# Fighter Subclass: Duelist 2.0 ## Duelist Duelists are masters of the blade, whose confidence, creativity, and style gives them an advantage in combat. The goal of this subclass is to focus on style and choice, while providing a style of fighter subclass that does not currently exist in D&D 5e. Duelists must be tactical, encouraging smart decisions in combat and creative play. This subclass is also designed to dip into rogue without multiclassing, much like the eldritch knight does for wizards. Inspiration has been taken from the following users on reddit: u/Pandemic_Adventures, u/KaiTries5. Thank you for letting me use variants/aspects of your ideas here. Please check them out as well. This is the 2.0 version of this subclass, a list of changes will be placed on the final page ## Subclass features ### Signature Weapon When you chose this archetype at 3rd level, you must choose one simple or martial melee weapon that does not have the heavy or two-handed property, this weapon becomes your signature weapon. All weapons of that type grant the following benefits when used by you: * You may use dexterity instead of strength for attack and damage rolls with that weapon type. * You gain advantage on checks related to the history, crafting, and usage of your signature weapon type. You may change your signature weapon when you take a long rest, during which you must spend at least 1 hour practicing with your new signature weapon. You must then wait 1d4 long rests before changing your signature weapon type again. ### Duelist Stances Duelist stances are specialized combat styles for fighting a single opponent. The user focuses on their opponent when they enter a stance, gaining benefits against them but often weakening themselves at the same time, especially when fighting multiple opponents. Stance benefits only apply to your *duel focus*, which is a single target you can declare before you make an attack roll. You may change your duel focus before each attack you make in an attack action. The penalties from stances apply to all enemies, not just your duel focus. You may only uses stances with your signature weapon type At 3rd level, you learn 3 stances the following list, which you may enter and then switch between as a bonus action. You gain additional stances at 7th and 10th level. You gain access to advanced stances at 10th level, which grant two bonuses instead of one. You may swap any stances your know for others when you gain levels in this class. **Base Stances:** * Ox: You gain a +1 to AC towards your duel focus, but you cannot make opportunity attacks while this stance is active. * Wolf: You gain a +1 to attack rolls towards your duel focus if an ally is within 10ft of you, but you receive a -1 to attack rolls if an ally is *not* within 10ft of you while this stance is active. * Bear: You gain a +2 to damage rolls towards your duel focus, but you receive a -1 to attack rolls while this stance is active. * Eagle: You may disengage after making an attack roll towards your duel focus, regardless of whether you hit or not, but you receive a -1 to attack rolls while this stance is active. * Viper: You may use dexterity instead of strength on attempts to grapple, shove, and knock your duel focus prone, but you receive a -1 to attack rolls while this stance is active. * Cat: Missed attacks from your duel focus provoke opportunity attacks from you, but you receive a -1 to AC while this stance is active. **10th Level Advanced Stances:** * Dragon Turtle: You gain a +2 to AC and advantage on strength saving throws against your duel focus, but your movement speed is reduced to 0ft while this stance is active. * Manticore: You gain a +1 to attack rolls and your duel focus provokes opportunity attacks from you when they enter your reach, but you receive a -1 to AC while this stance is active. * Griffon: Your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks from your duel focus and your duel focus provokes opportunity attacks from you even if they take the disengage action, but your movement speed is reduced to 10ft while this stance is active. * Chimera: Your movement speed increases by 10ft and you gain advantage on dexterity saving throws towards your duel focus, but you cannot attack while this stance is active. ### Confidence Confidence is a duelist's secret weapon, allowing them to avoid being hit, protect themselves and others, and deal extra damage. Starting at 3rd level, you gain confidence if one of the following things happens during combat: * You hit an enemy before they hit you during an encounter. * An enemy misses you with an attack. * You defeat an enemy while other enemies are present. * You succeeded on a saving throw, taking no damage while doing so. Confidence is the fuel for many of your abilities. You will gain more ways to earn and use confidence as you gain levels. \pagebreak Confidence has 3 benefits at this level: * While confidence is active. you may add half your charisma modifier to your AC, rounded down. * You may spend confidence to add 1d6 temporary HP to yourself or another ally within 30ft for up to 1 minute. Only one creature can benefit from this temporary HP at a time. Allies can only benefit from this temporary HP once per long rest. * You may spend confidence to deal an extra 1d6 damage to any enemy using your signature weapon. A creature can only take this extra damage once per round. You can gain 1 use of confidence at a time. This increases to 2 uses at 7th level and 3 uses at 18th level. Confidence is lost entirely anytime you take damage or take a short or long rest. The number of dice you can use for your confidence abilities increases to 2d6 at 7th level, 3d6 at 10th level, 4d6 at 15th level, and 5d6 at 18th level. ### Duelist's Elegance You have learned to be exceptional and confident at more than just the blade. At 7th level, choose one of the following