Guardian
Guardian.png

Guardians specialize in protecting their allies and drawing the ire of their enemies.

Delayed Damage Pool

You gain a delayed damage pool equal to three times your level. Whenever you receive damage, you can redirect all or part of it to your delayed damage pool. Apply resistance before redirecting the damage, and you cannot redirect damage that would exceed the pool’s maximum. Your delayed damage pool empties at the end of your turn each round, inflicting any damage stored in the pool on you, bypassing any damage resistance, immunity, or berserking you possess, and resetting to 0. Any additional effects of the attack, such as poison, are still incurred immediately even if the attack’s entire damage is redirected to the delayed damage pool. Any healing you receive in excess of your maximum hit points automatically reduces the amount of damage in your delayed damage pool. Should you lose access to the Guardian sphere, any damage (or other effects if you possess certain talents) is incurred at the end of your turn.

Talents with the (resilience) descriptor modify or grant additional effects to your delayed damage pool.

In addition, choose one of the following packages, gaining the corresponding ability:

Challenge Package

Challenge

As a bonus action, you can issue a challenge to a creature you can see. The challenge can be auditory or visual, so long as the target can perceive the challenge (though other means of communication that you possess, such as telepathy, can also be used). Unwilling creatures can attempt a Charisma saving throw to resist, and mindless creatures cannot be challenged. A creature affected by your challenge takes disadvantage on attack rolls that do not include you as a target and gains advantage on attack rolls targeting only you. If the creature can’t possibly attack you (for example, if you are hidden), they do not suffer disadvantage when attacking something else. The challenge lasts for 1 minute. When you issue a new challenge, any previous challenge you have active ends. A creature can be affected by multiple challenges but gains advantage so long as they are attacking at least one target who has challenged them.

Talents with the (challenge) descriptor grant additional effects to targets you have challenged.

Patrol Package

Patrol

As an action, you can set up a patrol until the beginning of your next turn. A patrol is an area around you equal to your melee weapon reach +10 feet. Whenever a creature moves into, out of, or through this area, you can spend a reaction to move up to your speed to bring that target into your reach and make an opportunity attack against them, known as a patrol attack. Any movement you make provokes opportunity attacks as normal, and your total movement before the start of your next turn cannot exceed your speed.

You can make 1 additional opportunity attack at 5th level (2 opportunity attacks), 11th level (3 opportunity attacks), and 17th level (4 opportunity attacks). These additional opportunity attacks do not require spending your reaction - though it still counts as a reaction for all other purposes.

Patrol attacks never deal sneak attack damage, and you are limited to only one opportunity attack per turn, which means you cannot attack the same target with multiple opportunity attacks during their movement, no matter how much or how often they move through your patrol area or out of your reach.

Talents with the (zone) tag grant additional effects to this ability. Each patrol can only benefit from one (zone) talent.

Guardian Basic Talents

Challenge Talents

Cold Iron Call (challenge, resilience)

When targeted by a spell or other magical effect, you can delay the onset of its effects until the end of your next turn as if it were damage. Each effect is treated as if it were an amount of hit point damage equal to the level of the caster for the purpose of your delayed damage pool. If you do not have enough space remaining in the delayed damage pool, you cannot delay the effect. However you can choose to empty some or all of the pool’s delayed damage to make room, incurring the damage (or delayed effect) immediately. Any effect on you that would remove the delayed effect from you will remove the delayed effect from your delayed damage pool as if removing the effect from you normally.

If you possess the (patrol) package and the Defend Other talent, you can use that talent to redirect the spell as if it were an attack.

If you possess the (challenge) package, any time a creature under the effects of your challenge casts a spell, sphere effect, or other magical effect that does not include you in its effect, it suffers a -2 penalty to the spell, sphere effect, or magical effect’s save DC.

Durable (challenge, resilience)

You can delay the onset of certain effects until the end of your next turn, including diseases, exhaustion levels, poison, or any of the following conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned, restrained, or unconscious. Each effect is treated as if it were 10 hit points when determining your delayed damage pool’s capacity. If you do not have enough space remaining in the delayed damage pool, you cannot delay the effect unless you empty some or all of your delayed damage pool into yourself to make room. Anything that would remove the effect you delayed can remove it from your delayed damage pool instead.

