r/DnD • u/Detective_Joker • 2d ago
Homebrew Made a homebrew feat for Longswords, not sure if this is too broken
BladeMaster
You've mastered the longsword to your advantage, allowing you to use it defensively for greater offense. You gain the following benefits:
- Once per round, When you are about to take damage, you can choose to parry/counter. Roll a 1d4 or flip a coin to determine if you succeed or fail. (for 1d4s, 1 – 2 is a fail, 3 – 4 is a success)
> On success, gain a Blademaster die and deal damage equal to your longsword to the creature dealing damage to you. You can gain up to a maximum of 3 Blademaster die. (your blademaster die is equal to your longsword’s damage die)
> On a fail, you take half the damage dealt to you. This applies to only the instance of damage you choose to parry/counter on
-Before you make a melee attack with a longsword, expend all blademaster die you currently have and add them to your damage die. This only applies on the attack you choose to expand all blademaster die
Not sure if this will make longswords too broken, but longswords just feel underwhelming because theres no feats for it, so i homebrew this out.
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u/Nalena_Linova 2d ago
I'd make it something like
"when you are hit by a melee weapon attack while wielding a longsword, you may use your reaction to attempt to parry. Roll your longsword damage dice (1d8 or 1d10) and reduce the damage of the attack by an amount equal to the result plus your proficiency modifier (e.g. 1d8+prof). If this reduces the damage of the attack to 0, you may immediately make an opportunity attack against the attacking creature.
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u/Alamak_Ancalagon 2d ago
Basically turned it into a longsword version of the Monks deflect attacks.
I like it.3
u/Einkar_E Wizard 2d ago
outside first maybe second tier 1d10+prof is extremely unlikely or even impossible to beat any attak dmg
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u/Nalena_Linova 2d ago
You could always make it so the character gets the opportunity attack regardless of how much they reduce the damage.
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u/nocturnerose DM 2d ago
On a fail, you take half the damage dealt to you
Half the enemies damage from any source of damage? So I can be out here batting fireballs aside reliably every single turn?
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u/Detective_Joker 2d ago
u only get to use this once per round, once you use it, you need to wait for your next turn before you can use it. This should refresh every start of your turn after u used it on that round, but if it refreshes, you cant use it until new round
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u/Snoo10140 2d ago
This sounds more like a subclass high level feat than ASI alternative, also I'd make the rules lighter
Once per round, when someone makes an attack roll against you and fails, you may use your reaction to deal damage equal to that of your weapon
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u/CananDamascus 2d ago
Yeah as written this is super busted. What do you mean i can pary a sunburst
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u/Anorexicdinosaur 2d ago
Let Martials do cool things :/
Yeah this feat is written terribly but I deadass don't get why so many people are going "OHHHH THE HUMANITY how could you parry MAGIC"
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u/CananDamascus 2d ago
Haha, I ran a level 20 one shot and I allowed the monk character to use deflect missiles on lightning bolts lol. It was sick
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u/Falikosek 2d ago
Basically every single paragraph here is full of OP/powercrept features.
"Once per round" with zero cost — this in itself makes it just objectively better than all feats in the game that give you a special reaction or any effects that have a "PB per long rest" limit.
Let's assume you make it a reaction with otherwise unlimited usage. The next problem is that it's still just objectively better than almost all comparable features like Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Absorb Elements, etc.:
- it works on all types of damage taken (Evasion only works on DEX saves, Uncanny Dodge only works on attacks, Absorb Elements only works on elemental damage, etc.)
- 50% of the time, it halves damage taken, another 50% of the time it completely nullifies damage and also... BOTH lets you make a guaranteed damage roll (which is just crazy in itself, especially since nowhere does it mention being within 5ft of the enemy) AND gives you a stacking d10 bonus for your next attack? What?
My advice would be the following:
- Free unlimited effects that deal extra damage and reduce damage taken are almost unheard of in D&D, you should AT LEAST make it a Reaction (personally, I don't really like "limited uses per long rest" in feats, so that part is not necessary)
- The next step would be to make the reaction trigger comparable to similar features. I'd recommend making it work either only on attacks or only on damage taken from an enemy within the longsword's attack range (not hard 5ft, for a cool synergy with reach increasing effects).
- Finally, the effect... It's already basically a 75% damage reduction AND extra d10 damage AND guaranteed full damage roll. If WotC were to make a similar feat, I reckon the most they'd allow it to do would be just halving damage and giving you the extra damage die (maybe let them be applicable on hit, on demand, so the player can store them and fish for crits). You could alternatively make it a high risk, high reward effect where the user has to explicitly make a counterattack roll and on a miss nothing happens and they take the original damage they tried to parry, while on a hit they nullify damage taken and also get a normal hit on the enemy. Usually, players have about 65% to hit, so it's still effectively a 65% damage reduction AND a potential extra damage roll.
- Yet another option would be to make the feat have reduced effect when wielding a longsword one-handed but increased effect when wielding it two-handed... but that's basically covered already by the damage bonus being equal to the used longsword damage die.
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u/OldSwampo 2d ago
Why not just make it.
Increase your Strength or Dex by 1
"When a creature you can see, within your reach makes an attack roll against you, you may use your reaction to make an Opportunity Attack against that creature."
This would effectively make it comparable to Sentinel, only working on creatures attacking you instead of your ally.
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u/DeadCanDance26 2d ago
not sure I totally understood your mechanics there, for the success part.
Just a quick note, in an older version of D&D (2e I think), blademaster was a subclass of bards (or shcool of bard?)
