Fencer, Variant (5e Class)
Fencer[edit]
The human man draw his rapier, facing the adversary in front of him. A gray hair and wrinkled face denounces his advanced age, but the hands grasping the handle of an old sword are firm and steady. The blade of the weapon as seen better days, with marks of rust sprinkle trough his length. In front of him stands the challenger, a young lord that walks proud and defiant. This dismissive attitude hides, however, the anger of being humiliated by the elder a day prior. He draw his beautiful sword with a golden guard, and rushes towards the elder. Carefully the elder parry the powerful strike, with a effortless and calculated movement. The young man is faster, but what the elder lacks in agility, he makes up for in technique, experience and precision, and with three movements, the tip on the blade is on the neck of the youngster, while the challenger sword lays on the ground.
Jumping trough rooftops, the half-elven lady runs with his prize, a precious jewel stolen during the party on the halls of the king. With a mask covering half of his face, and a cape floating on the night wind, she flees from the guards that were alerted by the magical alarm. Although she knows the city with the palm of her hand, the light rain makes the surface under her feet slippery, and a misstep cause her to fall to the ground, in an alley. She is surrounded by three guards. The first one shoot her with a crossbow, but with a quick movement, the bolt is cut in half by her sword. She shrugs, recognizing that she will have to fight her way out of this situation. With a grin, she rushes towards the guards with the speed of a viper. Minutes later, the three guards are found, unconscious, and the thief is nowhere to be seen.
A nomad group wanders trough the endless sand and under the scorching sun of a desert. A group that doesn't have much in terms of possession and gold, but water and food are more valuable than any treasure on those regions. On the horizon, hidden behind a dune, a group of bandits charges this group, ready to strip them from their possessions, life and freedom. A half orc draw his scimitar and stands in between the charging assailants and the innocent nomads, and charge alone towards this group. With the grace of a dancer, he swings the sword, deflecting strikes and slicing limbs, letting behind a pile of corpses.
Fencers are warriors who specialize in combat with swords, focusing on agility, technique and mobility rather than strength. They are deceptively dangerous, since their gracious movement hides the violence and savagery that these combatants are capable of.
Creating a fencer[edit]
Dexterity should be your highest ability score followed by Intelligence and Strength.
Class Features
As a Fencer you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per Fencer level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + Constitution modifier per Fencer level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple and Martial Melee Weapons which deal Piercing or Slashing damage
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Strength
Skills: Perception, Acrobatics, Athletics, Investigation, Persuasion, and Stealth
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) Leather armor or (b) padded armor
- (a) rapier or (b) long sword
- (a) short sword or (b) 2 daggers
- (a) Explorer's pack or (b) dungeoneer's pack
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Attrition Maximum | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | N/A | Nimble Attack, Fencing Superiority, Fighting Style |
| 2nd | +2 | 1 | Precision Bonus, Attrition |
| 3rd | +2 | 1 | Weapon Expertise (d6), Blinding Ripostes |
| 4th | +2 | 1 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | 2 | Extra Attack |
| 6th | +3 | 2 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 7th | +3 | 2 | Graceful Poise |
| 8th | +3 | 2 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | 3 | Weapon Expertise (d8), Nimble Action |
| 10th | +4 | 3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 11th | +4 | 3 | Extra Attack (3) |
| 12th | +4 | 3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | 4 | Weapon Expertise (d10) |
| 14th | +5 | 4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 15th | +5 | 4 | Mortal Strikes |
| 16th | +5 | 4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | 5 | Weapon Expertise (d12) |
| 18th | +6 | 5 | Extra Attack (4) |
| 19th | +6 | 5 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | 5 | Maneuver Master |
Nimble Attack[edit]
Starting at 1st level, you have trained yourself to make swift attacks. When wielding a melee weapon in one hand, and nothing in the other, you can make an attack with that weapon as a bonus action.
You can't use this feature when wearing medium or heavy armor.
