LAWKEEPER — FIGHTER SUBCLASS
Salorras Paragon: Lawkeeper · Path: Armsman (Fighter) · Subclass type: Fighter Subclass, chosen at 3rd level The shield-discipline of the Axes of Law.
The Lawkeepers are the elite warrior order of the ancient faction of the Axes of Law, and their fame is known across Salorras. As the faction grew, its mightiest warriors stood out — survivors and hardened soldiers who proved in the Δαιμονικοί Πόλεμοι that an enemy’s numbers mean nothing on the field. With the blessing of the starborn Dareldor “Noblebeard” Stonekings, the Axes of Law founded the Lawkeeper war-school: chosen fighters and defenders of the laws and order of Salorras. From an early age would-be Lawkeepers train to exhaustion under eminent battle maisters, learning everything of combat with special emphasis on swift shield-blocks and instant counterattacks. Their greatest virtue, though, is the calm of the mind even in the heart of an explosive battle.
Most Lawkeepers are faithful to Thoraldor, since the Axes of Law were staffed from the clans of the dwarves, though many follow other creeds so long as their morality is firmly framed by law. Calm and good-natured, they prize justice through law and have earned the title “defenders of justice.” They keep the peace, suppress anarchy and chaos when it rises, and are found across all three continents — guarding temples, shielding political figures, or wandering to stamp out evil.
Joining the Axes of Law (roleplay, not a mechanical prerequisite)
You choose this subclass at 3rd level with no in-game prerequisites. In the fiction, a Lawkeeper must be a member of the Axes of Law and train for five months under a battle maister in the defensive and counterattacking forms. Rare “fallen of the law” — warriors swallowed by chaos or violence — are pursued by the faction and never readmitted.
Lawkeeper Features
| Fighter Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 3 | Shieldwall Discipline, Endurance |
| 7 | Hold the Line, Armored Mobility |
| 10 | Battle-Hardened Calm, Keep Fighting |
| 15 | Stubborn to Death, Counterattack |
| 18 | Armor of Law |
Level 3 — Shieldwall Discipline
You master the block-and-read forms of the Axes of Law. While you are wielding a Shield or a melee weapon and aren’t Incapacitated:
- Block. When you are hit by an attack you can see, you can take a Reaction to add your Proficiency Bonus to your Armor Class against that attack, possibly turning the hit into a miss.
- Strike of Law. Whenever an attacker misses you with a melee attack (including one you turned into a miss with Block), you read their guard: you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your next turn.
Level 3 — Endurance
The Lawkeeper’s body is forged for the long fight. You have Advantage on Constitution saving throws, you can sleep in armor without ill effect, and once per Short or Long Rest you can use your Second Wind as a Reaction (for example, in response to taking damage).
Level 7 — Hold the Line
You hold your ground against any charge.
- You can make an Opportunity Attack against a creature that enters your reach, not only one that leaves it.
- When you hit a creature with an Opportunity Attack, its Speed becomes 0 until the end of the current turn.
Level 7 — Armored Mobility
You wear the heaviest plate like a second skin. Heavy armor no longer reduces your Speed and you ignore its Strength requirement. While wearing Medium or Heavy armor your Speed increases by 5 feet.
Level 10 — Battle-Hardened Calm
Long experience has honed your senses to a razor. You can’t be Frightened, and you have Advantage on Initiative rolls. As a battle maister, you may also train new aspirants of the order — the role by which Lawkeepers pass on their art.
Level 10 — Keep Fighting
You shrug off blows that would lay another low. When an effect would impose the Stunned, Paralyzed, or Incapacitated condition on you and allows a saving throw, you can choose to fail-forward: even on a failed save you act normally until the end of your next turn, gaining 10 temporary Hit Points, and the condition takes hold only afterward. You can use this a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all uses on a Long Rest.
Level 15 — Stubborn to Death
Duty keeps you standing past all reason. You have Advantage on Death Saving Throws, and when you are reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 Hit Point instead and immediately take one extra action on your turn. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Level 15 — Counterattack
You are taught that mages are the deadliest foes on any field and must fall first. Whenever you succeed on a saving throw against a spell or magical effect, you can take a Reaction to gain Advantage on your next attack roll against that effect’s source, and that attack deals extra damage equal to your Proficiency Bonus.
Level 18 — Armor of Law
You reach the summit of the Axes of Law’s battle doctrine. As a Bonus Action, you steel yourself and your allies with words of courage. For 1 minute, you and each ally within 30 feet of you gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class and to all saving throws and can’t be Frightened. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest, unless you spend a use of Second Wind to use it again.
Leaving the Order (Ex-Lawkeeper)
A Lawkeeper who breaks the code of order and ethics of the Axes of Law enters a rite of atonement, proving they are not a slave to impulse, chaos, or pointless violence. Failing to reconcile in good time, they are expelled and never readmitted. Mechanically, an ex-Lawkeeper loses none of this subclass’s features — every one was earned through personal effort.
Ability Note
The Lawkeeper leans on Strength for its shield-and-plate fighting, with Constitution as a heavy secondary — Endurance, the Constitution-save Advantage, and the staying power of Keep Fighting and Stubborn to Death all reward a deep Constitution. No mental ability is needed to run the subclass.