Roll20 Note: The Tactician is not part of the SRD, but is available for free to use with the D&D 5e Character Builder. Check out Drizzt's Travelogue of Everything Volume 1 for additional content!

The clang of clashing metal rings out as an orc’s mace swings down to smash against the shield of a mercenary captain. The captain laughs, thinking the orc easy prey, failing to notice the orc’s command as an unseen tiefling slams her greataxe into the captain’s back.

A gnome, protected within a ring of allies, furrows her brow as thousands of possibilities race through her mind. In a matter of seconds, she finds the perfect answer and calls out the offensive to her allies, leading to a quick and decisive victory.

A dragonborn stares calmly into the face of a beholder, unflinching as all eleven eyes stare down upon them. With only their analysis and a single dagger at their disposal, the dragonborn ducks under the first of the beholder’s rays and plunges their dagger into the aberration’s central eye, before commanding their allies to attack.

Masters of the mind and the battlefield, a tactician embodies the idea that one does not need incredible strength or arcane might to achieve greatness, only a sharp wit and an analytical mind.

With no magical prowess to speak of and scant more martial skills, I had mistakenly assumed that tacticians were not cut out for adventuring. However, their awesome intellects make them capable leaders, master planners, and deadly foes...

- Drizzt

Resourceful Thinkers

Blessed with neither magical powers nor physical greatness, at first glance many would assume that tacticians have a difficult time making do. Looks can be deceiving and this underestimation is what allows the tactician to thrive. The power of a tactician’s mind is a frightening thing, overflowing with potential and focus that benefits anyone that stands by their side. Whether it’s to lead an army to victory or direct a small strike team, tacticians find themselves seeking knowledge wherever it may be found.

Uncommon Minds

Intelligence, nerve, and communication are the three pillars of a tactician. This makes them unique, as their intelligence directs them away from the traditional path of magical studies and towards the mastery of combat maneuvers. These natural born leaders often find themselves pursuing a life of adventure in which they can push themselves to the limits and truly test their mental abilities.

Creating a Tactician

Creating a tactician begins by deciding the origin of your character’s genius. Are they a natural born savant who has always risen above their peers, or is their brilliance a result of hard work and perseverance? Did you have a kindly teacher who helped foster your brilliance, or is your intelligence the result of independent study and the harsh lessons of life?

Second, ask yourself why your character chose to become a tactician over other pursuits. Do they distrust magic, did they lack the aptitude for it, or did they simply never consider or receive the opportunity to study it? Furthermore, did they feel that devoting their skills to physical greatness distracted them from exercising the full extent of their tactical techniques?

Finally, why did your character choose a life of adventure? Most tacticians, with their brilliance and cunning, are more than capable of earning a comfortable living as merchants, royal advisors, or battlefield strategists. Therefore, why choose a life of travel, danger, and uncertainty, particularly when your character lacks the common powers of strength or magic to defend themselves? Perhaps for those very reasons your tactician chose to hone their minds in the fires of adventure, rather than in a comfortable and safe vocation. Perhaps they have a vendetta and are traveling seeking revenge. Or perhaps they simply wish to acquire more knowledge or wealth. Regardless, your character clearly knows that they will prevail with their keen analytic senses and reliable leadership skills.

Quick Build

You can make a tactician quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Intelligence your primary ability score, followed by Dexterity. Second, choose the sage or soldier background.

Class Features

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per tactician level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per tactician level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbow, longsword, rapier
Tools: Any two of your choice
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose three from History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Persuasion, or Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your backstory:

• (a) a longsword or (b) a rapier
• (a) a hand crossbow and quiver of 20 bolts, or (b) a shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows
• (a) a diplomat’s pack, (b) an explorer’s pack, or (c) a scholar’s pack
• Leather armor, a dagger, and one set of tools that you are proficient in

Alternatively, you may start with 4d4 × 10 gp to buy your own equipment.

