Champion of the Blade (5e Class)

Champion of the Blade

“	A name is sometimes all it takes to win a battle or even a war. The power a name, a title, a legacy and a living legend have is almost unparalleled, as they inspire the masses to unite and fight under one banner or rally to a cause without fear of losing or death. That is what true power is, the power to inspire and protect for if there is nothing to protect then what is the point of fighting at all, when all it brings about is death and destruction. Those are the values I uphold and why I chose to become what I am. I trust that when I am gone my legacy will inspire the next generation to fight and guard those who cannot be protected. While each person who follows the path I took will be different in size, race and ideals. There is one thing they will all share and that is the heart of a champion, a legend, they will leave behind a legacy like me. As of what that is I cannot be sure but I have to trust that they will know the right path to take to release their full potential.	”
—Almarus Diraxion, The First Champion and Guardian of Alopidos.

Creating a Champion of the Blade

When creating a Champion of the Blade think about what weapon you would like to specialize in whether that would be a long polearm to out wit and out maneuver your enemies, a polearm with which you display expert skill and use to punish their every mistake or a warrior with an extraordinary skill with a sword and shield matching them blow for blow and never giving them an opening or an armored Goliath that focuses on protecting their allies and using sheer force to shatter all who would dare challenge them. You should also consider how you want your champion to develop whether that is using their dishonor to further bolster their abilities or become a living legend, either way they are destined for greatness and their legend will live on long after they die as for what that legend is that is down to you.

Quick Build

You can build a Champion of the Blade quickly by following these steps: First, Strength or Dexterity should be your higher scores (depending on your preference for finesse weapons or not). Then, choose Wisdom and Constitution. Second, choose the Folk Hero background, if you intend to follow an honorable legacy, or the Criminal background, if you rather follow a dishonorable one.

Class Features

As a Champion of the Blade you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Champion of the Blade level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Champion of the Blade level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: All armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: Choose one Artisan's Tools or one Musical Instrument
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Perception or Persuasion

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a longsword or (b) any martial weapon or (c) a pair of simple weapons
• (a) leather armor, longbow and 20 arrows or (b) scale mail
• (a) explorer's pack or (b) dungeoneer's pack
• any martial weapon, any simple weapon, an artisan's tool or musical instrument

Table: The Champion of the Blade

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Moral (Honor or Dishonor)	Mastery
1st	+2	Champion's Weapon, Moral	2	—
2nd	+2	The Blade's Chosen, Mastery	2	2
3rd	+2	Champion's Legacy	2	3
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	2	4
5th	+3	Extra Attack	2	5
6th	+3	Moral Improvement	3	6
7th	+3	Legacy Feature	3	7
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	3	8
9th	+4	Martial Tactic (1)	3	9
10th	+4	Moral Improvement	4	10
11th	+4	Legacy Feature	4	11
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	4	12
13th	+5	Martial Tactic (2)	4	13
14th	+5	Eternal Resolve, Moral Improvement	5	14
15th	+5	Legacy Feature	5	15
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	5	16
17th	+6	Martial Tactic (3)	5	17
18th	+6	Moral Improvement	6	18
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	6	19
20th	+6	A Champion's Heart	6	20

Champion's Specialization

Beginning at 1st level, you select a Champion's Specialization, that will define you as a Champion. You can choose a group of weapons, from the following below, gaining its respective benefits.

If you choose a weapon, you must choose between one category of weapons, from the following lists:

Swords

Shortsword, longsword, scimitar, greatsword, rapier. Whenever you are wielding a sword, you can make an opportunity attack with it if a creature moves within 5 feet of you.

Polearms

Quarterstaff, spear, glaive, halberd, lance, pike, trident, javelin. When you hit an opponent with a polearm, you can also attempt to shove that opponent as part of the same action.

Maces

Mace, club, greatclub, morningstar, flail, warhammer, maul, light hammer. When you hit a creature with an attack from a mace, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet back.

Axes

Handaxe, greataxe, battleaxe, halberd. When you attack a creature with an axe, you ignore opportunity attacks from that creature this turn.

Swift

Dagger, dart, rapier, whip, shortsword, scimitar. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack from a swift weapon, if you have advantage on the attack roll.

Moral

Starting at 1st level, you understand the meaning of Honor. You gain a fluctuating stat called Moral. Your moral can be honorable or dishonorable, depending if you have honor or dishonor points. Some actions performed by you award you with honor or dishonor points.

