Broken Soldier (5e Subclass)

The Broken Soldier

Fighter Subclass

A warrior sits in the corner of the tavern, slumped down in his chair. He looks beaten down, and he slowly sips his ale. Three orc warriors walk into the tavern, glancing around the tavern. The bartender looks up at them, and slowly slides his valuables under the bar. The warrior sighs, and he slowly reaches for his greatsword. The orcs spot him, yell something in Orcish, and charge him. Their first- and last- mistake. He stands up and mutters something to himself, and suddenly darkness encases the entire tavern. The tavern patrons yelp in surprise, but there are more noises- the sound of swords swinging, blood splashing, and screams of pain. When the darkness dissipates, the warrior is gone, and three orcs lie brutally murdered on the ground.

The Broken Soldier archetype is only for a warrior who has lost everything- their home, their family, their love, their passion. They do not care for anything now, so they resort to the only thing they know won't let them down- fighting. Through this retreat into violence, they learn truths that they wouldn't have known otherwise, and they commit themselves fully into their bloody world. They are champion fighters specializing in one kind of weapon, being able to defeat anything in their path but at the cost of permanently detaching themselves from the world.

Lone Wolf

3rd level class feature

You know how to take care of yourself, not relying on the constraints of society. You gain proficiency with the Survival and Nature skills. If you have proficiency with them already, you add double your proficiency bonus to any roll you make with those skills.

Weapon Master

3rd level class feature

You have become a master at one kind of weapon, using this weapon to fight with capabilities some people would call superhuman. Select one kind of martial weapon. You can add double your proficiency bonus to attack rolls you make with this weapon, and you gain a +1 to damage rolls made with this weapon. In addition, you score a critical hit on a 19 or 20 while wielding this weapon, and you can ignore the heavy or two-handed properties of this kind of weapon. If it did not have either property, it gains the light property.

Broken Spirit

7th level class feature

Your spirit is broken, worn out, so you have a level of apathy that can give you an edge. When you are forced to make a save to not become charmed or frightened, you can use your reaction to give yourself advantage on the save.

Dark Magic

7th level class feature

You've learned ways to channel magic through your specialized weapon, giving you an edge in combat. When you have your type of specialized weapon on you, you can cast the spell darkness at will, and you gain the ability to see through the magical darkness you create. In addition, you can cast the spell haste once as a free action, no concentration required, and you regain the ability to do so after a long rest.

Additionally, you gain a pool of d6's equal to half your fighter level. When you hit a creature with your specialized weapon, you can expend up to half of those d6's (rounded up) to deal extra necrotic damage equal to the number of d6's spent. You regain all lost d6's after a long rest.

Bloody Soul

10th level class feature

Your mind and soul are bruised and battered, broken down over time, affecting anyone who tried to reach in. You have resistance to necrotic damage and psychic damage, and whenever you take psychic damage, the creature that caused you to take it takes half of the psychic damage you took.

Vicious Blows

15th level class feature

Your weapon specialization further enhances, allowing you to swing faster than any human could. Whenever you hit a target with your specialized weapon, they take an additional 1d6 damage of your weapon's damage type. In addition, when you attack with the weapon you are specialized in, you can make another attack with your specialized weapon as a bonus action.

Champion of Violence

18th level class feature

You have become a master at causing blood to spill, and you can make it flow more freely from your weapon. When you score a critical hit, you roll 3 times the damage dice, instead of 2 times.

Non-Magical Variant

Certain broken soldiers are unable to harness magic, most often due to their mental exhaustion. You gain the following feature instead of Dark Magic.

Tired Soul

7th level class feature

Constant sleepless nights and scarring battles have left you in a constant tired state that you have adjusted to. While you have 0 levels exhaustion, you have advantage on saving throws to gain additional skill checks. When you have no remaining uses of Second Wind, you become resistant to 1 non-magical damage type and 1 magical damage type of your choice until the end of your next short rest.

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