Duelist

Duelists are expert melee fighters who rely on their amazing skill with weapons. They excel in the art of the duel, specializing in one-on-one combat. Many duelists come from noble or gladiatorial backgrounds, where skill and elegance in combat are highly valued. Duelists most often wield swords.

Duelist talents focus on accurate attacks and impenetrable defenses. Many of their talents give them the chance to add another attack in a moment of opportunity or weakness in their opponent’s defenses. Duelist ribbons let them show off their skill and knowledge of all sorts of weapons.

Examples of duelists in fiction include Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher, Link from The Legend of Zelda, and Drizzt Do’Urden from The Forgotten Realms.

Novice Talents

Attack of Opportunity

You sieze on any opportunities to attack and distract your foes
Trigger
A creature you can reach uses a Manipulate power or a Move power, makes a ranged Strike, or leaves a square during a Move power it’s using

You lash out at a foe that leaves an opening. Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If your Strike is a critical success and the trigger is a Manipulate power, you disrupt that power.

Dueling Parry

You deflect all kinds of enemy attacks with ease
Requirements
You are wielding a melee weapon
Trigger
An attack targets your Defense

You have +2 Defense against the attack.

Feint

You fool your enemy with a false attack, making a hole in their defense
Requirements
You are wielding a melee weapon
Target
One creature you can reach
Duration
Until the end of your next turn

Make a Strength or Agility attack roll against your target’s Defense.

Critical Success
You have a +15 bonus to your next melee Strike against your target
Success
You have a +10 bonus to your next melee Strike against your target

Panache

You leverage your bravado to perform spectacular, deadly maneuvers
Trigger
You succeed on a flair roll
Requirements
The DC of the triggering roll was at least 10
Duration
1 minute, or until you take damage

You have a +10 bonus to Speed. You have advantage on flair rolls. Your melee Strikes deal an extra 1d6 damage.

Prepared Defense

You enter a stance that lets you intercept and counter enemy attacks
Duration
Until the start of your next turn

You have +5 Defense. You can use the Prepared Counter power.

Riposte

You quickly counterattack when an enemy fails to hit you
Trigger
A creature fails a melee Strike against you

Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature.

Singular Focus

You focus all your attention on a single enemy
Range
30 feet
Duration
1 minute, or until you use this power again

You have a +2 bonus to attacks against your target.

Sudden Lunge

You surprise your opponent with a sudden burst of speed
Trigger
You make a melee Strike

The triggering Strike has +5 feet reach and a +5 bonus to the attack roll.

Tiger Stance

You enter the stance of a tiger, punching with speed and fury

Your unarmed Strikes deal 1d8 Bludgeoning base damage and have the Finesse trait. You have a +1 bonus to unarmed Strikes.

Veteran Talents

Counterattack

You interrupt an enemy attack with an attack of your own
Requirements
You are wielding a melee weapon
Trigger
A creature you can reach targets you with a melee Strike
Target
The creature attacking you

Make a melee Strike against your target. Your attack roll is the DC of your target’s Strike, and your target’s attack roll is the DC of your Strike.

Combat Reflexes

You can react quickly to multiple events at once
Prerequisites
Any Duelist talent

You can use an extra Duelist talent each round, bypassing the normal limit of one power per round.

Dueling Guard

You are even better at parrying attacks from one target
Prerequisites
Dueling Parry

Your Dueling Parry power gives you +4 Defense instead of +2 Defense.

Flurry of Strikes

You attack in a blur of movement, striking twice in rapid succession

Make two melee Strikes against the same target.

Penetrating Strike

You attack in just the right way to slip past your enemy’s shields

Make a melee Strike. This Strike ignores all Shield your target has.

Master Talents

Defensive Focus

You focus on your enemy’s attacks, improving your defense against them
Prerequisites
Singular Focus

When you use your Singular Focus power, you also gain +2 DC against all of your target’s attacks.

Perfect Accuracy

You recover from a close miss, hitting your target anyways
Trigger
Your Strike fails

The triggering Strike succeeds instead.

Spellsplinter

You are an expert at disrupting spellcasters
Prerequisites
Attack of Opportunity

When you use Attack of Opportunity, if your Strike is a success and the trigger is a Spell power, you disrupt that power.

Epic Talents

Ribbons

Done Holding Back

You reveal you’ve actually been holding back this whole time
Duration
Until the end of your turn

You have advantage on the next melee Strike you make.

I am not left-handed!

Flourish

You flourish your weapon in a display of skill to impress others
Requirements
You are wielding a melee weapon
Trigger
You make a die roll to entertain or intimidate others through martial skill

You have a bonus to the die roll equal to your Duelist level.

Martial Studies

You have studied weapons and warfare extensively

You have advantage on all die rolls made to recall information about weapons, warfare, strategy, and tactics.

Renowned Duelist

You are known as a skilled and honorable duelist

You have a reputation as an expert duelist who has defeated many opponents. Other people respect your combat prowess and trust you to fight with honor.

Weapons Expert

You instantly analyze a weapon, learning all its special properties
Target
One weapon you can see within 10 feet

You learn all the properties of your target: its type, cost, damage, quality, any permanent enchantments on it, and so on. You don’t learn whether the weapon has any magical spells affecting it other than permanent enchantments, including curses.