Sentinel (5e Class)

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

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: 1d12 per Sentinel level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + 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 mail and a shield or (b) half plate
• (a) an explorers pack or (b) dungeoneers pack
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 5d8 x 10 gp in funds.

Table: The Sentinel

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Guardian Die	Features
1st	+2	1d6	Sound Body, Towering Wall
2nd	+2	1d6	Bolster Defense
3rd	+2	1d6	Guard Path
4th	+2	1d6	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	1d6	Lightmail, Extra Attack
6th	+3	1d8	Frontline Mind
7th	+3	1d8	Guard Path Feature
8th	+3	1d8	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	1d8	Warden
10th	+4	1d10	Guard Path Feature
11th	+4	1d10	Awareness
12th	+4	1d10	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	1d10	Blockade
14th	+5	1d10	None Shall Pass
15th	+5	1d12	Guard Path Feature
16th	+5	1d12	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	1d12	Remise
18th	+6	1d12	Guard Path Feature
19th	+6	1d12	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	1d12	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.

Towering Wall

The guard of the battlefield serves to slow enemies down as well as take the hits for the weaker sort. Starting at 1st level, you gain a guardian's die, which increases in size as you gain more levels in this class, as shown under the guardian die column of the class table. Using this die, you fuel your battle expertise to guard and control the flow of battle. You begin with 4 such dice, and you gain another one at 5th, 9th, and 14th level. When you expend a guardian die, you do not regain it until you finish a short or long rest. You expend guardian dice to use the following tower techniques:

Soaker

As a reaction, you can roll a guardian dice when you are hit by an attack. You reduce the damage you take by a number equal to double the guardian die roll.

Cover Blocker

As a bonus action, you can roll a guardian dice. All creatures within 5 feet of you have a penalty on all their saving throws until the end of their next turn or until they get more than 5 feet away from you.

Bolster Defense

Armor works better on you due to your knowledge of how to best use it. Starting at 2nd level, while 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.

Extra Attack

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.

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 or two-handed 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, creatures within 5 feet of you roll their weapon attack rolls with disadvantage.

None Shall 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.

Traveling Guide

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the following tower techniques for which you can expend your guardian dice.

Guard Side

As a bonus action, you can roll a guardian die. All allied creatures within 5 feet of you gain a bonus to their Armor Class equal to half the dice roll, until the start of your next turn.

Stepping Strike

Immediately after you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, you can expend a guardian die. You can make an additional attack against the creature, adding the die roll to your damage if you hit.

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 +3 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.

Alerter

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the two following tower techniques for which you can use your guardian dice:

Pre-emption

When you are targeted by an effect that has you roll a saving throw, you can expend a guardian die with no action necessary. You, and all creatures within 5 feet of you, gain a bonus to your saving throw equal to the roll result.

Gimp

Immediately after you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend a guardian die and inflict the roll result as a penalty on the creature's next attack roll.

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

Arcane Shield Spellcasting

— 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

Channel Aide

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the following tower technique for which you can expend your guardian dice.

Mage Aid

If a creature friendly to you that you can see is casting a spell within 10 feet of you, you can roll a guardian die to amplify their spell in the following ways:

• If it is a spell that requires an attack roll, they gain a bonus to the attack and damage roll equal to the guardian die roll.
• If the spell forces a saving throw, the DC for the spell increases by the number of the guardian die roll.
• If it is a spell that affects objects, it affects an additional number of targets equal to the guardian die roll.
• If it is a spell that causes an ongoing, non-damaging effect, the effect duration is elongated by a number of minutes equal to the guardian die roll.

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 Blowback

Starting 15th level, a sheen of magic covers you and blasts enemies who dare strike you. Whenever a creature within 10 feet of you hits you with an attack, that creature takes force damage equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Magic Hyper

You become stronger against magic with protections set up by magic. Starting 18th level, if you have cast 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, enemies abound

4th Level

resilient sphere, death ward, private sanctum, wall of fire

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the sentinel class, you must meet these prerequisites: 12 Intelligence, 15 Constitution

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the sentinel class, you gain the following proficiencies: shield, all armor

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