Fencer

Fencers are highly skilled duelists and swordmasters.

These quick-footed warriors forego the usual heavy armor that most fighters wear, in favor of unfettered movement and flexibility. Fencers have a flair for style and panache, and usually seize victory with a cunningly precise strike that leaves their foes baffled, and shortly thereafter, bleeding.

Some fencers are rumored to be unsavory rakes and scoundrels, while many others are featured in songs and chronicles as heroes with a bold and audacious air. Some of these seedy rumors and heroic retellings might actually refer to the same person!

Dashing Swordfighters

Many of the Fencer’s features described here make extensive use of Charisma, an ability score not usually considered very important to fighters. If you plan to take this subclass at 3rd level, consider putting your two highest ability scores in Dexterity and Charisma.

Bonus Proficiency

3rd-level Fencer feature

Fencers often train in more diverse skill sets than is typical for fighters. You gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Acrobatics, Deception, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion.

Precise Flourish

3rd-level Fencer feature

You have incorporated stylistic flair into your fighting style that masks your deadly precision. When you make a melee weapon attack with a finesse weapon wielded in one hand, and have nothing in your other hand, you may spend a Precision Die, a d8, to roll it and add the result to the attack roll. You may also perform a flourish that confounds or hinders the target. You may decide to roll the Precision Die and declare which flourish you perform after seeing the result of your attack roll, but you must do so before you know whether the attack hits or misses. You have a number of Precision Dice equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one), and you regain all spent Precision Dice when you finish a short or long rest. If a flourish requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Charisma modifier. On a successful save, the target becomes immune to all of your flourishes until it finishes a short or long rest. You may choose any of the below flourishes:

Befuddling Routine. You incorporate such complex movements in your attack routine that your opponent is left briefly unsure of its next move. The target of your attack must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, its speed is reduced to 0 until the end of its next turn.

Demoralizing Feint. You use your attack to cleverly disguise a feint that leaves your opponent looking foolishly outmatched. The target of your attack has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the start of your next turn.

Disarming Sweep. The target of your attack must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or drop one item of your choice that it is holding. As a reaction, you may choose to either catch the creature’s dropped item in your other hand, or fling it up to 15 feet away.

Unfettered Defense

3rd-level Fencer feature

You incorporate your sense of panache into your flexible defensive style. While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 11 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier. Additionally, when you reach 10th level in this class, you gain proficiency in Dexterity saving throws while you are wearing no armor nor wielding a shield.

Audacious

7th-level Fencer feature

Your bold nature and reputation lends you an audacious air. Whenever you make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or any Charisma ability check, you may spend a Precision Die to roll it and add its result to your ability check. You may decide to roll the Precision Die after seeing the result of your ability check, but before you know whether it succeeds or fails.

Parry and Retort

7th-level Fencer feature

When you are wielding a finesse weapon in one hand and have nothing in your other hand, and another creature hits you with a melee attack, you may spend a Precision Die as a reaction to roll it and add its result to your AC against that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss. If the creature’s attack does miss, you may immediately make a melee weapon attack against the creature. If your attack hits, you don’t add your ability modifier to the damage roll, unless that modifier is negative.

Improved Precision

10th-level Fencer feature

Your Precision Dice turn into d10s. At 18th level, they turn into d12s.

Enduring Precision

15th-level Fencer feature

When you roll initiative and have no Precision Dice remaining, you regain one Precision Die.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Crystal Tiefling Copyright 2022 Logan Laidlaw Author Logan Laidlaw.

This is not the complete license attribution - see the full license for this page