Juggernaut

A lone warrior stands amid a slew of fallen bodies. He turns his gaze up towards the horizon, spotting another band of furious enemies. He raises his shield and adopts a defensive stance, bracing himself against the second storm.

An armour clad maiden stands surrounded by enemies, her allies scattered across the battlefield. With a grin on her face, she slams her shield into the earth. With a wave of force the enemies are sent flying and taking their place around her are her wounded, but now safe allies. A large orc clad in plate armour stands hunched over a table of a mock battlefield. Outside the safety of the tent rings a warning bell. Reaching to don his shield, the warrior strides out of the tent, ready to put his long hours of planning to its final test.

## The Insurmountable

Juggernauts, masters of defense, are warriors whose love of the shield spurs them to reach a greater connection with it. Using the innate magic present in all beings, Juggernauts channel this energy into their shield, often swearing oaths in order to bind the shield to them in whats known as a shield bond.

By using the weight of their shield the Juggernaut turns defense into offense, throwing enemies around the battlefield, drawing attention away from their comrades and even striking foes with the same implement they use to defend themselves as if it was a weapon in itself. To these tanks, the shield represents their honour, oath and spirit. Without it they are nothing more than an average warrior.

## Creating a Juggernaut

A Juggernaut's main power is their shield and the bond that strengthens it. How did you come to be a Juggernaut? Who taught you your ways? Is your path one of vengeance or something more noble? What is the story behind your current shield? Is it special to you, or did you stumble upon it? A Juggernaut's primary function is making enemies turn their animosity towards you instead of those you wish to protect. Most juggernauts tend to be good in nature due to the nature of their charge, but depending on the environment a Juggernaut is in, or who has influenced them, some can become bodyguards or enforcers of powerful beings such as devils or tyrants.

## Quick Build

You can make a Juggernaut quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Strength. Second, choose the Folk Hero background. Third, choose Chain Mail, a Spear, an Explorer's Pack, and a Shield.

# Class Features

As a Juggernaut, you get the following class features.

### Hit Points

**Hit Dice:** 1d12 per Juggernaut level

**Hit Points at 1st Level:** 12 + your Constitution modifier

**Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per Juggernaut level after the first

### Proficiencies

**Armor:** All armor, Shields

**Weapon:** Simple and Martial Weapons

**Saves:** Strength, Constitution

**Skills:** Choose two from: Medicine, Intimidation, Insight, Perception, Athletics, Survival

### Starting Equipment:

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

* (a) scale mail or (b) chain mail
* (a) a spear or (b) any martial weapon
* (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) a explorer's pack
* a shield

## Shield Bond

At 1st level, you gain the ability to form a powerful bond with your shield. You can bond with a shield over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You must be holding the shield for the duration, at the conclusion of which you gain the following benefits while holding the shield.

* You are proficient in attacking with your bonded shield, which does 2d4 bludgeoning damage on a hit, and you can add your Strength modifier to this damage.
* Your bonded shield is indestructible by nonmagical means and weighs nothing for you, for other creatures the shield weighs twice its normal weight.
* You know the general direction of your shield provided it is on the same plane of existence and can pinpoint its exact location if you are within 30ft of it.
* You can don or doff your shield using your free interact with an object action.
* Starting at level 14, attacks with a bonded shield deal double damage to objects and structures.

### Optional Rule: Losing your Shield

To a Juggernaut, losing their shield is fatal to their honor. If your shield is lost or destroyed, you are racked with shame. Until you get a new shield and bond to it, you have disadvantage on all ability checks.

## Taunt

When you unlock this at level 1, as a bonus action you can anger people into fighting you. Choose one creature within 60 feet of you who can see or hear you. The affected creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your Juggernaut save DC or have disadvantage on any attacks, spells, or other harmful actions they make against anyone except you. Additionally, any creatures affected by a spell they cast has advantage on their saving throw against the spell if you are not one of the targets. This lasts until the start of your next turn. Targets who can’t be frightened are unaffected. You can only use this a number of times as shown above, recovering them on a short or long rest.

Your Juggernaut save DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.

## Juggernaut Specialty

At 2nd level, you gain a Juggernaut Specialty. Choose one of the following below:
**Heavy-Handed**

Even if swinging a shield, your attacks are brutal and unexpectedly harsh. Whenever you have advantage on a melee weapon attack roll you make and hit, you can knock the target prone if the lower of the two d20 rolls would also hit the target. Whenever you have disadvantage on a melee weapon attack roll you make, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to your Strength modifier if the attack misses but if the higher of the two d20 rolls would have hit.

