D&D 5E Why is There No Warlord Equivalent in 5E?

[Paul Farquhar]

D&D is based on the model of a party of equal-status heroes with less-than-equal sidekicks.

The Warlord could be the manager of the squires, men-at-arms, animal companions, and summoned allies.

Oh, you are talking about 1st edition! Why didn’t you state that in the first place?!

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Have you seen the number of homemade versions warlord?

A warlord in 5e could be like mixing BG3 and Age of Empires, or Age of Myths.

Other option could be start from zero with a no-D&D videogame, and later with the experience to be adapted to D&D. It could be something style "Reign under Fire II" or the saga "Heroes of Might and Magic". We don't need an AAA game but something to be played in tablet.

* Have you thought about how would be a fight against a warlord boss nPC with all his buffed minions?

The class features shouldn't be only right-balance, but the gameplay has to be fun, easy to be understood and simple for faster combats.

And a warlord with squads working as monster allies... a lot of troops for dungeons with small space or too cannon fodder against certain boss monsters that have been designed to fight against PCs with a lot of hit points.

A warlord class, and all the subclasses, have to be useful in the mass battlefield, but also in dungeon-crawler adventures.

It has to be designed for low-level-magic settings like "Game of Thrones" but also for players who wanted a harem of monster girls.

What type of characters from fiction could be D&D warlords?

The Warlord - TV Tropes

* A psionic mystic is not only a class, but the list of psionic powers.

 

[GrimCo]

@EzekielRaiden

Serious question. Why don't you play 4th edition? You like design paradigme and AEDU. You like how it handled things.

 

[Minigiant]

Oh, you are talking about 1st edition! Why didn’t you state that in the first place?!

That's every edition.

There's always some hanger-on, henchmen, or summon around these days.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

@EzekielRaiden

Serious question. Why don't you play 4th edition? You like design paradigme and AEDU. You like how it handled things.

Serious answer:

I would love to. I tried to.

 

[MuhVerisimilitude]

Have you seen the number of homemade versions warlord?

A warlord in 5e could be like mixing BG3 and Age of Empires, or Age of Myths.

Other option could be start from zero with a no-D&D videogame, and later with the experience to be adapted to D&D. It could be something style "Reign under Fire II" or the saga "Heroes of Might and Magic". We don't need an AAA game but something to be played in tablet.

* Have you thought about how would be a fight against a warlord boss nPC with all his buffed minions?

The class features shouldn't be only right-balance, but the gameplay has to be fun, easy to be understood and simple for faster combats.

And a warlord with squads working as monster allies... a lot of troops for dungeons with small space or too cannon fodder against certain boss monsters that have been designed to fight against PCs with a lot of hit points.

A warlord class, and all the subclasses, have to be useful in the mass battlefield, but also in dungeon-crawler adventures.

It has to be designed for low-level-magic settings like "Game of Thrones" but also for players who wanted a harem of monster girls.

What type of characters from fiction could be D&D warlords?

The Warlord - TV Tropes

* A psionic mystic is not only a class, but the list of psionic powers.

This seems like the wrong kind of warlord. Notice that no example characters in that article (as far as I can see anyway) match the class description of the warlord.

Look under tabletop games and you'll see what I mean. They don't list the D&D 4E warlord, but they list the Hardholder from Apocalypse World.

People are not looking for a class that controls minions. People are looking for a support character who relies on morale and tactics.

 

[CapnZapp]

At page 35:

Gonna last more than six days...

At 53 pages, definitely gonna last six days ..

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's every edition.

There's always some hanger-on, henchmen, or summon around these days.

That is complete and utter HOGWASH! I have never seen a henchman, hireling or squire in modern D&D (most modern settings aren't even feudal). Aside from 5e having absolutely no rules for them, combat is slow enough with 4-6 PCs. It really doesn't benefit from having a bunch of hangers-on clogging up the initiative track. Summoning spells where changed in Tasha's so they only summon one critter, because the designers are well aware that 5e doesn't play nice with adding a dozen wolves player side.

Now you may well include that sort of thing held over from 1st edition (which did have rules for it), and you are free to enjoy whatever you like, but don't try and pretend it's anything like standard, because I'm darn sure it aint.

Which brings us back to 3PP. If you want that in your game, use it, or make your own, but don't try and impose it on other players. Most players don't want that shtuff.

 

[Minigiant]

That is complete and utter HOGWASH! I have never seen a henchman, hireling or squire in modern D&D (most modern settings aren't even feudal). Aside from 5e having absolutely no rules for them, combat is slow enough with 4-6 PCs. it really doesn't benefit from having a bunch of hangers-on clogging up the initiative track. Summoning spells where changed in Tasha's so they only summon one critter, because the designers are well aware that 5e doesn't play nice with adding a dozen wolves player side.

Now you may well include that sort of thing held over from 1st edition (which did have rules for it), and you are free to enjoy whatever you like, but don't try and pretend it's anything like standard, because I'm darn sure it aint.

Which brings us back to 3PP. If you want that in your game, use it, or make your own, but don't try and impose it on other players. Most players don't want that shtuff.

That's sounds like a you issue.

In the game I am play, there is a whole secondary NPC party guarding the dungeon entrance and watching the horses while each of the PC's has a squire or apprentice in the dungeon with us.

Granted it's a mega dungeon and the combats are quick resource drains as 5e was designed.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's sounds like a you issue.

It's not an me issue, because I don't have an issue. I'm happy with things as they are. And if I want something different I'll change it myself, not insist WotC change the core rules for my benefit.

In the game I am play, there is a whole secondary NPC party guarding the dungeon entrance and watching the horses while each of the PC's has a squire or apprentice in the dungeon with us.

Sure, you play the way you like. But don't try and impose your preferences on others.

Granted it's a mega dungeon and the combats are quick resource drains as 5e was designed.

There is no such thing as a "quick" combat in 5e. To be fair, it's not as slow as 3rd edition, but it's about ten times slower than 1st edition with it's high mortality that required henchmen as backup PCs.