Crusader (5e Class)
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Crusader
Heavy armor, damage output, healing and campaining. A leader for those who feel able to balance three cores of a singular class.
The Champion
Every cause needs a champion, a hero to rally otherwise common men to a righteous cause and lead them to victory. The crusader is that champion. With holy blade in hand, he smites the wicked and sends them back to the darkness from whence they crept. His armor affords him great protection, allowing him to stand in the frontlines to take the blows that his weaker comrades cannot.
No matter the pressures he faces, he will remain strong, finding strength within himself to keep fighting on while inspiring others to do the same. Even in the midst of battle, he can galvanize his allies, giving them the strength to fight off madness for a little longer. When the crusader is leading the charge, all of hell will know to fear the flame.
Creating a Crusader
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| The crusader from Darkest Dungeon. |
When creating a crusader, think about where your character got it's training. Were they trained in a monastery, devoted to a god, taught by a mentor, or self-taught? Why did your character choose to become a crusader? Was it religious devotion, the will to do the right thing? Or just adventure and treasure? Do you want to become a protector, a savior or a brave knight?
- Quick Build
You can make a crusader quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution then Charisma. Second, choose the Noble Guard background.
Class Features
As a Crusader you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Crusader level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Crusader level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: Medium armor, heavy armor and shields
Weapons: Simple weapons and martial weapons
Tools: Land vehicles
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose 3 from Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Perception, Religion and Survival.
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a martial melee weapon and a shield or (b) a martial melee weapon and two simple weapons
- chain mail
- (a) Dungeoneers Pack or (b) Explorer's Pack
- If you are using starting wealth, you have 5d4 x 10gp in funds.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Smite |
| 2nd | +2 | Inspiring Cry, Zealous Accussation |
| 3rd | +2 | Righteous Goal |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack |
| 6th | +3 | Battle Heal |
| 7th | +3 | Righteous Goal feature |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | Parry |
| 10th | +4 | Stunning Blow |
| 11th | +4 | Zealous Speech |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | Righteous Goal feature |
| 14th | +5 | Holy Lance |
| 15th | +5 | Righteous Goal feature |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | Death's Door |
| 18th | +6 | Righteous Goal feature |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | Crusader's Lock |
Smite
Your time during the crusade fueled your attacks with might making them deal increased damage. Starting at 1st level, when you hit a creature with a melee attack, you may use your bonus action to deal additional damage equal to your proficiency bonus.
Inspiring Cry
Your experience in fighting and living made your voice more pleasant and inspiring, even if you simply shout random noises. Starting at 2nd level, you may use your bonus action to yell inspiringly to an ally within 60 feet, healing them for 1d4 + your Charisma modifier and while also removing the frightened and charmed conditions. Alternatively you may slap your ally at melee range triggering the same effect. You may use this feature three times and you regain all uses of this feature at the end of a long rest.
Zealous Accusation
The resolve of your beliefs is finally channeled into a scroll which prescribes basic rules of your god and which ones your enemy(ies) coincidentally breaks. Starting at 2nd level, as an action, you can summon a scroll to justify the death the enemy is about to face. Every creature in a 20 foot cone in front of you must make a DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier Constitution saving throw to take half of the 2d8 + your Charisma modifier radiant damage. The scroll vanishes after the use and it's damage increases to 3d8 at 6th level, 4d8 at 11th level, and 5d8 at 16th level. You regain use of this feature at the end of a short rest.
(Just a reminder that this isn't magic, magic is heresy)
Righteous Goal
Beginning at 3rd level, you choose a subclass that you emulate: Godbound or Haunting Ancestry, detailed at the end of the class description. Your subclass choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at levels 7th, 13th, 15th, and 18th.
Ability Score Increase
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.
Battle Heal
Your theoretical military medical degree lets you bandage your allies and add your flawless Charisma to ease your comrades wounds. Starting at 6th level, you can use your action to heal a companion for 2d8 + your Charisma modifier hp if you have bandages or other medical supplies at hand. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier rounded up (minimum one) and you regain all uses of this feature at the end of a long rest.
Parry
Starting at 9th level, you can use your reaction in combat to parry an attack. As a reaction, you can choose to parry one melee weapon attack against you as long as you aren’t surprised or the creature attacking you doesn’t have advantage against you. The damage of the attack from that creature is reduced by half your current crusader level rounded up + your Strength modifier.
Stunning Blow
After all that, you got used to other people's bad intentions. So you hit them really hard on the head, stunning them. Bloody Heretics... At 10th level, as an action, you make a melee weapon attack with advantage dealing normal weapon damage plus an additional 2d8 bludgeoning damage. On a successful hit along with the damage, you run the risk of stunning your target... applying the stunned condition upon your foes. The creature must make a DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier Constitution saving throw or become stunned.
You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Strength modifier(minimum one) and you regain all uses of this feature at the end of a short or long rest.
Zealous Speech
You may give a lofty speech about how your current errand is holy and just. Light will prevail. Starting at 11th level, when you are taking a short rest, you may spend the short rest inspiring an amount of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum one). Any creature who understands this speech gains temporary hit points equal to your crusader level and has advantage on saving throws against being frightened and charmed for 1 hour after finishing the short rest.
