A quaint shire village is now sullied by smoke and death. A crushing clash of agony and metal fills the air. Chitinous bandits from the deep dunes fill the streets with violence. A raid. But the stoat knight will not let the deafening cacophony distract her. She now must rend this swarm of insect cultists asunder and make way for the last of the villagers to escape the burning wreck of the village. She rolls her shoulders and sets her cutting-board shield and glass blade into a well-practiced stance — let them come, for she will be unmovable!
A Burrowguard is a class in the Brawler Archetype centered on defense and survivability. A successful Burrowguard is typically in the thick of things, keeping the attention of their foes and punishing those that deviate. Your job is to soak damage so that your compatriots can fight unhindered. The most natural fighting style is melee, utilizing a weapon and shield set - and donning heavy armor helps protect you against all but the mightiest of blows. Choose your equipment and Class Traits carefully, so that you are able to capitalize on the strengths of a mighty Burrowguard.
Your Health starts at 12 + your Gusto modifier.
Each time you level, you will add 12 + your Gusto modifier to your Maximum Health pool. This does not automatically heal any health you have already lost and only increases the maximum cap on your health. To heal, you will need to consume a potion, use a spell or feature, or take a Long Rest.
Below are the traits unlocked for the Burrowguard each time they level. You may only pick one from each level.
You insert yourself between an adjacent ally and an incoming, successful blow. You gain resistance to this specific attack and can only do so if you are not prone Off-kilter, Paralyzed, or Petrified.
You steel yourself and dig your paws in. Until the start of your next turn, you cannot be knocked prone and are immune to being rendered Off-Kilter, or being Dazed or Enfeebled.
Prerequisite: Equipped with a Weapon & Shield Set
You adopt a defensive stance with your shield at the cost of an attack and movement penalty. While this stance is active, you gain +3 to your Defense Rating but suffer a -3 penalty to your weapon attacks, and you become Slowed.
Both entering and exiting this stance counts as separate actions, costing 2 action points each.
You bellow a loud, crude taunt at a specific target. The taunt lasts for 5 rounds (30 seconds), during which any attacks that are not targeting you are at disadvantage. Only one target can be taunted by this trait at a time. Taunting another foe will end this effect prematurely.
Once per encounter, when you'd normally go down, you don't. A hit that would have brought you down to 0 Health instead brings you to 1 Health.
You enter a defensive stance, ready to shield yourself from any attacks from behind. While in this stance, any Flanking bonuses against you are nullified. However, the Tunnel Stance also makes it more difficult for you to move and to strike your enemies, rendering you Slowed and Enfeebled 2.
You direct an ally to attack an enemy in your stead, granting them advantage on the first attack that they make. However, if none of your ally's attacks land, the enemy becomes emboldened until the end of its next turn and will be granted advantage on attacks against you.
Should an enemy within melee distance move away from you, you may use your Retaliation to use your maximum movement and chase your opponent down. You cannot move freely, you cannot use any movement traits, and you must move back into melee range of the enemy to the best of your ability. Your movement during this Retaliation will incur any Retaliatory Strikes.
Prerequisite: Equipped with a Weapon & Shield Set
You foist your shield into your enemy, dealing 1d6 Bludgeoning damage and knocking your enemy Off-Kilter 2 for 3 rounds (or 18 seconds).
You enter a more aggressive stance, preparing your weapon and shield to attack any enemy that moves. You make a single weapon attack against any foe that moves within 5 feet of you. However, while in this stance, you are unable to move and are rendered Off-Kilter 3.
Both entering and exiting this stance counts as separate actions, costing 2 action points each.
You ready your stance to dole out pain. Until the start of your next turn, you may not use a Retaliation. Instead, each time an ally deals damage in an attack, you may also perform a weapon attack on that target if they are in range.
You bang your arms and armor together as loudly as you can in an effort to disorient any opponent within 5 feet of you.
Each effected enemy must roll a Wits Fortitude check against your skill check of your Level + Wits Modifier. Should they fail, they will become Dazed 4 for the next 3 rounds (or 18 seconds). On a success, they become Deafened for the duration instead.
This isn't the first time someone has threatened your burrow and kin, but it'll be the last time this particular fiend does! For the next 5 rounds (or 30 seconds), any allied creatures that receive damage within 10 feet of you grants the party a Boon.
This trait can only be used once per Long Rest.
They shan't take anything or anyone else from you! You enter a steely stance that lasts for 10 rounds (or 1 minute). You may not move while this stance is active, but all allies within 15 feet of you gain +3 to their Defense Rating and are immune to being knocked prone, Off-Kilter, and Dazed.
This trait can only be used once per Long Rest.
You are a dauntless defender standing tall, inflicting suffering on all who dare to test your resolve! With a rallying cry, you taunt every enemy within 15 feet of you. The anticipation of the impending barrage bolsters your Defense Rating by 5, but your enraged enemies hit you harder, dealing 2d6 additional damage should they hit you.
You also deal 2d6 of your weapon’s damage to anyone who attacks you. Your taunt lasts for three rounds and ends at the start of your turn. When the taunt ends, your Defense Rating returns to normal, your foes will no longer deal additional damage towards you, and you no longer deal the 2d6 weapon damage to your attackers.
This trait can only be used once per Long Rest.