**Steadfast**

You can adopt an immovable stance in which only the most potent of forces can shake you. While you are standing, you have advantage on checks or saves to avoid being grappled or restrained, as well as saving throws against being forcefully moved or knocked prone by any means. If you are forcefully moved, reduce the distance that you've been moved by 5 feet while standing.

**Unyielding Strength**
You're strong enough to actually trust people as far as you can throw them. Shove attacks you make on your turn push creatures 10 feet. Additionally, if a creature one size category larger than you or smaller makes a melee attack against you, you can use your reaction to make a shove attack against them.

## Superior Health

When you gain this feature at 2nd level, your hit point maximum increases by 2 points, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a Juggernaut level. At 13th level, your hit point maximum increases by an additional 13 points, and it now increases by 2 every time you gain a Juggernaut level.

## Juggernaut Ideal

At 3rd level you must choose a Juggernaut Ideal, which are described below. You gain an Ideal feature from this path at 3rd level, 7th level, 11th level and at 15th level.

* Defender
* Ravager
* Giantslayer
* Phalanx
* Sanguinaire

## Mighty Physique

At 5th level, you learn to put your mighty strength to use for offense and control. You are considered proficient in Athletics, and use double your proficiency bonus for Athletics checks. If you are already proficient in Athletics, choose another proficiency from your class list.

## Limited Extra Attack

At 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. However, one of the attacks you make must be a shove or grapple attack.

## Improved Shield Bond

Starting at 6th level you gain the following benefits:

* If your shield is within 30 feet of you, you can use your bonus action to summon your shield to your hand, equipped or unequipped (your choice).
* As a bonus action, you can shunt your shield into a pocket dimension and re-summon it using a bonus action. You can only send your shield to the pocket dimension if you are holding it. The shield can stay in this pocket dimension forever with no ill effects on the shield.

Additionally, your bonded shield attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.

## Stockade

Starting at level 6, in combat, the area within 5 feet of you is considered difficult terrain. In addition, whenever you make an opportunity attack, you can attempt to grapple or shove the creature instead of making a melee attack.

## Indefatigable

Starting at 9th level, you may add your proficiency bonus to all saving throws to avoid Exhaustion, stage 5 of Exhaustion for you now reduces your speed to 5, and you now have 7 stages of Exhaustion, instead of 6. Stage 6 is now Unconsciousness, and 7 is death.

## Improved Grapple

At 10th level, when grappling a creature, you can drag them with you with no penalty to movement, regardless of the creature's size.

## Improved Shove

Starting at 13th level, whenever you successfully shove a creature, you can simultaneously push it away from you and knock it prone.

## Jotungrip

At 14th level, you can wield two handed melee weapons in one hand, but you can only add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to attacks with them. Additionally, if you are wielding a weapon with the versatile property in one hand, you can use the two handed die instead. If you are Small, you can now wield weapons with the heavy property in two hands with no penalty, but can not hold them in one hand.

## Improved Juggernaut Specialty

At 17th level, the specialty you chose at the beginning of your adventure has grown more powerful.

* Heavy Handed: On a critical hit, use the maximum die results on your damage dice.
* Steadfast: You are immune to the grappled and prone conditions, and you cannot be forcefully moved by any means.
* Unyielding Strength: Creatures that you grapple are considered restrained. The condition still ends if you are moved out of reach or incapacitated.

## Steeled Nerves

At 18th level, you've sustained so many wounds, you're almost numb to the big hits. Any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit.

## Unstoppable Force

At 20th level, you can briefly make yourself both an unstoppable force, and an immovable object. As an action once per long rest, you can gain the following benefits for 1 minute:

* You can't be forcefully moved and your speed can't be reduced by any means.
* You are immune to the Grappled, Restrained, Stunned, Petrified and Paralyzed and Prone conditions.

# Juggernaut Ideals

## Defender

Some examples of the ideals of a Defender:

* You should attack only in defense. "The world does not need any more bloodshed."
* You must protect the weak and innocent. "Those who are innocent deserve to be protected from the evils of this world."
* Use your shield with honor, never become too confident in your own abilities. "Stay humble even in a time of blood and violence."

