War-smith (5e Class)

War-smith

A smith is a maker of weapon, armor, and tools, a warrior uses those weapons and armor to wage battle or war. A War-smith is both a smith and a warrior, with knowledge of flaws within armor and weapons, they become feared on the battlefield, not because of their strength or power, but because their arms and armor shall be broken leaving them defenseless.

Creating a War-smith

A War-smith is in basic concept a smith who applies their knowledge of crafting into a battle-style that's allows them use the flaws of weapons and armors to their benefit, at the same time they use that knowledge to optimally use their arms and armor. Think of how and why your character decided to apply their smithing knowledge into fighting instead of becoming a normal blacksmith.

Quick Build

You can make a War-smith quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose any background that you fancy. Third, choose option a for close combat, b for long range, or c for a mix, when you select equipment.

Class Features

As a War-smith you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per War-smith level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per War-smith level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Weapons: all armors
Tools: Smith's tools, woodcarver's tools, and leatherworker's tools
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Intimidation, Insight, Perception or Persuasion.

Equipment

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

• (a) a martial melee weapon with a shield or (b) a longbow and 20 arrows or (c) a simple melee weapon with 10 darts
• (a) chain mail or (b) leather armor or (c) scale mail
• (a) explorer's pack or (b) dungeoneer's pack or (c) scholar's pack
• smith's tools, woodcarver's tools, and leatherworker's tools

Table: The War-smith

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Masterwork Points (Limit)
1st	+2	Material, Masterwork Crafts	1 (+1)
2nd	+2	Masterwork Properties	2 (+1)
3rd	+2	Guild	2 (+1)
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	2 (+1)
5th	+3	Extra Attack	3 (+1)
6th	+3	Improved Creations	3 (+1)
7th	+3	Guild Feature	4 (+1)
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	4 (+1)
9th	+4	User's Guide	5 (+2)
10th	+4	Superior Materials	5 (+2)
11th	+4	Guild Feature	6 (+2)
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	6 (+2)
13th	+5	Masterwork Secret	7 (+2)
14th	+5	Reliable Gear	7 (+2)
15th	+5	Guild Feature	8 (+2)
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	8 (+2)
17th	+6	User's Guide (Improvement)	9 (+3)
18th	+6	Guild Feature	9 (+3)
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	10 (+3)
20th	+6	Masterpiece	12 (+4)

Material

Also at 1st level, with the Smith's Tools on hand, you can perform repairs, fix or even create weaponry quickly by using materials. You have a number of material points equal to your Wisdom score plus 3 x your War-smith level. You regain the material spent after completing a long rest. You can use material points in the following ways:

Craft

You can spend a number of material points equal to the cost of a non-magical object in gp to craft that object. The object must be a weapon, armor or shield. You can partially create an object, using material points, for those objects with a cost superior than the amount of material points you have.

Reinforce

You can reinforce a suit of metal armor when you finish a short or a long rest. A creature using that suit of armor gain temporary hit points whenever it is using that armor. The temporary hit points are lost when you finish a long rest.

Quick Fix

You can restore a number of hit points to a metallic object or construct equal to the amount of material points spent on it, using an Action.

Masterwork Crafts

Also at 1st level, you can craft or improve weapons and armor, reaching the level of a masterwork creation. Whenever you craft, fix or repair a non-magical weapon or armor, you can turn it into a masterwork. You have a total number of Masterwork points equal to the number shown on the Masterwork column on the War-smith table.

Whenever you spend a masterwork point, you give that bonus to the attack or damage roll of the weapon (distributing the points in whatever fashion you want) or to the AC of a suit of armor or shield. Once a masterwork point is spent, you can't recover while the object with the bonus is in your or your allies possession. You can regain the masterwork point on a long rest if the object is lost, broken or otherwise removed from your or your allies possession.

Giving a bonus to the AC of armors or shields cost 2 points for each +1 bonus. Weapons gain +1 bonus to either the attack or the damage roll for each point spent. The maximum bonus a weapon can have on attack or damage, or an armor or shield can have on its AC is determined by the limit, as shown on the column above.

