Warrior Poet (5A)

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This is a Fighter subclass for 5A

A warrior poet is a fighter that channels the conflicting emotions of a warrior into art. This art carries a deep meaning for other warriors, making the warrior poet a leader.

Class Features

Bonus Proficiencies

At 3rd level when you choose this martial archetype, you gain proficiency with the Perform skill and a musical instrument of your choice. If you are already proficient in the Perform skill, you gain proficiency in Acrobatics, Persuade, Deception, Intimidate, or Sleight of Hand, your choice.

Warrior Inspiration

At 3rd level, you can inspire yourself and others through stirring words or music. This is a variant of the bard's Bardic Inspiration ability. To use this ability, you use a bonus action on your turn. You and one creature other than yourself within 30 feet of you who can hear you become inspired, gaining one Warrior Inspiration die, a d4. These are separate dice and each of you uses their die as they wish. If you use this ability again, you lose any Warrior Inspiration die you may have, but they keep theirs unless you choose the same ally again.

Once within the next 10 minutes, each of you can roll your die and add the number rolled to one attack roll or saving throw you make. If you add the Warrior Inspiration die to an attack roll and hit, you can also add the same die result to the damage of that attack. You can also expend the Warrior Inspiration die when you are hit by an attack, adding the result of the die to your Armor Class against that attack, potentially turning it into a miss. You can wait until after the roll of the d20 before deciding to use your Warrior Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Warrior Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Warrior Inspiration die at a time.

You can use Warrior Inspiration to give out Warrior Inspiration dice a number of times equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum once). You regain all uses when you finish a long rest.

At 7th level, your Warrior Inspiration die turn into d6s. At 10th level, they turn into d8s. At 18th level, they turn into d10s.

Warrior's Rest

Beginning at 3rd level, you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize your wounded allies during a short rest. If you or any friendly creatures who can hear your performance spend one or more Hit Dice to regain hit points at the end of the short rest, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d4 hit points.

The extra Hit Points increase when you reach certain levels as a fighter and are the same as your inspiration die: At 7th level, they turn into d6s. At 10th level, they turn into d8s. At 18th level, they turn into d10s.

Enduring Inspiration

Starting at 7th level, you regain all of your expended uses of Warrior Inspiration when you finish a long or short rest.

Saving Inspiration

At 10th level, when you or an ally within 30 ft. that can hear you fails a saving throw, you can use your reaction to let them reroll that saving throw with advantage. You can use this ability once and recover it on a long or short rest.

Everlasting Fame

At 15th level, when you clearly identify yourself, including your heraldic arms if you have them, you inspire endurance in allies.

When an ally ends their turn within 30 ft. of you, that creature gains 5 temporary Hit Points. When you end your turn within 30 feet of an ally you gain 5 temporary Hit Points. This increases to 8 temporary hit points at level 18.

Greater Inspiration

At 18th level, when you use Warrior Inspiration, you can give a Warrior Inspiration die to all allies within 30 ft. You can use greater inspiration once, regaining the ability when you finish a long rest.

Designer's Notes

Obviously based on the bard, the struggle here was to make a workable class without overshadowing the bard. The bard's bardic inspiration die is continually larger than the warrior poet's, and can apply the bonus to ability checks, but the warrior poet gains some additional utility straight away. The poet also gains two dice with each use, one for themselves and one for an ally. Compared to other fighters, the warrior poet gets less buffs to themselves, but can share buffs with others.