1st Attempt at 4e Homebrew: The Battlemaster, a Martial Controller

[wayfare]

Hey All:

This is my 1st attempt at a 4e homebrew. I'm doing it incrementally, so the class will be posted bit by bit as i get feedback.

The goal is to create a martial controller. Here is the chassis I am working with. Sadly, it seems Like I'm off to a bad start already: feels very much like a leader to me. Any suggestions to get the class back on track would be appreciated:

BATTLEMASTER

“With time to reflect, you would come to realize your every action was part of a greater plan. Sadly, you haven't time enough left to puzzle it out.”

CLASS TRAITS
Role: Controller. You use refined tactics and precision maneuvers to limit your opponent's options and manipulate the battlefield. You tend toward leader as a secondary role, increasing your allies' ability advance and withdraw as combat is joined.

Power Source: Martial. Training, experience and insight allow you to predict your opponents actions and react accordingly.

Key Abilities: Dexterity or Strength; Intelligence

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather, hide, chainmail

Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, simple ranged, military melee, military ranged

Bonus to Defense: +1 Reflex, +1 Will

Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 5
Healing Surges per Day: 7 + Constitution modifier

Class Skills: (Thinking the Warlord Skill List...not certain yet)

CLASS FEATURES

Battlemaster's Insight: Your attacks expose the weak points in any enemy's defenses. Once per round, when you strike an opponent, you may inflict a -2 Penalty to the Defense statistic of your choice. This penalty lasts until the beginning of your next turn.

Battlemaster's Rebuke: When an ally within 5 squares of you makes an Opportunity Attack, add your Intelligence modifier to the damage inflicted.


BATTLEMASTER TECHNIQUE

Battlemasters engage with their foes in two distinct ways. Choose one of the following Techniques:

TACTICAL BATTLEMASTER

You lead the battle from the front lines, creating openings for your allies and unifying the efforts of your party members. You serve best when coordinating the efforts of a small strike team that works in close spaces to achieve limited goals. Your team strikes with superior power before a fast fade, leaving your enemies broken an scattered in a matter of moments.

As a Tactical Battlemaster, you gain the following class features:

Tactical Mobility: You know how to move across the battlefield without drawing your foes attacks. When you shift, you may move 10 feet instead of the normal distance allowed. Additionally, whenever you or an ally within 10 squares spends an action point, they may shift 10 feet as part of their action.

Tactical Superiority: You direct your allies to fight as a cohesive unit, focusing their fire to greatest effect. Each ally adjacent to you increases the damage of their attacks by the total number of allies adjacent to you.

STRATEGIC BATTLEMASTER

You operate best when overseeing the battle from a distance, relaying orders and delivering precision strikes. Your attacks sow confusion in enemy ranks, reducing unit cohesion and allowing your allies to capitalize upon a flawed defense.

As a Strategic Battlemaster, you gain the following Class Features:

Strategic Strike: Whenever you apply Battlemaster's Insight to an opponent, you may instead choose to inflict a -2 penalty to attack rolls.

Strategic Placement: Whenever you strike an opponent, instead of applying Battlemaster's Insight, an ally adjacent to your target can shift 5 feet.

Any suggestions?

[wayfare]

Reserved for stuff like Paragon Paths

[Ziegander]

Nothing about this looks like a Controller. You're right, it's very much a Leader. Right now its class features are completely focused around assisting its allies and occasionally bestowing penalties on enemies. A Controller has no business buffing its allies.

If you want a primary role as a Controller with a secondary Leader role you need class features that are all focused around controlling the enemy. The secondary Leader role will come as rider effects for some, not all, of the class's powers. Bestowing penalties on enemies is something anyone can do really, so I'd chuck that out the window as it pertains to class features and relegate it to rider effects for powers also. Focus the class features of the Battlemaster ALL on controlling the actions and movement of enemies in some meaningful way.

[Mando Knight]

Giving a class dual primary abilities is simply bad design.

My first question about the class in general is this: what differentiates your class, conceptually, from the Warlord, especially the Tactical Warlord?

[wayfare]

Giving a class dual primary abilities is simply bad design.

My first question about the class in general is this: what differentiates your class, conceptually, from the Warlord, especially the Tactical Warlord?

Why is it bad design? The goal is to have a class that can function at melee and at range.

This comes out more in the powers (which I have not posted yet, as I wanted to fix the chassis first), but the class functions at melee and range by creating walls and zones. For example, one power create a wall that, as long as an ally is adjacent to the wall, damages opponents who cross the wall. One at will creates an area blast 3 that creates difficult terrain.

All of this is simulated by "tactics." A lot of the abilities are damage and denial that you initiate through allies, rather than enacting yourself. Is this too much of a leader idea?

[Mando Knight]

Why is it bad design? The goal is to have a class that can function at melee and at range.

You need to create twice as many attack powers to support both sides, and if you try to use both attack stats (so you can pick the best power each level, for example), you're forced to limit your secondary stat (since you need to spend your stat bonuses on both attack stats to keep them both useful for attacks).

A lot of the abilities are damage and denial that you initiate through allies, rather than enacting yourself. Is this too much of a leader idea?

That is literally the idea behind the Tactical Warlord. I'd recommend coming up with an idea that can be separated fully from the Warlord in terms of concept.

[Ziegander]

Why is it bad design? The goal is to have a class that can function at melee and at range.

The standard 4e class design paradigm is 1 primary ability score and two secondary ability scores. Deviating from this paradigm actually messes with the balance of the game. Part of 4e's game balance is designed around the fact that all classes should need to focus on only two ability scores to properly function. Introducing additional primary ability scores increases the number of ability scores a PC must focus on, which in turn increases their MAD and decreases their effectiveness.

This comes out more in the powers (which I have not posted yet, as I wanted to fix the chassis first), but the class functions at melee and range by creating walls and zones. For example, one power create a wall that, as long as an ally is adjacent to the wall, damages opponents who cross the wall. One at will creates an area blast 3 that creates difficult terrain.

How are walls and zones that blast enemies and change the nature of the terrain martial?

All of this is simulated by "tactics." A lot of the abilities are damage and denial that you initiate through allies, rather than enacting yourself. Is this too much of a leader idea?

It sounds Leader-y, but it could work if you execute it right. Like I said, you'll have to re-tool the class features, but it's somewhat interesting to look at the concept of a Controller in this way. It's a novel approach, for sure, a Controller that uses his allies to assist him in his game of chess. You just have to make sure to keep it mostly like that - his allies assisting him in his control, not him assisting his allies to do whatever it is they're doing. The former can still be a well-functioning Controller; the latter is a Leader.

EDIT: Just a couple ideas I had (my balance-fu with 4e has lapsed, so I can't guarantee these are properly balanced):

Battlemaster's Guile
Whenever an enemy misses you with an opportunity attack that enemy is knocked prone.

Battlemaster's Presence
At the start of each encounter in which you are not bloodied each enemy is Slowed (save ends). This effect is also ended for any enemy that hits you with an attack.