Whenever you gain a honor point, you lose a dishonor point, and vice versa. However, whenever you have honor or dishonor points, you can benefit from certain benefits. The maximum amount of honor or dishonor you can have is shown on your Maximum Moral column on the Champion of the Blade table.

The effects of your Honor or Dishonor are shown below:

Honor

You increase your honor score whenever you perform honorable acts. Below are a descriptive (but not comprehensive) list of honorable acts:

• Achieving a great victory. For example, defeating an a opponent with a CR equal or higher than your level.
• Overcoming great odds honorably.
• Defeating a skilled foe in single combat.
• Winning a great feat of strength and skill.
• Delivering justice to someone who wronged an innocent.
• Saving another creature's life.

You gain the following benefits, depending on your current honor score:

1 Honor. You add your Honor score to your Persuasion and Athletics checks. Strangers will always offer you accommodations and food, as long as this doesn't put them at risk.

2 Honor. When you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, and there's no friendly creature within 15 feet of you, you cause additional damage with your attacks equal to your Moral score. You can cause this additional damage once per turn.

3 Honor. When you take the Attack action, you can choose to make all attacks at advantage. All attacks against you are made with advantage until the start of your next turn.

4 Honor. You and all friendly creatures in a 10-foot radius are immune to the frightened condition.

5 Honor. You can cast compelled duel at will, without spending spell slots.

6 Honor. Your Strength and Wisdom score increase by 2, up to a maximum of 22.

Dishonor

You increase your dishonor score whenever you perform dishonorable acts. Below are a descriptive (but not comprehensive) list of honorable acts:

• Breaking an explicit promise or oath.
• Violating a law that incurs in capital punishment.
• Putting others at risk due to your own cowardice.
• Defeating an enemy not properly capable of defending itself.
• Slaying a surrendered enemy.
• Defeating an enemy at frank disadvantage.
• Defeating an honorable opponent through trickery.
• Slaying innocents and civilians.

You gain the following benefits, depending on your current dishonor score:

1 Dishonor. You add your Dishonor score to your Intimidation and Stealth checks. Criminals will talk with you with not much resistance about where to find illegal goods and markets.

2 Dishonor. When you have an ally within 5 feet of a hostile creature, or you have Advantage on an attack roll, you cause additional damage with your attacks equal to your Moral score. You can cause this additional damage once per turn.

3 Dishonor. You can take the Dash, Disengage and Dodge actions as a bonus action on your turn.

4 Dishonor. As an action, each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you that can see you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

5 Dishonor. Any creature within 10 feet able to see you that is frightened by you have its movement speed reduced to 0, and that creature takes psychic damage equal to half your champion of the blade level level if it starts its turn there.

6 Dishonor. Your Dexterity and Charisma score increase by 2, up to a maximum of 22.

Mastery

Starting at 2nd level, your technique with the blade is represented by an amount of mastery points you have. You can spend these mastery points to perform techniques with the blade, between other tasks.

You have an amount of Mastery Points equal to the shown on the Mastery Column on the Champion of the Blade table. When you spend a Mastery Point, it is unavailable until you complete a short or long rest.

Some Mastery Features require a saving throw to avoid its effects. The save DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice).

The Blade's Chosen

At 2nd level, you begin to understand and connect with your champion's weapon. You can use your Mastery points in the following manners:

Perfect Cut

When you make a melee weapon attack against a creature, you can expend one mastery point to increase the depth of your cuts. If the attack hits, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the damage.

Perfect Defense

When a creature you can see within 60 feet makes an attack with weapon against you, you can use your reaction and spend one mastery point to add your Wisdom modifier to your AC against that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss.

Champion of the Blade Legacy

At 3rd level, you choose a legacy. Your legacy represents how your acts reflect on the lives of others, and how your deeds are perceived in the world. Your conduct, honorable or dishonorable, will shape your legacy, so choose carefully. You can choose between the Truth of a Name or the Warrior of Legend Each Legacy is outlined further in the class description. You gain Legacy features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th and 15th levels.

Ability Score Increase

When you reach 4th level, and again at, 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.

Extra attack

At 5th level you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Martial Tactics

Starting at 9th level, you gain special combat abilities called Martial Tactics. Some Martial Tactics have a level prerequisite. This means that you must be a Champion of the Blade with that level in order to use the tactic.

You must be using a weapon from your chosen Champion's Specialization to use your martial tactics.