Perfect Plan

Beginning at 1st level, you become a master at devising the best course of action for the future. When you complete a long rest, you gain a number of Perfect Plan dice, as shown in the Perfect Plan Dice column of the Tactician table, which are d4s. Upon receiving these dice, you can spend 10 minutes concocting a plan that includes a number of willing creatures up to 1 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 2 creatures). Whenever a creature that is a part of your Perfect Plan and that can see or hear you makes an attack roll or ability check, you can use your reaction to expend one of your Perfect Plan dice, adding the roll to the result. You can wait until after the d20 is rolled before deciding to use this feature, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.

Once a Perfect Plan die is rolled, it is lost, and only one Perfect Plan die may be used at a time. You regain all expended Perfect Plan dice when you complete a long rest.

When you reach 7th level, you can add your Perfect Plan dice to saving throws in the same way you would to a creature’s attack rolls or ability checks.

Tactician

Intelligent Defense

Also at 1st level, you rely on predictive measures and careful observation to protect yourself, rather than raw agility. You can use your Intelligence instead of your Dexterity when determining your Armor Class.

Polyglot

Also at 1st level, your mind grasps more information than the average person. You learn two languages of your choice.

Analyze

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to focus your intellectual prowess into breaking down the defenses of your opponent and utilizing the information gained to your advantage. As a bonus action, you can begin analyzing a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you. Your analysis lasts for 1 minute and provides a number of benefits as shown below, as well as additional benefits as you gain levels in this class. Your analysis ends early if you are incapacitated, you end your turn unable to see the creature, you begin analyzing a different creature, or you die.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses whenever you complete a short or long rest.

Combat Analysis

For as long as you are analyzing a creature and can see that creature, you gain the following benefits:

• When you hit a creature that you are analyzing with an attack, you can expend a Perfect Plan die. Alternately, when an allied creature that is part of your Perfect Plan hits a creature you are analyzing with an attack, you can use your reaction to expend a Perfect Plan die. If you do, the attack deals additional damage. Roll 1d4 and add the result to the attack’s damage. If you are 6th level, add 2d4 instead. If you are 11th level, add 3d4 instead, and if you are 17th level, add 4d4 instead.
• Creatures you are analyzing have disadvantage on opportunity attacks made against you.

Trait Analysis

At the end of each of your turns, if you are analyzing a creature and can see that creature, it must make an Intelligence saving throw against your analysis save DC. On a failure, you learn one of the following characteristics about the target:

• Armor class
• Any two of its ability scores that you choose
• Damage vulnerabilities
• Damage resistances
• Damage immunities
• Condition immunities

Analysis Ability

You use your Intelligence to closely evaluate your foes in combat. You use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw for a tactician feature.

Analysis save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Contingency Plan

Also at 2nd level, with a little time to rest and think, you can adjust your plans to new situations. Whenever you complete a short rest, you can choose to regain a number of expended Perfect Plan dice equal to 1 + half your maximum.

Once you have used this feature, you cannot do so again until you complete a long rest.

When you reach 14th level, you can use this feature any number of times.

Strategic Focus

At 3rd level, you’ve decided to hone your tactical prowess into a specific long-term Strategic Focus of your choice: Grandmaster, Mentalist, Scholar, or War Mind, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level.

Expertise

Also at 3rd level, choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.

At 10th level, you can choose another two skill proficiencies to gain this benefit.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.

Guiding Guile

At 5th level, you have wit and direction that others wisely heed. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can call out a command to an allied creature within 60 feet that can see or hear you. That creature can use their reaction to make one weapon attack against the same target. If that ally is part of your Perfect Plan, you can expend and add a Perfect Plan die to their attack roll as a part of the same reaction.

Resilient Mind

At 7th level, you are naturally able to resist effects that would alter your mind. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Wisdom saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Additionally, you gain advantage on saving throws made against being charmed, frightened, or stunned.

