Fighter: Arcane Archer

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Overview & Creation

A human in clanging plate armour holds her shield before her as she runs toward the massed goblins. An elf behind her, clad in studded leather armour, peppers the goblins with arrows loosed from his exquisite bow. The half-orc nearby shouts orders, helping the two combatants coordinate their assault to the best advantage.   A dwarf in chain mail interposes his shield between the ogre’s club and his companion, knocking the deadly blow aside. His companion, a half-elf in scale armour, swings two scimitars in a blinding whirl as she circles the ogre, looking for a blind spot in its defences.   A gladiator fights for sport in an arena, a master with his trident and net, skilled at toppling foes and moving them around for the crowd’s delight—and his own tactical advantage. His opponent’s sword flares with blue light an instant before she sends lightning flashing forth to smite him.   All of these heroes are fighters, perhaps the most diverse class of characters in the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. Questing knights, conquering overlords, royal champions, elite foot soldiers, hardened mercenaries, and bandit kings—as fighters, they all share an unparalleled mastery with weapons and armour and a thorough knowledge of the skills of combat. And they are well acquainted with death, both meting it out and staring it defiantly in the face.

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Class Features

Fighting Style

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

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

• Defence: While you are wearing armour, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

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

• Great Weapon Fighting: When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

• Protection: When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

• Two-Weapon Fighting: When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

 

Second Wind

You have a limited well of stamina that you can draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.  

Action Surge

Starting at 2nd level, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.  

Martial Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate in your combat styles and techniques. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level.  

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 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 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. Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.  

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class and to four when you reach 20th level in this class.  

Indomitable

Beginning at 9th level, you can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest. You can use this feature twice between long rests starting at 13th level and three times between long rests starting at 17th level.  

Extra Attack

Beginning at 11th level, you can attack three times, instead of twice, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. The number of attacks increases to four when you reach 20th level in this class.  

Extra Attack

At 20th level, you can attack four times, instead of three, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

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Starting Equipment

• Choose: chainmail; or leather armour, longbow, and 20 arrows   • Choose: a martial weapon and a shield; or two martial weapons   • Choose: a light crossbow and 20 bolts; or two handaxes   • Choose: a dungeoneer's pack; or an explorer's pack

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Subclass Options

Arcane Archer

An Arcane Archer studies the natural, and sometimes magical properties of various materials in order to craft them into deadly ammunition for their bows. Their knowledge of archery is so great that they can alter their arrows in such a way that it keeps the balance between aerodynamics and weight.  

Arcane Archer Lore

At 3rd level, you learn magical theory or some of the secrets of nature — typical for practitioners of this martial tradition. You choose to gain proficiency in either the Arcana or the Nature skill.  

Arcane Shot

At 3rd level, you learn to craft various arrowheads you can swap out with regular arrowheads. When you gain this feature, you learn two Arcane Shot options of your choice (see “Arcane Shot Options” below). Once per turn when you fire an arrow from a shortbow or longbow as part of the Attack action, you can use one of your Arcane Shot options instead. The type of arrow fired must be decided before you roll to hit. For every 10 arrows crafted, you must spend 5 minutes of time and 25 rupees worth of materials.   You gain an additional Arcane Shot option of your choice when you reach certain levels in this class: 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level. Each option also improves when you become an 18th-level fighter.  

Magic Arrow

At 7th level, you gain the ability to infuse arrows with magic. Whenever you fire a nonmagical arrow from a shortbow or longbow, you can make it magical to overcome resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. The magic fades from the arrow immediately after it hits or misses its target.  

Curving Shot

At 7th level, you learn how to direct an errant arrow toward a new target. When you make an attack roll with a magic arrow and miss, you can use a bonus action to reroll the attack roll against a different target within 60 feet of the original target.  

Ambush Shot

Starting at 15th level, you have mastered the bow and can loose an arrow before anyone has the chance to move. Whenever a battle starts, deal damage equal to your Dexterity modifier to any foe lower in the initiative order than you.    

Arcane Shot Options

The Arcane Shot feature lets you choose options for it at certain levels. The options are presented here in alphabetical order. They are all "magical" effects, and each one is associated with one of the elements. If an option requires a saving throw, your Arcane Shot save DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.  

• Ancient Arrows (Locked until Lvl 10): You have learned to infuse your arrows with the ancient technology of the Sheikah tribe. A creature hit by these arrows takes an extra 2d8 force damage. If the creature is a Guardian, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or die immediately. After you reach 18th level in this class, the target takes an additional 2d8 force damage when the arrow hits it.

• Bomb Arrows: You have discovered that certain materials combined together and set alight will create a rather explosive reaction. The creature hit by this arrow takes an extra 2d6 fire damage and must make a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. Additionally, any creature within 10 feet must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, they take half damage. On a failure, they take full damage and are knocked prone. After you reach 18th level in this class, a target also takes 2d6 force damage when the arrow hits it.

• Fire Arrows: You learn that certain materials contain the magical essence of fire and can be moulded into arrowheads. The creature hit by the arrow takes an extra 2d6 fire damage and catches fire. Until it uses an action to put itself out, it takes 2d6 fire damage at the start of its turn. The fire damage increases to 4d6 when you reach 18th level in this class but the lingering damage remains the same.

• Ice Arrows: You learn that certain materials contain the magical essence of ice and can be moulded into arrowheads. The creature hit by the arrow takes an extra 2d6 cold damage and its movement is reduced to 0 until the end of your next turn. After you reach 18th level in this class, the cold damage increases to 4d6 and targets must make a Constitution saving throw or be restrained.

• Light Arrows (locked until Lvl 15): These arrows have been blessed with the power of the goddess Hylia herself and glow with a golden light. The creature hit by the arrow takes an extra 3d6 radiant damage and must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of its next turn. If the target has an Evil alignment, the damage it receives is doubled. The radiant damage increases to 6d6 when you reach 18th level in this class.

• Lightning Arrows: You learn that certain materials contain the magical essence of lightning and can be moulded into arrowheads. The creature hit by the arrow takes an extra 2d6 lightning damage and becomes stunned for one turn. The lightning damage increases to 4d6 and targets become paralysed instead of stunned when you reach 18th level in this class.

• Silver Arrows: These arrows have been tipped with a glittering metal that seems to know who your enemy is. Choose a creature type out of beast, elemental, fey, fiend, humanoid or undead. Until your next long rest, creatures of the chosen type that are hit by this arrow take an extra 1d6 piercing damage and have disadvantage on their attack rolls against you. The extra damage increases to 2d6 when you reach 18th level in this class.

• Twilight Arrows (locked until ???): You have read about the Twilight Realm in very old history textbooks but what little information there is suggests that it was sealed away long ago...

 

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