Classes are the bedrock of any Dungeons and Dragons character sheet, as they determine which primary abilities the player will use for possibly their whole playthrough. Many official and homebrew classes are split into two major categories: Martial and Caster. The former uses mostly physical attacks using their weapons or bodies, while the latter uses mostly spells to get the job done in combat. The Warlord, from Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition, has a quality that players won’t usually expect from a Martial class. It’s this unique feature that makes it a prime candidate as an expansion class for current and future editions of the game.
The Warlord is one of the featured classes in Dungeons and Dragons 4e’s Player’s Handbook. This class is categorized as one of the “Leaders” of a party because its features allow the player to either improve their character’s combat abilities when they’re in proximity of allies or improve their teammates’ capabilities with their presence. It has the usual stats and proficiencies one would expect from a martial class.
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The Warlord’s Features Make it an Exciting and Unique Class to Revive in Dungeons and Dragons
Warlord Stats in Dungeons and Dragons
- Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee and ranged, plus military melee
- Armor Proficiencies: Leather, hide, light shield, cloth, and chainmail
- Skills: Players get to choose between Athletics, Endurance, History, Intimidate, Heal, Endurance, and Diplomacy as their first four skills at level one.
Most supportive classes in D&D fall under the Caster category, as the game usually lets players heal and buff teammates through spells. However, the Warlord broke this mold in Dungeons and Dragons 4e by being an excellent support despite being primarily a Martial Class, thanks to its Warlord Leadership and Commanding Presence Features.
Commanding Presence
Players have six choices under this feature, all of which can boost their allies’ extra actions in various ways.
| Commanding Presence Feature | Description |
| Bravura Presence | When the Warlord is within sight of an ally, that teammate can use this feature to improve their extra action attack, giving them the chance to make another basic attack or movement action. If they miss their extra attack, they’ll have an advantage over enemies until their next turn ends. |
| Tactical Presence | When the ally can see the Warlord, the teammate can enhance their extra attack with a bonus equal to half of the Warlord’s intelligence modifier. |
| Inspiring Presence | When the Warlord is in sight of an ally, that teammate gets their extra actions improved with HP recovery equal to half the Warlord’s level plus Charisma modifier. |
| Skirmishing Presence | Allies who can see the Warlord can improve their extra action to shift squares equal to the Warlord’s Intelligence or Wisdom modifier. |
| Insightful Presence | When the Warlord is in sight of a teammate, the ally can spend their extra action to gain a defense bonus equal to half of the Warlord’s Charisma or Wisdom modifier. The buff ends at the start of the teammate’s next turn. |
| Resourceful Presence | Teammates who can see the Warlord can use their extra action to gain an attack bonus equal to one-half of the Warlord’s level plus Intelligence modifier. If the attack doesn’t hit, the ally will get a hit point boost. |
Warlord Leadership
Players can choose between three versions of this feature. Combat Leader gives the Warlord and nearby allies a plus two power bonus to initiative, which helps in getting the jump on enemies in case a fight breaks out. Battlefront Leader gives Heavy Shield proficiency and the Battlefront Shift power, which lets them move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks from enemies. Meanwhile, Canny Leader gives the Warlord and their allies plus two to their Insight and Perception checks.
The Warlord also gains Inspiring Word, which can target themselves or a nearby teammate. Targets of Inspiring Word can use healing surge and gain bonus HP from doing so. The Warlord is in a league of its own as a supportive Martial Class, with features that encourage the player to stay close to their allies to protect and buff them. This gameplay isn’t new in any sense, but it will definitely be an interesting addition to 5e, if it ever gets revived.
Dungeons and Dragons
- Franchise
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Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
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1974
- Designer
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E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
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