Masterwork Properties

At 2nd level, whenever you turn an item into masterwork, you can spend masterwork points to give it additional traits, as shown below:

Delicate (1 Masterwork Point)

This trait can be added to any melee masterwork weapon that lacks the heavy or two-handed property. The weapon gains the finesse property.

Aerodynamic (1 Masterwork Point)

This trait can be added to any melee masterwork weapon that lacks the heavy or two-handed property. The weapon gains the thrown (20/40) property.

Silent (1 Masterwork Point)

This trait can be added to any armor. The armor no longer grants Disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Brutal (1+ Masterwork Point)

This trait can be added to any weapon. On critical hits, you roll one additional die of this weapon's damage die per masterwork point spent to calculate damage.

Automatic (1 Masterwork Points)

This trait can be added to crossbows. The crossbow can fire 5 shots before you need to reload it.

Sight (1 Masterwork Points)

This trait can be added to any ranged weapons. This weapon no longer have Disadvantage due to attacking at its long range, and ignore three quarters and half cover.

Crossguard (1 Masterwork Points)

This trait can be added to any versatile weapons. When wielding this weapon in two-hands, you gain a bonus of +1 to your AC.

Salvage (Optional Feature)

Optional Feature, Questionable Balance

At 2nd level, you can salvage the metal from other weapons and armors and fashion them into new ones. You can destroy an object, regaining material points equal to its cost in gp. The object is broken and unusable regardless of how many points you salvage from it. You can salvage up to 1 point of material per level you have in this class during a short rest. Material gained through salvage can only be used to either Craft or Quick Fix.

Guild

At 3rd level, you chose a smith's Guild. Choose between Guild of the Grinding Wheel and the Guild of the Rune Engravers, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd and again at 7th, 11th, 15th and 18th levels.

Ability Score Improvement

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.

Extra Attack

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

Improved Creations

At 6th level, your masterwork weapons count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. In addition, masterwork armor and shields turn critical hits against its user into normal hits.

User's Guide

At 9th level, you can shout instructions to instruct your allies how to better use your creations. As a reaction when a creature within 30 feet that you can see (including yourself) misses an attack with a Masterwork weapon, you can allow it to reroll the attack. Alternatively, when an ally within 30 feet is hit by an attack while wielding a masterwork shield or donning a masterwork armor, you can force the attacker to reroll, using the new result.

Starting at 17th level, the attack rerolled with a Masterwork Weapon in this way have Advantage, while the attack rerolled against the Masterwork armor or shield have Disadvantage.

Superior Materials

From 10th level, your material points double, and from now on you gain 6 points of material, rather than 3 for each level you have on this class. In addition, you gain the following additional uses for the materials:

Spiked Plating

You can spend 2 materials for each point of spiked plating added to an armor or shield. Whenever a creature with an armor or shield reinforced with spiked plating takes damage from a melee weapon attack, the damage is reduced by the spiked plating, and the attacker takes damage equal to the amount of spiked plating removed.

Jagged Blade

You can cover a melee weapon with a layer of blades by spending 1 material point per point of blades. Whenever damage is caused with that weapon, add slashing damage equal to the number rolled on the weapon's damage die, up to a maximum equal to the amount of blade points this weapon have. This weapon loses blade points after each hit.

Improved Crafting

You now only spend half the amount of materials whenever you craft or fix a weapon, armor or shield. In addition, any weapon, armor and shields craft by you gain the benefits of your Improved Creations.

Masterwork Secret

At 13th level, when you are using a masterwork object, you can give yourself Advantage on all attacks (when using a weapon), or impose disadvantage on all attacks made against you (if using an armor). This benefit lasts until the end of your next turn.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Reliable Gear

At 14th level, your masterwork equipment is extremely reliable. Whenever a creature wearing a masterwork armor or shield is reduced to 0 hit points, it can choose to fall to 1 hit point instead, losing all its masterwork bonus.

In addition, the first time a creature rolls a 1 with a masterwork weapon, that creature can roll the attack again, and must use the new result. This trait can't be used with that weapon again until the next dawn.

