The Avenger Class

I posted on the site also but I never got an answer. The class seems real fun to play and I’m interested how it would work in a group. I do have some questions though. Can you have more than one Oath of Enmity active at a time? Seems like it could get crazy with Spirit of Vengeance, and maybe Bond of Pursuit, giving you even more attacks on these targets. Also allowing multiple oaths active really makes Retribution a strange subclass that actively works against its core feature. The class seems really narrow, is that intentional? You have to focus on wis and dex and use a 2d6 weapon to get the best use of all of the basic features. It doesn’t seem like there’s room to experiment with weapon choice and ability scores like with other classes. What are the classes weaknesses supposed to be? It’s only dependent on two ability scores and by 7th level it has proficiency in wis saves and evasion making strong against most spells/special attacks. They don’t have to have a huge con because they get two ability scores to AC and d10 hit dice. You also gain immunity to fear and charmed effects and gain expertise with social skills. While the class naturally has few ranged options, the Pursuit subclass helps immensely by preventing escaping, huge mobility boosts, and even a fly speed. Abjure Foe also is an incredible ranged option.

First off, very polished and playable right off the bat. Plus, it's a translation of one of my favorite 4e classes, so double kudos! I think the obvious comparables for an avenger are paladin and monk; I think you made the right choice building it like a paladin instead of a monk, considering the heavy divine flavor of the avenger. Oath of Enmity is the big feature to translate, it's quite tricky to make it interesting considering the 2d20 concept was borrowed to become the main bonus feature of 5e. I think you got it right; the avenger doesn't have a real damage increase feature outside of Oath, so on-demand advantage and better economy for reactions doesn't seem like it will get out of hand. Restricting it to versatile and heavy weapons keeps the class from being too strong as a rogue dip (important for any mechanic with on-demand advantage). Likewise, the fact that the avenger isn't heavily bonus action dependent means dual-wielding is actually an OK option. A ranger 2 dip for dual-wielding and hunter's mark would be pretty synergistic, but that isn't a big deal. Actually finding a use for dual-wielding and rangers is never a bad thing. :) Otherwise, the non-combat and ribbon abilities are solid and fun. I particularly like the constant zone of truth, as long as the avenger never actually lies. That's classic. My only recommendations would be as follows. 1) Make Oath of Enmity Wisdom modifier per short rest, minimum once. One reason is aesthetic, I'm just not a big fan of abilities that have 10+ uses per long rest. A low number of charges makes you think more strategically, once you have more than 4 or 5, it's too easy to spam. Mystic mark from the magus is a good comparable here, with blessing of vengeance having similar utility to mystic meditation. 2) I'd purge the Avenger spell list of anything that's a buff (to others) or a restorative. Avengers will work with a party, but they're a fundamentally selfish class. Bless, sanctuary, enhance ability, and lesser restoration are the spells I feel that don't fit.

Matthew Gesus