Advanced Planning Techniques

At 9th level, your plans surpass perfection. When you make your Perfect Plan, you can name a creature or a location as part of your plan, which persists as a part of your plan until a new plan is made. A creature you name must be one you are familiar with or can describe. A location you name must be one you are familiar with or have a map of. The location is a cube up to ten times your tactician level on a side in feet.

If you name a creature, you gain one of the following benefits:

• Whenever you add a Perfect Plan die to an attack made against the named creature, you can choose to reroll the die if the result is a 1 or 2. You must use the new result.
• Choose an ability score. Whenever the named creature makes a saving throw using that ability score, you use your reaction to expend and roll a Perfect Plan dice, subtracting the result from the target’s roll. You may use this ability before or after the target makes their roll, but before the DM determines the outcome of the roll.
• Whenever the named creature would be pushed out of the reach of another creature that is a part of your Perfect Plan, you may use your reaction and expend a Perfect Plan dice. When you do, the named creature provokes an opportunity attack from each creature that is a part of your Perfect Plan whose reach it would be pushed out of.

If you name a location, you gain one of the following benefits:

• Whenever you add a Perfect Plan die to an attack made within the named location, you can choose to reroll the die if the result is a 1 or 2. You must use the new result.
• Whenever you add a Perfect Plan die to an ability check or saving throw made by a creature in the named location, you can choose to reroll the die if the result is a 1 or 2. You must use the new result.
• As a bonus action, you can spend one of your Perfect Plan dice to allow each creature within the named location that can see or hear you to use their reaction and move up to half their speed.

When you reach 17th level, you can name both a creature and a location as a part of making your Perfect Plan.

Mind’s Eye

Beginning at 9th level, you are able to keep track of the world around you, even when you cannot see it. Other creatures can’t gain advantage on attack rolls made against you as a result of you being unable to see them.

Analytic Advantage

Starting at 11th level, your analysis allows your allies to inhibit your foes more readily. Whenever you add a Perfect Plan die to the damage roll of an attack, the target of that attack suffers one of the following penalties:

• It can’t take reactions until the start of its next turn.
• It is pushed back up to 10 feet away from its attacker.
• It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your analysis save DC or fall prone.

Improvised Plan

When you reach 13th level, you can quickly cobble together a strong plan of action, even in the heat of the moment. As an action on your turn, or whenever you roll initiative, you may expend a Perfect Plan dice and call out an impromptu plan to a number of creatures that can hear you, up to 1 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 2). Each of those creatures gains an Improvisation die, which is a d4.

Once within the next minute, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Improvisation die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Improvisation die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Improvisation die at a time.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses whenever you complete a long rest.

Battlefield Commander

When you reach 14th level, you can effortlessly call out commands in the heat of battle. In combat, you get a special extra reaction. You can use this special reaction only to utilize your Perfect Plan dice, and you can’t use it on the same turn that you take your normal reaction.

Piercing Eye

By 17th level, you are always one step ahead of your enemies, able to predict their every move and capitalize on their every weakness. The first time you make an attack roll against a creature you are analyzing on each of your turns, you may add a Perfect Plan dice to your attack without using your reaction or expending the die.

Ultimate Knowing

At 20th level, your knowledge in tactics and planning is unparalleled, almost supernatural. Your Intelligence increases by 2. Your maximum score is now 22.

Additionally, your keen sense of strategy and anticipation of adversity grants you the following benefits:

• You cannot be surprised.
• You have advantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
• Other creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against you.

Strategic Focus

All tacticians are brilliant, but not all tacticians agree on the same way to harness and pursue their genius. Thus, tacticians will choose or gravitate towards a specific Strategic Focus, a particular method of honing one’s skills. By 3rd level, a tactician chooses a Strategic Focus in which to invest their talents.

• Grandmaster
• Mentalist
• Scholar
• War Mind

Multiclassing

Ability Score Minimum. Intelligence 13.
Proficiencies Gained. Light armor, simple weapons, one tool of your choice.

Credits

Tactician Class Design: Lucas Anderson, Jack Weighill, Aaryan Balu, and Stuart Broz