Meatshield (5e Class)

The Way of the Meatshield

“	I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, and will be. But I'm the biggest, heaviest and most likely to smash someone's head in.	”
—Leodor Steakhammer, Master Meatshield

Meatshields are disciplined warriors, devoted to protecting others no matter the cost. Lead by the ways of the great Leodor Steakhammer, Meatshields live in a world of honor and smashing monsters heads in. They willfully risk their lives to slay dragons and demon lords just because they were told to. Often Meatshields are hired to become primary fighters in adventuring parties around the world, their perseverance and abundant hit points a valuable asset to any adventurer.

Creating a Meatshield

Meatshields are the ultimate fighter, masters of running into battle, kicking ass, taking damage and letting other people kill-steal. Meatshields are trained in The Way of the Meatshield, to take and deal as much damage as possible. Almost all Meatshields are Lawful and certainly not the smartest.

Quick Build

You can make a Meatshield quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength and Constitution should be your highest ability scores, and Intelligence should be the last to worry about. Second, choose the | City Guard background. Third, choose heavy-duty damage dealing weapons and heavy armour. From now on it's your job to hemorrhage hit points so buckle up.

Class Features

As a Meatshield you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d12 per Meatshield level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + Constitution modifier per Meatshield level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, marital weapons
Tools:
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose three from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Perception, Survival, Nature

Equipment

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

• (a) One martial weapon or (b) Shield
• (a) Two simple melee weapons or (b) One simple melee weapon and five javelin
• (a) Dungeoneer's pack or (b) Explorer's pack or (c) Healer's Kit
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 6d4x10 in funds.

Table: The Meatshield

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Might Die
1st	+2	Stoic Stance, Rock-Hard Body	1d4
2nd	+2	Not Going Down	1d4
3rd	+2	Meatshield School Feature	1d4
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	1d4
5th	+3	Extra Attack	1d6
6th	+3	School Feature	1d6
7th	+3	Brawny	1d6
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	1d6
9th	+4	Bull-headed Resilience	1d8
10th	+4	School Feature	1d8
11th	+4	Endless Energy	1d8
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	1d8
13th	+5	Non-Stopping	1d10
14th	+5	School Feature	1d10
15th	+5	Final Stand	1d10
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	1d10
17th	+6	Improved Battle Hardened	1d12
18th	+6	Standing Tall	1d12
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	1d12
20th	+6	Ultimate Tank	1d12

Stoic Stance

Starting at 1st level, you harbor a vast amount of vitality within yourself and now can withstand pain, recovering incredibly fast from wounds.

Whenever you take bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks, you may use your reaction and roll your Might Die to reduce the damage taken. You reduce the damage by the total rolled on that die + your MeatShield level + your Constitution modifier.

On 4th, 9th, and 13th level, you can choose one damage type from the list below and apply Battle Hardened to that source of damage:

• Acid
• Cold
• Fire
• Lightning
• Poison

Rock-Hard Body

At 1st level, your body has become as solid as a rock as you dedicate yourself to become the toughest object around. You gain the following:

• You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike. This die changes as you gain MeatShield levels, as shown in the Might Die column of the MeatShield table.
• You gain natural armor. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Constitution modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
• Your hit point maximum increases by 2, and it increases by 2 every time you gain a MeatShield level afterwards.

Not Going Down

By 2th level, as a action, you can recover hit points equal to one roll of your Might Die + MeatShield level + your Constitution modifier. Once you use this feature, you must finish Long Rest before you can use it again

Schools of the Meatshield

At 3rd level, you choose a School that shapes the way how you view your body in combat. Your chosen combat School grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

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.

Extra Attack

Starting at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Bull-headed Resilience

At 7th level, you may add your Constitution modifier to any saving throw you do not already have proficiency in. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain your uses after finishing a long rest.

Brawny

Starting at 9th level, being close to death on a daily basis makes you understand the importance of rest and healing. When you regain hit points, you may add one roll of the Might Die to the total.

