bonus on all ability checks that benefit from your proficiency in the History skill.

Tactical Maneuvers

At 3^rd level you learn three Tactical Maneuvers, from the list presented below. You learn an additional maneuver when you reach 7^th, 10^th, and 15^th level. Tactical Maneuvers are powered through the use of tactical points. Additionally, anytime you gain a fighter level you may switch one of your Tactical Maneuvers for another. If any of your Tactical Maneuvers requires a saving throw, that saving throw is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + Intelligence modifier.

Tactical Points

You gain 3 tactical points to power your Tactical Maneuvers. You gain an additional tactical point upon reaching 7^th, 10^th, and 15^th level in the fighter class. You regain all spent tactical points after completing a short or long rest.

Tactical Maneuvers

Brutal Ambush: When you and your allies catch an enemy by surprise the results are simply devastating. When you attack a surprised creature, you may spend 1 tactical point as a reaction to grant all friendly creatures within 30 feet who can hear or see you advantage on their next attack roll before the end of their next turn.

Distracting Strike: With an attack, you draw a creature’s attention, allowing your allies to disengage safely. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you may spend 1 tactical point to prevent that creature from taking reactions until the end of your next turn.

Hammer and Anvil: You set up a combined attack, trapping your opponent between you and your allies. As an action, you may make a single melee weapon attack and, if you hit, you may spend 2 tactical points to force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw. If your target fails, they immediately provoke an opportunity attack from any single friendly creature of your choice that is adjacent to the creature you struck.

Knight’s Move: You position yourself and an ally into an advantageous position. Immediately after making an opportunity attack, you may spend 1 tactical point to allow a single friendly creature within 30 feet who can hear and see you to instantly move 15 feet.

On My Mark: Sometimes it’s best to lead by example. As part of an attack action, you may spend 1 tactical point to grant a single ally within 30 feet who can hear and see you advantage on their next attack roll against the creature you attack. If your ally successfully hits with this attack they deal an additional 1d6 damage. This damage increases to 1d8 when you reach 5^th level, 11^th level becomes 1d10 and finally, 1d12 at 17^th level.

Rallying Cry: You call upon your allies and inspire them to greater acts of heroism. As an action, you may spend 2 tactical points to grant all friendly creatures within 60 feet who can hear or see you a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d10 + your Intelligence modifier. These temporary hit points fade away after 1 minute.

Stand your Ground: With a shout, you command your allies to set themselves to receive a charge. When a creature moves within 10 feet of you or an ally within 30 feet of you, as a reaction you can call out to your allies to be ready for an attack. You spend 1 tactical point and all friendly creatures within 30 feet who can hear or see you gain resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical weapons until the end of their next turn.

Strategic Maneuver: In battle, positioning is everything. As a bonus action, you may spend 1 tactical point to let a friendly creature within 60 feet who can hear or see you use their reaction to move up to their speed.

Strike the Rod: You can put the fear of a training sergeant into your allies, helping them to shake off lesser fears. Whenever one of your allies becomes frightened, as a reaction you can help them regain their composure. You spend 1 tactical point and all friendly creatures within 60 feet who can hear or see you can make a new saving throw to shake off any effect which has resulted in the frightened condition. If the effect that granted the frightened condition does not grant a saving throw, your allies must make a DC: 20 Charisma saving throw to remove the frightened condition.

Tempting Target: By making yourself a target for an attack, you force your opponent to overextend, leaving a perfect opening for your allies. When you take the Attack action, you may spend 1 tactical point as a bonus action to force a creature within your reach to make a Wisdom saving throw. If your target fails its saving throw, all friendly creatures who saw the attack gain advantage on their next attack roll against your target. Regardless of the result of the saving throw, if the target attacks anyone other than you during its next turn it suffers disadvantage on their attack roll

Warning Shout: You warn your allies to dive for cover! When a friendly creature within 60 feet who can hear and see you is the target of a spell, you can use your reaction to shout a warning to them. You spend 1 tactical point and that creature gains advantage on their saving throw against the triggering spell. If the spell has no save your ally gains resistance against the triggering spell’s damage instead.

Cry Havoc

At 10^th level, when rolling initiative, you may spend 1 tactical point to grant all allies who can see or hear you within 60 feet advantage on their initiative roll. Once this feature is used it may not be used again until you complete a long rest.

Crescendo of Violence

Once you reach 15^th level any time you score a critical hit you instantly regain a use of Strategic Mind or 1 tactical point (your choice).

Tactical Awareness

Upon reaching 18^th level if you start combat with no uses of Strategic Mind or no tactical points, you instantly recover one of each.

