Sentinel (5e Class)
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The Sentinel
An armored human stands by the exit to the palace, deflecting the masses of arrows launched by yuan-ti warriors. Every arrow clangs off her shield, allowing her fellow adventures to exit the temple unharmed.
A nomad runs through the bushes with a sword in hand, stalking the sentinel who lays in the open. He quickly sprints behind the plated warrior and swings his deadly longsword. The sword deflects off the armor and flies out from the nomad’s hand onto the ground. The sentinel turns around and slices the nomad’s head off, and will do the same to whoever invades his lands.
The masked combatant sprints ahead of their peers into the darkness jumping over the deep crevasse. On the other side stand two clueless orcs, they turn around as the mysterious warrior blinks above them and slams their sword downwards, cleaving one of them completely in half.
Protector of All
The sentinel is an elite warrior disciplined by the shield and art of the guard. Through their conquests and expeditions, they learn to use it to defend themselves from harm, as well as defend those who they’re allied with. Sentinels are masters with armor. The very sight of them can strike fear into their enemy. These soldiers sometimes wear so much armor that it's difficult to identify who or even what race they are.
Creating a Sentinel
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| By ArtofTy |
Sentinels are usually stalwart and staunch figures that stand their ground at the worst of times whilst others may flee. They are not afraid of getting hurt and taking hits to protect others. Is your character one sanctioned and trained in the way of the guard within an organized military? Or are they rugged survivors from outside, having grown survival instinct from experience? What is it your character wishes to protect? Is it what drove them to become sentinels?
- Quick Build
You can make a sentinel quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Intelligence. Second, choose the Soldier or Outlander background, depending on the direction you give your character.
Class Features
As a Sentinel you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Sentinel level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Sentinel level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple and martial melee weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Religion
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a morningstar or (b) longsword or (c) warhammer
- (a) a chain shirt and a shield or (b) ring mail
- (a) an explorers pack or (b) dungeoneers pack
- If you are using starting wealth, you have 5d8 in funds.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Sound Body, Prepared |
| 2nd | +2 | Bolster Defense |
| 3rd | +2 | Guard Path |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | Lightmail |
| 6th | +3 | Frontline Mind |
| 7th | +3 | Guard Path Feature |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | Warden |
| 10th | +4 | Guard Path Feature |
| 11th | +4 | Awareness |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | Blockade |
| 14th | +5 | Non Pass |
| 15th | +5 | Guard Path Feature |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | Remise |
| 18th | +6 | Guard Path Feature |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | Iron Wall |
Sound Body
You have a strong body, able to withstand effects that might force you to back down. You have advantage in saving throws against being frightened, charmed and being knocked prone.
Prepared
As the guard of the battlefield, you cannot always be a brute. You have to be alert as a sentinel. You can Dodge as a bonus action.
Bolster Defense
Armor works better on you due to your knowledge of how to best use it. Starting at 2nd level, when you wear armor or have a shield, you may add your Intelligence modifier to your Armor Class.
Guard Path
At 3rd level, you choose a way of the guard. Choose between Atregan Wanderer, Gravitas Watcher and Arcane Shield, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd, and again at 7th, 10th, 15th and 18th levels.
Ability Score Increase
When you reach 2nd level, and again at 4th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Lightmail
Starting 5th level, you are so adept with armor that moving stealthily and masking your presence is not a burden to you in it. You do not have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while wearing armor.
Frontline Mind
Starting 6th level, as you hold the line, you must be quick to think and act on your feet. You can add your Intelligence modifier to your initiative rolls.
Warden
You cannot always spare a hand when being so alert. Your arms develop strength so you can best defend with the most efficiency. Starting 9th level, when you wield a weapon with the Versatile property in one hand, you can roll the weapon's damage as if you were wielding it with two hands.
Awareness
As a lookout, a sentinel has to see and perceive better than others and not be taken unawares. Starting 11th level, you gain advantage in Wisdom (Perception) checks to spot traps or hidden threats. Additionally, you can no longer be surprised as long as you are not incapacitated or unconscious.
Blockade
Starting at 13th level, you stand as a powerful obstacle to those who wish to harm you or others close to you. While you hold a shield, you can use a reaction when a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack. That creature rolls with disadvantage.
Non Pass
You can be a force to be reckoned with, daring those who try to pass to take a shot at you. Starting 14th level, creatures within 5 feet of you provoke opportunity attacks from you even if they take the Disengage action before leaving your reach.
Remise
Starting 17th level, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can stop them dead in their tracks by intelligently aiming for their ambulatory parts. As a bonus action, you may make a special weapon attack at a creature within range. You have advantage on this attack if the creature is not wearing armor. On a hit, the creature's movement speed is reduced to 0 until the end of their next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, regaining use after you finish a short or long rest.
Iron Wall
Starting 20th level, you become a virtual wall. You gain resistance to all nonmagical slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage while you are wearing armor.