If you possess the (patrol) package and the Defend Other talent, you can use it to redirect an effect targeting one of your allies to yourself as if it were an attack.

If you possess the (challenge) package, any time a creature under the effects of your challenge uses an ability that would cause one of these conditions that does not include you in its effect, they suffer a -2 penalty to the ability’s save DC.

Flush of Victory (challenge)

When a creature affected by your challenge is reduced to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level. The creature must have a CR of at least half your character level (rounded down, minimum 0).

Mageguard (challenge)

If a creature is under the effects of your challenge, it takes disadvantage on saving throws to maintain concentration while within your reach.

Steel Hide (challenge)

If a creature under the effects of your challenge makes a critical hit against you, you can end the challenge on that creature only to have the attack instead deal normal damage.

Resilience Talents

Cold Iron Call (challenge, resilience)

When targeted by a spell or other magical effect, you can delay the onset of its effects until the end of your next turn as if it were damage. Each effect is treated as if it were an amount of hit point damage equal to the level of the caster for the purpose of your delayed damage pool. If you do not have enough space remaining in the delayed damage pool, you cannot delay the effect. However you can choose to empty some or all of the pool’s delayed damage to make room, incurring the damage (or delayed effect) immediately. Any effect on you that would remove the delayed effect from you will remove the delayed effect from your delayed damage pool as if removing the effect from you normally.

If you possess the (patrol) package and the Defend Other talent, you can use that talent to redirect the spell as if it were an attack.

If you possess the (challenge) package, any time a creature under the effects of your challenge casts a spell, sphere effect, or other magical effect that does not include you in its effect, it suffers a -2 penalty to the spell, sphere effect, or magical effect’s save DC.

Durable (challenge, resilience)

You can delay the onset of certain effects until the end of your next turn, including diseases, exhaustion levels, poison, or any of the following conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned, restrained, or unconscious. Each effect is treated as if it were 10 hit points when determining your delayed damage pool’s capacity. If you do not have enough space remaining in the delayed damage pool, you cannot delay the effect unless you empty some or all of your delayed damage pool into yourself to make room. Anything that would remove the effect you delayed can remove it from your delayed damage pool instead.

If you possess the (patrol) package and the Defend Other talent, you can use it to redirect an effect targeting one of your allies to yourself as if it were an attack.

If you possess the (challenge) package, any time a creature under the effects of your challenge uses an ability that would cause one of these conditions that does not include you in its effect, they suffer a -2 penalty to the ability’s save DC.

Greater Delayed Damage (resilience)

The size of your delayed damage pool increases by +1 per level you possess. You can take this talent twice; the effects stack.

Zone Talents

Assist (zone)

Allies within your patrol gain a +1 bonus to their Armor Class.

Clear Path (zone)

Allies (other than you) do not provoke opportunity attacks from hostile creatures for moving through the area of your patrol.

Disruptive (zone)

When a hostile creature within the area of your patrol attempts to cast a spell or sphere effect, you can make a patrol attack against that creature. This attack is resolved before the completion of the spell; any damage dealt forces a Constitution saving throw as if attempting to maintain concentration, causing the caster to lose the spell or sphere effect on a failure.

Punishing Rebuke (zone)

When a creature attacks an ally within your patrol area, not including yourself, they provoke a patrol attack from you.

Stand Still (zone)

While you have a patrol in place, any hostile creature that you damage with a patrol attack has its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn.

Steel Hedge (zone)

All hostile creatures treat the area of your patrol as difficult terrain.

Other Talents

Complex Patrol

You can expend your martial focus when using patrol to apply two (zone) talents instead of only one.

Defend Other

When an adjacent ally is attacked, you can use your reaction to redirect the attack towards yourself. When an ally within your patrol is attacked, If you have set up a patrol you can use one of your patrol attacks to move up to them and redirect the attack towards yourself.

Expanded Guardian

You gain one Guardian package, including the corresponding ability, that you do not possess.

Guardian's Focus

As a bonus action during your next turn, you can regain your martial focus when you fulfill one of the following criteria, although, you must have a focus expended at the time this ability is triggered to benefit from it:

  • When a creature affected by your challenge is reduced to 0 hit points.
  • You succeed on a grapple or shove while you have a patrol set up.
  • You succeed on an attack made as part of a patrol attack while you have a patrol set up.
  • You successfully use the Defend Other talent.