Waterdhavian Duelist

THE ENTRERI RIPOSTING STAB DEFENSE? WELL- PLAYED. I KNOW I CAN DEFEAT IT WITH MY RIGHT HAND, BUT LET ME GIVE IT A TRY WITH MY LEFT...

--RUALDOR THANN, HALF-ELF NOBLE OF WATERDEEP

In the cosmopolitan cities of the Sword Coast, the image of duelists like yourself—nimble and intelligent, living by their wits, reflexes, and precise weapon training—is considered by many to be the ideal of heroism. In Waterdeep especially, duelists (particularly those skilled in the Twin Sword Style also popular in Sembia] are common among the younger members of the aristocracy. Waterdhavian dueling styles have become so popular that even warriors who have never set foot in the City of Splendors strive to master such techniques.

In a world with heavily armored knights on huge, galloping chargers and powerful mages wielding mind-churning spells, you prove that precision and skill are viable alternatives to massive weapons, and that agility can be just effective in avoiding harm as heavy armor.

Your wit is as ready as your blade, and you take full advantage of your quick reflexes in both social and martial battles, particularly when you adventure on your home ground—likely Waterdeep or another well-populated metropolis.

Duelists not only often find themselves in groups of adventurers, but usually at the forefront of the group’s activities, sometimes even as the party’s spokesperson. Their devil-may-care styles can be both an asset and hindrance to their companions, depending on the situation. Little doubt exists that their charm and skill with a blade make duelists valuable allies to any group of adventurers, especially when they leaves the dark dungeons behind for the bright lights of the big city.

Combat Superiority

At 3^rd level, you gain a set of abilities that are fueled by special dice called superiority dice. Superiority Dice. You have three superiority dice, which are d6s. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest. You gain another superiority die at 7^th level and one more at 15^th level.

Using Superiority Dice. You can expend superiority dice to gain a number of different benefits: * When you make a melee weapon attack against a creature that is marked by you or has none of your allies within 5 feet, you can expend one superiority die to add it to the attack roll. You can use this ability before or after making the attack roll, but before any of the effects of the attack are applied.

• When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to attempt to disarm the target, forcing it to drop one item of your choice that it’s holding. You add the superiority die to the attack’s damage roll, and the target must make a Strength saving throw (DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice]]. On a failed save, it drops the object you choose. The object lands at its feet.

• When you hit a creature within 5 feet of you with an attack roll, you can expend one superiority die to push the target up to 5 feet away from you and inflict additional damage equal to the number you roll on the superiority die. You can then immediately use your reaction to move up to your speed to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target.

• When you move, if you are not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, you can expend one superiority die, rolling the die and adding the number rolled to your AC until you stop moving. When you do so, until the end of your next turn you gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Duelist’s Mark

At 3^rd level, you can compel enemies to engage you in single combat. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, the target is marked by you until the end of your next turn, and if none of your allies are within 5 feet of the target, it takes additional damage equal to your proficiency bonus. A creature ignores this effect if the creature can’t be charmed.

The marked target has disadvantage on any attack roll against a creature other than you or someone else who marked it, and creatures other than you or someone else who marked it have resistance to the damage of the target’s attacks.

If a target makes an attack that suffers disadvantage from this feature, you can make one melee weapon attack against it using your reaction. When you do so, you can expend a superiority die to gain advantage on that attack roll and inflict additional damage equal to your superiority die roll if the attack hits.

Secret Techniques

Starting at 7^th level, you have learned special fighting techniques that are only taught privately, and only to certain advanced practitioners. You gain proficiency in your choice of two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion, or Sleight of Hand. In addition, whenever you roll initiative, for one minute your walking speed increases by 10 feet and your jumping distance is doubled.

Final Stand

At 10^th level, your wit and quickness make it nearly impossible to get the drop on you. You can add your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) to initiative checks, Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks, Strength (Athletics) checks, and to all Charisma checks that include your proficiency bonus. In addition, whenever you are not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, you gain a +2 bonus to AC, and your superiority dice are d8’s instead of d6’s.

Relentless

Starting at 15^th level, when you roll initiative and have no superiority dice remaining, you regain 1 superiority die.

Master Duelist

Beginning at 18^th level, your mastery of the blade lets you turn failure to success in combat. If you miss with an attack, you can choose to roll the attack again with advantage. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Thayan Knight

THEY CALLED US KNIGHTS, BUT WE LIVED BY NO CODE OF HONOR. WE WERE BOUND TO NO PRINCIPLE, SAVE ONE: THAT OUR LIVES WERE WORTH NOTHING COMPARED TO THE SAFETY OF OUR MASTERS.