Masterpiece

At 20th level, you craft your finest piece, a legendary weapon, armor of shield matched by no other. Your masterpiece is a masterwork object created by you, with 12 masterwork points (that don't count against your maximum number of masterwork points). If you lose the masterpiece, you can't craft another until you spend at least 30 days working on it.

WHenever you spend Material to enhance or fix your Masterpiece, the cost in materials is halved. In addition, the first attack in each of your turns you make with a Masterpiece enhanced with materials is always at Advantage, and the first attack you suffered wearing a Masterpiece is always at Disadvantage.

War Smith Guilds

Guild of the Grinding Wheel

Members of the Grinding Wheel guild are specialized in crafting blades of any kind. Swords, axes and tips for spears and arrows crafted by members of this guild can pierce through the sturdiest of armors, and cut through shields like butter. These War-smiths always carry with them their trust Grinding Wheel, which they use to constantly keep their blades as deadly as possible.

Portable Grinding Wheel

Starting at 3rd level, you can craft a portable grinding wheel, which you can use to keep blades always sharp. As a bonus action, you can sharpen a weapon of a friendly creature within 5 feet that is drawn. That weapon scores a critical hit on a 19-20, until the next time this weapon hits a target within the next minute. In addition, whenever a critical is scored with this weapon, the target suffer a bleeding wound and loses a number of hit points equal to half the damage caused at the start of its next turn.

If you pass a sharpened weapon through the grinding wheel again, you can lower its critical range by 1. Any bonuses from this grinding wheel vanish after 1 minute, counting from the first time you sharpened that weapon.

If you lose your Grinding Wheel, you can craft another by spending a whetstone and spending 5 material when you finish a short rest.

Sharpening Materials

Also at 3rd level, when you sharpen a blade with your grinding wheel, you can spend 5 materials. The next time that weapon hits a creature within this minute is a critical. In addition, when a creature scores a critical hit on a melee attack with a sharpened weapon, it can use its Bonus Action to double the hit point loss due to the bleeding wound.

Thickened Hide

At 7th level, you learned how to ignore the pain from the constant cuts suffered, inevitable to your profession. When you take slashing damage, you can use a reaction to halve the damage taken. In addition, you have Advantage on all saving throws made to stop bleeding.

Heating the Blade

When you reach the 11th level, your grinding wheel increases the metal temperature, causing the next attack with the sharpened weapon to cause additional +3d6 fire damage.

Masterwork Sharpening

At 15th level, whenever you add the masterwork property to a melee slashing weapon, that weapon gains the properties of a Vicious Weapon and of an Adamantine Weapon.

Fresh Cut

At 18th level, if a weapon sharpened with your Grinding Wheel hits on the first attack it makes after being sharpened, that attack leaves a bleeding wound regardless of being or not a critical.

In addition, your bleeding wounds now cause hit point loss equal to the damage of the attack that left them.

Guild of the Rune Engravers

The Rune Engravers War-smiths are arcane smiths, capable of infusing weapons and armor with arcane power. To do this, they engrave runes on their pieces, that manifest magical powers.

Temporary Runes

Starting at 3rd level, you can infuse your creations with temporary magical runes, that enable its user to conjure its magical power when uttering the command word.

Rune Points

War-smith Level	Spell Level Maximum	Points
3rd	1st	2
7th	2nd	3
13th	3rd	5
19th	4th	6

Rune Points

You have a number of Rune Points equal to twice your Rune Engraver level. To engrave a rune, you must spend a proportional number of rune points. After spending all your rune points, you can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest. The table below shows the level of spells you gain at certain levels as a War-smith, and the number of points to engrave them. For spells that can be cast at a higher level, you can spend a number of points corresponding to the higher level spell slot you wish to use.

Carving Runes

When you finish a long rest, you can spend your Rune Slots to engrave runes. The runes remain active until used by the creature using the object, or until you complete your next long rest. Runes must be engraved on masterwork object or a magical weapon, armor or shield. A single object can contain a total of three runes.