Endless Energy

By 11th level, you tap into a new energy source to help fuel you against the endless waves of enemies. Whenever you Long Rest, you recover two levels of Exhaustion.

Non-Stopping

At 13th level, you have advantage against being stunned or paralyzed.

Final Stand

At 15th level, when you take damage that would reduce you to 0 hit points and don't die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution Saving Throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

Improved Battle Hardened

Starting at 17th level, you now have resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

In addition, can now use Battle Hardened against any damage source, potentially protecting yourself from any harm.

Standing Tall

Beginning at 18th level, if your total for a Constitution check or Saving Throw is less than your Constitution Score, you can use that score in place of the total.

Ultimate Tank

Starting at 20th level, when you would take damage, you may use your reaction to become immune to all damage until the start of your turn.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Schools of the Meatshield

The School of the Shielding

The School of Shielding Meats are paragons of virtue, rushing into battle to protect others at their own risk. They believe that another adventurer's life is sacred, and others must never be hurt. The School of Shielding Meats is only for the truest of hearts, the lawfulness of the stupid.

Unmovable

Also by 3rd level, you gain proficiency in heavy armor and advantage on Checks and Saves vs being moved against your will.

Meaty Protector

Starting at 3rd level, you can menace your foes, foiling their attacks and punishing them for harming others. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can mark the creature until the end of your next turn. This effect ends early if you are incapacitated or you die, or if someone else marks the creature.

While it is within 5 feet of you, a creature marked by you has disadvantage on any attack roll that doesn't target you.

In addition, if a creature marked by you deals damage to anyone other than you, you can make a special melee weapon attack against the marked creature as a bonus action on your next turn. You have advantage on the attack roll, and if it hits, the attack's weapon deals extra damage to the target equal to half your Meatshield level.

Regardless of the number of creatures you mark, you can make this special attack a number of times equal to your Strength modifier (a minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Can't Hurt Friend

By 6th level, you are always on the lookout for your allies, ready to help them in a pinch. When an ally within 10 feet of you that you can see is attacked, you can spend your reaction to give them a bonus equal to one roll of your Might Die and add it to their AC, potentially causing the hit to be a miss. This bonus lasts till the start of the protected creature's turn. You can do this a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per day.

Saving Tackle

Starting at 10th level, when an ally is about to go down you throw caution to the wind to save them. When an ally within walking distance is about to take damage which would force them unconscious, you can use your reaction to push them away 10ft in any direction and take the damage instead. You can only use this once per long rest.

Unbreakable Stance

At 14th level, how learned how to take an unbreakable defensive stance for yourself and friends, increasing the team's defense prowess's.

You and any allies within 30ft of you gain the following:

• Advantage on checks and saves vs being moved against their will and knocked prone.
• Advantage checks and saves in resisting being paralyzed and stunned.
• Advantage on spell Saving Throws.
• Can't Hurt Friend range increased to 30ft

The School of the Smashed

The School of the Smashed believes that to truly be a Meatshield, you must destroy doors, walls, objects, and all other forms of cover. That's basically it, whenever you enter a room, you kick down doors or anything else standing in your way and sending monsters running.

Splintering Kick

Starting at 3rd level, you have honed your ability to kick inanimate objects into an art form. As an action, you destroy the environment and fling small shrapnel into the air towards your enemies. Any creature within a 20ft cone coming from you must make a Dexterity Saving Throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Strength modifier) or take piercing damage equal to one roll of your Might Die + your Strength modifier. You can do this ability equal to your Strength modifier.

Additionally, you can now do the shove action using a bonus action instead if you haven't used it in place of one of your attacks. When you shove a creature, you may now push enemies 10ft away whenever you win the contest.

