Marshal

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per marshal level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per marshal level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Deception, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Persuasion

Equipment

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

  • Choose: scale mail; or leather armor
  • A dagger
  • Choose: a warhammer; or any simple weapon
  • Choose: a light crossbow and 20 bolts; or a shortbow and 20 arrows
  • Choose: a traveler's pack; or one kit you're proficient with
  • An embroidered standard

Quick Build

You can make a Marshal quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Charisma your highest ability score, followed by Strength. Next, select History and Persuasion as your skills, and take the Dueling Fighting Style.

Level Proficiecy Bonus Features Battle Dice Cohort
1st +2 Born Leader, Fighting Style
2nd +2 Cohort, True Loyalty Cohort feature
3rd +2 Banner, War Tactics 2d8
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 2d8
5th +3 Blitz 2d8
6th +3 3d8 Cohort feature
7th +3 Banner feature 3d8
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 3d8
9th +4 Advanced Tactics, General’s Resolve 3d8
10th +4 3d10 Cohort feature
11th +4 Coordinated Strike 3d10
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 3d10
13th +5 Banner feature 3d10
14th +5 4d10 Cohort feature
15th +5 Lead by Example 4d10
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 4d10
17th +6 Banner feature 4d10
18th +6 Immortal Legion 4d10
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 4d10
20th +6 Warlord 4d10 Cohort feature

Born Leader

By 1st level, your competence and commanding personality lend you a knack for leadership. Common folk defer to your authority and influence, especially in times of crisis. As a result, you have advantage on any Charisma (Persuasion) check you make to convince someone to let you take charge of a situation or to give someone orders in a dangerous situation.

Additionally, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of your Intelligence modifier, to any ability check you make related to planning, strategy, or tactics.

Fighting Styles

Choose one of the following options. You can't choose the same style twice, even if you later get to choose again.

Archery: You gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Defender: When wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC. When you are wielding a shield, you may use your reaction to impose disadvantage on an attack roll targeting another ally within 5 feet of you.

Dueling: When wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Mariner: As long as you not wearing heavy armor or wearing a shield, you have a swimming speed and a climbing speed equal to your normal speed, and you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Tunnel Fighter: As a bonus action, you can enter a defensive stance that lasts until the start of your next turn. While in your defensive stance, you can make opportunity attacks without using your reaction, and you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that moves more than 5 feet while within your reach.

Versatile Weapon Master: When wielding a versatile weapon in two hands, you have +1 to AC. When wielding a versatile weapon in one hand and your other hand isn't holding a weapon or a shield, your weapon has the Reach property.

Cohort

Starting at 2nd level, you gain a loyal cohort to who carries your banner and does battle in your name. Select a companion from the Marshal Cohort List; following an 8-hour initiation period, that creature becomes your cohort and gains all the benefits of your True Loyalty ability. You can have only one cohort at a time.

If your cohort is ever slain, you can raise them from the dead by the usual methods, such as the raise dead spell, or you can spend 8 hours initiating a new cohort. If you do so, your previous cohort loses all abilities granted by your True Loyalty ability, even if it is later returned to life.

True Loyalty

The cohort you gain at 2nd level obeys your commands as best it can. Your cohort takes its turn immediately before or after your turn (your choice), and you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.

Your cohort has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your marshal level. Your cohort uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition, at 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 20th levels, your cohort gains new abilities based on its archetype.

Your cohort gains proficiency in skills, weapons, and armor listed in its statistics, and simple weapons and light armor. For each marshal level you gain after 2nd, your cohort gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.

Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your cohort’s abilities also improve. Your cohort can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.

Your cohort’s alignment is within one step of you own, and has a personality trait and flaw determined by the GM. Its bond is always, “I will follow my commander into any fray, and I will gladly fight by his/her side until my death.”

Your cohort is always considered to be in range of your marshal features and abilities.

Banner

Starting at 3rd level, you adopt a banner which you fly in combat, serving as a beacon for your troops. You can select from the banners below. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 13th, and 17th level.

War Tactics

Starting at 3rd level, you have a pool of battle dice, which are d8s, that use can use to bolster your allies or perform special maneuvers in combat. You begin with 2 battle dice, and regain all expended battle dice when you take a short or long rest, or when you roll initiative. Your battle die changes and more battle dice become available when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Battle Dice column of the Marshal table.

You can spend battle dice to use the following maneuvers:

  • Brace. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend a battle die to bolster your allies. Each allied creature within 30 feet of you that can see or hear you adds the battle die to all saving throws it makes until the end of your next turn.
  • Rally. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend a battle die to choose one allied creature within 60 feet of you who can see or hear you. That creature regains hit points equal to the die rolled + your Charisma modifier. You cannot use this ability to heal a creature who has 0 hit points.
  • Staggering Strike. As a bonus action when you take the Attack action on your turn, you can expand a battle die to attempt to stun a humanoid target. On a hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw (DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or be incapacitated until the beginning of your next turn.

Ability Score Improvement

At 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or increase two ability scores by 1 each. As usual, you cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this ability.

Alternatively, you can choose to gain a single feat of your choice. You may choose from this list, and potentially more depending on the individual campaign; ask the DM for more details.

Blitz

Starting at 5th level, as a bonus action on your turn, you can direct your cohort or a friendly creature within 60 feet that can see or hear you to fight alongside you. The chosen creature uses its reaction to move up to its movement speed or make a single weapon attack.

Advanced Tactics

At 9th level, your maneuvers improve in the following ways:

  • Brace. Allies can also add the battle die to their ability checks until the beginning of your next turn.
  • Rally. Whenever you spend a battle die to cause a creature to regain hit points, that creature also gains temporary hit points equal to your marshal level.
  • Staggering Strike. When you hit with a staggering strike, you add the battle die to the damage roll.

General’s Resolve

By 9th level, you can shake off compulsions and fear that would cripple a normal man. You can't be charmed or frightened. Also, each friendly creature within 10 feet of you has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Coordinated Strike

By 11th level, you and your cohort fight as a perfect fighting unit. Whenever you attack a creature that your cohort hit with a weapon attack since the end of your last turn, you deal an additional 2d8 damage on a hit.

Lead by Example

Starting at 15th level, whenever you roll a 20 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, each friendly creature within 30 feet has advantage any time they make that same type of roll (attack roll, ability check, or saving throw) until the beginning of your next turn.

Immortal Legion

At 18th level, when a friendly creature within 120 feet that can see or hear you drops to 0 hit points, but is not killed outright, you can use your reaction to cause that creature to drop to 1 hit point instead.
Once you use this ability, you must finish a short or long rest before you can do so again.

Warlord

At 20th level, when a friendly creature you can see within 30 feet makes an attack against a creature within its range and misses, you can turn the miss into a hit. Alternatively, if it makes a saving throw and fails, you can turn it into a success. Once you use this ability, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

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