Weapon Adept (5e Subclass)

Weapon Adept

Fighter Subclass

The Weapon Adept specializes in the mastery of a specific category of weapons, blending martial prowess with a deep understanding of their chosen armaments. This subclass focuses on honing skills with these weapons to perform feats of incredible skill and deadly precision, making the Weapon Adept a formidable foe in combat. Through rigorous training and study, Weapon Adepts unlock unique techniques and abilities that not only enhance their effectiveness with their chosen weapons but also allow them to adapt to various combat situations, turning the tide of battle with their expertise. The core concept revolves around versatility, precision, and adaptation, with a thematic emphasis on the bond between the warrior and their weapon.

Weapon Mastery

At 3rd level, when you choose this archetype, you also choose a category of weapons to master : swords, axes, polearms, ranged,[...], or another category defined by the DM. You gain the following benefits when using a weapon from your chosen category :

• Precision Strike : Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack using your chosen weapon category, you can add a bonus to the damage roll equal to your proficiency bonus. This represents your ability to target vulnerabilities in your opponents' defenses.
• Adaptive Technique: You gain a special technique associated with your chosen weapon category. Select one technique from the list corresponding to your weapon category. You can use this technique a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Artisan's Insight

At 3rd level, your deep connection with your chosen weapon category grants you insights into its craft and care, as well as the ability to imbue it with a fragment of your martial spirit. You gain the following abilities :

• Weapon Bond : Over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest, you can create a mystical bond with one weapon within your chosen category. This bond allows you to summon that weapon to your hand as a bonus action on your turn, provided it is on the same plane of existence. If your bonded weapon is ever destroyed, you can bond with a new weapon by repeating the ritual. You can have up to two bonded weapons at a time but can summon only one with your bonus action.
• Craftsman's Touch : You gain proficiency with Smith's tools if you don't already have it, and you can perform maintenance on your chosen weapon category as part of a short rest. Doing so grants you a +1 bonus to attack rolls with weapons of your chosen category until the end of your next long rest. This does not stack with other magical enhancements.

Combat Adaptation

At 7th level, your deep understanding of various combat scenarios allows you to adapt your technique on the fly, giving you an edge over less versatile opponents. This feature represents your ability to quickly analyze and adjust to the flow of battle, making the most of your weapon mastery.

• Adaptive Stance : At the start of your turn, you can choose one of the following stances to adopt, based on the weapon category you have mastered. Each stance remains active until the start of your next turn. You can change your stance at the start of each of your turns:

• Swords :

1. Precision Stance : Your attacks with swords score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
2. Riposte Stance : When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature with a sword.

• Axes :

1. Power Stance : When you hit a creature with an axe, you can push the target up to 5 feet away.
2. Berserker Stance : Once on each of your turns, if you hit a creature with an axe, you can make another attack with an axe as part of the same action.

• Polearms :

1. Guarding Stance : You can use your reaction to add 2 to your AC against one attack that would hit you, using your polearm to parry.
2. Sweeping Strike Stance : When you hit with a polearm, you can affect another creature within 5 feet of the original target.

• Ranged :

1. Focused Aim Stance : Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
2. Quick Shot Stance : When you use the Attack action with a ranged weapon, you can make one additional attack with it as a bonus action.

• Dual Wielding :

1. Swift Strikes Stance : You can use your bonus action to make two attacks with light weapons, one with each hand.
2. Harmony Stance : Attacks with your off-hand weapon deal additional damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

• Light Weapons :

1. Evasive Maneuver Stance: When a creature hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.
2. Flurry Stance : Once on each of your turns, you can make one additional attack as part of your Attack action with a light weapon.

• Shields :

1. Defensive Stance : As a bonus action, grant yourself a bonus to AC equal to your proficiency bonus.
2. Bulwark Stance : When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to become the target of the attack.

• Whips :

1. Control Stance : Increase your reach with whips by 5 feet, and you can use your whip to attempt to disarm a target as a bonus action.
2. Lash Stance : Attacks with your whip can target a creature's legs, reducing its speed by 10 feet until the end of its next turn.

Weapon’s Insight

By 10th level, your intimate knowledge of your chosen weapon category allows you to exploit openings and weaknesses in your opponents' defenses with uncanny precision. This insight grants you the following abilities :

• Insightful Strike : Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack using a weapon from your chosen category, you can force the target to make a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier, whichever you use for the attack). On a failed save, the target suffers one of the following effects (your choice):

1. Bleed : The target begins to bleed, taking 1d6 damage at the start of each of its turns. The target or another creature can use an action to attempt a Medicine check against your Insightful Strike DC to stop the bleeding.
2. Disarm : The target drops one item of your choice that it’s holding. The item lands at its feet.
3. Stagger : The target’s speed is reduced by half until the end of its next turn.