Holy Lance
Charging is useful when starting fights, attacking with might, power and dominance, moving closer to the target and dodging obstacles. Starting at 14th level, as an action, you can charge toward a chosen target with a range of 30 feet, with the charge you don't trigger opportunity attacks from anyone. This feature deals 2d10 bludgeoning damage and knocks Large or smaller creatures prone if they were in the way towards your target or are the target. All creatures hit by this must make a Dexterity or Strength(their choice) saving throw equal to DC 8 + proficiency modifier + your Strength modifier. If they succeed, they take half damage and are not knocked prone. You may use this feature twice and regain all uses of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Death's Door
Starting at 17th level, instead of going unconscious when you fall to or below 0 hp, you don't get knocked unconscious until you reach -X hit points, where X is your Constitution ability score. While being below your hit points you may still walk up to half of you movement speed, and speak and interact with objects with disadvantage. When you get healed while in this state, you can continue fighting like usual, but you may not enter Death's Door again until you finish a long rest. If you fall unconcious when X hit points are depleted in the end, you may reroll one death saving throw. You regain use of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Crusader's Lock
The battlefield is your mistress, every action was once done and can be calculated, you no longer anticipate an enemy to stay within range, but do you accept it when the enemy flees? I don't think so. Starting at 20th level, whenever a creature leaves your range, including disengaging, you may use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against the creature. If the attack hits, the creature's movement speed is reduced to 0 feet until the start of your next turn.
Godbound
You have chosen the path on the road to godhood, what trials and tribulations await you on this path are yet to be seen. All you know is that a daunting path lay in front of you, and you are not about to back down.
- Additional Healing
Vitality is important to a soliders body. Ever since you started training for the crusades your diet and style of life moved to increased recovery and effectivity of healing. Starting at 3rd level, whenever you are healed by a spell, you are healed for an amount of extra hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.
- Blessed Back Shield
Backstabbing. No one likes for it to happen to them. Instead of learning this foul technique, your faith makes up a way to protect you against these vile attacks. Starting at 7th level, you may summon a shield which floats around you for 1 minute as a bonus action. You gain +1 AC when attacked from the sides or back for every shield summoned. However, every shield active reduces your movement speed by 5ft. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier(minimum one) and you regain all uses of this feature at the end of a long rest.
- Marcher's Body
All those tiring crusades made you used to diseases and through it, your immune system has been trained to start resisting even the most vicious poison. Starting at 13th level, you gain resistance to poison damage and have advantage on Constitution saving throws against poison or disease. In addition, you have advantage on Constitution saving throws to avoid exhuastion.
- Enhanced Armor
You started polishing armor, the shine of a crusaders armor which inspires your fellow party and makes the enemy tremble in fear is now even more potent. Starting at 15th level, you have a +1 bonus to AC when wearing heavy armor.
- Healing Surge
Or second wind. When the battle is long and tiring you can remember your righteous cause and reinvigorate yourself against more blows. Starting at 18th level, as an action, you may heal yourself for half your maximum hit points. You regain use of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Haunting Ancestry
'You remember our venrenable house, opulent and imperial..' this is how your ancestor started his pleading letter to you, but you chose the crusades. Was it the right choice? No. You must forget about it. Regret is sin. But whatever your ancestor messed up, it seems to... Affect you.
- Mark for Death
Focusing on a target was never wrong, now your finger has some arcane red paint when you fight. Starting at 3rd level, you may mark a creature within 60 feet of you as a bonus action. The creature glows with a red glowing symbol visible even in dim light. You and your allies have advantage on any Wisdom (Survival) or Wisdom (Perception) checks you make against it. Additionally the target loses 3 AC. If the creature dies, you may use a bonus action on your next turn to mark another creature you can see. You regain use of this feature after you finish a short rest.
- Hater and Slayer
There's no stronger emotion to increase strength than hate. Starting at you 7th level, can choose two creature types out of beast, celestial, dragon, elemental, fey, fiend, humanoid and undead. Your melee attacks deal additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier against these creatures.
- Nightmares
Everyone has them, let's go over the top. Starting at 13th level, the dreams you have aren't pleasant at all. They are filled with pelagic sirens, eldritch horrors and crushing darkness, whispers and much worse. As your mind gets used to it and does not dwindle to insanity you grow stronger. You are now immune to being frightened and charmed. From now on, everytime you go to sleep during a long rest you have to roll 1d6, and on a 1 or 2 or suffer a nightmare. On a failure, you take 2d4 psychic damage when you wake up. If you suffer psychic damage from a nightmare, you gain 2d4 temporary hit points. When you finish your next long rest succeeding against the roll, you gain 2d8 temporary hit points regardless.
- Crovid Encounter
Remember that crow which knocked on your window when you were 3? It seemes to cause some trauma. That, or your ancestor decided to go after that mutant crow your mom told you not to worry about. Starting at 15th level, a crow like abomination joins your nightmares. Your body seems to get inspired by it. You gain proficiency in the Acrobatics or Athletics skill, if you already have proficiency in it, you can double your proficiency bonus. However, you gain Crovid Apetite which increases your need for rations to a daily amount of 2. Furthermore, while in darkness, your melee attacks always deal additional damage according to your Hater and Slayer feature regardless of the type of creature you hit. You also gain darkvision for 60 feet, and if you already have darkvision, the range is increased by an additional 30 feet as well as gaining 5ft of truesight.
- Crimson
Something happened to your mind and body since last night. Making you feel more sturdy, immovable and.. slower.. Starting at 18th level, whenever you are hit by something forcing you to move, you gain advantage against the saving throw from it. Furthermore you gain 4d10 + 5 (or 30) maximum hit points and lose 5 feet of movement speed.
Multiclassing
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the crusader class, you must meet these prerequisites: Strength 13 and Constitution 13.
Proficiencies. When you multi-class into the crusader class, you gain the following proficiency: medium armor, heavy armor, simple weapons, swords, and shields.
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