Offensive Stance

As a bonus action, you can spend 5 mastery points to assume an aggressive stance using a weapon of your Champion's Specialization, for 1 minute. For the duration, or until you lose concentration (as if concentrating on a spell), you can make one additional attack per turn when you take the Attack action. This effect ends earlier if you are no longer wielding the weapon used when you entered this stance.

Shield Breaker

When you hit a creature that is wearing armor or wielding a shield, you can damage that suit of armor using a bonus action and spending 5 mastery points. Doing so reduces that target's AC by -1d4, (to a minimum of 10). If the shield or armor are magical, the reduction lasts for 10 minutes.

Quaking Strike

As an action when wielding a melee heavy weapon, you can spend 5 mastery points to swing it to the ground, causing an earth tremor within 20-foot radius of you. Each creature in the area other than you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, or take 7d6 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone on a failed save, or half as much on a success.

Lightning Strikes

Prerequisite: 13th level

You gain the ability to spend 6 mastery and an Action to create an energy strike. You can prepare one of the following strikes below, and can change the chosen prepared strike after a short or a long rest.

All creatures in the chosen area must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 8d8 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.

Lightning Arc. You release an arc of energy in a 60-foot cone.

Lightning Thrust. Assuming a lunging stance you deliver a swift blow attack in the form of 100-foot by 5 feet line of energy.

Flash Draw. You release an arc of light in a 30-foot cone. On a failed save the targets don't take damage, being blinded until the end of their next turn instead. On a success they can't use their reactions for the same duration.

Thunderous Cut.' All creatures in a 20-foot radius from you must succeed on the save, or take thunder damage, rather than lightning. The save required is Constitution, rather than Dexterity.

Deflect

Prerequisite: 13th level

You gain the ability to spend 6 mastery and your reaction to deflect a ranged weapon attack or a spell targeting you. You can make a Dexterity check against the result of the attack or the save DC of the spell. On a success, the attack or spell have no effect, and you can choose a new target for it, a target you can see within 60 feet.

Crashing Charge Stance

Prerequisite: 13th level

You can start the stance for 1 minute, using your bonus action and spending 6 mastery. For the duration, your speed increases by 25 feet and moving doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

When you move within 5 feet of a creature or an object that isn’t being worn or carried, it takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage from your brutish impact. A creature or object can take this damage only once during a turn.

Perfect Rush

Prerequisite: 17th level

As an action, you can spend 7 mastery points to move in a straight line towards a hostile creature, making a deadly charge. Choose a creature within a distance equal to twice your movement speed. You quickly move towards it, teleporting to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of it and make an attack. On a hit, you dig the weapon on the creature's torso, causing additional 5d6 necrotic damage. On a miss, you cause half the damage of the attack and half the additional necrotic damage.

In addition, if you hit the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, or take additional 4d10 necrotic damage and is knocked prone. If the target was at 40 hit points or lower, it is instantly killed (no save required). If the target succeeds, takes half the damage and is not knocked prone.

Execute

Prerequisite: 17th level

As a bonus action, you can spend 7 mastery to prepare your weapon for an execution. For the next minute, you can teleport to an unoccupied place within 5 feet of a hostile creature, as long as the creature is within 30 feet of you, instead of moving. The distance you can teleport is reduced by 1 feet for each feet of movement you use on your turn.

In addition, for the duration, you score critical hits on a roll of 19-20. Once, before the duration ends, you can cause additional 5d10 damage with a successful attack using the weapon, ending the duration of the ability.

Behemoth Strike

Prerequisite: 17th level

As an action, you can attempt a behemoth strike against a creature. You must spend 7 mastery points and use a heavy weapon to do so. On a hit, choose one body part of the creature, and that creature's body part is damaged. The creature suffer the attack's normal effects, and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

In addition, the creature suffer one of the following effects, depending on the chosen body part, for 1 minute. Any creature can make a Wisdom (Medicine) check against your mastery save DC to end the effect earlier:

Arms. The creature has disadvantage on Strength checks, Strength saving throws, and attack rolls that use Strength.

Legs. The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity checks, Dexterity saving throws, and attack rolls that use Dexterity.

Torso. The creature has disadvantage on Constitution checks and Constitution saving throws. In addition, whenever the creature takes damage, it is stunned until the end of its next turn.

Head. The creature has disadvantage on Intelligence checks and Intelligence saving throws, and the creature behaves as if under the effects of the Confusion spell during combat.

