Combat Butler Variant (5e Class)
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This page is incomplete and/or lacking flavor. Reason: Almost no class page is in a finished state when it is first posted. For guidance, see the 5e Class Design Guide.
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Combat Butler[edit]
A butler is one who serves, who dedicates themself to a master, the right hand and leader of all a household's other servants. Combat butlers are this and more, bodyguard, spymaster, head of security, mage, each a different specialty, but each providing a multitude of essential services.
Bodyguard in Disguise[edit]
A combat butler may specialize in one of several roles based on who and where they trained, but all of them are required to meet a minimum baseline for combat capabilities, otherwise, what good are they?
Creating a Combat Butler[edit]
When creating a combat butler, ask yourself a few questions: how did you became a combat butler, were did you get your training? Have you been working for a noble house and trained as a staff member since your youth, or have you came from a renowned school of combat butlers? Why do you turned to a life of adventure? Have you failed your former masters, or did you decided that your talents were wasted serving a rich family and would be better employed helping an adventuring party to achieve glory and gold?
- Quick Build
You can make a Combat Butler quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score, followed by Charisma. Second, choose the Butler background. Third, choose <!-elaborate on equipment choices->
Class Features
As a Combat Butler you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Combat Butler level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Combat Butler level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor:
Weapons: Simple Weapons
Tools: Cook's Utensils
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: choose two between Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Performance.
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) a shortbow and a quiver with 20 arrows or (c) two longswords (Academy of Blades only)
- (a) diplomat's pack or (b) scholar's pack
- leather armor, a uniform, two daggers, and Cook's utensils
- If you are using starting wealth, you have 5d4 x 10 gp in funds.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Bodyguard in Disguise, Efficient Service, Butler Academy |
| 2nd | +2 | Emergency First Aid |
| 3rd | +2 | Always Prepared |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | Princess Potato Sacks |
| 6th | +3 | Into the Line of Fire |
| 7th | +3 | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | Refined Behavior |
| 10th | +4 | — |
| 11th | +4 | Superior Service |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | — |
| 14th | +5 | Unto Death |
| 15th | +5 | A Moments Notice |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | — |
| 18th | +6 | Tireless Service |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | Majordomo |
Bodyguard in Disguise[edit]
Starting at 1st level you tie yourself to another, falling under their gainful employment as their head butler and protector. Upon completing a long rest you can choose a willing, allied creature within 60 feet to become your Master. You can designate a new creature as your Master by spending 10 days serving a willing, allied creature for 8 hours a day. Every day you spend attempting to change your Master without the permission of your current Master requires you to make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Combat Butler level. On a failed save you are poisoned until you complete a long rest.
Additionally, when standing within 5 feet of your Master, they gain a bonus to their armor class equal to half your Dexterity modifier rounded down (minimum of 1), as well as a bonus to their saving throws equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum of 1).
Efficient Service[edit]
Starting at 1st level you can obey commands with diligence and effectiveness. An allied creature within 60 feet of you can spend their bonus action in order to give you a Command. You can then spend your reaction in order to obey the Command.
At 1st level allies can Command you to either take a single attack action, or to take the help action. At 7th level they can Command you to move up to your movement speed, to take the dodge action or to take the hide action.
Additionally, starting at 1st level, if your Master gives you a Command, you may obey their Command without spending your reaction regaining the ability to do so upon completing a short rest. In return, choosing to ignore the command causes you to take psychic damage equal to your level in Combat Butler.
Butler Academy[edit]
At 1st level, you choose an Academy, representing the training you have undergone, whether under another head butler, or at an actual school. Choose between the Academy of Authority, Etiquette, Mystery, or Security, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 3rd, 7th, 10th, 13th and 17th levels.
academy of security - fighter type (be the adam smasher or oda your DM didn't know they didn't need; extra uses of servant and master; master alone commands full attack action)
academy of etiquette - warlock/bard type (charming and magicky)
academy of mystery - rogue (sneaky assassin spy) (never seen, ever present: teleport to master from their shadow?)
academy of authority - leader type (yeah battle valets/maids!)
Emergency First Aid[edit]
Starting at 2nd level you are trained in first aid, able to react quickly to harm done to a member of the household. You can add your Dexterity modifier to your Wisdom Medicine checks, and make Wisdom Medicine checks as a bonus action.
