War Master (5e Class)

Leader of All

The war master is a class designed to lead others in battle, using (mostly) nonmagical talents to grant combat benefits to friends and followers, place enemies at disadvantages, and use the many arts of war in all aspects of his life. A war master is designed to allow both experienced tacticians and players with no sense of strategy to play a cunning commander able to turn the tide with a quick command, clever stratagem, and strong sword-arm used in just the right way at just the right time.

The war master is a warrior, leader, and planner. As their name might suggest, typical war masters are first and foremost military commanders, able to both slay foes directly and to aid their allies by suggesting various tactics and maneuvers to maximize their allies’ gifts and minimize their drawbacks. But the art of war is far more than the ability to kill and lead killers, and war masters must also learn at least some skills of negotiation, espionage, and organization to dominate all aspects of armed conflict. Similarly, the lessons learned in battle can often be applied in less violent venues, allowing war masters to see how to gain an advantage in a wide range of situations.

Many war masters come from families of wealth and power, raised as lords as well as battle leaders. Noble families often push their junior scions to be war masters (along with clerics or wizards) to ensure the family has the skills and power needed to defend its holdings and organize its forces. Noble war masters are often younger children with little chance of inheriting major holdings, or the offspring of trusted servants who have been given an opportunity to become knights, squires, or royal guards. Almost as common are noble war masters whose families have lost their lands, forcing them to become skilled generals as they seek the skills, troops, and allies necessary to take back their homelands.

Not all war masters are from such lofty backgrounds. Standing armies exist in some lands and, whether mercenary company or formal kingdom soldiers, they require skilled leaders at every level of organization. A war master may be an experienced squire often left to command a knight’s retinue, a grizzled veteran leading detachments of 120 men through a dozen border wars, or a young commoner who showed promise in training and was placed in charge of a squad of 6 spearmen. Middle-class war masters are often the children of guards, craftsmen, scholars and successful businessmen. They have much of the advantage in contacts and wealth true nobles do, but have fewer eyes watching them and patrons demanding their help. Professional mercenaries often fall into this category, but so do loyal members of troubled guilds that are under attack from brigands, nobles, or opposing trade groups. While noble-born war masters often learn to apply the rules of war to business, middle-class war masters may have been taught salesmanship first, and how to rally a band of hammer-wielding blacksmiths to defend their had-earned gold second.

Lower class war masters may seem unlikely, but the denizens of the street have their own hierarchy. Tavern keepers, slum lords, crime bosses, procurers, con men, beggars and smugglers have the same needs to organize warriors, engage in negotiations and make contacts as other castes, and war masters rise to fill these roles. Many low-class war masters are crime lords, running shadow empires in back allies and basements out of sight of polite society. Others are open brigands, seeking to become bandit kings and perhaps someday claim a title through force of arms

Creating a

Quick Build

You can make a <!-class name-> quickly by following these suggestions. First, <!-Ability score-> should be your highest ability score, followed by <!-Ability score->. Second, choose the <!-background name-> background. Third, choose <!-elaborate on equipment choices->

Class Features

As a you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Set {{{hd}}} parameter to Hit Dice per level, e.g. 1d10

Proficiencies

Armor:
Weapons:
Tools:
Saving Throws:
Skills:

Equipment

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

Table: The

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	<!-Class Feature1->
2nd	+2	<!-Class Feature2->
3rd	+2	<!-Class Feature3->
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	—
6th	+3	—
7th	+3	—
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	—
10th	+4	—
11th	+4	—
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	—
14th	+5	—
15th	+5	—
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	—
18th	+6	—
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	—

<!-Class Feature->

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<!-Subclass Feature->

<!-At <!-insert level-> level, you chose a <!-insert name of subclass feature i.e. path, archetype, discipline, etc.->. Choose between <!-list the subclass options->, <!-all/both-> detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at <!-insert the level when subclass features begin-> and again at <!-list all the levels the class gains subclass features->.->

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.

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<!-Class Option 2->

<!-Introduce this subclass here->

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Spell List

You know all of the spells on the basic spell list and additional spells based on your subclass.

1st Level

<!-1st level spell list->

2nd Level

<!-2nd level spell list->

3rd Level

<!-3rd level spell list->

4th Level

<!-4th level spell list->

5th Level

<!-5th level spell list->

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the <!-class name-> class, you must meet these prerequisites:

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the <!-class name-> class, you gain the following proficiencies:

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