### Shelter

Starting at 3rd level, you can cast spare the dying as a bonus action. Also, if you are holding a bonded shield and are within five feet of an ally, you can use your bonus action to cast sanctuary on them until the start of your next turn. The saving throw DC for this spell is equal to your juggernaut save DC

### Health Sacrifice

Starting at 7th level, as an action, you can sacrifice a small portion of yourself to heal your allies or demolish your foes. As an action, you can heal one creature you can see within 30 feet of you by expending some of your hit dice. The maximum number of dice you can spend at once is equal to half your proficiency bonus. Roll the dice and add your Constitution modifier to each, restoring a number of hit points equal to the total.

Alternatively, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend some of your hit dice to infuse your attack with a burst of radiant energy. Roll the dice and add your Constitution modifier to each, dealing extra radiant damage equal to the total, in addition to the weapon's damage.

You can spend an amount of Hit Dice per round equal to half your Constitution modifier.

### Bastion

Starting at 11th level, while holding your bonded shield, you can use your action to create an impenetrable dome of force in a 15-foot radius around you, and lasts until the end of your next turn.

When you create the dome, choose any number of willing creatures you can see within 120 feet of you. Each creature teleports to an unoccupied space of its choice inside the dome and can move through the dome freely, including yourself. A hostile creature that is in the dome's area when you create it is pushed to the nearest unoccupied space and must make a Constitution saving throw against your juggernaut save DC or take 2d8 force damage.

The dome prevents hostile creatures from passing or reaching through it and it prevents their spells and attacks made with ranged or reach weapons from entering it. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

### Hospice

Starting at 15th level, you gain the power to bring someone back if they've died recently. You can cast revivify once per long rest.

## Ravager

The phrase: "Your best defense is offense" embodies this class. Ravagers are Juggernauts who seek the path to defense in violence. Their goal is to end fights as quickly as possible, dealing consistent damage at short or long range.

### Shield Throw

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to offensively hurl your bonded shield at your foes. Your shield gains the thrown property. Your shield has a normal range of 20 feet and a maximum range of 60 feet. Hit or miss, your shield then flies back to your hand.

### Intensify

Starting at 3rd level, You deal more damage with each swing you make. In combat, every successful melee attack you make gives you a +2 to your damage on your next attack, up to a maximum of +10 damage per attack. If you miss an attack, you lose the bonus damage and must start again.

### Extra Attack

Starting at 7th level, you now gain the benefits of the full Extra Attack ability, rather than Limited Extra Attack. You can now attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

### Hemorrhage

Starting at 11th level, when you hit an enemy, they get a -1 to their attack and damage rolls, to a maximum of -5. This debuff resets every time you miss, or if you target a different creature.

### Relentless

At 15th level, even as your strength begins to fade, you keep fighting. Having 0 hit points doesn’t knock you unconscious, but you must still make death saving throws, and you suffer the normal effects of taking damage while at 0 hit points.

## Giantslayer

Giantslayer Juggernauts focus all of their strength and skill with weapons into single powerful strikes meant to cripple the largest of foes. With their size and bulk they can effectively grapple, pin, and submit far larger opponents. They prize themselves on their unique tactics to fight these monsters and their resistance to their attacks, while striking back with equal ferocity.

### Enlarge

Starting at 3rd level, you have the ability to grow to an immense size to fight your enemies. You can use a bonus action to gain the following benefits for one minute:

* Your size doubles in all dimensions, and your weight is multiplied by eight.
* Your size increases by one category. If you were Small, now you are Medium. If you were Medium, now you are Large.
* You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
* Your weapons also grow to match your new size. While these weapons are enlarged, you deal 1d4 extra damage when you make melee weapon attacks with them.
* Everything you are wearing and carrying changes size with you. Any item dropped returns to normal size at once.
* If there isn’t enough room for you to double in size, you attain the maximum possible size in the space available.
* This effect can not be counterspelled or dispelled.

You can use this feature twice per long rest. At 11th level you regain all your expended uses of this feature when you finish a short or long rest.

### Titanic Strike

Starting at 7th level, you merrily crush your opponents to dust. When you make a melee attack, you can choose to make the attack with disadvantage. If you hit, the attack is a critical hit. You can't use this feature if you already have disadvantage on the attack roll.

