The Shieldbearer: A Fighter Subclass for 5E
The Broken Empire world of Swords & Sorceries is inspired by ancient history as seen through the lens of Fifth Edition. Fighters have the “Protection” fighting style, of course, but I want a kind of elite fighter that fully evokes the heart of ancient warfare: the phalanx that dominated battlefields for millennia before the twenty-foot pikes of Macedonia and the legions of Rome.
If you like this subclass, try it at your table and let me know how it works. The Shieldbearer archetype is © Shane Ivey.
You are expert at fighting in a shield wall, on the front lines of a phalanx or warband. You excel in close combat when formations push against each other, screaming and striking until one of them breaks. You are a veteran soldier, a recognized fighter, and proud of your status.
In the Broken Empire setting, most war comes down to the press of phalanxes of soldiers bearing shields. Shieldbearer fighters are particularly prominent in the Samarran kingdoms’ Sacred Bands, whose pairs of elite warriors devote lives and love to each other as fully as they are devoted to the band and to their kingdom. Outside the Broken Empire itself, shieldbearer fighters are prominent in the Valkani tribes of the northern forests and the Kiavalkans of the far northern mountains, who fight in shield walls with axes and spears.