Crushing Throw

By 3rd level, you now gain a new attack option in the form of throwing small debris with sheer force towards your enemies. This attack counts as a thrown improvised weapon that you are proficient in, with a normal range of 40ft and a long range of 60ft. You use your Strength modifier for the attack and damage rolls, it deals bludgeoning damage equal to one roll of your Might Die + your Strength modifier. This replaces one of your attacks.

Wallbreaker

Starting at 6th level, you are way past just destroying doors because anything can become an entrance if you run at it fast enough. When you use your action to Dash, you can use a Bonus Action to make a special ongoing attack. If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taking this bonus action, for the rest of the movement and as long as you continue in a straight line, any creature in front of you must succeed on a must succeed on a Strength Saving Throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Strength modifier). On failure, they take bludgeoning damage equal to two rolls of your Might Die, be push 10ft in any direction and be knocked prone. If they succeed on the save, they take half damage (rounded down) and you stop this attack. Any creature that been affected by this attack on this turn already automatically succeed on the Saving Throw.

If a barrier is within this range of this attack, you may decide to try to go through it. You may make a Strength check for breaking through the barrier, creating a 5ft entrance for you and your party. The DC for the check will depend on the GM as barriers are made from different materials. This barrier has to be something you can reasonably break through to gain these benefits.

You can do this once per Long Rest. The number of times you can do this increases to two by 11th level, and three time at level 17th.

Break It All

By 10th level, you have an advantage on any Strength checks when interacting with large or smaller objects and structures. This applies to Wallbreaker as well.

You also gain advantage on Strength checks on moving objects that are large or smaller.

Boulder Extraordinaire

At 14th level, as an action you may create a thrown improvised weapon that you are proficient in the shape of a boulder. It has a normal range of 60 feet, and a long range of 100 feet, and is considered a siege weapon. Make a ranged attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to four rolls of your Might Die + your Strength modifier. Hit or miss, the boulder then explodes, sending fragments across the battlefield. The target and each creature within 10 feet of the point where the boulder exploded must succeed on a Dexterity Saving Throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Strength modifier). On a failed save, they take bludgeoning damage equal to three rolls of your Might Die or half as much damage on a successful one (rounded down).

You can do this once per Long Rest.

The School of the Aggressor

The School of the Aggressor teaches that the best defense is a excellent offence. They say that the best protection is the one where you are never in danger of having to fight yourself at all. These guys are the most offensive of all the Meatshields, preferring to do damage over tanking as much. The teaching's of the School goes by this motto: "If you beat your enemies to a bloody pulp, they can't even think about hurting your allies!"

Devastating Attacks

At 3rd level, you follow your beliefs and attack your enemies with devastating attacks without rest. If you wielding a weapon that lacks the two-handed property or if you are unarmed, you may use your bonus action to do an unarmed strike.

Blood Thirsty

By 3th level, every time you reduce an enemy's hit point to zero, you gain temporary Health Points equal to your Meatshield level + Constitution.

Metallic Fists

Starting at 6th level, your fist are now covered with a thin layer of metallic metal. Your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Powerful Reach

At 10th level, through training and battle experience, you learned to move your arms in unique ways to deliver powerful strikes. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.

In addition, once on each of your turns, one of your attacks with a weapon or an unarmed strike can deal an extra 1d8 damage to a target on a hit.

Onslaught

By 14th level, you get lost in the chaos of battle, becoming a force of nature—a whirlwind of destruction, leaving naught but a trail of shattered bodies in your wake. The thrill of combat causes you to keep beating your foes into a bloody pulp. When you use this action, the creature must make a Constitution Saving Throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Strength modifier) to withstand the pain. If it fails it takes 6d10 Bludgeoning damage and becomes paralyzed. If it succeeds, it takes half damage (rounded down) instead.

You can do this once per Long Rest.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Meatshield class, you must meet these prerequisites: 13 strength and 13 constitution

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Meatshield class, you gain the following proficiencies: Acrobatics, Athletics, and Survival. You also gain in proficiency all armor.

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