The Warsworn- New Class (4e)

[crunchym8]

Okay so, a few friends and me were talking and speculating on a few things concerning 4e homebrew. I was talking about how difficult- Well, less difficult more tedious- it is now to come up with a new class that feels different, but remains balanced. After the conversation, we got to playing D&D. Our defender- a Swordmage- kept getting knocked unconscious when he switched places with the Leader- A Bard (Me). I was so genuinely impressed with how well he was defending, that I got to thinking.

What if instead of defenders marking enemies... They marked allies? Like, chose to protect a single ally instead of intimidating an enemy to not attacking them. I got to thinking and, after a while, decided that a class based around that might be well. Thus, I'm introducing the class features of the Warsworn. Now in proto-alphaform, I want feedback. I want to see if it's openly broken and I'm missing something big.



THE WARSWORN
"As long as I live, the war will never cease!"

CLASS TRAITS:
ROLE: Defender. The Warsworn is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, able to take hundreds of hits before going down. You fall into secondary striker, as you often dish back whatever you're dealt.
POWER SOURCE: Martial.
KEY ATTRIBUTES: Con, Str, Wis

ARMOR PROFICIENCY: Cloth
WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: Simple melee, simple ranged, martial melee
IMPLEMENTS: N/A
BONUS DEFENSES: +1 Fort, +1 Ref, +1 Will

HIT POINTS GAINED AT 1ST LEVEL: 17+Con Score
HIT POINTS GAINED EACH LEVEL: 7
SURGES PER DAY: 10 + Con Mod

CHOOSE THREE CLASS SKILLS: Atheltics, Endurance, Heal, Intimidate

CREATING A WARSWORN
Reserved

CLASS FEATURES
A Thousand Wounds
As you see an enemy's blade fall towards your ally, you immediately rush to intervene. Those in your way wish they weren't.

Deadened Nerves
When unarmored, you gain Damage Resistance equal to your Constitution modifier.

Fall with a Grin
When an attack reduces you to 0 or fewer hitpoints, you make an immediate interrupt basic attack against that target. If this attack was from using A Thousand Wounds for an ally, your critical hit range is 17-20


A Thousand Wounds
At-will, Martial
Minor action, close burst 3
Target: One ally in burst
Effect: If the Ally is hit before the beginning of your next turn, you immediately charge the ally and slide them one square, occupying the space they did before the slide. The attack resolves against you. If you are hit, you gain combat advantage against the enemy who struck you until the end of your next turn.


These are the class features thus far. Thoughts?
NOTE: The attack/damage stat will be STR not CON. Keep this in mind. It's like the Fighter. Choose to be a little more durable or a little more attacky.

[Treblain]

"Damage Resistance" should be "Resist:All".

The idea of the defender mechanic is interesting, but it has problems. For one thing, it's much easier to ignore. A marked enemy is forced to attack you or suffer the consequences. An ally protected by a Warsworn strongly discourages enemies from attacking them, but not a single enemy is directly affected, and they are free to attack everyone else. Though I could certainly imagine the class improving with a feat, power, or PP that lets you mark multiple allies, that option would be superior to all others and no one would take anything else.

Another thing is that positioning might make it difficult or impossible to charge at the right time. What if the enemy knows you have this ability, and always attacks your ally from the side to prevent you from reaching the ally? Will you suffer OAs if you leave a square next to a different enemy during your charge?

Also, an unarmored defender needs some sort of AC boost. Resist is not enough, especially since resisting the damage doesn't prevent any condition the enemy's attacks impose, while a bonus to AC would make hits less likely. Is there any reason why they're unarmored?

[crunchym8]

Level 1 powers mapped out. Still in thought, though.

POWER LIST
AT-WILLS, LEVEL 1

I WILL BREAK YOU
At-Will, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 1(W)+Str mod damage, target is slowed until the end of it's next turn.

I'M COMING FOR YOU
At-Will, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 1(W)+Str mod damage, until the end of your next turn, whenever the enemy shifts, you shift with it.

PROVE DOMINANCE
At-Will, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: If the attack hits, the enemy targeted makes a melee basic attack with combat advantage against the Warsworn. If that attack hits, the Warsworn deals 1(W)+Str Mod damage and prones and immobilizes the target until the end of it's next turn. If the Target's attack misses, the Warsworn's attack deals 1(W)+Str Mod damage and nothing else.

I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET
At-Will, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One or Two Creatures
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: Str mod damage.
Effect: Push enemies 1 square directly away from you, shift one square. Must end movement adjacent to both enemies.

ENCOUNTERS, LEVEL 1

DECIMATE THE WEAK
Encounter, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One or two Creatures
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: Str Mod damage, target is weakened until the end of it's next turn.

MARTYR'S RETRIBUTION
Encounter, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 1(W)+Str+Con mod damage, and the enemy can make a melee basic attack against you. If the enemy chooses to and hits, repeat the attack. This only happens once, and does NOT create an infinite loop.

OLD-FASHIONED BEAT DOWN
Encounter, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 1(W)+Str Mod damage, target is Stunned until the end of it's next turn.

DAILIES, LEVEL 1

BLURRED BATTLER
Daily, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 3(W)+Str mod damage
Effect: Gain reach 1 until the end of the encounter.
Miss: Half damage.

MEATSHIELD
Daily, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 2(W)+Str mod damage
Effect: You grab the enemy. Until the enemy breaks the grab, it takes half damage dealt to you. The enemy cannot attempt to break it until it's taken at least one hit.

NEVER BACK DOWN
Daily, Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength v. AC
Hit: 2(W)+Str mod damage
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, whenever the target shifts away from you, you shift up to it.



(I am not good at coming up with names, sue me.)

[crunchym8]

"Damage Resistance" should be "Resist:All".

The idea of the defender mechanic is interesting, but it has problems. For one thing, it's much easier to ignore. A marked enemy is forced to attack you or suffer the consequences. An ally protected by a Warsworn strongly discourages enemies from attacking them, but not a single enemy is directly affected, and they are free to attack everyone else. Though I could certainly imagine the class improving with a feat, power, or PP that lets you mark multiple allies, that option would be superior to all others and no one would take anything else.




Well, the thing is that with other defenders, they can still take down a target when marked. Like say... A fighter might be able to whomp a target, but the target's still going to coup de grace the downed Leader. The Warsworn makes sure that never happens, and protects the party like that.



Another thing is that positioning might make it difficult or impossible to charge at the right time. What if the enemy knows you have this ability, and always attacks your ally from the side to prevent you from reaching the ally? Will you suffer OAs if you leave a square next to a different enemy during your charge?


That's why you slide the ally instead of pushing it. You can push the ally directly behind you, or diagonally to the side. The only way it'd be inapplicable was if the Ally was on two squares of movement, and an enemy was on the other square.
As for suffering OAs, I was considering that. I think you might provoke from the primary target, but as for other enemies you bowl through them and prone them. With a STRvFort attack, of course. Otherwise, no provoke. Or maybe a bonus to defenses while using this ability.



Also, an unarmored defender needs some sort of AC boost. Resist is not enough, especially since resisting the damage doesn't prevent any condition the enemy's attacks impose, while a bonus to AC would make hits less likely. Is there any reason why they're unarmored?

He doesn't get an AC boost because I gave him a lot more hitpoints than any other class in the game. Sure, he's easy to hit... But tough to take down. Furthermore, plenty of his powers will heal him by a bit.