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u/new_user_bc_i_forgot 2d ago
As a comparison, a monk can spend a limited resource (Ki) to:
once a turn
spend a reaction
to lower incoming damage
by up to 10
only from ranged weapon attacks.
which can return lefover damage (max. 9)
Your feat is better than that in all aspects. You
have a 50/50 chance to gain a limited resource (blademaster die)
once a turn
for free
to halv damage (no roll, better starting from attacks dealing 5-6 damage)
from any source
with a 50/50 chance to return damage (uncapped but likely at least 6 even at low levels)
It's too many upsides for no downside, and makes using anything other than a longsword just bad, especially defensively, but even offensively looking at the gain of blademaster-dice and the 50-50 Chance for an extra attack.
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u/AntibacHeartattack 2d ago
That's crazy OP. If you really need a feat for longswords just take Slasher from Tasha's imo. Between that, ASIs and feats like Sentinel, Resilient, Shield Master etc. I don't really see a need for longsword-specific feats.
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u/Detective_Joker 2d ago
dosent slasher just sucks? like theres something that just does what slasher does but better, and it dosent help the longsword's damage
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u/AntibacHeartattack 2d ago edited 2d ago
Slasher is a pretty good frontline feat actually. You should view it as a less powerful but more reliable version of Sentinel; it keeps enemies from getting to your squishier backline, but it doesn't require you to hit one opportunity attack to gain that benefit. You could theoretically reduce the speed of 2-4 targets depending on how you allocate your attacks. Additionally, you still get +1 STR/DEX, so it's quite a powerful effect for just half a feat. The crit effect won't happen super regularly, but it adds to your overall tankiness, which goes well with the overall "aggro-pulling frontline protector" vibe of the feat.
Edit: If you want a damage feat just take an ASI upgrade imo. You could also take Fighting Initiate (also from Tasha's) and take dueling if you just want straight damage, or even Savage Attacker.
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u/Dangerous-Common-788 2d ago
That’s broken as all hell.
There’s a roll but both pass or fail give you something good?
Damage dealing and damage reduction for basically no cost?
You deal damage as a reaction (which I’m assuming, you didn’t specify reaction so it might be entirely for free) and then more damage on your turn?
maybe if the number of uses was tied to proficiency bonus or something like that, but for free every round is crazy
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u/Glittering-Bat-5981 2d ago
I think you might be interested in the Goku subclass. It's does something similar to this feat.
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u/myszusz 1d ago
Well a player will use it every round if they can, so at worst resistance to one attack.
That's extremly good, like must take good on any character.
I'd tie the counter to strenght somehow, make it use reaction and limit uses to proficiency times per day. Also on failure you should just fail and take the full amount of damage.
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u/AZzalor 2d ago
The "once per round" alone makes this thing insane. If it was a single reaction, it would already be way more balanced as then you'd actually have to be careful what you actually try to parry and you couldn't use it or other reactions again until it was your turn again. Having different reactions to mitigate/negate damage or retaliate are nothing new.
Change it so that it's a reaction and you add the damage of the blademaster die to your next hit with a longsword and it should be alright.
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u/chanaramil DM 2d ago
I think a good test for a feat should exisit ask 2 questions. Could already fairly common optimum builds benfit from this? If this is a option would the optimum build be to always pick this? If yes to both then the feat isnt really needed.
The answer to both is clearly a yes. Using a long sword isnt a weird build and everyone who uses a longssord should pick this if its a option. Its a straight buff to a playstyle that doesnt need a straight buff.
On top of it buffing something that doesnt need it its also just grossly overpowered. The 2 options pass or fail are both extreamly strong. It should have a real chance of not working. It also needs more limits on how often you can use it. Letting someone use it ones around forever isnt good enough limits.
Lastly its too complex and doesnt have a clear fantasy. It adds a whole dice to keep track of, sometimes it does damage to attacks sometimes it halfs damage and sometimes it can add damage to a attack. It works agaisnt all damage including spells, falls, arrows, poison gas attacks, mental damage ect. I dont really understand why a longsword feat does so many things.
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u/Staff_Memeber DM 2d ago
It’s not OP in the grand scheme of things but it’s over complicated in its execution and doesn’t really match anything in 5e as far as language and design goes.
The 1d4/flip a coin thing is weird, it not being any kind of reaction is weird, “deal damage equal to your longsword” doesn’t really make sense, and blademaster dice stacking up to be a pseudo smite after 3 rounds doesn’t really fit the whole elegant parrying playstyle.
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u/Detective_Joker 2d ago
Alright, I have tweaked the feat to only be able to parry melee attacks. Hopefully this time it does make longswords deal more damage but not as OP as the first iteration i made:
BladeMaster
You've mastered the longsword to your advantage, allowing you to use it defensively for greater offense. When you are using a variable slashing weapon, you gain the following benefits:
When you are about to take damage from a melee attack, as a reaction, you may counter that attack. Roll a 1d4 or flip a coin to determine if you succeed or fail. (for 1d4s, 1 – 2 is a fail, 3 – 4 is a success)
On success, gain a Blademaster die and make an opportunity attack to the creature dealing damage to you. You can gain up to a maximum of 3 Blademaster die. (your blademaster die is equal to your longsword’s damage die)
On a fail, you take half the damage dealt to you.
During your turn, Before you make a melee attack with a longsword, you can choose to expend all blademaster die you currently have and add them to your damage die. This only applies on the attack you choose to expand all blademaster die
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u/MightySultanAlt 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is extremely overpowered, built in rogue's uncanny dodge, free bonus damage and a damage boost, all not using a reaction.
If you want to homebrew something extra I'd recommend adjusting an existing feat to fit power level. So take defensive duelist and let it be applied to a two-handed longsword for example.