• Counterstrike : When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to make a weapon attack against that creature using a weapon from your chosen category. This attack deals an additional damage die of the weapon’s type.

Masterful Execution

By 15th level, your weapon mastery reaches new heights, allowing you to execute attacks with exceptional power and precision. Your understanding of your weapon's capabilities is so advanced that you can now exploit every opening and turn the tide of any battle with a single, well-placed strike. This feature grants you the following benefits :

• Deadly Precision : When you score a critical hit with a weapon from your chosen category, you can roll one additional damage die and add it to the critical hit’s damage. Additionally, your critical hits impose one of the effects from the Insightful Strike feature without requiring a saving throw.
• Impeccable Defense : Your mastery of your weapon grants you unparalleled defensive capabilities. When wielding a weapon from your chosen category, you gain a +2 bonus to AC. Furthermore, if an attack would hit you, you can use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing it to miss. This use of your reaction represents a swift parry or evasion that utilizes your weapon's unique properties.

Expertise

At 18th level, you've honed your skills to such a pinnacle that you stand as the apex predator in any combat scenario. Your weapon becomes an extension of your will, capable of feats that defy expectations. This supreme command over your chosen weapon category grants you the following abilities :

• Unmatched Finesse : You gain an additional attack when you take the Attack action on your turn. This represents your extraordinary ability to maneuver and strike with your weapon seamlessly and efficiently.
• Eternal Warrior : When you roll initiative and have no uses left of your Adaptive Technique, you regain one use. This reflects your unwavering spirit and readiness to face any challenge, drawing upon your inner reserves of strength and skill in critical moments.
• Weapon Transcendence : Choose one of your weapon category's Adaptive Techniques or an effect from your Insightful Strike feature. You can now use this chosen effect without expending a use of the feature, once on each of your turns. This signifies your transcendent mastery over your weapon, allowing you to perform your most signature moves with effortless grace.

Weapon Adept Techniques

• Swords :

1. Flurry of Blows : Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend one use to make two additional attacks with a sword as a bonus action.
2. Riposte : When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction and spend one use to make a melee attack against the creature with a sword.

• Axes :

1. Cleave : When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with an axe, you can use a bonus action and spend one use to make another attack with an axe against a different creature within 5 feet of the original target.
2. Thunderous Strike : When you hit a creature with an axe, you can spend one use to force the target to make a Strength saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or be pushed 10 feet away from you and knocked prone.

• Polearms :

1. Reach Mastery : When a creature enters your reach, you can use your reaction and spend one use to make a melee attack against that creature with a polearm.
2. Spinning Defense : As a bonus action and one use, you can enter a defensive stance until the start of your next turn, granting you a +2 bonus to AC and allowing you to make an opportunity attack without using your reaction against any creature that moves within your reach.

• Ranged (Bows and Crossbows) :

1. Precision Shot : Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon, you can spend one use to ignore half cover and three-quarters cover for this attack, and the attack deals extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus if it hits.
2. Volley : As an action and one use, you can make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within a 10-foot radius sphere within your weapon's range. You must have ammunition for each target, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.

• Bludgeoning (Hammers and Clubs) :

1. Shockwave : As an action and one use, you slam your weapon into the ground, sending a tremor towards a point you can see within 30 feet. Each creature in a 10-foot radius centered on that point must make a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
2. Staggering Blow : When you hit a creature with a bludgeoning weapon, you can spend one use to make the attack deal extra damage equal to twice your proficiency bonus, and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.

• Dual Wielding :

1. Twin Strike : When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can spend one use to add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
2. Dancing Blades : Once on your turn, you can spend one use to gain a bonus to AC equal to your proficiency bonus until the start of your next turn, reflecting your skillful manipulation of your weapons for defense.

• Light Weapons :

1. Swift Strike : After you take the Attack action on your turn and attack with a light weapon, you can spend one use to take the Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action.
2. Blade Flurry : You can spend one use to make a melee attack with a light weapon against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.

• Shields :

1. Shield Bash : After you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend one use to make a melee attack with your shield as a bonus action, adding your shield's AC bonus to the attack's damage roll.
2. Defender's Rebuke : When a creature hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction and spend one use to attempt a shield bash against the attacker.

• Whips :

1. Lash and Snare : When you hit a creature with a whip, you can spend one use to try to grapple the target, using your whip. Use the whip's reach rather than your normal reach for this grapple.
2. Whip Crack : You can spend one use to make a whip attack against any number of creatures within a 10-foot radius, with a separate attack roll for each target.

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