Mass Challenge

You can use your challenge ability as an action, targeting a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus.

Swift Guardian

If you possess the (challenge) package, you can expend martial focus to use challenge on your turn without any action. If you have Mass Challenge, you can expend martial focus to use that ability as a bonus action.

If you possess the (patrol) package, you can instead expend your martial focus to use patrol as a bonus action.

Guardian Legendary Talents

I Will Come

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere (Defend Other, I Will Hear), 11th level or higher.

When a creature calls you with the I Will Hear talent, you can spend an action to teleport to their location. You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn’t exceed your maximum load. You can also bring a number of additional willing Medium or smaller creatures (carrying gear or objects up to its maximum load) equal to your proficiency bonus. A Large creature counts as two Medium creatures, a Huge creature counts as two Large creatures, and so forth. All creatures to be teleported must be in contact with one another and must be in contact with either you or a creature in contact with you.

Contact can be established without any action during your turn or as a reaction when not your turn. You can only travel to a particular creature using this ability once. You regain use of this ability for each relevant creature when you complete a long rest. This is a magical teleportation effect.

I Will Hear

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere (Defend Other).

You can form a bond with a creature as an action. There is no range limit on who you can bond with, nor do you need line of sight or line of effect to form a bond with a creature; you must, however, personally know the creature you are bonding with, even if it was a casual introduction. A bonded creature does not automatically become aware of this bond, your name, or how to call your name; it must be informed.

A bonded creature can call your name as a reaction; if you are within 1 mile per level, you become immediately aware of the call and the direction to that creature. At 5th level, this range increases to 10 miles per level. At 11th level, the range becomes unlimited as long as you are both on the same plane.

At 17th level, you can hear the call across the planes and gain knowledge of what plane the calling creature is on. You can maintain a number of these bonds equal to your proficiency bonus. This is a magical effect.

Indomitable

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere (delayed damage pool), 5th level or higher.

When reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend your martial focus (no action required) to act normally until the end of your next turn. You do not fall unconscious from hit point loss and are not subject to death saves during this time. You can receive healing during that turn to bring you above 0 hit points.

Inescapable Challenge (challenge)

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere, 7th level or higher.

A creature affected by your challenge must make a Wisdom saving throw each time it attempts to move away from you (including via teleportation or other magical effects) or lose the attempted action or movement. The creature does not lose any spell, spell points, or magic item uses on a failed saving throw if this prevents a spell or sphere effect. The creature can be moved normally by other creatures.

Punishing Challenge (challenge)

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere, 5th level or higher.

Whenever a creature affected by your challenge gets disadvantage on an attack because it doesn’t affect you, that creature takes radiant or necrotic damage (chosen when you gain this talent) equal to your level. This is a magical effect.

Punishment (resilience)

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere, 5th level or higher.

When you deal damage with an attack to a creature while you have damage in your delayed damage pool, you can expend your martial focus to deal damage equal to your delayed damage pool to the target creature. This damage is of the same type as your triggering attack. If you possess the Cold Iron Call or Durable talents, you can also inflict any effects you are postponing with those abilities. If the effect allowed a saving throw, the target can make a saving throw immediately at the original DC.

A successful Constitution saving throw reduces the amount of additional damage by half and negates any additional effects.

Singularity (zone)

Prerequisites: Guardian sphere, 5th level or higher.

At the start of their turns, hostile creatures within the area of your patrol must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be moved 5 feet closer to you, though stop when they become adjacent. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Hostile creatures within the area of your patrol count every 5 feet of movement directed away from you as 10 feet when determining their movement for the round. This stacks with the effects of difficult terrain. At 11th level, both the distance moved toward you and the additional cost of movement away from you increases by 5 feet. This is a magical effect.

Variants

Resilient

You do not get to select a Guardian package. You gain Greater Delayed Damage talent as a bonus talent. You cannot possess both this and the Without Delay variant.

Without Delay

You do not gain a delayed damage pool and cannot select any (resilience) talent. You gain the Swift Guardian talent as a bonus talent. You cannot possess both this and the Resilient drawback.

This website uses cookies. See the Legal & OGL page for important information. Any material NOT covered by the Open Game License Version 1.0a is covered by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.