skills to gain proficiency in: performance, persuasion, deception, stealth, or slight of hand. You may also chose one of your skills to gain expertise in, doubling your proficiency. This may be a skill from the above list or from another source such as the skills from the fighter list. You now gain confidence anytime you pass a skill check. You may now spend a use of confidence to gain advantage on a skill check, but only outside of combat. ### Battle Flourish You flourish on the field of battle. Your confidence now propels you into the front lines, allows you to avoid damage, and take advantage of enemies mistakes. At 10th level you gain the following benefits: * You may add half your charisma modifier to initiative rolls, rounded down. This does not require confidence. * While confidence is active, you may add half your charisma modifier, rounded down, to any saving throw that does not already use it. If the saving throw is against an effect that allows you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you may spend one use of your confidence to take no damage if you succeed. * While confidence is active, you may sacrifice extra attacks to instead make an equal amount of extra opportunity attacks per round using your signature weapon. These can be made against a single target or several, but each attack must be triggered separately. ### Signature Stance Your confidence and stance mastery now allows you to push yourself beyond the restraints of a normal dualist. At 15th level, you may choose one stance you know to be your signature stance, gaining the following benefits: * You always start combat with that stance active. * You may ignore the penalties of that stance while you have confidence active. You may change your signature stance when you take a long rest, during which you must spend at least 1 hour practicing your new signature stance. ### Undefeatable You have become an unmatched duelist, your confidence now makes you a force of nature in battle. At 18th level, while you have confidence active, you gain the following benefits: * You may now add your full charisma modifier to your AC. * You may now ignore the penalties of all stances you know, not just your signature stance. * You may choose to reroll your initiative at the end of your turn if you have confidence, adding your full charisma modifier to the result. You must use the new result. This new initiative takes effect at the start of the next round. You can only do this once per encounter. * You may add your full charisma modifier to any saving throws that do not already use it. If the saving throw is against an effect that allows you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed. This no longer requires a use of confidence to perform. \pagebreak ## Duelist 2.0 changes: I have mainly focused on what makes the subclass unique, focusing on dexterity and mainly charisma. Thank you to all those who gave feedback. * Changed the name of the subclass to “Duelist” instead of “The Duelist” to fall in line with how other subclasses are named in 5e. * Slightly changed signature weapon’s wording and removed the bonuses to attack rolls. I feel that was a feature that interfered with too much and was too strong overall. All confidence and stance features can now only be used with your signature weapon type. * Changed stances to be now called duelist stances, as now the benefits only effect one target, which is now referred to as the duel focus. This makes the name Duelist make more sense, as well as heavily nerf and balance how stances function with the rest of 5e. * Increased the number of stances you start with to 3. However, limited which stances you could pick at 3rd level. Advanced stances, the few stances that overlap others and are overall stronger with two benefits, are now available at 10th level. * Changed nearly all stances, making most only +1 or -1 modifiers and making advanced stances give two benefits. The idea of each stance has stayed basically the same. However, I believe I have now made it that each one has a specific purpose which works with the rest of the class features and each other. Turtle stance has had its named changed to Dragon Turtle, so all the advanced 10th level stances are named after mythical beasts. * Confidence has received the most changes. The dice have been changed to d6s. It now also gives a passive benefit and an extra way to spend it, which can be used on others as well. Confidence now gains more uses at later levels, to a maximum of 3. This allows for more decision making with how and when you use confidence. Confidence now is also lost on a short or long rest. * Specialist has been slightly reworded and has had its named changed to Duelist's Elegance. The original features remain the same. However, I have now added another way to gain confidence and even a way to spend it outside of combat. * Flourish has been renamed to Battle Flourish. It has also been changed to add only half your charisma modifier to initiative rolls (rounded down), which is a theme of several changes and additions I have made. Also added a way to add a bonus to saving throws while you have confidence and even spend confidence to avoid damage. This again falls in line with a duelist being a rogue lite. * I have also added a new feature to Battle Flourish, where you can sacrifice extra attacks for extra opportunity attacks, which I feel works super well with how many of the duelist stances function. * Signature stance remains unchanged. However, you can now swap your signature stance on a long rest. * Undefeatable has been reworded slightly and is now mainly a direct upgrade for most of the abilities you gained from lower levels. Slightly nerfed the ability to reroll initiative, forcing you to use the new result, only take effect at the beginning of the next round, and only allowing it to be used once an encounter.