Casting Runes

When casting a rune, the creature wearing the equipment that bears the rune can utter the command word and cast the spell associated with the rune. After that, the rune is consumed. The rune casting uses the spell save DC and spell attack roll shown below:

Rune save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

Rune Attack Bonus = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

Permanent Runes

Starting at 7th level, when you create a Masterwork weapon, you can engrave them with permanent runes. The permanent runes have the properties below:

Rune of the Elements. Choose one damage type: acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder. You can spend 2+ Masterwork points. A weapon causes +1d6 damage from the chosen type for each 2 points spent.

Rune of Slaying. Choose one creature type. If you choose humanoid, choose two variants of humanoid. You can spend up to 3 Masterwork points. A weapon causes +1d6 damage per point spent against creatures from the chosen type.

Rune of Draining. You can spend 2+ Masterwork points when creating this weapon. A critical hit on a roll of 20 with this weapon causes additional 5 necrotic damage per point spent. You gain temporary hit points equal to the additional damage caused.

Rune of Destruction. Choose one creature type. If you choose humanoid, choose two variants of humanoid. You can spend up to 3 Masterwork points. A weapon gain a bonus equal to the amount of points spent against creatures of the chosen type. In addition, on a critical hit with a 20, the weapon causes additional 4 damage per point spent, or 8 points against creatures of the chosen type. If this attack reduces the target to a number of hit points equal to 12 per point spent, the creature is killed.

Magic Resistance

Also at 7th level, any creature that wears a shield or armor containing an unused Temporary Rune has resistance to the damage of spells.

Runic Weaponry

At 11th level, you craft a runic weapon and a runic armor. This gear is considered a masterwork for features that require a masterwork object, but don't count against your maximum number of masterwork objects, nor it has any bonuses or points, unless you choose to add it. You can cast any of your Rune Blade spells through this equipment by spending your Runic Points, without needing to engrave the rune first.

In addition, you have a total of 6 special masterwork points for both of these objects. You can divide between the armor and weapon in any fashion. Masterwork points gained through this feature can only be used to engrave permanent runes.

Master Rune

At 15th level, you learn the Glyph of Warding spell as a 4th-level spell, which you can cast once, without spending spell slots. When you gain this feature, choose one spell of your choice of 4th-level from any spell list. That spell can be placed on the Spell Glyph as you knew it.

In addition, you can place the Glyph of Warding Rune on a weapon, armor, or piece of ammunition, ignoring the restriction about moving the glyph. Once you use this ability to cast a spell, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you spend 6 rune points to do so again.

Runic Protection

At 18th level, your gear offers a greater degree of magical protection. Any creature using a masterwork armor or shield created by you gain Advantage on saving throws against spells, and any save made to reduce the damage of spells to half negates the damage of spells on a successful save, and allow for half damage on a failure.

In addition, whenever a creature using your masterwork gear fails a saving throw against a spell, it can reduce the number of masterwork points on the gear in 1 to reroll the save, or in 2 to reroll the save with Advantage.

Rune Engraver Spell List

Armor and Shield Engravings

1st-level. Cure Wounds, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Hellish Rebuke, Jump, Longstrider, Sanctuary, Shield

2nd-level. Enlarge/Reduce, Levitate, Protection from Poison, Spider Climb

3rd-level. Blink, Counterspell, Fly, Haste, Intellect Fortress, Protection from Energy

4th-level. Fire Shield, Death Ward, Freedom of Movement, Stoneskin

Weapon Engravings

1st-level. Absorb Elements, Divine Favor, Inflict Wounds, Searing Smite, Thunderous Smite, Wrathful Smite, Zephyr Strike

2nd-level. Branding Smite, Magic Weapon

3rd-level. Blinding Smite, Elemental Weapon, Flame Arrows, Lightning Arrow, Vampiric Touch

4th-level. Staggering Smite

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the War-smith class, you must meet these prerequisites: 13 or more strength, 13 or more constitution, and must have proficiency with smith's tools.

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the War-smith class, you gain the following proficiencies: all armors, all weapons, woodcarver's tools, leatherworker's tools.

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