Fencing Superiority[edit]
Additionally at 1st level, you learn maneuvers that are fueled by special dice called superiority dice.
- Maneuvers. You learn the Sweeping Attack maneuver as well as a number of maneuvers of your choice equal to your intelligence modifier. Many maneuvers enhance an attack in some way. You can only use one maneuver per attack. Whenever you gain a level in this class you may replace your chosen maneuvers with new ones.
- Superiority Dice. You get a number of superiority dice equal to twice your proficiency bonus. These dice 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.
- Saving Throws. Some of your maneuvers require your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Maneuver save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Fighting Style[edit]
Also at 1st level, 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.
- Defense
While wearing armor, you gain a +1 to AC.
- 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.
- Mobility
When you attack a creature, you don't provoke opportunity attacks from it for the rest of the turn.
Precision Bonus[edit]
At 2nd level, you have trained yourself to attack with the precision of a surgeon. When wielding a melee weapon in one hand, and nothing on the other, you gain a bonus of +2 on your attack rolls with it.
Attrition[edit]
Also at 2nd level, you overwhelm your foes with a hail of blows. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you gain 1 dice of attrition, which is a d6. Whenever you hit that same creature, you cause additional damage equal to the amount of dice of attrition you have.
The maximum attrition you can have is shown on the Attrition column on the class table. You lose an attrition die each time you miss an attack and lose all of them if you attack another creature, fail to make an attack since your last turn. You cannot gain attrition and lose all that you have if you are or become frightened, grappled, incapacitated, poisoned, or exhausted.
Weapon Expertise[edit]
Starting at 3rd level, your expertise with your weapons improves their lethality. Whenever you make an attack with a melee weapon that lacks the heavy or two-handed property you are proficient with, you gain the following benefits:
- You can use either your Dexterity or Strength for attacks and damage rolls.
- When wielding a melee weapon in one hand, and nothing on the other, you add your Strength modifier (if positive) as a bonus to your damage rolls.
- You roll a d6 for the damage die of the weapon, if it is normally lower. This increases to 1d8 at 9th level, 1d10 at 13th level and 1d12 at 17th level. At the later levels, the size of your superiority dice also increase.
Blinding Ripostes[edit]
Starting at 3rd level, you can counterattack with blinding speed, taking advantage of every opening. You learn the Parry and Riposte maneuvers. If you already know either maneuver, choose another maneuver for each you already knew. Additionally, when you use the Parry maneuver, you may make a weapon attack against the creature you parried, that attack deals damage equal to the number rolled on the superiority die for that parry.
Ability Score Increase[edit]
When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of you 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[edit]
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class, and to four when you reach 18th level in this class.
Graceful Poise[edit]
At 7th level, you can move with grace and agility. You may add your proficiency bonus to Dexterity and Charisma (Performance) checks. If you already add your proficiency bonus to any of these, you may add an additional bonus equal to half your proficiency bonus, rounded down.
In addition, when you move, you can instead take two short movements by flying. Each movement is at half your speed, and you must end each one on a creature, solid object, or ground. If you do not, you fall and your movement ends.
Nimble Action[edit]
Starting at 9th level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action.
Mortal Strikes[edit]
At 15th level, you can observe your foes for weaknesses to exploit. Once per turn when you make an attack, you can make an Intelligence check (investigation) with a DC equal to the AC of the target. If you succeed, you can double the number of dice added by Attrition Bonus on that attack (possibly exceeding the normal maximum).
Maneuver Master[edit]
At 20th level, your skill with your weapons have reached the apex and are refined into art. When you make your first attack on your turn, you may expend a superiority die. If you do, you may apply a maneuver to each attack you make until the end of turn (including the first) without expending superiority dice. You may choose a different maneuver for each attack.
Multiclassing[edit]
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the "old school" fencer class, you must meet these prerequisites: 13 Dexterity
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the "old school" fencer class, you gain the following proficiencies: rapiers; light armor
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