### Titan-sized

Starting at 11th level, you can use a bonus action to consume two uses of Enlarge, instead of one, to grow even larger. You can also use a bonus action consume an extra use of Enlarge if you are already Enlarged. While you are Titan-sized, you gain the following benefits in place of the Enlarge feature's
benefits:

* Your normal size quadruples in all dimensions, and your weight is multiplied by sixty four.
* Your size increases by two categories of your original. If you were Small, now you are Large. If you were Medium, now you are Huge.
* Your weapons also grow to match your new size. While these weapons are Titan-sized, you deal 2d4 extra damage when you make melee weapon attacks with them.

### Great Stomp

At 15th level, you can use your action to slam your boot into the ground, and cast the earthquake spell centered on yourself.

When you cast it in this way, the spell does not require your concentration (each creature in the area must still make a Dexterity saving throw at the end of each turn to avoid falling prone) and the spell ends at the end of your next turn. You ignore the difficult terrain created by the spell and you automatically succeed on any Dexterity saving throws you make if a fissure opens beneath you, but you are still subject to any falling structures or other secondary environmental effects caused by the spell. The DC for any saving throws made against this spell is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

## Phalanx

Some Juggernauts train their entire lives with shields, living by the idea that outlasting an enemy in combat is a gauranteed path to victory. The Phalanx does just that, shrugging off mighty blows with their shields endlessly until their opponent eventually tires and is dealt the killing blow. Consummate professionals among Juggernauts, the Phalanx never seem to let up. Even in the biggest and bloodiest battles, they are always the last ones standing.

### Defensive Formation

Starting at 3rd level, all allies within 5 feet of you gain +2 to their AC, and if an ally is damaged within 5 feet of you, you can choose to halve the damage the ally takes and take the other half yourself. This damage can't be reduced or prevented in any way.

### Grit

At 7th level, while you are wielding a bonded shield, all non-magical damage that you take is reduced by your Constitution modifier.

Additionally, when you reach 11th level in this class, all damage except psychic damage is reduced by an amount equal to your Constitution modifier.

This damage reduction does not affect falling damage.

### Punish

At 11th level, when you take damage from an attack that you can see while you are holding a bonded shield, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you. If you halve the damage from a melee attack, the attacker takes force damage equal to your Constitution modifier.

### Resolute

At 15th level, at the start of each of your turns, if you have no more than 3 times your character level in hit points remaining, you regain hit points equal to your Constitution modifier + half your Juggernaut level. You don't gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.

## Sanguinaire

Sanguinaire Juggernauts tend to be unlucky adventurers who were bitten by a Vampire to gain life-draining power. These Juggernauts are usually thralls for more powerful Vampire lords, but some though, through research, planning, or good(or bad) luck, stumbled upon similar powers. No matter how they came across the power, they are fierce, intimidating, and despite all the injuries they face, they seem to sow themselves back together in front of your very eyes.

### Menace

At Level 3, as an action on your turn, you can attempt to demoralize one creature you can see within 30 feet of you that can see you. Make an Intimidation check contested by the target's Insight. If your check succeeds, the target is frightened of you. At the end of each of their turns, they must make another Insight check contested by your Intimidation check. If their check succeeds, the effect fades, and the target cannot be frightened by you again for 1 hour.

At level 7, you may target two creatures with this ability and at level 11, you may target three creatures.

Additionally, you gain a lifestealing bite attack. You can sink your teeth into and drain blood and life energy from a willing creature, or one that is grappled by you, incapacitated, or restrained. Make a melee attack against the target. If you hit, you deal 1 piercing damage and 1d6 necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and you regain hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

If you have a different bite attack from another source, choose which one to use.

### Serrated Teeth

At level 7, you can now add your Strength modifier to your bite attack's piercing damage, and any creature you make a successful bite attack against can't regain hit points until the start of your next turn.

Additionally, you can now make a bite attack against any creature that is frightened of you.

### Creeping Dread

At level 11, you are immune to being frightened, and your Menace feature overcomes immunity to the Frightened condition.

Additionally, when a creature that is frightened of you makes a saving throw, you can use your reaction to give them disadvantage on the save. You must use this ability before the creature makes their roll.

### Crippling Drain

At level 15, whenever a creature within 10 feet of you that is frightened of you rolls the maximum number on its damage die, treat that number as a one. In addition, the necrotic damage of your bite attack increases to 2d6.

# Multiclassing

To multiclass into or out of Juggernaut, you must have a Constitution Score of 13 or higher.