Sword Cemetery

Prerequisite: 20th level

As an Action, you can spend 10 Mastery Points to conjure the power of the memories of warriors that perished on the battlefield affecting an area of 120 feet, centered on yourself. Ethereal images of broken blades and corpses fighting endlessly appear on the battlefield. This lasts for 1 minute.

When the area first appears, each creature of your choice within the area must succeed on a Wisdom save, or is frightened for the duration. The area is considered difficult terrain for any creature frightened by it. Your melee weapon attacks cause additional 2d8 psychic damage for the duration.

In addition, whenever a creature of your choice starts its turn in this area, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, or it is attacked by one of the ethereal warriors, taking 4d8 psychic damage, or double that if it is frightened.

Eternal Resolve

Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to draw on the power of your Mastery to restore your physical condition. As an action, you can spend 2 mastery to regain hit points equal to half your Champion of the Blade level (rounded up).

A Champion's Heart

Starting at 20th level, you begin to understand the true meaning of mastery and it's power. Having 0 hit points doesn’t knock you unconscious. You still must make death saving throws, and you suffer the normal effects of taking damage while at 0 hit points.

However, if you would die due to failing death saving throws, you don’t die as long as you have mastery points, and you die then only if you still have 0 hit points when your mastery points reach 0. You lose 1 mastery point at the end of your turn for each failed death saving throw you have.

Legacies

The Truth of a Name

A Champion of the Blade who specialises in using the power of Dishonour to its full power. Your path is a troubled one, not all will agree with it but it's power is recognizable as you are chosen by Almarus to understand the Truth about what it means to be a Champion and how this journey will be arduous and filled with danger but you will rise stronger than you could have ever thought yourself to become.

Honor the Dishonorable

Beginning at 3rd level, you accept that the only true dishonor lies on defeat, and embraces the path of dishonor. Whenever you attack a creature that is Surprised or under the effects of a harmful condition, you cause additional damage equal to your Dishonor score with that attack.

This additional damage can only be dealt once per turn.

In the Blink of an Eye

Starting at 7th level, when you are in dim light or darkness and take the Dash action, you can use the Hide action as part of the same action (or bonus action) as long as you end your movement in an area of dim light or darkness. The Hide action can be taken at any point of the movement, even in plain sight. Once you do so, you can't do it again until you finish a short or long rest, unless you spend 1 Dishonor point to do so again.

Deep Cut

Also at 7th level, whenever you cause damage with your perfect cut, you can force the target to make a Constitution saving throw, or be knocked prone.

Dreadful Presence

Starting at 11th level, if a creature you can see within 30 feet is frightened of you, you can use your bonus action to extend its frightened condition until the end of your next turn.

In addition, whenever you hit a creature frightened of you, you cause additional psychic damage equal to your dishonor score.

Domain of Darkness

When you reach the 15th level, you can imprison your enemies with you in a dimension of darkness. You can cast darkness, centered on yourself, without spending a spell slot. You can do so a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

When you do so, you and any creature in the area can't leave the area of darkness, unless they succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your mastery save DC. If you leave the area of darkness, the spell is dispelled. Finally, you are able to see in the area of darkness.

Warrior of Legend

Your path is one of a legend. You will rise to become a symbol that will inspire all those around you and make those who oppose you tremble in fear as you unlock your true potential and . This is your odyssey to write and you have a long way to go.

Heroic Wit

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to clear your body and mind. If you have 0 mastery, you can use an Action to regain mastery equal to half your level in this class (rounded down).

At 11th level, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the amount of mastery regained. You must complete a long rest before you use this feature again.

Legendary Resolve

Starting at 7th level, as a true honorable champion, your courage is unshakable, and your resolve steadfast. You are immune to the charmed condition.

In addition, you gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. If you are already proficient in Wisdom saves, you can choose Intelligence or Charisma instead.

Legendary Blade

Starting at 11th level, over the course of a long rest, you can bond with a weapon of your choice. You can use your bonus action to summon or shun the weapon from a dimensional space, and the weapon is considered magical (if it isn't already).

In addition, you cause additional damage with this weapon equal to the amount of Honor points you have.

Legendary Endurance

Starting at 15th level, you gain proficiency in all saving throws.

In addition, if you are within 5 feet of a creature, you have advantage on all saving throws against effects from that creature.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To multiclass into a Champion of the Blade you must be of a lawful alignment and have Dexterity and Wisdom 13 or higher.

Proficiencies. You gain proficiency with light armor, medium armor, simple weapons and martial weapons.

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