Additional Martial
& Monster Actions

D&D 5E martial combat suffers from a limited set of basic actions. While weapon users can be highly effective, they often spend their turns repeating the same attack over and over - meanwhile, casters choose between a dozen spells with each action and between hundreds when building a character. Martial resources such as a Battle Master Superiority Dice or a Monk's Ki help add additional options, but are not available to all classes and have strictly limited usage.

New Special Attacks: This document add a number of special attacks in the vein of Shove/Grapple and GWM/SS, intended to be powerful in certain situations without dominating in all.

Revised Feats: Additional changes improve underused styles like dual wielding, while simultaneously making Strength less disadvantaged compared to Dexterity.

Martial Monsters: At the DM's discretion, monsters may use appropriate special attacks as part of their attack or multiattack - a wild boar Power Attacks into a devastating charge, a horde of skeletons rain down Suppression across the battlefield, and a stolid veteran Sweeps his longsword across a pack of conjured wolves before Guarding his injured comrade.

Special Attacks

When you take the Attack action, in place of a regular attack you may make one of the special attacks listed below. If you're able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, a special attack replaces one of them.

If a special attack forces an enemy to make a saving throw, the save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability score used by your attack.

Shove and Grapple

Shove and Grapple are the only special attacks in 5E's base ruleset, and are listed here for completeness.

Disengage

Disengage is now a special attack, not a full action.

Tumble, Overrun, and
Climb (onto a Bigger Creature)

See the DMG variant rules. These are only usable as special attacks, not actions or bonus actions.

Power Attack

When you take the Attack action and make an attack without disadvantage, you can choose to suffer disadvantage on the attack roll.

If your attack hits, you roll all of the attack's bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dice twice instead of once when determining the damage the target takes.

Pinion

When you take the Attack action and make a melee attack with a piercing weapon or a whip, you can choose to forego adding your ability modifier to the damage roll.

If your attack hits, the target is grappled by you. A target more than one size category larger than you becomes climbed by you instead (see the DMG variant rule).

Anytime during your turn, if a target is grappled by this effect and is more than 5ft away from you, you can choose to pull it closer. Either way, this grappled or climbed effect ends if you stop holding your weapon or make any attack with it.

Sweep

When you take the Attack action and make an attack, instead of making an attack roll you may target a 5ft sphere entirely within range of your weapon.

Each creature (excluding you) in the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature whom you would have advantage to attack with this weapon makes their save with disadvantage, and vice versa. On a failed save, a target is hit by your attack. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of this attack.

If your attack and weapon meet the conditions for the Pinion special attack, they do not meet the conditions for this special attack.

Suppress

When you take the Attack action and make a ranged attack, you can spend 5 pieces of ammunition and forego the attack roll to suppress creatures in an area.

Choose a 5ft sphere entirely within range of your weapon. Until the start of your next turn, before any creature in this area uses movement, attacks, or casts a spell it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or else stop moving, lose its attack, or lose its spell.

A creature makes this saving throw only if you continue wielding a weapon of the same type used to make this attack, the creature remains in its range, and the creature is not prone.

Shield Bash

When you take the Attack action and make an attack with your shield, you can treat it as a special improvised melee weapon.

On a hit, it deals 2d4+STR bludgeoning damage, and you can immediately use your Shove special attack against the same creature.

If you are not wielding a shield, you must don one as part of this attack.

Guard

When you take the Attack action and make an attack, you can choose to guard a nearby ally instead of striking an enemy. Until the beginning of your next turn, the target's AC cannot be less than yours.

If you are not wielding a shield, you may don one as part of this action.

This benefit ends immediately if your target ally is ever more than 5ft away from you or if you become incapacitated.

New Shields

These shields replace the default +2AC shield, and may be donned or doffed as bonus actions. If you have insufficient strength to wield a particular shield, you gain no AC from wearing it.

	AC	Strength	Speed	Weight	Cost
Buckler	+1	-	Full	3 lb.	5 gp
Kite-shield	+2	Str 11	Full	6 lb.	10 gp
Greatshield	+3	Str 15	Half	12 lb.	20 gp

While wielding a Greatshield, you and any creature you mount have your speeds halved due to its immense size.

Revised Feats

Though powerful, martial feats frequently lock players into a specific weapon and playstyle. Alternative choices are gated behind additional, non-synergistic feats, penalizing players who wish to invest in flexibility.

These revised feats (and one revised fighting style) aim to open up additional combat options, while still staying true to their original theme.

Great Weapon Master

You've learned to put the weight of a weapon to your advantage, letting its momentum empower your strikes. You gain the following benefits:

• When you make a Power Attack special attack with a melee weapon or unarmed strike, you roll one of your attack's damage dice an additional time when determining the damage the target takes.

• When you make a Sweep special melee attack, a creature that succeeds on its saving throw still takes half damage.

• When you hit a creature with a Shield Bash special attack and attempt to Shove them, you automatically succeed on the Shove ability check.

Sharpshooter

You wield ranged weapons with a skill and speed that others

Dual Wielder

You master simultaneous fighting with two weapons, gaining the following benefits:

• Additional attacks gained from two-weapon fighting are considered part of your Attack action, and do not consume your bonus action.

• When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you may draw a weapon as part of the attack you make with it.

• You can use two-weapon fighting even when one of the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding isn't light.

Mage Slayer

Your physical training bolsters your mental discipline, granting you uncanny resilience against mind-altering spells and effects. You gain the following benefits:

• If you fail an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, you may gain a bonus to that saving throw equal to the sum of your Strength and Dexterity modifiers.

• Immediately after a creature within 5ft (hostile or friendly) teleports to a new location, you may use your reaction to teleport alongside them, arriving in an unoccupied space within 5ft of the creature's new location.

Once you have used this feat's first feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Grappler

You are practiced at turning the weight of an enemy against them, pinning limbs and choking speech. You gain the following benefits:

• When a creature provokes an opportunity attack from you, you may use your reaction to make a Grapple or Climb special attack.

• Immediately before you see a creature grappled by you attack or cast a spell, you may use your reaction to prevent that attack or spell.

• When you are targeted by an attack or make a Dexterity saving throw to avoid damage, you may use your reaction to change that effect's target from you to a creature of your size or larger within 5ft.

  If you are not grappling or climbing this creature, you must succeed on a contested grapple check to use this reaction.

Once you have successfully used this feat's second or third feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you cannot use that feature again until you finish a long rest.

Shield Master

You have mastered the use of shields, both for protection and for offense. You gain the following benefits:

• You can use the Shield Bash special attack as a bonus action.

• When you or another creature within 5ft is hit by an attack or takes damage resulting from a Dexterity saving throw, you can use your reaction to block the attack or damage.

  If you are already Guarding this creature, using this feature does not require a reaction.

  If you are not wielding a shield, you must don one when you use this feature.

Once you have used this feat's second feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Protection (Fighting Style)

When a creature within 5ft is hit by an attack, you may use your reaction to make the Guard special attack against them, potentially blocking the triggering attack.