Atregan Wanderer
The atregan wanderer actively runs alongside allies, taking hits and guarding them at close quarters rather than a range.
- Close Up Face
Starting 3rd level, your experience with a close-up range also gives you a good poker face doing so. You gain proficiency in the Deception and Intimidation skills. If you have proficiency in these skills already, you instead gain expertise.
- Combat Resist
Starting 7th level, your expertise in the battlefield now has you covered even against spells. You gain advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
- Barrage Cover
You are incredibly able with a shield, and you can use it very well. Starting 10th level, when you use a shield, you instead gain a +4 bonus to your Armor Class.
- Advantageous Riposte
Enemies who attack you half-heartedly are in for a surprise. Starting 15th level, when a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against you with disadvantage, you may make an opportunity attack against them with no further action.
- Action Block
You can render immobile enemies more useless than they already are by hitting harder. Starting 18th level, when you successfully use your Remise feature, the target cannot make any reactions or bonus actions until the end of their next turn.
Gravitas Watcher
A sentinel isn't just a tank. It is a watcher. As a watcher, you protect your allies from afar. Sometimes you can stop attacks from a distance by shooting them down. Other times, you can make them gravitate towards you instead.
- Shooter
Starting 3rd level, you gain proficiency in simple and martial ranged weapons.
- Disk Snipe
You can shoot down attempts to harm your allies from a distance, whether by projectile or spell. Starting 7th level, when a creature makes a ranged weapon or spell attack that you can see within 120 feet, you can expend a reaction to shoot it down or weaken it. Roll your weapon's damage die. When you do so, the damage from the attack is reduced by an amount equal to the damage of your weapon. If you reduce the damage to 0, the original projectile is destroyed midair.
- Sharp Eye
Your eyes and mind are trained in battle to better strike as a watcher. Starting 10th level, you can add your Intelligence modifier to your weapon attack and damage rolls.
- Attack Sniper
As a sentinel, you must watch and protect, even at the cost of your own hide at close quarters sometimes. Starting 15th level, you no longer need to hold a shield to use Blockade, and the range is expanded to 30 feet.
- Perfect Aim
You can hit even through armor due to your watchfulness for weakness. Starting 18th level, you now have advantage with your Remise feature even if the target is wearing armor.
Arcane Shield
Using the magical arts, the sentinels of the arcane shield use abjurations and other effects to keep themselves and others safe.
- Spellcasting
Being an arcane shield means you have to have access to magic. Your wit to protect powers and unlocks this potential. As such, you commit a small number of protective spells to memory rather than using some obstructive tome.
- Spell Slots
The Arcane Shield Spell table below shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a spell slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell shield and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast it using either slot.
- Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher
Each time you gain access to a new level of spell, you learn all the spells for that level from the Arcane Shield Spell List, detailed below.
- Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your spells, since you learn your spells through tactical wit memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
| — Spell Slots per Spell Level — | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |||||
| 1st | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 2nd | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 3rd | 2 | - | - | - | |||||
| 4th | 3 | - | - | - | |||||
| 5th | 3 | - | - | - | |||||
| 6th | 3 | - | - | - | |||||
| 7th | 4 | 2 | - | - | |||||
| 8th | 4 | 2 | - | - | |||||
| 9th | 4 | 2 | - | - | |||||
| 10th | 4 | 3 | - | - | |||||
| 11th | 4 | 3 | - | - | |||||
| 12th | 4 | 3 | - | - | |||||
| 13th | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | |||||
| 14th | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | |||||
| 15th | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | |||||
| 16th | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | |||||
| 17th | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | |||||
| 18th | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | |||||
| 19th | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| 20th | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |||||
- Shieldbearer
Starting 7th level, you can use a shield as your spellcasting focus.
- Concentration Cut
Starting 10th level, you can set up a nasty surprise for the person who attacks you. If a creature's attack roll against you fails, immediately after the result, you may use your reaction to have that creature roll with disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn.
- Magus Armor
Starting 15th level, a sheen of magic covers you and blasts enemies who dare strike you. Whenever a creature within 30 feet of you hits you with an attack, that creature takes force damage equal to your Intelligence modifier + your sentinel level.
- Defended Mind
You become stronger against magic with protections set up by magic. Starting 18th level, if you have casted an abjuration spell in your last turn, you have advantage against all saving throws until the beginning of your next turn.
Arcane Shield Spell List
You know all the following spells as part of the Arcane Shield Subclass.
- 1st Level
absorb elements, mage armor, grease, shield, thunderwave, snare
- 2nd Level
aid, find traps, warding wind, pass without trace
- 3rd Level
aura of vitality, beacon of hope, counterspell
- 4th Level
resilient sphere, death ward, private sanctum
Multiclassing
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the sentinel class, you must meet these prerequisites: 16 Intelligence, 15 Constitution
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the sentinel class, you gain the following proficiencies: shield, all armor
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