Additionally, if your Master is at 0 hit points, you can spend your reaction to move up to your movement speed straight towards them, and if you end your movement within 5 feet of them, restore a number of their hit points equal to your Dexterity modifier plus your Combat Butler level. You may do this once, regaining uses of this feature upon completing a long rest.
Always Prepared[edit]
Starting at 3rd level you can anticipate the desires and needs of your Masters, prepared to serve when the moment comes. Whenever you complete a long rest, you can roll a d20 and record the number rolled. When one of your Masters rolls an ability check, attack roll or saving throw, you can replace the result with the recorded number. You can use this feature once before you must complete a long rest and record a new d20 result.
Ability Score Improvement[edit]
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 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.
Princess Potato Sacks[edit]
Starting at 5th level you can drag your allies to safety, whether they want you to or not. Upon making a successful grapple attempt, you can lift a creature of your size of smaller, ignoring their weight when determining how much you can carry, but not the weight of their gear. If the creature is your Master, you are considered one size larger when determining how much you can carry.
Into the Line of Fire[edit]
Starting at 6th level when an allied creature within 5 feet of you takes damage, you can spend your reaction to swap places with them, making them immune to the triggering damage, and instead taking the damage yourself. If the allied creature is your Master you gain temporary hit points equal to 1d10 plus your Charisma modifier before taking the damage.
Refined Behavior[edit]
Starting at 9th level advantage on charisma when interacting with nobles, and on history checks about nobles.
Superior Service[edit]
Starting at 11th level your quick movement and ear for Commands allows you to take an additional reaction each round. This reaction can only be used for Combat Butler features.
Unto Death[edit]
Starting at 14th level free commands from Master are done with advantage.
A Moments Notice[edit]
Starting at 15th level
Tireless Service[edit]
Starting at 18th level gain another reaction,
Majordomo[edit]
Starting at 20th level
Academy of Authority[edit]
You have been trained in the managing of servants beyond just the routine housework normally required. You and the staff under you are all fully battle ready, able to appear to serve the master at any moment, in any situation.
- Household Staff
Starting at 1st level you gain the ability to hire and train a Housekeeper. Following an 8-hour initiation period, you select a commoner of the same alignment as you to become your Housekeeper. You can only have one Housekeeper at a time, who will follow your orders to the best of their ability, and is able to use any of your Combat Butler features, sharing the number of uses with you.
If your Housekeeper is ever slain, you can raise them from the dead by the usual methods, such as the raise dead spell, or you can spend 8 hours and 100 gp initiating a new Housekeeper. If you do so your previous Housekeeper loses all changes granted by your class features.
- Battle Staff
Starting at 3rd level
Starting at 3rd level you gain the service of a single Battle Servant, an incredibly capable NPC trained and armed for combat. They share the same alignment as you and will follow your orders fervently so long as it does not obviously end in the death of themself, you, or your Masters. You can summon the Battle Servant into an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you as an action. The Battle Servant acts after you in the initiative order, and can be given orders as a bonus action on your turn. If your Battle Servant is reduced to 0 hit points, it falls unconscious and must make death saves. If a Battle Servant dies, you can revive them as with your Housekeeper, or hire and train a new one for 250 gp over the course of a week. Damage dealt to your Battle Servant stays between summons
- Never Seen, Always Present
Starting at 7th level your Battle Servants and Housekeeper can sink into your shadow. Your Housekeeper has the statblock of a Battle Servant with minor changes.
- Endless Hands
Starting at 10th level your dedication to serve is so powerful you will never find yourself without an extra set of hands with which to serve your Master, calling the ghosts of dead servants to help you. You can cast unseen servant as a ritual. The spell has a duration of Until Dispelled and does not end early if more than 60 feet away from you so long as it is within 60 feet of your Master. The Unseen Servant appears like a ghostly maid or valet and will obey your commands or the spoken commands of your Master. You can have a single Unseen Servant created in this way at a time, with any subsequent casts dispelling the previous Unseen Servant.
Starting at 13th level you can
- Loyal Unto Death
Starting at 17th level Battle Staff wont die upon hitting 0 hit points and will continue fighting for a while.
Academy of Etiquette[edit]
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Spell List[edit]
You know all of the spells on the basic spell list and additional spells based on your subclass.
- 1st Level
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- 2nd Level
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- 3rd Level
<!-3rd level spell list->
- 4th Level
<!-4th level spell list->
- 5th Level
<!-5th level spell list->
Multiclassing[edit]
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the <!-class name-> class, you must meet these prerequisites:
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the <!-class name-> class, you gain the following proficiencies:
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