-- ARZEL PHEN, RENEGADE THAYAN KNIGHT

Once united in allegiance to their masters, the elite soldiers of Thay were divided by a violent uprising. The necromancer Szass Tam overthrew his fellow Zulkirs to become sole ruler of Thay, forcing those serving his opposition to choose sides. Most now serve the new regime, but others have joined the resistance movement known as the Thayan Resurrection. Of course, even that movement is divided, with the more idealistic seeking to transform Thay into a more livable realm for all of its denizens, while those driven by ambition simply seek to replace one form of arcane tyranny with another.

Others have left Thay behind entirely. During the initial chaos or the various tumultuous that followed, these disillusioned Thayan knights managed to leave service to their old masters behind entirely, seeking their own destinies beyond the borders of their former nation. These indviduals tend to stick to the shadows and not draw attention to themselves, knowing that Thay has enclaves across Faerun, and the Red Wizards would still consider such knights their servants.

While the Red Wizards have never been opposed to blasting their opponents with deadly spells or shredding the minds of their enemies with dark magic, there is always a need for protectors who have mastered the art of swordplay. The most elite of these protectors were referred to as the Thayan knights and taught to readily sacrifice their lives for the Red Wizards they served.

Familiar with magic and loyal to none but the tattooed mages, Thayan knights are trained to act as bodyguards and enforcers for the Red Wizards and as an extension of their reach. They lead common Thayan troops into battle and help guard the wizard enclaves. Even when no longer in the service of Thay, such warriors tend to fight alongside arcane spellcasters, and their fighting style is at its best when they are defending an ally who can eliminate enemies at range while the Thayan knight deals with closer targets.

Thay’s Defender

By 3^rd level when you choose this archetype, you have undergone a long and painful tattooing ritual that marked your loyalty to the Red Wizards with a tattoo on your back, face, or forehead. When you gain this feature, your own knowledge of magic combines with the tattoo’s power to grant the following benefits:

• Whenever you make a saving throw against an effect that would cause you to be charmed or frightened, you have advantage on the saving throw unless the source of the effect is a Red Wizard of Thay.

• You are proficient with the Arcana and Intimidate skills, and when you make an ability check with the Intimidate skill, you add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

• You learn your choice of two of the following cantrips: challenger’s mark, booming blade, echoing blow, frostwind blade, greenflame blade, looming shadow, or punishing strike. Once you reach 7^th level, when a hostile creature provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a cantrip gained from this feature, targeting that creature, rather than making an opportunity attack.

However, these benefits come with a price: You have disadvantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against spells cast by Red Wizards of Thay.

Aegis of Red Wizardry

Starting at 7^th level, you can harness arcane power to protect a chosen ally. As a bonus action, you can grant a red aegis to one allied creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The aegis is a shimmering shield of smoldering crimson energy that binds your own life energy to protect the target. Any bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage the target takes is reduced by an amount equal to your profiency bonus plus your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). This effect lasts for 1 minute, until you use it again, or until you are incapacitated.

In addition, when a creature you can see within 60 feet of you hits the protected target with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to force the attacker to make a Charisma saving throw (DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier or the Intelligence modifier of the protected target, whichever is higher) or be teleported to an unoccupied space adjacent to you. If the target is teleported, you become the target of the attack roll that triggered this reaction, and that same roll is compared to your Armor Class instead to determine if it hits or misses you. If no unoccupied space adjacent to you exists, the target automatically succeeds on the saving throw. Whether the saving throw succeeds or fails, the next attack roll you make against the target before the end of your next turn deals an extra 1d10 necrotic damage. This extra damage increases to 2d10 at 11^th level and 3d10 at 17 th level.

Final Stand

At 10^th level, you can inspire your followers or allies to fight through adversity. When you use your Second Wind feature, you can choose up to six creatures within 30 feet that can see or hear you. Each chosen creature gains a number of temporary hit points equal to half the number of hit points you regain from your use of Second Wind (adding your Constitution modifier to that number if they are the subject protected by your Aegis of Red Wizardry).

Zulkir’s Champion

At 15 th level, you are an expert in fighting alongside spellcasting allies. When you use your action to cast a cantrip that requires an attack roll, you can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action. In addition, when you use your Action Surge feature, you can choose one creature within 60 feet of you that is allied with you. Provided it can hear or see you, that creature can use its reaction to make one melee or ranged weapon attack or to cast a spell that normally has a casting time of 1 action.

Master of the Red Aegis

Beginning at 18^th level, when you use your Aegis of Red Wizardry to protect an ally, you can choose up to three creatures to gain its benefits.